So… looking through this blog, I realized that this is the fourth Valentine’s Day Waxing UnLyrical’s been around … can I get a W00t?! W00t!!!
Last year, I wrote about injecting the Valentine’s Day spirit into social media, and I really didn’t want to write a hackneyed version of what I’m sure will be several such posts out today.
So today, I decided to say “thank you” to social businesses; businesses that understand and use social media wisely, to listen to their customers, to improve their products and services, thus creating fans for life.
And since I’m trying to get over my self-consciousness about video, I decided to try something new.
Note: the video you are about to watch has music (legally purchased), lyrics (original, written by yours truly) and somewhere in there, a dog. No animals were hurt in the making of this video.
Click here to watch it on YouTube if it doesn’t show up for you.
This is the Dachis Group’s “attributes of a social business” presentation from which I used a screenshot, by the way, and if you’re interested in learning more about why I think Samuel Gordons and Eidia Lush are so terrific, you can catch up here and here.
Now that we live in a social world, it’s tough to imagine the days when businesses didn’t get back to us on Twitter, or Facebook, or another social platform. True, there are still many of “those” businesses around, but they’re certainly getting fewer and farther between (at least, I think so).
But the businesses that listen, that invite our feedback, that know being interactive is key to keeping us around – they’re golden in my book.
So to all the Vistaprints, Samuel Gordons Jewelers, Network Solutions, Eidia Lushes, Traackrs, Zappos’, and Southwest Airlines’ of the world:
Thank you for making our lives easier. You have a fan for life in me.
What social businesses have “convinced and converted” (h/t Jay Baer) you? Any stories you’d care to share? And, oh, what did you think of the video (if you want the lyrics, just tell me)? Do share, I’d love to know.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Image: Steve Snodgrass via Flickr, CC 2.0
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[…] 7. L-O-V-E for Social Businesses on Valentine’s Day […]
[…] I have a secret. Nothing I write today is going to outdo Shonali Burke’s Valentine’s Day blog post. […]
That kicked ass.
@Tinu Thank you!
[…] I have a secret. Nothing I write today is going to outdo Shonali Burke’s Valentine’s Day blog post. […]
@Shonali sorry for my late comment on this one Shonali. I do LOVE this post – I think I’ve listened to this a good 3-4 times now – sooo good! What gave you the inspiration/idea to write the song? I admire your courage and creativity so much :)
@JGarant You never have to apologize for commenting “late” – I’m just grateful that you had the time to do so!
I honestly don’t know where it came from. I hadn’t written a V-Day oriented post, so was trying to figure out what to do, and then Nat King Cole’s song popped into my head. I think @Mark_Harai ‘s earlier comment about putting on some makeup :p helped, and I suddenly thought, how about a love song to businesses? And then, once I had the idea, I wrote it very quickly (not particularly tough when the lyrics are of the moon-June-spoon variety ;p). I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Woot for four Val Days and WOOT, WOOT for the video, Very, very creative. Love it :).
@JGoldsborough Thanks, Justin!
That. Was. Brilliant! You are one brave, clever, beautiful, smart girl, Shonali and I for one and proud to know you!
Wow! and W00t!!
@EricaAllison Thank you! I think I finally made a video you can be proud of. And *your* comments on the video are very important to me. I’m proud to know you too!
Love this video Shonali! You are too creative. Hands down the best Valentine I received haha
@rachaelseda I love that! Thank you! :)
Great stuff, I’m still far too self conscious to video post on my blog and, as for my singing, the less said the better.
@LauraC The thing with self-consciousness is that one just has to get over it… like me. I still have some, but I’m getting better. So please let us know when you do… and thank you!
You’ve got game! You make it fun! and…oh, it that “The Voice” calling? WOOt!
@Debra Silimeo Thank you! And you have game BIGtime. I know because I see you every week at #mybootcamp – aren’t you glad you’re doing that, btw?
Quite the singing voice you’ve got there! Nicely done! Who are these Samuel Gordon Jewelers folks? I’m unfamiliar with their early work :)
@MSchechter LOL. I’m told they were pioneers of social jewelry. Their rings talk to you. :p But dangordon can tell us more about that…
And thank you!
@Shonali @MSchechter Ha! Hey you all! :) LOVE the name of this post! Love is definitely in the air over here in #OKC… & Thank you very much for the kind words! We are swamped for Valentine’s DaY! Check out one of many happy receiver’s of LOVE in the form of engagement here —> https://twitter.com/#!/marekalaine/status/169515592733302784/photo/1
@DanGordon I’m not even going to ask how much that cost…! @MSchechter
@DanGordon @Shonali Don’t forget to show them the pearls Dan :)
@Shonali@MSchechter HA! :) It’s a verrry nice one. I will just leave it at that & Happy Valentine’s Day!
@Shonali dangordon Never heard of the guy…
@MSchechter @Shonali Mike = shameless! Kinda like me :)
I knew this was going to be good when @ginidietrich said to come see your post first! When are you going on tour? I’d like to reserve a spot for the pre-sale.
Looking forward to more awesomeness from you :)
@SociallyGenius Hahah! Thanks for that, you made me feel very nice. Happy V-Day! @ginidietrich
That. Is. Awesome! Great job @Shonali – I’m looking forward to hearing your musical stylings at the next conference :)
@leeodden Oh boy… now I’ve really gone and done it! Thanks, Lee. :)
Which reminds me, I’d better get my proposal(s) in for PRSA asap, or there won’t be any chance in heaven or hell for anyone to see my musical stylings (love that phrase). Happy V-Day!
Well, I KNEW you were not only UNlyrical, but lyrical as well! I see an X Factor tryout in your near future. *staring-into-crystal-ball smile*
@janthonyrivera Oh boy, none of that for me. I do ok within a certain range, but I can’t belt it like some of those people. They are really amazing.
Thanks for stopping by, Tony – I really appreciate it!
Wow! That was very nice!
@Lloyd Lemons Thank you!
Awesome, Shonali! You made my day!! And a message that I will share with my “Principles of PR” class tomorrow as we get “into the weeds” of what it means to be a public relations professional! Happy Valentine’s Day!!
@KirkHazlett You’ll have to tell me if they run out of the room, kicking and screaming… :p
Thanks, Kirk, and happy V-Day to you too!
Geesh, that’s not fair – way too much talent Shanoli!
All I said is to take off your glasses and put some makeup on… How do you compete with that!
I can see you throwing down some dance moves on your future video posts : )
I’ve never sang a song to my clients, nor would they want me to. I have sang with a hairbrush in hand in front of a mirror, but that was a long time ago.
Some folks just have all the talent!
I can play some drums :P
@Mark_Harai Well, um, you threw the gauntlet down, and I took it up. Now it’s your turn. :p
Hey, if you play drums, you can join our band! What do you say, @Hajra ?
@LanierUpshaw of course; well, maybe not a total convert but we are rapidly getting there.
This was so cool ma’am; I see the theatrical background shining through very brightly. You know, I was going to do this exact same thing but I couldn’t find where to purchase the rights to Nat King Cole’s song and when I tried to do it acapella, but it didn’t turn out so well………
Happy Valentine’s Day to ya, and social is sooooo happy you gave them props today.
@bdorman264@lanierupshaw !
Thanks, Bill – I had so much fun doing this. I bet you sing really well…
I LOVE YOU!!!!! This was #AWESOME*********
and PS, my dog asked to be let outside during the video, but don’t take it personally. I think he loved it too.
@Lisa Gerber ROFL! Maybe he heard Lola bark? Or he wanted to go spread some doggy L-O-V-E around. He needs to take up bootcamp. :p
This is great!
@AngelaDaffron Thanks so much!
Woot! Woot! ;)
@hackmanj The first W00ts! Thank you, Joe!
@Shonali you are a woman of many talents. This video is so cool, and big props for doing it all in one take! Love it! I’m sharing it on my FB wall. You rock, my friend. Cheers! Kaarina
@KDillabough Thanks! I didn’t have much of a choice… I didn’t know how to split the track I downloaded… plus, as you can see, I got into the swing of it. I tried at one point to stop tapping my feet so that I wouldn’t bounce around so much, but I couldn’t help it!
Very nicely done. I am impressed.
@TheJackB That is saying something. Thank you!
You’re so welcome!
Thank you Shonali!! Ditto on what Jeff said.
This. is. AMAZING! That is all…
@yvettepistorio Thank you! Er, should I plan on singing during our upcoming webinar…? I bet that will be a first!
@Shonali Yes!!! That would be awesome…you can sing and hksully can play her ukulele!
@yvettepistorio Well, we’re certainly going to have a lot to talk about on our call tomorrow! hksully
@Shonali hksully Lol! We are indeed :)
@yvettepistorio @Shonali Hahaha! You guys crack me up! I can’t wait to see how this webinar goes. :)
@hksully @yvettepistorio @Shonali I can’t wait to see the two of you busting out mad beatz and rad ukes.
@bsafron @hksully @yvettepistorio Mad beatz & rad ukes? O.M.G. This is going to be a webinar to remember!
Thank you so much for including us in the post/lovely song :)
Sanjiva – HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!! I loved that!
I had a ton of fun doing this. Daniel, Jeff, Pierre-Loic, Courtney, Derek, Shashi, your businesses are just some of those I think do a terrific job of being social – so thank you!
Apologies for the language, but it needs to be said –> http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7049/6875553435_d90afe2d63_b.jpg
Thanks so much for the Traackr shoutout, @Shonali! We are among some great companies there, and are truly honored. And I really loved your Valentine’s spirit – well done! Next career for Shonali Burke? Songwriter! ;) Happy Valentine’s day!
@CourtV You know I think Traackr is just terrific – I love how you guys listen to what we need and then take pains to implement it. So thank you for that, and the props too. Hmm…. maybe pierreloic you and I need to come up with a song for our Counselors Academy presentation… what do you think? I think that would be fun! Happy V-Day to you too!
@Shonalipierreloic Ha! Great idea. Although dskaletsky will be going instead of me, so we’ll have to make sure it is at least recorded because I can’t miss that.
@CourtV pierreloic dskaletsky It is SO on!
@Shonali @CourtV pierreloic dskaletsky Unfortunately, my skills are limited to hardcore gansta’ rap. Do you think that’s appropriate?
@dskaletsky Oh, I’m pretty sure we can find a way to make it work. You’ll be the next Internet sensation! @CourtV pierreloic
@Shonali @CourtV pierreloic Ha! That’s an idea! I was already planning on the presentation being in French as we’ll be in NO but it could definitely be sung…
@pierreloic If it’s in French you better sign me up for a crash course quick! @CourtV
I call dibs on the publicity work for upcoming @Shonali world tour. In all seriousness, wow. You once again prove how much more courage you possess than I. And the content is simply amazing. I remember discussing in #pr20chat just a few weeks ago how we need to recognize those positive examples of good PR or social media work.
@MattLaCasse Heh! You got the dibs, my friend. And thank you – I think you’re very courageous, btw. I just have more “show off-ness” than you… chalk it down to my acting days!
@Shonali Not only that, but if I tried to sing, my follower count would drop to zero pretty quickly. ;)
@MattLaCasse Bwahahahah!!! I don’t believe that, but you still made me laugh.
It takes talent to sing well. It takes unbelievable guts to do it in front of the world. Well done @Shonali I really enjoyed the lyrics and the message. It’s about time we started throwing more praise to those that get social media right.
@John_Trader1 Thank you very much! I really appreciate the props. Time was I used to sing and dance in public (on stage, I wasn’t quite Ally McBeal-crazy… yet… :p) all the time. It’s been so long since I did, I have a bit more stage fright than I used to. But I’m glad I did this. And I so SO appreciate businesses that do social well, they’ve made our lives so much easier!
I must say that I loved the song shonali burke and am very honored that you included us in the post as well. Have a great Valentine’s Day :)
@jeffespo Well, you and Vistaprint embody being a social business, so I couldn’t NOT include you. So glad you liked it – and do please tell everyone in the office how much I appreciate Vistaprint being a social business… and happy V-Day to you!
L-O-V-E it! You are one fearless and immensely talented lady, Shonali :)
@Krista Thank you! Now I want to see YOUR video. :)
This. Is. Catchy
@bhas Thanks! I’ve always loved that song (and Nat King Cole). Yesterday I was trying to figure out what to post about V-Day and this came to me out of the blue. I’m glad I rolled with it. :)
This…is the best. The end.
@KenMueller It’s just the beginning. Bwahahahahah!!!!! Seriously, though, thank you, my friend. Now you can go show this to all the businesses who DON’T get social, eh?
Epic! That is all
@Anthony_Rodriguez Hopefully epic not as in “Trojan Horse”…! Thank you!
I don’t know anything about business and I will not bother about the intelligent things about social media; but lady that video rocks! And yes, you did get contacts on for this one….
And yes, like Gini says, forget PR… go sing! :)
@Hajra Heh, yea, I wanted mark_harai to know I took his comments about putting some make-up on to heart. :p Maybe we should create a Waxing UnLyrical band… what do you think? @KenMueller can play the banjo, and skypulsemedia can shake the maraccas (sp?). I think that would be pretty neat!
@Shonali mark_harai @KenMueller skypulsemedia Ok, make the band… can I just be the crazy fan who screams “I love youuuuuuu” from the crowd?
@Hajra Well… you can start with that… but then we have to work up to getting you on stage. mark_harai @KenMueller skypulsemedia
@Shonali mark_harai @KenMuellerskypulsemedia You need to decide on how many band members… or we can be surrounded by controversies all the time… well, that is kind of good for rock stars you know… c’mon on you are the PR who sings…
@Hajra mark_harai @KenMueller skypulsemedia I don’t suppose we could pull a “We Are The World” thing…
@Shonali@Hajra mark_harai skypulsemedia I guess this might be the point where I step in and confess that I have no musical ability whatsoever. But I can stand on stage and be eye candy.
@KenMueller @Shonali mark_haraiskypulsemedia Ken, you might have to fight @bdorman264 for that post…. ;)
@Hajra @Shonali mark_harai skypulsemedia @bdorman264 Oh, no worries. I’ll let the female fans decide. I’m not worried.
@KenMueller @Shonali mark_harai skypulsemedia@bdorman264 Have you seen Bill’s latest post. He is holding a gun….
@Hajra BWAHAHAHAHAH!!!! @KenMueller mark_harai skypulsemedia @bdorman264
@Shonali@Hajra mark_harai skypulsemedia@bdorman264 I’m not afraid of him. Besides, I’m running his guest post on my blog tomorrow, so he owes me. Besides, chicks dig me.
@KenMueller @Shonali mark_harai skypulsemedia@bdorman264 You are just making Dorman a very angry man… hmm….
@Hajra @Shonali mark_harai skypulsemedia @bdorman264 nah, we’re good. he can have my leftovers.
I LOVE THIS!! I hope everyone sees it. Your true talents are shown here. Forget this PR stuff. Get back to singing and acting!
@ginidietrich LOL! Thank you! It’s been so long since I performed publicly in that vein that I was a little nervous. I think Lola’s bark at the end makes it perfect, though.
So… if I get back to singing and acting, will you join in?
@Shonali Um, no. I have talents in neither of those areas. But you. You have HUGE talent!
@ginidietrich Rubbish. I don’t believe you don’t have the talent. I’m gonna MAKE you sing and dance with me the next time I see you. New Orleans, watch out!
@ginidietrich @Shonali this needs to go viral on YouTube and trend on the Twitter!
@HowieSPM Make it so, Howie, make it so! @ginidietrich