The Power of Everything

The
Power of
Everything
B R O U G H T T O Y O U B Y

Contributors: Jay Baer, Joe Pulizzi, Amber Naslund, Tom Webster, Scott Stratten, Ann Handley, Jason Falls, Marcus Sheridan, Jeff Rohrs,
Mark Schaefer, Tim Hayden, Eric Boggs, Gina Rau

Welcome to

Power of Everything
The

H
as there ever been a more visceral, complex time to be a marketer? The rules (such as they are)
are changing constantly, and new technology and rapid shifts in consumer behavior are giving
best practices the shelf life of a ripe banana. It’s an era of exploration and experimentation that
favors the nimble marketer.

To help document some of today’s important ideas about business culture, research, social media, mobile,
content marketing and more, I recruited an all-star team of 12 contributors for this Power of Everything report.

This menagerie of friends and colleagues are working with some of the biggest companies in the world to
remake marketing and innovation. Each was given the same assignment, to discuss the power of one important
facet of successful business in approximately 250 words.

Their lessons are insightful, useful, poignant and provocative. I hope you enjoy The Power of Everything.
I’d love to hear what you think at jay@convinceandconvert.com.
By Jay Baer, Convince & Convert

About
We are social and content accelerators. OPI and independent public relations and advertising agencies Visit Our Blog
throughout North America.
We work with leading companies and agencies to take their social
and content marketing prowess from good to great. We provide Our Convince & Convert blog is ranked as one of the world’s best Email Us
social media and content marketing strategic planning, audits, and marketing resources, and we also produce a daily One Social
ongoing advice and counsel. Clients have included Maersk, Caterpillar, Thing email, and the popular weekly podcast Social Pros. SocialPros Podcast
Visit California, Speedway, BMC Software, ExactTarget, Petco, Nike,

p 4

p 5 The Power of Content Strategy

The Power of Culture

The Power of a Question p 6
p 8 p 7 The Power of Awesome

The Power of Storytelling

The Power of Authenticity
p 9
p 10 The Power of Information

The Power of Brand

The Power of Influence p 11
p 12 The Power of Mobile

The Power of Listening
p 14 The Power of Data

p 15 p 13

By Joe Pulizzi, @juntajoe

Content Strategy
“With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility” – Uncle Ben to Peter Parker (Spiderman)

A
s marketers, we now have the power to create content of all types and deliver
them directly to our customers and prospects. It was not too long ago that this
wasn’t the case.
Joe
Unfortunately, just because we can, doesn’t mean we should. Pulizzi

Blogging, Facebook, Twitter, Slideshare, Pinterest, enewslet- “Create such great content About the Author
ters, ebooks, magazines, apps – Often we focus so much on Joe Pulizzi is founder of the Content
the channel, and that we CAN, we don’t stop to think that
that your customers long for Marketing Institute and Junta42. Joe
maybe we should take a step back and ask why. your marketing.” evangelizes content marketing around
the world through keynotes, articles,
If all your content marketing was swept up and removed from tweets , and his books , Managing
Content Marketing and Get Content Get
your industry, would anyone notice? Think about that. Does
Customers. If you want to get on his good
your content fill a needed gap in the information marketplace? If not, you most likely have a problem. side, send him something orange. For more
on Joe, check out his JoePulizzi.com or
Find your hedgehog. Take a step back and develop a strategy where you fill a gap that only you follow him on Twitter at @juntajoe.
and your unique story can fill. Be an irreplaceable information provider. Create such great content
that your customers long for your marketing.

Answer the why first, both for you and your customers. If you do this with the right intentions, the
channels will follow.

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By Amber Naslund, @ambercadabra

Culture
C
ulture is the bedrock of an organization. Make it strong, and it will become the backbone
of your business. Culture is reflected in the words and actions of everyone in your
company. Official spokesperson or not, each of them is a living, breathing ambassador
for what you value.

It’s no accident that the companies excelling on the social Amber
web have strong, positive cultures. They believe in hiring for Naslund
mindset, attitude, and values and training for requisite skills.
They preserve and nurture their culture above all, because it’s “The companies struggling About the Author
Amber Naslund is a social business
the foundation for smart decisions, good judgment, and an with social adoption don’t strategist and the co-founder of Sidera-
environment of learning and collaboration.
have infrastructure problems, Works, a social business consultancy. She’s
a published author, professional speaker,
The companies struggling with social adoption don’t have they have systemic culture community and social media strategist,
infrastructure problems, they have systemic culture problems.
problems.” and has worked with businesses of all
The best investment a company can make in their quest to sizes to solve business problems through
be a social business? Healing, empowering, and fostering a better communication.
healthy culture.

Otherwise, you’re building social’s critical foundation on awfully soft ground.


By Tom Webster, @webby2001

a question
W
hen I was 30, I lived in a largely rent-controlled building in New York City with my
(then) girlfriend, who was also my age. There were nine other residents on our
floor: a young couple in their 20’s, and seven single elderly widows/widowers in
their 70’s and 80’s.

The average age of our floor was 58. No one was 58. Tom
Webster
While direct mailers were carpet bombing us with brochures
to switch our 401K funds to bonds, the residents of our “Success lies in your willing- About the Author
building were either living off of pensions or just beginning ness to ask—and answer— Tom Webster is a 20-year veteran of
to invest. Trees were being slaughtered because someone opinion, media and marketing research,
asked “What’s the average age of that building?” just one more question than and the principal author of Twitter Users
in America, The Social Habit, The Podcast
your competitor.” Consumer Revealed, and other widely-
Every time we boil our marketing data down to a “what” cited studies of consumer technology
and leave it at that, we make the same mistake. usage. He is currently Vice President,
Strategy for Edison Research, most
Success lies in your willingness to ask—and answer—just one more question than your com- widely known as the sole providers of
petitor. U.S. Election exit polling data to all
major media outlets.
For most of us, it’s the same one: “Why?”


By Scott Stratten, @unmarketing

awesome
N
o matter our job, we have opportunities every day to do awesome things in business.

One of the most powerful opportunities we have for awesome happens when we make
mistakes. Being awesome isn’t about being perfect. I want us to see our trip-ups as
windows of awesome opportunity. When it hits the fan in business, it’s not time to hide behind
the fan. It’s time to be awesome. Instead of putting out fires, I Scott
want us to fan the flames. Stratten

Everything from rogue employees, to bad reviews will spread “One of the most powerful About the Author
like wildfire across the social media tubes today. This is one of opportunities we have for Scott Stratten is the President of
the reasons companies shy away from social media. But what UnMarketing. He is an expert in Viral,
they don’t understand is that this is exactly why they need to awesome happens when we Social, and Authentic Marketing which
he calls Un-Marketing. His book UnMar-
be there. make mistakes.” keting: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging
became a national best-seller before it
We create the difference between being known for our fail- was released, and is recently a Globe and
ures and being praised for our recoveries by how we react to Mail #1 Business best-seller, National
mistakes... with awesome. Post, Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, and
Amazon UK best-seller.


By Ann Handley, @marketingprofs

Storytelling
S
ometimes this notion of “storytelling” in business seems folly, conjuring up thoughts of
bedtime, folklore, embellished narrative, and performance art. It reminds me of entertaining
my young children on long car rides by listening to Kipling’s take on how the camel got
his hump. (Spoiler: The camel was a jerk, and that hump was a magic curse.)

In Content Rules (newly in paperback!), C.C. Chapman and I talk about story in another way entirely: Ann
How does your product or service exist in the real world – Handley
outside of your factory, or headquarters, or home office?
“Good content is not about About the Author
So how do you pull stories out of your own organization? Ann Handley is a veteran of creating
Some advice: storytelling; it’s about telling and managing digital content to build
relationships for organizations and
a truly connective story well.” individuals. Ann is the co-author of the
Tell a visual story. Play with how visual tools – Instagram,
best-selling Content Rules: How to
Pinterest, Facebook Timeline photos – can help convey your Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos,
story by showing how what you sell lives in the world: “If a Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That
picture alone is worth a thousand words, a picture with a little code is worth millions.” Engage Customers and Ignite Your
Business (Wiley, 2011). Currently she
Use Twitter in an inspired way. Are you using Twitter in a fresh, compelling way and a sense of works as the Chief Content Officer of
personality, like our friends at FMW Fasteners? MarketingProfs and also contributes to
Entrepreneur Magazine, the Huffington
Make your customer the hero. Video is particularly effective here. If you’ve been to the cinema Post, American Express OPEN Forum,
lately, you might have noticed how elegantly LL Bean is doing this. and Mashable.

The key is this: Good content is not about storytelling; it’s about telling a truly connective story well.


By Jason Falls, @jasonfalls

authenticity
W
hen you’re authentic, you’re true to yourself. When your brand is authentic, it is true
to its mission and purpose.

The power in authenticity, whether in your brand or person, is that it leaves no
questions unanswered. People know where you stand, what you’re made of and what is
important to you. Authenticity helps you define how they see Jason
you, without risking they’ll be confused. Falls

When you’re wishy-washy, there’s a lack of definition. Thus, “Being authentic means you About the Author
there’s a lack of authenticity. When you contradict yourself, know who you are.” Jason Falls is the founder and CEO of
there’s lack of definition. Thus, there’s a lack of authenticity. Social Media Explorer. He oversees its
information products division that
When you always agree, follow the crowd and never stand
includes market research, events, and a
for something on your own, there’s a lack of definition. Thus, learning community. He is a leading
there’s a lack of authenticity. thinker, educator, speaker, and strategist
in the world of social media marketing,
Being authentic means you know who you are. You define your place and parcel in life. You stand public relations, digital marketing, and
for something. And by being true to that something, no one ever questions the truth about you. communications.


By Marcus Sheridan, @thesaleslion

Information
T
hey say we’re in the Information Age, and from the looks of it, they’re right.

We live in a time of immediate answers. If you have a question, you get it, right then and
there.   And if you don’t get it, you keep looking, because that’s what you (and the rest of
us) have now been trained to do.
Marcus
It’s for this reason that businesses can no longer be the ostrich Sheridan
with their head in the sand when it comes to information,
consumer questions, and transparent marketing. We’ve got “...businesses can no longer About the Author
to be real. We’ve got to be open. And we’ve got to give the be the ostrich with their head Marcus Sheriden passionately speaks and
consumer what he or she is looking for. writes about business and marketing on
in the sand when it comes his blog, The Sales Lion, which is full of
business, sales, marketing, and personal
The choice is rather simple really – We can have the conversation to information, consumer development consideration. Before The
on our digital platforms (webpage, fan page, etc.) or we can
invite them to go to one of our competitors and have the questions, and transparent Sales Lion, he built the most trafficked
swimming pool website in the world
conversation instead. marketing.” through the principles of inbound and
content marketing: River Pools and Spas.
So the question is, which do you choose? Although he still owns his swimming pool
company, he now spends most of his time
delivering inspirational and educational
presentations on the power of social
media and inbound/content marketing.

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By Jeff Rohrs, @jkrohrs

Brand
A
s a recovering attorney who dabbled in trademark law back in the day, I have long
respected the power of brand. Brand cuts through clutter. It transforms the mundane
into the emotional. It raises expectations.

The best brand stewards understand that they aren’t responsible for protecting mere words,
symbols, and sounds. They’re responsible for delivering on Jeff
the fundamental promise of any brand—that each customer’s Rohrs
experience will meet or exceed the last.
“The best brand stewards About the Author
Brands are not, therefore, static creatures. They rise and fall understand that they aren’t A recovering attorney turned digital
on the collective experience of their consumers. And while marketer, Jeff Rohrs heads up the
nostalgia may insulate some brands from their missteps, responsible for protecting Marketing Research and Education
Group at ExactTarget. He is a co-author
change is a constant that all brands must weather through mere words, symbols, and of the award-winning Subscribers, Fans
innovation and evolution.
sounds.” & Followers research series and is a
driving force behind the company’s user
So what is the power of brand? It is the power to be uniquely conference. Jeff acts as a steward for
understood, appreciated, and valued by consumers in a world ExactTarget’s thought leadership,
of ever-expanding choice. And that is a power far beyond mere words. speaking at industry events about how
the digital marketing world is evolving.


By Mark Schaefer, @markwschaefer

influence
L
ast year, a young lady named Molly Katchpole graduated from college and, like so many
young Americans, could not find a job. Desperate to make her student loan payments,
she took a job as a part-time nanny.

While struggling to make ends meet, she received a letter from Bank of America stating that if
she didn’t keep a minimum balance of $20,000 in her account, Mark
she would be assessed a $5 monthly fee. Schaefer

Molly had enough. “It no longer matters what About the Author
Mark W. Schaefer is a globally-recognized
She connected to people through tweets, blogs and an
you look like, where you blogger, educator, business consultant, and
online petition and within two weeks she had 300,000 names were born, or the color of author who blogs at {grow} – one of the
top marketing blogs of the world. Mark has
backing her plea for the bank to stop. A week later, they did. your skin. Everyone can worked in global sales, PR and marketing
Welcome to the Era of the Citizen Influencer. It no longer publish content, make it positions for nearly 30 years and now
provides consulting services as Executive
matters what you look like, where you were born, or the color soar, and have a voice.” Director of U.S.-based Schaefer Marketing
of your skin. Everyone can publish content, make it soar, and Solutions. His clients include start-ups and
have a voice. global brands such as Cisco, Johnson &
Johnson, and the UK government. Mark is
Will you join us? a faculty member of the graduate studies
program at Rutgers University and is also
the founder of Social Slam, a national
social media event that takes place each
April. He is the author of Return On
Influence and The Tao of Twitter.


By Tim Hayden, @thetimhayden

mobile
W
ith the Internet in your pocket, at almost anytime in darn near any location (subways,
wine caves and most airplanes be damned) you can summon information to settle a
debate or sports bar argument in a moment’s notice. In those same moments, you can
chase down friends’ whereabouts and monitor your finances during an office meeting. Heck, maybe
you’re reading this while your spouse is telling you how much formula to give the baby...uh-oh.
Tim
All of the above you could have made happen with a com- Hayden
puter. But now, with that “smart” device you call a “phone”,
you can send a message to your wife, your boss and your “With mobile, businesses About the Author
Tim Hayden is a popular speaker and
friends that only they and no one else may ever have the can now better attribute marketing advisor to brands in the B2C
ability to see. Your photos can solve crimes and break a
sales to measure the efficacy and B2B marketplaces, continuously
national news story. Perhaps you’re among the many who pay studying communications behavior and
a credit card bill without ever making a call, opening an app of TV, billboards, direct mail the technologies that reshape it every
or using the browser. Only your mobile phone can do that. and street team efforts.” day. With more than 15 years experience
in interactive marketing, entertainment and
With mobile, businesses can now better attribute sales to media consulting, Tim brings innovative
measure the efficacy of TV, billboards, direct mail and street strategies to life through the integration
of mainstream media, events, mobile
team efforts. Guess what, all of those mediums still “engage” consumers. Further, a brand marketer
and social media. He currently works as
can now “track” your interactions from an email to the store and back to your mailbox. Creepy, huh? the Senior Vice President of Mobile
Strategy at Edelman Digital.
And, very soon, you won’t have to type or even look at the screen of your phone to do anything
outlined here.

That’s the power of mobile, and we are just getting started.


By Eric Boggs, @ericboggs

Listening
H
e’d kill us if he had the chance.

This ominous phrase lies at the center of the plot in Francis Ford Coppola’s brilliant
1974 thriller The Conversation.

The film tells a story about listening. Gene Hackman plays Harry Caul – Eric
a surveillance expert with a unique ability to record private conversations. Boggs
He’s a clever investigator and he’s skilled at manipulating (the hilariously
analog) 70s-era surveillance technology. About the Author
Eric Boggs is the Founder & CEO of
After bugging a particularly important Argyle Social, a venture-backed social
conversation, Hackman’s character media marketing software provider
spends hours and hours listening to “Too often we only hear what based in Durham, NC. He leads Argyle
in its mission to help marketers drive
the tape in search of answers. we want to hear. Or we listen meaningful business outcomes through

But he doesn’t really listen. And people to the wrong conversation. social media marketing. Prior to launching
Argyle, Eric was employee #1 and part
die as a result. Or we listen to too many of the senior leadership team at Bronto
Software. He completed his undergraduate
Too often we only hear what we want conversations. Or we don’t studies at the University of North
to hear. Or we listen to the wrong conversation. Or we listen understand why we’re listening Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned an
to too many conversations. Or we don’t understand why we’re MBA from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business
in the first place.” School, where he was a Dean’s Fellow.
listening in the first place.

Listening will kill you if you give it the chance.


By Gina Rau, @ginarau

data
A
s our use of social media increases, so does the amount of information we share about
our activities, our relationships and ourselves. Just ten years ago, marketers had to
bribe customers to share a fraction of the rich data we have access to today.

But data sitting in silos doesn’t help anyone, least of all the customer. Turning the data into useful
experiences is how marketers unlock the power of data. Gina
Rau
Since most people have at least one social profile, people are
willing to give marketers access to social data in exchange for “...data sitting in silos doesn’t About the Author
a personalized experience across the sites they frequent. help anyone, least of all the Gina Rau is a senior level marketer at
Janrain, a social sign-in technology
This high-value data allows marketers to develop more customer. Turning the data company based in Portland, Oregon. Gina
has a successful track record in identifying
meaningful, and profitable, relationships with their audience into useful experiences is the right strategies to reach business
in ways like (continued on following page):
how marketers unlock the objectives, leading consumer branding and
engagement initiatives, and developing
power of data.” marketing campaigns to launch new
products, generate leads and drive
sales. Her experience includes high-profile
work with leading national, regional and
local brands like McDonald›s, Whole
Foods, JCPenney, Radio Shack, Tillamook,
Haggen Food and Pharmacy, etc. across
multiple retail industries. Marketing is in
her blood and she thrives in the role of
motivating people to take action.


data (continued)

Enable people to find places and friends Make discovery relevant Build an active community of brand promoters

Solve problems that earn fan loyalty Become the go-to personal assistant

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(continued)

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