Humor. It’s tricky in person — with your intonation, delivery, and body language. It’s even more precarious when it’s written. Your brand isn’t a joke, don’t treat it like one.
It’s tempting to react to political news from your brand on Twitter. Unless your brand is Saturday Night Live, don’t do it. You’ll be fueling trolls and undermining your brand. It’s your brand. Protect it.
KFC and Nuclear Buttons
I rarely call people out. In this case, I’m doing it. Firstly, I grew up at the end of the cold war and don’t find nuclear jokes funny. Secondly, the situation in North Korea is serious. Thirdly, regardless of the behavior of the current President (who frankly embarrasses me), your brand should be above that.
Tweet:
McDonald’s leader Ronald just stated he has a “burger on his desk at all times”. Will someone from his big shoed, red nosed regime inform him that I too have a burger on my desk, but mine is a box meal which is bigger and more powerful than his, and mine has gravy! #nuclearbutton
The fact that KFC is calling itself KFC instead of Kentucky Fried Chicken shows that they have a history of branding issues. They had to fight fried food, are they really going to alienate the demographic that mostly enjoys it? Seriously. I’m a Republican. I get it. Let’s be serious.
In fact, I’d argue that the cheap laugh and blog posts that will be written on Mashable, Tech Crunch, and BuzzFeed might be worth it for a day for attention. But will it help sales? I doubt it.
[bctt tweet=”Your brand isn’t a joke. Don’t treat it like one. Use restraint with current trends.” username=”BridgetMWillard“]
The Danger of Trending Hashtags
The same advice goes for Trending Hashtags. Lazy social media managers try to jump on a trend. If you don’t totally understand why the trend is happening, you have another “Why I Stayed” scandal.
[bctt tweet=”Don’t fall for easy. If you don’t understand the hashtag, do not use it. It’s that simple.” username=”BridgetMWillard“]
People make mistakes because of inexperience and a lack of discretion. They don’t think things out strategically and see how it will affect their brand. This is why you should never hire a cheap Social Media Manager.
Your brand is your reputation. It’s all you have sometimes when funds are light. It’s your job to protect it and assemble a team of people who have the same vision.
How does a pragmatist survive in a world full of dreamers? In the era of startups, ideas are often valued more than their execution. Yet, we know from reality shows on television and interviews in startup magazines that execution is the only thing that truly matters.
This world needs dreamers. We need optimism. We need hope.
But we also need reality. We need pragmatism. We need boundaries to break.
“What doesn’t matter is basically everything in between the overall vision and strategy and the real knowledge of it.” Gary Vaynerchuk
A World of Dreamers
Yes, I believe in dreams. Well, that’s not entirely true. I try to believe in dreams. Disappointment and I have been too acquainted for way too long. I’m am distancing myself from cynicism.
More accurate is that I want to believe in dreams. This means that my desire is to not kill a dream; rather, to help make it possible.
We need Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak – the dreamer and the implementer. The ideal and the practical.
You need the imagination and the infrastructure.
“Google has built an infrastructure that makes a lot of dreams closer to reality.” John Battelle
“The dreams we have [for the digital future] can only be realized if we not only build secure approaches that make those easy to administer.” Bill Gates
Is Pragmatism Negativity?
I’ve had some interesting conversations lately — in the world of WordPress especially — where realism is equated with negative energy.
I’d like to address this concern.
I don’t believe that just by speaking, you create reality. That is to say, that if you speak something aloud, it happens. That by looking down the road, diverged in the yellow wood, and having to make a choice, by weighing the options, you’re a dream killer.
I disagree.
“Hey, you! Get off of my cloud.” Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
We need dreamers. And we need the people who see how to build the dream. We need the realists. We need the pessimists. They even fuel the dreamers to overcome. We need those pragmatic people who say, “Yes, I love that dream. Here’s out we are going to build it.”
Devil’s Advocate
I love the concept of fairness — of intellectual honesty. I’ve always made a mental exercise to view and consider all perspectives of an issue. And I’ve learned over the years that not everyone can be objective — especially about their own business.
Many of my peers own businesses. I was the wife of an entrepreneur. I worked in the inside of businesses for years — in accounting and office management. Though those positions are rarely regarded, secretaries know everything and accountants know more. In that position, they are the proverbial fly on the wall. Because of all of this experience, I understand the questions that need to be asked to achieve those dreams.
So my friends will call me up,
“Hey Bridget,” they say, “I was talking to so-and-so the other day and was thinking of [details the dream]. What do you think?”
I’ll just ask them questions.
What about x? What about y? Who will do z?
Recently, six months after a series of conversations and a business decision, my friend turned to me and said, “Whoa. Bridget, you just saved me $13,000.”
It’s important for freelancers to bounce ideas off of people who will give them real things to think about — not yes men.
“There is no dream without the work.” Me.
Yes. I’m quoting myself.
In my presentation about how I changed careers, I talked about how it seems like I was an overnight success. I wasn’t. I’d been doing content marketing since 2009. It’s 2015 when people noticed it. It’s 2016 where I started to travel. 2017 people seemed to know me. It was not overnight.
Editorial note: This post was written in 2017 and has now been converted (2021) to a post using Blocks. The tech was never my bone to pick with Gutenberg. It was the timeline.
As a business-oriented marketer, my perception of Gutenberg is not about its beauty or ease of use. Rather, I am very concerned (and have been since June 2017) about the economic impact of the tight timeline of Gutenberg given how quickly it is being iterated.
[bctt tweet=”I am very concerned about the economic impact of the tight timeline of Gutenberg given how quickly it is being iterated.” username=”BridgetMWillard“]
What is Gutenberg?
In my words, Gutenberg is a structural and visual change to WordPress’ editing and publishing experience. Its interface is very much like Medium and I found it very easy to use. This project or editor will roll out in WordPress 5.0 which is slated for April 2018.
“The core concept of Gutenberg is every item you add to WordPress is a “block”. Every heading, paragraph, image, blockquote, list, and other content you add is a block, and every block has unique properties and settings. That means when you create content, you can work with and customize each individual block, move those blocks around, and even make individual blocks reusable so you can build them once and use them in different locations and different views.” Morten Rand-Hendriksen
Also, Josh Pollock has an overview post State of the Word on his site here that is worth reading as well.
“While I worry about backwards compatibility for metaboxes, I think my biggest concerns are addressed or will be addressed. I do think storing Gutenberg’s raw content in the existing post content column as a string is a mistake that will have to get fixed later with a new column and proper content object, but we’ll get there.” Josh Pollock
I am the Marketing Team CoRep for Make.WordPress, I am a business owner, and have formerly worked for a very successful plugin development company and advertising agency that both rely upon WordPress for their business model. Though I will write about this on my own blog, I thought I would put my money where my mouth is and be an official voice instead of a behind-the-scenes voice.
I commented on #3902 but the economic concern is separate and deserves its own issue.
Does Gutenberg Break Backward Compatibility?
It is my understanding that WordPress, as a project and community, is committed to backward compatibility. To be fair, I’ve mostly heard this discussion when considering back-end compatibility with PHP. And I understand the frustrations with developers wanting to use PHP7+ functionality.
However, PHP developers are able to wrap the depreciated code. The new Gutenberg experience (editor) puts a large-scale burden on plugin and theme developers in a short, four-month period.
[bctt tweet=”Without a doubt, #Gutenberg will require work to make what are not being called legacy or WordPress classic sites compatible.” username=”BridgetMWillard“]
We need a SWOT Analysis
To assist in the marketing strategy both inward (Make Teams, WordPress Developers) and outward (clients, end users, agencies), a SWOT analysis should be made by us.
Here is an example:
Strengths: Ease of use, modern technology, possibilities with VR, etc. Weaknesses: Accessibility, SEO issues, compatibility. Opportunities: New developers, new customers, modern technology, better UI. Threats: Attrition (loss of WP to Wix, et al), Economic impact, loss of volunteers.
Is WordPress Attrition a Threat
Attrition is a real risk. I shared Morten’s article from LinkedIn and an affiliate marketer began having a conversation with me that I think we should listen to. 29% of the internet uses WordPress. The rollout needs to manage expectations, educate, and give people time to learn.
[bctt tweet=”Attrition is a real risk. The rollout needs to manage expectations, educate, and give people time to learn.” username=”BridgetMWillard“]
We’re not Apple. We don’t dictate and expect people to adapt. We believe in democratizing publishing. This is key to our culture as a software.
Businesses run on fiscal year budgets, not timelines for software releases. It’s easy for us on the inside to become excited about amazing features and great possibilities only to forget about the small business owners, the plugin and theme developers, and the bloggers.
Plugin and theme developers, for example, have to shift budgets from marketing (how will this affect WordCamp sponsorships, for example) to product development and support. They need to train themselves and their developers to deeply learn JavaScript and React and Vue (possibly) in order to create compatible metaboxes.
Plugin development companies also have to decide if they are going to support their legacy clients. Should they decide to support both, the technical debt now becomes financial in nature as they spend more hours (time) and/or budget (money) keeping current clients. Should they not, they risk losing current clients through attrition.
Granted, people like Josh Pollock of Caldera are excited enough to get their plugins ready now. As a Caldera Forms user, this makes my heart sing.
Yesterday: Blog post about how excited I am for Gutenberg. Today: @calderaforms Gutenberg blocks.
Agencies who use WordPress often have year-long contracts. The site is built and then used to publish content on a regular basis for lead generation, SEO, and business development. The agency will have to ensure their clients’ sites either remain on 4.9.x or are fully compatible to Gutenberg. Many agencies build custom themes on frameworks or with ACF. Those themes will need to be worked on (that translates into budget shift). Personally, I’ve recommended many of my agency clients and friends to prepare for this last October. Many have added to their budget to be prepared.
[bctt tweet=”Businesses don’t make decisions based upon community loyalty; they make decisions based upon finances.” username=”BridgetMWillard“]
Small businesses often come to WordPress for the reasons we promote: technical SEO, ease of publishing, owning your own data. Convincing them to stay, when another option may be cheaper (WIX, Squarespace, even Dot Com), may become a challenge. Businesses don’t make decisions based upon community loyalty; they make decisions based upon finances.
I love WordPress. Here’s a Possible Solution.
I would love to see the version that will be shipped with 5.0 set sooner than later. This will allow WordPress educators, agencies, businesses, the Make Team, and development shops to prepare the general public for the rollout with marketing materials, documentation, and, of course, compatible code.
I love WordPress. I want it to thrive. Keep iterating. It should iterate. But the economy that relies upon WordPress needs time to learn and accept.
The big news is the Gutenberg “editor” (it is way more than just an editor) will be coming out with 5.0 in April (I’ve been saying this since June so I felt a bit vindicated in my analysis).
If you want to keep informed on it, I’d start with following Kevin’s tweets. It is iterating (changing) quickly.
Here's why #Gutenberg is different: Past #WordPress changes like CPTs, Customizer, and REST API could be used or ignored on a per-plugin basis. To each their own. But Gutenberg, more than any other change, tangles the fates of independent plugins together. #WCUS#StateOfTheWord
You can order your own swag thanks to James Tryon and Wapu.us here.
She’s more than a mascot, she represents a traditionally underrepresented minority in tech: women. We didn’t think she’d be part of a global movement, but it is trending that way.
Contributor Day was the real reason for me to attend this camp; it’s an all volunteer work day for Making WordPress. Though some people are “sponsored volunteers,” we are volunteers nonetheless. WordPress is created by you for you.
I’m honored to be a Marketing Team Rep and this CD was smooth, efficient, and fun. We had over 20 new people contributing. I couldn’t have done it without Dwayne McDaniel of Pantheon. He even gave out I Make.WordPress.org stickers. It was epic.
Thanks to GiveWP for paying for my airfare and Jen Miller for sponsoring my meals and lodging. With the recent change in my career, I wouldn’t have had enough time to save for the trip.
If I can think of every person I was so excited to have chatted with at #WCUS this past weekend, I will reach out.
On November 4, I was on the Women in WordPress panel in Seattle; on the 18th I gave the keynote in Rochester.
My passion is to help business owners understand how to use social media, how to build relationships, and improve their ability to encourage others. I’m grateful to be invited to be part of a panel for WordCamp Seattle and to present the keynote at WordCamp Rochester.
Personal Thoughts
When I attend WordCamp US in two weeks, I will have attended 11 camps in 2017. This was a huge part of our strategy at Give to promote relationships and the product. Though I’m freelancing now, I was glad they sponsored these two trips.
After WordCamp US in 2016, Jason Knill and I decided to see part of the cities we were visiting. All I saw of Philadelphia at US was the convention center. So, I took that attitude toward these two solo trips.
In Seattle, I walked to the camp instead of rideshare. The city was under construction. It spoke to me. Even established, thriving, and beautiful places like Seattle are under construction. I am, too. Going into business for myself is scary, but I have a foundation beneath me to support this venture. It was good to be reminded of that.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbE9893lvcU/
In Rochester, once I realized how close we were to the Erie Canal, I ditched camp early enough to spend some time looking at it. It’s amazing to think that a very small man-made canal (I was surprised at how small it is) impacted history so greatly. It wasn’t even in use for very long, but it allowed Chicago to become the city it is today. Small things — even for a short period of time — can determine fate — fate bigger than itself. Think of that in our personal lives.
As I walked from the canal to the after party, it began to rain. It struck me as awesome that just two weeks ago, I was rained on in Seattle. Now, on the other side of North America, I was also being rained upon. I walked a mile in the rain and couldn’t have felt more content, happy, joyful, or at peace in my entire life. That moment filled my heart with courage.
Back to the main reason for this post.
A brief Recap of Seattle and Rochester
Rachel Cherry and Miriam Goldman both submitted Women in WordPress panels for Seattle so they were combined. What a great group of women. Wow. We covered the entire spectrum of feminism. The panel was informative and controversial — just the way I like it.
My favorite part of the panel was when a man asked how he could better advocate for women in the workplace.
I was happy to answer for him, for that audience, and for you, my readers.
It is very important how you characterize the concerns of women on your teams.
Let me repeat that.
[bctt tweet=”To advocate for women in the workplace, be mindful of how you characterize their concerns.” username=”bridgetmwillard”]
Adjectives matter. If we bring up that we’re offended it doesn’t mean we’re “mad.” If we have an intentional word choice, we don’t have a “tone.” Think about that. It determines how we’re seen by our peers and this effects our ability to rise in organizations both in structure, position, and salary.
The keynote was a special invitation. I was honored to be invited to travel to Rochester to share my passion for building community. Rochester has a great community.
Seeing the faces light up as I spoke, knowing they “get it,” reassured me that my passion is teaching. I not only want to work that into my business, I need to. I’m not fully me without teaching.
I felt a bit lost, honestly, until I met a woman in the bathroom. She has a cluster of stars that looks like a galaxy as a bracelet tattoo. That made it all click for me. Small encounters mean everything. That is how I pulled the talk together.
"Being brave doesn't mean there is no fear. I would say it's impossible to be brave w/out fear….you have to muster up your inner Braveheart Figure out who resonates with you. Be brave." @YouTooCanBeGuru#wcroc
"Bravery means we make ourselves vulnerable when we're talking about building community. You can't build community w/out building relationships." @YouTooCanBeGuru#wcroc
I know your time is valuable. Thanks for being part of my community.
Love,
Bridget
Special Notes:
Special thanks to GiveWP for sending me to both camps. It’s the most robust plugin for online donations.
I use Postmatic to send these posts via email and to respond to comments. I’m on the $20/month plan. Check it out. (It does not support embedded content in email, to see the tweets, you’ll have to click over to the actual blog post. Thanks)