Investing in research

Do you know your audience or customer? Really? When was the last time you looked at sharply focused market research? Given the current state of the economy, is your inclination to invest more or less on understanding the people you need to reach?
Radio One recently commissioned and shared the Black America Study, which helps us understand the texture and diversity of this community. Consider these findings about black Americans ages 13-19:
Technical Savvy
• 71% are online
• 30% listen to iPod/MP3
• 20% watch music videos online
• 23% play video/computer games
• At least half have cell phones
• At least half use text messaging
Household and Family
• 52% are being raised by a single parent
• 22% are already parents
• Only 3% are single parents
• 55% are very stressed by school
Business and Finance
• 69% believe that they will own their own business someday
• They are impetuous in spending – heavy spenders on clothing
• They are brand conscious – highest percent (24%) that buy for brand
Understanding the daily lives behind these numbers could translate to better marketing strategies, larger markets, and more loyal customers.
What do you need to know about your current customers - and the people you'd like to attract as customers?

New media converts demand usefulness

It's fascinating to watch people who are initially resistant to new media become enthusiastic about it. Generally, the barrier is internal: They are limited by their own imagination, asking: "What's the point? What would anyone use that for? Isn't it just a way to waste time?" Once they come to understand exactly how it can benefit them, however, they come around. Before long, a social medium such as Twitter is no longer "boring" or "stupid." New converts brag that it's "a great way to make business contacts" or "an easy way to keep up" with what family and friends across the country are doing. Useful and personal adds up to powerful - 140 characters at a time.

Don't know what you've got till it's gone . . .

The power of social media was brought home this morning by two very different events: A Tweetup and a computer catastrophe.
Twitter users got together at 7:15 a.m. for the first Wichita Tweetup (and large doses of caffeine). It allowed us to socialize beyond our tweets' 140-character limit, and talk about how microblogging has become integrated into our work and personal lives.
Afterward, many of us discovered that last night something had rolled through Twitter like an F-5. The virtual twister wiped out about half my contacts, but I was among the lucky; one of my Tweeples lost more than 1,000. It wasn't only the tedious work of rebuilding a social network that proved painful, however. The sense of disconnection - of missing out on something important, inspiring or funny, news from people we've come to care about - was disconcerting for many tweeters. We've quickly become a community.

If you were a car . . .

It's said that we Americans ARE what we drive. And though I have been brand-loyal to Honda ever since my 1980 Chevy Chevette ("The Last of the Stone Age Cars") was towed off to the scrapheap, the Tomorrowland car quiz says I'm a Corvette.

Well, at least that's a decent step up in the Chevy line. And I must say, the assessment isn't half bad:

"You're a classic - powerful, athletic, and competitive. You're all about winning the race and getting the job done. While you have a practical everyday side, you get wild when anyone pushes your pedal. You hate to lose, but you hardly ever do."

Quizzes can be a fun and effective way to reach your audience. See for yourself: Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz for a spin.

Thanks for sharing

One of the perks of my work is making contact with so many smart, interesting and curious people. Invariably, they are a generous lot - happy to share what they know, and eager to learn from the people they encounter as well. So, to everyone I've talked/networked/Tweeted/e-mailed/blogged/and otherwise communicated with this week: Thanks. You're the reason I'm in a great mood today.

Social media in action

Social media experiment moving forward: Reached out to Tweeple @jdecesaro, we conferred, then we spread the word at a PRSA meeting today. Now it's set: Our first social media TweetUp is set for Thursday 7/24, 7:15 A.M. Panera @ Central & Hillside. That's mighty early (I was rooting for 7 PM @ a bar in OldTown), but it's a start!

Working lunch

Happy to report that the media panel at the Wichita PRSA luncheon today delivered what one should expect from public relations and news/media professionals: a top notch presentation.

The four panelists - including a dear friend and former Eagle co-worker, Deputy Editor for News Tom Shine - kept the tone conversational, the content informative and the pace lively. And it was great to talk to my Tweeple @ToddBlog - Todd Ramsey of GretemanGroup, whom I'd previously "met" only via the social networking site Twitter. My old, new and virtual worlds converged.

Presenting a better presentation

A Twitter acquaintance asked today about the worst presentation I'd ever endured. I had to admit: It was one I gave back in '05. I was unprepared; I tried to wing it on too little sleep and too much caffeine. Lesson learned.

HERE ARE 5 MORE TIPS for improving your presentations:
- Know your audience. Ask plenty of questions when you accept the gig about what is expected by the organizers, then arrive early and get a sense of the room. Tweak your comments if necessary.
- Dial back on the caffeine. You can count on a jolt of adrenaline to carry you through.
- Get away from the podium. Unless you are giving the State of the Union Address, you'll benefit from closing the distance between you and your audience.
- Talk to people, not things. Humans came to see you, not your notes, mic, laptop or PowerPoint screen.
- Lead the pack. Don't allow a "Jack in the Box" to ruin the experience by popping up with off-topic comments. Suggest you take up that discussion afterward (or by e-mail), then focus on other audience members.

Today's to-do list

Wrapping up post-production on Episode 3 of "Wichita State & The World" today, on public health, to air this fall on WSU TV, Cable Ch. 13. Also meeting today to get going on an episode that documents the rebuilding of Greensburg. I love the eclectic nature of this show.

Know who you work for

In my years as a newsroom editor, I had two major goals in mind as I worked: I wanted to meet the readers' needs, and I wanted to make the reporters I worked with look good. The first goal was obvious, the second more subtle. It meant helping reporters think about what their audience expected from each story, and teaching them to be not just better writers but better self-editors. It also meant going beyond expectations, and delivering more than was asked of us.

Loving work a little too much

Not that long ago, I didn't think of myself as a workaholic. I wasn't the sort who'd get up at 5 a.m. to hit the gym for a pre-power-breakfast workout or take a briefcase crammed with documents to the beach. But I loved my work more than anything. I'd put off lunch till 2, 3, 4 p.m., then go back and stay as long as I was needed - and there was always something else to do. It took a real toll on my health & my family. A lot has changed since then. I still work hard and I love what I do, but now I build a little down time into my day. I walk more, pace less. I'm out of the office and into life.

Reinvention vs. evolution

As journalists find themselves downsized in staggering numbers across the nation - and sadly, close to home as well - it's clear that industry evolution is a painful, lurching and brutal process. Luckily, reinvention is in the hands of individuals. We can become who and what we want to be through education, retraining, networking and hard work. It's what this country was founded on. Reinvention embodies hope and a sense of control - something all journos need right now.