Sporting Brain

NOTE: This week I'm getting personal and helping my Mom raise money for Making Strides, this is part 2 of the series. Cold. Stale. Empty. Musty. The smell is still in my nose and it never changes whether you are in Massachusetts, California or Barcelona. Hospitals just don't change. The same feelings and smells were there even when I was celebrating the birth of my two sons. Nothing can rip these senses from my collective mind nor my spirit. The very first thing I think of when I walk into a hospital is the first round my Mom fought with cancer. It was the early 80s and I was a young kid, not capable of understanding what was happening. It was after her first surgery and my Mom was spending the night at the hospital. To this day I can remember nearly every detail in the room. But two things resonate the most strongly for me. The first was that when it was time to leave I literally hung onto the bed, not understanding in my young mind why I had to leave my Mom. It just made no sense. I probably haven't cried that hard since (well, maybe after Aaron Boone hit that home run). This same scenario played itself out, albeit under much better circumstances, when our second son was born and the older brother wailed as I walked him out of his own Mom's hospital room. Guess he's a momma's boy just like his daddy ;) The second memory, and the one I love to think about, was how my Mom made light of the situation. She was connected to an IV that she could roll around with her and if you know my Mom she LOVES to walk. Knowing that this contraption connected to her would freak my sister and I out a bit, she actually created a personality for the IV, even a name. Sitting here I've been racking my brain trying to remember the name (let's hope my sister leaves a comment, because she has the better memory), but it made me laugh. It made us all laugh. And laughter has been part of the Flaherty household through the best of times and the very worst of times.

The Impact of Cancer Fund Raising

When my Mom called me in May to tell me about her third bout with breast cancer I was stunned. Obviously because it seemed cruel and unusual punishment for a woman who had worked so hard and was just now enjoying retirement with my Dad. But more because of how upbeat she sounded. At first I thought she was putting on a strong front so that I didn't get upset. But then I realized I was no longer seven or sixteen years old. She actually was upbeat, for the situation, and the reason was simple; the cancer fund raising we have all done over the years was making a huge impact. The first cancer battle was nearly thirty years ago, so imagine the changes that have occurred in those three decades. Well my Mom was witnessing it first hand and actually had the ability to contrast it to so long ago. It was an incredible difference:

• The doctors understand the mental aspect of a cancer diagnosis as much as the physical. They sat down with my Mom and Dad, explained things in plain english, outlined the different scenarios and listened. This blog mainly discusses social media and we always talk about how important listening can be to our jobs. Well there is nothing more powerful than a doctor listening to you stammer out a question after a difficult diagnosis.
• The facilities consider patients as people. My Mom has raved about the Dana Farber Yawkey Center for Cancer Care since the moment she walked into the building. It's airy, light and full of love. Not to mention the amenities that cancer victims need, even considering the specific needs for people losing their hair or coming out of a double mastectomy. And, as always, humor in the t-shirts they sell, providing a quick smile for someone who might now have much to smile about.
• The care extends to the home. A nurse shows up the day after surgery to make sure all is well, answer difficult questions and lend a supporting hand.
• Research. Research. Research. This seems so obvious, right. But when you are going through chemo for the third time having the research that isn't just based on experimenting but on actual science it can make a huge difference. The second time my Mom battled she had to have chemo once a week for a year! This time around, four times, every three weeks. Sure it still sucks, but it sucks a lot less.

Why are all of these things possible? YOU! No, seriously. You rode the Pan-Mass Challenge, you grew a moustache, you walked Strides, you had a bake sale, you called into a telethon. That money has made an impact for millions of people, including my Mom. Understand that those dollars, each one of them, is making a difference. Thank you! If you have a dollar and want to give to my Mom's walk against cancer it would be appreciated by us both.

Three decades plus was the amount of time I lived in and around Boston. I've called the borough of Southie my home for several years, as well as a stint in Charlestown. In both cases, guess what I never saw? I never say FBI agents running down the streets near Fenway park: I never saw anyone wearing a Bruins shirt that was, in any way, in good shape: I NEVER saw a nun that looked like this: I never saw a fight on the roof of a building:

I never saw anyone, besides my friend Mike, pull off a purple shirt like this one:

And I certainly never saw a bar this clean:

This post brought to you by the trailer for "The Town":

Hey look, it's Tim Walker on Fox Business! And just a day after I talked about peer motivation...well now I want to be on Fox Business! Watch the latest business video at video.foxbusiness.com Nice work Tim, plus, you weren't even wearing pants!

My favorite time to work out is at lunch time. It energizes me for the rest of the day. My favorite time to check email is early morning. It helps me prioritize the rest of the day. My favorite time to socialize is happy hour. It is lighter than dinner, but more fun than lunch. My favorite time to blog is late at night when I can't sleep. It is my way of expelling the ills that leave me awake. My favorite time to eat is breakfast. There is nothing better than breakfast. My favorite time to sleep is in between 3-5pm. It is the ideal time for a nap. My favorite time to talk is right before lunch. I'm full of ideas, yet determined to get to the gym. My favorite time to listen to music is anytime. Music pushes me further. What is your favorite time to ______________?

How do you finish the sentence above? A few of mine are below, but tell me your answer in the comments. The end of a hard week brings... ...a cold beer. ...a warm hug from my sons. ...the satisfaction of a hard week of challenging work. ...the NFL Pro Bowl.

Hands down: Flying from Austin to St. Louis tonite NFL gear was all over the place, and not simply the gear of the final four teams. During the night people proudly wore Denver Bronco caps, Patriots t-shirts (this was me), Packers visor, even a Lions sweatshirt (ok, that's a lie). The whole flight most of the people chatted about the days games, the upcoming Super Bowl, the eventual retirement of Brett Favre in 2017, what a year without the salary cap will mean next year and why overtime rules in the league are an insult to competitive sports. My day was full of the NFL and I didn't even get to watch the games, since, as I think I mentioned, I was traveling. Powerful brands find a way to be relevant all year long and the NFL is the one American sports league I know that accomplishes this feat.

Posted via web from Dance With Strangers and You'll Step on some Toes

The last two weeks of the year are upon us. What will you do with the time? Don't let the next two weeks slip by without accomplishing a few more of your goals. Certainly this time of year the pace slows a bit, but that just gives you more time to get things done. Your calendar is no longer filled with the excuses you have used in the past. Take the gift of time you have been given and finish those projects that have been on your to do list for weeks. Today is no time to rest.

Folks have been discussing recently how important it is for speakers to monitor the live chatter during a presentation, in order to make shifts that will help the audience. This is the wrong approach because it makes the speaker/panelist pull their attention from the people who have devoted their time to listening, leading to a much poorer presentation. Ultimately I created a personal principle I would follow when speaking: Thou shalt not check social networks during a presentation or as a member of a panel! However, I had started wondering if we all felt forced to be checking our own laptops because the audience wasn't looking at the speakers any longer, instead their own heads were buried in laptops and smart phones. Having just gotten home from speaking at the DMA's NCDM show, my hypothesis was seemingly affirmed and I now add a corollary to the list of speaking principles: Audience, thou shalt put away the laptops and the smart phones and listen to thy speakers! The best part? The rule became apparent to me because the vast majority of the audience (I was fortunate enough to present with my good friend Aaron Strout, more on that tomorrow) did not have laptops, or at least didn't take them out during the session. Smart phones, or even dumb phones, were also kept in their pockets for the most part. This lasted the entire session...150 MINUTES! Part of my brain is dying to say it was due to the riveting content, but I think that was only part of the equation. Instead, I think this audience was  trying to learn and engage with us during the session. To get the most out of our time they had committed to listening, asking questions and making comments throughout. Rather than worry about broadcasting their thoughts about our session to social networks, they instead were telling us directly. It, I hope, made for a great session for the audience, but it also created a much more enjoyable experience for Aaron and myself. The presentation and conversation between speakers and audience was the most important element during our time together. There was a visual commitment from both parties to put away the laptops (and phones) in order to listen and learn from each other. Thank you to everyone who attended the NCDM session, you provided a valuable lesson. Tomorrow I'm going to post the slides and some additional thoughts on our session, "B2B Social Media Marketing Techniques: Measuring the Impact from Creation to Closed Deal".

eMarketer had a nice recap today on two new studies of spending outlook for B2B marketers in 2010. First was BtoB Magazine's updated look at marketing spend in 2010 and the second was a survey by Visible Technologies and SiriusDecisions. Both had some interesting points that stuck out to me immediately:

• According to the BtoB Magazine results, 60% of the respondents said they will increase spending on "social media".
• In the same BtoB Magazine survey 60% of respondents say they will use social networks to generate thought leadership, while 50% will use social networks to generate leads.
• The Visible Technologies/SiriusDecisions survey reported that 25% hope to use social media to generate awareness.
• Additionally in that survey 31% used web traffic/response rates to determine ROI on social media, while 12% used revenue to determine ROI.

Interesting and concerning from my point of view. Let's start from the top.

60% of the respondents said they will increase spending on "social media"

In 2009 how much money did you spend on "social media"? In 2010 how much money do you plan to spend on "social media". Excluding salaries, if you answered anywhere above $1 you are spending too much on social media. The reason is simple; social media is not an item to be bought or sold, rather it is a strategy of communication and engagement within marketing, as well as throughout your enterprise. Certainly there are tools that you can buy that help you with social media, but those are tools to use across the board in communicating in a more social manner. These tools help proliferate marketing campaigns that are focused on lead gen, email, web and even direct marketing. Therefore the spend number should fall into those categories and not one that determines social media spend. Don't spend money on social media, spend money on marketing and communications tools, then proliferate social media into your communications DNA.

60% of respondents say they will use social networks to generate thought leadership, 50% to use them to generate leads

What? Hold on now. This is a study of B2B marketing leaders correct? I'm not arguing with the first number, that is a smart way to look at social networks. Your role, however, as a B2B marketer is to generate business and business comes from leads. 100% of all B2B marketers should be using, or at least figuring out how to use, social networks to generate leads. It might not happen, but if someone ever asks you what your primary goal is for any B2B marketing campaign, lead generation better enter the equation.

25% hope to use social media to generate awareness

This stat stumped me more than any other, and unfortunately I do not have access to the full report so I'm working a bit blind. However, if you look at the list of reasons why B2B companies use social media the "generate awareness" garners the most at 25%, followed by customer engagement, analyst/influencer engagement, market products, monitor and respond, competitive tracking and other. What is missing in this list? Lead generation and/or revenue building! I'm not disagreeing with all the other reasons, they are certainly needed, but how do you not at least have lead generation as one of the main reasons you would use a social media marketing strategy?

31% use web traffic/response rates to determine ROI on social media, while 12% use revenue to determine ROI

Again, revenue should be used much more than 12% of the time to determine ROI of social media. Let us reiterate that social media is a communications strategy within your marketing campaigs, and the vast majority of marketing campaigns you run should have a revenue goal attached. Therefore it is one of the only sure fire ways to measure ROI, and truly the only way that your CEO wants to see it represented. As for web traffic/response rates, I'm also surprised to not see this a bit higher. Perhaps it was the wording of the question and the fact that most good marketers now realize that web traffic means little to nothing, whereas web activity and analysis is what is truly important. Surveys and poll numbers can be shaped however you want them to be shaped, obviously, but some of the numbers that came out of these studies certainly see the recognition of social media as a certifiable strategy. The challenge in 2010 is going to be educating people that it is a strategy, that it can bring in certifiable revenue and that you can truly measure the ROI of your social media strategy.