From the category archives:

Communications Strategy

What’s Trending in the Digital Space?

by Daria Steigman on January 9, 2012

ditigal, 2012 trends, communications, IABCWeb 2.0 was so last year. Or last decade.

Either way, we’re moving on.

So what’s going to be trending in the digital space moving forward?

If you’re in the D.C. region, join me and my fellow panelists for an IABC/Washington breakfast meeting on January 12 as we discuss trends in digital communications.

I’ll be joined on the panel by Dan Horowitz of Fleishman-Hillard’s Digital Group; Steve Radick of Booz Allen Hamilton’s Digital Strategy and Social Media Practice; and Rick Dunham, Washington Bureau Chief of the Houston Chronicle and chief author of the Texas on the Potomac blog.

This should be  fun. If you’re in the Washington area, please do join us.

Photo by Rosaura Ochoa (Flickr).

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The Secret to Mobilizing Everyone

by Daria Steigman on October 20, 2011

leadership, communications strategy, Independent ThinkingI’ve always been fascinated by people-powered movements. (Heck, I even took on class on them in graduate school.) That point where people decide they’re done sitting by. They’ve had enough. They break through the fear barrier. Or the paralysis barrier. Or just the fed-up barrier.

Lately there’s been a groundswell of these, from India’s anti-corruption movement (terrific article here on what U.S. businesses can take from that) to the Arab Awakening to the Occupy Wall Street movement springing up across the United States. The last is driving the media crazy, because they can’t figure out how to condense it into a soundbite. As a communications strategist, I’m usually the first person to talk about “messaging.” Having a clear story to tell.

But messages can be messy–and maybe we need more often to allow context to seep in.

Journalist Chris Hedges, who’s covered his share of people-powered movements over the years, said the other day that:

The whole non-hierarchical structure [of Occupy Wall Street] is really brilliant… They can’t destroy [a] movement like that. The fact that you rotate people through positions of leadership. The fact that you’re completely transparent.”

Whatever your politics, there’s some good food for thought in here about both leadership and how we tell our stories.

Photo by Justin Cozart (Flickr).

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Why I Don’t Have A Marketing Blog

by Daria Steigman on July 19, 2011

Marketing, blogging, Independent Thinking, Steigman CommunicationsMy target audience isn’t marketers. It’s businesses.

There’s nothing wrong with marketing blogs. Or PR blogs. Or blogs about kittens.

But too many business bloggers are really just writing for themselves.

What challenges do your clients, customers, and/or prospects face? Are you helping them move forward today?

If you’re blogging about kittens, I hope you have a pet store, or sell pet supplies, or at least have a business model with some passing reference to furry little feline creatures. Otherwise you have a hobby blog and not a business blog.

 Photo by Eran Finkle (Flickr). 

Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!

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The Fine Print

by Daria Steigman on July 14, 2011

Skype, Business, Ethics, Independent Thinking, Steigman CommunicationsWe talk a lot about “reading the fine print.”

The disclosures that scroll across the bottom of TV ads. Multi-page bank privacy statements. Multi-screen end-user agreements. All those documents you sign when you buy a house or refinance a mortgage–or start a new job.

The problem with “the fine print” is it’s not fine. It’s jargon. Legalese. References to more legalese.

Skype employees thought they knew what was in the fine print. The stock options that vest. Only they didn’t:

Normally options give employees the right to buy shares at the price on the grant date, once they have worked at the company for a time… [But] it turns out the investor group, led by private equity firm Silver Lake Partners that bought Skype from EBay in 2009, had secured a so-called repurchase right that gave them authority to buy back the shares at the grant price…

The only mention that the company had the right to buy if [an employee] left in less than five years came in a single sentence toward the end of the document that referred him to yet another document.

Make sure your business has clear terms, not fine print.

Photo by Kevin Spencer (Flickr).

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Are Keynotes Necessary?

by Daria Steigman on January 10, 2011

Jessica Hibbard, who’s organizing a February conference in Frederick, posed the following question on Twitter the other day:

At a conference, how important is the keynote address? Do we have keynotes because they’re essential, or because we’ve always had them?

My initial response:

A little of both. They’re only essential if they rock and/or have a rock star to draw participants. So many end up duds.

I added that I’d rather see more networking or additional content sessions. Beth Schillaci added that she’s “skipped many a keynote.” Others also chimed in, and most were lukewarm on keynotes. Which really begs the question of why so many conferences include them.

A case in point: At GrowSmartBiz in 2009, the keynoters were Chris Anderson and Mark Warner. They (okay, Anderson) attracted me to the conference. Both were terrific. In 2010, the GrowSmartBiz keynoter was SBA Deputy Administrator Marie Johns–in a city where government officials are a nickel a dozen. Johns’ remarks were relevant–but she was clearly giving her usual speech. And she wasn’t drawing a crowd.

Case in point 2: I’ll be blogging at What’s Next DC in a couple of weeks. The conference is set up as a series of presentations. Sure the first one is Hubspot founder Brian Halligan. But he’s “Act 1: Foundation,” and not a keynoter. There’s an Act 2 (and 3, and 4…). All the speakers are given equal weight, and the program is the draw.

What’s your take? Are keynotes necessary?

Photo by Beau Giles (Flickr).

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