Glenn Le Santo Interview, where we talk about social media fear, Jamaican records, tweeting pillows & much more…
I recently came across Glenn at a media140 event in London. Some of the UK’s leading social media brains were in the room that night but it wasn’t until Glenn peered his head round the corner and started to create debate & discussion that things really began to happen. He was supposed to be simply tweeting and blogging about the group discussions’ but was overcome with the desire to engage and collaborate with everyone. ‘Shouty Man’ as he became known that night is a perfect example of social media in human form. After all it’s ultimately all about creating that one to one meeting and not really anything about the technology.
His views show someone who not only understands the potential of social media and how organisations can harness it to the full but that its real power is with the people and not the brands. Here follows our interview.
1. At what point did you decide the career path you’ve chosen and what drew you to it?
I’m born to communicate.
As a kid. I loved to draw, write and communicate. I’d make magazine or booklets for and read them to my grandmother. I’d chat with my parent’s friends, about anything that would hold their interest, from about the age of three.
2. What excites you most about the growth of social media?
I’m excited because I still think Social Media actually can kick down the barriers that have kept real people away from information and people they should be able to get to. Time will tell if this is true, or if it’ll just end up as another big fat spam pipe.
3. Why do you think that so many businesses are fearful or are struggling to come to terms with the social media world?
The origin of this fear is lack of knowledge. Business needs to relax and get this: Social Media is all about people. If you don’t get people, how the hell do you sell your products and services in a competitive environment? People don’t trust what they don’t understand. I remember when the web appeared in the mid-90s and I begged the management to get our magazine a websites. The Managing Director of our massive media group actually said to me: “The internet is a fad.” We’re just seeing more of this same “If I remain ignorant long enough will it just go away?” thinking again.
4. You’ve written blogs and commented on social media a lot. What one of advice would you give a start-up (individual and company/organisation)?
Shut up and listen.
5. How much time do you feel a company (or outsourced help) should devote towards social media (per day/week)?
Every minute of every day.
Take a firm like Honda. Their founding philosophy was all about satisfying the customer through excellence. This is where Social Media for business starts – with a great company producing great products. A more practical answer to your question is harder, because Social Media is not one size fits all thing. Some companies will find very little use for it, others will use it as an integral part of everything they do.
6. Why do you feel Marketing departments are slow to adopt new online techniques, particularly PR companies who seem to be slow-adopters to change?
Because they haven’t read my answer to question 4? But not all are slow adopters, this is a stereotypical view. Many are great at running things right at the bleeding edge.
7. If a colleague (or client) was going to sum you up in 5 words what do you think they would say?
I’d hate to say but I bet at least three of them would have Anglo Saxon origins.
8. What’s your vision for marketing/communications, on and offline for 2010 and onwards?
My vision would be a hope of the return of honesty. What will actually happen is tough to guess. I’m not really a marketing guy, so I wouldn’t like to try that one. Communication is easier. Generally speaking we’ll want everything in our lives to communicate, we’ll even want to tweet or take calls with our pillows. Woe betide the manufacturer trying to sell us gadgets without connectivity. We’ll also get lazier and need everything to be handed to us on a plate, so all manner of search had better sharpen up! Offline the people might even get together in tweetups and look one another in the eye. That would be welcome.
9. How should we be measuring success in this ‘social’ world?
Don’t try. Just get on with it.
If Social Media fits your business you’ll soon measure the effect of not doing it as you watch your competitors run off with the market. Companies that set up positive online communities around their products will soon notice any success they bring. You must remember, I’m not a corporate guy. I escaped that world a very long time ago and I got very good at flying a company by the seat of my pants. The desire to micro-measure everything can soon slow a business down to a fatally sluggish pace when it comes to innovation and adoption of new methods. Social Media is much like PR, it’s very hard to measure. If you do get it right you can usually ‘feel’ it but I’m not sure you’ll ever be able to use any kind of yardstick on it with much effect.
10. What’s your definition of social media?
Social – between people / media – communication – therefore Social Media = Communication between people – and companies need to take note of that. They need to work on their ‘personality’, because the more of this they have the more they’ll gain from social media.
11. Do you feel social media is just another bow in the armoury of ‘marketing and communications’ just like PR, advertising etc?
Yes, of course but it’s also refilled the consumers’ quivers – to the brim. It’s two way traffic. Consumers are the ones who stand to benefit most but I hope they don’t allow themselves to get manipulated all over again. The Internet and Social Media started huge a wrestling match between brands and consumers and we’re now already well into round two. The winning brands will be the ones that surrender now and talk to their consumers.
12. Can social media work for business to business?
I wonder if they asked: “Can this new telephone thing work for business to business?” If technology opens a channel that allows contact with those you may benefit from making contact with then it has ample potential for being good for B2B. This is interview proof of that. After all, without Social Media would we have ever met?
13. Do you think the standard of content is high across the social networks (with your journalism head and generally speaking)
If I answer that honestly will I keep my head on? Most of it is poorly written, often masking what is actually good content. I’m not a trained journalist. I didn’t get to college. Instead, I worked with some guys and girls who really knew there stuff and I tried to learn. Even the amateur bloggers can improve their craft if they are prepared to look and listen. You need to consider the make up of an old fashioned magazine office. There were always one or more people standing between the writer’s copy and the printing press. Most of us now go to ‘press’ without the value of a trained eye to check our submissions. Bloggers who are serious about this should somehow assemble such an editorial team. This is why the standard is so high at www.media140.org, because skilled editors and sub-editors are further along the production pipe filtering the scribblings of illiterate hacks like me.
14. What’s your typical working day?
I have two types of working day.
a: Stay at home day.
Get up between 4am and 6am and make a cup of tea, switch on the amps and start the music. Write the news for @inbritain’s website. Read emails, reply. Send some tweets for clients. Get some of the good old fashioned written work done for clients – usually factual articles and blog entries. Eat breakfast, drink coffee. Then I’ll read news and articles. Deal with any ongoing social media proposals and projects for about an hour before cracking on with written work again. I’ll continue to take breaks for coffee throughout the day. I’ll intersperse the written work with tweeting from my clients’ accounts. This pattern usually continues until about 6pm, or later depending on what’s in the in-tray. I usually break off at about 1pm when the parcel post arrives to lust over the latest delivery of vintage Jamaican records. They come most days. The music, sourced from these wonderful records, plays all day. I don’t like working without music.
b: Go away days:
These are usually in London and may start with the easy hour and half train ride to Kings Cross from Newark. In London I’ll head to my club @onealfredplace to do a little work, make some calls, drink their coffee and eat their brilliant food. While I’m there I’ll often meet friends, clients or prospects to share the luxury with them. Maybe I’ll conduct an interview for #Likeminds or #media140 there. I try and find time to visit a second hand record shop or search a few charity shops in areas with big afro-caribbean populations. Yep, looking for more reggae on vinyl!
Usually a trip to London involves at least one brain storming session with some of this country’s tremendous tribe of Social Media thinkers. To me, a small group meeting in a coffee bar can as much value as at a big conference. I love the conferences too though because there’s so many great minds and fresh thinking to be found at them. Great conversation with great minds – it nourishes my mind like nothing else can.
Glenn can be found on twitter here.
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