My Interview With Julie Cottineau of BrandTwist (Part 1)

Julie Cottineau is the founder of BrandTwist. Before starting her own company, she was vice president of Brand Virgin USA, overseeing branding strategy for new Virgin companies in North America, as well as providing strategic brand support for the established Virgin businesses. She also lectures at Columbia University.

She’s also speaking at BizBash New York IdeaFest and I had the amazing opportunity to talk with her about entrepreneurship, branding, and how she’s learned to stand out from the crowd.

KiKi: Your talk at IdeaFest is, “Making the Brand Permeate the Event: Lessons from Great Brands” – Can you tell us a little bit more about it?

Julie: Actually, it's going to be part talk and A LOT of interaction. I'm speaking at lunchtime and it's going to have an activity so everyone can get involved. I'm going to talk first about what really makes a great brand and to me part of what makes a great brand is a brand that tells a great story. And great brands, like when I used to work at Virgin, you see them telling their story at every single touchpoint. Not just with the advertising, but they tell it in the way the product is designed, the way the people that work there act, little touches - like all through the airplane, for example - little unexpected things. So I'm going to talk about those lessons and then ask the crowd to play along with me and innovate on their own brand and on their own events.

At this point in the interview I noticed that Julie's background, her wall color, matched with the color in her logo and tied in with her scarf. I mentioned this to Julie and she beamed. I'd stumbled on to her living her words...the color was part of her brand. Part of what makes her brand different from that of other consultants. Julie's personality matches this vivid color. Julie explained to me that "BrandTwist is all about passion."

KiKi: Events like IdeaFest can be amazing opportunities for networking and forging new strategic relationships. Are there any associations or online groups that have helped you or that you encourage entrepreneurs to join?

Julie: I find that a lot of the networking that I do is still pretty organic and person-to-person. I'm constantly meeting people, entrepreneurs, and saying, "Oh, I just talked to someone who had that exact same issue, maybe you should talk to them." That's great because it's a personal touch, but it can be really inefficient, especially when you're meeting hundreds of people. I'm actually right now launching something called BrandSchool and BrandSchool is an online course for entrepreneurs. It's an eight-week program that takes you through everything from who you should target, what you should promise, how you can use your personal brand like we just talked about, how you should support your professional brand, how you should use social media, and one of the things that I built into BrandSchool is a community page. When you sign up for the BrandSchool class, you'll learn from me, but I think more importantly you'll learn from other students in BrandSchool. You'll be able to talk with them, comment on each other's homework, talk about each other's brand ideas and my hope is that it will become a strong community.

Watch out for Part 2 of my interview with Julie Cottineau!

Social Media and Disaster: Hospitals On Facebook

It was the scariest day of my life. I was settled in on the couch with my husband and daughter enjoying our Sunday evening when my phone rang.

Giving it a quick look, I saw it was my cousin Sarah calling from Texas. I'd never in all my 30+ years received a call from her. Something must be wrong.

"Hello?"

"Hi, KiKi? It's your cousin Sarah...you need to turn on the Weather Channel right now. Joplin's just been hit by a tornado and it was a big one."

Joplin, Missouri is where most of my family and friends still live. It is where I was born and while I went to high school in Carthage, Joplin is where I spent most of my time. I tried to call my mom and got through - she was fine. I tried to call my dad and it went straight to voicemail.

I left a message and tried again. This time the call didn't go through.

Immediately I jumped on to Facebook to see what I could find out from my friends in the area. They were reporting if they had made it through the storm and trying to locate others. They were reporting on damage and area landmarks that were gone. They were reporting that phone calls weren't getting through, but that they were still able to access social media using their phones. Facebook became a gathering place - a communication hub - a way to share important information with a large number of other people who had no other way to communicate with one another.

As a social media consultant, there was a lot I learned about social media during the days following the tornado in Joplin. I stationed myself behind my computer and worked remotely to try to help people find food, shelter, and places to join up with volunteers when things were changing by the minute.

I used apps like Emergency Radio on my iPhone to tune into Joplin area law enforcement to find out about areas of looting and where volunteers were being told to congregate. I listened non-stop to local station KZRG via the internet so I could update people via Facebook and Twitter about where supply drops were happening and where hot food was being delivered at different times during the day; which shelters were full and where people could go for medical supplies.

This was extremely important because St. John's Regional Medical Center had been destroyed by the tornado, leaving Freeman Health System as the one large remaining hospital in Joplin (many patients were taken to other areas for care).

Joplin's Freeman Health System is extremely active with their Facebook page, engaging with the community on a regular basis, providing not only information about clinics and health programs, but also updates on staff changes since the tornado. They used their Facebook page to communicate in the immediate aftermath of the tornado and their CEO even has a Twitter handle for outreach using that channel.

Many hospitals have figured out how to meet their task of engaging the community using tools like Facebook to hold a steady, reliable presence online.

Arkansas Heart Hospital is another one that has done a tremendous job with their Facebook page, connecting with the residents of their community and posting healthy tips and articles alongside community events to keep people informed.

Fort Belvoir Community Hospital was listed as one of the Top 50 hospitals for Facebook engagement via UbiCare's research of over 1,000 hospitals. From UbiCare's results, we learn hospitals with the best engagement provide the following:

• They post at least 4 times per week, and up to as often as 3 times a day
• They post videos and pictures of people for visual interest
• They interact by using quizzes and contests

What does this mean for hospitals and the communities of people surrounding them? Just like I immediately turned to my online communities for information when the phone wouldn't connect, so many others looking for information and help in time of crisis can get up-to-the-minute information about where to take the sick and hurt if the hospital is full using Facebook.

People turn to the hospital's Facebook page to find out where, when, and how to help. The hospital can inform their staff on how to report in when phone lines are down.

My next post in this series will talk about how hospitals can start building their community engagement.

Do you have good example of hospitals using social media to share? Post in the comments here!

One Foot In Front of The Other

I've lost six pounds.

After allowing the excuses to pile up (stress, knee injury, time, motherhood, travel), I joined Weight Watchers with a good friend of mine and started following the plan. Happily, I can report I've lost six pounds over the last two weeks.

Just like blog posts or any other kind of work we do, following the plan and putting one foot in front of the other is what leads to success. Do I look at pictures of clothes I want to wear or things I want to do when I achieve my goal? Yes. But for me, concentrating on that huge goal can seem overwhelming. I've learned that focusing on just doing the right things right now are the tiny steps that will help me to attain greater success.

Breakfast: 2 eggs and heirloom tomatoes

The movies lie. In them, all the hard work is condensed into a montage with inspirational music and fast results. We don't live in the movies.

Today, think about what it is you want to achieve and put one foot in front of the other to get closer to your goal. If the word "discipline" is too scary, just focus on making the next decision the right one.

Have a great week!

Ma Bell Got The Ill Communication

Is social media bullshit? 

I've had some days when I've wondered about that myself. With audiences that include people who still don't know how to turn on their smartphone sitting next to people who have jailbroken their iPhones and used them to tether their WiFi, it can be a nightmare to serve all during a presentation.

In many ways, today’s social media training could be compared to telephone training. You wouldn’t pay a consultant to come in and teach you how to operate your phone…a manual can do that. What you need is someone who understands the way people use the phone to communicate so that your staff may best use its features to make the tool more effective for your business. Scripting and strategy work goes a long way. This is not the time to ask how to transfer calls. You want your staff to know how to answer the phone, the expected protocol, and how to handle common problems.

Unfortunately, too often, people get stuck in the tool and can't get their head around the strategy for using that tool.

How much thought did you put into making your voicemail message? When is the last time you learned a new tip for using your telephone for business? Maybe instead of a telephone, social media training is like PR training. You need to prepare for one voice to reach many people – whether by video, audio, or text.

I’ve been reading the book, Social Media Is Bullshit. Admittedly, the title got my attention and with so much hype around social, I wanted to check out the author’s thoughts. I mean, I am a social media consultant…this could mean my livelihood, right?

Guess what? I love the book.

People put too much importance around the wrong things: Increasing follower counts, adding likes, and other superficial metrics. You wouldn’t try to measure how many people you could get to call your business phone number…but what happened as a result of that call might be worth measuring.

B.J. Mendelson challenges the authority of the likes of Chris Brogan, Seth Godin, Brian Solis and other popular social/PR big cheeses. He asserts that these guys work to preserve their livelihoods at the expense of providing anything of real value to the people who buy what they’re selling.

How are you adding value to your customers/clients/members? Focus on that today. I know I am.  

Ultimately, it all comes down to the same thing. You need to have a solid product and services before all else. If you don’t have that, you are misplacing priorities. Even if you hire me for social media strategy, you still need to focus on the basics. That should never change. You still need to build real relationships with your customers or members. Relationships that are not dependent on whether or not they are influencers. 

So, is social media bullshit? Only if you're focusing on it at the expense of your basic services. 

What do you think?

Like Playing Piano

When I was growing up I took piano lessons. Each week I would clutch my latest Bastien or Alfred's piano instruction book and march into my lesson while my mother met with her best friend over coffee. The ritual was soothing, mechanical, something I could rely on.

When I returned home, I'd go to the sunken living room with gold shag carpeting, and sit at the old antique upright piano and play. Rarely did I study the drills. Mostly I played the songs we were studying over and over and over. My goal was to get to the point where I could play the entire piece with my eyes closed, my hands automatic in their tempo and notes played.

Like the rocking of a rocking chair, playing the piano brought comfort in its regularity and fulfillment of expectations. It did what I expected it to do.

People like having some semblance of control in their lives.

What can you do to bring a sense of regularity to your own life? As we ease into the weekend, maybe you should try making a "to don't" list rather than a "to do" list. Can you stay away from social media for a day and spend more time with your family or a neighbor? Maybe you can add a walk to your day that is for pleasure and not fulfillment of your duty to exercise. Have you tried just sitting still long enough to listen to music and savor the sounds and process the way you react to those sounds?

My daughter has been practicing spelling her name. Over and over again she spells it on the backs of menus, on her drawings at school, and she takes pride in being able to spell it faster and faster and faster. Even with her eyes closed.

Don't forget to take the time to enjoy the feeling of cool air on your face as you fly to reach the stars. Have a great weekend!

Feed Your Head (Five For the Ladies)

Inspiration comes in many forms. In today's post I want to share some of the people, blogs, books, and music inspiring me lately. From PR to Pop!, this is what's feeding my head and what you just might want to feed yours.

I also wanted to target this post for women specifically because a lot of what I'm reading, learning, and investing time in happens to be female-focused right now. Once you take a look-see through my list, I think you'll figure out what I mean...

1. Mama Gena's School of Womanly Arts - Look, I know it's a kinky name with all its implications, but after every woman seems to have read Fifty Shades this year, I feel I can share this book suggestion with you. Truth is, another inspiration on my list this week first told me about this book and as a result I have been embracing my pride and power as a woman more and more every day.

But Mama Gena is the focus here - not the book. The book is your primer to what Mama Gena is all about and a lesson in how to take back your power. It's an invigorating reminder to embrace life and bring everyone along with you as you live your life with passion!

Her blog is fun. There is a lot of talk about vulvas and vaginas (you'll adapt after blushing) and I signed up for her newsletter and daily messages she calls, "The Daily Fluff."

Fun. Positive. Powerful.

Check it out.

2. FitCyn - Cynthia D'Amour has been a longtime friend, mentor, and inspiration for me. She's creative and smart and driven and not a soul who knows her would dare disagree. I first met her when I joined the association community and became more involved with the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).

Over the past couple of years she's evolved from pursuing a healthier life for herself to sharing her weight loss journey with everyone online and people are eating it up! (Hey, no calories in brain food, right?) And her success is not only physically visible, but you can feel her positive energy radiating out...that's the kind of thing that just invites success to your life.

She's posting regular videos to her blog, many times without wearing a stitch of makeup after her workout (did I mention she's daring, too?), and she's developing a devoted community on her FitCyn Facebook Group. I watch her videos and love this woman for sharing so much of her life - struggles and success - and her willingness to reach down and pull the next person up the mountain with her.

3. Real Jazz station on Sirius XM - What does one listen to when she's busy being happy and making a purposeful decision to transform her life into what she wants it to be?

I was struggling with finding the right kind of music to allow for my happy thoughts and my creative thinking while writing and working throughout the day.

It needed to be upbeat. It needed to be mostly instrumental. It needed to inspire the kind of thoughts and activity that I was aiming for.

Enter: Real Jazz.

As a longtime lover of jazz, finding a place for jazz in my life on a regular basis shouldn't have been a surprise, but it was! I'd been listening to a lot of alternative and chill music...not so  much jazz.

Finding the right kind of soundtrack might just be what you need to do to put a little extra spring in your step!

4. Adele Cehrs - One of the most fun, authentic, beautiful people I've ever met; Adele is blessed with business acumen and a power in PR. In fact, she owns Epic PR and is regularly paid to speak on public relations topics with a natural talent for being in front of people.

She gave me invaluable business advice after starting my own company, Amplified Growth, and told me about the awesome show, The Pitch.

We are speaking together at the upcoming ASAE Great Ideas Conference next spring on the topic of big ideas and how to know if you've got a dud or a winner...yes, we are going to make this a really special session and I can't wait! You can follow Adele on Twitter @EpicPRGroupDC.

5. Sam Horn and Pop! - Strong women will introduce you to other strong women. After I missed the chance to see Sam Horn in person at ASAE Annual this year, Adele (see #4 above) suggested I pick up Sam's book, Pop. Adele and I now practically have our own little Sam Horn book club and I've purchased more of her titles.

Sam's advice stands out because she makes it actionable. Super actionable. It's almost as good as if she did it all for you.


There you go! I have more stuff that's lighting my fire lately, but those are the top five for this week. What about you? What's working for you? Got any suggestions for me to check out? Let me know in the comments!

What's Holding You Back?

If you are reading this, you are lucky.

How do I know that? You have access to a computer. You are educated enough to use it. You are literate. 

According to the demographics of my blog's readers, you are most likely employed and have a relatively comfortable income. 

But I bet you're looking for more in your life.

I'm lucky. I'm surrounded by amazing, talented people I can call friends. Individually they are each strong, inspiring, and powerful. They make me stronger by association.

I'm educated. I'm making money. I'm a wife. I'm a mom. 

I've got what a lot of people want. 

But I want more. 

I want accomplishment. I want recognition. I want to achieve greatness doing something I am passionate about. 

This week's Association Chat prompt was, "What's Holding You Back?" The discussion fired up a lot of internal questions for me and seemed to do the same for other participants. 

I asked participants to focus on their own goals and skills for the chat and to consider their desires. Moving in the direction of one's desires, intentions has been a focus for me lately and people who want to move ahead should probably make it their focus, as well. Examine that life! Challenge your comfort zone! Get real with yourself!

Please check out the entire discussion we had on Association Chat and post your comments here on what you are doing to achieve your goals in your career. Do you have tips? Have you figured out a process for creating abundance in your life that works for you? Please share! It's good karma and besides, it could bring you closer to your own goals without you knowing why or how. 

Ain't life grand?

Embrace the Unorthodox! KiKi's Interview with Jeff De Cagna, Author of Associations Unorthodox

Last week I sat down with the always provocative Jeff De Cagna about his new book, Associations Unorthodox: Six Really Radical Shifts Toward the Future.

What I love about Jeff is his candor and clarity. The guy just knows how to take ideas apart and play with them like no one else! I'm envious at how well he does this and every time I talk with him I come away a little wiser. You'll be wiser, too, for watching this interview!

I ask Jeff five questions about his e-book and if the association world listens to his answers, we'll see a pretty radical shift in the association landscape, indeed. Watch on!

  By the way, I just love this guy! Please be sure to check out his book and let me know what you think about the ideas we discuss in this interview.