Trafcom News

Highlights from the IABC International Conference in New York

When I heard that the IABC International Conference would be in New York this year, I registered immediately, because I never pass up a reason to visit my home town. I really do like living in the Toronto area, but I’ll always love New York (as this sculpture on Sixth Avenue says).

Over four days, I met hundreds of people, attended some great sessions, spent time with friends outside the conference, and walked miles around Manhattan. Yes, I felt like a tourist gaping at the Empire State Building, meandering through the cool greenness of Central Park and wearing out my MasterCard at Bloomingdale’s.

Here are some of my impressions:

• Two years ago, at the IABC International Conference in Vancouver, social media was seen as a sort of odd duck. Blogs and podcasts were  new and different, and communicators weren’t quite sure what to make of them. Now, presenters would mention an employee blog or podcast as an integral part of a relaunched intranet without blinking an eye. We’ve come a long way, baby.
• If Bill Marriott can find the time to blog, so can your CEO. In his speech accepting the IABC’s EXCEL Award for Excellence in Communication Leadership, Marriott said that he dictates his blog content into a recorder, and someone on his communications team actually writes it up. Visiting 300 hotel properties per year, he’s a busy guy, yet  he invests the time to tell stories using this medium. That’s because he values storytelling as a way to engage employees and reach out to the public. He also acknowledged that his blog has generated millions of dollars in hotel bookings via a link on the home page.
• Seth Godin never disappoints. His high-energy closing keynote was sure to fire up some of the savvy communicators in the room and frighten the pants off those who don’t appreciate the way marketing has changed in the last few years. If you can’t be remarkable, then get out of the way.
• The conference parties will be hard to top at future IABC events. Kudos to Deloitte for the gorgeous food and drink at the opening reception at the Rainbow Room, and to CNW Group for the fantastic Canadian party at the Pegasus Suite.

And on a more personal note:

• Do Tokyo department stores not have nice washrooms? I ran into a gaggle of giggling Japanese girls photographing the ladies’ lounge at Bloomies. I guess I should have taken their picture.
• Speaking of stores, the level of service in New York is extraordinary – from the waiters in restaurants, clerks in retail establishments, even the woman selling subway tickets (who let me purchase a single ride, even though it’s against the rules).

Were you at the IABC conference? What did you think?

Corporate podcasting -- on the inside

By popular demand (a few emails, really!), I'm publishing my article on podcasting inside the corporation right here for you.

If you're using a podcast inside your organization, I'd love to hear your story.

Why clear communication is like hand washing

You can’t help notice all the stories in the Canadian media about drug-resistant germs in hospitals, rampant infections, and a low rate of handwashing by healthcare workers. As reported in the Globe and Mail:

With only 40 per cent of health-care providers in Canada properly washing their hands, experts say, infection prevention has become a hot-button issue.

As a consumer of healthcare, I wonder: Geez, I wash my hands before I prepare a ham-and-cheese sandwich, so why aren’t these hospital people scrubbing up before poking and prodding people with sharp instruments?
 
Here’s the answer, again from the Globe:

The problem of poor hand hygiene has confounded some of the best scientific minds in search of a solution. There have been poster campaigns and buttons... Some of the problem has been attributed to a perception deficit: Many health-care workers think they are already doing a good job of washing their hands.

So that’s it: They think they’re already doing it. Just like clear communication. If you were to ask the typical corporate employee if he communicates clearly, I’d bet he’d say: “Of course I do.” Then take a look at his latest email, report or PowerPoint presentation. What do you see? Meaningless subject lines, noun phrases of five words or more, the passive voice, a main point buried in the fourth paragraph of turgid text, run-on sentences, and stunning vagueness.

What’s the answer here? I wish I knew. Just as hospitals are running campaigns to boost handwashing (some with dubious incentives – doughnuts, anyone?), perhaps organizations need to focus on educating employees to communicate clearly, and reward them for doing so. What do you think? What do you see in YOUR company?

Pick your podcast style and format

What should your podcast be? Commentary, one-on-one interview, or script and clip? If you need help choosing, listen to this interview with Victoria Fenner, a talented radio and podcast producer.

Victoria and I  sometimes collaborate on podcast production, particularly for my conference podcasting business, PodcastYourConference.com. Check out Victoria’s Web site and blog.

You’ll find the 27-minute podcast and the show notes at the Trafcom News Podcast page. Please listen and let me know what you think.

Brand Tags

Now here’s something fascinating: Brand Tags. As the site says:

The basic idea of this site is that a brand exists entirely in people's heads. Therefore, whatever it is they say a brand is, is what it is.

What comes to mind when you see the logo for Harley Davidson or Texas Instruments or Saturn? Check out Brand Tags for yourself and you’ll grasp the idea immediately.

When I spot a creative and yet so very simple tool like this, I wonder about using it internally as an adjunct to an employee survey. Some corporate communicators actually do want to know what employees think of the company and its products, as well as its internal programs. Can you imagine a corporation employing something like Brand Tags to gauge employees’ gut feel?

Hat tip to Michael Seaton of the Client Side Blog, who pointed to a post by Seth Godin. Funny enough, I do subscribe to Seth’s blog, but hadn’t read it in a while (did I say that out loud?). Fortunately, I can count on my network – which includes Michael – to point me to the good stuff.

Do you end the interview too soon?

Have you ever experienced premature interview termination? Here’s how it goes: At the end of an interview – whether it’s for a magazine article, corporate newsletter piece or podcast – you thank the subject, snap your notebook shut and switch off your recorder. In the chatter that follows, your interviewee utters the most quotable quote of the last half hour.

I can’t tell you how many times this has happened to me. So, over the years, I’ve learned to not turn off the recorder until the last possible minute – way beyond the thank-yous – and to keep my pen poised to capture every juicy bit.  Half the time, the best material emanates from those last comments.

There’s a lesson here for the interview subject too: Don’t assume that what you believe to be an off-hand comment won’t actually be on the record. (Of course, in the corporate world, endless rounds of approvals will ensure that the final product won’t violate anyone’s sensibilities; for external publications, it’s a different matter.)

What do you think?

Help for Crackberry addicts

The recent Blackberry outage put countless users on edge. Yikes, they were unable to thumb through their email for, like, hours! As a communicator, I like this comical video, “A Cure for Blackberry Addiction,” on MyRaganTV (despite the error on the title screen– “effects” instead of “affects”) because it reflects a sad reality: our inability to unplug.

Shel’s top five reasons why companies resist social media

Shel Holtz knows his social media. He’s also an expert on organizational communications. In a blog post today, he lists the most common reasons for companies to resist wading into the social media waters:

1. IT won’t let us

2. It will be abused

3. Management fears loss of control

4.  Legal and regulatory risks

5. We don’t have the time or resources

From my experience, I agree wholeheartedly with Shel’s list, with reason #5 being the most common lament. Most of the corporate communicators with whom I work are drowning in projects, struggling to keep their heads above water. What do you think?

Taming the email beast

Can you remember when you first started using email? You were probably delighted to receive a message. But what happened? Soon enough, you felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of mail. Short of clearing out your inbox and starting from scratch (which is admittedly a very tempting but short-term fix), is there a solution to this dilemma?

In my latest podcast, a less-than-hefty 11 minutes, I describe a few tactics for taking back control of your email. I hope you'll share your own best practices too. You can listen on the Trafcom News Podcast page.

Big Ideas, Small Budget

What’s the big idea?
Big Ideas, Small Budget will be a discussion about how nonprofit organizations can communicate better without spending wads of cash. Big Ideas, Small Budget will start as a conference call, the contents of which will become a special episode of the Trafcom News Podcast. You are invited to participate in this conference call.

Who can take part?
Anyone who works for or with a nonprofit organization can contribute – whether you’re a board or staff member, volunteer or consultant (writer, PR specialist, graphic designer, Web expert, podcaster, and so on). If you are involved in any way with communicating for nonprofits, we’d love your help.

When?
The conference call is at 12 noon Eastern Standard Time on Friday, February 15, 2008. Dial 1-605-772-3285, then key in the access code 877696#. Don’t forget the pound key (number sign) at the end.

How will the call be structured?
I will pose one question at the beginning and invite callers to join in. For starters: What are the biggest communications challenges faced by nonprofit organizations with small budgets? After a discussion about that, we can talk about problems and solutions.

What kinds of things will we talk about?
Creating a communications strategy with a tight budget in mind; developing a Web presence; using traditional and social media; hiring internally or contracting out; training staff in communications tactics.

How long will the call be?
I’m planning on 45 to 60 minutes for the call. The eventual podcast will be shorter.

Can the knowledge gained in the Big Ideas, Small Budget discussion be transferred to government and for-profit organizations?
In a word, yes!

Do I have to RSVP?
If you’re fairly certain that you’re going to take part, please let me know by commenting on the blog or sending me an email at Donna AT Trafcom DOT com. Of course if your schedule suddenly frees up on February 15, you’re more than welcome to dial in even if you haven’t alerted me in advance.

Who came up with this big idea?
Big Ideas, Small Budget was inspired by Tina Hansen, a frequent commenter on the Trafcom News Podcast. Tina volunteers her time and talents, particularly with the National Federation of the Blind. She and I have enjoyed an email exchange on this topic, and I’ve decided to run this conference call and then create the subsequent podcast to help her and others. I am a volunteer, too, and I know that communicating on a small budget can be challenging.

Who designed the nice logo?
Registered Graphic Designer Branimir Zlamalik created the Big Ideas, Small Budget logo. He and I often collaborate on projects. In fact, we both work on communications for a nonprofit organization here in Oakville, Ontario. Check out his GBCom Unlimited Web site.

Do I get any glory for participating?
I will ask everyone who dials in to send me their full name, organization name and URL, which I will include in the detailed show notes for the podcast. Even more, you’ll know that you’ve done something to contribute to the greater good, and what’s better than that?

What’s next?
Please mark your calendar for noon Eastern on February 15. And spread the word too!