I'm grateful to people who challenge my assumptions and - in so doing - raise my awareness.Peter Kim has done that with his M20 Top Marketer blogs [alpha] that focuses on client-side marketers who blog. With M20 Top Marketer Blogs [beta], he expands the list to 31 and refines the rankings so they are "totally transparent" and "reflect BOTH authority and influence." I'm proud to say that Flooring The Consumer still makes the list, at #7!
Although I follow many blogs, I had never considered them from the perspective of the M20, and certainly never internalized that so many of the brilliant thoughts circulating within the blogosphere were predominently the product of consultant or agency perspectives.
With the expansion of the M20, another revelation overcame me: out of the 31, only 7 represent "old" economy [i.e., not technology] businesses.
Consider:
+ Strategic Public Relations - Kevin Dugan, Director of Marketing Communications, FRCH Design.
+ Todd And - The Power To Connect - Todd Andrlik, Director of Marketing and PR, Leopardo Construction.
+ Flooring The Consumer - CB Whittemore, Director of In-Store Innovation, Wear-Dated Carpet Fiber.
+ Masiguy - Tim Jackson, Brand Manager, Masi Bicycles.
+ The Client Side - Michael Seaton, Director - Digital Marketing, Scotiabank.
+ John Heald's Blog - John Heald, Cruise Director, Carnival.
+ Randy's Journal - Randy Tinseth, VP Marketing, Boeing.
The rest relate closely to technology or technology solutions.
And, then, one more revelation: only three of the 31 are women:
+ Flooring The Consumer - CB Whittemore, Director of In-Store Innovation, Wear-Dated Carpet Fiber.
+ BeRelevant! - Tamara Gielen, Email Marketing Manager - Belgium, eBay.
+ The Kristasphere - Krista Summit, Web Marketing Strategist, Lenovo.
Kami Huyse from Communication Overtones, also challenges assumptions and raises awareness. Her recent post PowerWomen and the Power 150: Women Make up Only 13 percent of Top Bloggers inspired today's post title "PR PowerWomen Rule!"
Kami refers to ToddAnd's Power 150. Now, in case you're not aware, this is the brainchild of Todd Andrlik, a.k.a. #4 on Peter Kim's Beta List! And, he's also on my "old" economy list. There is nothing "old" about Todd's blog or his delight with all things marketing and media. In fact, via the Power 150, Todd has reinvented the ranking of marketing and public relations resources and has been so successful that - just announced - Power 150 Partners with Advertising Age! Very exciting news.
Getting back to Kami. Last year, she analyzed the Power 150 and noticed that only 12 percent of the top 50 PR bloggers were women. She revisited the subject on 7/12/07 and discovered just a bit of progress: 13 percent of the Power 150 Top Marketing Blogs are women!
To amplify their voices, Tami offers the Top 20 PowerWomen of PR and Marketing, which includes many women bloggers I admire tremendously:
#12 What's Next Blog <-- by the amazing BL Ochman.
#18 Diva Marketing Blog <-- my friend, Toby Bloomberg.
#31 BlogWrite for CEOs.
#48 Communication Overtones <--- Kami's blog!
#69 Forrester's Marketing Blog.
#73 The Origin of Brands <-- Laura Ries' blog.
#93 Branding & Marketing <-- Chris Brown's wonderful blog.
#94 Customers Rock! <-- my friend Becky Carroll.
#99 Conversation Agent <--- my friend Valeria Maltoni.
#104 Corporate PR.
#105 The Copywriting Maven <-- by the terrific Roberta Rosenberg.
#106 CK's Blog <-- my friend CK.
#107 Spare Change.
#115 Marketing Roadmaps <-- Susan Getgood is awesome!
#128 advergirl.
#129 Brand Sizzle.
#132 Kinetic Ideas.
#137 Flooring The Consumer !!!
#148 Presto Vivace Blog.
#150 Email Marketing Best Practices
Are you still with me?
Now, #2 from Kami's list, Toby Bloomberg, held the second installment of her Blog Talk Radio program Diva Marketing Talks 7/24/07 - 6:30pm EST, inviting two "old" economy [i.e., real estate and flooring] marketers to talk about social media. [You can read more about it in Diva Marketing Talks with C.B. Whittemore and Paul Chaney where she includes tips from both of us. You can also access the podcast: Diva Talks podcast is up on Blogtalkradio.]
Next week, on July 31, Diva Marketing Talks Analytics with Marianne Richmond, Resonance Partnership, and Peter Kim, Forrester Research. This brings us back where we started with Peter Kim!
My takeaways from all this:
+ Find new ways to look at the tried and true. Chances are you will notice unusual patterns, behaviors and opportunities.
+ Old economy businesses can just as easily benefit from new marketing approaches and social media as do high tech businesses. It's just a matter of looking at things in non-traditional ways.
+ Don't overlook the women in your organization. They may have some really good perspectives, especially since flooring's target consumer is a woman!
+ And, finally, PR PowerWomen Rule! [I couldn't resist!]
Technorati Tags: Power 150, Public Relations, Marketing, Powerwomen, social media, Peter Kim's M20, Diva Marketing Talks, marketing to women
16 comments:
C.B.:
Why do you think that the reason most are technology and not "old economy"? Are they less interested in having a conversation with the customer? Afraid of what the customer will say? My sense is many are too caught up in the "red tape" of approvals to be able to even think of posting a couple of times a week.
Chris
Chris, really good question! There are so many parts to this answer.
I don't think it's lack of interest in having a conversation. It may be more a matter of not understanding that technology is a means to having a conversation.
Then there is why more client side marketers aren't blogging and Dan Greenfield addresses that in http://bernaisesource.blog.com/1935410/ - lack of time, lack of understanding or appreciation for what social media can do....
Then, there is where the industry is in terms of comfort level with technology. If what you're doing seems to be working just fine [it ain't broke], why look elsewhere. But, if you consider that technology is an enabler and you think how it might extend the reach of your marketing, then why not fix it?.....
And "red tape" makes it really easy to postpone it all. But, then look at what Paul Levy wound up doing to escape the tape:
http://runningahospital.blogspot.com/ .
Thanks, Chris!
Thanks for letting us know about the M20, I will check it out.
I spent time (most of my career) on the client side and I think time was a key consideration. There is usually a million things to do and precious little time to get it all done.
c.b. Thanks for the blog shout-out and link love. Peter Kim's M20
raised my awareness as well, so into the Google Reader you go.
Why do you think more women are not blogging on marketing or branding? In my company there are plenty of women in marketing. Any thoughts?
Kami, time is definitely a huge deal! I'm still trying to figure out how to sleep less.
Thanks for bringing attention to PR Power Women and creating the really cool logo!
C.B - Congrats! to you and thanks for the kind shout out. It's an honor to be listed with so many talented women who are pioneers in the social space. And there *are* many more who (currently) are not on any list but are doing excellent work in this emerging industry.
By the way, I want to tell your community how awesome you were on Diva Talks. But of course they already know that you're a SSRS (social space rock star).
Krista, thanks for adding me to your reader! [BTW - I love the name of your blog!]
As I was responding to your question about women blogging about branding/marketing, Toby left a comment, making a really important point: "there *are* many more who (currently) are not on any list but are doing excellent work in this emerging industry". We are just ahead of the curve, which gives us the opportunity to encourage others to get involved.
Toby, thanks for adding to the conversation.
Well, CB, since the Todd And was started I've done a constant slide backwards from #80. I don't get it and I'm sure the Technorati big mess up with links didn't help.
As for people blogging from the client side, here I am. Although I do not blog about my company, I work on the corporate side and in what folks here are calling "old economy" (= conservative companies).
Valeria, I have done the same, but from a lower number than 80! You are definitely a PowerWoman and should be included in client side blogs!
thanks for the link love and the lovely compliment.
blogging, as you know, is incredibly time intensive and you only do it over the long term and with intensity if you love it.
i think that's a pretty big barrier for a lot of people.
Hey great blog. I see that you have been nominated for a Bloggers Choice Award. Congrats!!
Have you checked out the upcoming Postiecon Conference? They will be announcing the awards at the conference and there are gonna be all kinds of other bloggers there sharing their ideas and knowledge on successful blogging.
BL, thanks for visiting and sharing your perspective. I agree whole heartedly!
Thank you, Saul! PostieCon sounds very interesting.
CB - Thank you so much for highlighting these rockin' women! You have been a blogging friend since I started several months ago, and you deserve many accolades for the hard work you put into your blog.
I think blogging in the business world is still a relatively new thing. Most of my clients and former colleagues tell me they don't have time for blogging, and they don't see value in reading blogs. Let's keep this up and help them see what they are missing!
Becky, the same goes to you! You are doing awesomely rockin' things with your blog! Very interesting feedback re: your clients and former colleagues. We definitely need to keep working on them!
Thanks for the kind words!! Hope to see you again at the next BlogHerBusiness.
Susan
Susan, you are more than welcome! I look forward to seeing you then, too.
Post a Comment
Reminder: Please, no self-promotional or SPAM comments. Don't bother if you're simply trying to build inauthentic link juice. Finally, don't be anonymous: it's too hard to have a conversation. Thanks, CB