A few days ago Jonathan Kay and I shared an interview style blog post about entrepreneurship that we hope was inspiring as well as informative. Jonathan decided to ask me some questions about my passion, Social Media, how I got started and how I am just effin’ doing with it a few startups.
We hope you enjoy!
Jonathan: You have a very unique set of experience, which I would venture to say makes you as good as you are at what you do. Do you think you could talk a bit about your experience using Second Life and how it helps you run you consulting company?
Kim: Second Life is how I became so passionate about the Internet as a whole. It’s so interesting being a part of a virtual world/community that feels so much like the real world without many of the constraints that we have. What started out as a way to cope with so much loss in my life and being so ill from pneumonia eventually turned into something so much more amazing than I could have ever imagined.
In Second Life users have avatars and these avatars can be whatever they choose, be it a horse, bird or even a Smurf. When I first began to immerse myself into this virtual atmosphere it didnt matter how sick I was, how much weight I put on because I was being pumped full of steroids from having a very complicated time with pneumonia. My avatar, Sadie, was healthy and exactly how I chose her to be. I made friends that I can now proudly call real world friends and scored a job providing Social Media, Branding and Marketing services for real world and virtual world companies.
I worked with virtual musicians and recording artists, threw fashion shows to benefit Breast Cancer Awareness in real life, worked on concepts to brand real world products and services among other amazing ventures. I learned that creativity is only boxed in if you allow it to be and that the Internet as a whole is a fascinating outlet to brand a business.
Second Life made me want to explore other areas of the Internet for real world companies that needed a unique and innovative strategies. There is so much to say about Second Life and I can promise you that my time in Second Life is far from over as I have a few ideas and plans still up my sleeve.
Jonathan: When someone tells me they are a “social media expert”, I tend to laugh at them. Because for me, the most useful conversations I have are those that I immediately take OFF social media. How would you defend your profession??
Kim: Honestly I cringe or laugh if anyone calls me an expert in Social Media. I am a strategist that is passionate about Social Media, and personally I believe that I can never be an expert in something that evolves at the pace that it does. There are full days that I am diving into new Facebook features, figuring out where they hid a function that used to be in one place and now seems to be gone and pretty much rewriting entire strategies for not only my clients, but for myself and my company. I keep up on new sites launching because they might be more beneficial to a client or an event than Facebook or Twitter OR maybe they will become the next Social Media phenomenon and I want to get in there and understand the value before it blows up.
Social Media is so many things. It isn’t just a Twitter account and a Facebook Fanpage attached to a pretty face or outgoing personality. It’s knowing the tools that are available, researching, listening, engaging and learning. There will always be those relationships/friendships that form Online and stay Online with nothing more to come out of it and then there are those that do wind up becoming valuable Offline friendship/ business relationships.
Lastly, let’s talk about how we met. I didn’t know of you at all until our mutual friend introduced me to you at SEEC and we hung out at Fly Bar here in Tampa. You live in Boston and I live in Tampa, but thanks to these awesome platforms we are able to keep in touch and updated in one another’s hectic lives. I think it helps make new friendships that much more awesome! (Hope you agree!)
Jonathan: Would you say you are mostly helping companies who don’t GET or understand social media? Or are you working more with companies that simply don’t have the time (or resources) to do it themselves?
Kim: I am usually working with one of two types of clients. The first would be the client that is new to Social Media, knows nothing, but is eager to jump on board before they get left behind because they understand the value of Social Media. The second would be the companies that have tried to use Social Media, but haven’t been able to crack their own code. Maybe they jumped on all of the popular platforms when Oprah did, but they just couldn’t see any traction or maybe they were impatient and all too easily gave up. For these clients it’s creating a cleanup strategy because usually they have followed non targeted accounts, suggested their page to 50 of their closest friends and family meaning they are reaching no one that cares about their brand except for maybe their Mom. I will not be the company/Social Media person that simply spews out Tweets and Facebook updates. I am not a “Social Media updater”. When I manage accounts Online I am managing them with a unique strategy that was created specifically for them with room for trial and error. It’s about testing the waters and trying new ideas. Just because one idea works for one company doesn’t mean that it’s going to work for the next.
I also do more than just Social Media for companies. There are events that I am always working on and I got my first taste of Social Media for a political campaign working on the Dick Greco for Tampa Mayor integrated media team where I did a lot of live, in person Tweeting from debates, events and gatherings as well as a lot of Online reputation management with Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to name a few. I also learned that people are vicious when it comes to politics. The things they say, post, Tweet and blog about could be so damaging if you aren’t monitoring your brand Online. People have opinions and the Internet is where people go these days when they have something to say.
Jonathan: From my research (stalking) it seems like you are involved in a handful of startups. Which one are you most excited about?
Kim: I really am involved in a lot of different startups/ideas and to be honest, I never thought this would have been my life. I never thought I would be the girl that wants to make her idea a reality or partner up with other people and their brilliant ideas to see them through and make them a success. So of course I am extremely excited about KiMedia Strategies since it’s my baby and something I have worked so damn hard on. When I started KiMedia Strategies I had NO idea what I was doing. I created invoices in Word each and every time I invoiced a client (insert LOLs here). I had NO idea what I was doing with my business, the only thing I knew was the service my business offers, Social Media. So yes, I am very excited to see what’s next for KiMedia Strategies. I am also very excited about new clients that will be coming on board in the very near future. It’s a lot of hard work building a business on your own, but is also very rewarding. I highly recommend doing it!
Geek Is Single is such a fun and unique project that Susie and I have been working on in preparation for a full launch where Geeks everywhere will find love and never have to watch another Star Wars movie alone again. What is so exciting about Geek is Single is that the women make the first move. They get to chase the Geeks, meaning the men set up a profile and wait to be pursued. This is huge for women that do Online dating and are tired of the ridiculous amounts of Spam received from guys really just looking for one night stands. Plus we freaking love Geeks, heck I am one!
Daily Stickers launched in November and is also something that is dear to me because it’s about giving back to the artist community. It’s a fun site and if you are into designing things like…. stickers!? Submit yours!
Another startup that I co-founded will focus on breast cancer awareness. We hope it will be a fun project and if anything we simply wish to raise money to see a cure.
My last “idea”, yet to be a startup will take me back to my Second Life roots and I am excited to find a few partners that can help me make this a reality, however first things first…. Let’s launch Geek Is Single!
Jonathan: I love examples, as sometimes it’s the only way I can really understand something. Could you share one of your most fulfilling successes in the last 3 months?
Kim: Besides feeling overwhelming success the day I met you (I’m really not kissing your ass), I would have to say about a month ago I was able to put a mini case study together of one of my B2B clients on how they/we have been able to crack the code and begin to see results for a company that is very niche based. That entire story/case study is here, but the short version is that a company that sells commercial embroidery technology and direct to garment print technology has been able to see some amazing results by simply getting social. Saying good morning takes 2 seconds to type and press send and that good morning could turn into a sale or even more…. a testimonial… Someone to sing your praises that you aren’t paying! We have received inquiries on $80k machines and directed people straight to the exact page to purchase software ranging from a few hundred dollars to a couple thousand dollars.
This to me is pretty fulfilling.
Jonathan: I was recently reading one of your posts about the value of social media beyond the money you can make. I think this is interesting as people are always trying to do the opposite (quantify its monetary value). What would you say the 3 most valuable things you could gain from being on social media are? {not money, and not sales]
Kim: This is hard for me, not because the lack of things to be gained, but that I have to choose the most valuable 3 things that companies can get out of or take away from Social Media.
1. Social Media allows for us to listen. We can track, research and search in order to see who is talking about our brands, our competition and really act upon these without having to make those all too annoying marketing calls at dinner time. Listening is usually the first step to communicating and Social Media provides the perfect platform to do just that.
Some of the many tools I use to listen in on conversations are:
* Twitter Search (saved searches for keywords and hashtags)
* Facebook search
* Twilert
2. Social Media provides a platform to really gain the trust of a community by being as authentic as we possibly can and for a business this is priceless. By gaining the trust we usually are then seen as the thought leaders in whatever area of business we are in. This is something that you definitely want.
3. How much money are companies spending on Customer Service call centers only to have their customers even more pissed off when they hang up than when they initially called? Imagine if you were able to solve an issue, rectify a situation and keep a client from going with a competitor or bashing your business Online in 140 characters or less? I’m not saying that we should do away with Customer Service via phone and in person, but going back to the first point, when we are listening Online and are already engaged we will see/hear what the customers concerns are. There is a 50/50 shot that the person that hung up that phone more mad than before is going to take to their Twitter account, Facebook page, Yelp, UrbanSpoon or wherever and start tearing your company apart. You can easily swoop in and try to smooth out the situation before it blows up.
Like I said, there are a ton more reasons why Social Media is so freaking amazing and what businesses could gain, but you only asked for three.
If you missed “Just Effin’ Do It” I highly suggest you check it out. It’s part one of this collaborative effort where Jonathan answers and offers some valuable information about starting up a company, entrepreneurs and who inspires him.
About Jonathan
Jonathan Kay is the Ambassador of Buzz at Grasshopper Group, a brand which empowers entrepreneurs to succeed
with a suite of products they love to use. Over 2 years ago Jonathan was brought on to create what is today known as the “Buzz Department”.This function is responsible for creating and influencing everything word of mouth related. Since Jonathan joined the team, Grasshopper Group has been mentioned in some form of “media” nearly every other day!
Jonathan tends to be overflowing with passion and is always excited at the opportunity of meeting new entrepreneurs. He is forever curious, loves trying new things and is big into storytelling.
Jonathan is also a co-founder of The BarCamp Tour – a brand new initiative designed to help entrepreneurial communities throughout the country.
To learn more about Jonathan’s venture, visit: www.barcamptour.com
Passion does take us to another level. And having the passion in our business is very powerful. Because when we have passion, we do things better because we love what we are doing and that is almost a guaranteed road to success.
Great article once again. I’m surely looking forward to reading more of your work here.
This is really cool, love to see this page, to be honest I’ve got something idea in here..
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