Versant Blog Center

Don’t Interrupt the Conversation, Join it

Brandon Meves

As I was reading through my friends’ Twitter updates yesterday morning, I ran across a tweet that inspired me – @thatwoman_soho: “Marketing is an introduction to the conversation. Social media tools and channels allow the conversation to flow freely.”

The quote hits upon one of the main ideas of social media – it’s social. It’s about conversation and sharing. If you find something in the social media space of interest or of value to you, give something in return, whether it be a comment, your ideas/perceptions or even a simple retweet. This is what keeps social media going, and it’s a beautiful thing.

Her quote also subtly points out that marketing is different than social media. Are they related? Certainly. Effectively using social media is indeed a great way to market yourself or your organization as well as extend the reach of your brand.

Sometimes though, people tend to view social media as the silver bullet for their marketing solutions. After all, you can’t avoid the news and publicity it’s receiving everywhere you look. Many of your friends or coworkers are likely using at least one or two social media tools, as are small to large businesses and even the president of the United States. Considering the growth of social media we have had in only the last few years, it’s no wonder why some have placed social media on the pedestal they have. But is it really the “wonder drug” for marketing in the online world?

Potentially, but only if used for the right reasons. Keep in mind that social media is driven by the communities of people who use it, and that the people logging into these spaces have an objective in mind with little patience for interruptions. Let the conversations flow and add your own useful interactions to them, but just remember that marketing in this space requires you to continually add value to the conversation.

If things are done right, your following will grow and garner trust in you, making your marketing more successful. Just don’t interrupt the conversation, join it.�

You Don’t Know Me

Korre Johnson

I have never talked to your recruiters.

I have never sent you my resume.

I don’t hang out on your Facebook fan page.

I don’t know anyone who works at your company.

In fact, I have never even heard of your company.

Yet, I’m a perfect fit for your hiring needs.

And I would excel in your culture.

So, how will you find me?

Can you believe it? I actually think YOU have to find me.

I guess you don’t know me and never will.

An Emerging Double Standard in Business Communications

Ben Hannemann

You find yourself on the phone with a prospect, or maybe it’s a face-to-face meeting with a client, or networking at an event or trade show. In each of these situations the expectations across any organization are likely to be pretty consistent and clear; at that moment you are the organization, so represent it in the best possible manner. Every day millions of professionals, across a broad array of industries and skill sets, are trusted to do just that.

Seems pretty straight forward, but why is it that this level of trust is not always so easily transferred to the social media space? The trust and related freedom to share insights, discuss an idea, or talk about a service provided by your organization that is common place in the “real world” can suddenly come under a microscope of perceived marketing perfection. Fear of a documented misstep and the desire to put out only the best, most aligned messages, drives rules, processes and approvals that take the “social” out of social media and make it just another marketing channel.

Certainly, as representatives of our organizations, we must always put our best foot forward. But a key step in leveraging the benefits of social media is recognizing that in many ways the perceived control risks are not much different than the risks all business take when engaging in a discussion with a prospect or client. Developing social media policy is a sound business decision, but ensure that it empowers your associates to engage in the conversation, and start to put the power of social media to work for your organization.

What do you think? Should organizations take the risk of trusting their employees more in social media?

Great Relationships Create Award-winning Work

Will Ruch

Winning industry awards are a compliment to the strategic and creative teams that concept and produce the work. At Versant, we take a broader and more inclusive view of award-winning work. We believe it has a lot to do with the leap of faith that a client takes with us when they move forward with our ideas and are willing to stretch creatively. We can only win awards when clients trust us enough to create work on their behalf. And because these awards span a number of categories and industries, we believe this recognition confirms our company-wide commitment and ability to succeed in creating breakthrough work that gets results.

Some of our recent awards include…

Health Care

A Gold Aster Award (for excellence in medical marketing) was awarded to Versant and our client, Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging, for the PDI Teleradiology Web site we produced for them (www.pdi-teleradiology.com).

Grocery

Another recent award for innovative interactive work came from the Sixth Annual S.I.A.A. (Service Industry Advertising Awards) competition for our work with grocery chain, Fairway Market, in the greater New York City area. The Web site, www.discoverfairway.com, has become a key promotional tool for Fairway Market and a model for new store openings, with fun and engaging webisodes featuring Fairway personalities, weekly specials and recipes, e-mail sign-up and event announcements.

Legal

In the legal category, Versant and Davis & Kuelthau, a Wisconsin law firm, have won a prestigious Legal Marketing Association award for excellence in brand identity. You can see the new DK brand at www.dkattorneys.com.

Transportation

Versant and Southeast Wisconsin Transit Partners have received the Transportation Marketing & Communications Association (TMCA) 2009 Compass Award. This awards program recognizes organizations in North American transportation that have created innovative, results-oriented marketing and communications programs. Versant and SEWT were recognized for the “My Ride” television campaign.

Great work is a result of relationships with great clients!

Push for Creative L&D Communications

Will Ruch

I recently participated in Human Capital Institute’s Learning Innovation Network roundtable discussion and asked fellow members to consider the following:

Are you pushing for creative L&D communications?

Is it unexpected?
Is it interactive?
Will it stick to the business?

Why? Because creativity is too often overlooked as organizations pursue higher L&D awareness, strive for more engaged L&D users, and demand increased value from L&D investments. Admittedly, pursuing creative communications is not the easy, standard approach (think long, boring e-mails). It requires a keen understanding of your audience. It requires collaboration and buy-in from leadership. But most of all, it requires thinking outside of the box.

During the roundtable discussion, I had the opportunity to present case studies of our recent work with two clients who are both doing very innovative things in L&D: Cengage Learning and Kohl’s Department Stores. For Cengage Learning, our case study focused on developing and launching an L&D brand identity for Cengage Learning’s global workforce. For Kohl’s Department Stores, our case study focused on building cross-generational Kohl’s associate engagement through creative L&D communications.

Throughout the roundtable discussions, the group saw the importance of creative communications clearly revealed as members shared their L&D case studies and discussed current themes impacting their L&D functions, including:

Blended learning
Mobile learning
Social learning
Open source learning

Without question, the world is shrinking and becoming increasingly flat. Case in point, the Did You Know? video that our Learning Innovation Network facilitator, Jeanne Meister, opened the roundtable discussion with. So I challenge any leader in L&D to consider the themes above in relation to their L&D function and ask themselves the same question I asked the group. Are you pushing for creative L&D communications?

Don’t Take My Word for It

Will Ruch

Social media and technology are accelerating the pace of conversation, and everyone is talking about everyone else more than ever before. This matters to you as a business person because there are likely conversations going on right now that are influencing your company’s brand and the relationship someone might want to build with it. You can’t control it, but you can influence it. By remaining authentic and transparent in everything you do, you can be genuine in your approach and invite your brand ambassadors to help share your story as well.

At Versant, we rebuilt our Web site to be a communications hub of sorts, to share what we do and what we are about, and also provide ongoing learning that we hope will help our clients and others.

Our new site is designed to be a reflection of who we are and how we’ve built this company. It showcases our work, yes. But it also lets you know what it’s like to work with us and how we create communications that connect. And because we believe strongly in what we have to offer, and the importance of transparency, we’ve even included how we do what we do. That might be gutsy for some firms to do, but at Versant, that’s how we do business.

But don’t take my word for it. After all, I can talk nonstop about our work and our great team. Our new site also lets our customers tell our story. On the site are both written and video testimonials from many of our clients and I encourage you to look at these. Let me know what you think. After all, it’s your opinion that counts, not mine.

Two Clients Win Top Awards

Brandon Meves

We’re proud to announce that we have recently received awards on behalf of two of our clients.

Thomson Reuters received First Place from the Creative Excellence Awards (CEA) for their Interview Tips Guide. Versant worked with Thomson Reuters to create this recruitment marketing piece which received the award in the category of College Giveaways.

Southeast Wisconsin Transit Systems has also been recognized by the Transportation Marketing & Communication Association (TMCA) with a Compass Award for their recent Environmental Campaign. The TMCA Compass Award is the highest level of professional acknowledgement within marketing and communication in today’s transportation marketplace. This is the second year in a row Versant won an award from this group on behalf of Southeast Wisconsin Transit Systems.

We’re thankful to have worked with these clients to be able to create great work. Congratulations to our clients and our Versant team who made these projects possible.

All a Twitter!

Will Ruch

Recently, we took our 15-year-old daughter and four of her friends to see Britney Spears in concert. It was a memorable evening indeed. First, we saw two generations of concert goers. Half of the 19,000 appeared to be women in their late twenties and the other half were the teen set. Generationally speaking, it was fun to watch as the older Millennials appeared to relive their earlier years when Britney first hit the scene.

Second, they all seemed to be wearing what I call Britney Spirit Wear. They really all tried to look like Britney. So at times it was a bit hard to tell them apart. (Terrific move for our client Kohl’s to be sponsoring Britney as part of their Candie’s line — see photo.)

Aside from these observations, here is how our team at Versant has seen Britney impacting new media. For starters, she is the most popular celebrity on Twitter with 869,392 followers, trailing only behind CNN Breaking News as the most popular account in the world. Britney’s presence online includes her own Web site, blog, YouTube channel and other social networks such as Facebook and MySpace.

In the recent past, however, it may have seemed that her popularity was for all the wrong reasons. Years of credibility and fame became a situation in which it seemed no amount of personal brand management could undo. But based on the sold-out concert and the Britney look-a-likes entering the show, that is not the case.

As the world quickly changes, personal branding will be essential for individuals that wish to market themselves. Just ask the Millennials whose vast presence in social media has impacted their personal brands. And as we have learned from the past with some of our celebrity heroes, it will be crucial to maintain a positive and consistent personal brand to succeed.

Walls CAN Talk: Are You Listening?

Laurie Vogt

You’ve probably heard the philosophical riddle, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” While you ponder the answer, I’ll pose another question to you. If your company is being discussed and you’re not around to hear it, does it matter?

The answer to my question is simple. Absolutely! In a world where Web 2.0 media and social networking are not merely extracurricular activities, but ways of life, it has become increasingly more convenient to talk to one another. People are talking, and they are talking about you. Amidst all of the chatter, how can you ensure your organization is being reflected positively?

Again, the answer is simple. We need to listen. For me, the challenge of working in a marketing communications firm requires more than just the ability to think and speak creatively. It requires a dedication to listening. It requires a commitment to hearing the good, the bad and sometimes, the ugly.

Sure, we ask for feedback and we have a following on Twitter, but one of the most remarkable things I think we do at Versant is hold “Voice of Customer” sessions. We invite our clients into our office to discuss in front of our entire organization how they felt about working with us. Last week, Michelle Friedman of Davis & Kuelthau openly discussed her experience working with Versant on a rebranding effort that included a new logo, color palette, collateral and Web site. She provided valuable insight on her expectations and was honest in her analysis of how well the project was executed.

Are we perfect? No. Does every project win an award? Not quite. But, do we fulfill our ongoing commitment to learning through listening? Absolutely. These listening sessions are not only enlightening, but critical to helping us live our brand and grow our business.

Whether you create online surveys, interact on Twitter, hold postproject download sessions, or invite your clients in to share their experiences, make sure you are really listening. What you hear will empower you to act. And remember this … what you hear depends on where you are listening. What have you heard lately?

Marketing Through Twitter? Authenticity Please!

Brandon Meves

Making use of Twitter to extend the reach of your brand is worth consideration, as there are many fantastic opportunities ready and waiting for businesses and people to grab hold of. To ensure your Twitter strategy is successful, I recommend the following:

Step 1 of 1. Be Authentic.

That’s it! Assuming you have created your Twitter account and have begun building your following, the only thing left for you to do is be authentic to your audience. Your audience, the group of people following you on Twitter, likely joined you because they were interested in what you had to say. Whether it’s something you stand for, a project or product you are working on, or simply passing along something you found interesting from the Web, you have created or expanded the brand that represents you into a new channel… and people took notice!

Your responsibility to these followers is simple – keep them engaged and listening. Selling and self-promotion are not the foundations of conversation, and neither are they the foundations for your authentic voice online. Take for example two huge, but very different Twitter users.

Everyone knows about Starbucks, but did you know that they effectively interact with their followers via Twitter? In fact, they talk to others on Twitter more than they talk about themselves. On the other hand, Zappo’s CEO Tony Hsieh has a Twitter account on behalf of the company and on top of interacting with his followers, he is also posting research he has found on “happiness” and sharing what his new favorite Chapstick flavor is. As you can imagine, this isn’t strictly business. The reason for this is simple – to extend the reach of your brand or personality as the face of your organization.
Whatever you do online, with Twitter or other social media services, just remember one thing – it’s about authentic relationships and communications. Sure you can try selling to people, but likely they’re going out of their way to find something a little more interesting.

- Brandon Meves

Follow Versant on Twitter at http://twitter.com/versanttweets.