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So many smart people - speakers as well as attendees - packed two days full of content on email, search and social media marketing.

The recaps below came from speakers as well as attendees. Can you guess who was in which group?

Sonny Gill on Affirmation and Testing: Last year was People and Passion… click to read what Sonny has to say about this year.

Eric Hoffman on his Digital Marketing Mixer experience: “yeah I know, Swine flu whatever – there were people in white coats here so I felt safe”

Matthew T. Grant on The Long and Short of the Digital Marketing Mixer: Five high level themes from the conference [definitely worth taking a look at - great insights from Grant!]

Michael Brito on Lessons Learned: Get it straight from the horse’s mouth - what did Brito learn?

Jay Baer on 33 Hot Social Media Marketing Tips and Eight Killer Quotes: He crowdsourced his beard. ‘Nuff said.

Mack Collier on Marketing Profs Digital Marketing Mixer Recap: Mack gives you a little sumptin’ sumptin’ to help you see the value of this event.

Thanks to Marketing Profs for inviting me to this year’s Digital Marketing Mixer, (re)connecting me with friends, and putting on a great show full of learnings, case studies, tips and discussions.

The action at Marketing Profs Digital Mixer didn’t stop. From an early morning breakfast discussing Twitter with Leigh Duncan-Durst to two moderated sessions to discuss: (1) various uses of Twitter for brands like Marketing Profs and Best Buy; (2) community building through social media.

The rate of responsiveness for Best Buy’s Twitter team was amazing - during the session, one of the attendees tweeted something about Best Buy and minutes, if not seconds later, had a response from Best Buy. This in-person, real time demo made us laugh. Marketing Prof’s Twitter evolution also highly interested me - from Ann Handley just tweeting on her own to having a more formal policy or structure demonstrated that social media use isn’t static. What one does today, how one applies various tools will change over time, as it should. Business needs and goals change as new information develops and social media strategy should evolve to take those changes into consideration.

The conference closed with the Mixologists recapping and reviewing tips and tactics that attendees could take home with them. Highlights include:

• KEYWORDS for SEARCH because people are searching! 4-5 search terms should give them your product if they are looking for it!
• Community membership is a privilege, not a right
• 80/20 rule for content - personal vs. brand for personal Twitter or brand vs. personal for brand Twitter. However, make sure the content has value for your audience
• Lawyers speak their own language - legalese. Lawyers’ risk aversion is in service to their clients, so have in-house counsel discuss social media policy development with peer enterprises
• Have a plan - know why you use the tools you use and how you use them
• Tactics without a strategy is like doing nothing, or passing up opportunity while incurring costs. If you’re looking for an analogy, tactics without a strategy is like a steering wheel without a car. Maybe it’s like a public transportation system without any stops.

Was Mom wrong with her advice: “Don’t talk to strangers?”

Ann Handley in her opening talk contradicted Mom, reminding us that we should go out of our comfort zone and talk to strangers and learn from each other.

Go forth and learn we did -

From “The Magic Combination of Rich Content and Social Media Can Land You On ‘Page One’ of Google”

If you think about creating great content - if you build it, will they come? Maybe if you make it easy for them - the “crazy viral” content doesn’t have many barriers to access. A registration form is an example of a barrier for your users. When creating content, also think about usability - something that is easy to consume, read and share will be so, especially if the content is quality.

Different media types serve different purposes. Of course, you might want to collect email, contact information and names. If you explain why you ask for that personal information to share survey results, you might realize response rates as high as 95% as Michael Stelzner did, the author of Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged.

Some other quick tips:

• Develop relationships with key influences before you need to make an ask - hint - offer interesting, unique insight or value.
• Think about your signal to noise ratio - what content should be open and public, and what should be more private?
• Retweet buttons or links that allow people to share your content
• Video tools to use may be Screenflow for those who use Mac and Camtasia for those who use Windows
• Check out Sexy Bookmarks if you use wordpress

Life moves quickly, at the speed of Real Time. So what about business - how can business engage in real time? How Big Brands Engage in Real Time Conversations with Customers provided case studies of how both B2B and B2C brands leveraged online interactions to develop relationships with their customers.

• Hansen’s soda used Twitter in conjunction with street teams to grow their brand
• Intel used social media to discover the desire for the Ajay Bhat t-shirt from the Ajay Bhat commercial.

However, incentive-based contests are great for launching programs and products, not for building sustainable relationships. Social media is like a long term relationship, not casual dating. Speaking of relationships, what do you do when you screw up? You can address problems by figuring out what the problem is and addressing it. Apologize for your mistakes and ask for forgiveness.

Have we moved past the it’s-about-the-conversation/it’s-about-the-community chant? Social Media Measurement: Metrics, Impact, and Value addressed how we can measure our efforts in social media.

After a brief talk by Amber Naslund (available on slideshare) about what metrics to track and how to make meaning of so we can drive the ultimate metric.

While you can automate data gathering and visualizations, you can’t automate insight and analysis. Research will inform which social networks to participate in and lack of success provides opportunity to get customer feedback about the type of content they want to see.

Just like laundry, social media measurement only gets harder the longer you wait. Some free listening or measurement tools to investigate:

• socialmention
• backtype
• netvibes
• search.twitter.com
• GOOG Alerts
• boardtracker

If you’re really geeky, look at various APIs and RSS tools and pull together an iGoogle or Yahoo Pipes dashboard. Filtrbox also provides a more robust free social media monitoring tool than Google Alerts.

After packing my brain so full of information, it  felt like both carry-ons packed under the seatback in front of me, it was time for some leiderhosen and chatting in real life with those I’ve chatted with online for a year or more.

I haven’t been blogging here as much as I’d like to. However, I started a food p0rn blog that I regularly post to. 

I’ve also been traveling quite a bit - from an amazing inaugural year at Social South in Birmingham, Alabama to my regular trips to Seattle, this month finds me turning another year older and (hopefully!) another year wiser. 

This month, I’ll be in:

The Bay Area: I’ll be visiting my little sister and attending CAR EXPO in San Jose, where I’ll be meeting with DocuSign users and potential users to answer any questions they might have about electronic signature, paperless transactions, or just give out hugs.

Washington, D.C.: I’ll be visiting with a very cool nonprofit, Disaster Accountability Project. They have some great initiatives planned for the coming year, so keep an eye on them. After my experience evacuating from Hurricane Katrina, I’m inspired to work with such a motivated, committed and inspiring group.

Chicago: I’ve never been to Chicago, but I’m excited for my first time. I’ll be attending Marketing Profs’ Digital Marketing Mixer, Oct 21 - 22, and blogging with some good friends of mine, Mack Collier and Paul Chaney. Digital Marketing Mixer provides a wealth of programming. From one-on-one sessions, discussion groups, and more, you can learn how to see even more results for your digital marketing program. 

If you register with the discount code “DMBLG” you’ll get $200 off the conference pass. For every pass you buy with the discount code “DMBLG” I’ll donate $100 to Disaster Accountability Project. 

You get insight from amazing, talented marketers and Disaster Accountability Project gets donations… everyone wins!

About a year ago, Richard Thompson Ford published The Race Card: How Bluffing About Bias Makes Race Relations Worse. It’s definitely worth reading and thinking about. Ford makes the distinction that accusations of racial discrimination (1) distracts from serious racial injustices, and (2) confuses social conflict with bigotry, diminishing the meaning behind charges of bigotry. 

This morning, I read an article, “Pretty Women Can Be Hard to be Friends With” that got me thinking about Ford again:

That stuff made me feel terrible most of the time and I don’t want anyone knowing what that’s like. Instead, I try to be kind to every person, regardless of how popular/attractive/smart they are, and not be a brownnoser, ever.

It’s striking to me, though, how not being a kiss-up has ruined my friendships with some very pretty women. In fact, my only friendship Titanics have happened when I’ve stood up to extraordinarily beautiful women and lost out. “The Pretty Girl” wanted me to play by her rules; I didn’t want to do it, so Pretty Girl read me the friendship riot act and ditched me. Forever.

Um, REALLY?!? The author offers up only anecdotal evidence. Correlation does not imply causation and statements such as these only serve to reinforce stereotypes. After I read the article, I realized that sometimes, people act entitled, are rude, self absorbed or narcissistic. 

Why be friends with people who treat you badly? Each individual can only control him or herself, not anyone else. Just flip the bit and get rid of those who don’t add to your life. If Ms. Pretty treats people poorly and you don’t tolerate it, you don’t need to have Ms. Pretty in your life. That’s ok. Those who allow Ms. Pretty to treat them terribly - that’s their choice. It doesn’t affect you. 

Focusing on looks detracts from the actual problem - rude behavior. It’s not about the pretty. Focusing on the superficial detracts from the actual substantive issue at hand.

It’s fall - delicious apples (and apple cider doughnuts!), changing leaves, football, and of course, college admissions season. 

If you’re thinking “no duh, An” I wouldn’t blame you.

After my years of test prep and admissions consulting, I can’t stop myself from offering advice at this time of year. Of course, this is free advice - take it or leave it as such. To everyone in the admissions process - good luck. It’s a process that you should try to enjoy. As much as it’s about getting into college, it’s also about selecting the right university and educational experience FOR YOU. 

Yes, it’s about YOU.

1. Take some time to think about the essay questions before you start writing. My little brother said it best:

College applications aren’t hard, it’s the “Who are you?”, “Why are you great?” and “What experiences make you special?” essays.

The key to a successful application really is communicating those answers to college admissions committees. However, it’s important that you also think about what YOU think makes you great and what experiences make you special. If you’re a senior, you pretty much have achieved everything you can to get into college at this point. If you think you can benefit from taking another year off before college, do so. CAVEAT: BE PRODUCTIVE

Do NOT take a year off to live on your parents’ couch. Take a year off and do something meaningful. Find a cause, a goal, or a mission and work towards making your vision a reality. If you aren’t successful in a year (yes, world hunger is not a problem that can be solved in a year), think about how to communicate the progress you’ve made and the lessons you’ve learned. 

Colleges want interesting, thoughtful members of the community. This is especially true of smaller schools. Heck, I’m not in college anymore and I love knowing interesting, thoughtful people. You already are interesting and thoughtful - demonstrate it with storytelling in your essays.

2. Study for those standardized tests. They don’t measure your intelligence, they don’t predict success in college, they have their own biases… BUT standardized test scores are one area in which you can put your best foot forward in the small amount of time you have before applications are due. It’s not too late for seniors to register for the December SAT. I know you’re busy. You have a life, a job, homework, sports practice… but seriously. For only a month and a half or so, focusing on the SAT or ACT to get your scores up may result in admissions to your top choice college and opportunities for scholarships. It’s one of the most high impact things you can do if you’re applying for admissions next fall.

Take a look at PrepMe - I’m not getting paid to recommend them - I just think it’s a great program. PrepMe achieves statistically significant score improvements if you do the work at a fraction of the cost of other tutoring programs. With tutors from the University of Chicago and Stanford who are available 24/7 via email and live chat, it’s college prep on your schedule. Make it a priority to study - you’ll be glad you did when scores come back!

3. Take some time to BREATHE. Everyone who knows me probably thinks this is ironic, but I’m being completely serious. Make sure you spend a little time doing something for yourself, to keep in mind what your goals and motivations are for applying to college. If it’s expected by your parents and teachers, why? What potential do you have that they see? How have you been and will you be continuing to contribute to your community and the greater world around you? If you want to go to college for the intellectual development, to satisfy your need to learn, or any other number of valid reasons, keep them top of mind. If you focus on your values and getting one step closer to them, you’ll be successful no matter where you choose to go. 

Paulo Coehlo’s The Alchemist is a quick, short fable about following your dreams. I recommend buying it and reading it - it’s a book that is simple in message but very thought provoking. 

This is a big year for everyone applying for the next steps in their educations. It’s a time to enjoy the process and realize that you’re going to learn about yourself, if you open yourself up to the process in a thoughtful manner. 

ps - for food p0rn, take a look at my Posterous.

Last weekend, my younger brother graduated from Carleton College, with a B.A. in economics. Since I missed his high school graduation, I really wanted to see him graduate from college and hang out in a community I haven’t spent much time in at all, even though half of my family has lived there at some point.

What’s this community? Northfield, MN, population 17,000. Seriously. To put it in perspective… that’s just north of the number of faculty (2,500) and staff (14,000)  for the University of Texas, Austin.

Northfield’s got a few cool things going on for it:

1. Colleges: Home to St. Olaf and Carleton Colleges, Northfield seems to have a pretty good relationship with the colleges, academics, and parents that come visit. The picture above was taken from Division Street, the main street in town. Both colleges have programs that help students get active in the local community. One of my brothers worked on a project coordinating joint St. Olaf & Carleton volunteer/outreach efforts. Both schools are small liberal arts colleges and very well regarded - St. Olaf is a USNWR Top 50 National Liberal Arts College & Carleton is a Top 10.

Carleton even has an arboretum!

2. Cereal: Have you ever heard of Malt-O-Meal? Malt-O-Meal is a major employer/driver of the Northfield economy and they sell cereal in plastic bags for less money on a by-weight comparison to Post, General Mills, and others. I drove by the factory on the way to St. Olaf, and it smelled delicious. It reminded me of being a little girl and triggered a milk craving.

3. Contentment: People in Northfield are apparently happy. I don’t blame them. I’d be pretty happy too, if nice grandmotherly-types gave me flowers for driving by. Oh wait! They did!

Seriously. I was running errands, and these nice ladies gave me some potted peonies that now sit on my mom’s balcony. I gave them a hug when they wouldn’t take money.

Other random awesomeness from my trip:

To address my sociological tendencies, I also drove by Northfield’s public housing facilities. Interesting to note, they differed from other public housing facilities I’ve seen (Chester, PA & Columbia Heights, Washington, DC) in that these public housing facilities had yards with green grass instead of concrete.

Coffeeshops took cash or check. Even out of state checks. Also, wifi bandwidth was widely available and a large cup of coffee could be had for less than $2.00, including tax.

I had a great time - check out Northfield if you’re doing college visits throughout the midwest, like your coffee with plenty of bandwidth, and find yourself wondering what cereal smells like.

Or just check it out because you can or you want to.

Recently, Oxygen aired back-to-back episodes of America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 11. From 14 contestants, one would become America’s Next Top Model.

Great background noise to do chores to, I thought. Turns out, ANTM provides lessons applicable in wider contexts, beyond fashion.

Three Lessons on Being Fierce

1. Own Your Awkwardness

The ability to own one of her personal characteristics helped Marjorie go fairly far into the competition. By taking charge of her physical awkwardness, Marjorie turned it into something beautiful.

Understanding and working with your weaknesses can help  you get closer to your goals.

2. Go with the Flow

Episode after episode, the judges gave Elina feedback about having too much control. They wanted to see her let go a bit more. She was eventually eliminated because of her control issues - her photos, while beautiful, didn’t really improve, in part because she didn’t listen to feedback.

Going with the flow requires you to be open to experiences as they present themselves. These experiences lead to growth if you’re willing to learn, evolve, and change. If you’re controlling every experience, your opportunities to learn are limited, since you’re setting reasonable expectations around outcomes.

3. Complacency can mean the End of the Road

Clarke went from having the top photo one week to being eliminated the next. How did this happen? She said she only needed one good photo - she went through most of her shots and at the end, her best photo just wasn’t good enough.

Falling into the complacent mindset caps one’s growth and can lead to being left back on JV when the rest of the team makes Varsity.

The NYT’s “The Choice” blog recently posted some advice entitled: “Free Fashion Advice for College Inverviews, From a $15,000 Consultant” and my first thought? Seriously?!? You’ve got to be KIDDING me. A “free” fashion show modeling looks from Greenwich’s Rugby by Ralph Lauren store?

I have nothing against college admissions consulting and nothing against college admissions consulting at that price point.  I do, however, balk at advice given by admissions consultants that add very little value to parents and kids already worried about the college admissions process. With my experience helping kids get into college from my years with The Princeton Review and as a Swarthmore College Alumni Interviewer, I present to you…

“Free Admissions Interview Advice From an $100/hour Consultant”

1. Play up your assets. This does not mean cleavage, legs, or broad shoulders. This means highlight parts of who you are that you think are important. This can be lessons you’ve learned from leadership roles, participation in groups or communities, or classes you found interesting and why. Regarding dress, wear what you’re comfortable in and something that communicates how seriously you’re taking the interview. If that’s a suit, that’s a suit. If it’s a cute, knee length skirt with a modest top, then skirt and top it is.

2. Highlight FIT, not HAIR. Ok, highlights in your hair can be super cute as well as make you look polished and professional, which is always appreciated. More important that great hair is highlighting how you fit in with the college culture. Prospective students can divine a bit of college culture from admissions brochures, online resources like the Princeton Review, and connections w/ current students via Facebook.

As an interviewer, I’m asking myself “Is this student one I see at Swarthmore, and one I see being successful at Swarthmore?” I find that students answer that question in the natural course of the conversation.

3. Make it easy for admissions officers to want you for the class. Think about how you’ve been contributing to your school, community, and other organizations. Think in terms of measurable impacts you’ve made. Be REALLY clear about what you’re looking to get out of a college experience, even if it’s “I’m looking to learn about what I want to learn about.” Connect the experiences you’ve had with how you see yourself contributing to the college community.

If you’re looking to have a fairly active social (read: partying, drinking, etc.) life, think about what you’re willing to do when you’re not partying, drinking, etc. You might want to consider taking a gap year if you consider college a four year party. At $200k/BA at a private school, that’s a pretty pricey cover charge.

Last words of advice:

Remember, college admissions committees are putting together a well-rounded class, not necessarily a class of well-rounded individuals. They want a group who can bring out the best in each other and contribute to the academic, athletic, artistic, etc community and culture of the college. If you’re an all-around rock star in all of the above, continue to be so. If you’re all-around mediocre in all of the above, you might want to think about spending your time going deep and being amazing at the one you’re most passionate about, be it school, a volunteer program, a sport, or an activity.

Yes, college admissions is getting more competitive each year. However, if you focus on the fundamentals: doing well in classes and standardized tests, contributing in class and the community, and genuinely being interested in finding a great fit for college, then you’ll be fine in the process.

One of my favorite professors once said:

Focus on the process. You can control the process. The minute you start thinking about the outcome, you’re screwed.