Last year, I had the privilege of working on one of those once-in-a-lifetime projects with a beyond-extraordinary team: the CareFusion Jazz Festival Series. It was fun, it supported two great causes — the arts and healthcare safety — and it covered the full range of marketing communications, from print to digital to PR to onsite events and more.

It was also more than just a pretty face. It was phenomenally successful, as the stats in the press release below show. And now, it’s also award winning.

Thanks to The Exordium Group for making me part of the team, and many kudos to everyone that I worked with on the project. You’re amazing! And a special thanks to Carolyn Rosenberg of C-Design who made burning the late-night oil a pleasant experience.

The Exordium Group Wins Prestigious Event Marketer Ex Award

Agency’s Work on the CareFusion Jazz Festival Series Beats Out Campaigns for Pepsi, Shell and Other Distinguished Brands

PARK CITY, Utah, May 11 /PRNewswire/ — The Exordium Group, an integrated marketing agency specializing in strategic, experiential and digital marketing, today announced that it won the Event Marketer Magazine 2010 Ex Award for “Best Multi-Venue Event (B-to-B).” The award recognized the CareFusion Jazz Festival Series, which The Exordium Group created for Cardinal Health to help launch its spinoff, CareFusion. A leading global medical device company, CareFusion is now a publicly traded company and part of the Standard & Poor’s 500. The Ex Award is the leading recognition program for experiential marketing.  

“Our agency’s focus has always been on creating fully integrated experiential marketing programs that deliver measurable results for our clients,” said Ronda Thomas, president and chief executive officer of The Exordium Group.  ”This international award is very competitive, and we’re proud to have such high-caliber validation of our work with CareFusion on their multi-city jazz series.  Our team is especially honored to bring a new brand to market and be recognized in the company of amazing campaigns created for Pepsi-Cola, Shell, and other distinguished brand names.”

The CareFusion Jazz Festival Series was created to help launch the CareFusion brand, support the arts at a critical economic time and recognize individuals and organizations working to improve patient care.  Program components included sponsorship of leading international jazz festivals in Newport, Chicago, Monterey, Sydney, Paris and New York; live television broadcasts of performances direct to hospitals; and VIP events at the festivals to raise funds and awareness for improved patient safety.

Festival activation was complemented by public relations, full digital activation at www.carefusionjazz.com, sales integration, print advertising and social media. The program ultimately generated in excess of 2 billion measured media impressions, drove over 23 million impressions in leading international media and created significant brand awareness for CareFusion.  The CareFusion Jazz Festival series is returning for its second year this summer.

Partners supporting this program included: The 1st Movement, for assistance with digital; ImagiCorps, in support of design and build of on-site activation; Flying Colors, broadcast; Philosophy PR + Marketing, public relations; AVE Consulting, communications; and many others.  

The Ex Awards are hosted annually by Event Marketer Magazine to recognize excellence in event marketing and communications globally. This year’s entries included over 600 submissions from most major brands for campaigns all over the world. For more information about the award, visit: http://www.eventmarketer.com/.

About The Exordium Group, Inc.

Now in its 16th year, The Exordium Group is a full-service integrated marketing agency with strong expertise in strategic, experiential and digital marketing. Creating programs for global leaders, such as Cardinal Health, CareFusion, Medtronic, Fraxel, AMD, Visa, Microsoft, Getronics, and Sun Microsystems, has brought the agency to the forefront of their industry.  Driven by passion to produce the highest return on investment The Exordium Group maximizes the intersection of sports, arts and entertainment with technology and digital solutions to achieve measurable, accountable results. The Exordium Group has primary locations in Park City, Utah, Silicon Valley and London, England, and services clients on a global basis.  For more information please visit www.exordiumgroup.com or call 435-940-0600.

Full Calendar of Programs Designed to Guide Members on Proven Business Strategies from Leading Business Experts

San Jose, CA – March 31, 2010—Women in Consulting (WIC), a collaborative community of professional consultants and small business owners, today announced its second quarter 2010 programs, including webinars, in-person events, and seminars throughout the Bay Area.

Events slated for the second quarter include:

• April 7, 11:00am – 12:00pm: “Play Like the Big Guys: Great Productivity Tools for the Well-Connected Consultant,” presented by Denise Brosseau, founder of the Brosseau Group (Webinar)
• April 12, 11:30am – 1:00pm: “Boost Your Income with e-Commerce: Getting Started in Four Easy Steps,” presented by Christy Hubbard (South Bay Networking Luncheon, Los Gatos Lodge, Los Gatos)
• April 14, 11:30am – 1:30pm: “Getting Famous,” with Dennis Erokan, creator of the Bay Area Music Award (Bammies) and CEO of Placemaking Group (East Bay Meeting, Pyramid Ale House, Walnut Creek)
• April 15, 6:00pm – 8:30pm: “Accomplishing More with Less: Five Productivity Principles for the Digital Age,” with Pierre Khawand, founder of People-OnTheGo (General Monthly Meeting, Quadrus Center, Menlo Park)
• April 28, 5:30pm – 7:30pm: San Francisco Networking and Best Practices Meeting (San Francisco)
• May 5, 11:00am – 12:00pm: “Taking the Plunge: Becoming an Approved Vendor,” with Sandy Thorpe, principal Blue Sky Consulting (Webinar)
• May 10, 11:30am – 1:00pm: “Best Practices for Life/Work Balance,” facilitated by Angel Rampy and Jennifer Berkley (South Bay Networking Luncheon, Los Gatos Lodge, Los Gatos)
• May 12, 11:30am – 1:30pm: “Social Networking: It Works for Business!” with Ann Evanston, one of the Bay Area’s top influencers on Twitter (East Bay Meeting, Pyramid Ale House, Walnut Creek)
• May 17, 8:00am – 2:00pm: “Generating Business via Social Media,” a collaborative presentation by Jeff Widman and Amy Bruegmann from BrandGlue.com; Tatyana Kanzaveli, a social media CRM consultant; and David Stevens, programs and events manager for the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce (Workshop, Biltmore Hotel, Santa Clara)
• May 20, 6:00pm – 8:30pm: “Entity Selection and Tax Implications for the Consultant,” by Katie Phetteplace, Esq., partner at Starr Finley, LLP (General Monthly Meeting, Michael’s at Shoreline, Mountain View)
• May 26, 5:30pm – 7:30pm: San Francisco Networking and Best Practices Meeting (San Francisco)
• June 1, 12:00pm – 1:30pm: Peninsula Quarterly Networking Meeting (Luncheon, Devino’s, Belmont)
• June 2, 11:00am – 12:00pm: “Improve Business Success by Reading—and Understanding—Financial Statements,” by Renee Daggett, CEO of Admin Books (Webinar)
• June 9, 11:30am – 1:30pm: “Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Already Taken,” with Mike Robbins, bestselling author (East Bay Meeting, Pyramid Ale House, Walnut Creek)
• June 14, 11:30am – 1:00pm: “30-Day Social Media Plan,” facilitated by Elaine Starling (South Bay Networking Luncheon, Los Gatos Lodge, Los Gatos)
• June 17, 6:00pm – 8:30pm: “Adaptability: How to Survive Change You Didn’t Ask For,” with MJ Ryan, change expert and best-selling author (General Monthly Meeting, Quadrus Center, Menlo Park)
• June 23, 5:30pm – 7:30pm: “Business Love Letters: How to Deepen Client Relationships and Set Yourself Apart from the Crowd,” presented by Tresa Eyres and Janet Gallin (San Francisco Meeting, San Francisco)

WIC events are interactive and provide participants with timely business advice and best business practices. They also serve as a forum for exchanging business ideas and networking with speakers and other consultants.

New for 2010 is a Member Orientation held before all General Meetings on the third Thursday of every month at 5:30pm, either at Quadrus in Menlo Park or Michael’s at Shoreline in Mountain View. This Member Orientation is the perfect opportunity for new, veteran, and prospective members to learn about WIC, its programs, and how to take advantage of the numerous benefits offered to members. Each session covers:

• Member benefits
• Procedures, processes, and overall structure
• Available tools and how best to access them
• Ways for members to increase their exposure within the WIC community for optimum networking
• Pro bono opportunities within WIC that help deepen members’ WIC connections

“Our current and prospective members look to WIC to provide engaging and thoughtful meetings and seminars that meet their business needs,” said Avery Horzewski, president of WIC.  “I’m thrilled with the diverse program offerings and the caliber of speakers our programs team is developing this year. I’m equally excited about the new Member Orientation program created by the membership team and look forward to expanding it to our satellite groups and online community via a webinar format later in 2010.”

For a complete list of upcoming WIC networking opportunities, meetings, workshops, webinars, and other events, visit the WIC website.

About WIC

Women in Consulting (WIC) is a vibrant, diverse, and powerful community of consultants and small business owners working to build strong businesses. Founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1998, WIC provides its 400+ members and affiliates a forum to connect and share with like-minded professionals. Established as a nonprofit, collaborative community to foster successful businesses for its members, WIC sponsors programs and activities to help members network, improve their skills, and thrive even in a tumultuous economic climate, and also provides consulting leadership and support to the community at large. 

For more information

• Visit our website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Chat with us on our blog
• Become a fan on Facebook
• Join our LinkedIn group
• Email us

Press Contact:
Renee Maler
PhilosophyPR + Marketing
for Women in Consulting
925.968.9495
renee@philosophypr.com

WIC Mentoring Program Provides Members with Intensive Workshop to Support Members’ Long-Term Business Growth and Strategy 

San Jose, CA – March 23, 2010—Women in Consulting (WIC), a collaborative community of professional consultants and small business owners, today announced the launch of its spring WIC Mentoring Program as part of the organization’s commitment to supporting the full lifecycle of consultants. A new member benefit, the program is designed to provide guidance and best business practices to WIC members who are interested in improving their marketing and business management processes and skills.

By leveraging a webinar format, the WIC Mentoring Program—delivered by WIC board member Jan Richards and special initiatives chair Desiree Lehrbaum—is available free of charge to WIC members nationwide from March 24 to April 28, 2010. The Web-based meetings are held weekly for one hour, and then supplemented by thirty-minute one-on-one mentoring calls in the final weeks of the program.

Over the course of six weeks, participants gain business-building insights into five core areas:

• Marketing: participants create or clarify their greatest opportunities for current and future business, define best service delivery models, and identify their target customers and the solutions they will provide
• Business development: this component covers writing a marketing script, networking role playing, and maintaining marketing momentum
• Vision setting: participants learn ways to clarify, strengthen, and work toward the vision of business success they hold
• Action planning: this focus area shows participants how to turn their visions into plans, actions, and results
• Process streamlining: mentors and participants delve into a root cause analysis for recurring problems in their businesses, and identify opportunities to improve processes, allowing them to produce greater results more easily

“With so many highly accomplished business professionals within our membership, it just makes sense to tap into that business savvy through a mentoring program to our broader membership,” said WIC President, Avery Horzewski. “We first introduced the concept of a mentoring program as a pilot late last year and received overwhelmingly positive results. This valuable new program clearly serves an important need, especially for newer consultants, and complements nicely our Leaders Network program that provides a forum for senior consultants.”

Mary Edmunds, a consultant specializing in information technology and a WIC member who participated in the pilot program, added, “Not only did I learn specific skills, but I felt more focused on my business and more motivated to actually get past hurdles and get things done.”

The new WIC Mentoring Program will be offered twice each year, in Spring and Fall. Fall dates will be determined later this year. For more information on WIC and its programs, please visit http://www.womeninconsulting.org/.

About WIC

Women in Consulting (WIC) is a vibrant, diverse, and powerful community of consultants and small business owners working to build strong businesses. Founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1998, WIC provides its 400+ members and affiliates a forum to connect and share with like-minded professionals. Established as a nonprofit, collaborative community to foster successful businesses for its members, WIC sponsors programs and activities to help members network, improve their skills, and thrive even in a tumultuous economic climate, and also provides consulting leadership and support to the community at large. 

For more information

• Visit our website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Chat with us on our blog
• Become a fan on Facebook
• Join our LinkedIn group
• Email us

 Press Contact:
Renee Maler
PhilosophyPR + Marketing
for Women in Consulting
925.968.9495
renee@philosophypr.com

San Jose, CA – January 26, 2010—Women in Consulting (WIC), a collaborative community of professional consultants and small business owners, today announced its 2010 Board of Directors. The all-volunteer Board is comprised of some of the best minds in consulting and includes some key reappointments of WIC’s senior leadership.

The new board is focusing its efforts on adding to and strengthening the wide range of programs and benefits that WIC offers its innovative community of consultants. With an emphasis on social media and even more robust mentoring programs, webinars, and events, the board is committed to ensuring that WIC remains the leading go-to resource for its members and affiliates throughout the United States.

“I’m honored and excited to work closely with such a high-caliber leadership team as we continue to grow and strengthen WIC and the programs we offer our members,” Horzewski commented. “The organization is dedicated to supporting consultants of every experience level, so they have what they need to grow their businesses even in an uncertain economic climate.”

The 2010 WIC Board of Directors Includes:

President—Avery Horzewski steps up as president after serving as WIC’s marketing and PR director for three years. Founder and owner of AVE Consulting, Inc., she works with companies of all sizes to develop compelling, persuasive, and effective customer-centric marketing and communications strategies that encompass everything from websites to social media to print collateral. Under her leadership, WIC is poised for an accelerated level of growth, with expansion of its member benefits through such programs as its prestigious Leaders Network, satellite groups, workshops, and webinars. Horzewski’s specific expertise in social media strategies is well suited to help the organization further enhance its online presence as the organization enters its 12th year.

Vice President—Jennifer Berkley builds on her past experience and contributions as WIC treasurer and WIC vice president. Founder and owner of The Insight Advantage, she helps businesses integrate customer insight to make key business decisions in the face of emerging customer needs. Jennifer also teaches the Power of Marketing Research at University of California at Santa Cruz Extension in Silicon Valley.

Treasure and Finance Director—Melissa Stacey returns for a third year as WIC treasurer and finance director. Owner and founder of Feeling Organized, Melissa specializes in helping homes, offices, and small businesses create customized organization systems to fit their unique needs and styles. She’s also president of Women’s Networking Alliance (WNA).

Secretary and Communications Director—Deb McClanahan continues as secretary and communications director for a second year. Principal of BroadBand HR Consulting, Deb helps companies with executive search and HR consulting. She’s also developed a practice in expert testimony, helping attorney clients with challenging immigration and employment matters.

Programs Director—Melissa Frank joins the board as programs director and is an attorney providing startup counseling and guidance to small businesses and consultants in a variety of industries. Melissa also provides a select number of clients custom event planning services through her event management company Marlowe Berglund Events.

Marketing & PR Director-Elect—Fanny Kim joins the board as marketing & PR director-elect, and will assume full responsibility for WIC marketing and PR in Q2 2010. A public relations consultant with over 15 years of experience, her expertise ranges from nonprofit and health/wellness to media properties and digital technology. Fanny started consulting in 2001 while attending graduate school in New York City. Since then, her firm, FKPR, has partnered with New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles-based public relations firms. 

Online Marketing Director—Jean Lombard joins the board in a newly created position focused on WIC’s online marketing endeavors, previously under the marketing and PR director. Formerly one of WIC’s marketing co-chairs, Jean was responsible for positioning and promoting WIC and its events. In her board role, she’ll oversee WIC’s online marketing efforts, including the WIC blog and website, and the organization’s Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn presence. Jean is a PR and marketing professional, operating her consultancy The Jean Effect.

Membership Director—Kathie Sherman joins the Board as WIC’s membership director. As president of TenFour Marketing, Kathie helps companies develop and implement direct marketing programs focused on increasing response rates, tracking and measuring results, and achieving higher ROI on marketing programs. She’s worked with many well-known companies, including Apple, CapGemini, Sun Microsystems, and Penton Media.

Partnerships & Alliances Director—Sherry Prescott–Willis returns for a third year in her role as WIC director of partnerships. A former principal of Prescott Marketing and founder of Market This Strategy, she has over 18 years of strategic marketing expertise in both consumer and high-technology industries. Sherry is the author of Market This!: An Effective 90-Day Marketing Tool, currently available on Amazon and BarnesandNoble.com.

Partnerships & Alliances Director-Elect—Kelli Richards joins the board this year as partnerships & alliances director-elect, and will assume full responsibility for WIC partnerships in Q2 2010. For the past 12 years, she’s run The All Access Group, advising companies involved with digital music and entertainment. A connector, bridge-builder, and trusted navigator in digital media, Kelli creates opportunities for clients when they may not otherwise have access to the most sought-after influencers and decision makers.

Satellite Director—Anne Evers joins the board in a newly created position focused on WIC’s ever-growing satellite groups. Anne was co-founder of the WIC San Francisco satellite group and just recently stepped down from that role. Founder and owner of Anne Evers Communications, Inc., Anne provides editorial services for financial services clients, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to small startups. Specializing in writing, editing, and project management, she works with clients to turn business communication ideas into reality.

Strategic Audiences Director—Deborah Siegle returns for a second year as strategic audiences director, overseeing WIC’s Leaders Network. Principal of Strategic Marketing Solutions, Deb assists clients with strategic research, market and product development, technology industry analysis, and customer loyalty and experience projects. With more than 25 years experience, she quickly identifies and addresses core issues, developing actionable strategies and tactics that make a measurable difference to her clients.

Strategic Initiatives Director—Jan Richards assumes her role as strategic initiatives director for a second year. A national Baldrige Award examiner for five years, she heads up J.G. Richards Consulting, helping companies streamline and simplify their operations; clarify their vision, goals, and priorities; and implement effective process management. This enables clients to increase profits by reducing costs, growing revenues, and increasing business flexibility.

Volunteer Director—Deborah Hoard continues her second year on the board, this time as volunteer director, putting to good use her experience as VP of volunteers for the Silicon Valley chapter of IABC. In her first year on WIC’s board, she served as programs director. As founder of Net Results, Deborah consults on marketing campaigns for a range of Silicon Valley businesses, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, helping them further their business objectives and maximize their budget and resources.

Past President—Linda J. Popky continues to support the WIC board in the role of past president. Recently recognized as one of Silicon Valley’s top “Women of Influence” by the San Jose/Silicon Valley Business Journal, Linda is founder and president of L2M Associates, Inc., a strategic marketing firm. She’s a speaker, educator, coach, and consultant, as well as the author of Marketing Your Career and Promoting Your Non-Profit.

About WIC

Women in Consulting (WIC) is a vibrant, diverse, and powerful community of consultants and small business owners working to build strong businesses. Founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1998, WIC provides its 400+ members and affiliates a forum to connect and share with like-minded professionals. Established as a nonprofit, collaborative community to foster successful businesses for its members, WIC sponsors programs and activities to help members network, improve their skills, and thrive even in a tumultuous economic climate, and also provides consulting leadership and support to the community at large. 

For more information

• Visit our website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Chat with us on our blog
• Become a fan on Facebook
• Join our LinkedIn group
• Email us

 Press Contact:
Renee Maler
PhilosophyPR + Marketing
for Women in Consulting
925.968.9495
renee@philosophypr.com

San Mateo, CA – January 11, 2010—Women in Consulting (WIC), a collaborative community of professional consultants and small business owners, today announced its first quarter 2010 program line-up, including webinars and in-person events in Los Gatos, Marin, San Francisco, Walnut Creek, and other Bay Area locations. 

Events slated for the first quarter include:

• January 11, 11:30am – 1:00pm: “She Said – He Heard: How Differences in Communication Styles Can Sabotage Your Business,” with author Michael Johnson (South Bay Lunch Meeting, Los Gatos Lodge, Los Gatos)
• January 13, 11:30am – 1:30pm: “Accomplishing More with Less: Five Productivity Principles for the Digital Age,” presented by Pierre Khawand, Founder, People-OnTheGo (East Bay Lunch Meeting, Pyramid Alehouse, Walnut Creek)
• January 14, 5:00pm – 7:00pm: “Musings from the Master: A Conversation with Million Dollar Consultant Alan Weiss” (WIC Special Event, Sir Francis Drake Hotel, San Francisco)
• January 18, 6:30pm – 8:45pm: “Thought Leadership: Your Platform to Build More Business,” presented by Kate Purmal (North Bay Meeting, Unity Center, Novato; Appetizers)
• January 21, 6:00pm – 8:30pm: “Making 2010 Your Best Year Ever—Without Breaking Your Neck,” presented by Kate Purmal (General Dinner Meeting, Michael’s at Shoreline, Mountain View)
• February 3, 11:00am – 12:00pm: “The Relevance Ultimatum: Strengthening Your Value to Your Client,” presented by Elaine Starling (Webinar)
• February 8, 11:30am – 1:00pm: “R-P-M: Three Steps to Extraordinary Achievement in 2010,” presented by Sandi Smith (South Bay Lunch Meeting, Los Gatos Lodge, Los Gatos)
• February 10, 11:30am – 1:30pm: “Five Strategies to Control the Financial Chaos in Your Office,” presented by Holly DeVito (East Bay Lunch Meeting, Pyramid Alehouse, Walnut Creek)
• February 11, 6:00pm – 8:00pm: “Consulting Insights from a Corporate Perspective for 2010,” a panel of corporate executives sharing insights into hiring consultants in the new economy (Workshop Michael’s at Shoreline, Mt. View)
• February 18, 6:00pm – 8:30pm: “Transformation Consulting: Why the Experience Matters,” presented by Shareef Mahdavi (General Dinner Meeting, Quadrus Conference Center, Menlo Park)
• February 23, 6:30pm – 8:45pm: North Bay Networking Meeting (Unity Center, Novato; Appetizers)
• February 24, 5:30pm – 7:30pm: San Francisco Networking Meeting (San Francisco)
• March 2, 12:00pm – 1:30pm: Peninsula Quarterly Networking Meeting (Luncheon, Caprino’s, Belmont)
• March 8, 11:30am – 1:00pm: “Strong Women, Powerful Financial Strategies,” presented by Judy Cziprian of Ameriprise Financial Services (South Bay Lunch Meeting, Los Gatos Lodge, Los Gatos)
• March 10, 11:30am – 1:30pm: East Bay Networking Meeting (Luncheon, Pyramid Alehouse, Walnut Creek)
• March 18, 6:00pm – 8:30pm: General Dinner Meeting (Michael’s at Shoreline, Mt. View)
• March 24, 5:30pm – 7:30pm: San Francisco Networking Meeting (San Francisco)

WIC events are designed to be interactive so that attendees can engage with the speaker and learn practical, actionable advice they can employ immediately in their own practice. One example of these highly interactive programs is the upcoming January 14 event with renowned consultant, speaker, and author Alan Weiss, where he’ll share his thoughts on consulting in an informal, unscripted, unplugged context. Held from 5:00pm – 7:00pm at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco, the event will focus on:

• The direction of consulting and consulting practices in 2010
• What consultants can learn from the recent economic upheaval and changes
• Why value-based fees make even more sense today than ever before
• The meaning of an Accelerant Curve and how can it impact your business
• How technology has impacted consultants and the way they build their businesses
• Why it’s so important to reduce labor intensity

“As the premier networking organization for consultants in the Bay Area, WIC is dedicated to exposing members to the most cutting-edge business content through engaging in-person conferences and workshops and interactive online events,” said Avery Horzewski, WIC’s incoming president for 2010 – 2012. “This is going to be an exciting year for our supportive, collaborative community, as members aim to incorporate smart growth into their business plans and collectively increase revenue.”

For a complete list of upcoming WIC networking events, meetings, workshops, webinars, and other events, visit the WIC website. Join today to benefit from these events and take a proactive step toward greater control over your own future!

About WIC
Women in Consulting (WIC) is a vibrant, diverse, and powerful community of consultants and small business owners working to build strong businesses. Founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1998, WIC provides its 400+ members and affiliates a forum to connect and share with like-minded professionals. Established as a nonprofit, collaborative community to foster successful businesses for its members, WIC sponsors programs and activities to help members network, improve their skills, and thrive even in a tumultuous economic climate, and also provides consulting leadership and support to the community at large. 

For more information

• Visit our website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Chat with us on our blog
• Become a fan on Facebook
• Join our LinkedIn group
• Email us

###     

For more information, contact:

Renee Maler
Philosophy PR + Marketing
For Women in Consulting
925.968.9495
renee@philosophypr.com

A while back, I answered a question posted on LinkedIn. The original question related to whether the person should use first person or third person for team bios. However, the advice I offered applies to any customer-facing communication, be it your website, marketing collateral, or social media tool. Just substitute your particular activity for “bios/site” and what I wrote still applies.

No matter what customer-facing communication you’re developing, be it your website, marketing collateral, or social media tool, there are three factors you should consider when making decisions: your audience, your company’s personality, and best practices – with audience being the absolute most important one. That may seem obvious, and most people would nod their heads in agreement, however, it’s often not what companies do.

Original LinkedIn Answer:

Your Audience

Whenever you make a decision on what to include or exclude on your site, it should first and foremost be based on what will resonate with your audience. While what you write and how you write it needs to be an authentic reflection of your company and what it’s like to work with you, what matters most is whether what you’re writing is what your audience wants and expects to see–and will, again, resonate with them.

Ask yourself will first or third person be best for my audience. Better yet, ask your audience, if possible. Asking them may not be necessary or make sense in relation to bios, but it’s something to keep in mind for your website overall. But whether or not you do user testing or surveys or similar activities, you should always look at things from your audience’s perspective first.

Your Company’s Personality

Whatever voice you choose, it needs to be an authentic reflection of your company and its people. Your audience will eventually realize if your voice isn’t authentic and respond accordingly.

If first person makes sense for your audience and is truly what you and your company is about, then write the bios in first person. Having each one sound different, as long as they follow a similar format (you can set up parameters to ensure this), isn’t a bad thing. The bios will reflect the personality of each individual. Chances are that’s a good thing if first person is right for your audience and your company. If there’s still a worry about them sounding the same and following the same format, but you still really want first person, you can have a professional editor/writer go over the bios to ensure consistency yet retain each authentic voice.

Best Practices

Being aware of best practices is a good thing. It makes decision making easier and saves time — why reinvent the wheel. However, I am a big proponent of knowing what the best practices are and why they’re best practices, and then evaluating them to make sure they make sense for 1) your audience (first), and 2) your company.

I have a strong bias against using best practices as cookie cutters for how to create a website (or anything else for that matter). I don’t advocate breaking a best practice just for the sake of doing so. After all, providing an experience that users expect makes it easier for them to find things on your site. But don’t follow them just because they’re best practices either.

Know them, evaluate them against your audience and your company, and then decide what to do and not do based on those factors — and be clear why you aren’t following them.

As for best practices on bios, most business-to-business companies use third person. However, many use first names after the first callout vs. last names to make the bios more personable and the people appear more approachable.

Your business is business to consumer. Following the recommendations I made above, I would guess that your audience would gravitate towards a bio that’s professional (I want to trust that you know what you’re doing) and personal (I don’t like cold, unfeeling healthcare providers). I would also guess that you’d like to come across the same way. If these guesses are accurate, I’d recommend third person, using first names after the first callout (vs. Dr. Gerstin) and infusing the bios with a little personal component — not the “married with two kids king of thing,” but rather why you became a chiropractor or community work that you do, etc.

Entrepreneur’s Advice Featured in 2010 Woman’s Advantage Calendar 

San Jose, CA – Avery Horzewski, president/CEO of AVE Consulting, a marketing and customer communication strategy firm, was selected from over 3,500 submissions to be featured in The 2010 Woman’s Advantage Shared Wisdom Calendar. The calendar, released in September, provides advice for women business owners from influential women leaders across the U.S. and Canada.

The Woman’s Advantage 2010 Calendar includes sound bites on key business issues including: organization, promotion, sales, and human resources. Horzewski’s sage advice sums up her personal business philosophy, “Approach everything from your customers’ perspective. It’s not about what you think is important.”

“Avery Horzewski’s quote was selected because it was powerful yet easy to understand. Her idea is relevant to almost every woman in business today.” says Mary Cantando, growth expert of The Woman’s Advantage. “Women business owners and those who dream of starting a business will learn so much from the advice provided by Avery and the other successful women quoted in the calendar.”

About Avery Horzewski

Avery Horzewski is president and CEO of AVE Consulting and president-elect of Women in Consulting (WIC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping consultants and small business owners build strong businesses. She helps clients develop and refine their communication strategies and regularly speaks about social media to groups interested in learning more about this new communication medium, its impact on business, and best practices for implementing. She also regularly shares ideas on the AVE Consulting Blog, WIC Consulting Blog, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

About AVE Consulting

AVE Consulting works with companies of all sizes, across a variety of industries, to develop compelling, persuasive, and effective customer communication strategies and marketing communication deliverables that encompass everything from websites to social media to print collateral. For more information, visit www.aveconsulting.com.

About Mary Cantando

Mary Cantando is a nationally recognized expert on women business owners. She is the developer of the successful Woman’s Advantage line of products, geared specifically to women entrepreneurs. A member of the National Speakers’ Association, Cantando provides keynotes and workshops for women who want to grow their businesses.

About The Woman’s Advantage

The Woman’s Advantage is a line of information products, including books, workbooks, audio CDs, and calendars designed exclusively for successful women business owners. For more information, call 919-841-0401 or visit http://www.womansadvantage.biz/

I was having a Twitter conversation with a friend about Twitter best practices, and he mentioned that he’d love to be able to keep his corporate friends separate from his personal friends. I figured there were probably others who wished for the same thing, so I thought I’d do a quick blog post on how you can categorize your friends in Facebook, creating filters for what each list of friends can and can’t see. This is particularly useful if you’re concerned about letting business associates see more personal posts. The same friend can be on multiple lists.

Creating a Facebook Friends List

• Mouse over the “Friends” link at the very top of the page, and click on “All Friends”
• Click “Create New List” at the top of your “All Friends” list (a popup box appears)
• Enter a name for the list, such as “Business Friends” or “Coworkers”
• Select all the friends you want to be on that list (you can do this by typing in names or click on the pictures in the popup box, selecting as many friends as you want)
• Click “Save” once you’ve added everyone you want to include in the list (the list will appear in the left channel on your Friends page, with the name you gave it)
• Click the “X” to the right of a friend’s entry to remove them from a list
• Click “Delete List” to delete a list

Using Facebook Friends Lists

• Send a message to everyone on that list at one time by typing the name of the list in the “To” field of your Facebook message (under Inbox)
• Invite an entire list to join a group, become a fan of a page, or attend an event from within those applications
• Filter the updates that appear on your home page from friends (a good resource for how to do this is on Tech for Luddites at http://www.techforluddites.com/2009/03/using-the-new-facebook-home-page-pt-2.html)
• Exclude certain friend lists from seeing specific (or all) updates:
  • Mouse over “Settings” and click on “Privacy Settings”
  • Choose “Profile” (or one of the other items listed)
  • Select an information type, such as “Wall Posts”
  • Click the down arrow and then select “Customize” from the list
  • Under “Except These People” type in the name of the list you want to exclude OR under “Friends” click “Some Friends” and type in the name of the list you want to include
  • Click “Okay”
  • Click “Save Changes”

Facebook Screen Captures for Creating Friends Lists

For all the visual learners out there, below are a few screen shots to correspond with creating Friend Lists, and then modifying them.

Click “Create List”

Enter list name, add friends, and click “Create List”

Facebook Screen Captures for Modifying Friends Lists

Click list name in left channel, mouse over “Settings” in the upper right, and click “Privacy Settings”

Click “Profile” or one of the other settings in the list

Select “Wall Posts” or one of the other items, click the down arrow, and click “Customize”

Under “Friends,” click “Some Friends” and type the name of the list you want to include OR under “Except These People,” type the name of the list you want to exclude

Nice short article by Digital Inspiration on a new Bit.ly feature: uploading files and sharing them through email, Twitter, and other social networks. The post explains how to do it and lists the advantages of using it vs. uploading files directly to yfrog. 

 Read “Now Upload Files Through Bit.ly” or try it for yourself.

This post originally appeared on the Women in Consulting (WIC) blog. I thought it worthwhile to share with others contemplating social media that at the outset I didn’t embrace it. I was skeptical. I entered into it solely because it was necessary in my role as a communication consultant to understand all ways in which companies can engage their customers. How else could I guide them through the assessment process and help them make the best decision.

Without a doubt, every company should explore the various social media tools in light of their audience(s) and what’s important to them — just like you would any other communication tool. In fact, while speaking at a meeting for the International Association of Professional Administrators, a participant said she didn’t get Facebook pages and asked why she or her company should care. We were looking at DirecTV’s page at the time.

My response: It doesn’t matter if DirecTV (or your company) “gets” social media. What matters is 14,000+ fans do. If customers and prospects want to interact with you via social media, then it’s a mistake to ignore this channel because you don’t like it or “get” it. It really isn’t about you. It’s about them.

That doesn’t mean you should ignore all other channels in favor of social media. It just means you should explore social media as another channel that helps you communicate with your customers and prospects (more on this in another post).

On a side note: that presentation was a week ago, and DirecTV had 14,035. Today, DirecTV has 16,234 — more than a 15% increase in 1 week.

Original “Skeptic’s View of Social Media” Post

I must confess that I grudgingly signed up for many of the social media tools. They simply aren’t the way I prefer to communicate. At the same time, the entire phenomenon intrigues me. The reason for my simultaneous disinterest and intrigue in relation to social media can be traced back to my education and that which I love and love to study: communication.

I much prefer to speak to someone face to face and over the phone, or watch/hear someone express their views on TV or over the radio. I like the richness that those modes of communication provide, both in the nonverbal cues that accompany the words as well as the depth of information that they provide because they’re not limited to 140 characters or a screen page.

However, so much about social media gets my nerdy side operating in hyper drive. What is it about Facebook that has people spending endless time sharing brief snippets of their lives, taking quizzes, writing notes, and the like—and why should businesses care? Why is everyone chomping at the bit to express their thoughts in 140 characters or less on Twitter? And why have these become almost the standard for hooking up with friends—and now colleagues?

I am on Facebook. I do Tweet. I blog. And I am active on LinkedIn. However, as I mentioned, I went on Facebook and Twitter reluctantly. I needed to; I didn’t want to. As a consultant who helps companies develop and implement effective customer communication strategies, it’s my job to understand the various mechanisms by which users want to interact—and more and more users want to interact using social media.

Bottom line: it doesn’t matter if you like social media or not, if your audience does, you need to consider it — seriously.

You CANNOT Not Communicate — this is one of my favorite phrases. I even use it as my company tagline. It’s also a good reminder that everything you do — and don’t do — sends a message. If you write off social media because you’re not interested in it, then you likely risk alienating at least a portion of your audience. More importantly, you risk losing a pretty amazing opportunity to get to know your audience in a way that you might not otherwise be able to do.

And it’s this latter component that has this skeptic convinced that there’s value in exploring social media. In addition to giving your customers something they want and expect, you have the potential to gain incredible customer insight and see a side of them that might otherwise remain hidden. I didn’t think I would, but I did.