On the Record with Eric Schwartzman

At the recent PRSA conference in Slam Diego, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Eric Schwartzman, host of the fantastic "On the Record" podcast.

I'd never met Eric before, but as a fellow podcaster, we were bound by our secret code of friendship (and our subscription to the very exclusive and almost impossible to join, CAPOW = Communications and Advertising Podcasters Of the World).

Here's the link to listen to the podcast directly, but while you're at it, you should subscribe as well.

Shownotes are below to give you a sense of what we discussed (hint: more Twitter hate):

01:10 – Why it’s dangerous to measure and judge the effectiveness of social media by old media standards, how podcasts generate business opportunities, and reaching the right people versus a lot of people.

 

02:34 – Jaffe talks about his three books, the conceptual thread that binds them and building businesses from by marketing from the inside out.

 

06:16 – The sleaze factor associated with incentivizing people to recommend brands to their online social networks, how recommendations can determine the degree of  trust, credibility, authority and consistency we have for someone, and how “street cred” or social currency is starting to become a factor in keeping people honest.

 

08:55 – Erik Deutsch asks via Twitter, “How should clients balance corporate branding with personal style in social media.”

 

09:30 – A discussion about personal branding, repositioning and controversy, and why putting too much value in your own self-worth can side track you from achieving real business objectives.

 

11:11 – Trolling for criticism, the importance of self-confidence and standing for something you believe in, even if it is just giving away a free iPhone.

 

13:09 – Being first, taking risks, experimentation and analysis paralysis.

 

14:42 – Giovanni Rodriguez asks via Facebook, “Is social media up-leveling or marginalizing people in the PR profession?”

 

15:51 – Applying the skills of public relations, such earned media through media relations and nurturing relationships, to social media communications, and the mad dash among PR agencies, ad agencies and clients to lead in social media engagement.

 

18:04 – If you thought Second Life was the be all end all, here’s why Twitter is a bubble just waiting to burst.  Looking at the finger instead of where it’s pointing.  And how to effectively leverage Twitter in organizational communications.

 

22:18 – Why PR agencies, ad agencies and clients should NOT lead in social media engagement, and how to realign the corporate org chart to join online conversations.

 

24:19 – The findings of the Digital Readiness Report, by Tom Smith, Don Spetner, Barb McDonald and myself, and which department inside the organization is leading social media engagement at most companies.

 

26:15 – The difference between consumer generated content and consumer generated media.

 

27:16 – The difference between viral campaigns and memes.

 

29:22 – Whether or not marketers can and should actively engage in social media, or if they’re better off focusing on building an environment in which communities can grow organically.

 

31:39 -- End