The Social Media Marketing Blog: Take Your Technology To Work Day, Part 2: Blogging

In Part 1 of this series, I wrote about some unique business uses of the iPod. Today, I'd like to share a rather unconventional use of a blog in a business setting.

A few weeks ago, we were invited to present a final pitch with a large national client. We diligently undertook our usual thorough approach on research, strategy, creative and media. We had some great thinking and concepts to share. But the prospect gave us a real chance to shine when they included this question in the prep materials for the pitch:

What's one thing we haven't asked you that you can tell us about yourself?

While some agencies might talk about awards, or present previous campaign materials that they're proud of but which may not apply to the core presentation, we chose a different direction. We wanted them to get to know us as people - the people who would be running the account. We also wanted them to get a feel for our approach to new media/social media.

So we created a pitch blog. Yes, that's right, I coined a term. I'll say it again: a pitch blog.

The blog postings captured our thinking from the time we heard about the opportunity, to summaries of some primary source interviews and research, to thoughts on strategy within their industry. It culminated with a short video we shot around the office in a casual setting.

The sidebar was set up to really showcase our individuality and quirkiness. Here's a quick rundown of what we created:

- A donut survey powered by Slide.com. ("Donuts - is there anything they can't do?")

- An

iTunes mix of our favorite songs.

- A plug-in of our favorite YouTube videos. Here's mine:

- A Meebo plugin that allows the prospect to IM me with any immediate question or feedback

- A Gaping Void widget with the cartoon of the day

- A link to a custom-built del.icio.us page with articles of importance to their business, tagged by the agency

I should probably pause for a moment to let you know that we won the account. They were impressed with our approach, thinking and hard work. The blog may have had something to do with it, too.

Next up in Part 3: what to do now that the pitch is over.

Labels: b2b, blogs, innovation, New Media

About Scott

For hi-res, click here

Ranked by Forbes as one of the top 10 influencers in social media, he has been called "an unstoppable force of nature," "the best corporate social media lead on the planet," and Alan Mulally, the CEO of Ford Motor Company, called him "a visionary."

At Ford, Scott heads up the social media function and holds the title Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager. He is a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company, from blogger relations to marketing support, customer service to internal communications and more, as social media is being integrated into many facets of Ford business.

Prior to joining Ford, Scott served as Consigliere for crayon and spent a number of years with PJA Advertising + Marketing, a boutique BtoB agency specializing in health sciences & high tech.

In addition to his professional responsibilities, Scott is an active blogger and podcaster. He writes about the intersection of advertising, marketing and PR at The Social Media Marketing Blog and also writes The Baker Street Blog and cohosts I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, two literary undertakings. Scott has been featured in hundreds of news and business publications in print and on the web, in nearly dozens of books, and on a variety of mainstream media, including NBC, NPR, CNN and The Wall Street Journal. Scott is a recognized thought leader in the social media industry and frequently speaks at industry events.

Scott received his Master's in Medical Science from Boston University's School of Medicine concurrently with his MBA from BU's Graduate School of Management. He lives in the greater Detroit area with his wife and two young sons, golfs all too infrequently, and has a hidden talent for voice over work.

Oh, and one last little-known fact: Scott coined the Oxford Dictionary of English-accepted term "tweetup."

You may download a headshot here, courtesy of Rosh Sillars; a PDF version of Scott's bio is here .

Books in which Scott or his work is featured:

The Social Media Strategist

Social Business by Design

Digital Strategies for Powerful Corporate Communications

Social Media Marketing for Dummies

Real-Time Marketing and PR: How to Instantly Engage Your Market, Connect with Customers, and Create Products that Grow Your Business Now

Engage: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web

Empowered: Unleash Your Employees, Energize Your Customers, and Transform Your Business

Brains on Fire: Igniting Powerful, Sustainable, Word of Mouth Movements

Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead

MicroMarketing: Get Big Results by Thinking and Acting Small

Spend Shift: How the Post-Crisis Values Revolution Is Changing the Way We Buy, Sell and Live

Power Friending: Demystifying Social Media to Grow Your Business

The New Rules of Marketing & PR

by David Meerman Scott

Twitterville
by Shel Israel

Six Pixels of Separation
by Mitch Joel

Monkeys with Typewriters
by Jemima Gibbons

Read This First
by Ron Ploof

World Wide Rave
by David Meerman Scott

Get Seen
by Steve Garfield

Disclosures/Relationships

Scott is on the board of the Social Media Advertising Consortium

Scott has been named to the Advisory boards of Pivot, SavvyAuntie, Business Smart Tools, The Hive Awards,
Scott is a judge for the SAMMY Awards

Named one of iMedia's 25 Top Internet Marketing Leaders & Innovators

Humongo occasionally does web work for me and designed this site

No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.

Scott Monty Bio

Speaking Events

Scott speaks on social media at events, seminars and conferences around the world. His topic generally focuses on corporate use of social media, becoming an online spokesperson, and specifically on the progress that Ford has made in the recent past. If you're interested in booking Scott to speak at your event, please click here to submit a speaking request for Ford-related purposes or email me at speaking [AT] this site's URL (if you know what I mean) to send a general email request.. Scott's bio and headshot can be found in the "About Scott" tab above.

Who is Scott Monty?

Hi, I'm Scott. I'm the global head of social media for Ford Motor Company. This is my personal blog, where I share my perspectives on social media - the convergence of marketing, advertising and PR on the Web - for marketers, agencies, the enterprise and the individual. This blog contains my personal views. My bio is available here and my headshots can be found here.