Archive for GBTC
Social Media a Key Part of Company Success Stories
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When three executives from some of the Baltimore region’s most successful companies got together this morning to share “good news” stories about profitability in the face of a recession, they also took the time to share thoughts about marketing.
And no, they didn’t talk trade shows, direct mail campaigns and press releases.
Try Facebook, Twitter and blogging strategies as the tools they’re focusing on, even if it’s to monitor what customers – and competitors – are doing, linking to, following and saying.
The Greater Baltimore Tech Council event, “Who’s Growing in 2009?” was emceed by Art Jacoby (in photo above, left) featuring Tim Lorello, SVP and chief marketing officer for Telecommunication Systems, Inc. (also known as TCS), Michele Perry, chief marketing officer of Sourcefire, and Todd Johnson, president of Salar, Inc. (right). All three companies are in a strong growth mode, and marketing plays an important role.
But a pleasant surprise of the morning – at least for me – came when they talked about their use of social media and its emerging importance to their businesses. This was no social media how-to workshop where you’d expect that kind of talk. This was a business event and these unsolicited comments about social media’s value came straight from execs in the trenches.
Perry called this a time for “lots of learning and tracking…and numbers to watch” when it comes to social media, with time spent listening to what’s being said about Sourcefire and the industry. She also shared a powerful anecdote of the firm’s success with media interviews as a result of prompt response to Tweets by reporters needing sources for stories. “It all happens within half an hour,” emphasized Perry.
Lorello also acknowledged its importance and talked of winning awards, which leads to news coverage, which leads to results on the search engines, still the most important player in online marketing. Meanwhile, Salar, Inc. has a Facebook page (including pix from a recent Paintball outing) and a Twitter account, but the most efficient use of Web 2.0 tools are the industry blogs that have “10 times more credibility” than other sources, according to Johnson.
“It’s a wonderfully cheap way to market directly to our audience,” he said.
Before the Q and A session got underway, Jacoby, a notable business consultant, proclaimed that “social media is the next giant.”
Amen, Art.
P.S. Check out the blog post about the event written by Baltimore Sun tech reporter Gus Sentementes. It’s on his new blog just launched this week, BaltTech.
Tech Execs: It's Time to 'Overly Communicate'
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At a “Recession – Now What?” panel discussion hosted by the Greater Baltimore Tech Council this morning, executives led off with the following advice: now is not the time to clam up, shrink away and keep things to yourself. This is the time to “overly communicate,” they said. Start with your management team, but pay close attention to your employees and customers.
This tells me that if you are responsible for corporate PR – and especially internal communications – this could be one of the busiest and most important times of your career.
The CEO and management team might know what’s up with the company, they said. But that information - and a lot of it could be good – doesn’t necessarily trickle down to employees. “There can be a loudness of no communication,” cautioned Mollie Spilman, president and CEO of BDMetrics. The leader sets the tone and everyone’s watching, she said, so anything from body language to words and actions can impact the organization.
As a leader, you need to instill “structured as well as non-structured” communications internally and ensure your company is seen as “indispensable” by your customers, added Nigel Knowles, president of LCG Technologies.
And while it’s important for employees to be aware of what’s going on – and how they can contribute – it’s also critical to communicate externally, beginning with existing customers. You need to talk to your customers even more frequently to “take their temperature” and be on the lookout for warning signs, said Rick Faint, managing director of Evergreen Capital.
After that, take a look at your external communications which reaches all of these important audiences – and more. What does a company’s silence tell us?
Panelists' Typical Day: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn
Posted by: | CommentsEvery day we hear about another social media tool, whether it’s Filtrbox, Dopplr, Brightkite or Plurk. Makes your head spin, especially if you’re new to social media and trying to decide how to get involved. But in reality, what are thought leaders in social media really using – consistently and on a daily basis – when it comes to social media? In our quest at Sawmill Marketing Public Relations to share the practical, we offer the following:
During the “Social Media 101: Getting Started” conference sponsored by the Greater Baltimore Technology Council (GBTC) in Baltimore last week, members of one panel were asked that question. “During a typical day, what social media tools do you really 
use? What’s your favorite?” The simplicity might surprise you.
Geoff Livingston, keynote presenter and author of the social media primer Now is Gone, said he pays attention to Facebook (“because people communicate with me there”), uses Twitter consistently (says it’s the #4 referral source to his blog, The Buzz Bin) and checks out Spin Thicket, a compendium of “news for a spin-eat-spin world.” The self-described “DC-based flack” called LinkedIn “a waste of time, but good for recruiting,” and said he doesn’t bother with MySpace or MyRagan, the PR/communicators’ social network.
Panelist Yair Flicker, president and co-founder of SmartLogic Solutions, also mentioned Twitter and Facebook (“to scope out new employees”) and talked about LinkedIn as well, noting he uses it for business development and recruiting.
Finally, Sean Oakley of Congruent Media said he uses LinkedIn consistently, sometimes to pose a question and get a feel for what people are thinking in a particular category. He also sets up RSS feeds on certain terms and questions from LinkedIn so he doesn’t miss anything of interest. Oakley also said he’d be lost without social bookmarks manager del.icio.us, where he sends clients to check his bookmarks, and he also enjoys StumbleUpon, but more for personal use.
So there you have it, dozens and dozens of tools out there, but at least in the eyes of the panelists at a social media conference, when it comes to what they use day in and day out, it pretty much boils down to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
