An Introduction

Hi, my name is Emily Cote, and I am the new Community Manager for Outspoken Media.

You probably didn’t know this, but I have been the Community Manager for the past month. The reason you didn’t know this is because I have pretty much been non-existent online since then. And honestly, I owe you an apology for that.

No one ever likes to admit their weaknesses. It goes against all human nature. But I believe the only way we can ever make progress (as individuals, and as a species) is to know where we are starting from, and to know where we want to go. In between, there is a lot of stumbling, a lot of questioning, and a lot of positive, life-changing growth.

I also think I need to tell you, our readers, the truth. At Outspoken Media, we are pretty much starting at square one.

Let me be clear—not on the client side. Throughout this process of organizational change, our clients have always come first. We are so dedicated to providing consistent, high-quality work for them that we did everything we could to ensure they were buffered and protected, and experienced very little change throughout this transition. And I think, even though it has been a lot of hard work, we have been successful.

But from a social standpoint, I have inherited a community that has experienced a loss, and a brand that is trying to find its new voice. To act as though nothing has changed is doing a disservice to everyone in the community.

A Confession

Outspoken Media is not the same company it was three years ago. Heck, it isn’t the same company it was when I started six months ago. We’re evolving on so many levels, and we are heading toward some truly exciting things. I can’t tell you how much I, in just six months, have fallen head over heels for this company and for our team, or how inspired I am when I wake up every morning, knowing where we are headed.

But, to our community, we look almost the same. It’s the same website. The same logo. The same services. The same general content. And I believe, up until today, the same status quo.

The responsibility that came with inheriting this community has had me mentally paralyzed for the last month. I have wanted so badly to jump in and interact with all of you, but I didn’t know where to start. Out of fear of doing the wrong thing, I have done nothing. And I think that is because I, too, have been operating under the pretense that this company is the same, and that I am expected to fill certain shoes.

A Revelation

But then, this morning, I woke up and I was hit with a realization—one that I probably should have come to sooner. The only reason it has been so hard for me to jump into this, to see the big picture, is because I have been looking at our company through the wrong lens.

It’s time for me to start treating Outspoken Media like a client. A client who is going through a rebranding process. A client who needs a new social media strategy.

Client fallout is almost always attributable to the difference between expectations and outcomes. Therefore, one of the first things we do when we start with a new client is set realistic expectations. We walk them through our work process, we tell them what results they can reasonably expect, and we don’t make promises we can’t keep. It’s nothing but honest communication, usually backed up with hard data.

So, this blog post is step one. I am setting your expectations.

A Plan

This blog is going to change. We’re not going to be posting as often as we used to. But when we do, it’s going to be big. We’re going to start targeting higher-level SEO topics, and talking more about the work we actually do on a day-to-day basis. We’re going to talk about the things we are actively learning, about the tools we are using, and we’re going to start showing lots of data when we can. We’re going to be using those nifty colored boxes you may have spotted in our posts, to outline real, actionable items you can take away from each piece and use in your work.

We’re also going to be doing more case studies. And hopefully you noticed in the title—I have decided to use our own brand as a case study.

I want you to join us during this process. I want you to see how we’re going to get from where we are today to where we are going. Just as we plan to do on the blog overall, for our own brand case study, I want to talk about the tools we are using, the things we are learning, and, yes, I am going to show you lots of data. In return, I am going to ask you, our community, for the following deliverables so we can have a great new working relationship.

A List of Requests

• Please give us your feedback. Honest communication is a two-way street. We want to know what you think. Suggestions, comments, criticisms… please send them our way. I always tell my clients: “If there is anything else I can do to help or do my job even better, please do not hesitate to ask.” The same rule applies to you. Here is my e-mail to show you I mean it: emily [at] outspokenmedia.com.

• Please pardon our dust. Rebranding is a lot like trying to remodel a store while everyone is still shopping. We have lots of client work that still needs to get done, and even with all the recent changes, operations haven’t missed a beat. But it’s a messy process to change course while trying to keep the same momentum, and we hope you’ll be patient with us while we work it all out.

• Please know how much we care. Our industry is really special. Rarely do you see so many competitors working together toward the common good of the entire industry. Rarely do you see so much collaboration. Rhea’s link-building spreadsheet… how awesome was that? Look how many people pitched in, and how it evolved. We want more of that! We want to work with the industry to make it better. If you see ways we can help improve something, we want to know! Give us a shout, and we’ll do our best to pitch in and work toward the common good.

• Please be excited. I can’t tell you all the things that are coming down the pike for Outspoken Media, but they are so awesome, sometimes they keep me up at night. Some of them are coming soon. Others are going to take more time and a lot more work. But the vision we have for this company, and the passion we have to drive us in achieving that vision, are unmatched by anything I have ever experienced in a job before. I know I can’t fully convey all this to you, but I am just going to ask you to trust me. And I want you to be there to celebrate our successes. And we want to be there to celebrate yours! SEO is not dead. It’s evolving into something new and exciting, and we are very happy to be a part of the change.

I honestly wasn’t sure if I could handle this new role and do it justice. But, knowing the industry, I am hoping I will be able to lean on all of you and ask for advice as I start to get my feet wet. This is all new to me, and I am both scared and excited. But this is my chance to be a part of something beautiful and amazing—the rebirth of a company and a brand that means the world to me. And I can’t wait to jump in.

What if I told you that you could reduce reputation problems, provide great customer service, strengthen your brand, and live according to your values and mission through a single marketing tactic? The answer lies in fruit. Yes, fruit.

Around the Outspoken Media office, we’ve been on a big corporate social responsibility kick. It’s one way we convey our values, so when I stumbled on a “fruit delivery” service from The FruitGuys, I had to know more. They provide a corporate delivery solution for local and organic produce. Fantastic! I’m a big environmentalist and the team has a love/hate relationship with carbs. This service could provide a healthy, environmentally friendly alternative to office snacking.

I signed up.

Happy Account Registration Day to you!

As soon as I set up an account with The FruitGuys, I immediately received an e-mail notifying me of the account creation and providing login credentials. This wasn’t your typical e-mail with a password manager; it was designed as a celebratory event marking our entry into the wonderful world of corporate fruit deliveries. They called it a “birthday,” and gave us their e-mail and phone number to contact them with any comments or questions:

Once I told the team about The FruitGuys service, there was no turning back. I placed our first order for a recurring weekly delivery.

Order confirmation

Like most e-commerce solutions, The FruitGuys sent a receipt to my inbox. This wasn’t your standard receipt, though. At the very top, before the purchase information and order summary, were their e-mail address and phone number. They really wanted us to know how we could reach them:

Confirmation of recurring payment

The day after I placed our order, I received another e-mail from The FruitGuys, which was to confirm that my order was meant to be a recurring shipment. Unlike the first two e-mails, this came directly from an account rep at The FruitGuys. Now I had the name, e-mail address, and phone number of a real person at the company in the event of a question or concern.

I confirmed, and they thanked me for our order. At this point in the follow-up process, it struck me that The FruitGuys had their own language: “Hi Fruit Fans,” “Fruitfully yours,” “Enjoy and be fruitful!” and “Happy FruitGuys account registration birthday.” This was communicated through automated e-mails, and by their team.

Quality assurance and guarantee

Three days later, and one day prior to our first fruit shipment, Matthew Macdonald, the East Coast Sales Rep for The FruitGuys contacted me directly with a voicemail and follow-up e-mail. Matthew quickly established a relationship with us, but even more important, he let us know that if we ever had any concerns with the quality of their fruit, they have a 100% quality guarantee, and are happy to replace the entire crate with no questions asked. Sounds like a value proposition to me! With one e-mail, I also knew the company’s mission was: “Delivering fresh fruit as a wellness benefit to companies on a weekly basis.”

He gave me his e-mail address, his phone number, and the main customer service line.

Weekly payment status

Each week, we receive a new shipment of fruit, and the day prior, I receive a fun invoice from The FruitGuys marked “PAID” because we’re set up with automatic billing. With each invoice, they include the contact information for their billing department as well as the main customer service contact information:

Facebook management

Before receiving our fruit, we were so excited that we Liked The FruitGuys on Facebook. They asked us to take a picture when we received our fruit.

When we got our fruit, we posed with it as they’d asked of us, but also because we were now swooning over the company and our delicious fruit:

We tagged The FruitGuys in our update, and not only did they like it, they commented and then shared it on their wall:

What’s the secret to reducing reputation problems, providing great customer service, strengthening your brand, and living according to your values and mission?

Follow-up.

That’s it. Find opportunities within your organization to increase follow-up and infuse your communication with each of the aforementioned goals.

At Outspoken Media, we’ve recently signed on with InfusionSoft to help us intelligently automate newsletter sign-ups and contact forms. We recognize that as a small shop, it’s difficult to manage the sheer number of inquiries we receive daily. We have to turn to technology to help us scale, but in the process, we don’t want to lose our voice or compromise our values. Below are several tools you can use to improve follow-up, and please take a minute to share your experiences in the comments below.

Want to see more of Outspoken Media? Here’s where we will be hanging out at in the coming months. We’re always happy to meet new people and catch up with the industry’s finest, so please come and say ‘hi’ if you catch us at one of these events:

SMX Advanced – June 5th-6th

SMX Advanced is fast approaching! This conference is loaded with some great speakers this year, including keynotes from Matt Cutts, Google’s head of web spam, and Derrick Connell of Bing’s Search Program Management team. Besides contributing to the creation of Bing, we’re pretty sure Derrick has an amazing Irish accent.

Michelle, Rhea and I will all be attending, and Michelle will be liveblogging the event. If you haven’t already, make sure to Like us on Facebook, add us to your circles on Google+ and follow us on Twitter to get up-to-the-minute liveblogging coverage of the show.

Rhea is set to speak on two panels. She, along with Marty Weintraub of aimClear and Aaron Friedman of Resolution Media, will be talking about how to survive personalization with Bing and Google in the SEO track. Then, Rhea will join Michael King or iAcquire and Merry Marud of aimClear on a panel to discuss hardcore social media and SEO tools designed to make your job easier and a little more awesome. You won’t want to miss that.

At this point, All Access passes are all sold out… hopefully you bought your tickets! You can still register for the network or workshop-only passes.

MozCon Seattle – July 25th-27th

Seattle will be a beautiful place to return to in the heart of summer. Rhea will be speaking about online reputation management on the 26th. There are a lot of exceptionally talented SEOs presenting here including: Ian Lurie, Annie Cushing, Joanna Lord, Wil Reynolds, AJ Kohn, Jen Lopez and Greg Boser–just to name a few. ;-)

Be sure to register soon!

PubCon, Vegas – October 15th-19th

The whole Outspoken Media gang is going to this one! We’ll be speaking, liveblogging, attending and hopefully sharing a drink with you. I am particularly excited, since I fell absolutely head-over-heels for Vegas during a recent vacation there. I can’t wait to go back, and I am seriously stoked about some of the talent that will be presenting at Pubcon.

October may seem far away, but these tickets sell fast. If you haven’t registered, yet, now might be a good time!

So, that’s where we’ll be. Where are you planning to be this year? Are there any events that you are particularly excited about? Who are you most excited to see speak? What topics would you like to see covered? Share your thoughts in the comments!

When you created your business plan, you took into account things like a marketing plan, financial data, licenses, employee salaries, insurance, and a social media policy. But did you think about corporate social responsibility (CSR)? If not, it may be time to rethink your business strategy. And if you think you don’t have time to volunteer, contribute to charity, or do something meaningful for your customers because you’re too busy running your business, well, you may want to rethink that attitude because CSR can increase your bottom line. Not only that, it can help you attract and retain valuable employees.

Conventional wisdom says profitability is increased primarily through growth of your business. The reality is, the more fervently you pursue that profit, the more it will elude you. I’m not saying you should just kick back, relax, and let the business take care of itself. Any business requires hard work, discipline, and persistence. But the main method by which your business earns money is attracting customers, and to put it plainly, customers don’t like brands they perceive to be greedy and self-serving.

Part of the reason the BP oil spill was such a PR disaster wasn’t just because of the deaths and environmental damage that resulted from the accident, or the illness and deaths that continue to occur even today. It came down to the reason the accident happened in the first place—the company was disregarding safety rules in order to cut corners, and increase profit.

Most companies don’t have to worry about catastrophic environmental disasters, but they do still have to be concerned with how their customers—and potential customers—perceive them.

Show Your Customers You Value Them

The Havas Media Lab conducted a study, surveying 50,000 people in 14 countries and asking them to identify the companies they felt had the most meaningful CSR. Havas Media then used the results of that study to create The Meaningful Brand Index (MBi). The MBi “uses consumer perception to compare and track the impact brands have on our lives.”

The study found a direct correlation between brands’ MBi scores, and how attached consumers are to those brands, showing that “20% of brands have a notable positive impact on our sense of well-being and quality of life,” and that “most people would not care if 70% of brands ceased to exist.” How do your customers feel about you and your brand? Would they care if you ceased to exist tomorrow?

The thing to remember is that not all brands accomplish CSR through volunteering or donating to charity. In some cases, their efforts have a more direct effect on consumers. Umair Haque, Director of the Media Lab, cited Nike+ as a good example. It’s not about their charity work, it’s because the campaign “actually helps make you a better runner.”

If you feel a company is making an effort to do something for you above and beyond just selling you a product, you’re more likely to become and remain loyal to that company. The same is true of your customers. What have you done for them lately?

Demonstrate Your Values With Your Clients

You also have the option of taking it a step further, and getting your clients involved in your CSR efforts. A lot of companies show their appreciation to their clients each holiday season by sending gift baskets or inviting them to company holiday parties. There’s nothing wrong with that, but SEER Interactive uses that time as an opportunity to truly share good will by giving their clients $100 gift cards through JustGive. Clients can then use the site to choose a charity to receive that gift card.

Wil Reynolds said, “The biggest by product that has come out of this (that I never expected) is finding out more about our clients, not as ‘clients’ but as people.” I would wager that this practice also allows SEER’s clients to see the agency’s employees not just as “consultants,” but people as well, creating a deeper relationship with more at its base than mutual profit.

At Outspoken Media, we combined both practices. We invited clients, colleagues, and members of the local community to our company holiday party, and we asked everyone who attended to bring canned goods or gift cards that we could donate to a local food pantry. We were really glad to see several people bring donations, but the best part was the looks on the food pantry employees’ faces when they came to pick up the donations. Being part of a coordinated effort to help people in need was really gratifying for all of us.

You can tell your clients you’re interested in helping them, or you can show them how you actually help others. It’s up to you.

Strengthen Your Team Through Volunteerism

Last fall, the Outspoken Media team volunteered at a local community center. Unity House serves as a food pantry, a low-cost clothing reseller, and a community resource for jobs and education, among other things. At the time, they were collecting school supplies for underprivileged kids, and we were happy to oblige.

In addition to donating several backpacks filled with school supplies, we decided to spend a few hours at Unity House helping them with an event they were hosting. We made copies, distributed raffle tickets, and helped organize items in their store. By themselves, those may be pretty small things. But the fact that we were all there together, united to accomplish a common goal, went a long way to bring our team together in a way we hadn’t been before.

We’ve since expanded that volunteerism spirit by identifying causes that are important to each of us individually. For example, Rhea is very supportive of the environment (she takes all our recycling home with her to dispose of it properly) and fetal alcohol awareness, while I am an animal shelter volunteer and advocate of animals—pit bulls in particular. By sharing causes that are close to our hearts, we’re learning more about each other. By getting involved to support each other’s causes, we’re also gaining deeper respect for each other, and becoming a more close-knit team.

More than that, while we’re already productive members of the local economy, we’re also working to become a company that cares about and is involved in our local community. This means a lot to us because it gives us a sense of having a higher purpose. We’re not just coming to work every day, sitting in front of our computers, and then going home. We’re trying to make a difference in every way we can. Anyone can write a check. Monetary donations are good, and are always needed. But getting out there together, getting your hands dirty, and having experiences to share and talk about later are the things team-building is made of.

One caveat—avoid pushing your cause on the rest of the team. Employees may be loath to argue with the boss, and no one wants to end up running a 10K for something they’re not really passionate about. (I don’t even want to run a 10K for the causes I am passionate about!) Make sure your conversations about volunteering take everyone’s opinions into account, and never make participation mandatory.

What we’ve done at Outspoken Media is, in addition to identifying our personal causes, we’ve chosen a couple to support as a company. One is Unity House, as I mentioned earlier, and the other is Vanderheyden Hall, a residential treatment facility for adolescents.

When supporting causes or attending charity events as a team, try to limit yourselves to the ones that really matter to you, especially if you’re going to use your networks to gain support—and donations. You don’t want to wear out your welcome by asking for money every month for some new cause or charity event. Stick to the ones that are really important to you, be consistent, and people will be more willing to support you.

Attract and Retain Valuable Employees With Volunteerism

Getting your company involved in volunteer opportunities can not only improve morale for, and retain your current team, it can help you attract high-quality employees as well.

The 2011 Deloitte Volunteer IMPACT Survey showed a direct correlation between volunteer efforts and employee satisfaction. Focusing on millennials, the survey concluded that 52% of those who take part in their company’s volunteer and charity activities are more likely to feel very loyal toward their company. It also showed that 51% of participants are more likely to be very satisfied with their employer. Here’s a snapshot of all the results:

Image courtesy Deloitte Development LLC

Along with health benefits, retirement plans, and other perks, the opportunity to volunteer and give back to the community can be a strong selling point for your company. Making this a prominent part of your culture can also help you attract people who will fit in well with your current employees, and who share your team’s values. It’s much easier to hold onto employees than it is to hire and train new ones. Including volunteer efforts in your business strategy is one sure way to keep employees happy, and morale high.

So how ’bout it? What are you and your company doing to improve the lives of your customers, clients, employees, and community members? Share your corporate social responsibility success stories with us!

[This is part five in a five-part series charting Outspoken Media's operational development process.]
I love “ah-ha!” moments. I’m fortunate enough to work in an industry where they happen all of the time. Kind of like when I find your navigation is coded in non-crawlable JavaScript and not HTML. I love those moments like they’re my own children. Well, that’s extreme, but you get the point.

When Outspoken Media started working with Shem Cohen on strategic planning, team building, and organizational development, though, I stumbled upon more “ah-ha!” moments in our daily operations. They reinvigorated my love for the industry and Outspoken Media in general. Turns out, my assumptions about productivity and working with others were false and were hindering progress, not facilitating it. This is what I learned about making assumptions.

Assumptions Crush Productivity

Assumptions are easy to come by in this industry and I believe many online marketing strategies are based on them. This is an industry-wide challenge, because misreading analytics data can quickly lead to lofty assumptions, which can derail a campaign. It’s important to minimize them as much as possible to improve productivity and show results.

During the self-discovery and team exercises, I was able to learn what is important to my coworkers regarding work processes. Knowing this makes it easier to determine when and how to approach people involved in a specific project. Now I can get the best possible results when working on a project. With motivational knowledge at my fingertips, I am able to pull actionable work and feedback from the team, which makes my process more efficient, and in the end, results in even more successful campaigns for our clients.

Assumptions Are Not Goal-Oriented

Assumptions are placed on people, whereas goals focus on the big picture. Rather than working from a set of assumptions about a person or a task, refocus on the purpose of work–both your personal purpose within an organization, and the higher purpose your client is trying to achieve. This will make it easier to come up with high-performance link building methods and a content marketing strategy that converts. It’s also more fulfilling on a personal level when you can understand the reason for something, not just that it was assigned.

Remember also that your priorities may not always be the biggest priorities for everyone else. I had to realize that the answer I wanted wasn’t always the highest priority for the client or team. I can’t take that stuff personally. Rather, I had to anticipate answer times and schedule my work accordingly. This assumption isn’t a new one that came out of the work we did with Shem, but it is one that helped me become more proactive in scheduling and management of my pieces of the project puzzle. It’s why we created the link building strategies spreadsheet, to help navigate obstacles in an organization and still get the job done.

Assumptions About Motivations Create Roadblocks

If we work with assumptions as the norm long enough, they become just that, and efficiency is lost. My first months at Outspoken were spent assuming my co-workers knew what motivated me. That was a problem. During some of the self-discovery processes with Shem, I was able to share with my coworkers the things I discovered about myself. One of my discoveries was that I need projects and processes to happen in steps with feedback. We implemented this on a large audit which we split into sections, which helped us tackle issues as they came up, not as sweeping changes at the end of the project.

If we hadn’t shared with each other our motivating factors and how we work best, we would all be making assumptions about one another and creating unnecessary roadblocks. We see assumptions every day in the workplace, and especially in SEO. An executive assumes they know what keyword they need to rank for, and agencies assumes the executive’s motives are uninformed. The truth is, both parties may be wrong and right. The executive may know his business and goals better than the agency, but the agency may better understand the obstacles to achieving those goals. Before fighting over assumptions, clarify motives. Goals can be achieved through methods that make both parties happy.

Don’t let assumptions ruin an otherwise great project or working relationship with your coworkers. Get to know their motivators and use them for good in your organization. It will make working together exciting, and the results stellar.

Embracing Your Extrovert in Business
Three Lessons for Business and Life
Aligning Keyword Strategy with Corporate Goals
Corporate Culture for Introverts

[This is part four in a five-part series charting Outspoken Media's operational development process.]
Let’s just get this out in the open right now—a lot of you think the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test is a bunch of hooey. Come on, admit it. You think it’s like a horoscope, right? You can read into it pretty much whatever you want, and then use it to justify your behavior, right or wrong. I’m sure a lot of people do that. You’re not really responsible for your behavior if it’s attributable to your predetermined personality. That’s just you, and everyone else just needs to get used to you, and let you be you. Right? Yeah, how’s that workin’ for ya?

Look, if anyone is going to take the MBTI results and run with them, it’s going to be me. The test told me something I already knew—I’m an introvert. Actually, I’m not an introvert. In the Outspoken Media office, I’m the introvert. In the extrovert/introvert portions of the test, I did not choose a single extroverted response. Not one. In case you’re not completely familiar with introversion, it’s not just shyness:

Introverts are drawn to the inner world of thought and feeling … [they] recharge their batteries by being alone … [they] often work more slowly and deliberately … and have mighty powers of concentration. Introverts … listen more than they talk, think before they speak, and often feel as if they express themselves better in writing than in conversation. – Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

The only thing missing from that description is my photo alongside it. I should be paid a commission anytime anyone uses that description, it’s so me. It’s why you’ll see me liveblogging at conferences, but may not always see me at the after-parties. It’s why making the move from working at home to being back in an office every day was very difficult for me. But it also meant I had a choice to make—how to fit into this company’s culture.

As Rhea said in her post about embracing your extrovert in business, one of the things she got out of the development process is being able to respect style differences, and her desire to do that is informing the creation of Outspoken Media’s culture.

With a work history of 20+ years, it’s been my experience that few companies or managers ever take the time to learn about their employees’ personalities and work styles, much less try to create an environment that is accommodating to them. In that sense, I feel pretty lucky right now to work for a company that is making an effort to create an inclusive and welcoming culture.

It would have been very easy for me to hide behind my newly validated label as an introvert, ensconce myself in my office, and close myself off from the rest of the team. That might have made me more comfortable, at least in the short-term.

But the truth is, I would have missed out on a lot of things if I did that. The opportunity to learn from my coworkers when they share their knowledge, ideas, or personal stories in meetings and casual conversations over lunch. The in-jokes that have become such a part of our daily routine with each other. The camaraderie. The laughter, and yes, some tears. The personal growth that can only come from being out in the world rather than shutting it out.

If you’re having a tough time fitting into your company’s culture, maybe a few of the things I’ve learned can help you, too.

Be Willing to Compromise

It can’t be all about you all the time. While it’s great for a company and a boss to want to accommodate everyone’s personal needs and work styles, that can only go so far. In order for the business to remain functional, and for everyone to feel heard and taken care of, there has to be some give and take on both parts. Remember that you’re one part of a larger entity.

Ask For What You Need

Fitting into the company’s culture doesn’t have to mean total conformity. There are times when I do need to shut my office door, put in my earbuds, and crank up SimplyNoise to concentrate on work. Part of our operational development process was letting our coworkers know what we need in order to do our best work. One of my requests was occasional quiet time so I can focus. When I need it, I ask for it, and my request is granted and respected. It can be scary sometimes to ask for what you need, but the alternative is slowly building resentment, and that won’t be good for anyone.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

I won’t lie—sometimes, it’s still difficult for me to be in an office with people every day. And conferences? Yikes. Those can be really tough. But I get up and come into the office every day, and I go to conferences and make a point of introducing myself to people. Why? Because I can’t be a fully productive, contributing member of this company, or of this community and industry if I don’t. The temporary discomfort is far outweighed by the benefits of meeting great people, and developing good working relationships, and in a few cases, even friendships. Eleanor Roosevelt said it best (emphasis mine):

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

Next time you’re in a position to take the easy way out, try to resist. Take on the challenge, and then revel in the sense of accomplishment. You try that, and I promise I’ll try to make it to at least some of the conference after-parties.

Check out the other posts in this five-part series:
Embracing Your Extrovert in Business
Three Lessons for Business and Life
Aligning Keyword Strategy with Corporate Goals

Image courtesy of jamiesrabbits

[This is part three in a five-part series charting Outspoken Media's operational development process.]
It was only around 10:00 a.m. when Shem set the jar full of Twizzler nibs, M&Ms, and pistachios on a chair in the center of the room. For me, it’s never too early for sweets. So as he explained the next activity, I fixated on acquiring the contents of the jar.

“Take some time to describe what you see. Avoid naming the objects. Just jot down thoughts or words to describe it. Feel free to walk around, pick it up, and examine it.”

I, the queen of long-tail keywords, was going to win this one. I started at the 2,000 foot view. A glass object holding several small objects. A glass vessel containing red, green, brown, orange, and yellow edible objects. A small transparent container housing high-calorie, high-energy foods. My list went on and on like that until I had a list of twenty or so descriptive phrases that I believed captured the essence of this jar without explicitly stating the names of the items.

After about ten minutes, we regrouped and went around sharing our lists. I expected my teammates to have a similar list of phrases, but instead I heard one-word descriptors such as “tasty,” “crunchy,” “sweet,” and “delicious.” They described events and memories associated with snack food. Someone mentioned their dad. This activity had gone to a weird place for me.

The truth is, I tend to look at the world through this lens all day. The way these snacks might make me feel, memories associated with eating trail mix, the joyful mixture of colors and textures—all that was irrelevant. My descriptions of the jar are very much how I choose to view the world. Just the facts, please. Leave the fluff at the door.

And the winner? There was no competition. Everyone was welcome to take snacks from the jar after the activity was over. But that’s just me. I see a target. Ready, fire, aim.

But the world is not full of people like me. And in order to succeed at my job, I need to take into account the different ways people describe and view simple, everyday objects and events. I learned that, before I make assumptions about a goal, I need to slow down, plan, and execute.

But I’m not the only one guilty of getting sucked into my world view. How many of us have clients who go for highly-competitive head terms without assessing the impact of those keywords on revenue? Who among us isn’t guilty of making assumptions about the way our customers search for our products and services without due diligence? We’re not just missing out on great opportunities for exposure; we’re leaving money on the table. Going after the right keywords with a solid plan takes time and effort, but can lead to increased revenue and opportunities to build customer trust.

Don’t know where to start? Here’s what I learned from the simple exercise of describing objects in a jar:

Don’t Discount Emotions

I never would have associated a jar of snacks with memories, but that is a legitimate way of viewing the same object. When we try to think of the ways our audience views our product or service, we can use the same principle to cast a focused keyword net. Are you only optimizing for “wedding centerpieces,” or do you have content that supports “simple centerpieces for wedding receptions”? Instinctively, which keyword sounds more purchase-focused?

A whole resource section could be built around identifying these personae and finding the emotional or personality-based keywords that align with their search behavior. Become a resource for brides looking for minimalistic weddings. Feature do-it-yourself guides. Become an integral part of the wedding planning process through an opt-in, money saving tip-of-the-day e-mail. Once you understand the emotional characteristics of the persona you’re targeting, you can create more focused content around low-volume, high-converting keywords, and build customer trust.

Clarify Goals from the Start

Interest and inquiries from the C-level can prompt marketers to act and react in illogical ways. When your CEO asks why your company isn’t ranking for “widgets,” don’t go into keyword-stuffing overdrive. Take the opportunity to clarify and align your efforts with overarching corporate goals. The objective may be to promote a specific service segment and increase revenue to the department, not rank for the short-tail descriptor.

Emily has already given us a great resource to help us understand how to fold SEO into your marketing mix. Ensure that your optimization efforts align with other marketing efforts at your organization to deliver a consistent message and brand presence. When your boss corners you about highly competitive head terms, tie all other aspects of the corporate marketing plan back to your efforts.

Sometimes it takes the simplest of activities to help us identify our weaknesses and assumptions. For me, it was describing snacks in a jar. Or as I’d prefer to say, small edible objects in a transparent vessel.

Check out the other posts in this five-part series:
Embracing Your Extrovert in Business
Three Lessons for Business and Life
Corporate Culture for Introverts

[This is part two in a five-part series charting Outspoken Media's operational development process.]
Rarely do I get the opportunity to track my own evolution. Okay, I take that back. Facebook timeline kind of does that in a creepy “can’t believe I wore/said/acted/looked like that” sort of way.

But when it comes to true personal development, it’s rare that I have gotten to see cold hard facts showing that I have, indeed, evolved over time. But, during an organizational workshop the Outspoken Media team participated in, I got to see firsthand that I am a much different person now than I was six years ago.

How do I know? In my second year as a business management student, I was required to take an MBTI assessment for one of my classes. My personality type: a clear-as-day INFP. (Don’t worry, you don’t need to know all the details of what that means. I’ll show you as we go along.)

However, when we were all asked to take an MBTI assessment as part of the Outspoken Media development process, my assessment showed a new profile: ENFJ. This means that in the six years between testing, I have evolved enough to actually see it proved on paper.

Always happy to dig deeper into my complex psyche, I began to study the handful of jobs I have had in the last six years in an attempt to pinpoint those moments that helped change me into my new orderly, extroverted self. And, through introspection, I think I have nailed down a couple of valuable business lessons worth sharing.

Losing All Control

“INFPs do not like conflict, and go to great lengths to avoid it. If they must face it, they will always approach it from the perspective of their feelings. In conflict situations, INFPs place little importance on who is right and who is wrong.”

Having just been promoted to my first managerial position, I wanted nothing more than to be the “cool” boss. Most of my team members were around the same age as me, and rather than try to earn their respect, I instead tried to earn their approval. I let the team take longer breaks than usual, I gave them nothing more than a sideways glance when I found them chatting on their cellphones during work hours, and I was more than happy to “pitch in” and pick up the slack when they didn’t do their jobs 100%.

Wow, just in typing that, I think I died a little inside.

Fast forward six months. An employee came into work one day, and it was apparent she had no intention of actually working. I remember standing there, asking her to do her job, and she literally (yes, literally) rolled around on the floor, laughing, and flat out told me “No.” I had completely lost control.

Lesson # 1: Being Respected > Being Liked

I remember going home that night and talking to one of my best friends—my mom. She told me, “Em, you’re not there to make friends. You’re there to do your job, and to make sure that other people do their job too.” Learning to assert myself at the risk of not being “liked” was a hard lesson. And after developing such a reputation, it took months to repair it. But, after being consistent and learning to have confidence in myself and my decisions, I did. And I discovered something. I could still be assertive, and have people like me. Only, now they liked me because they respected me, and they worked harder because they respected me. And really, that’s a win-win.

Going with the Flow

“I like to stay open to respond to whatever happens… I like to keep plans to a minimum.” - Myers-Briggs description of Perceiving.

There came a time when I needed to move on from a job. I knew it wasn’t the right fit for me. The values and mission of the company had deviated, and they were no longer in sync with my own ideals. My boss, whom I respected, had left, and I was no longer interested in the work.

I remember coming home one day and just announcing to my husband that I was going to quit. I called my mom and told her too. I told friends. I was so excited about it, I could barely contain myself. And yet, every time I told someone, the response was the same.

“Awesome. So, what’s your plan?”

“Eh, I don’t have one” I would reply, proudly, riding on the high of my own boldness. The idea of quitting spontaneously was so brave in my mind. I saw it as an adventure, a new beginning, a world of endless possibilities.

And I quit the next day.

Somehow, in my zest for adventure I had failed to truly recognize just how much the economy had taken a nosedive into the proverbial crapper. I was unemployed in what is one of the worst economic times this country has ever seen. I had little experience, and my resume had more holes than Swiss cheese.

I applied for jobs almost every. Single. Day. For six months. My husband’s and my savings were depleted at an alarming rate. I was driving out of state to work a couple hours here and there for an old boss who was willing to lend me a hand.

At the end of the six months, I was so stir crazy and so frustrated, I applied for and took a job for less than I had been making in high school, just so I could get out of the house and help pay our bills. It took me another six months after that to even find another job in my field. It took years to replenish our savings.

Lesson #2 – Some Decisions are Never Okay to Leave to Chance

I can deal with leaving dinner up to chance, or choosing a movie on a whim. But I will never approach large decisions (especially in dealing with money) up to chance again when they involve other people. That six-month period was the greatest lesson in “choices and consequences” I have ever experienced, and even though it was difficult to go through, I am thankful for it.

Ask Rhea, or anyone else in the OSM office—I am a planning freak. Notebook in hand, checklists at the ready, I never want to leave anything in our business up to chance. I’ve seen what it is like to gamble and lose, and I will never do that with the money or success of Outspoken Media or our clients. Show me metrics, show me data, show me the outcome that I can reasonably expect. Sure, in business, sometimes you have to take risks, but they will be calculated, and I will be informed, and you can bet your life there will be a Plan B.

Finding Purpose in My Work

“The INFP needs to work on balancing their high ideals with the requirements of everyday living. Without resolving this conflict, they will never be happy with themselves, and they may become confused and paralyzed about what to do with their lives.”

It’s become a running joke in the office – the various “dream careers of Emily Cote” that I aspired toward while I was growing up. Infomercialist, Rockette (note: I’m 5’2”), astrophysicist, wedding dress designer, interior decorator, pastry chef, philanthropist, jewelry maker, champion dog breeder … at one time or another, I have wanted to be all of these things.

I laugh about it now, but there was a period where I felt very lost because I really had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. All I knew was that I wanted to be awesome—I wanted to save the world. And I had it in my mind that anything less would mean I had failed and wasted my time. I would run around thinking “I’m not doing enough. I’m not influential enough. I’m not saving lives.” And I would become disillusioned in each job I held because it was never “enough.”

Lesson #3 – It’s Enough to Make a Difference

At Outspoken Media, I have come to truly enjoy a job that is full of purpose. No, I am not rescuing puppies from wells or pulling people out of burning buildings. But I am making a difference. Every time I offer a new idea during a strategy meeting, every time I push through a website audit, every time I build a new .edu link to a client resource, I am making a contribution:

• to my company;
• to my client;
• to the SEO industry;
• and to the Internet as a whole.

I am also lucky to be a part of a very close team where we freely exchange ideas, laughter, collaboration, and food. (We eat a lot of each other’s food here.) I can’t tell you how many times one of us has jumped in to help another on a project, even if it meant staying late or missing lunch. As a company, we also have a strong focus on the community, and we contribute to causes we feel passionate about.

And I’ve come to learn that’s “enough.” That’s enough to make my work meaningful, and to make coming in every morning something I look forward to. And that, I think, is the best lesson I’ve learned so far.

Check out the other posts in this five-part series:
Embracing Your Extrovert in Business
Aligning Keyword Strategy with Corporate Goals
Corporate Culture for Introverts

[This is part one in a five-part series charting Outspoken Media's operational development process.]
This week, you’re going to hear a lot from Outspoken Media. Each day, we will feature a new post that is both personal and professional from each of us. We’re opening up about recent changes in the company and the broader business applications from our discovery. I’ll be the first to kick things off, but check back daily to get to know the team and benefit from our journey.

This all started back in February when we began a process of strategic planning, team building, and organizational development with Shem Cohen of Change Events, Inc. Shem has been incredible in helping me focus on the vision for Outspoken Media, our services, our clients, and our team. While there have been so many lessons I could write a book series, I want to personally take a moment to discuss what I’ve learned about myself in the hope that it can help you as well.

I am an extrovert.

You might be as well. And, if you’re not an extrovert, you probably have to communicate with one in business and in life. What follows is a deeper understanding of this gift of gab in the hope that extroverts can find the focus we need to accomplish great things, and introverts can learn to manage your expectations when faced with communicating with one of us.

There are a lot of misconceptions about extroverts, namely that we love huge groups and being the center of attention. What it truly means to be an extrovert is that:

“an extrovert will talk with someone else rather than sit alone and think. In fact, extroverts tend to think as they speak, unlike introverts who are far more likely to think before they speak. Extroverts often think best when they are talking. Concepts just don’t seem real to them unless they can talk about them; reflecting on them isn’t enough.”

I’ve always been scared of my mouth. I have this need to communicate with others, and it often leads to awkward moments or places where I’ve gone too far and said too much. Over the years, I’ve gotten this under control, but now, as a leader and a business owner, it’s even more important to recognize when to talk, to whom, about what, and how. I have followers that I can’t let down.

Here are the lessons I’ve learned through the team development process to more effectively manage my super power:

1. Respect style differences.

When the team took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test, I realized just how unique each person is at Outspoken Media. This was awesome. Not only did we have unique professional backgrounds and experiences, we saw the world from different perspectives. In the past, I was quick to judge someone different as weak or lacking ideas and initiative, because I was always so eager to take the lead. By hearing more about the unique style differences on our team, I recognized how their traits simply need time to shine and my extrovert nature (if left unchecked) will overshadow others. As a leader, I have to manage these different communication styles to fit the situational demands of the business and empower the team. Suddenly, I got it.

Business application: In taking the MBTI, more than half of our team turned out to be introverts. This meant they needed time to think through their problems whereas I wanted immediate conversations to solve mine. This killed productivity in moments where the boss wanted an audience to think, but they needed the opposite!

We decided to move everyone into their own office with a door. Now, they could work independently until they were prepared to work as a team or we had a meeting. Because two of us are extroverts, we recognized that we would quickly lose our energy if locked away. The next step was to make the larger open office into an area that anyone could work in with others if they chose to.

The final problem was that most of the team had desktops. We quickly purchased laptops, and now everyone has the flexibility they need to work successfully in an environment that best suits their unique work style.

2. Find an outlet/support network.

As an extrovert, I have to talk through things, especially the big picture, complicated stuff. In the past, I would talk to my team—a lot. My team doesn’t need full disclosure on every topic. What they truly need is structure, clear roles and responsibilities, and feedback. Now I understand that this means I have to get my conversation fix elsewhere.

Business application: If you’re an extrovert, find like-minded professionals in your area to grab coffee or lunches with. Sign an NDA if you have to, but designate this time as a space where the two of you can openly discuss situations you’re facing at work, and how best to handle them. Sometimes these situations are super sexy like the most effective time-tracking tool, or different models for tracking profitability. Other times we talk about work-life balance and what that looks like when we love our company so much.

Whatever the problem, I now have a network of professionals I can turn to for the tough talks. This saves my friends, family, and my team from my extroverted nature because they have different needs and shouldn’t be used as my business sounding board.

3. Create a system.

Introverts need time to process information, and extroverts need time to talk to someone. Either way, we may both need time to get to a point of greater understanding. We may face this when dealing with a client situation, a complicated algorithm update, or an interpersonal situation at work. Whatever the problem, build a system of accountability within your business or your own position.

Business application: If you are in a managerial position (or can advise someone who is), set a clear expectation that everyone involved is going to take X time to process, but then you will come back together and reach a point of unified action. Focus on the action you need to achieve, and let go of personal affronts or emotion. By creating a system of respect and accountability, everyone knows the work that needs to be done and the goal they need to achieve. Give different styles the space they need to process fully and then get back to work.

This may also take the form of letting introverts write out their answer while extroverts discuss theirs. As a manager, reward ideas, not talkers. Good ideas keep the business afloat, not just the enthusiastic extroverts!

Have you had to balance your extroversion or battle an extrovert before? What did you do? Embrace your extrovert and speak up below in the comments!

Check out the other posts in this five-part series:
Three Lessons for Business and Life
Aligning Keyword Strategy with Corporate Goals
Corporate Culture for Introverts

Recently, I was contacted by a small business owner who was facing what appeared to be an insurmountable slump in sales. The business owner was a wreck. He’d opened his store in a part of town that no longer received much foot traffic since a new overpass was added to a major intersection. Sales were dismal. He had a good product, but there were stores that were more accessible with similar products at a comparable cost.

One day, the business owner decided to try to capture more sales through new marketing techniques he’d heard about from a friend of a friend. This person swore by his methods and the business owner had nothing to lose, so he figured, “what the heck, why not!”

The first step was to re-arrange his shelves. His products were usually grouped by category, but his friend had told him that instead of keeping all of one product category in a single location, he should move these products to other parts of the store. This would make his customers search for the different products and stay in his store longer.

The second step was to call a press conference each time he stocked a new product on his shelves. Press conferences are a great way to get noticed, so he decided to contact the local media each time he added a new product.

The third step was to hire part-time workers to visit the other local stores that sold similar products. During their visit, they would strike up a conversation with the patrons of that store and casually mention his store, so they knew about him.

The fourth step was to also hire part-time workers to talk to others about his business. He would give a dollar for each time they brought up his business and products in a conversation. He would also hire a big team of people to drive around town telling everyone they saw about his company. They were not to use any negative words, just positive mentions of his brand, products and even his name. Now, others would see that everyone talked about him in a positive way.

The fifth step was to stop using his current point of sale tracking and fulfillment software. He’d been told that the manufacturer knew how much he was and wasn’t selling because of this software and they might make it difficult for him to market their products if they noticed his new sales methods.

The final step was to put fliers up around universities and government buildings, because he knew smart, affluent people visited there. He wanted them to see his business and associate it with those organizations.

The business owner was eager to see his new sales approach in action and once it was setup, he knew this would lead to immediate success.

Can you guess what happened to the business owner?

• With the new, cumbersome product display, customers became frustrated and left the store before making a purchase.
• The local media stopped paying attention to him because they were constantly being flooded with news that wasn’t really news. And, the publications that picked him up were so low-quality that he didn’t capture many sales from them.
• Once the other local business owners caught on to what his part-time workers were doing in their stores, they told them to leave and banned them from coming back.
• With so many people being paid to talk about his business, the community lost trust in his brand.
• He switched to the new point of sale software and it was good, but now he didn’t have the data that he usually relied on to make informed business decisions.
• The fliers didn’t seem to work at all.

The new marketing methods were a disaster. He was losing sight of why he’d gone into business and was on the verge of closing his doors. All of the time and money he’d spent on this new plan had been a waste. He realized that what he should have invested in instead of a quick fix was:

• differentiating his products or customer experience from his competitors.
• surveying his current customers and non-customers to discover what they really wanted and thought of his business.
• communicating the purpose of his business to the community.
• training for his employees to increase their knowledge of his products and customer service.
• researching the area to see how he should market himself to his local customers while being respectful of them and true to himself and his company’s brand.

This story was inspired by a post published yesterday on Mixergy, which summarized “how to rank on page 1 of Google (even if you’ve never heard of black hat SEO).”