Search optimazation: Engaging clients through your web stories

National Post journalist, Brianna Goldberg, writes amusingly about her competition to gain ascendance over her “googlegänger” – the other Brianna Goldberg - a pagan who worships the Invisible Pink Unicorn, and who consistently rated above her in Google searches.

There’s a secret need in all of us to be number one. As children we’re pretty straightforward about demanding attention. At school the popular kids have everyone talking about them – they get their stories out there. As we grow older our tactics become more subtle – but the aim is still to get people thinking and talking about us.

Brianna Goldberg #1 (our journalist) had some stiff competition from Brianna Goldberg # 2 (unicorn worshiper) – who had a story line to knock your socks off. Brianna # 1’s strategy involved a significant amount of social networking, including an article about her in Wikipedia. In other words she got people talking about Brianna the journalist. Brianna # 1 triumphed – first among Brianna Goldberg’s in Google-world.

If you are a business – being number one has very serious implications. Search-engine optimization is an expanding niche in online marketing.
Search-engine optimization is important, but it can only work if you have a genuine story to tell that connects with your audience. Brianna # 1 worked hard to tell her story. She told the story of Brianna the writer and musician. A story that allowed her to hook up with people interested in her world – as opposed to invisible pink unicorns.

Likewise if we are to engage prospective clients and customers, we must start with the real organizational story. The story of our pride and the journey our organization is on – and we must make it accessible. In other words find the emotional connection so people can relate to the organization. Most often this will be the stories of your customers, the stories of your staff – people stories that illustrate your service values.
With a real story to tell you are ready to connect with clients and customers and that’s where search-engine optimization can make a difference and get you noticed for what you are. I know some people say any publicity is good publicity, but I’d far prefer people come to me because of what I am, rather then what they think I might be – because that’s bound to lead to disappointment and recriminations.

Employee engagement and marketing - closely connected

There is quite a bit of buzz out there about a recent session entitled "Storyteller Marketing - How the Art of Storytelling Matches Up With the Business of Marketing". The session was moderated by Rebecca Lieb, Contributing Editor of ClickZ. Speakers included Gary Stein, Director of Strategy, Ammo Marketing , Sally Falkow, President, Expansion Plus Inc. and Larry Lawfer, Founder/President, yourstorys.com: .

Charlene Jaszewski does a great job of summarizing what was said. Check out her blog.

In her blog Charlene cites Larry Fowler who defines engagement marketing as "when your DATE says you are a good date", as opposed ot PR "Your mom says you had a good date."

I'm not a marketer. I use stories to engage and align employees. But what could be more powerful for employees to fully understand the impact they make - then the stories of their customers. Employees are the people who live brand every day - if your organization wants employees to be a "great date" then connect them to the stories of the customers.

When engaging employees blurs the lines between the inside and the outside

Check out http://www.mystarbucksidea.com/ . Starbucks – a masterful marketing organization is going back to the root of its success – people looking for a unique coffee experience. Their "mystarbucks idea" web site, asks for direct customer input – and they’re getting it in bucket loads. Fabulous idea – but there’s more! A lot of the suggestions and comments are from Starbucks employees.

There’s significant power in connecting employees and customers. Several months ago in our newsletter I mentioned Farm Credit Canada showing videos of customers to their staff. Other strategies include sending employees to work for the customers, bringing customers into meetings and telling customer stories. Starbucks has found the solution that works for their youthful, dispersed and coffee-connected part-time workforce and customers.

I read a column about mystarbucksidea that expressed some annoyance that customers weren’t being reimbursed for Research and Development. I’d say the writer (who looks to be about my age) is missing the point.

There’s a whole generation out there that expects and demands a more integrated relationships with their suppliers. They’ve had five years of MySpace and Facebook and they know that they can connect with anyone – anywhere. They know they don’t need to be part of the corporate structure – or the pay packet – to make a difference and influence. And they are doing just that – they’re getting the coffee they want, the clothes they need and generally managing their life experiences far more intimately then my generation ever imagined. That is power. It’s also a generation savvy enough to understand that a good idea is just that and needs to be tested and refined before it’s put into practice – and that is the job of the Starbucks corporation.

Pretty neat when the line between employee and customer blurs to the extent that they are all working toward a common goal – with little concern about which side of the counter you’re on.

Employee engagement and marketing - closely connected

There is quite a bit of buzz out there about a recent session entitled "Storyteller Marketing - How the Art of Storytelling Matches Up With the Business of Marketing". The session was moderated by Rebecca Lieb, Contributing Editor of ClickZ. Speakers included Gary Stein, Director of Strategy, Ammo Marketing , Sally Falkow, President, Expansion Plus Inc. and Larry Lawfer, Founder/President, yourstorys.com: .

Charlene Jaszewski does a great job of summarizing what was said. Check out her blog.

In her blog Charlene cites Larry Fowler who defines engagement marketing as "when your DATE says you are a good date", as opposed ot PR "Your mom says you had a good date."

I'm not a marketer. I use stories to engage and align employees. But what could be more powerful for employees to fully understand the impact they make - then the stories of their customers. Employees are the people who live brand every day - if your organization wants employees to be a "great date" then connect them to the stories of the customers.

Storytelling - an engaging corporate strategy for large and small

My friend Sherri, who works for a Credit Union in Eastern Canada, uses story. Every week Sherri sends out a much loved email/story that reinforces core behaviors the organization is seeking to develop. Sherri is a one person communication shop and her time is her budget.

Coca Cola, EDS and the Wynn Hotel group all use storytelling. These organizations have implemented corporate-wide initiatives that reach tens of thousands of people. They use story to engage and align employees to the corporate journey so that they understand, not only what the corporate goals and objectives are, but also their role in meeting those objectives.

Like Sherri’s much smaller initiative these programs illustrate the kinds of behaviors that employees must adopt to live the organizational values. The programs these organizations have adopted are integrated into their very fabric. Wynn for example uses story in hiring, training, to reward and for marketing.

Sherri and the high paid execs at Wynn understand that story works. Where facts and figures might alienate or bore us, stories are real and memorable. In a world of information overload they are a quick means of illustrating the complex and immediately helping employees understand how they contribute and indeed what is expected of them.

Take this story from Wynn for example. It’s about an employee who helped an elderly guest recover important medication left in a cab. The employee painstakingly reviewed video footage of the guest’s arrival and identified the cab license plate in the rear view mirror of the car in front. For fellow employees stories like these are not only good for morale, but they also illustrate goals and objectives in action and how they translate into behaviors.

I’d like to hear about your employee stories in action and post them on this site.

Hiring with culture in mind: engaging potential employees with the true story

This morning my husband and I were coaching our teenage daughter on how to respond to behavioral interview questions. She is now on to her second interview for a position with a well known coffee retailer. At one point she asked my husband about his first job interview. He recounted the following exchange:
“Interviewer: Are you any good at tutoring math?
My much younger husband: Yes
Interviewer: Good, when can you start?”

How times have changed. We have friends who have had to go through grueling six-month, ten interview procedures – only to come in second. Hiring has gone from instinctual (I like you) to left brain gone-wild process. It’s no surprise we’ve headed in that direction – employees who are happy and engaged in the organization are significantly more productive. On the flip side the cost of hiring and training a new employee can range from 25% to 200% of annual compensation (American Management Association).

I do agree that the implications of poor hiring decisions are ugly, but I am wondering if part of the problem is that we are so focused on getting the “best candidate” that we forget about the other half of the equation – our organizations and ensuring we are sending out the right messages. Here’s a story to illustrate what I mean.

Some years ago I was involved in an organization looking for a senior HR consultant. They spent a year searching for the right person. When they finally hired she lasted three days. What she thought she was getting and the reality were entirely different. Sensibly she cut her losses and moved on when she discovered her values, and those of the hiring organization, were at odds.

Organizations need to be very clear, not only on what they believe they need, but also on what they have to offer. They need to look beyond the best candidate to the best fit. It’s rather like searching for the perfect mate – you have to be sure about who you are and where you are headed - before you can find your ideal partner.

It’s the job of communicators to ensure that our corporate story is clear – and that it is an accurate picture – one that is lived every day within the organization. A snow job will get you bemused employees disappointed that they are not living in a winter wonderland.

The shoe fits when the culture lives the values

Today my teenage daughter began her first ever job search. The retail outlets she chose to leave her resume with was eclectic. Her criteria was simple: would I use, wear or eat their products/service and do I feel welcome when I enter one of their stores?

She had no trouble figuring out which stores to approach. A large number of shoe stores featured in her list - which is not surprising from someone who wrote "An ode to the Red Pump" for her poetry unit. Some may say we instinctively know when the shoe fits. But in reality we humans are very good observers and we can tell by the behaviors of others when an environment is at odds with our core values.

Trouble arises when we get conflicting messages and are seduced into thinking an organization is something it is not. Which is why it is absolutely key that organizations are true to their values and don't try and do a "snow" job. With a whole new generation of youth coming into the job market who can afford to go elsewhere - we need to attract the people who fit.