It’s hard to tell what’s hype, what’s reality and what’s really important.

It reminds me of the conversations I have – and the questions I get – about social media. Clients want to know how much inconvenience (additional time or resources) in exchange for what impact (engaged clients, increased sales, etc.).

The digital world has changed the way we deliver and receive information, and it can be overwhelming for business owners and marketers to sort hype from reality in determining which opportunities are relevant and valuable. According to a 2012 AT&T Small Business Technology Poll, 79% of small businesses surveyed are using word-of-mouth to promote their business, 63% are using their company website, and just 39% are using social media channels.

Planning your social media strategy shouldn’t be vastly different from planning your overall communications strategy. You really need to ask yourself a few key questions:

• What do I need to say?
• Who do I need to say it to?
• Where do I go to reach them?

Once you can answer those questions, you can adapt your message and tools according to the channels you select. A tweet of 140 characters might reach a mass audience and a press release of 300 – 500 words can be tailored to reach specific journalists covering your industry. Do you know which of these options will have the greatest impact on your stakeholders?

A few more interesting statistics from the poll may help you cut through the hype:

• Since 2010, the use of location-based social channels, such as Foursquare, among small business owners has nearly doubled from 5% to 9%; 25% of small business owners using location-based services believe that the application is important for sales generation, compared to just 2% in 2010.
• Small businesses with a LinkedIn presence increased from 25% in 2010 to 31% in 2011, a jump of 25%; small business owners are increasingly using the social forum for networking with other businesses and gaining awareness from other businesses and consumers in the local community.
• Small businesses with a Facebook presence increased slightly from 41% in 2010 to 44% last year.
• Twitter presence dropped slightly year-over-year from 19% to 18%.
• Only 4% of small businesses are using daily deal sites (i.e. LivingSocial, Groupon) for marketing purposes, led by leisure/tourism/lodging, of which 14% are using these sites; of those businesses using daily deal sites, more than 90% are running promotions at least several times per year.
• Three in four (75%) small businesses surveyed have a website, about the same as last year, with nearly a third (31%) having a mobile website – i.e., one designed for viewing on a smartphone.

Or appreciation?

Is it something more?

Fulfillment? Amusement? Accomplishment?

We want to hear (actually to read) your favorite quote … those words of inspiration tucked under a corner of your desk, tacked to a bulletin board or jotted on a notebook page … your own fighting words or a deep thought by a famous mind … the sentiment you look for in that moment when all seems lost and you don’t know how you will ever go on … or, you know, when you just need to get all fired up!

Our favorite submission will receive a little recognition and a big reward in the next blog post.

Okay, maybe not so big … but you can dream … and all it takes to win is the click of a mouse!

As a friend and I discussed current news about the secret service agents in Cartagena over dinner last night, I couldn’t help but think of this old joke, which I’ve also seen attributed to George Bernard Shaw, WC Fields and Mark Twain. It’s just not so funny as the lead paragraph of a news story.

However, the joke also makes me think about public relations. It’s not the oldest profession in the world, but sometimes our customers do want to haggle over price.

Over the past few years, in a tough economy, I’ve been tempted to negotiate our fees for the promise of growing assignments, the glow of big name clients or a project that excites the team, but I’ve learned there’s a price for that too.

The biggest impact is on the quality of our work. I know we’re not alone. From multinational agencies to freelancers, many of our colleagues struggle with the challenge of doing their best work, providing outstanding client service and meeting the budget constraints of increasingly cost-conscious clients.

The dilemma has led to interesting conversations about how to provide “great” service on a budget that only pays for “good.” Our structure supports this idea. Without the overhead for bricks and mortar offices, we can use our resources to attract the best communicators for the job. Those senior-level experts, with experience and well-honed skills, work more efficiently and effectively. Yet, there’s always the challenge of having a specific number of dollars (= to hours of time) to get a project done and wishing for a few more hours to perfect the end result.

I often find myself asking where my “investment” in the client’s business ends and their “you get what you pay for” begins.

I really don’t know the answer … but I have found that education helps.

When our clients understand what goes into the process, they understand the costs, why experience often matters and the economies of scale to get to “great.” Our budget estimates include a detailed overview of the steps that will be taken and the number of hours it will take to handle a project. It’s an important process for our team to ensure we don’t miss any details of the project, so we’ve taken it a step further and provided the information to clients.

Education hasn’t solved everything. We have still had to make investments to impress a difficult client or to ensure that our work meets our own team’s high standards (and that’s one reason that actually makes me proud). We have even had to walk away from great projects that would definitely require us to take a loss.

I guess we’re developing our answer in the balance, which is good … I’m not the kind of woman who likes to haggle.

I’m excited to be headed to TEDMED next week. It will be four days of inspiring thinking and fascinating people. In between dozens of amazing speakers, there will be 1,000 attendees to meet.

I’ve talked with friends and colleagues, and it seems no one is completely confident about walking up to a stranger and striking up a conversation. However,  there are some things to remember that may help me – and you  – do just that with a little more confidence.

• The woman standing alone in the corner or the man at the buffet table is as uncomfortable as you are; he or she will be relieved by your approach and introduction.
• If you’re that woman or guy, make yourself approachable … put away your smartphone, smile and make eye contact with people around you.
• TEDMED tries to make it easy to connect. They’ve asked each of us to name three inanimate objects that define us. They’ll put those on our name tags, giving us a thought-provoking reason to ask questions and get to know each other.  Literally and figuratively, it’s a great approach. Asking a question is an easy way to engage someone else – whether it’s what they do, how they enjoyed the last session or whether they’ve tried the chocolate chip cookies on the buffet table.
• Listen to the response. Be sincerely interested. Relate something you’ve heard or read to their answer.
• Take advantage of the opportunity to share, briefly, information about yourself and your business.  In marketing terms, that’s an elevator pitch … and I read recently that the average elevator ride is 118 seconds.

So, I guess I’m ready to approach the situation – and other people – with a smile and a question. Now I just need to pack!

If you’re wondering what’s next, you’re already behind.

Today, you can be a connoisseur of … well, anything … on Pinterest. It turns out you can be a marketing guru too!

Earlier this month, American Express introduced a “Tweet your way to savings” program; cardholders can tweet current AmX promotions using hashtags and receive savings when they make a purchase. I guess it’s not so different from the online stores that offer you credits for referring friends … except that you’re telling the world, not just a few confidantes who like the same brand of shoes or electronics.

Privacy issues aside, I’d love to hear what you think about this variation on the theme of marketing through third-party endorsements.

Are you ready to move from “iReporting” to “iRecommendations”?

How could I boil it down to a lunchtime session?

I thought about all the advice I had been given over the years and all the advice delivered to my clients and colleagues. The single best piece of advice … the thing I think of when the lights or the tape recorder are switched on … is this:

A media interview is not a conversation.

You’re not there to have a friendly chat. You’re there to deliver key messages about your company, product or service through the media. Know your key messages. Repeat them. Reinforce them with stories and statistics. … and then stop talking.

If you forget all the rest of the pointers on what to say, where to look, what to wear, or who’s on first, remember that!

You see, it turned out NOT to be a heart attack.

I was washing a cat at the time. Really. I found a kitten in the Michigan woods during a business retreat. She was darling and, with some help from my friends, I “rescued” her. We went straight to a Chicago veterinary clinic and then home to give her a bath. At some point in that process, I started to feel uncomfortable – a little anxious, lightheaded, that kind of thing. I phoned a friend who offered practical explanations – maybe hearing from the vet how sick this kitten might be left me anxious and upset, maybe not eating since noon left me lightheaded as we were approaching 8 o’clock, etc. She offered to come right over with the best medicine my girlfriends and I know – a bottle of wine and moral support.

So I continued the cat bath … for a moment … until I decided I needed to sit down. I was short of breath and sweaty. All those details about how women experience heart attacks differently than men filed through my head. I felt like someone was stepping on my chest and I was breathing as hard as if I was running. The anxiety seemed justified at this point.

As the black and white checks of my kitchen wallpaper started to swirl, I dialed my friend and told her I thought I was having a heart attack. She told me to hang up; she was calling an ambulance.

Sprawled on my kitchen floor, I was hoping this wasn’t going to be the classic story of the hypochondriac who went rushing to the ER only to learn it was gas … and wishing I had on a better bra because with chest pains they probably take your shirt off … and thinking that if I die and my mother sees how dirty my kitchen floor is, she will be shocked … and wondering if I had signed my will. I also found time to ponder my “I’ll find an hour to go to the gym tomorrow; I’ve had a rough day, I’m going to order in a nice dinner; I’ll sleep when I’m dead; I have so much to do” lifestyle … and to feel scared … and to be sad about the people who loved and cared about me and who I felt I would be letting down if I died.

Of course, I said the classic “If I live, I will lead a healthier lifestyle” prayer.

The good news is … it wasn’t gas (because while I’m sure there would be some significant health message, it would be too humiliating). Actually, it was anaphylactic shock – possibly in reaction to the cat or something on her fur.

More good news … “Kylah” is living happily ever after with my mom and dad and three four-legged companions.

The best news is … I am leading a healthier lifestyle. I exercise regularly. I eat more healthfully – that means no more processed food (admittedly, in part, due to having to figure out what other allergies I have). I’ve lost weight. I work more sensibly.

I wasn’t bold enough to write about my pledge a year ago … you know, in case failure was, in fact, an option. But one year later - with some new bras, a sparkly kitchen floor and a social life – I feel like a success!

… and since I really believe that one of the secrets of success is sharing it (and we’re just wrapping up Heart Health Awareness month), it’s worth repeating some statistics:

• More women die of cardiovascular disease than from the next four causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer.
• Eighty percent of cardiac events in women are preventable with diet, exercise and abstinence from smoking.

If you’re a woman or you love one, you can learn more at http://www.goredforwomen.org/about_heart_disease_and_stroke.aspx.

Because the real “heart of the matter” was anaphylactic shock, a serious, potentially life-threatening allergic response that can appear with little or no warning – even in people with no previous allergies, I want to share those signs and symptoms: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000844.htm

It reminded me that sometimes I am the quiet customer who has left a store, restaurant or even a relationship with a service provider without voicing my displeasure. I may have vowed never to return! As a business owner, I hate to think of my own clients doing that.

The question I asked my readers was “are you listening to what customers are saying to and about you?”

The question I need to ask myself is “why aren’t you speaking up?”

Why is it sometimes so hard to find my voice? I could blame context – one meal in a restaurant is different than the years-long relationship we establish with clients and there are thousands of restaurants to choose from. I could blame complacency – it stunk; it’s over; I want to go home and forget about it. I could even admit that sometimes I’m kind of a wimp about complaining.

But the truth is … sometimes I don’t know what I want and, therefore, I’m not clear and direct about my expectations.

Some of my clients are a great example of how important it is to know what you want. My team and I spend time with them before we begin a project to ensure that we understand what “moves the needle” for them. The best clients give us a balance between good direction and room to be creative. They have a sense of what they want to achieve and the sense to let us help them achieve it. We’re trusted to help clarify – even quantify – objectives; we’re given the latitude to bring our knowledge and experience to the assignment; and we develop a plan based on our capability and insight.

And there you have it … from the very people we counsel on communications comes a critical lesson! Lucky for me, I have this blog to speak up and share it.

Maybe I’m a pessimist, but I’ve been thinking about:

The opportunity to be “connected” all the time, from anywhere … and the difficulty connecting to what really matters.

I’ve written before about meetings and events where everyone is so busy checking their smart phones they don’t talk to the people in the room with them. And in the last couple of weeks I’ve read three separate stories about telephones ringing during live performances. Can’t we disconnect long enough to recharge our minds? Are we so important that we can’t turn off our phones for a couple of hours? I can only answer for myself. Yes, I’ve learned I have to, and yes (you knew I would say that, right?), but I will.

The opportunity to access any information anytime anyplace … and the difficulty, with all the information and ideas vying for our attention, in really thinking.

I keep a “read” file on my iPad for when I have downtime; it grows by hundreds of articles a month and eventually I delete a lot of it. Sometimes I “zen” through the headlines and pick the article the universe must mean for me to stop and read.  But I wonder what I’m missing … besides the quiet reading time that I used to enjoy. And I know the only time I’m really thinking – creating an idea or solving a problem – is when I am not in front of a piece of technology.

The opportunity to spend our time, money and attention on anything … and the difficulty, with so many options, in making a choice.

There’s a lot written about the perils of too many choices. People become paralyzed by the number of choices, the potential for failure and the pressure to achieve unattainable standards. Well, I think that last part freaks a lot of us out, but that’s another blog post.

So how do we connect with what’s important, take the time to think about what really matters, and choose wisely? Well, there’s another Churchill quote for that:

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”