Oh how there are so many social media bloggers. But the thing is they all know how to define a niche and thrive in their posts. Adage has a list of the top 150 Social Media Bloggers. They are obviously all saying something interesting or there would never be 150 “top bloggers.”

Greg Verdino is certainly saying something interesting. His blog, gregverdino.typepad.com discusses “Marketing, Media, Technology, and Trends.” In addition to his blog, he is the Chief Strategy Officer at Crayon LLC, is writing a book, and will speak at BlogWorld Saturday October 17th. His topic?  “From Skeptic to Advocate: Making the Business Case for Social Media.” Let’s just say, he probably knows what he is talking about.

Mr. Verdino has a new book being released summer 2010, MicroMarketing. In his post he brings up an interesting point: “Micro-Content and Macro-Marketing don’t mix.” Further along in this post, he mentions the “essence” of his blog (and the book):

“In signature Verdino-style, I will aim to help marketers understand the larger trends that are driving the popularity of tools like Twitter and what the real world implications are for businesses (even if Twitter itself -- or Facebook or YouTube, for that matter -- goes away), but my focus will be aimed squarely at the big picture.”

Get the picture? Larger trends. Social media is constantly evolving, twitter and facebook are not the end all. We need to keep in mind that disruptive technology and trends are always around the corner. Learning how to adapt and utilize each as it comes our way is how success will be defined.

In his post “Social Media Markerters are a Shallow Bunch,” Mr. Verdino references a few companies that do the social media think to “look social.” He calls them out by asking “and then what?” So often companies go with social media (because everyone is doing it) before they understand what their objectives and strategies are, and what they want out of the action plan. At the blogworld expo, Mr. Verdino is speaking on a common problem topic, “Making the Business Case for Social Media.” If a company uses social media in a misguided way, or does not understand what it wants out of the action plan, how can success be measured. Hence the two common problems with social media a business:

1. 1.The client is skeptical of social media and doesn’t see it as an important focus in the grand scheme.
   

2. 2.The client jumps on the social media band-wagon without out a plan.
   

The latter is certainly the more dangerous of the two. When your job is to pitch the client and explain why (and how) social media can work in his or her favor, you are in control. You can design an action plan and teach the do’s and don’ts. But if the client is already plastering his or her brand all over the social media world without management, it takes more work to fix the problems and change his or her ways.

Throughout his blog, Mr. Verdino reviews countless examples of good and bad use of social media. He gets the big picture and is able to extrapolate for future use of the media.

So, let’s say you are a PR person and you want THE Greg Verdino to talk about something... for your sake, let’s say it is relevant to his blog. What do you do? This seems like a good time to make a list.

1. 1.Read the blog. Actually you should read through all of his blogs, check out his facebook/twitter accounts, and visit his company’s website. You do not have to become an expert, but you should do enough research to know if your pitch is relevant. This is essential. If your pitch is not relevant to Mr. Verdino, DON’T BOTHER PITCHING. You will just annoy him and waste time. This will hurt you in the future when you may have a relevant pitch.
   

2. 2.Understand that Mr. Verdino is very busy right now. He is writing a book, writing his blog, working as the Chief Strategy Officer at Crayon LLC. He is busy.
   

3. 3.Do some research on his book. The book is called microMARKETING: A Breakthrough Approach to Building Brands by Thinking and Acting Small. Since he is currently investing a lot of his time into writing this book, you should be sensitive to this. Try pitching in a way that is congruent with the book topic.
   

4. 4.Use the pitch as a quest for help. Mr. Verdino is an expert in his field, he understands the world of social media, how to manipulate it and use it to your advantage. Why not start the pitch by telling about your product, technology, release etc., then ask Mr. Verdino if he thinks this is a worthwhile topic. If he doesn’t, ask him how you could make it more relevant to his blog etc. Don’t tell him what he should do, ask him. 
   

5. 5.Don’t try to outsmart him. Let’s be honest, you may know everything about the pitch you are about to make but he knows everything about the world you are pitching to. So try to be honest, Mr. Verdino will know if you are blowing steam which will immediately turn him off. Go with what you have, don’t over pitch. Read his corporate bio - he knows his stuff.
   

6. 6.Try not to be too serious. What I have gathered from reading tweets and blog posts from Mr. Verdino is that this guy has a sense of humor. He is sarcastic and enjoys what he does. He had a recent tweet that struck me as funny: “is @virginamerica on twitter so i can tell em they suck at airplane maintenance? also:major suck at on time departures.” Also, the image at the opening of this post is from one of his posts, Kick Social Media Addiction by Embracing Social Media. Funny stuff people.
   

7. 7.He has a joint twitter account with his GF (that is Girlfriend). @gremanda. That’s right a blogging and tweeting couple, that’s pretty endearing.
   

8. 8.Read his personal blog. Take note of the “50 Random Things that Piss me Off” and don’t suggest he do any of them.
   

9. 9.One word: Futurist. Remember this when you are pitching. What are the future implications of your pitch, how will it change things or change with things. Look beyond the present and use that angle.
   

10. 10. Maintain a relationship for the future. You can tell him what company you work for and start a dialogue without making a pitch. If you are familiar with each other now, a pitch in the future will be more meaningful.
    

So there you have it. All you need to know about Greg Verdino. Stay tuned because I asked him some interview questions about pitching. As soon as I hear back from him I will give you the scoop!