Who is running digital marketing in your company? Your company’s social media team? The web marketing team? The product marketing team? Your bloggers?

Truth is, everybody in your marketing organization should be engaged in digital marketing today; the marketing message, vision and goals of your company should be reflected in everything your employees do that is related to the product and your customer.

With that being said, wouldn’t it make sense for your marketers pertain to understand how these digital channels come to life? Wouldn’t an educated and able internal workforce help you build integrated marketing programs and break down silos?

Here at Cisco, our answer was yes. And with that the Digital Marketing Forum was born. The Forum provides a communal place where we can demonstrate, educate and enable our internal workforce to use digital marketing, while encouraging best practices and the opportunity to share learnings.

After successfully pulling off our first Forum, we want to share 10 tips which will help you plan yours:

1. Get executive commitment. Work with your executive team on topics and get their support for the forum.
2. Make it count. Research the groups that should be invited, gather email alias and names and send out a save the date ahead of time. Be aware of global teams and their time zones.
3. Plan for success. Treat this internal event as you would any external event and plan ahead of time with firm deadlines.
4. Pick one topic or message. Don’t overwhelm your audience, keep it to one simple message or topic of great importance.
5. Be flexible. Have a back up plan in case a speaker or topic falls through.
6. Be mindful of the event length, date and time. Try to limit your event to 2 hours maximum and pick a day and time of the week that is not crazy busy (don’t try to get people Monday morning… )
7. Put on your teacher hat. How can you present your learnings and best practices so people can easily follow and remember? What worked for us was 10-minute case studies.
8. Use digital channels. Make sure mobile and onsite workers can attend through online channels.
9. Get an outside speaker. Share industry thoughts and knowledge from a different perspective; define topics beforehand.
10. Evaluate and adjust. After the event solicit feedback trough surveys, polls, chats, comments on your community sites; ask people for ideas and new topics.

Tags: Cisco, cisco.com, education, integrated digital strategies, marketing, marketing communications, mobile, products, social, social learning, social media, social networking, training

I had a troubling thought. If I can no longer be considered part of the new generation, am I now the old generation? Generation X used to sound so modern, but we’re no longer the cool kids. After all, I’m driving a Prius and doing fourth-grade homework with my kid after dinner instead of chasing Skrillex. Now we have the Millennials who, according to Wikipedia, are Gen Y. (But, really, what generation wants to be saddled with a name based on the one that came before it?)

We recently invited a small group of MBA students from University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business to meet some of our customers for a grilling panel on what companies can expect from the new generation entering the workforce.

They provided first-hand perspective about what it’s like to be new on the block and work with, well, er, an older generation. Compared to our learned comfort with technology, theirs is nearly ingrained based on its presence in their lives since childhood. This difference comes through in their expectations, habits, and predictions for the wonderful world of technology in front of us. Read More »

Tags: byod, cloud, collaboration, collaboration summit, email, Generation X, Generation Y, millennials, mobility, social media, WebEx Social

If you attended the first two sessions of Cisco’s Partner Marketing Velocity webinar series on social media-- Building a Successful Social Media Program and Social Media Events Experience—you’re  probably thinking you have everything you need to conquer the world of social media.

But before you set off on your quest, take note. Making social media part of a larger effort, such as a specific company initiative, ensures greater success. In fact, if you tie social media into all of the moving parts of your company’s business strategy, then it has a much better chance of resonating with your audience.

In the third session of the webinar series—Creating an Integrated Campaign—I discussed this very issue, sharing the benefits of using an integrated rather than siloed approach. I also gave examples of how Cisco has integrated social media into its campaign strategy and recommended best practices for creating an integrated social media campaign.

Still want to email your messages and call it a day?  Read More »

Tags: Cisco, integrated campaigns, partner velocity, partners, social media

Here we are, 31 October, and ready to bang on doors and ask for candy with the playful question of ‘Trick or Treat?’  How fitting to sum up a month of thought-provoking posts regarding National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NSCAM) whereby our ‘interconnectedness’ requires each of us to be more vigilant than ever. Every time we knock on one of the Internet’s doors, what we receive in return may not be what we’re expecting. Goblins and other nefarious creatures continue to lurk in dark spaces as well as the bright light of day.

Read More »

Tags: Cisco, cisco sio, Cyber Awareness, Cyber Awareness Month, cyber-security-month-2012, cybersecurity, Halloween, national cybersecurity awareness month, security, social media

I love to see how technology continues to be woven deeper into the fabric of baseball and how it benefits everyone from teams to players to fans.

These days technology is driving millions of interactions that happen at the speed of light.  Players utilize video to break down their latest at bat, and might watch in between innings to make changes for future at-bats. Teams use scores of computer-generated statistics to analyze player performances, and breakdown their opponents. Things like variable ticket pricing, enhancements to television broadcasts (pitch tracker), and social media channels have altered how fans interact with the sport. Read More »

Tags: Cisco Connected Stadium Wi-Fi, Cisco Sports & Entertaiment, MLB, San Francisco Giants, social media, World Series