Media Emerging

Those of you who are close to me know the past few months have been challenging for me. I’ve had a world of upheaval in my life, some self-inflicted and some not-so-much. But this morning, I’m smiling.

Reader Puja Madan left these kind comments on Lisa Hoffmann’s blog:

Loved the post – touching and yet so insightful. I’m enjoying your writing immensely (thanks to @scotthepburn!) and look forward to more… cheers

Lisa is a dear friend and a gifted writer. She speaks from the heart and to her reader’s hearts. It’s been so much fun watching her blog find its voice, and I’m honored every time she asks for feedback.

Comments like Puja’s are the reason I blog. They’re the reason I read other people’s blogs, and the reason I Tweet about them. Sharing insights about marketing is good for my career, but introducing readers to writers like Lisa (and others!) is infinitely more gratifying.

Puja, thanks for showing me what blogging is all about.

Yesterday’s Twitterstorm over Matt Bacak’s press release should remind us it’s easy to make mistakes in the PR/marketing/social media realm.

Since Bacak’s already been skewered across the blogosphere, I won’t dwell (too much) on his mistakes. Rather, I’d like to compare his approach to a real social media success story.

Matt Bacak’s Misguided Approach to Social Media

With a single press release, Matt Bacak became the posterboy for social media worst practices. His self-proclaimed rise to “Twitter elite” status made him the laughing stock of…well, Twitter.

Here’s what Bacak got right:

• He has lots of followers on Twitter
• His TwitterGrader grade — a relatively meaningless measurement — is was 99.9%
• He has attracted lots of attention

But here’s what Bacak got wrong:

• Lots of followers doesn’t mean you’re a social media master. It means you have an audience. So does the bearded lady, Matt.
• Annointing yourself is a lonely, desolate, desperate plea for attention. Congratulations, here’s your crown. Now what?
• 1,900 followers is NOT a large audience.
• Social, Matt. Social. You must…have…interactions. As in, between people.

To be fair, the goal of a press release is to get people to write about you. Here’s what they’re saying about you:

Lisa Hoffmann Shows Others How to Succeed in Social Media

By contrast, my friend and PRstore colleague Lisa Hoffmann is a case study for social success. Here’s what Lisa does that Matt Bacak just doesn’t get:

What makes Lisa’s success remarkable is that she’s not a social media poweruser. Sure, she has Facebook and LinkedIn pages, but she doesn’t use them much. She sticks to a few platforms — mostly her blog and Twitter — and she uses them well. And she’s never issued a press release about herself.

Scan Lisa’s Tweet stream and you’ll see some brilliant stuff. But you’ll only get half the picture. Lisa does her best Twitter work via DM. My guess is 50% of her Tweets are DMs…it may be more than that. She’s connecting with people on a deep, meaningful level via Twitter and you’re not seeing any of it.

Lisa uses another social tool most of us forget about: the telephone. She gets 1 or 2 calls a day from someone she met on Twitter. Lisa talks to those who’ve connected with her online as if they’re lifelong friends. If you need to vent, she listens. If you need advice, she offers it. If you need a swift kick in the ass, she’ll do that, too.

So What’s the Payoff? 

I hate stats. Stats lie. But since Bacak likes stats so much, let’s talk stats. Here are some of Lisa’s:

But like I said, I hate stats. The value of Lisa’s network isn’t in the quantity of her connections, but in the quality. She’s earned the admiration of smart folks like Mack Collier, Jason Falls, Ann Handley, Beth Harte, and even Chris Brogan. She was invited to speak at WordCamp Charlotte in November, and it’s just a matter of time ’til she lands another speaking gig.

Lisa Hoffmann won’t be my colleague at PRstore for long. Someone will recruit her soon, I’m sure of it, and it’ll be the smartest hire they’ve ever made. If Matt Bacak truly wants to succeed in social, he’d do well to skip the press releases and learn from Lisa.