Pierpont Communications, Inc.

I always cry at weddings… which is why I don’t go to weddings. Just kidding. Did you know that the royal wedding last night broke records for livestreaming? The livestreaming company had around 300,000 logins and estimated around two million “unique viewers.” That’s pretty interesting considering the last major royal wedding broke TV viewing records with 750 million viewers. It just goes to show that some things will always bring the views. Congratulations to Prince William and Kate, the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!

And now on to the Digital Influence Weekly…

This week a lot was going on, but something that really got my attention was the tragedy across the South. Tornados had killed almost 300 people and destroyed homes and businesses across the region. The news had carried this story, but what about these kinds of events which don’t always make it to mainstream news. There’s only so much news that can be fit into a newscast so it’s incredibly important to stay plugged in to varying news outlets and media types to make sure you don’t miss the news that truly matters.

Paying attention to the buzz in social networks is vital because it allows you to keep tabs on official reports, eye witness reports and online fundraising or volunteer opportunities which can help those affected by disaster. Here are some steps to take to stay on top of local reports for regional disasters the second you hear about them:

 • Connect to the local print and TV news outlets online for that region. They will carry critical updates from all sources who have information to offer up.

 • Connect to the local civic agencies like Red Cross, YMCA, religious centers, etc. to learn how to help donate necessary items as needed.

 • Find the social networks belonging to elected officials, chambers of commerce and economic development centers as well as law enforcement.

 • On Twitter, find the most used hashtags and monitor them. If you are not in the area or have no important information to share, do NOT use the hashtag. The less noise you can contribute, the more likely it is for others to see the really important information.

 • Pay attention to posts which may highlight text-to-donate campaigns or other sites for donations.

 • Monitor sites like YouTube and Flickr for images and videos with raw content.

Please take the time to try these out.

Our thoughts are with those who have been hit hardest by the storms and tornados and all those across the South.

Social media is all about the conversation – what you’re saying, what others are saying and the dynamics of your interaction.

But are you saying too much? How do you determine if you’re providing valuable content or simply over-sharing?

Creating a presence for yourself on sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube is a great way to establish and cultivate your personal brand. Staying active on these sites is even more important, given that the true benefits of social media emerge as you develop connections with others through ongoing dialogue and interaction.

However, problems arise when you share too much. As businesses turn to social media to vet potential job candidates and network with industry peers, what you say on your Facebook page or Twitter feed can make or break how others perceive you.

We’ve all seen those tweets and status updates –blips that describe what someone ate for lunch, how long they sat in traffic on the way home from the office or how excited they were to watch the newest episode of Glee. Posting quick updates like these can be hard to resist, but before you hit “send,” ask yourself if what you’re saying is conducive to the online reputation you want to uphold.

If you’re seeking new job opportunities and want to come across as a thought leader in your field, would you want an HR manager to find out how many margaritas you had at happy hour? If you’re looking to build your professional network, would you want your new contacts to learn about your relationship problems?

Whether frivolous, silly or ridiculous, extraneous posts can prove that too much of something isn’t necessarily a good thing. Because it’s important for your social media profiles to exude your personality, try mixing your “no-brainer” posts with a steady stream of links to compelling news articles, re-tweets of other insightful messages or thoughtful commentary/recommendations regarding your favorite hobbies or interests.

Social media is a matter of quality over quantity. While frequency is important, the content behind your posts is much more critical when it comes to establishing a personal brand and building an online network.

How do you strike a balance with your social media content? Please share with us below!

A couple weekends ago, I attended the annual conference for the National School Board Association in San Francisco. While the headliner was Condoleezza Rice, the second day general session featured Daniel Pink, author of “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.” He started talking about what we assume motivates behavior – reward and punishment. Typically, we assume if we reward a certain behavior, we will get more of it, and if we punish a behavior, we will get less.

He cited a set of experiments performed by four top economists who divided participants into three groups. They gave each group the same series of physical and cognitive tasks to perform. They enticed one group with a modest financial incentive, another with a larger incentive and the last group with a substantially larger incentive.

“They discovered as long as the task only involved mechanical skills, the bonuses worked as expected,” Pink said. “But here’s where it gets interesting… once the task called for even rudimentary cognitive skills, a larger reward actually led to poorer performance.”

When talking about motivation, money seems to be the obvious motivator, but in reality, it’s not. Pink suggested businesses pay people enough money, so that it is not a primary motivator – enough that they do not have to worry about it. Then instead of the typical “carrot and stick” incentives, workplaces would better motivate employees by using a powerful combination of three things – autonomy, mastery and purpose.

“Ask someone to describe the best boss they ever had and they rarely will say, ‘She was awesome, she breathed down my neck, she told me what to do and I was compliant,” Pink said, which we laughed. “Invariably what you hear is ‘high standards and autonomy.’ When people have more autonomy over time, technique, team and task, they invariably will do better.”

To illustrate his points, he brought up the practice at Google where team members are given 20 percent of their time away from their regular tasks to come up with something creative for the company. Key milestones like Gmail, Google Earth and other innovations have come from their employees’ 20 percent time. “It makes you wonder what they are doing with the other 80 percent, doesn’t it?” he chided.

He also spoke about another experiment with artists where they could contribute 10 pieces of art that were commissioned and 10 pieces of art where they were completely autonomous original works of art. The experimentation team invited a group of art critics to come and evaluate the artistic mastery of the pieces, not knowing which ones were commissioned and which ones were not. Overwhelmingly, the art that was non-commissioned was rated with much higher marks for creativity and artistic merit.

So the bottom line – set high standards and set your team loose. Then expect to be pleasantly surprised with their brilliance.

Much talk has surrounded the 2010 Census numbers, specifically the growth of the Latino community in many states. In Texas alone, the number of Caucasian residents has dropped to below 50 percent.

What does this mean for people in the communications industry? ¡Agárrete los pantalones! In other words, grab on to your pants because we’re going for a ride!

Clients want us to increase awareness about their companies or products, sway attitudes and change behaviors. So how is this possible with such an intricate community?

Here are four of my most important rules to keep in mind before strategizing a campaign that is geared towards a Latino audience:

1) Be a culturally competent communicator: It is a MUST to understand that Hispanics are culturally sensitive. For example, Latinos prefer to be addressed by their country of origin: such as: ‘Puerto Rican,' 'Mexican,' ‘Venezuelan,’ ‘Guatemalan,’ etc.

Having to integrate and assimilate to the American culture does not mean that Latinos leave or ignore their cultural ties to their country of origin, but instead that they adapt to a new culture bringing with them the richness of their own.

2) Speak and write in fluent Español, not Spanglish or Google Translated: Proper translation is critical. My recommendation is to seek a co-worker (or friend) who fluently speaks and writes Español. Also, make sure that your piece flows well, but above all, makes sense, just as you do when you write a news release in English.

Why is this so important? Believe it or not, Latinos connect Español to language, family and friends, and of course, food. In other words, Español is used to identify with culture.

3) Latinos ARE connected: I have family living in remote areas of El Salvador and they manage to connect with me through Facebook! This is astonishing because, in the case of my family, many do not have computer expertise, but they do know how to manage their Facebook accounts.

Social media is revolutionizing how we communicate with those in other parts of the world. Latinos living in America – and other countries – are taking advantage of the many free and easy-to-use networks. ¡Usa el poder de los medios sociales a tu ventaja! Use the power of social media to your advantage! You’ll be surprised of what you find!

4) Get to know them: When dealing with Latino clients and prospects, remember the key to their hearts is by personally engaging with them. A great way to do so is through dining!

Many Latino businesspersons, especially those living in Latin America, enjoy the interpersonal interaction with clients and business partners, as it’s a way of getting to know each other. The key is to utilize these types of opportunities to get to know them and prove that you are genuinely interested in them, their company, and yes…su familia!

With all of this in mind, remember, communicating to the Latino community looks complex and at times impossible. But it is neither! Have your own thoughts? Email me.

Recessions are hard and always will be. Curious to know how Pierpont was able to weather one of the worst recessions in my generation, I sat down with Pierpont’s CEO Phil Morabito to uncover some of his business strategies during the last recession and his outlook for this year’s market.

Q. How did you keep Pierpont out of harm’s way during the recession?
A. Well, part of surviving a recession is keeping a position of strength. Now that means having a debt-free business, having the right processes in place to collect dues in a timely manner and keeping your sales pipeline filled at all times.

Q. What is the most important thing you learned coming out of the recession?
A. I’ve been through a number of recessions and I’ve learned a lot of things. One thing I want to point out is that recessions are all the same. Companies tend to pull back on their marketing and that’s the biggest mistake they can make. During a recession, every dollar spent on marketing is worth three. With fewer companies putting their brand out there, your company’s brand stands out a lot more. Once the recession is over, your brand will be the first they remember.

Q. What are you expecting for 2011?
A. I expect recovery to be gradual, but business should gain some momentum later in the year.

Q. What advice do you give businesses now that consumers are starting to spend again?
A. I advise them to be aggressive in promoting their brand. Those that are front in center are the ones getting the customers’ dollars.

Q. What do you like most about your Pierpont employees?
A. What I like about Pierpont employees is that they’re committed, passionate, hard working, focused and work great together as a team.

I know the last question had nothing to do with the recession, but with an up-lifting answer like that, it was definitely worth me asking.

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