Inspire Me Culturally Interview with Author of the New Rules of Marketing And PR/Leadership Strategist David Meerman Scott

A great interview I conducted last week with leading social media and marketing speaker for companies and worldwide conferences David Meerman Scott:



Inspire Me Culturally Interview with David Meerman Scott 8/9/2013:

David Meerman Scott is a marketing strategist, advisor to emerging companies, bestselling author of eight books including three international bestsellers, and a professional speaker on topics including marketing, leadership, and social media.

He is a recovering marketing VP for two U.S. publicly traded companies and was Asia marketing director for Knight-Ridder, at the time one of the world’s largest information companies. David has lived and worked in New York, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. He currently lives in the Boston area.

David serves as an advisor to emerging companies in the marketing technology category including HubSpot, GrabCAD, Libboo, VisibleGains, ExpertFile, GutCheck, and Newstex, as well as varied nonprofits that interest him including the Grateful Dead Archive at UC Santa Cruz, HeadCount, and Nashaquisset. Previously, he was on the boards of directors of NewsWatch KK (successfully sold to Yahoo Japan) and Kadient (successfully merged with Sant) and the board of advisors of Eloqua (successful IPO in mid-2012 and sale to Oracle in early 2013).

OH: Why is it so easy to “lose yourself” on the Internet and lose your focus as an online marketer?

DMS: I think it’s because there’s a lot of distraction on the Internet.  It’s easy to get sucked into so many social media channels.  An example of what I see is the Vine app/site.  All of sudden, it seems people want to jump right on to it.

OH: I’m not a Grateful Dead fan like you, but I did go to a big Deadhead school for college during the height of their mainstream popularity in the 80’s.  So I got to see at the time a little about how they broke every marketing rule in the music industry, especially the taboo then against bootlegging concerts.  Can you share a little about the concepts you wrote of in your book [Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History, with Brian Halligan]?

DMS: The Grateful Dead were essentially the only band that allowed people to tape their concerts, when pretty much every other band at that time actually had printed on the their tickets “No Taping”.  In speaking with band members, they said what they wanted to do was “the right thing for their fans”.  It’s the idea of sharing your stories and your ideas – really just being nice to people.  There are a number of lessons to be learned from this.

OH: One of the things I’ve noticed in your speaking style is you really seem to give off an aura that this is your true, authentic self.  I know you talk about being passionate about what it is you are selling.  Why is this so important in business and what can be the end result if you don’t do it?

DMS: Thank you for noticing that.  Marketers, businesspeople, salespeople…we all have bad reputations.  What I’m saying is that I can counter all of that by being truly authentic.  If I’m not passionate about what it is I’m selling, I’m going to start using the same stupid language that everyone else uses.  You have got to let your passion show through.  It’s the same for any profession, and also the same for anything not even business related.  I laugh when I hear of a job seeker who’s been sending out resumes for six months and not getting any responses.  They are just not being who they truly and authentically are.

OH: What’s the best way to tailor an online international marketing strategy today?  Is it any different than the same online strategy used to garner domestic or local business?

DMS: Your first consideration should always be the local language.  Although English is widely spoken around the world, it’s not the one used for every product or category.  You need to give it some thought.  Also, be wary of cultural differences.  For example, don’t automatically wish everybody a Merry Christmas.  I’ve had the opportunity to travel to 90 countries and present in 37 of them.  If you’re being yourself and you show your audience respect, it’s then the same for every one of them.

OH: Talk a little about your World Wide Rave concept.

DMS: World Wide Rave is about getting people to share their ideas.  By the way, my book on it is totally free for download on my website [http://www.davidmeermanscott.com/books/], at Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, or Kobo.  What are the triggers that encourage people to share an idea?  And what happens when they do?  What I’ve found in my own experience is as a result of giving out my ideas with no strings attached, many more people now know about my ideas.  The more giving you do, the more you will get back.  What’s not giving is a marketer who is willing to let you have their white paper – provided you give them your email address.  That’s not giving; that’s trading.  There’s a big difference.

OH: In your opinion, what’s behind the fear most people have of trying to do something that has never been done before, or that they’re not “supposed to do”?

DMS: It’s just fear – which is a natural human reaction.  The challenge is to overcome it, and that is a difficult thing to do.  It’s often why people go back to school.  Entrepreneurs on the other hand, just do it.

OH: Thank you so much for your time today, David.

DMS: Thank you.