Q&A with ClearView Water CEO Rich Anderson
I like to ask people questions. It’s how I stay so smart. Rich Anderson, CEO of ClearView Water, is infinitely smarter than me. That’s why I asked him a bunch of questions. See how this works? ClearView Water helps families receive the healthiest, purest water available. As someone who doesn’t drink nearly enough water, that kinda makes me guilty. Anyway, here’s the Q&A – please note that Rich reveals he is pro-pancake. Daring!
1. You run ClearView Water. Gimme the scoop.
Easy…it started when my position as VP of Sales with a water filter manufacturer was eliminated at the end of July 2009. Not my best day, but I can assure you that the world did not end that day either. I took a few days off and on the morning I was to start my reach-out to get a new job, I couldn’t even turn on the computer in my home office. Not a good sign!
Red Rocks is an amazing place for me, so I took a day trip up there and sat in the ampitheatre. Call it what you want, but I totally opened myself to ideas about what Im looking for….what I want…what I stand for…what won’t I do….who I am…and jotted them down. It only took about 90 minutes, but when I left that park I had the sketch for the business and went from there. I’d say it was the most important 90 minutes of my life….so far!
In a nutshell we empower families and businesses to make better choices about their water and water services. We’re passionate about actively making our world and environment a better place namely by helping people understand they can make better choices than using any type of bottled water or water delivery service. I have a total blast doing it – it has been unbelievably fun to start with a dream and build from there. Plus, I wear Keen’s everyday to work now vs Cole Haan’s and suits. I’ll take it.
2. What role did social media play in the development of your business?
Social media is the branding arm of the business and has been incredibly successful – especially in building our Google presence. I actively use Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn about an hour or so each day to post about events, news, celebrate others and talk about ClearView Water. YouTube is coming along, but I really need to start utilizing Digg and Delicious as well. Every single networking event I attend today is a direct result of the conversations that I started on Twitter and Facebook. Building relationships is the key in life and certainly a huge plus in business.
The other cool thing has been crowd-sourcing. I’ve found out about charities, conferences, marketing ideas and cool restaurants like the Larimer Hot House to support through social media.
3. What are some of the pitfalls in that approach that you would warn other entrepreneurs about?
- Do not sell. You/we/us are all using these channels for the conversation, build brand awareness and community.
- Be consistent and authentic. If you are not prepared to tweet/update daily, you shouldn’t even start as you’ll be wasting your time. Also – your online persona had better be the same as you in real life or you will lose all of your credibility.
- Celebrate others. 60-70% of your tweets/posts should be about brands/businesses/people that fit with who you are. When you honestly champion someone else’s cause or business, that pay-it-forward will come back in many and usually unexpected forms.
- Be social. To what degree is up to you and how you want the world to know you and/or your business. For example – I think eating pancakes from time to time is a good thing, but I do not tweet/post about every time I eat pancakes because that does not fit with the brand proposition of ClearView Water and what our customers want from us. But for the record – I don’t eat pancakes a lot, but I am staunchly pro-pancake.
4. How do you manage your social media presence?
I’m the owner of the business and I do it personally vs. contracting it out to folks. I really enjoy the real relationships I’ve been able to form through social media.
5. Final thoughts? On water, business, Colorado…?
My company and I are in the business of helping people understand their water and make better choices. I had been in leadership roles in Corporate America for 17 years and had many successes, but this has been far and away been the most fun and rewarding time of my life. I’m all about possibility and can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings all of us.
Live It Social and Crush It!
From the Desk of Melissa Hourigan
Well, well, well, two weeks after I planned to post and here I am. Social media is becoming such the catch phrase these days that I find myself searching for another way to phrase what it is that we are trying to say and do. On a regular basis, client and prospects talk about the need to incorporate social media into their PR programs. In conversations with branding and advertising firms, I hear a common request and often, people are wondering, where does the execution of social media fall? Well in my opinion and what I am hearing from others is that it falls on YOU.
In a recent Harvard Business Review Article, David Armano nails it by saying, “Many organizations simply skip this question [living social] because they assume that they themselves don’t have to be social (open and collaborative) to reap the rewards (cost savings, marketing ROI, effective reputation management, and search engine juice) they think they might get from social media.”
The more I work with companies on social media campaigns, the more I realize how important it is that the companies themselves “live social.” You can’t just hire a PR firm and hope that you develop a successful social campaign without some involvement of your own.
Which brings me to another reference. Gary Vaynerchuck social media expert, host of WineLibraryTV.com, and bestselling author of “Crush It!” was in Denver recently for the last stop of his book tour. During his visit, he shared some insightful advice from the book and how he grew his family’s $4 million wine business to $60 million in five years in large part to his “living social” approach. Because of his success, this nontraditional businessman has managed to land a spot on almost every broadcast program on TV and is a sought after speaker and consultant to Fortune 100 companies. And at the end of the day, Gary asks that you love what you do 100%, be authentic and follow your own DNA to engage with your audience.
Please enjoy some highlights of Gary’s 2+ hour discussion in Denver. Some of my favorite Gary quotes include:
Gary Vaynerchuck
Happy Holiday’s
Most of the team at SocialByte is signing off for the holiday’s so we wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice and a Happy New Year.
Job Resources
I recently wrote a post about using social media tools for ones job search. The results from the survey included in the post aren’t strong enough to share so I’ll be posting another survey in the new year – stay tuned. In the meantime, for all you job seekers, particularly those looking for social media jobs I wanted to post a few resources to help with your search.
- Andrew Hudson’s Job List
- Community Guy Job Board
- ForumOne Jobs for Social Media and Community
- Jobs in social media
- LinkedIn Social Groups: Depending on your industry you can find designated Groups to follow, which typically post job leads. Here are a few I find interesting: Social Media Mafia, Social Media Marketing, PodCamp
- Mashable has a list of resources to check out
- Mashable’s Job Board
- New Media hire
- Social Media Job Wire
- Social Media Jobs
- Social Media Headhunter
- Simply Hired
- Startuply
- Read Write Web Job Board
- Web Strategy Jobs
Using Twitter for Your Job Search
Here are a few folks to follow that regularly post job leads. Know more? Please add…
@authenticjobs
@ahjobslist
@colojobs
@indeed
@jobs4friends
@jobwire
@journalism_jobs
@juicyjobs
@lacraigslistjob
@media_jobs
@mtltweetjobs
@sdjobs
@simplyhired
@socialmediajob
@theonlinebeat
@twithire
@TwitjobsUK
@sfmobilejobs
@TwitjobsMedia
@jobsintech
@GetPubRelatJobs
@pr_jobs
@nyprjobs
@PRjobsUSA
@PRWashington
@SMediaJobs
Be Careful What You Wish for, Verizon
It’s no secret that AT&T has become the wireless industry’s whipping boy lately. Dropped calls, slow wireless Internet connections and spotty network coverage complaints have aggravated many AT&T customers, and many iPhone users have been begging Apple to open the phone to other networks, most notably Verizon. The iPhone is handicapped by being tied exclusively to AT&T’s inferior network, according to these critics.
But yesterday, a wireless industry researcher announced that poorly designed iPhone hardware likely is the primary cause of AT&T customers’ connection problems. The researcher says the iPhone’s chipsets have trouble connecting to cell towers, resulting in poor performance for both voice and Internet connections. Analysts say that AT&T actually is better than Verizon on metrics ranging from network coverage to download speeds to rollover minutes. The problem with AT&T’s network is that it is overwhelmed by iPhone data traffic, which is estimated to be twice that of a typical smart phone.
So like millions of other iPhone users, I hope Apple offers the iPhone through Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint when its exclusive deal with AT&T expires this summer. But unlike most of them, I’ll probably stay with AT&T. I just want Apple to spread the massive amount of bandwidth demand across multiple providers’ networks rather than just AT&T’s. That move alone should instantly fix AT&T’s network issues. And while Verizon’s marketing executives may salivate at the thought of offering the iPhone, I can guarantee you its network operations executives are scared to death. AT&T has seen the iPhone wreak havoc on its once-strong brand reputation, and I doubt Verizon has any silver bullet that will protect it if it experiences a mass migration of iPhone users.
Tweetup Etiquette, Vol. 1
I go to a lot of tweetups. (Find a definition here, as I’m too lazy to bother.) The ecosystem that rapidly takes shape at the average tweetup could sustain years of sociological study. For me, it gives me about 15 minutes of amusement before I duck out to charge my iPhone again.
What I’ve discovered is that most people act a fool at tweetups. And that’s not acceptable, though it is hysterical. This is part of a series of tweetup etiquette nuggets, so I encourage you to print them out and add them to your scrapbook.
No one cares that you’re a Twitter veteran
When you’re at a tweetup, you might end up chatting with someone who is quick to point out how long they have been on Twitter. While it’s true that Twitter sends its longtime users trophies, medallions and rare trinkets, it’s poor form to go boasting about it in public.
This is something I’m guilty of myself. I ninja’d my way onto the Twitter freighter in June 2007. Does my 2.5 years of Twitter “experience” mean much in social situations? No, it doesn’t. And I should be slapped across my smarmy face for thinking such nonsense.
Most people boast about that kind of thing because it’s a seemingly easy way to feel superior. That’s dumb. If I bring it up at all, it’s to illustrate how much the site has changed since then, which I find fascinating.
So, the next time you’re at a tweetup and someone asserts themselves haughtily because of their Twitter tenure, please slap them across the face. And if it’s me, slap me twice. I go for that.
Online Tips for the Holidays
Comscore recently released a report that shows that this holiday season, retailers were turning up their use of social media. Of those surveyed, 76% are focusing on Facebook, 50% on Twitter, 14% on MySpace and 14% on YouTube.
And how are consumers reacting?
According to the survey, 28 percent of those who have begun their holiday shopping this season indicated that social media has influenced their purchases. Of the types of specific social media cited, reading a consumer-generated product review was the most common form of social media that had influenced holiday purchases (13 percent of respondents), followed by an expert product review (11 percent). Seven percent of respondents indicated they have followed a fan page on Facebook to take advantage of special offers and deals, while 6 percent said they have been influenced by a friend’s Facebook status update referring to a particular product. Five percent of respondents indicated they had followed a company on Twitter to take advantage of special offers and deals, while 3 percent said that a friend’s “tweet” about a product influenced their purchase behavior.
So in the spirit of the holidays, here is a list of some interesting sites and apps to consider this holiday season:
- Deals Plus on Facebook: gives popular items away daily (laptops, iPhones etc.).
- Norad Santa: get up-to-the-minute information on Santa’s journey from Norad.
- Social V-Cards from Pixorial: why send a boring pre-printed card with the typical mumbo jumbo when you can show your experiences through a v-card on Facebook, email or on a web site (disclosure: they are a client).
- Holiday Music Downloads: Amazon has 25 days of free downloads in December.
- Stream Holiday Music: go to Pandora and stream free holiday music by entering your family’s favorite artists.
- Bad Santa on Twitter: you won’t get tips or deals but this tweet stream is sure to take the edge off. Caution, very inappropriate and may cause uncontrollable laughter.
- ShopSavvy: Worried that you aren’t getting the best deal? This iPhone app allows you to scan the barcode of any item in a store and see prices online and from nearby retailers.
- Patheos.com – Gets the Facts on Traditions: Curious where traditions came from? Check out Patheos.com, faith 2.0 site for information (disclosure: they are a client).
- Need Twelp with those new gadgets? Contact Best Buy’s Twelpforce
- Daily toy deals: ToysRUs is posting daily deals in its twitter stream, on Facebook and through a deal widget for mobile.
- Staples daily deals and tech giveaway: follow tweets from Staple’s twitter team to learn about timely deals and enter to win a laptop or printer daily.
- Fatwalletdeals: a twitter feed of top rated user contributed hot deals from the fatwallet.com shopping community.
Know of some more, feel free to share.
Marketers to Increase Spending in 2010
The last few weeks I’ve been immersed in new business hell, I should actually say ‘heaven’ seeing as this time last year there was very little, if any new business. Which brings me to my point and the main reason I’ve been slammed: according to BtoB magazine’s “2010 Outlook”, social media marketing will be of rising importance for business-to-business (B2B) marketers. In fact, six in 10 B2B marketers plan to up spending on social in 2010. This point was backed up in another recent report StrongMail did, “2010 Marketing Trends Survey”, which notes that 59 percent of businesses plan to increase spending on social media. The same report says that 19 percent of businesses plan to increase their spending on PR.
I have to say that I concur. We have seen more and more B2B (and B2C) clients and prospects wanting a social media program integrated into their traditional PR programs to help generate awareness, build thought leadership and support their overall sales initiatives. Have you been seeing the same? What are some of the main reasons they – being your clients or your company – want to create a social media program?
Brian Solis Chats with SocialByte
From the Desk of Melissa Hourigan
So today I am posting a link to a video captured with the infamous Brian Solis. Brian is a PR executive that has literally helped to break down the walls between media and PR pros. He is also recognized for educating PR professionals and businesses alike on the convergence between traditional media and social media.
I got the opportunity to chat with Brian during his visit to Denver to promote a book that he co-wrote, “Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media Is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR” with Deirdre Breakenridge. This is Solis’ second book and he has another in the works.
As a PR person myself, I know that the days are long, especially when you are running your own firm. One has to wonder how he manages to stay on top as the principal of FutureWorks in addition to all of the many things he does. If you haven’t read his lengthy and informative blogs at BrianSolis.com, set up the feed after you read this – you can thank me later. His insightful blogging recently won him the title of PR Blogger of the Year by the 2009 PR People Awards. Brian also contributes to number of media outlets such as TechCrunch, WebProNews and Brandweek. I am proud to also mention that he is one of my partners for Mediaontwitter (more things to come there as well). He is a frequent speaker and attendee at some of the tech industry’s hottest events and you can pretty much count on Brian uploading a series of beautiful photos within hours of the event to share with media and those interested in seeing who was there.
So back to the video. It was so nice to have Brian in Denver; unfortunately, I did not consider (once again) that lighting might be an issue. In this video, the information Brian shares is valuable so with the coaxing of the SocialByte crew, I decided to post it.
Brian shares his reason for co-writing the book, tips to get started with social media as well as how the social web relates to corporations and corporate brands. He also covers what is wrong with PR and the opportunity that exists for PR pros and businesses to connect with their community in a more meaningful way using social media.
Apologies, to Brian and our audience for the dark footage. Tryst was kind enough to bring up the lights but it still didn’t do much good.
Feel free to comment within the video if you would like.
filtrbox on social monitoring
From the desk of Melissa Hourigan
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Patrick Cameron of filtrbox to discuss social monitoring. Filtrbox describes itself as a company whose mission is to leverage the power of the Internet by delivering the timely market intelligence that is critical to success in today’s hyper-competitive business world.
To put it simply, fitrbox makes it possible to cut through the noise, with information that is relevant to you. Filtrbox recently added Facebook, YouTube videos, forums and comments to its list of monitoring sources making it one of the most thorough of the monitoring tools available.
In the following video, Cameron talks about how social media serves as the express lane for customer engagement and how monitoring is applicable across industries. He also talks about how filtrbox can be used to watch the competition, enhance customer service, and support standard marketing campaigns and sales initiatives.
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