Nov 04
Love0

WTF Happened to my Klout Score?

By Social Media

Lately, the Twitterverse has been FREAKING OUT over dropping Klout scores. It IS kind of a rude shock to check in on Klout and suddenly discover your score has dropped 50 points orWTF? so. What’s even more confusing to some is the sudden jump in scores (not that they’re complaining), but WTF does this all mean?

Klout has been up front about the changes, publishing a blog post about re-configuring scores for “a more accurate, transparent score,”. Klout CEO Joe Fernandez shared the thinking behind the changed algorithm in a post the previous week.

A majority of users will see their Scores stay the same or go up but some users will see a drop. Some of our Scores here at the Klout HQ will drop (including mine) — our goal is accuracy above all else. We believe our users will be pleased with the improvements we’ve made.

This is a project that’s been under development for over three months, and, in many ways, over the three years since Klout started. We appreciate your trust and support and we can’t wait to hear what you think. We will let you know when this new model goes live next week and will continue to work to provide the deepest and most accurate insights into your influence possible.

I think the changes and the reasoning behind the are sound and that ultimately the score changes will even out and settle, providing a more accurate measure of influence for its users. The algorithm (in case this is all Greek to you) measures:

  • how many people you influence,
  • how much you influence them and
  • how influential they are.
    What do you think of Klout?

 

Nov 03
Love0

Sharing Your Personal Story in Your Professional Life

By Communications

My college graduation, with my husband and son.

At an event for a nonprofit I support the other night, I found myself sharing the personal story of my modest beginnings to a couple of acquaintances. I stopped, surprised at the level of information I was sharing and apologized for “vomiting my life story” all over them. (Thanks, Elizabeth and Eric for humoring me.) They protested and said it was interesting (so polite, those two!) but it got me to thinking. . .

Later in the program, up on a big screen, the donors to the nonprofit were featured. At all the nonprofit events I attend, there’s always recognition for contributors and I am always curious about the story behind why those individuals give. I want to know a) where their money came from, especially if it’s the kind of wealth one sees in Charlottesville) and b) what their personal connection is to the charity in question. Although improbable, wouldn’t it be fun to see a list of donors with, in parentheses behind each name there were answers to a and b?

So, for example, some donors names would have (Inheritance) behind it, or (Married it) or (Divorce settlement), or (Lawsuit). Perhaps (Whiskey) or (Plastics) if it’s old, family money. Even better are the ones whose names would be followed by (Earned it) and those are the stories I like the best.

The reasons people connect with charities are equally interesting to me (perhaps less amusing and gossipy than the money origins). I’m personally interested in education, health care (especially diabetes), social justice, care for the homeless and those living in poverty — all connected to struggles in my own background and the leg up I know can be so valuable for people trying to make their lives better. I devote my time, dollars and talent to nonprofits that serve the populations I want to support, and I’ll bet you do, too.

Do you share your personal story? Do you think it has value in business?

 

Nov 02
Love0

Jaggers Communications Adds Business Development Team Member, Erika Gennari

By Communications, Jaggers Communications News
Erika Gennari, Jaggers Communications

Erika Gennari

More than ten years ago I worked for a metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri-based eyecare company in its marketing department. Every semester we had an intern join us to support our efforts in public relations, internal communications and marketing. Some were forgettable, of course, but some stood out and left an impression of a student with great promise and a solid future in communications.

Fast forward to last year, when, out of the blue I received an e-mail from one of those outstanding interns. She was moving to Charlottesville, Va. and had heard from a mutual friend (the CFO of that eyecare company) that I had settled here. I was — and am — delighted to be reconnected with Erika Gennari. The 21-year-old student I knew then is now a wife, a mother and an experienced professional salesperson, marketer, recruiter and communicator. She’s the same organized g0-getter with boundless energy and ahead-of-her-years professionalism that I admired all those years ago, now with more than ten years’ additional work experience added to her resume.

And so, I’m delighted to share that Erika has joined the Jaggers Communications virtual firm to provide business development outreach and management. Erika will be helping manage the pipeline of prospects for the business, assisting in proposal development and conducting outreach on behalf of the firm. It’s exciting, for me, as the entrepreneur behind a ten-month-old business, to have the opportunity to institute this role in the firm and to be working with Erika again. I know that members of this community will enjoy knowing and working with Erika as much as I do.

Please say hello to Erika on Twitter @erikagennari1 and welcome her to Charlottesville! You can also reach Erika at egennari (at) jaggerscommunications (dot) com

Nov 01
Love0

J.C. Penney Defines their Brand and How it’s Different from Kohl’s

By Communications

I caught the end of a J.C. Penney TV commercial this morning and a line stood out  . . .

Unlike other stores, J.C. Penney doesn’t make you return to save.

For regular shoppers, you know this is a direct hit on Kohl’s and Penney’s nailed it.  Kohl’s offers a program of “Kohl’s Cash” getting consumers to return to the store to spend dollars earned within a short time after their visit. Penney’s asserts in their advertising that they’re offering shoppers the savings up front, instead. Pretty savvy advertising.

It also struck me that the line is what I consider a critical element of a brand position — defining how your brand is different. It’s astounding to me how difficult this is for some brands to define. Take some time today and think about your organization and start with “Unlike other,” and see where the definition takes you. How can your company change the conversation about what you offer to your community through a strong brand statement? I’d love to see your results in the comments.

Oct 31
Love0

Accepting the Invitation to Connect on LinkedIn

By Communications

Last week I received an invitation to connect to someone on LinkedIn. I almost dismissed it immediately because it was a name that didn’t ring a bell and it was from someone in a foreign country. I’m pretty thoughtful about who I connect with on LinkedIn. I have to have had some working relationship with you and to have some context for how we’ve connected in the first place for me to want to link our social networks together.

I noticed, for the first time, although I’m sure it’s always been this way, the message that LinkedIn includes with the invitation to connect:

WHY MIGHT CONNECTING WITH MARIJEAN JAGGERS*  BE A GOOD IDEA?

Marijean Jaggers’s connections could be useful to you

After accepting Marijean Jaggers’s invitation, check Marijean Jaggers’s connections to see who else you may know and who you might want an introduction to. Building these connections can create opportunities in the future.

*I substituted my own name in here; you don’t need to know the name of this connection.

This morning I returned to the invitation and looked at the profile of the individual that sent the invitation and indeed, this is a person with whom I’d done business some time ago, on behalf of a client in another country. I was delighted to reconnect.

In another example, a college friend passed away a couple of weeks ago, leading to all sorts of college connections resurfacing on Facebook. One friend request came and I didn’t know the name at all; turns out a friend had changed her name — first and last — and so threw me completely. She sent me a note explaining who she was; I was grateful for the context and accepted her invitation.

It’s important to provide context with these invitations. We meet so many people in our lives and we cannot expect to remember them all or to keep apprised of name changes and such. When you’re sending an invitation to someone, keep that in mind, and give them the courtesy of a short note to remind them of how you know one another.