No need to make social media complicated
I’m going to explain the entire social media thing. It’s very simple. You’re all spending way too much time and effort trying to make it complicated. So here goes. Whenever you want to say “social media”, just say “phone” instead. That’s it. Do that and it will all make sense.
You see, you probably have a phone in your home and at work. You don’t think about doing “phone” or having a “phone” strategy or not having enough time for “phone”. You just have a phone. It’s part of your personal and professional life and not a separate and stand-alone thing that you have to make time for.
When the phone rings at work, you don’t stare at it blankly, wondering how best to engage with and monetize your “phone” community. You’re not concerned with how answering it will align with overall corporate branding and the “phone” acceptable use policy. You just pick it up and say, “How can I help you?” Why would you do anything different with social media? If a customer is asking for help, who really cares whether she chooses to call you or tweet you? At the other end of that message is a customer that wants and needs your help. That’s what matters.
Social media is the new phone! The phone was just the new “talking” anyway. I’ll bet that when the phone was first invented and a company had their first one installed it went a little something like this. “Ok, we’ll only have one phone and one person who is authorized to answer it. That’s it.” A lot of time was wasted debating how the phone would ultimately destroy productivity and potentially embarrass the company when employees were allowed to “talk” to customers. At some point someone must have realized that if you just replace “phone” with “talking” it all made sense, because now pretty much everyone has a phone and no one really puts any thought into how and when to use it. They just use it to talk to people.
Today the madness continues though with social media. We spend a lot of time debating how useful it is for business. My response? Why don’t we question all the other normal things we do as part of our regular workday too? Someone was once arguing with me intensely that social media was a waste of time. I asked him what he had accomplished so far in his workday. This caught him by surprise. His answer was that he had been to three boring and pointless meetings and had written a bunch of useless reports that no one would ever read. Wow! All that highly productive work was the reason he didn’t have time to use social media and talk to his customers. When I asked him what his plans were for the rest of the day he told me “cold calling” on the phone. Yikes!
If you still believe that you don’t have time to use social media, no problem. We can still be friends even if you’re not on Facebook. Just make sure you enjoy that extra long and boring meeting though! Nail that TPS report too and don’t forget to put the new coversheet on it because, you know, we’re doing that before they go out now. Just keep in mind that while you’re busy doing all that highly productive work, your competitors are getting friendly with your customers on Facebook, following up on real leads from Twitter and hiring all your top talent away on LinkedIn.
Social media is much more powerful than the phone. If you’re not using it, your competitors are doing all the talking.
Kevin Magee is a 2.0 Citizen, Capitalist and Community Builder. You can find him online at www.kevinmagee.com, on Twitter @kevinamagee or on stage at Tweetstock6 Nov 10th www.tweetstock.ca
Republished from the Brantford Expositor: Saturday November 5th, 2011
The Sanderson Centre is our theatre
On Wednesday evening, the Sanderson Centre opened its doors and invited the public to stop by and talk theatre. This is the second year that the Programming Committee of the Management Board has sought public input to help shape the season of performances presented by the Sanderson Centre. Last year’s open house, and the input shared at the event, had a tremendous impact on the success of the 2011 season planning process. I expect this year’s session will have just as much of an impact, possibly more. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with the attendees, and we were once again pleased with the results, the conversation and the ideas.
Beyond the opportunity to answer questions and solicit candid feedback, it was also a first step towards a greater vision. A vision I personally believe in, and one that is shared by the volunteer members of the board, staff, theatre volunteers and those who attended. Our shared vision is simply that it’s “our theatre”, and by “our”, we mean everyone.
At a retreat a few weeks ago to complete planning for our upcoming year, board member Bob MacLean summed up what many of us were feeling but were having trouble expressing. He said he wanted the whole community to embrace the theatre as “our theatre”. These words really stuck with me. “Our theatre”, an open, transparently operated, fiscally responsible and sustainable business. “Our theatre”, a place where magic happens and memories are made. “Our theatre”, where everyone is welcome to perform or simply enjoy the show. “Our theatre”, the natural home of a vibrant arts community. “Our theatre”, a monument to our rich cultural past and a treasure that is ours to steward, protect and enrich for our children.
“Our theatre” is a worthy vision for the Sanderson Centre not only to aspire too, but also to achieve. To that end, we as an organization need to demonstrate a commitment to fulfilling our vision in everything that we do. Our first act was to throw open the doors and let the public in to have their say. We came together to talk about programming, but we really ended up talking about every topic imaginable; from our budget, to how we contract artists. Tough questions were asked and we as a Board endeavoured to answer with a degree of frankness and openness that, I believe, pleasantly surprised those in attendance.
What did we accomplish then? Well, a lot more than even I could have ever imagined. My favourite moment of the evening was when I mentioned that I personally would love to see Gilbert & Sullivan performed once again in the theatre, to which Philip Sarabura from the Brantford Symphony responded that he knew where an excellent Orchestra could be found. Then Peter Muir from Brant Theatre Workshops jumped in with a comment that he knew of an excellent theatre company that could perform it. These initial tongue-in-cheek comments began to turn into serious discussions. Others then started to add their own ideas. The arts community began to collaborate!
I believe partnership, not competition, is the key to overcoming the barriers to success that many individual arts organizations are experiencing. That includes the Sanderson Centre as well. Watching this frank discussion, and the organic and collaborative exchange of ideas as they unfolded, made all the hours I have poured into volunteering at the theatre instantly worthwhile. We have a vision, now it’s time to ensure we perform! It’s our theatre, and I for one can hardly wait to see what we as a community do with it.
An Expositor Guest Column. Kevin Magee is Chairman of the Sanderson Centre Management Board. You can find him online at www.kevinmagee.com or on Twitter @kevinamagee
A 21st Century Theatre
The Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts has deep roots in our community and is truly one of Brantford’s greatest treasures. Most people in town have some sort of personal connection with the theatre and it’s always wonderful to hear these stories and to what extent our grand old gal has played a significant part in many of our lives. My very first memory of the then Capitol Theatre dates back to 1978 when as a wide eyed five-year-old I sat front-row centre in the balcony to experience Star Wars. Twelve years later in the newly renovated Sanderson Centre, I took my future wife on our first date to see the Second City Players perform. More recently my two-year-old son enjoyed his first performance and by all accounts, the Doodlebops put on an excellent show.
It is because of this profound community and personal connection that I am sincerely honoured to have been entrusted with both the privilege and responsibility of leading the Management Board of the Sanderson Centre as Chairman. The Board is comprised of truly committed volunteers who freely give their time and energy to deliver on a complicated but enormously important mandate, providing concrete overall governance while also ensuring that the theatre continues to be a magical place where music, fun and memories are made.
I believe we stand at an inflection point in the future of our city and of our theatre. An Arts based renaissance is taking place in our community and yet our theatre is running on dated “operating systems” that are in need of an upgrade and a reboot in order for us to become a 21st Century Theatre. We as a community need to embrace this renaissance and it’s challenges and re-imagine our relationship with our theatre. How is it used now and how does that differ from the past? What needs to change to reflect the tastes, interests and passions of the next generation of both artists and patrons? How else can we enjoy this wonderful facility? How do we ensure that our children who dream of one day performing on stage have the opportunity?
We must also come to terms with the fact that the Sanderson Centre is now 91 years old. It is an extremely large and historic 1,125-seat theatre, which is very expensive to operate, maintain and periodically restore. How then do we as a community ensure that the business of the theatre remains financially sustainable, that it continues to be kept up at great and continually escalating costs and yet is affordable and accessible to all?
These are worthy yet difficult challenges that can only be met by a united community. To that end, the Management Board will be launching a number of initiatives over the coming year to engage with, listen to and act on the ideas, thoughts and dreams of our community. Open and transparent consultation addressing such themes as improving community group access, developing a new generation of audiences, financial sustainability and customer service will be at the forefront of these initiatives.
I’d ask that you accept this invitation and opportunity to engage with us at this critical point in our collective history to help deliver the vision and results required to ensure the future of our theatre for generations to come; but also to come out and simply enjoy a show, experience the magic, reconnect with timeless memories and help create some new ones!
An Expositor Guest Column. Kevin Magee is the newly elected Chairman of the Sanderson Centre Management Board. You can find him online at www.kevinmagee.com or on Twitter @kevinamagee
Our First Social Media Election
Canada’s first social media election has begun and it’s going to be awkward to watch. Across the nation, a thousand or so politicians have now jumped onto Twitter and Facebook and they will all be “doing Social Media” for the first time with little or no idea and thought put into how, when and why to use it.
Just like businesses, politicians are brands. You shop at a business that you know, trust and like and you are more likely to vote for a politician that can evoke these feelings in you as well. To build a successful brand requires the ability to package key ideas into short value propositions that are authentic, easily understood and can be spread by enthusiastic, well connected and well articulated supporters. That’s also exactly how both political campaigns and Social Media work. In fact, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country #votekennedy” would have made a great tweet!
Why then are most politicians unable to make the leap to Social Media successfully? I think it’s because they don’t see value in it yet; however they need to and soon. The Internet is becoming the default place where people spend their time researching ideas, forming opinions and discussing things that matter to them. If you’re a candidate and not part of that conversation, you can bet your opponents will be along with your votes.
This election will be the testing ground for new media. It will also be a key inflection point in terms of how politicians campaign and how voters elect. So how are our local candidates making out on the Social Media campaign front? Not bad so far, but lots of room for improvement. Here’s my take as the election gets underway:
@phil4brant – Phil is new to Twitter but showing signs he gets it. He is following 100+ people and has a small but growing number of followers. This indicates to me that he is primarily listening right now. His tweets so far are a mix of political messages and genuine conversation. On Facebook, Phil boasts over 1,100 friends and actively engages in conversations, posts pictures to provide insight into his personality and is consistent in his participation.
@lloyd4brant – Lloyd is brand new to Twitter and so it’s difficult yet to determine his level of comfort and how, if at all, Twitter will fit into his campaign strategy. He is following and being followed by under 20 people at this time and really needs to begin growing his community before a more complete assessment can be made. Lloyd is also new to Facebook and has 200+ friends on his personal account and a fan page with over 200 likes that is showing momentum.
@MarcLaferriere – Marc so far is dominating the online conversation. He has 700+ Twitter followers and is in turn following 500+ which indicates he is both listening and being listened too. He tweets often and engages his followers in conversations that range from political debates to highly personal discussions. On Facebook, Marc has over 2,700 friends on his personal account and over 1,100 likes on his fan page. He posts often and is very engaged with his core group of followers.
After the votes are cast, it will be an interesting exercise to examine the effect of Social Media on the actual outcome of the election in Brant. Do followers equal votes? Do “Likes” transfer to Xs on the ballot? Regardless of the outcome we are witnessing history take place 140 characters at a time, even if it’s a bit awkward to watch.
Kevin Magee is a 2.0 Citizen, Capitalist, Community Builder and member of the Expositor’s Community Editorial Board. You can find him online at www.kevinmagee.com or on Twitter @kevinamagee
Think Big, and then Think Bigger!
On the evening of Thursday March 3rd, in the heart of the city at the Sanderson Centre, Brantford Tweeted! The fourth edition of the popular Tweekstock franchise arrived in style to an enthusiastic and energetic capacity crowd of over 200. Attendees came from all walks of life to learn about social media, enjoy great conversation, to lift their glasses in fellowship and of course to Tweet.
While many nay-sayers have passed off social media as a fad or something for people with a lot of time on their hands, Tweetstock proved them all wrong. Social media is not about the power of technology it’s about the power of relationships, it’s about building a strong and vibrant community and it’s about achieving your own personal vision with the help of others. With Tweetstock, that’s exactly what’s happening right now in Brantford.
The speaker line up was as diverse as the crowd. Mayor Chris Friel’s opening remarks about open and transparent government were well received and applauded. Aaron Kropf the social media guru for the Stratford Festival imparted some practical wisdom on how he’s used the Internet to transform the perception of the Arts and grow attendance at many of the Festival’s performances. He also graciously took time out of his schedule to meet and share best practices with the staff of the Sanderson Centre and Glenhyrst.
Kathy Buckworth an award winning writer, public speaker, and television personality and Scott Stratten the bestselling author and President of Un-Marketing key-noted the event with a positive and practical vision for successfully building a loyal following and a business using the power of social media. Both were dynamic, well received and welcome editions to the ever growing Tweetstock community.
For my part, I had the opportunity to share my own vision for Brantford. I challenged the crowd to think beyond the borders of the city, to relentlessly chase after whatever it is you want in life and to leverage every tool available that can amply your message: to think big, and then think bigger! The audience was extremely gracious and joined with me in “catching people doing some good” online such as our very own Captain Kindness, Glenhyrst, the Brantford Public Library, the Re-Store and the Brant United Way all of which are courageously migrating their message and visions online.
Among the 200 plus attendees, almost 100 were business owners, marketing professionals, and not-for-profit volunteers and employees from other cities who had the chance to experience not only Brantford’s hospitality, but also what we as a city can deliver. The celebration of online entrepreneurship was a great boost to the efforts of our city’s economic development and the Brantford Resource Centre in particular which does incredible work to attract and grow small businesses in Brantford.
At its core, the Tweetstock movement is about community building. It was founded by a group of young business guys and gals who, while sometimes competitors, decided they would work together to “lift all boats” and build a better Brantford. Their commitment to the city, to the small business community and to a good time was evident throughout the night. What they’ve been able to accomplish is not only to put on a great series of highly successful events, they have truly built a new and evolving community that is willing to work together to accomplish great things. For my Tweetstock presentation, I borrowed my closing remarks from Home Depot: “You can build it, we can help” which I believe is a wonderful vision to have, pursue and be a part of!
Kevin Magee is a 2.0 Citizen, Capitalist, Community Builder and member of the Expositor’s Community Editorial Board. You can find him online at www.kevinmagee.com or on Twitter @kevinamagee
