For this quick but special episode of Insider Interviews I was in the guest seat! In highlights from my appearance on Ken Kraetzer’s show, “Talking Business” for CBSI, Ken interviewed ME to get my recommendations about how businesses can get in to the world of podcasting, best ways to leverage social media — and social audio — and why it’s key to create content across all platforms.
You’ll understand in just a few minutes how it all comes together for the show I’m producing for trade association, NATPE — their first-ever conference on the intersection of TV and Podcasting! (I’m very proud of this project and working hard to create a chock-full of takeaways agenda for content creators, marketers and producers across both screens.)
Ken also got a little bit of my life story — at least my career path, as well as a story about the good-news/bad-news of tech, when I recently confused a “Zoom friend” with an “IRL” friend!
You can catch the FULL VIDEO of my interview with Ken on YouTube where we also discuss social audio and social media best practices! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6PU_IDU9iA&t=27s
Shelly Palmer:It was fascinating to me to see the speed with which people were willing to adopt bad lighting, accept it, bad camera, angles, bad makeup hair, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad. Everybody’s fine with it. And I think it’s fantastic because the most important thing is that we all get together.
Erica Keswin:From a brand perspective, how are you going to be remembered during this time in terms of what you did, what you said, what you supported and how you brought your human to work?
Claude Silver:Let’s not deny the fact that you and I are talking through a screen rather than in person and call it what it is, but also communicate trust, empathy and vulnerability.
Those are just some of the takeaways from three past episodes of Insider Interviews and as a special little bonus edition for Thanksgiving I am sharing back some of these words of wisdom from Shelly Palmer, Erica Keswin, and Claude Silver, who each happened to talk about how we can create connection and how that helps brands and employees thrive. Especially in tough times like this pandemic.
Highlights of the highlights:
Palmer: “People are quickly adapting to and evolving into good citizens in video chat. It’s fantastic. …And the other thing I love about what’s happening right now is formality has gone out the window.
…They’ve been willing, accepting of technical glitches that you would never have accepted before. It really reminds me dramatically reminds me of the change in video grammar in 1980, oddly enough.
…And I think what is most important thing is that we all get together; that we figure out how to be social animals in a time when, when coronavirus is making us forcing us to be less social.”
Erica Keswin, Author of “Bring Your Human to Work” -Epi 3
Keswin: Think about communication along a continuum: you have instant message and texts and Slack and email and picking up the phone. We used to be able to walk across the hall or visit people. …Now, from a societal perspective, many of us are defaulting to that technological end of the spectrum during this COVID-19 quarantine. How can you …pick up the phone, turn on the camera…and speak in that human voice, across all mediums of communication.
…”If you’re running the meeting make sure you say to your people, ‘you need to take some time to turn it off.’…It really is up to the leaders to model and to push people, to make sure that they’re taking care of themselves.
…From a brand perspective, how are you going to be remembered during this time in terms of, you know, what you did, what you said, what you supported and how you brought your human to work?”
Claude Silver speaks with E.B. Moss on the role of a Chief Heart Office at VaynerMedia
Silver: I believe in people and I think that pretty much anything is accomplishable with vulnerability, with people showing up to be big and authentic and not building walls, but really finding ways to bond with one another and connect.
…You know, when you’re on a screen, everyone has the same size square. It has leveled the playing field. And I definitely think that while we have to work a little bit harder to create this connection
…On one hand, I do think that brands have a very big responsibility to be as authentic as possible today and not try to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes because we are all reading the same news. We are all in the same climate. We’re in a sea of sameness right now. We’re all in this world together. So don’t try to fluff that. … I don’t think we need to be cotton, candy and Illy gooey. But I also don’t think we need to be showing things that are not attainable today…. Let’s get real about that.
I think that there is resiliency, authenticity. I think there’s fine to have a little bit of levity, which we see in these memes on Instagram and everywhere. …like me going to the refrigerator 20 times in one hour, because it’s there. Those are things that I think are they capture human emotion and that’s what it’s about. That’s what it’s always been about.
…I would like to think every brand would be mindful of the fact that we are all in this world together. … I would show more ads connecting people together, coming together on a zoom or a squad cast or a hangout, let’s not deny the fact that you and I are talking to a screen rather than in-person but also communicate trust and vulnerability.
Again, my thanks to everyone for listening and to all of the 20 interviewees that I’ve spoken to thus far.
And if you’d like help with building your own podcast or any content marketing, please reach out to me at podcasts@mossappeal.com.
I look forward to sharing more in the very near future.
Ironically, at a time when we cannot physically touch, adding a human touch is more essential than ever — especially at work, even while we WFH.I turned to Erica Keswin, a “workplace strategist,” bestselling author and advisor to major companies aiming to improve performance by improving relationships.
There are plenty of tech stack suggestions for working from home, but once the software or the scanners are set up, how do we tackle the human side of remote work now and pivot in how we communicate?
Zooming in on Workplace Strategies with Erica Keswin and E.B. Moss
As a deeper dive to her recent webinar with The Female Quotient on some of the tenets of her last book, Bring Your Human to Work, Keswin shared more suggestions that companies can bank on. While her advice spans all industries, frankly everything a brand marketer does in today’s COVID-19 environment has to be run through the lens of humanity.
The following time codes are points in the podcast of particular interest:
(2:30) “The definition of being human means honoring relationships — with colleagues, your boss, the people that work for you, your customers.”
(4:30) The impact of technology on our relationships – good and bad: “When ‘left to our own devices’ we’re not connecting”.
(7:55) Why bringing your human to work helps employee attraction and customer retention
(8:30) Why communicating a brand’s values has to “get off the walls and into the halls”; in other words, from a framed set of platitudes to a select set of three or four values that are reflected by all it does and guideposts for marketing decisions.
(10:05) The imperative of speaking in a human voice across all mediums of communication and why defaulting to the technological end of the spectrum are not best practices during socially distanced times.
(12:00) How to start: tap all employees — and even companies — to gauge if values are resonating
(15:20) Why even with the ability to connect these days through Zooms or Teams, it’s still best practices to “mind your meetings” and not be beholden to “business as usual” for the sake of having a meeting.
(16:30) A refresher on the “three Ps”: purpose, presence and protocols.
(18:25) Finally, Keswin, who will detail this is a forthcoming book, explains why a company needs to have rituals – like a “corporate habit” with a higher level of meaning — which employees can count on.
Palmer: “People are quickly adapting to and evolving into good citizens in video chat. It’s fantastic. …And the other thing I love about what’s happening right now is formality has gone out the window.
