Each Thursday at 11 a.m. EDT, marketers from around the world join the ExactTarget user community on Twitter for a conversation about trends and campaign ideas across the interactive marketing industry. We call the virtual coffee chat the Nexus Café.
ExactTarget’s theme for 2012 is Inspiration. We seek to inspire our clients and the industry with our products, customer service, and our clients’ success stories. Last week’s Nexus Café chat centered around that theme and gave folks the opportunity to discuss their world of inspiration.
Here's a recap from our discussion:
Q1. @ETNexus: When are the times that you discover you need some inspiration? How do you know?
- @omgitsonlyalex When patterns are appearing in your work, mix it up and keep it fresh
- @erikaroe When I feel stuck on a plateau, I know I need some inspiration. There's always plenty in the email community!
- @coskier When I can't think of what to test, or I see the calendar so full I don't feel I have time to think.
Q2. @ETNexus:Do you have any surprising sources of marketing inspiration to share?
- @Candicelyn I love blogs, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter for inspiration from friends and professionals
- @coskier Sadly, there are more examples of what NOT to do. But I do get ideas from the #OnlyInfluencers list. And the @RetailEmailBlog provides a nice summary of what some companies are trying. It's a good place to start.
- @amandaberkey Sounds cheesy, but I'm always inspired by our @ExactTargetclients and partners when we chat at user community meetings. Fun!
- @kkestler I get a lot of inspiration from @jaybaer and everyone who contributes to Convince & Convert.
- @isimma TED talks are always a great way for me to find inspiration - personally and professionally. I Watch 1 every morning.
Q3. @ETNexus :Who do you admire and turn to for inspiration?
- @jbromwell A3 Coworkers, Leaders, Old Bosses, Mentors, Clients, Interns, 3sixtyLive community
- @neboweb Our CEO @wbeaster likes to use an awesome Muhammad Ali quote...
- @amandaberkey A3: I'm inspired by so many of our 3sixty Live user community and #NexusCafe contributors. It's amazing to write the blog recaps too!
- @myahr Love the blogs by @joshlinkner. They're encouraging and always give something to think about. I wish everyone read them.
- @emailrocks A3: Admire leaders who exhibit integrity and humility and smart people in general
- @Hamerstadt A3: I find chats with @Exacttarget partners inspiring - @Adobe @Salesforce @Microsoft and so much more!
Q4. @ETNexus: Here's a good question for you! How do you inspire colleagues to try something new and different?
- @myahr Q4 Simple - take away the risk of failure. Don't punish for mistakes but learn from them.
- @justintiell ! A4 - Show them the amazing benefits with excitement and enthusiasm, and of course keep it simple.
- @isimma A4 Setting/Achieving goals. We hold each other accountable for goals. Once goal's complete it inspires all of us to keep going.
- @lizsingleton A4: By sharing credit and triumphs as well as disappointments. Giving people a vested interest and diminishing fear
Q5. @ETNexus: LOTS of shared inspiration here! After learning something new and ready 2 apply, how do u convince the team to take a chance?
- @justintiell A5 Giving people a safe environment to try things is always a good thing.
- @amandaberkey A5: Surrounding yourself with inspirational people is really motivating. 3sixty Live communities share use cases to "sell" ideas.
- @isimma One of my fav @TED talks. How Great Leaders Inspire Action: http://t.co/fPSlFzMO
- @neboweb Tell them getting a "no" from a client is a good thing! If you don't get any resistance, you're not pushing hard enough
- @ryanleecox A5: Layout how/why it could work and how/what you'll do if it doesn't. Diminish the fear. or more simply, showcase examples of when it's worked for other companies. Proof case = can't argue with.
- @coskier A5: Make trying new things be a 'normal' part of the culture. Takes time, but is worth it.
Q6. @ETNexus: Do you recognize specific clients or advocates for their inspirational contribution to your brand? If so, how?
- @ryanleecox A6: Features on website, email marketing series, video (YouTube) are all what I'd consider #musts.
- @justintiell A6: We try and give @rootlearning fans a pedestal to talk about their experiences. We have created some videos from testimonials.
- @gina_mueller We recognize and thank them with some fun orange swag! I've currently been sending mice. http://t.co/6Nkziptg
Q7. @ETNexus: We've touched on this question earlier, but have you ever had a mentor or mentee? What did you learn?
- @ryanleecox A7: Yes. And if you don't, you're not doing something right. @ShellyKramer @SarahRobinson are two of my current. I owe them x2. You should never be the smartest 'you' that you can be. Mentor's are people that push you and want to see you succeed.
- @jvanrijn A7 Many people to learn from in online marketing. But the trick is to un-learn from them too
- @amandaberkey A7: I hold on to advice from my mentors for later. I try to apply those tidbits all the time. Keep on learning...
- @isimma A7 I'm in the market for a mentor. Though I have a group of peers I meet w/ monthly for goal setting/best practice sharing
Join us again next week!
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