Good work begets more good work. When you exceed customer expectations, deliver impressive results and consistently go the extra mile, word spreads.

Entrepreneurs aren’t the most patient people  in the world. So, they’re always looking for ways to accelerate this tried-and-true business development practice. One way to jumpstart business development? Social media. Whether you’re a small company or a larger brand, social media scales lead generation, uncovers new opportunities and shortens the sales cycle. Combined, this results in faster growth, better clients and – my personal favorite – no cold calls.

Let’s take a more in-depth look. For starters, here are three opportunities created by embracing digital communication:

• Establish expertise without borders. My PR and social media firm’s largest client is based in Canada. The introduction came from someone who lives in New Jersey who I “met” via Twitter. In fact, I can trace 75% of my company’s business back to relationships that initially began online (most of which originated on Twitter!). Thanks to social media, anyone can build a better network and share client work, case studies and their business philosophy with a larger audience – unlimited by geography. Even though we’re a boutique communications consultancy based here in Columbus, we work with clients from Canada to California. Technology makes it easy for businesses today to not only establish thought leadership, but also to convert that expertise into business opportunities.
• Show your intent. To monetize social media, humanize it, according to Harvard Business Review. We work with the Columbus Marathon and through social media, their online community has direct access to race director Darris Blackford. For the past two years, we’ve organized “Ask the Race Director” – a live Q&A broadcast on UStream and Facebook – where Darris answers marathoners’ questions. Two years ago, Darris got teary during the live broadcast as he shared gratitude for the thousands of volunteers who make the marathon happen. Last year, he literally couldn’t speak as he tried to convey his passion for Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the marathon’s commitment to raising funds to help sick kids. The result? The marathon sold out again and participants helped raise $875,000, which was donated to Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Additionally, comments from participants after the race were overwhelmingly positive. While the marathon is a non-profit, the lesson is just as relevant for for-profit companies: Social media puts a spotlight on the people behind the logo, reveals your values, and strengthens brand loyalty and preference. As Simon Sinek says, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”
• Shorten the sales cycle. By leveraging social media to share your “why,” you can drastically decrease the sales cycle. Prospects can learn a lot about you and your company by perusing social profiles. Who are you interacting with? What kinds of conversations are you having? What are other people saying about you? Does their approach to business and intention align with yours? Interestingly, potential customers can develop a sense of “knowing you” just by following and interacting with you online. As a result, the sales cycle is less about background and more about the brass tacks of getting down to business. By the time someone contacts me to learn more about Geben, they already know a lot about our approach to integrating traditional and digital PR and my approach to business, thus eliminating multiple stages of the sales process. Thanks to this shift in the business development, you can spend less time chasing new business … and more time delivering results.

Social media accelerates business development. Whether you work for a B2B or B2C company, a large organization or an emerging startup – you can grow and achieve your goals faster by taking a fresh approach business development. Of course, there’s an upfront time investment, but as you can see from these examples, adding a layer of social media is good for business growth.

How are you using social media to spur business development?

This post originally ran on Columbus Business First’s Social Madness Blog.

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The post Social Media Scales Business Development appeared first on prTini.

According to a recent article in Harvard Business Review, there’s a new kind of worker that every company needs: the amplified individual:

We live in a world in which amplified individuals — people empowered by technologies and the collective intelligence of their social networks — can do things that previously only a large organization could.

… People like these are engaged in “socialstructing” — that is, bypassing established institutions and processes for building new things, and instead working to create what they find missing in the world by communicating the need to their social networks, mobilizing whatever resources they have at their disposal, and pursuing solutions collaboratively.

What if we began thinking about PR agencies in a similar sense? An “amplified agency” is one empowered by technology and can tap into the collective intelligence of their social networks to help achieve better outcomes for clients. In this world, the size of the agency is less important than the agency’s nimbleness, resourcefulness and commitment to innovating best practices and creating new/better ways to get things done.

The HBR article provided some tips to help employers seeking to amplify their workers’ talents for greater innovation and impact. Using two of those constructs, here’s how the theory could apply to an amplified agency:

Change how you measure performance.

“The value you seek from employees, and should recognize and reward, can’t be measured only by focusing on their internal contributions. It also depends on their connections to and their standing in external communities that are important to your organization.”

Amplified agencies: Instead of solely relying on standard metrics — whether it’s media placements, number of downloads or sign-ups, shifts in perception or share of voice — also begin to value the connections and intangibles that an agency can bring to the table. Can the account teams offer insights from previous experiences, make introductions, or tap into their social networks (when appropriate)? This means management needs to allocate time for employees to build their networks and test new technologies. While not necessarily considered “billable time,” it’s certainly time well spent when these new skills and contacts can move a client initiative forward.

Design the organization to support individual initiative, not control employees’ actions.

“The value of self-organizing structures is that they can act quickly, responsively, and creatively from the edges.”

Amplified agencies: Hustlegy: It’s a word I first learned from Eric Koester (who may have made it up!). The idea is simple:  Combine hustle + strategy. Agencies bogged down in hierarchy, process and too much attention on the billable hour are ill-equipped to hustle.  Clients want  agencies that are go-getters, flexible and smart enough to provide solid strategic counsel. By embracing “hustlegy,” agencies empower individuals to take initiative and stay focused on doing whatever it takes to get the job done.

Your turn. Do you see businesses seeking “amplified individuals?” How can agencies embrace this concept to better serve clients?

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Like what you’re reading? Follow Heather on Twitter or subscribe to the blog.

The post Imagining the Amplified Agency appeared first on prTini.

Each week, Geben will compile and share some of our favorite PR and social media articles. As we close out this new week, here are some of this week’s must-reads:

• The Best Social Media Tools of 2013 (so far)
• Why is Facebook Blue? The Science Behind Colors in Marketing
• Scholastic engages–and increases–Facebook fans with live author chats
• Starbucks, BuzzFeed Introduce Reaction-Cam to Create Animated GIFs of Your Face
• Fashion Billionaire Tory Burch Talks Oprah, Eric Schmidt, And The Importance Of Thick Skin
• Flipboard Brings Personalized Magazines To Android, Heads To The Web With New Magazine Management Tool
• Ebook: Eye on the prize: How brands are winning with social media contests and sweepstakes
• 87% of Tech Startups Hiring this Year
• Teen creates tool that prevents spoilers from appearing on Twitter
• 8 Marketers Doing Big Data Right
• Have a Big Heart, Play Nice, Boost the Bottom Line
• Mastery, Autonomy, Purpose: The Science of What Motivates Us

Follow Team Geben on Twitter for more articles and resources throughout the week. Say hi and tell us what you’re reading, too!

The post Geben Communication’s Must Read Articles – Week of May 6th appeared first on prTini.

After national tragedies or community disasters, I’m always amazed at the power of digital communication and seeing how social media amplifies social good. After the Boston Marathon bombing, Mark Drapuea reminded us that ”social media scales human nature.” After the earthquakes in Japan, Amy Jo Martin realized that “social media can allow us to accelerate the act of kindness.”

Here’s the thing: This scaling and accelerating doesn’t — shouldn’t — only happen in the wake of a tragedy. In the last 12 hours, I’ve already come across three posts that illustrate this:

• Amy Taylor wrote an open letter to the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, who “allegedly commented on everything from why he hates fat chicks to why he doesn’t want “not-so-cool” kids shopping in his stores.” Not only did people share and reshare (a lot!) the post, but they directly reached out to Amy, thanking her for being so open and for courageously saying what so many other people were thinking. As Amy noted on Twitter, the reaction to her post is inspiring. (And, if you haven’t read her post, stop reading this and go read it.)
• Nikki Little shares an incredible tale of 5.5 weeks in the hospital, trying to stay pregnant as long as possible so her twins could grow and be born healthy. She courageously reminds us that “Being brave and courageous is hard. Sometimes it downright sucks because you know you have to do it, yet some days it seems impossible. But, you push forward, find coping mechanisms and you get through it.” (Want to share your own #CourageStory? Head over to her blog and leave a comment, or use the hashtag on Twitter.)
• Last night on Twitter, BuzzFeed’s John Stanton — over the course of dozens of tweets — shared the story of a junkie in Washington DC and the community of people who came together to help him. As he said, “we could all learn a lot about compassion and love and understand from the very least amongst us, if we only take the time to see it.” You can read about the acts of compassion on Storify.

There are lots of reasons to love the Internet. (Heck, in my world, Twitter is such a critical part of our business that I’m only half-joking when I say Twitter keeps our lights on.) But, there are enough self-serving posts, annoying videos and food pics that can create a love-hate relationship with the web. Look past all that though, and you’ll find amazing people sharing incredibly personal stories. Stories that will restore your faith in humanity and inspire you to join the scaling good movement.

On that note, Happy Thursday!

The post 3 Reasons to Love the Web Today that Have Nothing to Do with PR & Marketing appeared first on prTini.

Finally — a “hackathon” for the non-coders among us! The team at Tracky is hosting the first virtual hackathon for communications professionals. #CommHacks, if you will. Anyone working in the PR, marketing, journalism or content space can participate. The best part? No formal developer/coding training required. 

The post Introducing #CommHacks: A Virtual “Hackathon” for PR Pros appeared first on prTini.

Each week, Geben will compile and share some of our favorite PR and social media articles. As we close out this new week, here are some of this week’s must-reads:

• Staying Human in a Digital World
• 5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Try to Be Apple
• 9 Awesome Reasons to Use Infographics in Your Content Marketing
• Making a Request from Fans is the Keystone of a Product Launch
• Four New Roles for PR Pros
• The Imminent Shift From Social to Digital Engagement 
• Technology is a Canvas, Not a Platform 
• Leap2 Raises $1.6M For A More Social And Image-Centric Approach To Mobile Search
• Instagram Lets Users Tag Others in Photos Like They Do on Facebook
• #RunHappyIs [Social Media Campaign]
• Engagement: The Big Word that Means Very Little
• Tech Poaches Wall Street Talent

Follow Team Geben on Twitter for more articles and resources throughout the week. Say hi and tell us what you’re reading, too!

The post Geben Communication’s Must Read Articles – Week of April 29th appeared first on prTini.

I am totally biased, but I love #TeamGeben. Individually and collectively … the work ethic and personality quirks … our  friendships and partnerships with each other, our clients, friends of Geben, etc.

Recently, we’ve realized a lot of amazing stuff goes on behind the scenes at Geben Communication. Stuff we want to share and think our friends will be interested in seeing! This culture — our collective commitment to disrupting the status quo and embracing the crazy — defines who we are as a company and shapes how we approach our work. So, over the next 365 days, we invite you to join us on a yearlong visual journey. Starting Monday, May 6, you can follow #Geben365 on Twitter and Instagram for a daily peek behind the scenes at 539 S. 5th and experience what agency life – or our version of it – is like. Come along on client trips. Sit in on team meetings. Get to know the Columbus community we’re so happy and proud to call home. Who knows, we might even invite you to join us for Happy Hour.

Welcome to 365 Days of Geben.

Follow Geben on Instagram or look for the hashtag #Geben365 on Twitter.

The post Are you Ready? 365 Days of Geben Starts Monday appeared first on prTini.

Startups are full of creativity and innovation. After all, these companies often emerge from the need to solve a problem. Developing a new solution requires out-of-the-box thinking. But, that’s just one attribute of today’s most successful startups.

As startups disrupt traditional marketplaces, they’re forcing big businesses to realize they can’t just rest on their laurels. Instead, companies of all sizes are experiencing a renewed sense of urgency for constant innovation. In other words: “As a successful scaled company, you cannot run the ship the way you used to. You’ll get run over by a swarm of startups,” Intuit’s Scott Cook explained.

Just as businesses embrace innovation, the PR industry also needs to reinvent best practices and push the boundaries. At Geben, we work with a wide rage of startups — relationships and experiences that provide front-row seats to the mindset, culture and drive that makes these organizations flourish (or flounder). While we’re not a tech company, or what you’d think of as a “startup” in the traditional sense, we have tried to embrace some elements of the startup culture. For starters, we understand the importance of quick thinking, responsiveness and doing whatever it takes to get the job done. We pride ourselves as fundamental and forward-thinking — a positioning and approach that could benefit the whole PR industry in today’s rapidly changing landscape.

So, how can the PR industry embrace some of the best qualities of the startup world to innovate and provide even more meaningful value to the C-suite?

• Be open. As Jim Delaney, COO of Marketwired says, we’re living in an era of open business. This drives company/customer interactions as well as the employer/employee relationship. While I don’t think companies should — or can — be 100% transparent all the time, I absolutely believe that intention should always be transparent. As I’ve written before: “Believability — and credibility — start with intention. Purpose. The ‘why‘ behind what you’re doing and saying. Intention isn’t something you can fake. If your intention doesn’t align with your words and actions, people will see through you.” I’m very open with our team about company goals, my philosophy on running the business, the types of clients we want to work with, and how things are going in general. I’ve found this openness builds stronger relationships, which is good for the company and, ultimately, good for our clients.
• Commit to innovation. In PR, we know what works. And, there’s no reason to abandon everything we know to be true. But, that doesn’t mean the “same old” is enough. Instead, PR people need to morph. Or, as Deidre Breakenridge explains, we need to become “PR Hybrid Professionals” by internalizing eight new practices: policymaker, tech tester, internal collaboration generator, communication organizer, pre-crisis doctor, master of the metrics, relationship analyzer, and reputation task force manager. As Deirdre explains, “The new practices are not meant to fragment their PR focus, but rather to build new knowledge, skills and competencies. New practices allow PR to work outside of its silo, which is critical for good brand communications today.”
• Hire entrepreneurial people. I’ve heard Bo Fishback, CEO of Zaarly, say he wanted to hire a team of future entrepreneurs. While I don’t think you have to take that advice literally, I do think we should focus on expanding the skills and attributes we base hiring decisions on. In PR, if you’re going to constantly reinvent best practices, that means you want a team of people motivated by experimentation, discovering new/better solutions, risk takers, etc. Sure, you want people who understand the core tenants of effective PR, but that’s not enough in today’s landscape. For example, I can teach someone how to develop a compelling media pitch, develop a blogger outreach campaign or execute a tradeshow visibility strategy, but I probably can’t teach someone instincts, quick thinking or other intangibles that permeate the startup culture.
• Delegate and empower. Big businesses tend to come with big org charts — and these extra layers, approval processes, and “cooks in the kitchen” can slow down or stifle creativity. Meanwhile, PR agencies tend to follow a similar hierarchical structure, with account coordinators, account managers, senior account execs, and so on. A suggestion from Fast Company: “It’s not realistic for the higher-ups to attend every meeting and review every idea along the way. But if we agree on the value of creative process, then it follows that the people who are intimately involved in the process should have a stronger say in the outcome, regardless of corporate politics. So if you can’t flatten, delegate and empower.”
• Infuse technology into PR. In marketing circles, the growth hacker adds a layer of engineering, data and work-around solutions (or hacks) to achieve desired outcomes. According to Brian Solis, “Growth Hacking combines the art and science of creating awareness, traction, adoption, and advocacy using unorthodox and surprising means. It’s quite literally a hack for traditional processes to accelerate business.” Along those same lines, how can you add tech-centric layers to PR to accelerate outcomes and amplify results? Social media provided a starting point; however, as it continues to evolve and additional technologies emerge, PR pros should embrace these new opportunities to deliver measurable results and constantly show their value to the organization.

“Startups value disruption. By nature, they must. When your entire purpose as a company is to create something that never existed before, it trickles through the entire culture. There’s an embracing of the unknown, of doing things differently than what everyone else is doing, of risk. And these are prime ingredients for creativity.” This line of thinking may make traditional PR pros uneasy at first, but it’s the world we live in. It’s time to get comfortable with being uncomfortable (after all, risk can be a bit uncomfortable), commit to embracing disruption and always, always be seeking or creating new solutions.

•••

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Photo credit: hahatango

The post 5 Opportunities for PR to Embrace the Startup Culture appeared first on prTini.

Each week, Geben will compile and share some of our favorite PR and social media articles. As we close out this new week, here are some of this week’s must-reads:

• Four Disruption Themes for Business
• 3 Useful (And Creative) Analytics Resources to Check Out
• 12 Ways to Hook and Audience in 30 Seconds
• What Happens When You Really Disconnect
• Five Ways to Inspire a Culture for Content Marketing
• 7 Types of Content People Love on Social Media
• Social Enterprises Must Move Beyond Purpose
• Drive-Thru Marketing: Bite-sized Content for an Impatient World
• The World’s First Annual Report on Instagram
• Your Content is Boring and Wasting My Time
• Why You Should Eliminate “Launch” From Your Vocabulary
• 25 of the Most Engaged Brands on Twitter
• 2013 State of Inbound Marketing Annual Report

Follow Team Geben on Twitter for more articles and resources throughout the week. Say hi and tell us what you’re reading, too!

The post Geben Communication’s Must Read Articles – Week of April 22nd appeared first on prTini.

Each week, Geben will compile and share some of our favorite PR and social media articles. As we close out this new week, here are some of this week’s must-reads:

• How to Unleash the Power of Content
• 2013: The Year That Social Media Will Run Out of Kool-Aid
• How Some of the Most Unsocial Companies Are the Most Social
• 10 Creative Uses of Pinterest
• 26 Ways to Use Visuals in Your Social Marketing
• Knowing your audience is key to any marketing success
• Your data is your interface
• 12 Types of Social Media Personalities
• Google’s Plan To Fight Human Trafficking With Big Data
• The new word business people ‘just’ love to hate

Follow Team Geben on Twitter for more articles and resources throughout the week. Say hi and tell us what you’re reading, too!

The post Geben Communication’s Must-Read Articles – Week of April 15th appeared first on prTini.