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Control Your Identity on the Web

by Adam Lehman on February 22, 2012 in Media with No comments

Just came across this gem of a video thanks to Sharon Santino.

John Battelle is a wizard of sorts.

Towards the end of the video he begins to speak about understanding our identity in digital platforms.

In the hustle & bustle of social media, marketing & the internet it’s really easy to forget just who you are.

You have an identity on twitter, an identity on facebook, an identity on that blog you comment on.

Etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.

But learning who you really are as a person is KEY! Brands that can communicate that and understand just who they are in the world will be able to speak with an honest voice that internet users are desperate for.

Twitter, Facebook, Google+ & Pinterest users will be able to cut through the noise and show that they’re actual human beings.

And that’s the key. Understand that there is an actual human being on the other end of that social network is a breath of fresh air in a space filled with bots, automation & trolls.

 

You’re Allowed to Sound Like You

by Adam Lehman on February 21, 2012 in Culture with No comments

In the world of social media, it’s so freaking easy to sound like everyone else.

You write a blog like Seth Godin. You tweet like Guy Kuwasaki. You facebook like Mari Smith.

In working with brands, it’s SO hard for them to develop their own voice. They want to talk about their offering like the offering they idolize. They want to use the same channels as their hero. They want to copy someone else’s model for success.

Hint: those people became successful by using THEIR OWN voice.

Take a deep breath. Write down what makes you unique. Don’t worry if you have some of the same skills and unique traits of others. But write & tweet & post using YOUR unique voice.

 

What is AdamLehman.us about?

by Adam Lehman on February 20, 2012 in Blogs with No comments

I’m working through Bryan Allain’s “31 Days to Finding Your Blogging Mojo”

On day #3, Bryan challenges readers to write out a response to the question, “So what is your blog about?”

Here’s my answer for this blog:

I publish insights about leadership, marketing and life. These might be interesting industry trends or lessons I’ve learned in work, life & relationships. I try to concentrate on authenticity. With so many people and brands out there inflating their image or ego, I like to observe and report about the realities of the world.

Colplay has a line in their song “Politik” related to this:

“give me real, don’t give me fake.”

I Need Your Money for 2 Things

by Adam Lehman on February 15, 2012 in Ramblings with No comments

I don’t often ask for money, but when I do there’s a good reason.

#1 HopeMob on Kickstarter

[Update: HopeMob REACHED THEIR GOAL!]

First off, head over to Kickstarter and pledge to Hope Mob. It’s a campaign to organize some good in a world full of marketers trying to sell us crap we don’t need. Sean King is heading it up and he’s done some ridiculously awesome stuff using social media.

So far they’ve raised over $100,000, but don’t get a dime unless they hit their $125,000 goal.

#2 I’m running a Half-Marathon

Anyone who knows me knows that raising money & running for long (or short) distances isn’t really my thing.

But I’m pretty passionate about the cause I’m running for. It’s transformed my life. So check it out:

Donate to Adam Lehman runs 13.1 for YFC

Will the Real Valentine Please Stand Up?!

by Adam Lehman on February 14, 2012 in Culture with 1 Comment

St-Valentine-Kneeling-In-Supplication
St. Valentine was a holy priest in Rome, who, with St. Marius and his family, assisted the martyrs in the persecution under Claudius II.

He was apprehended, and sent by the emperor to the prefect of Rome, who, on finding all his promises to make him renounce his faith ineffectual, commanded him to be beaten with clubs, and afterwards, to be beheaded, which was executed on February 14, about the year 270.

Woah. Way more epic than a box of chocolates or some flowers….

Moral of the Story: manufactured, mass market notions pale in comparison to honesty.

*for more on St. Valentine, read up on Wikipedia. 

 

 

Loyal Fans Know You’re Lying

by Adam Lehman on February 14, 2012 in Culture with 3 Comments

Bon Iver wins grammy. Grammys admit they're crap....Marketing yourself as bigger and better than you are is pretty typical. Nearly mandatory.

Executives love to see their brand blown up larger than life. Egos are stroked. Pride is massaged. Everyone smiles.

Except your most loyal fans.

Your closest, most passionate fans can tell when you’re full of it. You’re faking. You’re a joke.

Take last night’s Grammy Awards.

Bon Iver wins “Best New Artist. His first album “For Emma, For Ever Ago” came out in 2007. 

WTF ?!?!?!?!?!!!

I’ve learned over the years that the Grammy’s are a crock of crap. A heaping pile of marketing covered in a layer of mediocrity & sprinkled with the smallest hint of actual talent or meeting. They’ve taught me that. They teach me that each year.

They try to become a legitimate awards show, but ratings spike when they play some teenie-bopper, watered-down, mass-market celebrity lip-sync artist.

But they lose their most loyal fans. The most passionate music fans can’t stand that show. The Grammys are a lie.

The music industry is as splintered as ever. Take the “Best New Artist” category: Nicki Minaj, Bon Iver, Skrillex, The Band Perry, J. Cole. HOLY SMOKES. How the HECK do you judge that line-up? How the HECK do you accurately give an award titled “BEST?”

Moral of the story, your most passionate fans know that you’re lying. They’ve seen you. They’ve experienced what you have to offer. Don’t try to pretend you’re something you’re not, or you’ll piss off those that are best positioned to fanatically spread your brand.

*if you enjoy Bon Iver, enjoy below…

 

Social Media Chumps and Champs

by Adam Lehman on February 10, 2012 in Media with 2 Comments

 

Truth about Social Media

“Social Media” for businesses is a mystery.

It’s true.

When anyone anywhere can hang out on twitter, buy themselves some followers (for $5) and strut around the internet picking up all the ladies with a huge follower count; it’s hard to tell champ from chump.

So when companies go and look for someone to represent their brand across social networks (or devise a strategy) who do you turn to? You turn to the smoothest talking, slickest looking agency. You look to someone with bells and whistles and graphs and innovative – but not TOO innovative – ideas.

And how much do you pay them? A lot.

So there’s a pretty low barrier to entry ($100 for a custom wordpress site, $50 buys you 35,000 twitter followers. A few free ebooks from Hubspot or Marketo will get you all the basic knowledge you need to get started.)

So for the cost of fixing a chip in your car’s windshield, you can start a “social media consulting” business.

I have friends that charge 5% of what some agencies charge AND deliver huge results.

Great social media marketers can be affordable or expensive.

Horrible social media marketers can be affordable or expensive.

It’s hard to tell chump from champ.

So tell me, how do YOU tell the difference?

 

Social Media Jobs & Geographies

by Adam Lehman on February 9, 2012 in Media with No comments

Onward Search just came out with a tasty little infographic highlighting the top 20 US markets ranked by Social Media Salary. (you can stroll to bottom to see the graphic).

I found it interesting that Social Media being a digital medium, has pretty strong relationships to largest US Markets.

Given the state of the web, it’s very possible to execute social media campaigns for any company across the US from anywhere else in the US (or the world for that matter). Improved scheduling, automation & analytics allows for social media strategy and execution to happen from anywhere around the world.

Any Ideas on why you think there’s a strong correlation here?

Social Media Jobs and Salaries Guide
© 2012 Onward Search

What Do You Do When You’re Tired?

by Adam Lehman on February 8, 2012 in Leadership with 4 Comments

The past couple of days I’ve been a whiny baby; complaining about being tired, stuffed up & drowsy.

My productivity was zapped. I wasn’t much fun to talk to. Coherent thoughts were a rarity.

This caused me to rethink what I do when I feel myself being tired.

I took a little Facebook poll and realized most people simply head straight for the caffeine. Coffee, Red Bull & Mountain Dew.

But we all know that those are just temporary jolts, right? We know that we’re gonna crash after a  few hours, right?

I spent a little time and rethought how I could avoid being in this spot again.

There’s two steps:

Ask “why” a few times.

In my sales role, I represent a 3rd party logistic provider. Within the logistics & manufacturing world, there is a practice called 6-Sigma. Essentially, this process is asking “why” 6 times.

For example, a truck is late for delivery:  Why? Driver left late. Why? Trailer wasn’t loaded yet. Why? Loader was late. Why? He works in a culture that allows lateness. Why? No one has emphasized that to supervisors. Why? They have too many other things to worry about.

So for our tiredness analogy, we have to ask why 6 times. Why? I didn’t get much sleep. Why? I stayed up till 2am last night. Why? I was working on a website. Why? I procrastinated. Why? I’m had too many other projects that took priority. Why? Because I’ve overbooked myself.

Invest in your answers

As you’ll see in my own personal tiredness example, The core reason I’m tired is because I’m overbooked. Taking on too many projects has left me squeezed for time. So one of the first ways for me to make sure I’m well-rested and ready to attack the day is to make sure there’s not TOO much on my plate.

In the practice of 6 Sigma continual improvement, you make a minimal investment at each stage you identify in the problem. So working backwards I’ll invest in 1) Getting more sleep, 2) going to bed earlier, 3) not procrastinating, 4) keeping my projects limited to top priorities & 5) taking some time to outline what it is that I want to prioritize in my work.

 

 

Can a Super Bowl Commercial Rally a Nation?

by Adam Lehman on February 6, 2012 in Media with 2 Comments

In a Super Bowl full of last second heroics, bad commercials and your typical GoDaddy sex marketing; Chrysler put together one of the more inspiring commercials I’d seen in a long time.

Sure, Chrysler is asking us to invest in their cars. In “American” made cars. In Detroit.

But they invested on a commercial that wasn’t full of features and redundant shots of cars driving across curvy mountainous roads. Chrysler invited us to see a new future; invited those watching the Super Bowl Sunday to take a new approach to their work on Monday.

While it may have caused less web traffic than GoDaddy’s porn marketing, everyone wins with Chrysler’s commercial.

*Also, I’ll put my throat through whatever form of hell is required to have Clint Eastwood’s voice.

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