An American’s perspective on Likeminds & other UK conferences from Trey Pennington

Chris — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:01:49 +0000

I’ve met up with Trey Pennington on a number of occasions and he’s someone I’m now lucky enough to call a friend. Our last meeting was at the Likeminds conference in Exeter about 5 weeks ago. One of our conversations was based around the differences between the UK & the US in how they treat social media events .

Here follows his thoughts.

An American perspective on LikeMinds 2010

Chris Hall is a community-builder. I’m thankful he’s included me in his community and asked for my thoughts on the differences between conferences in the United States and the United Kingdom.

For me, the conferences in the United Kingdom are quite rewarding. Only in the UK do y’all appreciate my distinctive Southern accent. In the US, no one notices.

It seems British audiences are more vocal about expectations and the thwarting of them. Y’all are quick to voice critique. I had thought Americans were demanding and vocal—the criticism of Jeff Pulver’s 140 conferences in the US was downright brutal, for instance. (Then again, I’ve also thought American politicians wouldn’t last very long under the scrutiny of Questions to the Prime Minister.)

American criticism seems to focus more on things (the attacks on Pulver’s 140 focused on lack of Wi-Fi, being in a basement without access to cellular signal, and lack of power outlets, for instance). British critique seems to focus more on content and people. Criticism of specific speakers or specific content doesn’t seem so pronounced in the US.

One might make a case that Americans think first of comfort and convenience while Brits consider content. I can’t say one way or the other. What I can say is, it seems the critique proffered by my British friends would serve to increase the speed of evolution for things that matter.

Scott Gould with Trey Pennington on the London Bridge after the 2009 LikeMinds Conference in Exeter.

I can also say the British have received and treated me exceptionally well. I’ve been amazed at the hospitality showered on me by Scott Gould, his extended family, and the whole community of friends associated with LikeMinds. Y’all have enriched my life considerably and I’m immensely thankful for you.

What are your thoughts on UK/US conferences and their approach?

Trey Pennington: Interview

Chris — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:05:47 +0000

Trey

For those of you who haven’t met, engaged or spoken with Trey he’s one of the nicest guys in marketing today. Thankfully he’s also a leader in social media and without doubt an expert, innovator and source of great knowledge. He describes himself thus “ A Marketing pro, speaker, author, dreamer. Add it all up and you have a partner who’s relentless in making sure your marketing connects with the hearts in your marketplace.”

Here follows an interview with Trey which includes some great insight into his mind, knowledge and advice.

1. At what point did you decide the career path you’ve chosen and what drew you to it?

Tough question. Though I’ve been a long time of Zig Ziglar, Napoleon Hill and so many other motivational leaders who have advocated having a “definite aim/chief purpose,” sometimes having a clear vision about my future has been a significant challenge for me. At heart, my joy is helping people identify their own missing piece and then either help them find that missing piece or connect them with someone who can. Being a “marketing pro” seems to give me a solid platform for doing just that.

So, to answer: seems like I organically grew into my current role and it’s “fit” has become more comfortable over the past several years.

2. What excites you most about the growth of social media?

Absolutely thrilled at the ability to not only make new CONTACTS, but to make new FRIENDS, and then share in their lives so regularly. Watching my friends enjoy the adventures of their journeys is rewarding. It makes those face-to-face times even more valuable.
3. Why do you think that so many businesses are fearful or are struggling to come to terms with the social media world?

They face a reasonable struggle. Time is a huge factor: anything that seems to take so much time with such an indefinite payoff is scary. Right now, small business owners need to know that not only every penny (or pence) spent AND every moment spent, is worth it.

We (the social media enthusiasts) don’t really make it easy for them. We argue and pontificate and scare bystanders away.

4. You’ve written a books on blogs (link here) . What one of advice would you give a blog start-up?

At the heart of my book, Spitball Marketing: How to use what you’ve got to get more of what you want, is the philosophy that echos Zig Ziglar: “you can get everything you want in life if you’ll just help enough people get what they want.” Seems like that’s a good quote to put on a sticky note and post above one’s blog editing screen. If bloggers would write to help them get their customers’ message IN instead of getting their own message OUT, they’d be rewarded with more attention.

A second thought: Like Nike says, “Just do it.” Start. Post. Learn. Grow. Adapt. Repeat.

5. How much time do you feel a company should devote towards social media (per day/week)?

That’s an intimate question. A blanket response would be, “it depends.” It comes down to:

• what industry (some industries are probably more conducive to social media interaction than others; if you’re a politician, you should have at least one person helping you with social media listening/responding full time; if not, expect to be replaced soon by the leader who’ll invest in his/her constituents at that level)

• what purpose (social media is not an end, it’s merely one of several means to an end; that ultimate destination will shape one’s time commitment to social media interaction)

• what priority (other job factors may warrant a higher priority than customer engagement; if you’re a doctor, vet, CPA, attorney, etc., research and professional development might take a higher place on one’s calendar/diary than other jobs. Then again, seems like social media can also contribute to one’s research and professional development, too)

Another blanket answer might be, “as much time as you can.”

For me, social media has such a high payoff (now almost all of my new client work and bookings come through social media), I spend more time on social media than probably most small business owners can afford to spend. Still, I spend most of a work day doing something other than social media.

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?

This is a perplexing question. Honestly, I’m bumfuzzled that marketing communications pros seem to have totally missed it with social media. Why they allowed a whole new profession to spring up, and allowed a new chair at the corporate table, is beyond me. CMOs, Marketing Directors, Public Relations Directors, and others of that kind, were in the best position to bring social media into the corporate suite. That a new silo has grown up for social media directors simply puzzles me.

7. If a colleague (or client) was going to sum you up in 5 words what do you think they would say?

Need help? Discouraged? See Trey.

8. What’s your vision for marketing, on and offline for 2010 and onwards?

For some folks, results are the focus. For others, the tactics or even the strategy are more important. For me, what lies beneath is what catches my fascination. By “what lies beneath” I mean our presuppositions about metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. What IS the nature of reality of commerce? Is it really “to maximize shareholder wealth”? Is it really true that knowledge comes through “frequency and reach”? Can we really tell people whatever we want to tell them if it gets us what we want?

My vision for marketing entails a reconsideration of why we do what we do and where is it that we’d really like to get where we intend to go and why. From a practical perspective, it means marketers will devote more and more time, effort and tools toward listening and understanding (getting a message IN) instead of efficiency in message distribution (getting a message OUT).

My hope for marketing? That we’d value others more highly, realizing that everyone wants to be heard, to be understood, and to know his or her life matters. Marketing can play an important role in facilitating our neighbors’ quests for significance.

9. How should we be measuring success in this ‘social’ world?

Ah, the measurement question. Since that’s not my cup of tea, I tend to downplay and probably undervalue measurement. Then again, not only have none of my clients even asked that question, neither have any prospective clients. No doubt the big boys (the big companies) have people on staff to ask such questions and debate such issues. Small business owners, at least the ones I’ve working with, don’t. For small business owners there seems to be a certain intuition that says, getting closer to customers is a good thing.

Seeing the incredible waste throughout the world of big business, at least corporate America, I have a tough time taking the measurement clamor seriously. It seems apparent that American big business isn’t truly concerned about anticipating future consequences of current decisions. Why start getting concerned about it now that social media is on the scene, and why start with social media? Then again, I confess, small business is my field. I could be totally washed up when it comes to big business.

10. What’s your definition of social media?

My own definition of marketing is, “Marketing is the ongoing process of engagement whereby strangers are nurtured into advocates.” http://treypennington.com/2009/11/03/definition-of-terms-marketing/

Social media encompasses a wide array of tools and platforms to facilitate human engagement online. Though I humorously say, “My favorite social media platform is an independent coffeehouse,” I think most folks understand social media to be a digital, versus physical, phenomenon.

11. Do you feel social media is just another bow in the armoury of ‘marketing’ just like PR, advertising etc?

Social media does seem to be “another option” or “another tool” in the tool bag in several areas: marketing, of course, especially since I’m a “marketing pro,” but it’s also good for research, customer service, academia, professional development, citizen government, etc. The key is, social media is not an end. It can probably help you get where you want to go, wherever that is, and in whatever industry you’re in. It’s a piece of the puzzle, but not the whole puzzle.

12. Can social media work for business to business?

There’s a HUGE opportunity to leverage social media for business-to-business engagement. One might make a case that there’s even greater opportunity for B2B than B2C. B2C often relies on frequency and reach, or efficiencies of communication (having to reach millions of people right now), more so than B2B. B2C seems like a perpetually moving target; B2B more stable. For instance, the number of households with children in diapers present changes radically every day. The number of purchasing agents at Fortune 1000 companies probably doesn’t. Dads and moms with kids in diapers probably don’t really WANT to know Kimberly Clark that well. It probably just doesn’t matter. Besides, their child is only going to be in diapers for a short (though it doesn’t seem so at the time!) period. Not so with the purchasing agent. He or she will probably be there longer than a child will be in diapers (y’all call them “nappies,” right?). A real relationship with that agent is probably more valuable for both the agent and the business.

I could go on and on and on about the opportunity for B2B to use social media. In fact, B2Bbloggers has asked me to write a regular column on the topic, so please stay tuned.

If any one wants to contact with Trey you can do so at all or one of the following:

Twitter

Facebook

Online

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An American’s perspective on Likeminds & other UK conferences from Trey Pennington

Trey Pennington: Interview