Why The NM GOP Should’ve Attended My Social Media Workshop

Mary Schmidt

Apr 26, 2013

...before doing ANYTHING with social media.  (The GOP has a lot of other problems that are beyond the scope of this post. Suffice to say, it’s a textbook example of confusing talk with walk when it comes to “branding.”) A bit of context.  When I worked for a teleworking/teleservices company, we had a patented process for building and managing remote work programs. One of the very first steps was culture and employee evaluation.  Not every company or person is suited for remote work.  And so it

In Pet Peeves, Social Media Reality Checks

Why I Love CenturyLink

Mary Schmidt

Apr 09, 2013

Yes. I said “love.”  The boring old phone company. The one with complicated billing, outdated infrastructure and customer service outsourced to India.  Yes, that one. 

Here’s why.

The company responded, acknowledged and acted. They treated me with respect. So, how did I work this miracle? I wrote a snail mail letter to the tip-top CEO. I then copied the letter in an email to one of the corporate media contacts.  (TIp: Can’t find a corporate level contact? Look at their media contact lists.

In Marketing Troubleshooting

“Everything you said is common sense!”

Mary Schmidt

Apr 04, 2013

“...and that’s not too common.”  This was the feedback from one participant in our social media workshop last week, when asked what they enjoyed. 

We also had a lot of lively discussion and idea-sharing in the group. 

A Couple of the Common Sense Points:

Social media is largely controlled by the marketing group in companies.  Unfortunately, all too often those marketers are focused on the color side of marketing (logos,  wildly creative web sites, brochures, “the brand message”) at the

In Social Media Reality Checks

The 7 Point Quick (And Not So Dirty) Social Media Audit

Mary Schmidt

Mar 06, 2013

That, Detective, is the “right question.”

A past client recently emailed me asking, “How do we effectively measure the customer experience?”

Key word here, of course, is “effective.” 

When it comes to measuring customer sat or more importantly (and profitable) loyalty - the basics haven’t really changed since I was doing such back in my Fortune 50 corporate days.  You ask questions. You compile data. You analyze. You listen. Rinse. Repeat. What has changed is that social media gives us

In Social Media Reality Checks

What Fast & Furious Can Teach Us About Social Media

Mary Schmidt

Feb 20, 2013

NYT: ‘Fast & Furious’ Stresses Social Side of Fandom

The F&F franchise is HUGELY, INSANELY popular. And, yet, it’s pretty much under the radar of pop culture? Or is it?

“We feel like underdogs most of the time,” said Vin Diesel, who leads the “Fast & Furious” cast.

What “Fast & Furious” does have — and it has gone largely unnoticed — is an astounding online following. Its Facebook page has 24.9 million “likes,” more than any active film series except “Avatar.” Mr.

In Marketing Troubleshooting, Social Media Reality Checks

Finding The Right Investors

Mary Schmidt

Feb 18, 2013

I once asked an entrepreneur - who had a terrific, patented idea and raised a ton of money - what his biggest mistake was in building his (failed) biz. His answer: “I listened too much to the board.”

The company crashed and burned (with a phenom burn rate that greatly hastened its demise).  But the board reps had invested a LOT of money…even though most of them had little to no domain knowledge (?!) and/or were one hit wonders who had made mondo dinero and thus, of course, knew everything

In Start-Up Sanity Checks, Pet Peeves