Thought Leader Life 034: Guest Stuart Tracte

Stuart Tracte (@stwo) is a born and bred New Yorker. He is a creative Account Director in Digital Strategy, working for an award winning agency, and a photographer. He is also the host of a successful, spirit infused digipolitichat show, Beer Diplomacy, with over 120 episodes in the can. A self proclaimed wannabe comedian and karaoke superstar, Stuart can be found rubbing elbows with NYC’s digital elite. When he’s not out and about enjoying all that NYC has to offer, Stuart enjoys going commando on the paintball field, dining on the finer foods NYC has to offer, or smoking a fine cigar on a spectacularly viewed rooftop.

Recently, Stuart has been photographing people, events & dabbling in photojournalism. Check out his work here.

In this episode, Mitchell and Michael hang out with #ThoughtLeader Stuart Tracte (@stwo). Stuart hosts the digipolitichat show Beer Diplomacy and is constantly involved in forward-thinking, cutting-edge social media stories. He’s with the group that takes care of digital strategy and communication for Social@ogilvy, an award-winning company specializing in social business solutions.

For Stuart, a #ThoughtLeader is not necessarily somebody who has advanced thoughts but somebody who makes people think of things other than what is considered the norm. To push #ThoughtLeadership within brands, companies, especially the large ones, must look at different platforms and use different styles to get the message out to their target audience. Oftentimes, #ThoughtLeadership is not necessarily about your product but about building trust with your customer. People don’t like it if you’re always selling. Instead, use a personal brand to test the ground. Be active on social, use different platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Inspire people to think. To emphasize this point, Mitchell places the question: When was the last time you posted something on Facebook that had 100 responses?

In the interview, Stuart talks about how communication channels has evolved in which, for example, you can simply put a # somewhere and consumers will know and understand what that means. People understand that there is depth in dynamic communication channels which create unique experiences for the customer that standard advertising cannot do. Different communities online are now starting to specialize, hence there is also a need to tailor the message and use a platform that really matches their need. People get it. But it is also important to develop relevant content on the right platform and offer new ways to communicate. Stuart also gives his commentary about truth in advertising, pointing out the practice of some publishers to ‘seed in’ branded content. He notes that the lines have become really blurry between advertising and editorial. He argues that there must be some form of regulation when it comes to publishing news feeds that are actually pushing a certain brand. Journalists should not be made to write an ad copy.

To learn more about Thought Leadership and how it can help you be successful, subscribe to the channel: http://youtube.com/user/thoughtleaderlife.

Here are a couple of aha moments from the episode. See more in the “Aha Moments from Thought Leader Life” books available in the THiNKaha App: http://AhaAmplifier.com/.
• The best way to educate yourself about something new is to get in there & get your hands dirty. @stwo
• Today, the lines have become very blurry between what is advertising and what is editorial content. @stwo
• Social media is not intended to be a shotgun blast. @michaelprocopio
• Guess what? Even as marketers, we are also consumers. @stwo

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