Do You Have the Right People on the Bus for Social Media?

When I consult with businesses to develop a social media strategy, one of the most common questions I’m asked is about how to staff for it. It’s a critical question to answer. Following is a condensed excerpt from my book, Marketing 2.0 where I devote an entire chapter to this important topic of staffing for social media marketing.

Having the Right People on the Bus
Successful social media marketing requires people who understand it, embrace it, and know how to work within the culture and technology. People need to understand the lifecycle and the types of community involved in social media to better understand the opportunities and the risks.

Roles should not only be well-defined and documented, but they should be discussed in depth. Everyone on the team must be on board with his or her roles and responsibilities. Then, the heavy lifting begins. In some cases, heavy lifting has been in place for some time, but now you are in a better position to turn it up a notch with better clarity of roles. Ongoing discussions about roles and responsibilities should occur as your social media plan matures. Changes may be needed as your plans evolve.

However, what if you realize you don’t have the right staff for social media marketing? The fact is some people just don’t understand social media. Sometimes the barrier is demographic, but most often, it’s just an “I don’t get it” attitude. Worse yet, some may resist it for any number of  reasons. There are still many people who are stuck in the traditional marketing paradigm, and they are not ready to shift to the new social media paradigm.  Don’t fret—the laggards will eventually get on the social media train because the forward momentum of the culture and the technology will sweep them along. The real problem is this: what if they’re holding you back today? If you face that scenario, here are some ideas to consider.

Give It Time
Don’t force everyone to jump into a social media strategy overnight. An overnight commitment with a take-no-prisoners mentality can produce corporate culture shock. You run the risk of becoming a maverick, which can trigger counterproductive results. The best way to win people over is to approach them gradually with small but highly visible wins. Assess the people on your team and determine who is best suited to contribute to your social media strategy. People have strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes. It’s your job to recognize who may embrace social media and who may shun it.

People who embrace social media tend to be social. If this sounds a bit trite, hear me out. Being social doesn’t necessarily mean being gregarious, boisterous, or the life of the party. Social people are self-confident people, even if quietly so. Their self-confidence may be limited to a specific area of expertise, but they are confident about something. I’ve noticed that some people who might otherwise shun a public social setting are often very social in online social media situations. The key is to recognize the personality attributes of the people in your organization, as well as to recognize their domains of expertise and passions, and then convince them to dip their toes in the social media waters. Asking someone to display his or her expertise or passion in a way that helps your organization meet its strategic objectives is giving that individual an opportunity to shine. For some, it’s a new opportunity he or she may embrace willingly. Find the people who will embrace these opportunities and recruit them to your team. If necessary, move people around on your team. Along the way give people new opportunities where they can achieve tangible results and be recognized by peers and management. People who like to write and create content about specific topics and have some level of creativity or technical acuity are good candidates for your team. The bottom line is this: if you don’t have the right people on the bus, your social media strategy will not go very far. Defining the roles of the people on your team is my next point.

Definition of Job Roles
At some point, it will be wise to redefine job roles so that they reflect your commitment to a Marketing 2.0 strategy. If you consider social media marketing additive, to which employee’s plate do you add it? This will be different in each organization. In some companies, the CEO embraces social media by blogging or being active in a social network. This is a best-case scenario, because the CEO can set the tone for the rest of the organization. In most cases, you’ll need to allocate time away from one activity in order to allow time for social media marketing activities. In the beginning, always start small. It may or may not be too difficult to decide to cut back on some activities that don’t yield results. Don’t continue doing something just because you’ve always done it that way or because it always produces the same results. You do know this is the definition of insanity, don’t you?

Social Media Staff Requires a Blend of Skills
Social media staff skills require a blend of creativity, writing, organizational skills, analytics, and teamwork. A commitment to a social media plan requires a formal review of people’s job descriptions and in some cases revising job descriptions to reflect allocation of their time. A social media plan should leverage the individual talents of staffers while orchestrating them to work as a team to achieve results. As your social media strategy evolves, so should your staff’s skills, titles, the way they spend their time, and the way you recruit new team members. In the years to come, social media skills will be prominently displayed on resumes. In fact, they already are. Many hiring managers check candidates’ activities on the web to assess their subject matter expertise based on how proactive they are as a blogger and social networker before even considering them as a viable candidate.

In my book, I describe the difference between a chief marketing officer’s (CMO’s) job description a few years ago versus today. For a deeper dive into this topic and numerous case studies on social media marketing, check out Marketing 2.0. Your comments on this topic are welcome below.

@berniebay

Top 5 Reasons Your Social Media Strategy Can Fail in 2010

There are many reasons your social media strategy can fail in 2010. Here are just five of them…

No Top Down Support
It doesn’t matter how mainstream social media is without top management support you’re going to fail. Social media takes time. When the boss sees people Tweeting, blogging and Facebooking during business, if he’s not on board he’s not going to like it. Find examples of competitors or other companies in your industry doing an effective job of engaging community and brand building through social media to get the boss on board.

No Content Strategy
Just because your company has a Twitter account and a Facebook fan page doesn’t mean you have a strategy. You need a content hub and a content theme for an effective content marketing strategy. Define the “why” and the “what” of your content strategy. Develop content that delivers on the three E’s: Educate, Enlighten, Entertain. Use platforms like Twitter and Facebook to support your content strategy. But, put the horse in front of the cart, not the other way around.

No Consistency
You’ve developed your content marketing strategy and you have the boss on board. You plan out the first two months of content and you post. Then that big trade show comes up and you get super busy. Your consistency goes from daily, to weekly and before you know it your only consistency is being absent from your social media strategy. This is worse than not having a social media strategy. If you’re not consistently posting content and engaging community, you’ll never enjoy the benefits of social media marketing. You wouldn’t water a garden once or twice then walk away from it, would you? Consistency is not an option in social media marketing.

You’re Too Loud
If all you do is consistently deliver a sales message on social media, you may just as well go buy billboards and skip social media. For social media newbies, the temptation is sometimes to use the tools as megaphones to shout sales messages. Some brands can earn the right to offer deals and promotions on social media. But, even those brands must have a loyal audience. In most cases the loyalty must be earned through consistent content and authentic, creative engagement. Brands that engage their community through enjoyable experiences win.  Remember the three E’s.

You’re Not Human
Brands who hide behind a corporate facade with corporate speak and no human interaction don’t do as well as brands who engage human to human. Zappos and Ford Motor are good examples of large B2C brands that engage well human to human.  In B2B some relatively unknown names such as Indium Corp.

BatchBlue and HubSpot are successful at engaging human to human rather than hiding behind a brand. The people at each of these companies post content in their individual name, respond to comments and engage with people who engage with them. They recognize that the brand perception is what other people think it is. They don’t ignore anyone. They engage human to human and it’s very effective for them.

There are other reasons your social media strategy could fail in 2010. For additional reasons, you’ll find an entire chapter dedicated to it in my book, Marketing 2.0.

Add your comments below to join in the conversation.

Bernie Borges

Developing a Social Media Marketing Strategy

Developing a Social Media Marketing Strategy
When I devoted an entire chapter in my book, Marketing 2.0, to developing a social media marketing strategy, my intent was to inspire marketers. In other words, I want marketers to avoid making the most common mistake, which is the mindset that you need a Twitter or Facebook strategy. You don’t. You need a social media marketing strategy!

Consider assembling the marketing team and your CEO and asking these questions:
•    Why do we think we need a social media strategy?
•    What is our objective?
•    What will the costs be?
•    What are the staffing requirements?
•    What are the risks?
•    What are the opportunities?
•    What are our competitors doing in social media?

Old School Meets New School
While Marketing 2.0 is a new-school marketing paradigm, there is no substitute for old-school research to gain valuable insights before you develop your social media strategy. Begin with research about your customers, target customers, competitors, resellers and influencers. Take no less than a few days (at a minimum) to study the landscape in your industry. Conduct searches in Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube for the names of the CEOs of any company in your industry that is relevant. Include your competitors, your suppliers, and any other relevant company, including analysts and publications. This research should provide valuable insight into where your customers and relevant community are spending time on the social web. You’ll learn what they’re talking about and what groups exist by topic or by company. You’ll learn what your competition is doing or not doing. Eventually, you will gain valuable insight that will drive your social media strategy.

Why Do We Think We Need a Social Media Strategy?
This question is somewhat akin to asking, what business are we in? When you consider why you need a social media strategy, you should take some time and revisit this question about your core business.  A social media strategy serves one simple purpose; it enables your company to engage in authentic conversations with your community so you can improve your ability to attract, retain and serve your customers.

So Begin Your Social Media Strategy by Listening!
On one hand, it’s obvious why we should be listening. It’s the same reason we should be reading industry news—to stay informed. But remember that News 1.0 came at you from only one direction. The people whose job it was to deliver the news wrote it, and you read it. That’s where it ended. In News 2.0, we are empowered to participate in the story. When you listen to the comments made by people who react to a news story, you are listening to your market in real time.

If your top competitors are actively producing content in social media, your risk may be greater if you choose not to. Your absence from online conversations may damage your brand. In short, competitive pressures may influence your decision to become a content producer.

What is Our Objective?
You’ve done your research, and you’ve identified why you need a social media strategy. Now, it’s time to clearly define your objectives. Your objectives should fall into one of these categories:
•    Competitive differentiation
•    Market share growth
•    Expansion of your brand

Competitive Differentiation
A competitive differentiation strategy requires you to increase your visibility on the social web in your market segment through online content commenting and new content creation. Identify the best sources of web-based content in your industry, including vertical industry media and associations. Task a member of your staff to monitor the content and the conversations in these online communities. Identify the subject matter experts in your organization who can get engaged in the conversations in these online communities or contribute new content. Consider a blog strategy if you have the staff to devote to it. Find a voice for your organization that can become a consistent voice in your market, delivering a consistent message on specific topics. Allow this voice to be active and free with ideas and valuable insights into the things about which the people in your industry care. Remember, this is not a direct sales strategy, though your management team may view it this way. Your differentiation goal is to allow the market to see how you think, how you serve, how you listen, how you respond, and generally how you add value to your market. Talking about your products in ways that interest your community is advisable. Shouting to them about features is not. Your goal is to make it easy for others to learn how your organization is different from your competitors.

Market Share Growth
In setting out to grow your market share, you must be committed to proper staffing and producing diversified content on the social web. You must do proper planning and be willing to experiment, even if it means taking risk and failing some along the way. The objective is to attract more of your community to your organization. To do this, you need a bigger footprint on the web. If your differentiation strategy was primarily based on a blog, you may need to expand your strategy. You might commit to producing videos. Groups are available in social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook and can offer very easy ways to expand your reach. Similarly, you may find groups in industry-specific social sites where your staff can participate. This requires commitment, which carries with it some staffing implications. But this can be accomplished by adjusting your staffing requirements, cutting nonperforming marketing activities and reallocating staff resources to producing more social media content.

Brand Expansion
To expand your brand using social media requires a big commitment and carries some risk. The content strategy is the key to success in brand expansion! You’ll need to decide which social media platforms to use, who will create the content, and who will be the public face of your content. Presumably you’ve done your homework to find the audience you want to reach, and you’re committed to producing the content that will reach them. You’ll need to experiment to find the right mix of content and platforms to reach your desired audience. You may find that some content is more effective than others in expanding your brand. You’ll need to take some risk and measure results along the way to determine the effectiveness of expanding your brand through social media.

Let Your Content Go
The reality is that most businesses have more content than we know what to do with. We have white papers, news releases, websites, newsletters, and countless internal documents, not to mention the brilliant but often undeveloped content residing in between our ears. The power of social media marketing lies in letting it all go. Share your content with the world. So if you have good content for your community, share it, promote it, but most of all, just let it go.

Ready, Aim, Fire
Do your homework. Set your goals. Set your content strategy. Assemble the team. Cut non-performing activities to make room for a social media strategy. Then, get started. You’ll make some mistakes. But, with good planning you’ll make fewer and less costly mistakes and you’ll accelerate your results.

I’ll write a blog post soon about how to measure social media marketing results…

SEO Becoming SMO

I argue that SEO is becoming social media optimization (SMO). We devote a lot of attention to details to gain high rankings in search engines. Of course, this process is known as organic search engine optimization. But, when people search on a keyword in a search engine are all the search results limited to web pages? No!

A new organic SMO strategy is all about being found on the web by people who want your products or services. It’s great to be found by people doing a Google search. But, I don’t want to limit relevant traffic to my website only to those doing a Google search. I also want people to visit my website who are engaged in online conversations on the social web and visit it simply because of a referral by someone or a link from interesting content on the social web.

When I study my website analytics over the past 30 days I see the top referral source is Google organic, followed by a recent link building blog post on Hubspot and referrals from Twitter and Facebook.

How do I work at organic SEO? I still focus on relevant content and all the SEO basics pertaining to search engine friendly website architecture and organic link building strategies. These SEO fundamentals help get Google rankings which are still very important and very desirable.

But, as evidenced above Google is not the only valid referral source of traffic to my website.

When I find good content on the web I share it with others. On average for every 10 links to good content that I share, 9 of them are links to interesting articles from social media industry experts such as Hubspot, Lee Odden, Andy Beal, Paul Dunay and Chris Brogan among others. About 1 out of 10 links that I share are to my own blog posts because I sincerely believe that I provide interesting content too. I can say this with humility based on comments received from people on the social web.

The point I’m making is that organic optimization on the web is not limited to being found in search engines. Marketers who focus all their attention to being found in Google are potentially limiting their traffic.

This is more true in some industries than others. But, in most industries you’ll find people having online conversations, sharing links to content and generally engaged in communities on the social web. If your organic web strategy includes being engaged and found by these communities then it qualifies as a social media optimization (SMO) strategy.

So what’s your organic web strategy?

The Risk Factors in Social Media Marketing

This blog post is an excerpt from my forthcoming book on social media marketing…This chapter discusses the risk factors in social media marketing.  The book’s version is considerably more detailed.

No Strategy
Perhaps the biggest risk in social media marketing is diving in without a strategy.  Too often, companies jump on the bandwagon without first developing a plan.  The second worse risk is having the wrong strategy.  A social media marketing strategy requires research, observing and planning in order to develop a plan which can succeed and can be measured. 

Another risk marketers run is to ignore social media.  I often hear from marketers “we plan to get into social media somewhere down the road.”  That’s not a bad strategy if they are listeners in social media.  But, if they are totally ignoring the existing communities and conversations already taking place, they are potentially ignoring threats and opportunities TODAY. 

Lack of Understanding
I believe the biggest risk any organization faces when considering using social media is a lack of understanding its potential and the (mostly) unwritten rules of social media marketing.  The interesting thing about this comment is that social media is an evolving platform, yet there are fundamental components and characteristics in place which are very black and white (with a few shades of gray).  Organizations who come to understand the social, viral and technological characteristics of social media have the greatest potential to achieve positive experiences. 

Lack of Top Down Support
Understanding social media starts at the top of any organization.  Isn’t that usually true of most new business ventures?  For a large corporation with thousands of employees, it’s not totally necessary for the CEO to understand social media for successful experiences.  Staffers can experiment with social media, but they risk getting embarrassed if something goes awry and the CEO learns of it.  In fact, the possibility of the CEO learning about a negative experience from social media is extremely high due to its pervasive nature.  So, while I believe the CEO doesn’t necessarily need to be on board with a social media experiment in large corporations, I strongly advise it. 

Abandonment
Throughout the course of history, there are countless failed marketing experiments.  As consumers we have been witness to some failed marketing experiments – remember the DeLorean car? How many Super Bowl commercials can you remember from companies still in business (other than Budweiser)?  And, of course, there are gazillions of failed marketing experiments we’ve never heard of in market niches with no consumer exposure.  So, it behooves most organizations to venture into social media conservatively.  I’m talking about the proverbial dipping your toe in the social media waters.

Poor Allocation of Time and Resources
Another risk is not spending enough time at it.  Organizations that choose to embark in a social media strategy must allocate time to it.  When it is considered additive, the risk of abandonment is high. 

Poor Definition of Roles
A related risk is not redefining job roles to reflect a commitment to using social media.  If you consider social media marketing additive, then who do you add it to?  Once a social media plan has been developed, or a successful trial has been completed and you’re ready to commit more to a social media plan, I recommend a formal review of people’s job description and in most cases revising job descriptions. 

Not Having the Right People on the Bus
Once the roles have been defined, documented, discussed and everyone is on board, the heavy lifting begins.  In most cases, some heavy lifting has been in place for some time, but now you are in a better position to turn it up a notch. But, what if you realize you don’t have the right staff for social media marketing?  The fact is some people just don’t understand social media.  Sometimes the barrier is demographic, but most often it’s just a “don’t get it” mentality.  Or, worse yet, some may just resist it for any number of reasons.  There are still many people who are stuck in a paradigm, and they are not ready to shift to the social media paradigm. 

It’s your job to recognize who may embrace using social media and who may shun it.  If you are not the manager and you want to convince management to begin using social media, you may have a tall task ahead of you.  But, you should look for the same openings I’m describing here.

Measuring Results Poorly
As your social media strategy progresses, you want to measure progress or results.  A big risk is measuring the wrong metrics or not measuring at all.  The key is to develop a strategy that allows you to measure something that is meaningful.  Measuring the wrong metrics that don’t correlate to your strategy is potentially dangerous.  Likewise, attempting to measure prematurely is potentially dangerous.  Depending on your social media strategy, results can take months to develop and to blossom.   Measuring results over a sustained period of time is the key to measurement that matters. 

There are risks in using social media, but the potential benefits are outstanding.  The risks outlined here should not dissuade any marketer from harnessing the collective power of social media. 

 

Do You Have a Blog Strategy?

This podcast elaborates on a blog post about blogging strategies. 

We start with a plug for the annual Tech Jam party hosted by TBTF – a party with a purpose to support the TBTF Foundation!

At Find and Convert, we frequently get asked by our clients about business blogging strategies.  “Should we have a blog?  How would a blog benefit our business and our SEO strategy?”

Sidenote: Podcasting has its roots in blogs.  The first podcasts were posted (and many still are) on blogs.

The real question is what is your social media strategy?  A blog is a component of a social media strategy.  Social media is not rocket science.  It is any web platform where communities of like minded people go, they subscribe, they contribute thoughts and user generated content.  They “socialize” online! The collective influence of communities in social media is very powerful.

When considering a blog within a social media strategy, a business should first consider what they want to accomplish.  Do they have subject matter experts, thought leaders AND the available resources who can be committed to a blog? 

Many companies start and stop a blog because they don’t get instant results.  One reason is they don’t commit the resources to the blog.  I sometimes visit a blog and see the last post was three months ago.  That blog instantly has NO credibility!

Where do you start?  Start by being a “listener” first.  Before a business starts a blog, they should visit other blogs where their community hangs out.  Read about what they’re talking about.  Get involved in those conversations with any frequency that suits your comfort.  You can gain really valuable insights from other blogs.  People can be talking about your company, your products, your competitors and even your employees.  They may be talking about issues your company addresses well but they don’t know that you do.  That’s an opportunity!

What should businesses blog about?  Most companies should blog about what they are capable of blogging about!  Begin by finding the person who has the interest in writing and the knowledge (authority) to write.  If a business has more than one person who likes to write, divide up the roles on the blog.  It’s ok to have more than one person “hosting” a blog.  They should be able to write in a blogging style.  Write conversational, not as corporate speak.  Always write relevant content!

Mistakes to avoid? One big mistake is not being transparent.  Don’t be someone you are not.  Be honest with your community.  If you use a screen name, be real behind the screen name.  No smoke and mirrors.  Your community will eventually find out and trash you.  Don’t underestimate the power of the online community.

How often should we blog?  No one answer.  Just be consistent.  Not too infrequent.  I blog about once per week.  Each business blog is unique.  As long as the content is relevant and of interest to your audience.

What’s the benefit to my SEO strategy? Blog content is an effective way to add content to your website if your blog is connected to your website.  If your blog is standalone you can link back to your website with relevant anchored keywords.  Blog content is an effective way to add content because many businesses struggle with adding fresh content on their website.  The link value of your content is what counts the most in your SEO strategy in the long run.

What’s your blog strategy?  Is it in the context of a social media strategy? 

 

Do You Need a Blog Strategy?

One of the most common questions we get from B2B clients is “how can a blog help my SEO strategy?”  Follow up discussions include questions like, “What would we blog about?”  “How often do we need to blog?” 

This usually leads to a discussion around blogging strategy and social media strategy.  I point out that a blog may or may not be the right social media strategy for a B2B marketer.  I try to get the point across that a blog really should be part of a bigger strategy.  Some are reporting that B2B blogging is on the decline.

A big mistake to avoid is to start a blog just because it seems like a good idea.  A social media strategy should focus on the most effective ways to foster multi-levels of communication among the communities of people in your market place. 

There are many social media strategy avenues available and blogging is just one of them.

If a blog is a desired part of your social media strategy it’s important to have a well defined goal for the blog, along with a commitment of resources to the blog. 

Let’s look at each of these questions:
How can a blog help my SEO strategy?
Depending on your objective(s) it may provide several benefits.  One of them is if you don’t have a good blog and most of your competitors do, then you are possibly disadvantaged.  But, if you don’t have the resources to start a blog, even this reason isn’t a good one.  Find other ways to compete.  A good blog most often benefits a business by providing a friendly platform for your communities to gain insights into your company or industry that are not otherwise available.  A good blog will also provide link value for your SEO strategy.

What would we blog about?
You can blog about a lot of things.  What are the issues facing your industry?  What are the issues facing your customers?  What are some ideas you have (that aren’t confidential) that you want to express? Think in terms of product, environment and customer.  Write about things your community will have interest in and invite them into the conversation.

How often do we need to blog?
Often enough to show consistency. We blog about once per week. The frequency should be determined partly by your blogging resources and by the activity that takes place on your blog. But, if you start a blog with frequent posts, then it tails off to very infrequent blogging, you are likely to lose your audience.  Show consistency and listen to your audience.  You may need to blog more often if that’s the feedback you get from your blogging audience.

Don’t be surprised if your audience doesn’t join the conversation.  Depending on the size of your company and the size of your community, your blog may not generate a lot of conversation.  But, if it is well read, it can create another face to your business that can give you an edge, not easily duplicated eleswhere.

What are your thoughts on blogging?
Bernie