Tag Archives: influence

Choices

10th May 2012

Last week I had the opportunity to attend  Chick-fil-A Leadercast for the second year in a row. I had looked forward to this event since I walked out of the GWCC this time last year. It’s just that good and this year was no different.

This year’s theme was all around the power of choices. The choices we make now effect every action that comes as a result, and they affect all of the people around us as a result.

Choices are obviously in plenty in one’s career and they happen at quite the rapid pace for me today. Tomorrow, I will attend my brother’s college graduation, two years since I myself made the same walk through the arch, and what a two years it has been.

In the past two years, I made the choice to stay in Georgia for my career. To give up the opportunity to work for an amazing brand. To take a chance on a small agency. To step out of my comfort zone in new business pitches. To switch roles at the same agency now three times in less than two years just because I needed a new challenge.

Today we had a meeting with a little group called Life Profit.

The idea is simple: what are you doing today that you are going to remember in a year from now?

How do we get out of the rut?  I’ve been there, heck, I’m there some days. I look back at the last two years and I see friends who have traveled the world, moved to new cities or gotten married. I’ve had those feelings of “what if I’m missing something?” “Am I too put together at 23?” Sometimes I can’t even stand how silly that sounds, but it’s true.

Thinking through it all, the choices I’ve made have gotten me further than I could have ever imagined the last two years would take me. My choices have caused me to grow into a more confident and trusting person than I ever knew I could be. Sure, I have a LOT of choices still to make. I’ll be the first to admit I have a LONG way to go. But with little steps each day, I know I can continue to be surrounded by people I love, working on projects that constantly challenge me and taking time to live a life I’m proud of.

It’s that little reminder that I know won’t leave my head anytime soon. What choices are you going to make today and what effect will they have on someone else’s tomorrow?

The power of influence: Nordstrom Rack’s newest addition

20th April 2012

Shopping bags in hand, success. Thanks to @Ktmel for the photo.

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to attend a Tweet up for the opening of the new Nordstrom Rack store in Alpharetta. It didn’t take long to convince me that making the trek outside of 285 would be worth it: wine, appetizers and shopping the pristine merchandise selection before the store opened later in the week, yes please.

As a digital marketer myself, I am always captivated by the use of influencer marketing by other agencies and companies. “Influencer” seems to have become a social media darling buzz word in 2012 (and heck, 2011 for that matter) in our industry. It’s the golden opportunity: don’t market to the masses, but to the groups who are passionate and will have an impact on your brand beyond a passive Like. Like any golden opportunity, influencer outreach is much easier and prettier when on a powerpoint slide than real life.

Nordstrom Rack’s social team really hit this one out of the park. The conversation began with a personal conversation through email (not through DM or Tweet) inviting me to check out the event. Key word here: personal. I quickly replied to the team thanking them for the invite and (but of course) had to ask where they had come across my information. The team shared that they had found my Twitter handle and blog across a few Atlanta Twitter lists. Check box number two: this team did their homework. And a lot of it. Each attendee was allowed to bring one guest and was asked to share that guest’s social credentials as well.

The event itself could not have been more impressive. The store is gorgeous, Store Manager Marcella, could not have been more welcoming and the staff attended to our every need with more energy and excitement than I think I’ve ever seen in retail.

Throughout the night we enjoyed shopping (with a $50 gift card to each attendee for a little help, I was seriously blown away by that gesture), cocktails, appetizers and music from a DJ.

The entire night continued the theme of personalization and hospitality,exactly what you hope to feel when translating a brand to real life. At the end of the night, we each walked away with our fair share of deals and steals and the feeling that this would be a beyond 285 repeat adventure.

Finding influencers is hard. Making them fall in love with your brand (and not just for the prices and goodies) is even more difficult. Nordstrom Rack in Alpharetta delivered on it all and I can’t wait go back and experience it all again very soon.

Check out the store on Twitter for updates, sales and upcoming events.

The Perks of CES

11th January 2012

I’m in Atlanta this week, not Vegas drooling over the newest devices, but thanks to Klout, I just might be rewarded from the comfort of my desk.

This might be one of the most interesting uses of Klout Perks I have seen yet. Tapping into the massive amount of conversation taking place at CES this week, all Klout users are eligible to become the T-Mobile Social King (or Queen I suppose) of CES.

Entering is easy:
1. Opt in to the perk
2. Enter your email address
3. The topic CES2012 will be added to your topics
4. Spam your network to give you +K in that topic
5. Recieve the most +K in CES2012 by the end of the conference and you win a grand prize of a Samsung Galaxy S II with a year of service, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and a T-Mobile 4G Mobile HotSpot

OK, so the last thing I want is to see a Twitter timeline full of beggars, but this is certainly a new way to look at a platform that so far has done little to engage me beyond the occasional quirky topic that somehow lands on my list.

Features within the Perk itself, such as seeing the top influencers, top +K recipients, and best content from top influencers at the conference, round out an engaging experience of what can be an overwhelming space of conference conversation.

As the influence space continues to grow, it’s interesting to look at how both platforms and brands can benefit from this type of exposure and added engagement.

Looking to test it out? I will violate all personal rules and beg for you to give a co-worker of mine, Joe Koufman, his due +K.