Month: February 2011

Drive: What Really Motivates Us

What’s the best way to reward a great employee?

If you suggest a bonus or a day off, you may need to rethink your approach to motivating yourself and others – at least according to Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.

He describes external rewards as the carrot-and-stick approach. Such an approach may once have worked, but it won’t in today’s ever evolving landscape. Instead, he says the secret to high performance has three essentials:

1)       Autonomy: the desire to direct our own lives

2)      Mastery: the urge to get better and better at something that matters

3)      Purpose: the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves.

My blog is a perfect example of the essentials at work. There is no paycheck for publishing this blog. There is no carrot waiting for me. So why do it?

For one, I am mastering a new tool (or at least learning it). I can work on it when it suits me. I choose my topics. And it has a purpose – I’m able to share information with NFPW members who may not have the time or desire to research and distill on the topics that I cover. It’s part of my service to NFPW.

The book also includes a tool kit for taking the ideas in the book and putting them into action – in your professional life, in your child’s education, in your personal life.  

If you are intrigued, but just don’t think you can fit another book into your life, check out this video that neatly depicts it.

What’s Next in Social Media

Social media is about conversation not broadcasting.

It’s about geolocation.

It’s about privacy.

And online versus mobile.

It’s about measurement.

Those were the observations several months ago by Jon Newman of the Hodges Partnership as he talked about social media.

What’s he talking about today?

Growing communities, measuring success, multi channeling, mobile, the great platform shakeout.

One thing that hasn’t changed is that content remains king, and PR is the content driver. Without it, you aren’t going to be able to grow your communities online.

At the same time, social media is simply part of the conversation. “In a client meeting you expect to talk social media.”

When Jon asked at the January PRSA Richmond meeting how many people were actively using Twitter only about half the audience raised their hands. Less than a quarter were using geolocation sites, such as FourSquare. When asked about Facebook, every hand in the audience went up. 

“You can do everything on Facebook that you can do on a standalone website,” he noted.

Measuring Facebook success is about measure the fan base and fan engagement – what percent of the fan base is actively engaged? Are they posting a comment? Are they liking the status?

A successful social media strategy is about listening, customer service, advocacy and social commerce, said Sonali Shetty of Hodges Digital Strategies. The first step is establishing a community. Then, Sonali said, you have to cross promote, consistently brand and engage frequently.

And despite what some people say, “It does take money,” Sonali said. “It’s an ecosystem in which you surround your customers with your message.” 

To do that, you must develop a cohesive message and implement it across all devices. It’s about repurposing and recycling.

One of the hot topics was apps. Not surprising since the Apple store has sold its 10 billionth app. To have a successful app, Sonali said to prioritize the must-haves then add one or two bells or whistles. “You have to look for a reason for people to come back to your app every day,” she said.

Mobile will continue to get bigger. Overseas, people conduct most of their banking by cell phones. That hasn’t reached the United States at the same level yet. QR codes are growing in popularity. These codes allow individuals to use their smart phone as a scanner and obtain additional information about a product, brand or company. Some airlines make boarding passes available on mobile devices. Scan your smart phone and you’re boarding the plane. Starbucks lets you create a virtual card on a smart phone. Scan your phone and you’re walking out the door with your latte.

I wonder what we’ll be talking about a year from now….

Do You Know Quora?

I’d never heard of Quora until I attended a luncheon where social media was the topic. And the hot topic was Quora. The next day I saw several articles about it.

So what is it? Founded by two former Facebook bigwigs, it opened to the public in June 2010. The Q&A site isn’t yet a household name, but it’s fun (caveat: you can lose a lot of time on the site as I did today, but it was all for research!).

It is reminiscent of AskMe and other similar sites a decade or so ago. You post questions and answers on any topic and search for ones that have already been posted. You can follow other members (like Twitter). And you can vote if you like or don’t like an answer.  

As with Facebook, it seems to be popular because of the sense of community. And you can feel smart when you answer a question, or even post one.

Of course, you also might feel excluded when no one answers your question, which happens.

My logical first step was to read the answers to “How do I get started on Quora?” I learned –

  • Follow some topics that interest you.
  • Browse questions that interest you.
  • Add answers to questions you know about.
  • Improve question pages.
  • Find people you know who are already on Quora.

So for now I’m following some answers to questions about international travel, traveling smart and traveling to places that interest me.

Do you need to be here? Nope. But it’s like the trendy restaurant in town. While it’s hip, you want to get a table. So for now, I’m going to spend some time on Quora. I may even ask about the best new restaurants in my town.

Maximizing Your LinkedIn Profile

Often described as the social networking site for professionals, LinkedIn is a great way to connect with others in your profession.

On Feb. 13 I wrote about how to get started on LinkedIn. Now that you have established your profile, what else can you do?

The first thing is to join groups related to topics of interest to you and to network with others in your field. NFPW has a group, and if you haven’t already connected to us, we encourage you to join.  Membership is only open to those who have paid their dues. We’ve had to limit it to avoid marketing pushes by those who aren’t members.

To find other groups, visit LinkedIn Groups Directory.

Participating in a group by asking questions or responding to a question also helps build your reputation and provides you with valuable information. Also, if you have a job opening, share it with relevant groups. You’ll reach your target audience. The best part is it’s free.

What else can you do on LinkedIn?

  • Reading List by Amazon. According to the site, you can, “extend your professional profile by sharing the books you’re reading with other LinkedIn members. Find out what you should be reading by following updates from your connections, people in your field, or other LinkedIn members of professional interest to you.

 

  • Company Buzz lets you know what people are saying about your company. It shows you the twitter activity associated with your company.

 

  • My Travel by Tripit is a great way to know when those in your LinkedIn network are traveling and when you will be in the same city as your colleagues. I’ve learned about colleagues being in a nearby city and have been able to connect for dinner and a bit of networking. Just be aware that it also lets others know when you aren’t at home. 

 

  • SlideShare Presentation allows you to upload and display your own presentations and check out presentations from your colleagues. Lynn Hazan, who presented at the NFPW conference in Chicago shared her presentation using SlideShare.

How are you maximizing your LinkedIn profile?

Getting Started on LinkedIn

According to the LinkedIn site, “Over 90 million professionals use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas and opportunities.”

Why should you use it? It’s a great online resume if you are job hunting. It lets you connect to business partners and current and former colleagues.  LinkedIn says you can find the people and knowledge that you need to achieve your goals. And you control your professional identity online.

Getting Started If you aren’t on it, it’s easy to get started — go to www.Linkedin.com. Enter your name and email address and create a password. Now you are on LinkedIn.

Complete Profile You’re going to want to create a profile that is 100 percent complete. LinkedIn makes that easy by informing you how you are progressing. Start by adding your current position. Then add at least your two past positions. Include details about your education. Write a summary of your background/experiences.

Profile Photo Add a professional photograph so that people can identify and connect with you. If you introduced yourself to a dozen people at a conference, your photo will help them remember the conversation.

Build Your Network Then begin building your network of relevant connections. You can grow your list of LinkedIn connections through webmail contacts (email contacts who are already on LinkedIn), colleagues and classmates, and through networking on LinkedIn groups.

Recommendations Recommendations are an important part of your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn suggests that users with recommendations are three times as likely to get inquiries through LinkedIn searches. To initiate a recommendation request, go to the Profile tab and select Recommendations. There you will find a list of your jobs and education and you can choose what you want to be recommended for, decide whom you’ll ask, create your customized message and send from within LinkedIn. Don’t hesitate to offer guidance on what you would like them to highlight in their recommendation. If possible, return the favor by recommending them.

Next time I’ll write about how to maximize your LinkedIn experience.