The REAL Truth About Social Media and Eric Harr

The REAL TRUTH about "The Real Truth About Social Media" author Eric Harr's latest book, is it's a Dynamic Read for anyone new to Social Media!

I introduced you all to Eric Harr, Founder and President of Resonate Social Media (a boutique agency in California) last month when he reached out to me and asked if I'd review his book. I was so impressed with his approach that I wrote about it here: True Appreciation and Genuine Intent. (and am now a bona fide fan!)

I received the book as promised and I spent this weekend inhaling it! "The Real Truth About Social Media" lays out all the basics for beginners who have accepted that Social Media is NOT a passing trend but a cultural revolution and its time to jump on the bus or risk being run over by it!

Eric explains in plain english how to use the tools while attacking the

"Monumental Myths" and breaking it down into "Timeless Truths" for both personal and business.
Loved this:

Monumental Myth: Social Media is Media. 

Timeless Truth: Social Media is Relationships. 

Can I hear an A-to-the-MEN!

Eric explains why you want to be in the space and how to best use it for your purposes.  I'm guessing he chose 'truth' in his title because I believe that Truth is one of his most treasured values. You've likely been navigating through the mass rhetoric out there from an onslaught of newly self-appointed Social Media Gurus.  How do you discern whose advice to heed?

Eric on the "Bay Sunday" local CBS news program discussing Social Media (notice his comments to me :) )

Like anything else in life, I usually follow the advice of people I respect and admire.
Eric's genuine approach to business leading with integrity and shining a light on his own principles and values is WHY you should read this book. Eric lives his life at a level of excellence across the board with an ever focused eye on doing Social Good…all part of the movement that I regularly refer to as #feeltheshift and Eric encourages everyone entering the social space to operate from a place of 'giving'.

The "Thank You Economy"was coined by Gary Vaynerchuk (one of my favorite Social Media Revolutionaries, author, speaker and business consultant) and was referenced in this book.  According to Gary, social media requires "humanity, humility, respect and reverence"…Maybe that's why I love it so much! We're cutting through the bullshit! No longer are the ones who stomp their feet the loudest automatically the ones that are heard.

"We ARE the media" message was hit home.  The revolution has levelled the field for most of us…You have a story to tell? Now you can on FaceBook, YouTube, Twitter, Tumblr...YOU can build your audience!  Just remember the key theme ~ INSPIRE and share awesome! In reference to one of Eric's favorite YouTube videos he said this:

"Ten years ago the story would have stopped at the local newspaper - but YouTube helped him to inspire the world. YouTube was merely the tool; the story was the thing."

I love how Eric advises to connect with your "Why".  I'm a huge Simon Sinek fan who wrote "Start with Why" and suggests that 'people don't buy what you do…they buy WHY you do it" its your WHY that inspires so make sure to get clear about it!

Loaded with great case studies like how one blogger vented about his 'lemon of a DELL computer' and lack of customer care when he complained….That post resonated with the masses! We've all been betrayed and left fuming with inadequate service. But DELL wasn't listening and it's a good lesson to all companies. I often say: You don't HAVE to be in the space, but the customer is having a conversation about you anyway. Wouldn't you rather be part of that conversation and have some influence over your own reputation?

Eric pointed out that not every blog goes viral: 3 things must be present: Reach (large audience which takes time to build); it has to be compelling and it has to resonate. It has to strike a chord with us.

At the end of the day Eric says "you better be throwing a rocking party or people aren't going to stay long" ~Amen Brother! As Eric pointed out...the best parties are the ones where the host circulates, makes sure everyone feels welcome and their glasses are always filled.  Be a better listener and take a genuine interest.

Eric also touched on the C-suite reluctancy to jump in the space because of the silly and trite names like 'twitter' 'Plurk' 'Ning' and 'Bebo' …try and get an exec to say the word 'tweet' - they literally squirm!  They're going to have to get over it....

"I sit, mouth agape, in a semi-drooling state of bewildered awe, when companies say to me, ''We don't have the time or resources to dedicate to social media.' Befuddled, I wonder, To what are you allocating your time and resources? There are hundreds of millions of people - your past, current and future customers - who are defining your brand, making product recommendations and influencing one another's purchase decisions more broadly and more rapidly than ever before. One satisfied customer can bring a huge number of new customers to you in a single post. One scathing review on Yelp can prevent hundreds, or thousands, from ever doing business with you. You don't have the time or resources to dedicate to this? Um, hello?"

He touched on a point that I get passionate about! Retaining your current customers which is so much more cost effective than sourcing new ones! Rewarding your loyal customers and bringing them into the fold is an awesome strategy often overlooked. Engage with your brand advocates - acknowledge and reward them!

Metrics matter! Hell ya! But the RIGHT metrics! Love how Eric mentioned not to get hung up on "the bright shiny object" of number of followers.  He said "I would rather have10 highly influential and engaged followers than 10,000 people who aren't listening." (I wrote about this very thing when my mentor and very good friend Jeff Booth CEO of Build Direct gave me a shout out in his key note address during the Enterprise 2.0 Summit Social Media Week - THAT was cool! :)

Finally ~ Eric clearly understands the power of social ~reaching out to others he sees as influencers and who have "reach" to share his book :) I'm one of the lucky ones and I'm eternally grateful! I've said it before and I'll say it again:

The true beauty of social is the ability to connect with amazing people that you otherwise would never have the opportunity to meet! 

Connecting is powerful stuff!  Of course, be clear ~ Eric sees me as his "Marketing Maven" and he's counting on me to to engage my audience and promote him! Talk about genius marketing…but hey ~ all it took was a a genuine connect, a copy of his book AND we get to 'feel good'! Now THAT's ROI! (Return On Investment)

Eric suggests we shouldn't be asking ourselves "What is the cost of engaging in Social Media?" but rather "What is the cost of NOT engaging?"  The trick is: You ACTUALLY have to CARE!

Special thanks Eric for sharing your knowledge. I agree with literally EVERYTHING and that's THE REAL TRUTH! You saved me from having to write a book ;) Cheers my online friend until we meet IRL!

Purchase your own copy of The Real Truth About Social Marketing here: http://www.fastpencil.com/publications/3048-The-REAL-TRUTH-About-Social-Media?tid=bookbuy

Social Media Week Vancouver ~ What a Week!

Take A Deep Breath!

Ok EXHALE!........It's the Monday after Social Media Week (Sept 19-23, 2011) and I can honestly say I'm still recovering from a brain straining, info jammed, party packed awesome week of sharing, listening and learning from some of Vancouver's top Social Media "Jedi's" (that one is for Eric Weaver and Debra Trappen ;).

During the week there were more than 30 separate events; 72+ keynotes and guest speakers; multiple media mentions; Several different tracks; numerous parties......in other words - More than you could possibly do in 1 Week!!!

The Highlights:

Even as one of the organizers I couldn't possibly hit them all but I had a full week! My fingers were tested as I tweeted madly from the Blogger Summit; Facebook Marketing Strategies; Secrets of a Social Media Campaign; Leading Women in Business; Government 2.0; The Real Estate Summit; and especially the Enterprise 2.0 Summit! In fact I tweeted so much I trended (or rather my twitter handle @TLCHOME trended) in Vancouver! That's a first! I also landed as one of the top Canadian Tweeters during the week!  (to all my followers I hope you found value in my tweets and I didn't completely overtake your streams! We now return to my regular spewing ;) I even made the local news!!! (well sorta ~see story here: http://watch.ctv.ca/news/top-picks/rude-or-normal/#clip534944 ~  Rob Cottingham and Shane Gibson Interviews during our Blogging Summit)

My 3 seconds of fame ~ appeared on the screen in the B roll for The Rude of Normal CTV segment

What's Social Media Really About?

So despite all the fabulous attention and raised profile I received during the week...that's really not what it was about.  To me Social Media IS and will ALWAYS BE about building relationships....and not just any relationships, but relationships that matter! SO I have a ton of people I need to thank. 

(There are tons of great recaps out there already; "The Four Lessons I Learned From Social Media Week in Vancouver" on TechVibes by Rolando Fuentes sums it up beautifully! TY!)

First and foremost I need to thank Shane Gibson and Anthony Caridi ~ Cofounders of Socialized! Ltd. for their vision of bringing Social Media Week to Vancouver and for inviting me to be a part of their team.  It's been a crazy ride but I will never forget all the good times, challenges faced and met, and the level of success we achieved together.  You did something great for this city, it was an honor to be involved and I congratulate you on your success! (can't believe we didn't get one picture together!)

I also need to thank ALL of the people who jumped when I asked them to participate!:

• Matt Astifan ~ You rocked The Facebook Marketing Strategies; The Social Science of B2B and Secrets of a Social Media Campaign sessions! You contributed HUGE value and I am forever grateful for your participation! (Especially on your Birthday!!)

• Richard Loat Founder of Five Hole For Food ~ Whenever anyone needs anything you always JUMP! Social Good Summit would not have been the same without you! I am hands down your biggest fan (even if you call me 'Mom' ;)

• Debra Trappen and Scott Dawson ~ Your contributions to the Real Estate Summit were invaluable! Your passions are palpable! Thanks Deb for driving all the way from Seattle and risking life and limb (sketchy back alley reference!) Particularly HUGE Thanks to Stephen Jagger who organized and hosted the hugely successful RE Summit! Thanks to Cliff Stevenson who flew in from Calgary, Kye Grace, Tom Everitt, Bocar Dia of Hootsuite and to Ceilis Pub for allowing us to use their space for the RE Summit, Monday Launch party and of course the Wrap party! FUN TIMES!

• Kristine Carrick and Maryanne Lechleiter of UrbanLifeMedia ~ what can I say? Best PR Team EVER! Making phone calls way into the night...scraping info together at the last minute...you generated so many great media stories and interest! You ROCK! Your sponsorship is TRULY valued!

• Tracy Bymoen  ~ Amazing Video Sponsor! Thank you so much for ALL you captured this week! You are so talented and now we've documented some amazing highlights of the week! Everyone can view many of Tracy's video interviews on her You Tube Channel: MoenbyMedia

• Mark Smiciklas ~ Thanks so much for your contributions to the Agency Mashup and your awesome Power of Infographics session during our Enterprise 2.0 Summit. Such valuable information!!

• Dave Teixeira ~ What an amazing job interviewing all levels of governement! I LOVED the 'Donahue' style of your Government 2.0 session! Amazing creative segment with skyped in Icelandic Gov't official and BC Liberals, and Mayor of Coquitlam and even Police Chief Jim Chu which was picked up by CNN! (nice interview Tracy!)

• Meena Sandhu ~ You were such a huge part of Social Media Week....through contributing your space at the ING Cafe for so many mashups...hosting the Leading Women in Business Mashup and inviting me to participate and for sharing the ING story as a keynote at our Enterprise 2.0 Summit.  You are a force to be reckoned with in this town and I feel so lucky to call you friend!

• Marc Smith of Amuse Consulting ~ You are such an amazing friend and powerhouse! Can't imagine how we would have functioned without you! Thank you so much for being our Events Sponsor! (and for all the shout outs!)

• Tyrell Mara ~ Thank you for your willingness to roll up your sleeves and build some great content to help us promote the week! Great interviews with Shane Gibson, Meena Sandhu & Mark Smiciklas!!

• Jill Earthy ~ Thanks for stepping up at the last minute to be an integral member of our CEO panel at Enterprise 2.0! 

• Cathy Browne, Lorraine Murphy, Dave MacDonald, Jonah Lewis, Mitch Baldwin ~ To our team: WOW! You guys worked so hard and helped make this week so valuable for everyone who attended and especially those who couldn't! Cheers to your efforts and future success!!(All sessions live blogged can be found at the Socialized Blog (Thanks Lorraine) and Cathy's flickr stream captured all the pics.

• Eric Weaver ~ The WEAVE! What can I say....you blew minds with your amazing presentation at Enterprise 2.0! I can't thank you enough for coming "home" from Seattle to share you eloquent wisdom! I'm confident that everyone in that theater left with a far greater understanding of how social should be used in business.  And I LOVE "Salty's" story! ;) I HIGHLY recommend that everyone visits the blog to view the highlights : Where Business Meets Social I am forever your number 1 fan Eric!! xo

• Jeff Booth ~ Ok this one gets me a little misty (see picture below)  How can I possibly thank you enough for the amazing shout out at Enterprise 2.0!?  Your keynote was so genuine and authentic. Everyone was instantly touched by your level of integrity and your values.  As I was reading the stream I wasn't surprised to see everyone gushing at how inspiring you are....and then you do that!  I can honestly say ~ you are my business hero! I have the hugest level of respect for you and so to know that you place our friendship so high ....well there are not words to describe how special that makes me feel.  Your keynote Where Business Meets Social (like every time I have the opportunity to hear you speak) inspires me to be a better person and reach a little higher! If there's ever ANYTHING I can do for you all you have to do is ask! (Not surprised that we share the same favorite movie: It's A Wonderful Life!)

A Ginormous THANK YOU to Toby Daniels Founder and Executive Director of Social Media Week, Brian Leddy, Ben Sheim,  and Zach Smith! What amazing vision you have to undertake this monstrosity of a project! Kudos to you and everyone at Crowdcentric! Amazing achievement (and they do this bi-annually!!! - next one in February 2012!!)

Thanks to our Advisory Board, all our sponsors 

and thanks to everyone who attended any Social Media Week events this week! 

We could NOT have done any of it without YOU!!

Finally a very special heart felt thank you to my husband Tod Lansing, who supports me in every possible way, allows me the freedom and time to participate in great projects like Social Media Week, and encourages my efforts and growth. Thanks Honey ~ I LOVE you!

Government Summit Social Media Week

Dave Teixeira is founder of Dave.ca Communications which provides both on-line and off line campaigns to bring attention to client's events, products and causes.

He has worked with politicians, political parties, non-profit organizations and a variety of businesses.  He will be running the Government Summit during Social Media Week Vancouver and he has some AMAZING panelists joining him! Check out www.socialmediaweek.org for more info and to register.

The Power of Infographics ~ Mark Smiciklas Social Media Week

Social Media Week is only 1 week away! One of the "Must Attend" Summits is Enterprise 2.0! Mark Smiciklas, Educator and Speaker at Intersection Consulting is one of our keynotes who will be presenting on the power of infographics! Check out this little 'teaser' interview AND visit www.socialmediaweek.org to see get more info, check the schedule and register for your favourite events!

ING Direct Shares Best Practices During Social Media Week!

Meena Sandhu, Business Manager of ING Direct is deeply involved in Social Media Week Vancouver as a member of our Advisory Board, host to many exciting Mashups and as a keynote speaker at our Enterprise 2.0 summit.



Thank you so much to Meena and ING for their ongoing community support and we're SO looking forward to sharing best practices with you during Social Media Week, September 19 -23rd 2011!

For more information and to register online make sure to visit www.socialmediaweek.org/vancouver.

Countdown is ON! Social Media Week Vancouver

In one month from today, Social Media Week will launch in Vancouver and in 12 other cities around the world!

When the President of my company Socialized! Ltd. Anthony Caridi (http://ca.linkedin.com/in/anthonycaridi ) announced we were taking on a little project, I had no way of knowing how much of an understatement that was going to be!

But AJ (Anthony prefers AJ ;) likes to do things BIG! So our little project of organizing 20+ free Summits, Mashups and Soirees, all taking place in 1 week beginning Monday September 19, has pretty much consumed our lives since then.

The thrill is we have the opportunity to highlight and celebrate some local Social success stories in multiple industries that you might not even have been aware of!

For instance, one of our rock star Advisory Board member Caroline Clapham has slotted a lunch and learn every day of the week in the Accountability Track at her law firm Fasken Martineu! EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK!

Accountability is a hot topic!
Does your company have a Social Media Policy?
Do you have an awesome Social Media idea but you want to protect it and wonder about copyright laws?
As an employer are you aware of your limitations of using Social Media in ‘hiring and firing’?

Caroline will be covering these timely topics and much more! (Check out the Accountability lunch and learn schedule: http://www.fasken.com/en/fasken-martineaus-accountability-summit-09-19-2011/)

One that I’m REALLY looking forward to is the Leading Women in Social Media Mashup hosted by Meena Sandu, Regional Manager Marketing and Sales at ING DIRECT on Tuesday afternoon at the ING DIRECT Cafe! There are some amazing women in this town using social in pretty creative ways.

The Real Estate Summit Thursday afternoon hosted by Stephen Jagger is a must attend for anyone in the Real Estate space including Brokers, Mortgage Brokers and Agents.  The Real Estate industry has been leading in SM and I’m looking forward to sharing best practices and more case studies.

The SOCIAL side of Social Media Week will be going down at some KILLER parties we have lined up! Stay tuned!!

As you can see...its all coming together! Keynotes/Venues and Sponsors are all coming on board and the schedule will be revamped and updated on the Social Media Week site very shortly! 

For more information be sure to keep checking www.socialmediaweek.org/vancouver and watch for us on Twitter @SMWVAN and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/socialmediaweekvancouver.


For more information about my company Socialized! Ltd please visit our website: www.socialized.me

Social Media Week Vancouver Community Outreach!

Breakdown of Social Media Week Tracks

Tuesday night the Socialized! Ltd. Team had a great outreach meeting with many of Vancouver’s very talented/generous and invested Social Media Community.

Our Founders of Socialized Shane Gibson and Anthony Caridi (AJ) presented our goals and objectives about Social Media Week in the fall.  Lorraine Murphy live blogged the event and you can read all about the details and breakdowns of the different tracks (as seen in pic to the right) here: SocialMedia Beer and FAQ 

There have been so many questions about what it is and how to get involved….Let’s start at the beginning:

Social Media Week is the creation of CrowdCentric:
An Agency in NewYork with a focus on brand collaboration:

"Our mission is to help people, brands, companies, not-for-profits and governments around the world establish deeper and more valuable relationships through collaborative learning and social communication.

In 2009, we launched Social Media Week, a global conference which brings people, brands and organizations together to explore how communications is changing how we connect as a society with an emphasis on the implications of emerging trends in social and mobile media.

Since launching Social Media Week we have hosted over 1,300 events for more than 50,000 people in 15 cities worldwide, including London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Berlin, Hong Kong, Istanbul, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Mexico City and Bogota."

This fall we're adding Vancouver for the first time!

So how is it going to look?

Watch this video with Toby Daniels (Founder and Executive Director Social Media Week/ CEO Crowdcentric) sharing the purpose and sponsors and opportunites of partnering with Social Media Week. (He's referring to Social Media Week last February but many of the players remain the same)

So how do you get involved? 

There are a number of ways to get involved.  As illustrated on the infograph at the top you will see we need:
Venues, 
Speakers/Panelists, 
Organizational Help/Volunteers,
Logistics,
Entertainment,
Sponsorship $ and in kind Sponsorship.

We have established our stellar Advisory Board who have been reaching out to their connections and many have eagerly stepped forward to participate. 


If you're interested in hosting an event or you have any questions there are a number of ways you can reach us.  Follow Social Media Week Vancouver on Facebook or Twitter.  Leave a comment or question for us there and we'll try to answer them all!  If you know you want to host an event, please go to Social Media Week Vancouver to submit your proposal.

We have been on conference calls with New York, Chicago and Los Angeles and we are in great shape! With your support we are going to have a jam packed, socially engaging, brand building, community celebration of new proportions!  Please share this post with anyone you think may be interested and again ~ please leave us any comments/questions you may have :)