I had the unique experience of attending IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando last week. (For those not familiar with IAAPA, it’s basically the association of folks involved in the attractions business – think everything from amusement parks to water parks to arcades to laser tag facilities to party rental companies, and more).

Standing on the show floor among acres and acres of exhibits brought me back to my childhood, and the dream conversations I’d have with my friends and brothers. Playing in the backyard or the basement and all those kid ideas would pop into our heads: Wouldn’t it be cool if you could have a trampoline basketball court? Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a 360° reverse loop track for bikes, like on a rollercoaster? Wouldn't it be cool if someone invented a water balloon fort?

Well, turns out people way smarter than us were having the same conversations. Because all of those things, and more, were on display at the Attractions Expo. Makes me realize that there’s a lot of ingenuity out there. Because this wasn’t just a showcase of great ideas, it was a showcase of great ideas that had been figured out and engineered to be profitable attractions.

It’s kind of like that kid who used to obsessively burn ants with a magnifying glass then grew up to be a pest exterminator, only these IAAPA people went to top-notch engineering schools and now are dedicated to the fun business.

There were acres and acres of new games and rides and activities and inflatables and if you’ve had fun doing it, odds are, it was there. Plus, a ton of things you’d never think of – but when you do come across them (like the laser maze – coming soon to an attraction near you) you’re sure to have one of those, “Oh wow, cool! Now why didn’t I think of that?” moments.

American (worldwide for that matter) ingenuity is alive and well, that's for sure. And not to get too political, but it gives me hope for all the troubles we’ve been tackling as a country. Three days at IAAPA Attractions Expo makes me realize the brains are out there. I know if we could just set the politicking and partisanship aside, we can solve anything.

Wouldn’t it be cool if?

This weekend at my daughter’s soccer game, I sat down next to a commercial builder and a lawyer who were in the middle of a somber conversation about business. For the most part, things were looking up—new clients, new projects, an uptick in billable activities. However, we all agreed that basic civility has taken a big hit. I’ve been wondering ever since—why is it so hard to be nice anymore?

I believe stress and fear have a lot to do with it. A segment on this week’s Today Show supports this idea and also suggests that our growing disengagement from face-to-face communication is part of the problem. Everyone has learned to do more with less in this recession. The problem is that less staff, less budget and less resources also mean less profit, less time and less fun. The people who are lucky enough to have their jobs have to work twice as hard and the bottom line—and holding on to business—has become the driving factor in how we behave. We are distracted and harried. For most of us, though, the majority of our waking hours are spent at work and those work relationships can either make or break our days.

I am hopeful that a new trend will start. A sincere compliment, some genuine gratitude and a smile really do go a long way. We should all try to practice random acts of kindness toward one another. Surprise your colleague with their favorite Starbucks drink; offer some unsolicited positive feedback and stop there; pick up the phone and have a conversation instead of exchanging cryptic two-word emails; say thank you at the end of a long day. It is really not that hard to do.

From time to time, business owners are asked to throw their proverbial hat into the ring for various graphic design awards, Best Places to Work lists, Smart CEO honors and the like. So, it was no big deal when earlier this year we received a Top Agency nomination from BtoB, the magazine for marketing strategists, and were asked to complete a survey. All in a day’s work; answer their questions and move on.

Imagine our surprise a few weeks ago when we learned that Fixation had been named to BtoB’s (www.btobonline.com) 150 Leading Agencies list in their March 2010 issue. This particular honor stands out because a) it’s a national recognition that finds us listed among some of the nation’s biggest and best “name brand” agencies; and b) the questions took into consideration not just our personality or number of employees, but some deeper questions about year-over-year growth and how we were helping our clients deal with a fragile economy.

Look, we know this business is not all about awards. But as a small agency, we rarely get consideration in the rarefied company of the “big boys” like BBDO and Ogilvy & Mather North America. Let’s hear it for the little guy! And let me take this opportunity to first thank a great small-and-smart staff here at Fixation who work hard and produce terrific stuff that is sometimes unheralded. Second, let me honor our clients—many of them long-standing—who hire us to provide creative strategy, design and interactive marketing solutions that help keep them successful and help keep us on top of our game.

Congratulations to all. I’m so proud of this company.

Maddie Grant is the chief social media strategist and co-founder of SocialFish, a consultancy firm that teaches association professionals how to effectively use social media. Maddie and her SocialFish business partner, Lindy Dreyer provide social media strategy, marketing and training to clients like ASAE and the Center and the National Association for the Self-Employed. Maddie and Lindy provided valuable social media training to our team at Fixation last year, for which we remain incredibly grateful.

I often get the question "what's the ROI for using social media?" How would you answer this question?
This is actually the "big question" that seems to be top of mind for everyone now that a lot of organizations have started using social media. In one sense, it's like saying, "what's the ROI of building relationships?" or "What's the ROI of email?"--because social media is a way of communicating and interacting with stakeholders. Having said that, there can be defined and measurable results--but those results need to be directly tied to business and strategic goals. There needs to be a starting benchmark and deliberate tracking--as well as factoring in of indirect costs (staff time, overhead and resources) in order to really measure ROI--which I would say many organizations don't do a great job of in general, not just for social media efforts.

I've heard several folks in the industry say that Twitter's relevance to business is dwindling. How would you respond?
We believe that the core purpose of social media (including, of course, Twitter) is to build relationships and we've seen that work very successfully. If business strategies involve an understanding of that core principle, then Twitter is a fantastic way to reach people in an organization's "ecosystem" and get to know them and what their needs are. If, on the other hand, Twitter is used merely to spam people with marketing messages without a care to fostering that community, then it's not going to work for that business for very long.

What are 5 initial steps that an association professional can take to begin using social media tools right now?
The first step is always to "listen" on the social web--which means start using Google Alerts to search for brand mentions, industry terms, key people, etc. -- to see what people are saying about you or your industry. You can do this, to some extent, without actually having social media profiles at all. Step two is to focus on the places where your people are, and start building a presence there. Step three is to begin building relationships by responding when appropriate to relevant questions, following discussions, answering feedback. Step four, start providing value by posting information people need. Step five, identify those champions (influencers in those spaces who care about what you care about) to help you grow your presence and community and take things to the next level.

Do you see practical applications for associations to use video and mobile applications? Do you agree that video and mobile will grow exponentially in the next year or so?
Ab-so-lutely!! Mobile is becoming huge across all industries--not just because of geolocation, which empowers local connections between people and businesses, but more fundamentally because devices like the iPhone are revolutionary in terms of changing how we want and expect to get what we need, in a very individualized way (e.g. each individual user downloads the apps that they want to use, so every individual phone is different. The Long Tail thrives on mobile!) And if we consider the Millennial generation (now entering the workforce in substantial numbers) and younger, these are people who do all of their communicating through mobile phones, which is changing the landscape of how we work (not tethered to a desktop, which means not tied to 9-5...) With regard to video, associations are definitely starting to see just how valuable it can be to add video to their arsenal of ways of communicating with members--it's easy and attractive, and it's humanizing, in terms of potentially giving some much needed personality to the "brand" they want to promote to their members.

Is there an association that in your opinion has done a really good job of using social media? If so, how and why?
Honestly we've seen many associations doing fabulous things. If I had to pick one, we often show the International Society for Technology in Education as a great example of an association conference home base site that aggregates lots of different social media activities--but really I think the beauty of social media is that much of it is all out in the open for everyone to find. I'd love your readers to check out the Association Social Media Wiki if they are looking for specific examples. I also had a really great series of interviews with association social media managers on the SocialFish blog, where people working for all types and sizes of organizations told us how they internally managed the social media management work.

If an application was invented that would allow you to listen in on what your customers are saying about you and respond to their needs, wouldn’t you want it right now? Imagine how this insight would help you frame your company’s growth objectives for the new year. What if I told you that this application already exists and that it’s FREE to use, right now? Would you hesitate? You wouldn’t, right? Well, guess what? If you are not already utilizing Twitter to listen in and respond to your customers, then you are hesitating. So make a resolution as the new year quickly approaches. Commit to joining the Twitter community. Don’t make excuses. Don’t allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the technology. Don’t feel like you have to know what you are doing the minute you join. 

As you read this, you’re probably asking, what are the immediate benefits to participating? Well, below are a few...very simply put:

If you join the conversation, listen in and then respond, you begin to more fully understand your customers’ needs

If you understand your customers’ needs, you can more easily meet those needs

If you can more easily meet those needs, you strengthen your relationship with customers and they trust you more

If they trust you more, they’ll come to you more often and buy more of whatever you are selling

If they buy more of whatever you are selling, then your profits increase

If your profits increase, your company can grow and expand

If you feel intimidated or confused by what Twitter is and how to properly use it, the good news is that you are not alone. There are enough case studies out there now like this one that prove that businesses are using it to grow their brand awareness, communicate with customers and provide a higher level of service.

Ask for help. Ask Fixation for help. Ask a friend for help. Ask your kid for help. Whatever you do, don’t be silent any longer. Listen in and respond. The world of business-customer communication has changed. The shift isn’t happening. It has happened. Now is the time for you to get in the game, join the discussion, satisfy your customers and reap the benefits.

Contact me for some no-strings-attached, good-old-fashioned help.

Call or email me

Join our Facebook page and post your question(s) there

Find me on Linkedin 

Or, if you’re feeling super adventurous: Join Twitter, then follow me at Alex_fixation, then direct message me with your questions.