The New Website Is Here! The New Website Is Here!

With all due respect, copyright acknowledgement, and thanks to Steve Martin from "The Jerk", this is kind of how I feel today.  The All New Mark Edwards Worldwide Website is here!  Not right HERE, but HERE at http://markedwardsworldwide.com.

After helping get clients' websites and online presence all set up, I decided to design a new website from the ground up.  You'll find information about Mark Edwards Worldwide's services, links to many wondrous things on the Interwebz, multiple ways to contact me, and much more.

Please drop on by, leave a comment if you like, and let your friends and associates know that if they want to shine online, Mark Edwards Worldwide is ready to help them!

My whole family thanks you.

When Marketing Automation ISN'T Useful

Those who know me and have worked with me know that I'm a fan of using marketing automation to schedule some messaging.  Not all messages, but some, especially on Twitter and text messages.  But I'm also a big fan of thinking about the audience and what the message will mean to them.  I ran across a case in point this morning and wanted to share it.  I'm not picking on the business that I'll talk about, I really love them, but this incident shows that they probably scheduled a text message and didn't account for how their database would be affected by it.

I'm in St. Louis, as is this business.  We're having snow today, many schools are closed, and the ones that aren't will most likely be sending students home early because the heaviest of the snow will be coming starting around noon.  The Missouri Department Of Transportation has issued a "stay off the roads" alert so they can get to the snow and keep people safe.  So it's fair to say this isn't the day to be going out unless you really have to.

Even with all that happening, I got this text message at 8:40 this morning.

I've got to believe this was a scheduled message, if for no other reason that any reasonable person would know not to ask their customers to come out during the time the snow is supposed to be falling hard and the state wants everyone off the roads.

So what happened here?  My hope is that the message was scheduled in advance and the person in charge of marketing for this restaurant either wasn't up yet to assess the weather or just forgot that the message was in the queue.  At least I hope that's what happened.

There's an important lesson here.  Taking advantage of marketing automation is usually a good thing, but if you do, you need to be able to stop pre-scheduled messages from going out and be able to do it fast.  In this case, it's because the weather stinks and asking people to come out in a snowstorm might not reflect best on the business. But scheduled messages could need to be stopped for any number of reasons, a news event that might take people's attention and make the business look crass, the death of a famous person, or even a public relations problem for other outlets of the same chain or the parent company.

Sometimes "radio silence" or rescheduling a small promotion is the least helpful to your business, yet safest way to act.  But you've got to know when your messaging is going out and be able to stop it, especially because your reputation, if not your sales, will benefit from an abundance of caution.

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In Praise Of The Under Appreciated HR Director

This post was originally published on Mark Edwards Uncensored on January 10, 2014

Here's a question for business owners and managers. When was the last time you hugged your HR department?

It occurs to me that the human resource manager, human resource assistants, recruiters or whatever you call the people in your HR department are the unsung heroes of business in 2014. They have to find the right people, train the people, and then retain the people for it as long as possible. With all the talent available these days, that's a very very tall order.

Yes, the government says that the unemployment rate dropped to 6.7% today. Theoretically, that's good news, especially if you ignore the low number of jobs created in December. But it also means that a lot of people have just stopped looking for jobs and left the work force. And that might make the HR department's job a little harder because some of those people could be diamonds in the rough for your company. Perhaps their skill set doesn't exactly line up with what you're looking for, maybe they are over 40 and have had jobs in industries that don't exactly match yours, or maybe they just were honest about how much money they wanted to make when they filled out applications. For whatever reason, they've climbed out of the talent pool and therefore can't be used as human capital.

How important is finding and keeping talent? Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, opened the 2013 event in Davos by asking "Is talentism the new capitalism?". He talked about the importance of talent and how having the right people can provide a huge competitive advantage for any organization. Everyone has the same computer programs, analytic tools, and syndicated data to work with, but the key to making all those things work right is having the right talent to use them, interpret them, and put them to work for your business. And in most companies, finding that talent falls squarely on the shoulders of the overworked and undervalued human resource department.

Many businesses try to help their HR department with this daunting task by

getting them applicant tracking software so they don't have to spend as much time looking at every application that comes in for every opening no matter how big or small it is. We all know how the software works, whether it's Taleo or Kenexa or another vendor's system. The HR person puts in the parameters they are looking for, adds the keywords, presses the button, and the job is posted for all to see. Then the system scans the applications, looks for the best matches, and puts them in a file. The applicants who don't match the qualifications set by the HR department sometimes get a nice rejection letter but tend to go into another file never to be seen again.

Technology is good, and having been a hiring manager I know that often times most of the people applying for a job simply aren't qualified. That's why applicant tracking software was invented, to weed those people out so that the overworked HR department or recruiter can concentrate on the best people based on their keywords. 

But technology has its limits. In an ever-changing world where so many people are trying to reinvent themselves or enter a new industry, applicant tracking systems don't see how the skills these candidates bring to the table can match the keywords for the open positions. It's no one's fault, it's just the way computers work and the applicant tracking system is doing the best job you can based on the information it was given. So is the recruiter really getting the very best person for the job? According to the applicant tracking software, they are. But in reality they may not be. And if that perfect person ends up getting noticed by your competitor, your company has lost the opportunity to acquire a valuable piece of human capital. Sometimes, and probably more often than that, the real best person for the job doesn't make it over one of the benchmarks in the ATS and they get thrown out, leaving the company with no idea that they're missing out on a potential superstar. 

To try to show this theory in a real world experiment, I applied for a job that I am well-qualified for yesterday after 5 PM. The application was through an applicant tracking system which was nice enough to send me an automated response saying they had gotten my stuff and would consider me for the job. At a little after 11 PM last night, six hours after making the application and most likely while the HR department at this company was far from their desks, I received a rejection letter for the job I just applied for. I can't prove this, but I can bet that my application was never seen by the retina of any human eye. It didn't match the keywords or got bounced for some other reason and the recruiter or HR director at this company will never know that I applied for the job. They lost the chance to at least investigate the acquisition of good human capital. And if I get a similar job at their competition, they lose the never ending battle of having the best people in their company.

I don't envy the role of a recruiter or HR director in this day and age. Too many tasks, too little time, and not enough help makes the job one of the most challenging in any firm. But companies who don't invest in finding the best human capital and looking beyond the applicant tracking systems are likely missing the opportunity to grow a world-class organization. Not having the human touch in the recruiting process could theoretically make the difference between success and failure for a project or an entire company. Setting one parameter unwisely in the ATS can rob a business of the person they need to move forward without them even knowing it because the HR Director or hiring manager will never see the application.

I worked for a decade at Viacom, and the chairman of the company, Sumner Redstone, was well known for saying that his most valuable assets go down the elevator at the end of the day. He knew that it was the people that worked for him that made his brands great. He also knew it was the people that did the work that generated the profits that he and his stockholders enjoyed. Even the strongest brand has to be powered by human capital.

So I go back to the question I opened this post with. When was the last time you

hugged your HR department? What have you done for them to make their jobs a little easier, a lot more productive, and help contribute more to the acquisition of the very best human capital out there? In 2014, it's about the people working in the companies that will decide success or failure. Think about that when you're looking at your HR budget or when you walk past that department in your company. Those people need a hug, and a whole lot more.

Mercer released a report about the importance of human capital. You can find a link to download the Executive Summary here. If you're in HR, you might want to print it and leave it on your boss's chair. 

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Mark Edwards Worldwide Client Tesh Media Group Completes Development Of New TV Show

One of Mark Edwards' biggest projects at the Tesh Media Group was taking the company into the world of Branded Content and online video. This week, the Tesh Media Group announced they had completed development of the "Intelligence For Your Life" TV show, set to air in the Fall of 2014.

Many of the concepts in the show were developed by Mark Edwards and are now available to clients through Mark Edwards Worldwide. Below is the official Tesh Media release on their new TV show.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The TeshMedia Group has now completed the final development phase of its fall 2014 strip “Intelligence for Your Life,” the new half hour daily, syndicated TV program designed as a local news companion. The unique slate of programming features former Entertainment Tonight host John Tesh in his return to television, actress Connie Sellecca, host of the Intelligence for Your Health Radio Show, and millennial expert Gib Gerard. The hosts highlight top headlining news stories through a unique, personalized life coaching approach with branded content and experts in key health and wellness, finance, dating and relationship, and personal legal advice categories. Find out more at: Intelligenceforyourlife.com

“We’ve had a chance to prove this content-curation concept with millions of our fans and with national brands over the past 12 years”

“Intelligence for Your Life” is part of the “Intelligence For” brand and trademark (health, relationships, pets, kids, money, etc.) that Tesh and Sellecca first created for Tesh’s wildly popular radio show by the same name, which continues to grow rapidly, holding a weekly cume of 8.2 million avid listeners.

“We’ve had a chance to prove this content-curation concept with millions of our fans and with national brands over the past 12 years,” says Tesh. “Now we’ve developed a unique way to not only entertain viewers with ‘news they can use,’ but we’ve also become adept at crafting ‘native advertising’ for our brand partners. National and local advertisers can now travel along with these ‘intelligent’ tips as they continue into the digital universe.”

TeshMedia has numerous Fortune 500 clients, including Walmart, Home Depot, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Geico Insurance, PetSmart and Toys R Us.

For more information on John Tesh, Connie Sellecca and TeshMedia, please visit Tesh.com.

Mark Edwards was honored to be part of the Launch Team for this show and wishes everyone in the Tesh Media Group the very best as they prepare for a daily show. In the meantime, you can see video segments from the show at IntelligenceForYourLife.com.

A New Chapter For Mark Edwards Worldwide

I wanted you to know about a decision I've made. As I see the digital media landscape unfolding and the opportunities to create a myriad of highly effective content growing, I'm returning to working with selected clients at the consultancy I've run since 2007, Mark Edwards Worldwide. This move will allow me to maximize my time and efficiency while sharing the things I've learned about the digital, social media, and new technology spaces with clients who really want to succeed in those worlds. It gives me great pleasure to say that TeshMedia is on the client list so I'll be able to continue to work with John and his team going forward.

After working for a year and a half as Senior Vice President of Content Development with John Tesh and the TeshMedia Group, we've accomplished a lot, more than doubling our online audience, growing website visits and conversions, and starting a video version of John's Intelligence For Your Life brand.

I've had the chance to implement countless online and social media programs, develop and fine tune best practices, learn an astonishing amount about online video and TV production, and help contribute to the continued success of the John Tesh Radio Show. It's been the most rewarding professional experience of my career, and I know the things I've learned working with John and his gifted team will help me immensely. You can see many of the fruits of our labors at the new IntelligenceForYourLife.com and in our new mobile apps.

I'm always on the lookout for the next opportunity, whether it be in a consulting, project, or full time capacity, so please keep me in mind for anything you might know about and feel free to share my contact information with your network.

I'd like to thank John and the TeshMedia family for a wonderful experience and thank you for your friendship and support. Let's stay in touch and do great things together. You can find me here and get all my contact info at http://about.me/markedwards.

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