A friend of mine recently Tweeted (out of frustration) that “…a CMS can’t do everything. It’s like getting in a Ferarri and wishing the ride was smoother.” It’s true. There is no perfect solution even with the commonly used systems such as RedDot, Ektron, DotNetNuke and (gasp!) Sharepoint. Even higher end systems are not exempt from inherent system limitations.

Many content management systems are advertised as panacea solutions. And while they are powerful, you need to keep the following 4 things in mind:

1) Cost/Functionality Tradeoff
While seemingly obvious, it’s important to remember that inexpensive, canned solutions WILL require tradeoffs in design, programming and/or functionality. These tradeoffs are typically worth the cost savings, but it’s easy to forget this simple idea at the 11th hour of a project when you ask for something that just isn’t possible with your chosen CMS. While a Honda Civic is a great low cost solution that’s easy to maintain, you can’t get annoyed when it doesn’t go zero-to-sixty in 5-seconds when accelerating onto a highway.

2) Design Customization Limitations
No matter how flexible a CMS is marketed, you WILL run into a situation where you CAN’T implement your dream design. It could be related to something important like how the navigation menu operates; perhaps you’re not able to use fancy graphical fonts and are forced to use HTML text. Or it could involve something small like limitations on drop shadows for tables or graphics. To minimize frustrations, be sure to get your initial design comps approved for implementation by your IT staff as soon as possible. Then if (or when) new issues pop-up mid-way through the project build-out, don’t freak out. Make whatever concessions are necessary, note it for future reference and live to fight another day.

3) Updates & Service Level Agreements
If you set up your website on a shared server using a CMS that powers 50 other websites, you need to take a good look at the service level agreement (SLA) with your developer/host provider. What is the agreed upon response time? What security provisions are included? How long will the CMS be supported? You might get free upgrades as they become available, but maybe not. And is your fee (upfront fee that includes X-months of support OR your monthly license fee) commensurate with your service expectations? If you’re paying $99/month, don’t expect your developer/host company to put you at the top of the list when it comes to troubleshooting. I know it sucks, but it’s reality.

4) Customized Technical Features

Most CMS systems are designed for personalized implementations meaning you’re able to use all the available building blocks/modules to construct your own website. But at a certain point, you’ll likely need something that’s just not a part of the CMS. Ugh, right? You might be able to custom program a solution that can work in conjunction with the CMS. Some systems cannot be modified since the CMS “brain” powers many other sites, not just yours. But if you get lucky and ARE able to customize, you’ll likely be asked to pay extra for this custom programming since it’s not part of the CMS system installation and customization. Normally it’s still a small fraction of what you’d pay for a completely custom-coded system so it’s well worth it. Then you need another customization which requires more special coding. And then more — and more — to the point where the CMS has been bent and Frankensteined into something barely resembling it’s original nature and purpose. You want to avoid this if at all possible.

So what to do?
In my 14-years of Internet development/marketing experience, the importance of PLANNING has never waned especially with sites using content management systems. You wouldn’t build a custom home without consulting an experienced architect, right? Same goes for web development. Work with someone who understands your business and strategies. Chart out your website architecture and systems plan. Then (and only then) work with your web developer/IT professional to select the best content management system that fits your needs. This will minimize the compromises you’ll be forced to make mid-stream and maximize your chances for success.

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Unlike most awards shows, the Webbys limit acceptance speeches to 5-words. From a marriage proposal to comedienne Sarah Silverman’s “Holocaust. Did it happen? Yes…” the quips were as crazy as you’d expect from a ballroom of uber-creative people. They’re all available for viewing on YouTube so check them out.

Normally, I don’t really care about celebrities. Really. But when they’re in the same room celebrating internet oriented achievements, it’s pretty damn cool. Martha Stewart, Seth Myers, Cameron Diaz, Charlie Rose, Trent Reznor, Molly Sims, Jimmy Fallon and Isabella Rossellini all mingled with the crowd (sort’ve) throughout the night. Quite validating for me considering all those incredibly late nights I spent working in obscurity in the in mid-90’s when the Web was still the domain of socially inept geeks. Not that I was ever one of those. I’m just saying…

The biggest attraction for me was meeting the inventor of the World Wide Web – Tim Berners Lee. I brought along the book he wrote “Weaving the Web” and got it autographed. He was impressed I read it; the dogeared pages with scribbled notes from a decade ago proved my case proved that indeed I was nerdy enough to read a novel about his invention.

Here’s a photo of us walking on the red carpet. Note the book — oh yah!

Here’s a shot of Nicole (right) and our friends from Black Magic Marker (Holland). Both are gorgeous, the picture really doesn’t do them justice. And before you tease me, YES I KNOW I’m a lucky dude.


After the awards gala, we briefly met Seth Meyers and thanked him for emceeing the event. He’s amazingly quick witted, endearing and sincere. And he was cool enough to let us snap a quick photo:

In the end, it was a fantastic weeked. And my 5-word speech? “Geeks Will Inherit the Earth.”

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Long story short, my entry was selected by the contest sponsor and the Webby executive director out of a couple hundred entries. So I got a free trip to NYC to watch the Webby’s in-person with my lovely wife Nicole. Mind you, we have 1-year old so this was our first Mommy-Daddy outing in 16-months. You could’ve given me a trip to see Muppets-on-Ice in Paducah, Kentucky and I would’ve been stoked. But to attend the Webby Awards in NYC was beyond awesome.

The Webby Awards are the Oscars for Internet projects. And while most self-respecting Web geeks scoff at awards, this event is to die for. Seriously. You have to win an award to attend — you can’t just buy a ticket. So for most people (including yours truly), it’s a once in a lifetime event.

The cocktail party the night before was the official ice-breaker. And like all good open bars, the ice was broken, crushed and served into free drinks. We met our super-fun hosts from RHI/The Creative Group – Jen and Megan – who couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful. We had fantastic conversations with designers from Weiden + Kennedy, Qik, the LA Times, the BBC Online and big Black Marker, a web development firm from Amsterdam. Amazing talent/people. We ended up befriending the Amsterdam group and sharing a wonderful dinner after the party. They won their Webby for their Tom Tom Secrets website which is super creative – you should check it out.

Here are a couple shots from the evening:

I’ll write about the big Webby Award gala in my next post — coming very soon!

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First up is ClevelandIdeas.com — a social media project conceived, developed, self-financed, promoted and maintained by the good folks at DigiKnow, Inc.

Per the ClevelandIdeas.com website, DigiKnow is sick and tired of negativity. And they’re looking to use the “Wisdom of Crowds” to generate good ideas that might be used to make Cleveland and the region stronger in the future. I interviewed King Hill (President/Principal) and Scott Chapin (Director of Consulting Services) with the following questions:

1) How did you conceive of ClevelandIdeas.com and what inspired you to invest so much into the program?

We decided that in 2009 we needed to increase our awareness locally, so in March, we created an open contest to the staff to generate a campaign/marcom idea for DigiKnow in 2009. The results of this were several strong ideas that were integrated into our “We Know” tagline. Since our theme was centered around knowledge, we came up with the idea of using the wisdom of crowds to help Cleveland brainstorm ideas.

2) What’s the primary platform that powers ClevelandIdeas.com? What unique features does it allow?

The website is built on the open-source Pligg platform that functions much like Digg or the SalesForce application that Dell’s IdeaStorm and myStarbucksIdea.com are built on. The system allows users to register and submit ideas/comments and allows any visitors to vote, pushing them up/down the list accordingly.

3) What other social media channels are you using to support or supplement the program?

Twitter was our primary social media channel to drive awareness of our efforts. We built a script that identified all of the local twitterers in the Cleveland market and followed the top 1000 users. We tweeted any interesting activities on the site as well as general activities relevant to our Cleveland audience. Facebook and LinkedIn pages/groups were also setup but were not heavily promoted. Several lively discussions developed in LinkedIn surrounding our overall concept and the need to generate ideas for Cleveland.

4) What cross channel marketing support have you used to drive awareness and participation?

The website was promoted through traditional media including radio and outdoor, through PR in local newspapers, radio and TV in addition to the social media promotion via Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

5) What’s been the most surprising result or lesson learned thus far?

There have been several interesting results from this campaign. The most profound is the balance of traffic that was generated by social media, advertising and PR. Attributing website traffic as best as possible, there was a relatively even mix between these three marketing channels. The engagement of visitors was another surprise. The average time on site was 5 minutes, but more surprisingly, the average for visitors that submitted an idea was 25 minutes.

Results after 5-weeks:

• 293 ideas
• 1,885 votes
• 501 comments

6) What actionable results or intelligence have been discovered?

By controlling all of the pieces of this marketing puzzle and having full data on the site activities, we were able to see which activities we did triggered what level of response. Within this Petri dish, we were able to tweak relatively small activities and see the results. A good example of this was inviting people to follow us on Twitter. In each round of following, we got about a 50-60% follow back rate and an obvious spike in visitors to the website.

7) How will you measure the success of ClevelandIdeas.com – for the City of Cleveland and/or DigiKnow?

Our goal is not only to get the best ideas into the hands of local leaders, but to help push them to happen. Success in that sense will be to have an idea from the site become a reality and benefit the city. From DigiKnow’s standpoint, in addition to helping the city, the awareness created and the positive feedback we have already received makes this campaign a success for us.

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I’m very happy to share this guest interview with David Griner, a social media strategist for Luckie & Company and the mastermind behind The Social Path blog. Also a contributor to Adweek’s AdFreak.com,  he has done social media work and training for Little Debbie, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, to name but a few of his clients.

I was particularly interested in the role AGENCIES play in working with (or on behalf of) their clients engaging in social media projects.

Q: When doing outreach to possible online community leaders and other individual people within a client’s target audience, how/when does the agency disclose they’re a hired gun vs. the actual client? Does it matter?

David: I think it only matters to the extent that you want the recipient to know that you’re legitimate. I generally just say I’m a social media coordinator for a certain business, then my agency info is at the bottom. I’m rarely the first marketer to ever contact a blogger, so they usually understand the role that agencies and consultants play.

Q: When is it acceptable to write/post material such as blog posts or Twitter updates for a client? Traditional media has ghost-writing, but is this acceptable in social media?

David: Personally, I think there’s nothing wrong with starting a blog or Twitter feed with client approval and helping launch it with content. It helps establish a tone, frequency standards, response policies, etc. But you definitely always want the goal to be that you’re phasing in the client as the content producer. A big part of that relationship is helping clients figure out how they’ll staff these things. They look to us for a realistic expectation of time and workload. I think this training and structuring is a far greater challenge than the fun work of simply maintaining a feed.

Q: How does an agency respond when a client replies, “Social media tools are free. Why do I need an agency anymore?”

David: My agency has been pretty clear that, when it comes to social media, we’re not in the content management business. It’s simply not an efficient use of our clients’ time and money. We see our role is two-part: First, help strategize and develop social media tools that are right for each specific client. Second, work closely with the client to incorporate these tools into their corporate structure and strategic goals.

Is it possible to do all this without an agency, consultant, etc.? Absolutely. But the company will have to draw the resources from somewhere, and turning to someone experienced with social media (and trustworthy) generally saves a business from a lot of headache and false starts.

If a client is shutting the door on your agency because they don’t feel it’s worth bringing you in to help with social media, it’s probably a sign of a bigger problem with the relationship. In my experience, clients have generally seen it as an affordable investment with an agency they trust to look out for their interests long-term.

Q: What advice would you give to an ad agency or PR firm about using social media to build and nourish a brand vs. trying to maintain control?

David: I feel strongly that social media channels should be in the clients’ hands. It makes them more effective, more honest and more influential. That said, I think these channels will prove to be vital marketing and PR tools for agencies down the line. I think you can nourish a brand and maintain control of its social media presence in the short term, but without corporate buy-in for the long haul, we’re just playing with toys.

Q: Finally, if you were a business executive interested in social media, what would you be looking for from your agency?

David: I’d want someone who was light on ego, heavy on smarts and experienced with social media from both ends of the marketing equation. Most of all I’d be looking for someone with accountability, someone in it to help my business succeed and not just fishing for a case study.

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When it comes to people, don’t think brand – think SPIRT.  Human beings simply can’t walk thru life constantly acting and speaking “on message” to reinforce some associated brand.  Even if they try, others will see through their being so one-dimensional.  It’s boring.  Don’t be that guy.

Instead, think about being ON SPIRIT — a much more organic and meaningful expression way to breathe continuous life into a brand.

So when you (or your employees) are interacting with other people online, don’t suffer from “paralysis of analysis” on whether or not you’re precisely ON BRAND.  Rather, think about what you’re saying/doing to gauge if it’s in spirit of your organization’s brand.

Google realized this early and adopted their mantra for employees: Don’t be evil.  To be even safer, I’d recommend the Golden Rule: Treats others as you’d want to be treated yourself.

So if stay ON SPIRIT while interacting in social media while your advertising delivers your message ON BRAND, you’ll stand out as an organization that can both talk the talk AND walk the walk.

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