NYC, Blood (Lots of Blood), and the Annual Social Media Strategies Summit

“What the hell am I going to do tomorrow?”

This was the question I asked myself as I stared in the mirror, blood running down my forehead, across the bridge of my nose, and onto the white porcelain sink below.

A few hours earlier, I had landed in New York for the annual Social Media Strategies Summit. After checking into my hotel room, I hit the gym, took a quick shower, and then fired up my computer. My plan was to run through my keynote presentation—scheduled for the next morning—one last time before catching up on some work.

Once the run through was complete, I logged onto Twitter and reached down to adjust the height of my chair. 

And then I literally saw stars. Lots of them.

I hadn’t noticed a table—which was around eye level—next to me so when I reached down to raise the seat my forehead struck the pointed edge. Hard. Very hard.

This, obviously, presented a problem. I was set to take the main stage first thing the next morning and here I was bleeding profusely.

So, what does this story have to do with social media? 

With the exception of the blood, a lot.

Because there are definitely times when well-choreographed plans are stymied. When things simply do not work out as expected. 

When this happens, you can do nothing (and stand there like a fool bleeding, literally, into a sink) or you can do something about it. 

And in this post, I’ll share how I dealt with the situation illustrated above and how this experience relates to my work on behalf of the Harvard Business School (HBS) Alumni Office.

Move Fast

While in New York, I covered the annual HBS Global Networking Night on behalf of the alumni office. The event is held each October and, as its name conveys, is an evening when alumni from across the globe connect with fellow graduates of the business school. My objective was to chat with some alumni I knew personally and take A LOT of photos. But when I arrived at the venue—which was held at a bar—I noticed that it was pretty dark inside. This meant that there was a chance my photos would be compromised. Also, since I only had my phone—the handheld camera I had was giving me problems—I would have to get closer than I’d like to my subjects. 

Once I began taking photos, I noticed that they were, as I feared, too dark. 

My solution? I cast all my photos in black and white, lightened them as much as possible, and then posted them as collages as opposed to stand alone images. I theorized that a smaller rendering would help the photos appear sharper.

Some examples are below:

Now back to the bathroom. 

It took awhile, but eventually the bleeding stopped. A few minutes later, with a band-aid covering my wound and a hat pulled down low, I left my room and walked to the CVS across the street.

Like with my photo taking, I had to think fast once I assessed the situation. I needed antibiotic cream, gauze, and, most importantly, some type of concealer (I settled on Clearasil) since a band-aid running across my forehead wouldn’t be a good look for my presentation. Besides, there's only one person that can pull off the band-aid on the face look: Nelly.

As social media professionals, we often have to think fast and adapt to changing environments/situations. 

Sometimes a room is too dark and your camera won’t work.

Sometimes your conversation starters fall flat or your posts get no traction.

And sometimes you go head-to-head with an inanimate object.

In these situations all you can really do is adapt and pursue a different course of action. 

To, essentially, stop the bleeding before it starts.

Let It Go

Sleep didn’t come easy that night. I tossed and turned for hours, worried about the next day. 

Would my injury be obvious? 

Would I need to explain my sordid tale to the audience? 

Would I start bleeding halfway through my keynote?

None of this happened, of course. My presentation went pretty well and no blood was shed.

Upon reflection, it’s easy to worry unnecessarily when it comes to social media work.

I’ve had great ideas—or at least I thought they were—that have fallen flat.

I’ve had “meh” ideas that have really taken off.

Earlier in my career, I used to obsess about success; each social media campaign needed to meet the unrealistic goals I set for myself. If I fell short, I would obsess over it (i.e., Was the question I posed a bad one? Was the timing wrong? Am I losing my “touch?” Did I even have a "touch?").

But over time, my perspective has shifted. I’ve come to realize that there is no real formula to what I do. I can't really predict what’s going to hit and, in many ways, I'm dependent on something I really can't control (i.e., the reactions of my target audience). This unpredictability used to bother me, but it doesn’t anymore. I now realize that this is what makes my work interesting. I can test out my social media theories every day. If something works, great. If it doesn’t, I move onto the next thing. 

What I don’t worry about are the things on social media that I can’t control.

Slowly Step Away from the Smartphone 

Once I finished my keynote and attended a few other conference sessions, I ventured out into the pouring rain to meet my sister-in-law and her husband. I had been undecided about going out earlier in the day. After all, I was tired after a sleepless night, had work to do, and so on. 

But I figured I could catch up on my sleep later and the work would still be there tomorrow.

So about thirty minutes later, I found myself at the NYC Hunt and Fish Club. The conversation was great, the steak was awesome (one of the best I’ve ever had in fact. If you're ever in the city, I highly recommend checking it out) and, most importantly, my phone was where it should have been...in my pocket.

The second-best decision I made, after resolving to go out of course, was to stay off social media during our dinner and drinks. 

Taking a break is something we all need to do. I must admit that I struggle with this sometimes, but shutting off is essential. It’s tempting to be “on” all the time, but this can actually negatively impact your work. Case in point, I get my best social media-related ideas when I’m not on Twitter or anything else. Sometimes inspiration strikes when I’m walking the dog, or when I’m at the gym, or when I’m driving the kids to their activities. In fact, I feel I’m better at my job when my foot isn't on the gas pedal all the time and I actually let my mind wander a bit. 

In the end, my NYC trip didn’t go as planned. But I adapted to the changing circumstances, kept my cool (sort of), and learned a thing or two. 

But next time, I’ll make sure to wear a helmet.

Was this post helpful? Was there anything that I missed? Please leave any feedback you have in the comments section below.

Robert Bochnak manages social media for the Harvard Business School’s alumni office. He’s also the former writer and editor of GradMatters: The Blog for Tufts GSAS.

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