Friday, August 03, 2007

Want a Free Marketing Secret? Listen Up!

One of the key tenets behind my contribution to the Age of Conversation book is that in order to make a start in social media, marketers must first start by listening. Like so much of marketing, it's not rocket science, it's common sense.

Everyone probably has an older relative who at one time told them something like: "You were born with one mouth and two ears; use them in that proportion." Well, the same applies to marketing. Just think about how you can create brand loyalists by listening to your customers - and demonstrating to them that you heard what they had to say.

When I began reading my co-authors' contributions I began to see the word "listen" crop up a number of times. Since this is the more passive portion of conversing, I wasn't expecting much. Out of sheer curiosity, I took my e-book version (you can buy it as an e-book, paperback or hardcover) and did a quick search for the number of times "listen" was used.

Imagine my pleasant surprise when I found that this book about conversation by 103 authors contains 90 instances of the word.

But really, I shouldn't be surprised. These are 102 other people who get it. Now let's see if we can get the rest of the world to listen in with us.

Labels: age of conversation, books, conversation, customer relations, Marketing

Posted by Scott Monty at 11:27 AM

Comments |

LINKS TO THIS POST |

Comments:

At 8/03/2007 3:52 PM, Michael Rubin, Arment Dietrich said...: Scott,

I completely agree that listening is the way forward. I bought the book after reading about it on the Brains on Fire blog (thanks to your fellow contributor, Spike).

Too often we get caught up in the game of "what shiny new technology is the next big thing?" when we should be focusing on listening to our customers, clients, and partners. I work for a PR firm in Chicago and it's something I can't stress often enough -- good word of mouth comes from listening first.

Bravo on being part of a terrific project and a great cause.

Cheers,
Michael

----
Michael E. Rubin
Manager of Emerging Media
Arment Dietrich, Inc.

Call me -- 312-787-7249 x212
Tell a friend -- fight destructive spin! http:///www.spinsucks.com
See what I’m up to -- http://twitter.com/merubin
See a picture of an orangutan -- http://tinyurl.com/yosceb

blog comments powered by Disqus

Home

About Scott

For hi-res, click here

The best way to describe Scott is "Renaissance Man." Friends and colleagues that know Scott from one facet of his life are very frequently surprised to learn of his interests and talents in other areas.

Scott is a marketing and communications professional focused on the digital industry — specifically on social media. His career spans a number of industries such as healthcare, pharma, biotech, travel, automotive, tech, and communications, and includes a wide range of clients, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.

Currently on the staff of corporate communications in Ford Motor Company, 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 consulting and agency background, 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, a literary undertaking. Scott has been featured in numerous news and business publications, on a variety of podcasts, and on national television. 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 term "tweetup."

You may download a headshot here, courtesy of C.C. Chapman and a PDF version of Scott's bio here.

Books in which Scott's work is featured:
The New Rules of Marketing & PR
Twitterville
Six Pixels of Separation
Monkeys with Typewriters
Read This First
World Wide Rave
Get Seen

Disclosures/Relationships

Scott is on the Advisory board of SavvyAuntie
Scott is on the Advisory board of Business Smart Tools
Scott is a judge for the SAMMY Awards
Scott is on the Advisory board of The Hive Awards
Named one of iMedia's 25 Top Internet Marketing Leaders & Innovators
This blog's content is also syndicated on Social Media Today
Plaid occasionally does web work for me and designed this site
No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.

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 send an email to speaking [AT] scottmonty [DOT] com. Scott's bio and headshot can be found in the "About Scott" tab above.

Some previous engagements include:

BlogWell - How Big Companies Use Social Media - Minneapolis - August 13

Who is Scott Monty?

Hi, I'm Scott. I'm the 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.