Gordon Ross

Following close on the heels of Trafcom News Podcast 118, which was an interview with Jarrod Gingras about successful enterprise collaboration, comes this chat with Gordon Ross. When I met Gordon at the IntraTeam Event in Copenhagen, I was intrigued by his workshop on archetypes for intranets. Since Gordon’s topic meshes so nicely with Jarrod’s, I’m publishing them rather close together. [Note: The first speaker I interviewed from the IntraTeam Event was Paolo Tosolini, on enterprise social video.]

The interview with Gordon explains the use of archetypes in internal communications, and the benefits of taking the time to do this work up front. Gordon is a vice president and a partner at Open Road, a company in British Columbia that designs and develops websites and custom Web applications. He has worked on some interesting projects recently, including a customer portal for BC Hydro, Web strategy for the City of Vancouver, the redesign of Mountain Equipment Coop’s e-commerce website, and many others. Gordon provides strategic input for Open Road’s well-respected social intranet product, Thought Farmer.

Here are the show notes:

00:01 Introduction and welcome; about Gordon Ross, Open Road and Thought Farmer

01:30 Interview with Gordon Ross includes:

• Definition of archetypes as “a typical example of a person or a thing”
• An archetype is not a stereotype, but rather describes characters we recognize in the corporate world.
• An archetype differs from audience segmentation.
• The “average” user is not of interest; Gordon shares an excellent example of two males born in 1948 in Great Britain, married, successful …
• Why archetypes? Consensus building; common focus gives us insights into the audience.
• Personas are more functional, while archetypes are more related to the culture of an organization.
• A walk through the process of developing archetypes.
• Examples of negative consequences of not doing archetype work up front; the danger of self-referential design.

17:25 Where to send comments; email donna at trafcom dot com or comment here on the show blog.

Helpful links from Gordon Ross:

• Archetype Extraction method, Cognitive Edge
• Perfecting your Personas, Kim Goodwin – Cooper Design
• An introduction to personas – Step Two Designs
• Service Design for Intranets – PebbleRoad
• Making the Most of Story Work, Anecdote
• User Matricies – Steph Troeth

Theme music for Trafcom News Podcast is “Beneath Your Surface” by the Elisabeth Lohninger Quartet from Music Alley.

Jarrod Gingras

Choosing software for enterprise collaboration is no easy feat, with all the options available today. In this edition of the Trafcom News Podcast, Jarrod Gingras of Real Story Group discusses some of the steps you need to take to navigate this process successfully.

Jarrod is an analyst at Real Story Group, covering technology across the enterprise information landscape, including Web content management and enterprise content management. He has more than 10 years of experience in the content technology industry, after starting his career as a Web developer and information architect. I met him at the IntraTeam Event in Copenhagen this spring.

Here are the show notes:

00:01 Introduction and welcome

01:33 Interview with Jarrod Gingras begins. Steps suggested by Jarrod:

• Start with the problem you want to solve, not a list of technical requirements.
• Test vendors from both a technical and a partner perspective. Don’t fall in love with a slick demo!
• Negotiate a deal throughout the section process.
• Do your homework.

16:04 Discussion of trends in enterprise collaboration; not needing to “go” somewhere else to be social; no walled gardens.

21:10  Comments from Kurt Kragh Sorenson, Pawel Banaszak and Ivalo Andreassen

23:44 Where to send comments; email donna at trafcom dot com or comment here on the show blog.

Theme music for Trafcom News Podcast is “Beneath Your Surface” by the Elisabeth Lohninger Quartet from Music Alley.

In this episode of the Trafcom News Podcast you’ll hear an interview with Paolo Tosolini, Director of Digital and Emerging Media at Run Studios, a video production agency in Seattle, Washington. Paolo consults with organizations looking to embrace social media, online video and mobility as part of their internal communications and knowledge-sharing strategy. In his former job as New Media Business Manager at Microsoft, Paolo launched and managed the company internal YouTube platform, “Academy Mobile,” which now hosts more than 35,000 employee-generated videos.

Here are the show notes:
00:01 Welcome and intro; about Paolo Tosolini of Run Studios
01:26 Paolo’s definition of enterprise social video
02:20 Creating video today quickly and easily with smartphones, especially the iPhone
04:40 Scenario 1: Digital reporting; Filmic Pro app
06:40 Value of editing your video
08:20 Scenario 2: Collaboration; people sharing ideas in rich media format: Google+ Hangouts
10:02 Scenario 3: Webinars to a mobile audience
10:50 Scenario 4: Augmented reality; adding a layer of information on top of the real view
12:12 Scenario 5: Multimedia eBooks; Book Creator app
13:10 The power to create content without a computer
16:00 Managing video content; need a strategy and a structure
16:50 Three pillars: the platform, business processes, spreading the word to employees
18:10 Are Android users out in the cold? No. The Apple ecosystem is more mature, but Android will close the gap.
18:45 Interview ends
Paolo’s presentations at the IntraTeam Event Copenhagen: Mobile video prezi
Enterprise social video prezi
20:01 Next Trafcom News Podcast features an interview with Jarrod Gingras of Real Story Group
20:20 Technical note about how this episode was produced
21:48 Promo code for Donna’s Hands-on Social Media Workshop in Oakville April 13
22:19 Where to send comments; email donna at trafcom dot com or comment here on the show blog.

Theme music for Trafcom News Podcast is “Beneath Your Surface” by the Elisabeth Lohninger Quartet from Music Alley.

Andrea is founder and president of CiviliNation, a nonprofit that takes a stand against online hostility and cyberbullying. She earned her law degree at the University of Richmond, and underwent extensive mediation training. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in Public Relations/Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University. After law school, Andrea worked within the Legal division of Ernst & Young, where she helped design alternative dispute resolution systems for Fortune 500 companies. Before founding CiviliNation, she ran her own boutique communications consultancy. Read more about Andrea here.

Here are the show notes:

00:01 Welcome and introduction

01:50 Interview begins with a discussion of why Andrea wrote this book and how she approached the topic.

02:55 Andrea Weckerle’s definition of civility

04:22 Situations where civility is absent; bullying for sport. Andrea discusses content-based conflict; personality-based conflict; power-based conflict and identity-based conflict.

07:30 Recognizing and managing anger; best practices for civility and for protecting ourselves against those who aren’t civil online; problem has to be approached from various angles, including digital literacy; value of knowing your own conflict style.

11:00 Knowing what your goal is; don’t feed the trolls; what to do when someone says something untrue about you online

12:35 How you take corrective action matters; if, when, how

15:45 The value of saying “I’m sorry.”

18:25 The importance of digital literacy; we should be teaching this to our children

21:20 Checking our biases and beliefs

22:15 Donna believes those who most need this book will not read it; Andrea wants to help ensure that we are equipped to deal with them.

23:45 Holding people accountable online; helping friends when they are attacked

24:55 Andrea encourages comments by those who’ve read the book.

25:34 Podcast promo by Max Christian Hansen for Word Shots

27:42 Donna recently returned from IntraTeam Event Copenhagen; will be producing podcasts with some speakers from this conference.

28:05 Promo code for Donna’s Hands-on Social Media Workshop in Oakville April 13

28:50 Where to send comments; email donna at trafcom dot com or comment here on the show blog.

Theme music for Trafcom News Podcast is “Beneath Your Surface” by the Elisabeth Lohninger Quartet from Music Alley.

A discussion with Roshan Grossman about “experience communications”

A few weeks ago a blog post caught my eye, and  sparked this conversation with Roshan Grossman about “experience communications.” The idea is this: Storytelling is a great way to grab attention and influence people, but a key ingredient is missing if we focus on the story itself. What about the experience behind it?

In this conversation, Roshan shares some examples of experience communications in action.

Formerly a senior communications consultant and then manager of internal communications for Sun Life Financial Canada, Roshan now owns Hot Quill Communications. Look for her blog at QuillandCurio.com.

Here are the show notes:

00:01 Welcome and introduction; about Roshan Grossman

02:45 What is experience communications?

03:20 An example of experience communications within an organization: do and don’t

11:50 Would experience communications work in any kind of organization? Yes; a big budget is not required.

13:30 Examples of experience communications from retail and the automotive industry

16:45 Understanding your goal is essential

19:40 Interview ends

19:45 Discount promo code for Donna’s upcoming Hands-On Social Media workshop

20:00 Donna speaking at IntraTeam conference in Copenhagen about podcasting and storytelling

21:12 Comment from Peter West about microphone used to record Trafcom News Podcast; now using the Blue Yeti

20:45   Send comments to Donna at Trafcom dot com or post your comment below.

Theme music for Trafcom News Podcast is “Beneath Your Surface” by the Elisabeth Lohninger Quartet from Music Alley

If you work or volunteer for a nonprofit organization, you’ll want to hear this conversation with Joe Carleo, APR, the founder and executive producer of Advanced Language and Media Services, based in North Carolina. In this 26-minute podcast, we talk about how nonprofits can get started in podcasting.

Here are the shownotes:

00:01 Welcome and introduction of Joe Carleo, APR

01:15 Interview begins with discussion of benefits of podcasting for nonprofits

02:50 Example of podcast Joe produced for PRSA (Public Relations Society of America); measures of podcast success

05:01 Benefits of limited series of podcasts for nonprofit organizations

05:35 Value of upfront research and planning; tips from Joe on measurement. What do you want your audience to say, do or think differently?

07:28 Importance of good production values in your podcast; many low-cost tools make podcasting accessible for nonprofits

12:30 Engaging with podcast listeners; asking for feedback

15:20 Using Google Analytics to learn about listeners and demonstrate value of your podcast to board of directors or others

16:50 Tweaking your podcast based on listener feedback

18:07 What’s the ideal length of a podcast? Example of For Immediate Release, a one-hour podcast; most nonprofits will start with shorter shows

21:40 Detailed audience analysis is essential

22:00 How a podcast can help with fundraising

23:00 Appreciating the power of Web 2.0; tools constantly evolving

25:14 Interview ends

25:25 Send comments to Donna at Trafcom dot com or post your comment on the Trafcom News Podcast show blog

Find Joe Carleo, APR online on Twitter at @JoeCarleoAPR or on LinkedIn

Theme music for Trafcom News Podcast is “Beneath Your Surface” by the Elisabeth Lohninger Quartet from Music Alley

In this episode of the Trafcom News Podcast, I share the five communication trends I think we’ll be seeing in 2013. Using the player above this post, you can listen right now or download the MP3 file to listen later. Or subscribe to the Trafcom News Podcast in iTunes using the link at the top of the page.

Here are the show notes:

00:01 Intro and welcome

01:12 Trend #1: Responsive web sites; no more pinching and squeezing the screen!

02:28 Trend #2: More storytelling in our communications; Donna’s interview with Donna Messer on storytelling; blog post about “boring” businesses succeeding in storytelling.

04:18 Trend #3: The ubiquity of authorship; is everyone writing a book? Guy Kawasaki’s new book, Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur.

04:50 Trend #4: Curation – finding, selecting, organizing and sharing the best of relevant content; Donna’s session at the IABC world conference in Chicago in June 2012; short interview with Rosanne Belczak on how she curates content.

07:05 Trend #5: The rising tide of content crap. Brilliant Slideshare on how to avoid getting soaked, by Doug Kessler at Velocity Partners; raise your game, build great content for successful content marketing in 2013.

08:42 Recap of five main trends

09:05 Would you like to be part of the Trafcom News Podcast? Contact Donna via her website at Trafalgar Communications.

09:40 Hands-on social media workshop in Toronto, February 16, 2013; information and registration here.

09:55 Have a comment? Add your comment on the podcast blog or email Donna via her website at Trafalgar Communications.

Theme music  for Trafcom News Podcast is “Beneath Your Surface” by the Elisabeth Lohninger Quartet from Music Alley.

You can listen to the podcast now with the player above or download it to listen later. Or subscribe to this podcast in iTunes using the link at the top of this page.

Here are the show notes:

00:01 Welcome and intro; Trafcom News is a podcast about communications tactics – tactics for people who care about communicating in person, in print and online. This episode is about what NOT to do when using social media.  Thanks to Sue Horner for this idea, which started when I told her I was working on a client project that included doing a survey of their competitors’ efforts in the social media world.

01:52 It’s a crime for a business to start using social media without a strategy in place.

02:45 Bad practice: Using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc. and NOT linking to any of your social media properties from your website.  Why would you want to keep your social media accounts a secret?

03:15 How about companies that don’t fill in their Twitter bio? Twitter gives you 160 characters for a bio, that’s 20 more than you get for a Tweet. Use them! Be sure to include a link to your main website.

03:30 And then we have the Twitter account that’s updated once a month, with a link to a news release. Boring boring boring. Why bother using Twitter if you are not communicating, sharing, entertaining, doing SOMETHING?

03:48 Yet another faux pas: The Twitter account or the Facebook page where customers are lodging complaints and sometimes sharing compliments too. What does the owner of the account do? Ignore the criticisms from customers. Or delete them. They ignore the kudos as well. If you’re putting yourself out there, you have to step up to the plate and engage. Certainly you can take certain conversations offline – directing customers to a toll-free number or support email address but don’t be absent.

04:23 What about businesses that use Hootsuite or TweetDeck to routinely cross post to Facebook and Twitter, using Twitter hashtags and other lingo? This can be confusing to Facebook followers. They will think you’re not communicating clearly. They may also think you’re lazy.

05:01 Remember that Facebook penalizes business pages that use third-party apps to post updates, so people are less likely to see your so-called news in their feeds anyway.

05:30 Here’s another crime: Using a Facebook personal profile page instead of a business page – in other words, Acme Engineering masquerading as a human being with the first name of Acme and the last name of Engineering.

06:15 Social media crimes and misdemeanors mentioned by some of my Twitter and Facebook friends:

• Amanda Laird –  auto DMs or auto direct messages on Twitter.
• Barb Sawyers – Facebook business pages that send you too many messages. Know your audience, and don’t over load them with content.
• Olivia Gadd – people who “collect” people they don’t know on LinkedIn.
• Peter West – people not using a lapel mic when recording video; messy backgrounds in videos.

08:01 Recap of social media crimes and misdemeanors, this time with a  more positive approach (as social media best practices):

• Have a clear strategy before using social media as a business.
• Link to your social media sites from your website.
• Fill in your Twitter bio completely; be sure to include a link to your website.
• Publish interesting content, not just links to dull press releases. Be sure all of your content is not self-promotional. Engage.
• Respect the idiosyncrasies of each social media platform; don’t blindly post Twitter updates to your Facebook page.
• Please don’t use automatic direct messages (DMs) on Twitter.
• Use LinkedIn wisely as a business-networking tool, not to collect people like trophies.
• Set up a proper business page on Facebook; do not use a personal profile page for your business page.

09:25 Please check out my video on content curation, based on a presentation I did at the IABC world conference in Chicago in June.

09:40 Have a comment? Add your comment below or email donna AT Trafcom DOT com.

Theme music  for Trafcom News Podcast is “Beneath Your Surface” by the Elisabeth Lohninger Quartet from Music Alley

In this interview, Eric Bergman describes his cure for death by PowerPoint (or other slideware used badly). Author of the recently published book Five Steps to Conquer ‘Death by PowerPoint,” Eric gives us tools that offer a fresh new way of looking at presentations. Specifically, he shares these five steps:

1. Put your audience first
2. Structure the conversation
3. Minimize visual aids
4. Convey your message and personality
5. Answer questions throughout

You can listen to the podcast now with the player above or download it to listen later. Or subscribe to this podcast in iTunes using the link at the top of this page.

Have a comment? Add your thoughts below or email donna AT Trafcom DOT com.

Theme music  for Trafcom News Podcast is “Beneath Your Surface” by the Elisabeth Lohninger Quartet from Music Alley.

Some of this material was first presented at a seminar at HalTech. You’ll find the slides at the end of these show notes.

00:01 Intro and welcome

00:45 Some of this material was first presented at HalTech in Oakville

01:10 Many organizations are interested in content marketing because they want to focus more on inbound marketing and less on traditional push marketing. Some of us were doing content marketing before it was called content marketing!

02:14 A main benefit of content marketing: search engine optimization (SEO).

03:12 There’s always a place for sales literature, but that’s not content marketing.

03:38 Content marketing should attract people to your business; people get to know you in a genuine way, with mutual benefit.

04:50 Content marketing is not like a broadcast medium; you’re not talking AT your audience.

04:58 If the main content on your home page is your mission statement, you have a problem. No one cares about your mission statement but you. It’s an internally focused statement more relevant to your employees. What customers want to know: How you can help them.

05:40 Trend today: A lot of websites publish useful information up front, not just info about the company.

06:00 Example of CMO.com, which features useful curated content. If you visit the site, you’ll notice it’s sponsored by Adobe, but it’s a vendor-neutral site with minimal presence by Adobe.

06:50 Various ways to share content: text, audio, video, photos, blog, podcast, e-newsletter, webinar, infographic, white paper, e-book, survey, case study, how-to guide.

08:00 To find out what your target market wants: ask them, and look at your analytics to figure out what keywords people are searching for.

08:45 Be aware of the buying cycle in your industry; at which point is content marketing most useful?

09:38 Other benefits besides SEO: word-of-mouth buzz, getting known as a thought leader, to get leads and business; use social media to amplify content.

10:15 After you create a blog post or other content, tweet about it and mention it elsewhere via social media; be careful not to talk only about your own content.

10:42 Example: Liquor Control Board of Ontario Food and Drink magazine; this is content marketing (print).

11:21 Example: Great video by F-Secure to tell the story about the origins of the Brain virus; watch the video and see the F-Secure guy travel to Pakistan to meet the men behind the virus. See Home Depot’s various how-to videos; these are content marketing.

12:50 You can do content marketing even if your product isn’t sexy. Indium Corporation is blogging and using content marketing very successfully. They manufacture solder paste!

14:00 Be interesting, relevant, consistent to get results.

14:09 Best practices: Know your audience, look at your analytics, create content on a regular basis (editorial calendar can help), think like a publisher, use social media to amplify content, add curation as a tactic so you publish others’ content and not just your own.

15:18 Steal content, but only from YOURSELF. In other words, reuse your own content, repurpose and repackage into a different format. Turn a blog post into a presentation. Turn survey results into tweets, etc. Package your popular blog posts into a newsletter.

16:30 Do not overtly sell your services; be useful and relevant; don’t be dull; curate as well as create. Keep your end goal in mind. Just do it.

17:33 Where to send comments; email donna AT Trafcom DOT com or comment below.

Theme music is “Beneath Your Surface” by the Elisabeth Lohninger Quartet from Music Alley.