Dino Baskovic Can’t Lose

Not that there ever was pressure to "publish or perish" as an adjunct, but when I did teach at Lawrence Tech just outside of Detroit, the faculty always wondered why my name didn't show up more in print.

I lectured on web design (and eventually, social media) for eight years, presented at conferences, panels, keynotes, committees, blah, blah, blah... but never saw too much press outside of my old blog.  This never bothered me, though maybe it should have.  Maybe I'd've won more business back in my consulting days.  Still, my best client hired me away from both gigs and now I do PR and social media for Amway.

So, it was nice to see my name finally in ink when the October issue of Direct Selling News hit mailboxes.  I tag-teamed with another Amway "tech guru" (inside joke) for part of a piece entitled "Building Relationships through Social Media" by DSN writer Barbara Pearce.  My quotes are bolded, not that my colleague's remarks aren't equally as important. I'm just feeling bold.

Every company Direct Selling News interviewed said that they’re integrating social media marketing into their marketing plans. For example, Amway recognizes that its independent business owners and customers spend a lot of time on social networking sites, so they got involved there, too. And they’ve noticed that the social media phenomenon is global and across age groups. But, just as they would in other media, they build their participation around business objectives.

“A lot of what we do is based on connection modeling,” says Michael Edwards, Amway’s Director of Digital and Consumer Experience Marketing. “We try to understand where the targeted group is connecting. The social media space is one piece of that. Social influence marketing is having a significant effect. From there, we determine how that plays in the overall mix of our marketing campaign. It fluctuates based on our campaign. Social networks on Facebook may play a role in one campaign, or we may find that blogs play a larger role in another.”

Edwards’ colleague Dino Baskovic, Manager of Corporate Communications, agrees, adding, “There’ll be customers who prefer to stay connected online. They may enjoy face time but prefer computer time. That’s fine. We’ll respect that, and we’ll explore and leverage it.”

Like other companies, Amway recognizes that its distributors are every bit as involved with social media as the corporation is, and they’re grappling with the right way to address social media in corporate policies. They want to be sure they’re doing it right.

“Suffice it to say, we want our distributors to succeed, so we want to empower them and give them the right tools for the job,” Baskovic says. “That includes the right rules of engagement when it comes to social media.”

Edwards adds, “Social media can be a game changer for a lot of companies. If they strategically do it right, it will change their placement in the direct selling industry. But if people jump in before they’re ready, it will have a negative effect. For those who do it right, it will have a positive effect.”

Maybe now I'll have earned the respect of the other adjuncts, even if I no longer teach alongside them.  I could finagle at the secret handshake, and I think I still have my secret faculty decoder ring...

Anyway, these are Mike's and my thoughts.  Ring any bells on your end?