New Marketing Summit 08: A Twitter-like pace and many a familiar face

Although more than a week has already passed, I am only now reprocessing information from the New Marketing Summit (NMS) held on October 14-15 in Boston, where I was also lucky enough to vacation afterward. There was and still is quite a bit to take in.

New Marketing Summit 08 Panel Discussion: Content Marketing

Over two days, attendees were treated to a flurry of 32 bite-sized presentations and panels while tweeting questions to the Social Web stars on stage and tips to the Twitterverse (#nms08). Topics ranged from Web 2.0 for Internal Communications to SEO to SocMed Monitoring to Personal Mobile Technology to Millennial Marketing to Community Management, and also included some very cool case studies.
 
I was particularly excited to meet and see the faces of folks that have become familiar to me online such as Todd Defren, Chris Brogan, Christopher Penn, and David Meerman Scott. Although I didn’t get to meet Ann Handley (who was there on the first day), it still felt good just knowing she was in the room somewhere with me!  :)  Yep, I was thrilled to participate in an event with so many social media Rockstars all under one roof!  

The rapid-fire, breadth-of-info conference format was perfect if you had at least a working knowledge of and personal experience with social media and digital marketing. However, if you were seeking a “quick immersion” into the world of social media, it may have felt a little bit more like baptism by fire (as one of the attendees hinted). Either way, there were plenty of eager conference consumers and plenty of content to go around (unlike the food on the first day however!).

Although I didn’t have the chance to talk with all the vendor sponsors, those I did speak with were of a high caliber and a great match for the conference:

• BatchBlue
• Bizzuka
• Crimson Hexagon
• HiveLive
• HubSpot
• RatePoint
• Mzinga

The best and worst part for me was the networking. It was the best because I appreciated and enjoyed the people I met, some of whom included:

• John Munsell of Bizzuka
• Charles Lauller of Bizzuka
• Paul Chaney of Bizzuka
• Valerie Combs of BuzzLogic
• Todd Parsons of BuzzLogic
• Linda Mueller of Robert Bosch Tool Corporation
• Patrick Rafter of Intrastand
• Keri Singer of Questex Media
• Rajesh Jaiswal of BostonBioJobs
• @bostonmike !! (He didn’t give me his biz card, only Twitter ID. That’s all we really need, eh?)
• Mark Roberge of HubSpot
• Tracy Johnson of ENC Marketing & Communications
• Chris Kieff of Ripple6
• Jim Lavelle of Vtrenz
• Candace Fleming of Crimson Hexagon
• Anya Woods and Kate Brodock of Otherside Group (who also blogged the conference)
• Pamela O’Hara and Michelle Riggen-Ransom of BatchBlue

And it was the worst because there wasn’t more time to meet more people.  :)

Thanks all. It was indeed a pleasure.

p.s. Of course the absolute best part of my trip was visiting with my dear friend Robin Greisdoff Moore after the conference. It was the first time we’ve seen each other IRL in over a decade!

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15 steps to developing blogger relations (with a capital “R”)

Blogger relations and traditional media relations are not entirely uncommon. Of the following steps, which ones may also be applied to traditional media relations? And what other blogger-relations steps or tips would you add to this list?

1. RESEARCH and identify the blogs relating to your space
2. READ, read, and re-read those target blogs
3. RETRAIN yourself to listen more and talk (broadcast) less
4. RESPOND with thoughtful comments posted to target blogs
5. RELATIONSHIP is key, so start to develop one with the blogger before you pitch
6. RECIPROCITY in the relationship matters. So let the blogger get to know you as a person (and you should have some sort of online presence, too)
7. RELEVANCE is highly relevant. Your pitch content must match interest of the blogger and his/her community
8. REALLY SHORT pitches. Brevity counts! A three-liner is great. Shoot for the ultimate goal: 140 characters or less. Teaser pitches are OK.
9. REVIEW target blogs for Pitch policy icon or Pitch policy; if no icon or policy, then ask (a great way to introduce yourself)
10. RELEASES need to be social, as in template and tone
11. RESPECT bloggers – as most don’t get paid; so in reality, their time is even more precious
12. ROLE REVERSAL. It’s not about you or your company. Put yourself in the blogger’s shoes. What’s in it for the blogger?
13. REALIZE that – like PR – Social Media (e.g., blogging) is based more on the Social Sciences, not technology
14. RESOURCE. Be one for the blogger and blogger’s community; bring value (even if it means connecting blogger to another PR person) to the community and conversation. Be helpful and human.
15. REAL. Be transparent and authentic. No B.S.

Thanks to the following folks for inspiration:

Renee Blodgett
Jennifer Van Grove
Brian Solis
Todd Defren

And last but not least…
Toby Bloomberg
In particular, I am especially grateful for Toby Bloomberg’s leadership in developing and sharing this most excellent series about blogger relations.

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