CRM magazine Influential Leaders: The Engager

• August 15, 2010
• 22 Comments

Reprint of CRM magazine, August 2010

Influential Leaders: The Engager

by Joshua Weinberger (@kitson)

Brian Solis blogs circles around you. He also posts, updates, and twitters faster than you can, helps develop graphics prettier than yours, and analyzes patterns in public discourse long before you ever see them show up as a Trending Topic. In short? Solis—as principal of consultancy FutureWorks, cofounder of the Social Media Club, speaking-circuit fixture, and best-selling author—is a content and communications machine.

But Solis is so much more than a flashy hashtag. He and his A-list social graph value substance, and he makes it a centerpiece of his new book, Engage!. In an exclusive interview in this month’s Required Reading, Solis makes a compelling case for the multitouch customer experience.

Ray Wang, a partner at Altimeter Group—and a fellow Influential Leader—calls Solis “a brilliant PR business strategist and social media leader,” a sentiment others echo. “Brian is the quintessential PR person,” says Esteban Kolsky, founder and principal of consultancy ThinkJar, clearly intending that as a compliment. “His writing is always right on the mark, and his use of data to highlight points is unparalleled. Excellent research skills make him a rare combination of smarts and talent, placing him in an excellent position of influence.”

“Brian was key in bringing the social CRM message to the wider social media community,” says Brent Leary, cofounder of CRM Essentials, “helping it gain prominence in ways traditional CRM folks couldn’t have done.”

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Thank you Josh! I don’t think I’ve ever read so many nice things about me in one article.

Ray, Esteban, Brent, thank you for the kind words! I’m honored…

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Point of clarification: I am a business and new media strategist. I help organizations identify and make sense of relevant online communities, cultures, and dynamics. I work with teams to develop engagement strategies and creative campaigns, connect with influencers, and organize and adapt processes, technologies, and methodologies to scale with new opportunities and the change that always ensues.

Connect with Brian Solis on Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Facebook
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Please consider reading, Engage!: It will help you find answers to your questions…

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