Social Media Job Experiment

When I pulled into the Ford dealer this morning, Gerald McCray stood tall as I parked in front of the double door entrance to the showroom. At 6 feet 7 (or so) inches and a wide stance, he towered over our car and made an imposing shadow. He pleasantly asked if we needed assistance, “no, just looking today” I said,  as he held the door for me and my 10 year old son and followed us inside. Gerald trailed behind as Tyler scampered into the cab of what looked like a Super Tonka but in fact was SVT Raptor off-road vehicle.

Tyler and I both decided that this was truck was for us…. at least for 10 or so seconds.

GW Parkway would never be the same as I drove over the cars in front of me monster truck style.

Back to reality.

I had come to check out the Ford Escape as I continued to try to convince myself that I didn’t need another Mercedes or BMW to boost my inner esteem. It has been a long journey with my German automaker friends, but I now feel I can cut the cord that connected my luxury vehicles to their service departments.  Yes, one service manager told me I needed new brakes, questioning my knowledge of rotor width. “Did you take a micrometer to the rotor?” Only to be told by his replacement 6 months later that I didn’t need new brakes and had no idea why my old rep would have said this. This literally sealed my Mercedes relationship fate and I knew at that moment it was time to move on. That and the $1,700 repair bill for an air conditioner I had been complaining about since before the warranty wore out. When the economy hits the skids, count on service departments to drive additional revenue when cars are not moving off the showroom.

Back to the Ford showroom.

I moved from one car to another, and Gerald was there, far enough to let me breath but available to answer the questions that came to mind. Never pushy and always pleasant, he was the intangible that I had not expected from Ford today. He never asked me if I was looking to buy or when I might be wanting to purchase. He had this confidence that the product would sell itself. So for the next hour and a half, Gerald let Tyler climb in and out of cars, honk horns, turn buttons, speak into the Sync interface, jump up and down on the pickup truck beds and opening convertibles while answering all of my questions on just about every car they had. And still, he let the cars do the selling.

While I came for the Escape, I found the Fusion Hybrid.  I had never spent any time thinking about it until I saw the mileage it got (41 mpg) and sat inside. It was comfortable and actually fun to drive. Pickup was fine and I didn’t notice any lag. The car just fit right. I asked Gerald to join us for the test drive which he kindly enough be agreed to and described feature and functionality as I drove. Having this gentle giant slide into the front seat made me feel a little guilty since he would have to put up with my driving and introduction to hybrid handling but the drive went perfect (from a test drive point of view).

I didn’t buy the car today, but I left with a feeling that if Gerald is so confident about Ford vehicles that he doesn’t have to push me into one, then that is the car that I should have. Ford is “back” because in part, of employees like Gerald who are confident and qualified and don’t sell us on something other than what it is.

The reccession will really be over when Gerald’s attitude finds its way into businesses large and small and they too find confidence in what they do. Instead of worry and caution, confidence and strength will be the norm.

I read an article yesterday that identified the 12 most annoying types of Facebook users. Sure enough, I think I live in at least one of the personas they identified (and mocked) but I also believe that the user types they identified are exactly the reason I like/love Facebook.  And while I have sometimes found fault with others who have used social networking in self serving ways, we have to be realistic. Does anyone expect it to be entertaining and  never irritating? I doubt it.

So that being said, I have used Facebook to promote my recent accomplishments. I have told people what I was doing from hour to hour (although not regularly), I have lots and lots of “Friends” and yes not all of them have been over to my house for dinner. But all of the above have been done in good measure.

Yes, it is a little irritating reading posts from individuals who have decided to move their hourly/minute blog into Facebook, but, I can always “de-friend” them and they are gone. The point is that Facebook is whatever we want it to be. I could have 10 friends and carry on intimate but public conversations but instead I have taken the whole Facebook sandwich with everything on it.

And like any good sandwich, sometimes the last bite is not as good as the first but it is pretty filling.

I don’t hear the question too often, but I think that a vast majority of clients are wondering. What is Social Media and how do I get my brand into it. Having a good understanding of social media may save it from destruction. If our conversations become one constant sales pitch for one product or service or another then people will tune out.

The slideshow below is interesting and you can see the post in Mashable.  Thanks to DC Hughes, who posted this on his Facebook page,  I thought it should find a home within my blog as well. For those that don’t understand social media, the presentation offers an enlightening perspective.

While at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide I had the opportunity to participate in and plan social marketing strategies for multi-tiered organizations and large companies. Now on my own, I am taking the principles of those strategies and applying them on the localized level. This has been extremely satisfying because I get to work with small business owners in Washington, some of which  I have known for years, but I get to see the results firsthand.

In mid June of this summer, Billy Martin (Martin’s Tavern)  proposed rolling back his restaurant prices to 1934 levels in honor of the 75 years they have been in business. For less than $2 you could enjoy a Fillet Mignon or crab cake and dozens of other low-priced menu items. It would be an opportunity to give back to the many customers that called Martin’s Tavern home over the years. Typically they would put out printed notifications, tell their regulars or potentially even buy some radio time. They have an email list but no list serve or newsletter template.

Our social marketing idea would incorporate messaging my connections on Facebook as well as asking some other key Facebook individuals to forward the key message points. I sent out two messages informing friends of the roll-back prices.

Russell Hirshon is wishing he was in Georgetown so he could go to Martin’s Tavern. $2 dollar crabcake for lunch. $2 filet for dinner. Eat mothers, eat!

Russell Hirshon Cheap eats on July 7th: Martin’s Tavern in Georgetown is rolling back prices to 1934. Nothing on the menu more than $2 all day/night (including crab cakes and Fillet Mignon) http://www.martins-tavern.com/news/

Many people reposted the information on the meal deal. The message was picked up by Kristin Fisher from the local CBS affiliate and she ran it on her morning broadcast.

The day of the event, Martin’s Tavern served over 1,000 people with lines snaking down the street till late into the night. It was a huge success in that people were messaging from the restaurant via , text, IM, Facebook and Twitter for their friends to come down and join them. What was also special was that it touched the community on personal levels. A homeless mother and her two children came in for a meal that she had not been able to provide for them in over a year. She left with food to take with her as well as money that the manager had given her. The children left with full stomachs and a smile on their faces.

We will use social media in the future to inform the masses but the key will be keeping it honest, uncluttered and making sure that their is value to the message being sent.

OK, here is advice from someone who is still unemployed or underemployed depending on your view, but I think it sounds reasonable so here it goes.

Laurence Fishburne at The Ritz Carlton in Georgetown, and waiting for my camera.

First: Get out of the house. Laurence Fishburne didn’t offer me a job but he did let me take his photo and I got an email address while I was at a party at the Ritz Carlton in Georgetown this last Sunday. While we are not friends “yet”  I was able to recite  my/his favorite movies and offered up some past photos I took years ago. One thing I know about Washington DC is that there are events almost every night. Getting out is a great opportunity to take the camera out and take pictures but better yet its a better opportunity to chat with friends and let them know that you are  searching for opportunities. If you are in a remote part of the country then this recommendation means that you either network with forest animals or make a greater effort to use some of the tools I use and available from the right hand column of this blog.

Second: Pick up your cell phone and start calling from your mobile phone book. If you only have ten numbers in your phone and they are family members then disregard this advice. Your family already knows that you are unemployed and they may be worried you are calling for money. If , like me, you have a whole bunch of numbers, then start working those magic digits and see where the conversations take you. Granted, some contacts may not want to hear from me but at least they know that you are alive.

Is this social media. Not in the digital sense but whatever. We are talking about getting everybody back to work. It is social so we get to discuss it here.

Did it work for me? I got a freelance job from a Ali Boneval who is handling the 75th anniversary of Martins Tavern in Georgetown. Its short…but sweet and has a social media play down the road which I will detail once we have it inked.