Originally Posted on rAVepubs.com January 24th, 2012
Guru, Sage, most exalted wizard! Trust me I have been called worse, just ask my first wife <rimshot>. At the risk of sounding terribly coquettish- I have had these names tagged to me at one point or another usually by some act of willful spitefulness. To be clear, I do not cotton to being called such names and if you ever hear me use these terms about me or anyone else run don’t walk, away as fast as you can.
What I am is a social media enthusiast and I know you should be too. Yes, I know you think you have heard it all before but this time I want you to listen. Yes, listen for this blog post is simply an invitation to hear some truly inspirational individuals tell you why.
AV Nation and rAVe Pubs have a new show, ‘AV Social’. Social as in a the ole 50’s bobby sock Ice Cream social, or the AV industry version - Social as in single malt scotch sippin. The hosts and panelists are all AV people (and a few celebrities) who share a passion for the industry and the great things that come of using online social communities to generate new jobs, support your clientele and develop business relationships you may never have had the opportunity or chance to make otherwise.
If you are a fan of AV Nation (and good heavens why would you not be!) the story of its origin may be familiar. It all started as a conversation on Google + between some AV folks making contacts on the newest platform on the block. Tim Albright posted the statement -I’ have always wanted to do a show on the AV industry, how about you?’ Do you recall the old 1940’s musicals where Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney (bear with me Millennials) decided they needed to put on a show and one says ‘We can use my Dad’s Garage!’. AV Nation came about just like that; Tim had access to a good recording setup and the rest of us had ideas and lots of opinions and so a show was born.
Why does this matter to you?
Because it is about community not just, but sometimes, photos of my fabulous sushi lunch. Community includes not just your associates, team members and clients but the collective online AV industry. These conversations with AV folks from around the street and across the country and the globe build relationships where you and your company can grow.
If you know anyone who is an installer and spends time on Twitter then you have undoubtedly seen ‘#avtweeps’ at the end of many messages. AVTweeps is a group that began to chat on twitter regularly about products, support issues, helpful resources as well as lunch, the game and anything else we thought interesting. The group was given its moniker by the irrepressible Johnny Mota, a designer, programmer, social enthusiast and regular contributor to the growing conversations. What started out as a small group now numbers well over a thousand and includes major manufactures, trade periodicals and trade organizations- we even have a prominent presence at trade shows like Infocomm and CEDIA . If you are not joining in the conversation, or at least monitoring the posts or the monthly#avchat, you are missing out on great opportunities.
The inaugural ‘AV Social’ show features a special guest who, I think, exemplifies just how powerful and constructive social media is for our industry.
I am not a marketing type. I do not have a degree in communications or design, nor have I studied advertising- (unless you consider reading ‘From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor’ or ‘The Clue Train Manifesto’ as an education in these disciplines). What I do have is a desire to help others and show the company I work for in the best, but honest, light. Through my work in building a social plan and framework from the ground up for a major AV manufacture I found and helped resolve issues and concerns for clients both famous and reclusive by hearing their ‘cries into the wind’ on social. Most of these cries are an attempt to get the attention of the company an individual presumes to be at the center of an issue.
This is how I met one Cindy Gallop. Ms Gallop posted an aggrieved message on the night of the Grammy’s a few years back mentioning how my companies “tower of power” - as she called it- was on the fritz and was preventing her from watching the show. Because I keep a set of keyword searches open and running on Tweetdeck I picked up on her message within minutes of her posting. The main concern was to find a way to fix Cindy’s issue immediately and barring that set the wheels in motion to get her dealer in the loop quickly.
Only later, after several conversations and following her twitter account did I realize that Ms Gallop is quite famous - even infamous. She is a world expert in marketing and company branding giving talks on the subject of social media, cultural influence and advertising around the globe and is a TED icon. Cindy is what we like to affectionately call an influencer, that is a central person whose opinion is respected and attended to by others. This is not why I jumped to help her when the system she spent a good deal of money caused her consternation but our conversations turned to a relationship that continued long after I departed the manufacturer.
How important is having a social media presence? Important enough that Ms. Gallop agreed wholeheartedly to join us on our little start up of a show for the full hour - even when I provided several built in escape hatches for her into the show- based on a relationship started in a twitter conversation.
Take a listen to the show when it posts Wednesday January 25th and find out why we are such evangelists about turning customers into clients.
