When it comes to research, a topic close to my heart; it seems these days the majority of us focus on “the activity of getting information about a subject”, where it really should be “careful study that is done to find and report new knowledge about something”

Given my profession, I have been preaching this for as long as I can remember; and even in today’s world we don’t say search or research but say “Google it” when really, quite possibly means doing a research and involves the most if not only of it.  This is one assumption I can not live by: Google equals internet equals search equals research equals free, voila! You have all the information you need.

I was at Social Media Masters Conference few days ago here in Toronto and so glad I attended this top notch social media conference, summary of the conference with links to presentations are available here; you can follow #smm2011 on twitter for conversation and more insights.

One particular session had me wowed and wooed was “The Future of Social Intelligence” by Scott Briggs, who is Sr. Director, Social Strategies and Insights at Alterian.  To me, social intelligence is no difference than business intelligence, it is essentially the management and analysis of customer data from social / business sources, used to activate and recalibrate marketing and business programs, to move business forward.

More and more businesses have come to realize that, having access to the tools or platforms is simply not the answer of it,  the goal is to use the insights they discover from dashboards (tracking) and act on it to reports ( updates) to improve offerings (customer segmentation, product development, potential market), and none of the task can be done via automated systems, or through technology along.

My wise dear friend, Judith Samuels sums up well in 140 characters above.

Few companies start to understand the power and really keen on gathering and forming the intelligence, but until they see it as an ongoing process, not just a stage and are willing to commit to the investment in the resources (talent and time), we still have a long way to go.

Just like search = research.

I had the opportunity to ask Andy Beal, CEO and Founder of Trackur, few “quick to the point” questions; below is his response — take note, he got back to me with 3 hours even though I told him it’s not urgent because he was going on vacation! Crazy nice guy

Tell us briefly about Trackur and your role

Andy: I founded Trackur in 2007 and in 2008 we launched the world’s easiest and most affordable tool for monitoring your reputation online. To date, 35,000+ users rely on us to keep track of conversations across news sites, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and more.

Why Trackur? What makes your product different, stand out from the rest?

Andy: Trackur is so easy to use, we guarantee you are up and running in less than 60 seconds. If you can use Gmail, then you can use Trackur to monitor conversations about your name, company, products, competition…absolutely anything!

Can you give any advice for SMBs wanting to DIYing the process?

Andy: This may come as a shock, but I believe most people are going to be just fine using Google Alerts. In fact, I want you to use Google Alerts before switching to a tool such as Trackur. That way, you can get to know your reputation needs and will better understand what you need in a paid monitoring tool. I shared some advice on this subject here: http://www.toprankblog.com/2010/09/6-steps-social-media-monitoring/

Tell us the wonderful thing about Trackur Three Dot OMG

Andy: It’s HUGE! We added Trackur Insights, which is basically analytics for your social media monitoring. With our Plus plan and up, you can quickly see what conversations are the most important, where they are happening, and discover new trends and topic.

So go ahead and try Trackur, they even offer 10-day money back guarantee, that’s the confidence in the valuable products.

Greatly appreciate Andy and the Trackur team support, you guys rock!

In less than two months, the one of a kind conference for all digitally connected women across Canada, ShesConnected, will be taking place at Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel on September 29^th for its second year.

I was fortunate enough to attend last year, you can read my takeaways here.  Admittedly, like going to any conference, like many people, I was nervous at first, not sure whether I came to the right place, or whether I would fit in.  During this one day conference, I learned from thought leaders, I networked with other digital women and I also engaged with few brands; the conference itself provides an effective platform if you really want to work with brands, IT DID FOR ME !  I first met James Clarke, Digital Marketing Manager at Maple Leaf Foods at the conference (psst,  just so you know he really loves gourmet food ) it was a result of attending, networking and following up.  I have been working with MLF for their social media metrics and analytics since January, I wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity if it weren’t for ShesConnected Conference.  THAT, is huge benefit of attending events — getting great client !!

Donna Marie Antoniadis has demonstrated the concept and her ideas are well received; brands ARE interested in working with women who has major purchasing power and absolute influences in their unique networks, there are so many potential opportunities out there, only Donna Marie successfully brings both sides together.  So why you want to go ?  The conference is aiming to bring digitally connected women who want to work with brands, and it delivers !  This year, it will be two days, which means more brands and opportunities !! I would encourage you to apply for  ShesConnected Conference if you haven’t done so, I certainly hope  I am one of the luckiest 200 digital women

After you apply, you can always follow @SCConference and @shesconnected for updates, and if you do get invited, (it’s OK I won’t turn green )I strongly recommend you do some research upfront and get familiar with sponsored brands, most importantly, know what unique value you can provide to help them.

Good luck and have a blast !

No matter what industry / which stage of the business you are in, the classic 5W+1H (Who/What/Where/When/Why/How) questions apply to every step of the way.  Before we continue, I am going to assume you already know the “Why“, if not, please go back to your business plan and find out why you started the business in the first place.

O.K., so here we go;

Who – you want to know who are/were your customers and who will most likely be your advocates for the products/services you are offering.  Have they always like it, or been referred by their family/friends to try it, or they are the gold mine — meaning they are haters-turned-lovers?

What — you want to know what people are mostly talking about; is it you as business owners, the products/services you offer, or they are talking with/about your competitors? What is the context, i.e. sentiment analysis?

Where — you know you have to start somewhere, you know you have to listen to your customers and clients and you know you have to do something if they say good/not so good thing about your business.  The question is, where (which channel)?  You should tailor your message to different channels depends on your market; only 13% of people online are on Twitter, most people won’t like/join Facebook Fan pages if asked to access their and their friends’ personal information, can be overwhelming sometimes, Tamara Littleton, CEO of eModeration, has a great post here which gives the reasons why Ten is the magic number.

When — this is not about the time of day, it is about when the event occurs that triggers people to talk.  Were they inquiring before making the decision? Did they have great experience and simply want to spread the words or they had unbearable encounter that maybe a better solution can be offered?  Can you avert the crisis and turn into opportunity?

And all the above goes back to the question of WHY, so does the cycle starts all over again.  WHY they want to talk about you and to continue the conversation?   WHY they buy your products/services and keep buying more?  WHY they prefer to talk on specific channels?  WHY they decide to talk at that moment?

So you ask, how do I start this listening?  What tools can I use?  Tool is just tool; you need a human mind to interpret the data and information you have collected.  But if you insist to know, given the cost of accessing legacy platforms providers (Radian6, Sysomos just to name a few) creates barrier for small business owners,  , I’d say DIY by using Google Alert and/or Social Mention;  the brilliant Jay Baer has great resource here , or a recent article from MarketingProfs “5 Free & Easy-to-Use Listening Tools for Monitoring Social Media” can also help you.

Here are some sobering numbers about the real use of social media, from @jasonfalls. EVERYONE should read this http://izmy.us/uF1 . The DIY tools are good enough until your brand gets about 300 mentions per month, and then you’ll want some more analytics.

So, are you listening? In the right place ??

You see, both Hubby and I signed on Twitter in 2009 but like many people, we did little about it. Then I invested the time and energy to figure out what it is, and over the last year I started having conversation with people, sharing information that I believe it’s useful and I was having so much fun. OK, maybe I was *a bit* addicted to it, what I mean by that is, I was on 90% of the time when I was awake, the other 10% of time I had to rush between “selected” domestic responsibilities and client projects, so Hubby was not very happy because I was busy talking to the people he doesn’t know, rather than talking to him.

So how exactly social media saved my marriage? I am not going to tell you those tips of what you need/who to follow/how to do, I think it’s fair to assume you are already a “pro” if your spouse gets irritated every time you go online.

Here are the lessons I learned to share with you;

• Be persistent – we women are great at this. Think of it, did we not insist at least one thing our significant others should do while we were just dating; or at least one chore they should be helping at home to make our life easier, and if not everyone will be miserable?

• Provide value – to partner/spouse, because you already know the value, or else why would you be online? It’s those who doesn’t see the value, doesn’t get it. Your partner/spouse only cares stuff that matters to him, man, right? In my case, Hubby is interested in few brands and wants to get information on updates/deals, social media not only provides him the channel for that, it also allows him to ask questions and get updated answer directly from the source; instead of calling 1-800 number, or emailing anonymously.

• Be patient – seriously, we gotta have this one. Use the patience you have with kids (p.s. I know I don’t have whole lot but still) on your spouse/partner, this is tough but trust me, it’s all worth it. Guide him through the steps, be prepared for lots of questions and some frustrations, never argue with him about social media, it’s slow process but ROI is guaranteed.

Special thanks to Jeff Gignac, Anne Green and Julie Cole who spent time talking to Hubby, made him realize his wife is *cough* lovable and you really can make friends online.  Appreciate Horseshoe Valley and Glen Eden, you convinced Hubby that social media is the way to communicate.

Now that Hubby is “sort of “ interested in social media and makes it into his routines, I have to admit that I sometimes do get why it is *ahem* is bit annoyed when he is checking but hey, I understand and I am happy for him, really.

Well, this picture was taken 16 years ago, when you spent more than half of life with someone, I count it as blessing.  We don’t look at each other that way now, but very close.  Well, if you’ll excuse me, Hubby just DM me saying he is going to tag me on Facebook if I don’t go upstairs right. Just so you know, once in awhile, I am still a good wife

Appreciate some kind people had meaningful conversations with me online to exchanging ideas, debating arguments, sharing opinions and answering questions. For those who spent time with me over coffee, you are very special, you engage me in real life, you all walk the talk. Judith Samuels (@chieflemonhead), Evelyn So (@EvelynSo), Julia Rosien (@JuliaRosien), John Lepp (@JohnLepp), Niraj Adhiya (@NirajIdea) and Alison Burke (@AlisonBurke), thank you.

Looking back, my #FollowFriday Groupie Hugs still apply
but honorable mentions go to;

Laurel Crossley-Byers, Founder of Opti-Mom (@optimom), for revealing the true inner self of who I am;

Chris Young, THE amazing nice guy at B2Cy Connection (@chris_eh_young) and Lindsey Jay, awesome lady at Linsey Jacobs Graphic Designer (@lindseyjay) for revamping my website and logo;

Suzy Tonini (@InfoSourcer) and Charlene Burke (@charleneburke), these two top notch Information Professionals not only understand the importance and power of information to business, they advocate the true value of information; they unselfishly share their knowledge with me, they are the best cheerleaders when I am down. I have not met Suzy or Charlene in person, yet I felt like I’ve known them for ages

The takeaway for me this year — You can not be someone you are not meant to be, and don’t try to fit in in particular groups because then you are not true to yourself.

Thank you for being on this journey with me in 2010, let’s rock on!! I’ve had so many people helped me, what can I do to help you in 2011? Please let me know.

As an Information Professional by training, when I conduct in-depth business research, I tend to look at the information others don’t notice, or can’t find. It is my job to tell business decision makers “Don’t Just Google It”, with all the SEO and PageRank today, quite often the search results you get on the first page is being manipulated. I am a strong advocate about share the worth sharing, verify accurate information from credible sources; whatever I share in the social space I make sure the link is alive AND it’s not rumor, unless said so.

My friend, Robert Lavigne (@rlavigne42) has this brilliant insight about Facebook vs. Google:

We are shifting from a search model to a discovery model. The very nature of this terrifies Google who have made their fortune on search. Facebook on the other hand is based entirely on the discovery model. The discovery model taps into the 3 degrees of connectivity (friend, friend of friend, … ). As such, it allows us to become aware of things that we didn’t know about in the first place. Yes you can search on it, once you hear about it for more details, but how does new knowledge get discovered in the first place? Via a social network based on the concept of weak ties and disconnected interests. In a world where content is become so readily available, the real value is in the semantics of the content. As such, content is free and context is where the value is. The discovery model allows us to use our social network to put not only context on the content being acquired, but also exposes our insight to that of others. Simply put search cannot compete with the discovery model as you need to know what you don’t know first before learning something new.

This is assuming you will take the initiative and look for that event and validate it. What if people don’t even Google anymore? What if people only Facebook it because it’s from their friends, their circle of trust, they’ll just spread the word automatically?

The famous Facebook cartoon character campaign. It started at the end of November, a week later the children’s charity, the NSPCC, claimed it had no involvement in it. You can read more here and here.

In my business, we Researchers have to be sleuthed. We piece puzzles together to solve mysteries and find meanings in unanswered questions, with analysis skills. 90,000 fans in just a week, enough buzz and hype for who ever created the fan page, smart marketing I must say, but somehow I felt the real value is missing. Is this how Brand or Marketer monitor, measure the campaign and the ROI? I am not sure. I’m not a marketer.

I didn’t change my profile picture, some people say I’m too rigid, just have fun. Do you react the same way?

To all Duettes (according to my 8 year old daughter) and some dudes (Duri Al Ajrami @Duriajrami, Adam Avitable @avitable and Eric Alper @ThatEricAlper) at BlissdomCanada that I had the pleasure to speak with, thank you for sticking around more than 1 minute and not walk away by boredom (even if you WERE bored at least you stayed that long:) ), many I get to chat more online and offline after the conference. I also appreciate wonderful ladies who had written #BlissdomCanada posts shortly after , Annie (@PhdInParenting) even includes her presentation here http://www.slideshare.net/AnniePhdinparenting/blissdomcanadapresentation. The community is so awesome because (1) I couldn’t and wouldn’t have written it better myself as you can see; (2) you’ve all helped me re-learn the three days conference, all geared up and ready for Blissdom Canada 2011.

The thought from last session “Building Brands And Beyond“, is sticky in my head for a while and I’ve been thinking from different angle. When Julie Cole (@juliecole) and Erica Ehm (@YummyMummyClub) discussed how they brand their successful business, Julie mentioned all her staff holds true to core value at Mabel’s Label, and they have general guideline about online behaviour, great products and excellent customer services are key factor to their success; where Erica said she gives her staff 100% freedom what YMC bloggers want to write/say, be it hilarious or controversial, they want it to be an informative and safe place for mummy to join the club, read the blogs and share stories. The very distinction to me is corporate culture, a more traditional business (Mabel’s Label) and an emerging business (Yummy Mummy Club).

The main message is always be authentic, be true to who you are, and you are your own brand, online and offline. People talk online, and believe me, people talk MORE offline. It’s easier to know people online, it’s better to know people offline. I think that’s the beauty of social networks, opening the door and presenting the opportunity for us to know people in real. What you say/do/put out there, stays forever, for generations to come to see. A bit thoughtful before posting anything on the internet, always consider would it be appropriate for your family, friends or even grand children see the digital footprints and not feel embarrassed, or hurt.

I admire these two women, if you like them online you will LOVE them in real life when you get to know them more. Because I DO. Be consistent, be authentic, and you have no competition (Wait, this is Scott, a.k.a. @UnMarketing‘s line). Men are competitive and women are collaborative; men like to work independently and women like to work cohesively. In fact these two brands are so different yet can work together, support each other and cheer the success for each other; THIS, only happens in woman’s world, our world

I learned a lot from Johanne Thomas Yaccoto , President and Founder of Thomas Yaccato Group Consulting) and Sidneyeve Matrix, Professor in the Department of Film and Media at Queen’s University during their presentations.  Johanne talked about how gender intelligence connects women consumers and business growth, Sidneyeve took deep dive into how to click with Millennial Moms; as a researcher myself I could sit there all day absorbing the information and discuss with them, yeah, that’s what I will do at next conference.  I would encourage businesses want to understand women market, check out Johanne’s book, The Gender Intelligence Retailer ; and Sidneyeve’s presentation “How to Click with Millennial Moms“.

I listened to the brands that came came for the day, they were all very interested in this women connected power and how we influence our networks in the social space, the brands are eager to work with digital women but are still in the early stage of figuring out how.  I would give these brands; including KOBO,  Kraft Canada Foods, Maple Leaf, Egg Farmers of Ontario, Seagram’s, Coca-Cola, Smashbox, Bourjois Paris, Calvin Klein Fragrances, Booty Camp Fitness, Look Good Feel Better, credits for just being there, and hope we will see some action steps in the near future.

I engaged with people that I’ve chatted online, have met before or even it was our first hug, to have meaningful conversations, either to get to know them better or potential collaborations, and that was why I probably only met about 22 awesome women that day, still 78 to go!  I am o.k. with it, relationship doesn’t build in one day, engagement is not just 6 tweets.

Here is what I think how can brands and we digital women work together for win-win:

Getting to know us individually — Treat us with respect, we could be Brand’s ambassadors or advocates, but what we represent must resonate with our inner selves.  Ann Dougulas said it well, “Each of us has unique, niche reach”, some runs online magazine like Maria Lianos (@amotherworld), some runs online shopping deals/coupons/contest/forums like Kimberley Clancy (@FrugalShopperCA), some are simply amazing moms like Jen Banks (@abusymommy).  We are all different yet similar in some ways, we have different life style (if you call it style) and needs for our family, take some time to visit our websites and get to know us as person.

Thinking outside of the box — Some brands at the round table discussions asked what topics we write about, some are fashion obsessed, some are interested in exploring foods, the truth is we are into a little bit of everything, don’t forget we are women!  So for brands in food industry think Vicky (@momwhoruns) is a foodie (true!) who can spread words, may also want to know Julia (@NuggleMama) has 5 kids under 10, if she can use the recipes to quickly prepare delicious meal making the whole family happy, shouldn’t she have some say in it?  Or look at me, people who know me knows I don’t cook, so traditionally I’m not the type brands are looking for, but if I can use some ingredients/recipes that make me feel cooking is easy peasy and it’s actually awesome, will my friends and my network listen and curious to find out more? You bet!!

Looking at potential, not scale – Brands, Marketers like to know the scale; website traffic, RSS subscribers, numbers of followers/friends/fans/connections, I get it.  It’s business and marketing budget has to go somewhere.  Choose wisely, sometime it’s better to go with smaller fish.  Why?  Because smaller fish generally appreciate much more when given the opportunity.  Women are not competitive, we are cooperative and we support each other tirelessly and selfishlessly.  We help each other to be successful and cheers for the success.  Everyone starts with small, if brands can cultivate the relationship from the beginning, it’ll last longer.

Hiring your market for your market — Look at some of the successful women today, Erica Ehm (@YummyMummyClub), Maureen Dennis (@weewelcome), Julie Cole (@juliecole) from Mable’s Label (@mabelhood) and many others, all staffed with brilliant women; because they understand what women can accomplish once empowered.  For brands, I would suggest at least one Brand Manager works with one Community Manager, if not 1 Product Manager with 1 Community Manager; providing enough training (if necessary) and support (very important) to make sure this Community Manager is the face and voice to the public.

All of these takes time, but isn’t brand building?  Never before women has the opportunity to let our voice be heard, it should be heard and needs to be heard.  In this digital, social world, brands that qualifying relationship not quantifying relationship will win, because after all, relationship building is not a fast food culture, it ain’t healthy if it is.

Would you agree?  What do you think?

(Big shout out to Donna Marie Antoniadis (@donnaantoniadis) and Mark Grindeland (@mark_grindeland) for hosting the ShesConnected Conference (@sheisconnected), looking forward to next year’s events!!)

This experience, got me thinking about good referrals in all aspects. Who doesn’t know the importance of trusted network, who doesn’t know one of the most effective way to grow your business is getting new clients referred by existing clients. I remembered it took me 6 months, numerous follow-ups to get my first client, but after that? Repeated client works plus referrals for new clients. Why would people refer you to other people they are doing business with? Likeness, trust and quality of work, you would say. But which comes first? I don’t think there would be any differences for personal and professional, in school or at work.

Quality of work comes first. You get good marks in school, you produce good results at work, you get noticed then you stand out, in some ways.

Trust comes second. You earn people’s trust by doing bit more than the above, from your heart of course. You either give extra hand to classmates in school when needed, or jump in when a colleague is overwhelmed by workload. You do it because you want to help and you can, not because you want to get “extra points”.

Likeness comes third and it’s not least important. Because if people don’t like you, even if you produce good works, and earned their trust, when it comes to referrals, there will still be hesitations.

What are your thoughts? How do you get referrals for your business? Would love you to share them here.