November 23, 2009
I just sent the following letter to Toys “R” Us in hopes that they can put me back in touch someone who touched my life ten years ago. I hope someone there reads it and can lend a hand to my search.
Dear Toys “R” Us,
I’m trying to find out how I can get in contact with someone who claimed to be an employee of your organization back in December of 1999. Let me tell you why.
Late in the evening on December 23, 1999 I was driving up I-65 from Tennessee to the Chicago area to visit my family for Christmas. Right around Indianapolis, IN there was a blizzard out of nowhere. A complete white-out. I couldn’t see the road anymore and my tires rubbed the grassy median. I spun out, did 3-360s in the road, my car went across all lanes of traffic, dropped 15 feet into a ditch and skidded 50 feet until I stopped by hitting a tree.
I was 19 years old, alone, didn’t have a cell phone and was far from home still. I was scared out of my mind. A man pulled over to check on me despite the heavy snow and deep cold. He helped me up out of the ditch and let me sit in his car until the police and tow truck arrived. Now, we didn’t talk much. He could see I was scared and possibly hurt (turns out, I was). I remember he was a gentleman, nice and caring but specifically that he said he was a regional manager of Toys R Us. Sadly, I don’t recall his name.
This Christmas it will be 10 years since that night. I want to find this man so that I can properly say “thank you” for being the Good Samaritan that we all hope for in times like those.. and to let him know that I never forgot his kindness.
Is there a way you would be able to find out who your regional managers were around that time, that may have been in that area on that day? I understand there’s likely privacy issues. Maybe you could somehow reach him and ask him to contact me instead?
I know, this is a long shot but every year I think about this man and how I didn’t even know his name or say thank you like I should have. I’d like to see what I can do to remedy that. I really hope that you can help to reconnect us. Please let me know if you can and/or are willing.
Sincerely,
Kim Fenolio
www.KimFenolio.com
twitter.com/kFenolio
937-757-1331
Posted in Random Thought 
1 Comment »
October 26, 2009
This week I am leading the small business panel at the 140 Characters Conference in Los Angeles, California on behalf of my employer, America’s Best Companies. This is pretty significant in that I will be sharing how small business is being effected by the real-time internet. Basically, I’m going to talk about how Facebook and Twitter (social media) are helping your business in the current state of the world, even in this economy.
This panel and conference isn’t all about me. I’ll be sharing the stage with some fantastic co-panelists: Scott Townsend of United Linen and Neal Rohrbach of Idea Anglers. Together we hope to give you a rounded view of how small business works with these medias from beginning to end. We’re calling our panel Small as a Tweet. We’re taking a few questions up front. If there’s anything specific that you’d like any of us to answer, you can ask at our website or on our Twitter account.
The entire conference will be broadcast live on the internet via the conference website. If you’d like to tune in live for my panel, you can visit http://lax.140conf.com/ on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 1:55pm PST. Once the video is gathered afterwards, I’ll share it here on the ABC site as well. There are many other layers to the conference and a lot of big names going to appear and speak. I encourage you to check out the other panels and see if there are specific speakers that would pertain to your niche.
On a more personal note, I’m really looking forward to meeting so many of the fabulous people that I usually only interact with on the social networks. Along with my co-panelists I’m hoping to meet Anita Campbell, Jeff Pulver, CC Chapman and lots of other equally amazing individuals. If you’re going to be there please track me down!
Can’t find me in the crowd? Catch me any number of ways: my mobile (text or call) is 937-757-1331, Twitter via DM or @message me! I’d love to talk with you! Seriously.
Posted in Announcement, Social Media, Speaking Engagement, Twitter 1 Comment »
September 15, 2009
Southwest Airlines announced a new campaign today that offers a set of round-trip tickets as an incentive for subscribers, new or old, to open emails. In email marketing today one of the biggest struggles is getting people to actually open the email. Obviously, subscribers know there’s something of value from a company they’re already getting a newsletter from otherwise they wouldn’t have subscribed in the first place. It’s just sometimes life, and even an overabundance of other email, can detract from getting to (and reading) some subscriptions. I fall victim to that time and time again.
So, as an email marketer I know how big of a struggle it can be to reach out to people like me and get them to even notice the newsletter I’ve sent out. One of the most successful ways of getting people to open emails has always been through a creative or compelling subject line. When I saw “Click and Win Free Travel” I was all over it.
Southwest has stepped it up a notch above a great subject line. Each time a subscriber opens up their Click ‘n Save email then the subscriber will be entered into a monthly drawing for a chance to win 2 round trip tickets. Nothing more. No need to click through. No need to shout their praises. No need to fill out a form. You open? You enter.
This is a genius strategy. They’re offering some serious value. Now, they’re getting more people to open the email due to this incentive. What that does is it creates a higher likelihood that people will actually read their content. That, in turn, increases the chances of the subscriber carrying out whatever call to action exists within it.
Incentives are always a great way to encourage an action out of your target audience. If you’re able to offer something free then you should do it. The ROI will prove the campaign’s effectiveness each and every time.
It’s all about incentive. Way to go Southwest!
Subscribe to the Southwest Click ‘n Save email newsletter here.
Posted in Email Marketing, Social Media 1 Comment »
September 2, 2009
Someone asked me the following question today:
Sometimes I see people making a little celebratory announcement on Twitter. Like being listed on the Top 20 Twitterers for this or that, for instance. Is that something where it’s OK for the influencer types to do it but not really the rest of us [average users]?
This is a great question to ask. I don’t think tooting your own horn or celebrating something you’ve done well applies only to the people on the “A List”. In my opinion it’s all in how you do it.
Don’t Celebrate Like This
“I was just told I’m amazing! I am amazing! Look at me! How could you deny it?”
Your approach should be more suave and celebratory.
Do Something Like This
“I was just called “amazing” by John. Gosh that makes me feel great! THANK YOU!”
There’s nothing wrong with saying that someone recognizes you as having done something good. Just don’t be one of those people who comes across as a pompous self-centered know-it-all.
Posted in Random Thought, Social Media, Twitter No Comments »
August 22, 2009
It was around 2005 when I first started getting into this new age of social media. I found podcasts first. I liked the podcast hosts and wanted to get to know them further. I found them through their online forums that they’d talked about on their shows and then the initial group of us all discovered Twitter in 2006. This was a time where everything was fresh, new and exciting. The possibilities were endless for social media and what it could leverage for each of us! I made some amazing friends. We shared our lives, our thoughts and stances on all different subjects.
That was 2006 and this is now 2009, where much has changed. I still see people giving of themselves, though not nearly as much. What I see more of is people promoting whatever it is that they’re into: their jobs, their new money-making scheme, but even more-so I see links. They’re everywhere and I have to tell you, I’m tired of it.
I miss the days where the value that you brought to the table was shown openly in the social network. Someone would make a statement and everyone cheered or responded right there. I didn’t have to see your “call to action”, click the link and then read it on your blog. The value was clearly right there. Instead, so much of what’s out there feels like email: spam. I realize that junk mail fills the mailboxes outside of our homes and spam fills our email inboxes. I really don’t enjoy seeing so much of it in my communication stream.
One example of value are the small business tips I post on my Twitter account Monday – Friday. I decide what I want to write about (sometimes with a little help from my friends), figure out how in the heck I’m going to condense it into 130 characters (10 of the 140 characters are consumed by the hash tag and what number tip it is for the day) and then just post the tips to Twitter. I don’t require anyone to go to my blog or my company’s blog to consume the data. I give easy and actionable advice that you can take right from that message and use for your business. That’s the value I try to bring to the table.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking you having a blog or the promotion of it. Obviously, I have one myself and I know that not everything can be said in 140 characters or less. My point is that I don’t feel social networks should be used solely as a way to promote a person, a product or a brand. If you’re going to be on a social network then you should be there adding to the the value and not the noise. Bring something to the table that I can actually use, something that will mean something to me. That right there is what proves you’re valuable and as a result promotes your brand, product or service that you’ve associated yourself to.
You’re right, it’s not traditional media but what about this medium is traditional? We’re here to reach out to consumers, business owners and each other in ways that haven’t been explored. So why should we continue to do it in the same way that’s always been done? Let’s break free of the traditional mold and get back to actually communicating!
Let’s make Twitter and all of social media become a culmination of solid thought, communication and value. When it comes down to it, isn’t that what we want when we’re being social in social media?
What do you want social media to be?
Posted in Random Thought, Social Media 4 Comments »
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