Good Marketing is Southern Hospitality

I recently vacationed in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Georgia with my family. We had a wonderful time hiking, exploring, fishing, white water rafting and just being adventurous. As I reflect back on this vacation, it occurred to me that I also experienced parallels between our vacation and successful marketing.

Southern Hospitality
Everywhere we went my family and I were treated with courtesy, respect and warmth. And, I’m not referring to how the employees of business establishments treated us (although they were consistent in their treatment). We found the citizens of the community to be genuine, helpful and giving. More than once, people went out of their way to answer questions or offer assistance with sincerity and a smile, or just greet us with a sincere “hello” and have conversation about anything.

Content Marketing Parallel
In contemporary marketing, we speak of the importance of providing great content to your audience to build trust and relationships online. Our vacation planning was easily facilitated by the ease of access to information about the area. Before we scheduled our vacation in the Blue Ridge Mountains, we did plenty of research. We found an abundance of useful information including things to do and places to stay. I was particularly impressed with the consistency of the information we found online, and the experience we had with human interaction offline. This experience is effective content marketing. It was the total experience that made it effective. It was the integration of an online and offline experience that made it a good one. This total experience is what I am willing to talk about. And, that’s called word-of-mouth, the most valuable kind of marketing.

Social Media Parallel
For years now those of us that have embraced social media in business have been stressing the importance of producing great content that delivers on the 3 Es and building a strong community online comprised of authenticity and transparency. Often these words aren’t understood in a business context because so many people in marketing roles are used to doing marketing differently. Authenticity used to mean being truthful in advertising. Building community used to mean building your mailing list. Trust used to mean having a track record of product quality. And, customer service used to mean being accessible to customers and answering their questions.

But, this experience made me realize that social media is really just a human extension of how people want to behave naturally. I am convinced that “southern hospitality” (as it’s known in the U.S.) is a global human phenomenon.  A business is made up of people. The technology tools at our disposal enable people to build communities online with authentic human interaction to create experiences both online and offline that build trust and authentic engagement resulting in positive experiences. Of course, no one is perfect and negative experiences can occur. But, a strong community can deal with anomalies.

I’ve spoken a lot about the risks of social media. As I continue to ponder these risks it occurs to me that they are really risks of doing marketing wrong. Some of the examples I’ve provided of mistakes made by companies are marketing mistakes, not social media mistakes.  Businesses need to develop a strategy of southern hospitality and carry it through in their online and offline channels. Perhaps most important, the people in the business must have a southern hospitality mindset. The tools used to execute on this mindset may vary, but the consistency of the mindset is what’s most important.

Facebook Marketing an Hour a Day

A podcast interview with Chris Treadaway, co author of Facebook Marketing an Hour a Day.

The timing of this podcast interview is terrific. At the time of this blog post and podcast I am putting the finishing touches on my first of three Facebook and Twitter for Marketers workshops. I read most of Facebook Marketing an Hour a Day before this interview and finished it recently. I will use this book as a reference source at my workshops and will recommended it to the attendees.

A Playbook for Facebook Marketers

The book is a practitioner’s guide for Facebook marketing. While other books are feature centric (which isn’t a bad thing), this book serves as a step-by-step roadmap for marketers. It’s written for people who’ve been given a directive to use Facebook in their marketing strategy. It literally provides a day-by-day roadmap to develop a Facebook marketing plan and how to measure results.

Chris Treadaway co-authored the book with Mari Smith. Unfortunately, Mari was not available on the day we recorded the podcast interview. Mari is an example of hype meeting reality. She has a large following and deservedly so. She has great depth of knowledge and client experience using Facebook. Her brand presence on Facebook is both authentic and expert. As a trainer and consultant Mari is encyclopedic in her practical application of Facebook for marketers.

The Seven Truths of Social Networks
Early in the book, Chris and Mari lay out these seven truths, which help a marketer put Facebook marketing in its proper perspective. They are:
1. Social media is the preferred way people in younger demographics communicate.
2. Social media is based on the concept of friends, but that term today is very loosely applied.
3. The more active a consumer is on the Internet, the more likely they participate in multiple social networks.
4. Once information is shared on a social network, it is out there and can’t easily be contained.
5. Social media is best applied to existing Internet marketing programs along side other web assets.
6. The rules are still being made. Social media etiquette is still relatively immature. Tread carefully.
7. Social media usage is motivated by basic human needs, including love, self expression, emotion, sharing, influencing, showing off, fun, escapism, humor, nostalgia and making money.

Impact of the Seven Truths on Business
Chris and Mari point out that businesses need to create passion in people to get them to be interested in their business. A marketer must create an emotional connection between their brand and the people they seek to reach. The book feeds to marketers bite size pieces of a roadmap for fan pages, ads, measuring results and more.

Defining Your Social Media Product
Facebook gives everyone the opportunity to become a publisher. For example, a fan page is a company’s published face. The content and experience becomes part of the “product.” The whole experience your company offers on Facebook is the product. Your product must explain what problem needs solving? And, how you solve it by connecting with people at these core seven truths.

Favorite Example in the Book
I asked Chris to share his favorite example of a company doing Facebook marketing well. Mad Men is a television show about advertising in 60s. Their agency created a social networking approach that combines other media experiences with experiences on the web. They allow people to create a character avatar that can be shared on Facebook. You can even create wallpaper with these characters. Facebook is their biggest component of online connection with consumers using it to pull people into other social experiences.

Practical and Measurable
People in companies need to understand what’s possible, what’s measurable and what’s not so measurable. The book guides a marketer to understand what the management team wants to see in the way of results. Identifying realistic goals is an important guidance offered in the book. Some things are measurable and some are not. For example, it’s difficult to measure what’s the lifetime value of someone who “likes” you on Facebook. But, through proper expectations a marketer can provide meaningful data such as how many people engaged with the brand, how many new fans were added, how many referrals to the website, CTA (calls-to-action) responses and more. I’m thrilled to see how Chris and Mari emphasize the importance of experimentation in social media. Management must accept experimentation in a Facebook marketing plan.

Facebook Advertising
The book points out that Facebook advertising provides the most inexpensive targeted advertising option currently available online. There is so much wasted advertising across many media platforms. But, Facebook is very targeted due to demographics details collected by users. The information people provide about themselves allows advertising to be very targeted. For example, you can target by gender, age, interests, keywords, geography, marital status and more. And, it’s currently only about $.35 per thousand. Admittedly, Facebook advertising is best for consumer advertising and for local businesses where geo targeting is important.

One Free Copy Giveaway
Chris and Mari have provided me one FREE copy of Facebook Marketing an Hour a Day to give away. I will select one winner. All you have to do is make your case for the book. Tell me why you want or need this book. Just write on my wall on my Find and Convert fan page with your pitch. For extra consideration you might want to tweet about it with a shoutout to @berniebay or leave a review of this podcast in iTunes. The more you engage with my brand, the stronger case you’ll make to receive a free copy of Facebook Marketing an Hour a Day!  I’ll announce the winner by the 14th.

See you on Facebook!

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

B2B Buzz Marketing with Paul Dunay

B2B buzz marketing with Paul Dunay. I finally got my calendar sync’d up with Paul for this podcast interview. Paul is an award winning B2B marketing expert. He is Global Managing Director of Services and Social Marketing for Avaya, a global leader in enterprise communications, and co-author of Facebook Marketing for Dummies (Wiley 2009).

A B2B Marketing Story

I asked Paul to describe Avaya’s social media strategy.  His response is this story…In 2009 budgets were tight across the board. Many brands experimented with social media. Actually, Avaya got the social media bug in 2009. They started diving into social media with many tactics but they were not well orchestrated under a cohesive strategy. They had launched social profiles in Facebook, Twitter, a company blog, wikis  and even launched internal social communication on Yammer. Paul was asked by the global CMO to advise and recommend a global social media strategy for Avaya. Even though Paul already had a full time job in a line of business role, he accepted the challenge of developing the social media strategy for Avaya. Now, Paul is a very smart guy. But, he knew he’d need help. So, he asked the early adopters of social media at Avaya to meet once a week to develop the strategy.

Mission Driven Social Media
Paul and his colleagues at Avaya defined the mission of all their social marketing to be: Powerful, Authentic, Personal Interaction. They defined several business objectives including demonstrating thought leadership, building brand awareness, increasing demand, and producing sales leads. Since Avaya had already started executing many tactics on the social web, they decided to consolidate their strategy across four platforms: The Avaya corporate blog, a customer forum, a few Twitter profiles and the Avaya Facebook Fan page.  The Avaya blog is the corporate voice. The forum is self help for customers. Avaya Twitter is short bursts of information as well as listening and monitoring what’s being said about their brand and competitors. In the Avaya Facebook fan page they cover events, company news, share photos, start discussions and enjoy interaction with their community.

Invite People to Your Facebook Fan Page
One objection I often hear from B2B marketers is they think their customers don’t have time or interest in Facebook. Paul asks “have you invited them to join your Facebook fan page?” He suggests you email people through Facebook to invite them to join your Facebook fan page. Paul shares my enthusiasm for Facebook because it has every form of media including video, audio, blog, photos, polls and many add-on applications. All of these functions are available from a Facebook fan page (for free). Paul suggests that the Facebook fan page is the communication innovation of the century.

In December 2007 during a keynote speech I gave, I predicted that Facebook was going to explode and become the most popular social network. I was right. BTW, I’ve made many predictions in the past that didn’t pan out. But, this one did.

Integrating Offline and Online
I asked Paul how Avaya integrates offline marketing with online marketing. He gave me a recent example. Avaya attended an industry conference where they organized an event around thought leadership. Customers were invited to attend and express their view of the future of the industry and related communication technologies.  They asked customers for their thoughts about the future of communications technology, and how they see it evolving in the coming years. Their responses were captured on video and still photos.  Immediately after the event the Avaya team wrote down four key take-aways from that event. They wrote a white paper about the trends they heard and anointed that paper the premium content from the event. They uploaded pictures, six videos, wrote four blog posts, and created content for the website, all stemming from this one customer event. They also did a webinar as a follow up. In the end, they leveraged a single event into more than one dozen pieces of content. The content that was created at the event had been multi purposed and shared with people that participated in the event and anyone who otherwise had interest in the content. Ultimately all the free content was used to drive people to download a premium content asset for a lead conversion.

The 4 Cs of B2B Marketing
Paul doesn’t believe the 4 Ps apply to directly B2B. So, he blogged about the four C’s of B2B marketing:  Content creation to attract people. Connect with people who consume your content.  Communicate on an ongoing basis. Conversion – nurture the leads with many touches to create conversions. Some people think that 4 Cs are a deep dive on the “promotion” P in the 4 Ps . I suggest that we’re all using the contemporary etiquette of the social web to create a conversion. When our content is good, and we connect with people in authentic ways, we earn the right to create conversions.

Facebook Marketing for Dummies
Paul co-authored Facebook Marketing for Dummies with his college buddy, Richard Krueger. When Paul was approached by Wiley to write Facebook Marketing for dummies he knew it would be a daunting task on top of his full time job at Avaya, so he asked Richard to help him write the book. I’ve read the book and enjoyed it very much. It’s filled with many useful tips for businesses who want to use Facebook to connect, engage and market their business using the wildly popular and free Facebook social network. Their next book is Facebook Advertising for Dummies. Paul shares my enthusiasm for the ability Facebook gives marketers to conduct highly targeted advertising based on many demographics attributes.

This podcast recording ran close to 30 minutes which is 10 minutes longer than most of my podcasts. We had so much to cover. I hope you’ll listen to the podcast where you’ll hear parts of the interview not summarized in this blog post. I invite you to post your comments on your own B2B marketing stories in the comments below.

You can connect with Paul Dunay at his blog or on Facebook or on Twitter.

Predictions for the 2010 Decade

As 2010 rolled in I reflected back on the decade which started in 2000. Social media didn’t exist. Names like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Delicious and dozens of others didn’t exist. As I look at the new decade it’s impossible to predict the names of new innovations and products that will be part of our lives.

I’m not much of a predictor. But, I enjoy looking at the forest’s treetops to make observations. My predictions on the new decade are based on human, cultural and technological factors. I offer my observations on how we may be running our businesses during the next decade.  I invite you to offer your thoughts and predictions.

Brand Definition
In the 00’ decade brands began to understand the shift in control to the customer. Progressive brands began to understand their limited influence on brand perception. As we enter the 10’ decade progressive brands are allowing their customers to shape their brand by focusing on quality products/services, quality customer service and quality communication. Brands who resist the evolution of brand control to the customer will suffer.

Product Development
In the second half of the 00’ decade product development began to shift from internal, demand centric processes to externally driven, distributed processes. Products like the iPhone, the Kindle and new services like Facebook and Twitter are examples from the 00’ decade of the new product development paradigm. None of these products had conventional demand from an existing customer base. Product development is leaving the enterprise and moving to the customer. Execution is left to the company through collaboration of resources without regard for geography and through effective communication strategies.

Customer Acquisition
This topic varies greatly by industry. Generally speaking customers have more choices than ever before. Conventional sales will always have its role. But, product innovation is a bigger factor than ever before. That requires outside the box thinking. In the 00’ decade we saw some surprising product choices like Google Docs vs. Microsoft Office compete for established market share. In this example, Microsoft didn’t consider Google a competitor for Office at the beginning of the 00’ decade. In the 10’ decade businesses must provide more compelling choice to their customers to maximize customer acquisition.

Customer Service
This is probably the second most important topic for any business to master in the 10′ decade. It’s one thing to win a new customer. It’s another to keep that customer. In the 00’ decade the company who became the poster child for customer service is Zappos. How many companies do you know invite you to call them and will help you find and buy a product even if it requires directing you to their competitor? Zappos creates a WOW experience that spreads among consumers. This new customer service mindset creates an experience and loyalty that spreads. This new level of customer service is difficult for many companies to embrace because it’s such a paradigm shift. Another factor in the 10’ decade is the mindset that customer service is a company-wide function. Employees who believe customer service is a department are sadly mistaken. Every employee is in customer service in the 10’ decade. Those who execute this strategy will win and keep more customers.

Marketing
The 00’ decade began the transition to the mantra “marketing is the enterprise.” In the 10’ decade marketing will be the most important factor in business success. No offense to sales-driven companies, but marketing is the central nervous system of the enterprise in the new decade. And, the cardiovascular system is communications. The marketing strategy is now all about the experience. Customers live in a digitally connected world at home, in the car, on the bus, at work, even at their kid’s soccer games. Brands who give their customers opportunities to experience their value proposition will win loyalty. Some B2C brands that do this already include Red Bull, Comcast and Ford Motor Company. Some B2B brands that do this already include Cisco, Indium Corp. and HubSpot. The secret sauce to creating an experience is to experiment with different communications that touch people through more than one sensory including sight, sound, smell, taste, touch. Yes, even B2B brands can do this.

Business Responsiveness
The 00’ decade introduced businesses to an accelerated pace of business responsiveness. Businesses who responded quickly to customer and marketplace feedback did well. Quick response was generally defined in days, not weeks, sometimes even within hours. In the 10’ decade we’ve already begun the transition from quick response to real-time response. Technology and culture has been the impetus for this evolution to real-time response. Consumers have come to expect it. Businesses that understand the importance of real-time responsiveness to day-to-day product issues will enjoy more customer loyalty.

Management
Business management has been the study of many famous authors and universities for decades. In the 00’ decade we began the transition from a top down hierarchy of management to a more flat org chart. In the 10’ decade look for org charts to get even flatter with new titles. We’ve already seen new titles emerge such as Chief Customer Officer. Businesses who focus on engaging their customer through culture, technology, great service and innovation will restructure their organization to meet the customer where she is in the way she wants to be engaged.

Innovation
In the 00’ decade we saw innovations that will likely continue to into the 10’ decade. New innovations will occur around customer adoption of new habits. More emotion will be factored into innovation as the lines continue to blur between business and personal behavior. Even the most technical B2B products are evaluated and purchased by humans with emotions. Innovation that meets current and future customer needs, delivered in multi-sensory communication channels will out-perform those that don’t.

Key Trends to Watch in the 10’ Decade

Multi Media
As we enter the 10’ decade most businesses are still single media. Some use video but most use it in a very limited manner. Businesses that communicate a consistent message across many media formats will be requisite. It won’t be enough to use video. Your message will need to be very clear and you’ll need to offer your customers many ways to consume your content and engage with you. Businesses across all industries will begin to adopt multi media channels to communicate. Consider the example of (now famous) blender manufacturer Blendtec and their (now famous) video strategy Will it Blend? If an unknown blender manufacturer can use multi media with outstanding results, any business can. And, many more will.

Younger CEOs
Tony Hsieh grew Zappos from $1.6M in 2000 to over $1B in 2008 before the age of 40. In 2009 he sold Zappos to Amazon for $847M. I hesitate to stereotype around age. But frankly, few CEOs over 40 have embraced the evolution of the new enterprise. In the 10’ decade, look for younger CEOs to emerge that have proven experience growing brands by building a strong culture around a strong product with great customer service (like Tony Hsieh).

The Unconventional Will Become Conventional
The successful enterprise of the 10’ decade may be a company of 10 employees located across multiple continents. Their rise may occur in 5 years or less, e.g., Facebook. The decades-old established brand may struggle or not survive if their product doesn’t maintain customer acceptance, e.g., General Motors. Companies like 37Signals will build a great product, share it with others at competitive price points and create customer evangelists who then tell others about it and beat out traditional competitors like Microsoft.

More Connected
We have become a globally connected society.  But, we’re just getting started. In the 10’ decade look for all consumers to be even more connected. The applications we use will be more integrated to converge email, video, photo, texting, instant messaging and more. The term social media will fade away. All software will be social. We’re already seeing these early developments through Google’s Docs and Wave offerings. This is just the beginning. Look for content and connections to be available at our hand held fingertips, desktops and media devices. This trend will have a significant impact how businesses communicate and build brand loyalty.

Premium Content
I predict the decade of 10’ will be the death of FREE content. This is likely the riskiest prediction I make.  Content producers will figure out ways to monetize their content. Look for businesses to create content at different price points ranging from the solo entrepreneur to large enterprises. You may soon subscribe to your local newspaper digitally at price points ranging from $5 per month to $50 per month depending on the package you select. Look for content producers to merge and partner for creative packages. You may choose the car you buy based on a bundled offer of digital content on a device integrated into your dashboard that doesn’t even exist at the time of this writing.

I believe the new decade will be filled with more paradigm shifts, innovation and surprises. I don’t know exactly what they will be. But, I do know for sure it will be a fun ride. Are you ready?

What are your predictions for the 10′ decade? Which of my predictions do agree with or disagree?

Happy New Decade!

Bernie Borges
@berniebay

Social Media Results in Motion

The December 14th issue of BusinessWeek has an article entitled: Beware Social Media Snake Oil. The article is intended to be a balanced look at the lack of marketing success some companies are having with social media through industry consultants. I disagree that it’s balanced. I think the article is biased against the social media consulting industry. Here’s why…

As the owner of an inbound marketing agency helping clients get measurable marketing results through web marketing strategies which include social media, I take exception to the general characterization of “snake oil” to my entire industry. Sure, it’s hard. As Chris Brogan points out in the BusinessWeek article, social media marketing is still new. Many companies are still trying to figure out social media. And, some are doing it wrong. And, yes some may be getting bad advice from so called experts. But, that’s no excuse to call the entire industry a bunch of snake oils.

Historic Transition

We are in a period of transition in marketing history. As we close out 2009 there are still a mix of traditional marketing channels which allow marketers to deliver outbound messages through tried and true tactics including advertising, mail, events, contests, email, etc. But, as time passes some of these so called tried and true marketing tactics are becoming less and less effective. Ask yourself (as a consumer) how many advertisements you allow yourself to see or read? Better yet, ask yourself how many ads truly influence your purchase decisions? Now, ask yourself (as a consumer) where do you go to get information about products and services you’re considering? I’m not against advertising one iota.  But, I want marketers to ask yourself are you willing to ignore the connected consumer regardless of your industry? Are you willing to allow your competitors to engage your target market through social media while you ignore it?

Let the Experiments Begin

Most marketers are beginning to realize they don’t have a choice but to participate in social media. If some social media consultants irresponsibly lead you down a failed path ask yourself did he/she promise quick results?  Did he/she promise the tactics would work out of the gate? If he/she was one hundred percent honest he/she explained it will take time and the tactics you try may or may not work. A competent social media consultant will formulate a plan based on research and much dialogue with you to develop the plan. After the plan is developed, then let the experiments begin! That’s right – experiments!

Measuring Results

The BusinessWeek article is critical about the inability to measure results. There are numerous articles, books and blogs that have argued that measuring results in social media can be difficult. The issue is exacerbated by consultants counting Twitter followers as results. The only results that matter are tied to sales (or equivalent for non-profits). That said, there are many interim steps that lead to sales and a well planned social media strategy can facilitate those steps.  All marketers have the choice of implementing any combination of tactics to reach their consumer. The channels marketers use are a choice. It’s been said for decades by marketers: “Fifty percent of my marketing budget is wasted, I just don’t know which fifty percent.” This is no excuse for not measuring. The issue is how do we measure results? I’ve blogged about measuring results and written about it in my book, and so have many others more prominent than me such as Chris Brogan.

Results in Motion

All businesses want to get a return on their marketing. However, measurable results from a social media strategy may or may not look the same as they do in other channels.  And, they may or may not happen quickly. While there are many big brand examples of successful social media marketing including Dell, Comcast, IBM, Starbucks, Ford and  Zappos, there are also examples of smaller, unknown brands. I call these results in motion because they are a work in progress. Remember, social media is still new!

Consider how Utica, N.Y. based Indium Corp reaches a worldwide audience of engineers to educate them about their solder paste used in electronic assembly equipment. In this B2B example, Indium has 85 blogs staffed by 15 engineers. They also produce video content which is educational and sometimes humorous. Results: They produce contacts with engineers around the world, a portion of which become sales opportunities…Results in motion….

Consider how Toronto based Homemakers Magazine reaches Canadian women to engage them on topics such as cooking, health and life balance. They have a diversiied content strategy which gets delivered across various channels on the web. They measure the growth of their reach, which is a stepping stone to selling subscriptions and advertising…Results in motion.

Consider how Ford Motor Company developed their social media strategy as summarized in this slide deck:

Notice that the word “product” or “sales” is not in their social media strategy statement. But, look at their most recent sales results (below). I’m not suggesting that their social media strategy is entirely the reason for their positive sales performance. I believe strongly that Ford is an example of a big brand who is doing an effective job of integrating traditional marketing (e.g. television advertising) with social media through community centric events and activities which builds trust with the consumer and spreads through word of mouth, all under the leadership of Scott Monty, their head of social media.

These are just a few of many examples of businesses who recognize they must experiment with these new social media channels. In the process of experimenting they are willing to take some risk and learn lessons about what does and doesn’t work. They are measuring results that impact their brand, which impacts their ability to differentiate from competitors and compete for sales.

Choices?

Do marketers really have a choice but to experiment with social media? Remember the question I asked about where do you turn to gain insights about the products and services you buy? If your answer wasn’t the Internet are you being honest? When you turn to the Internet to search for products and services, do you rely on ads or do you  seek input from others and do you allow input from others to influence your decision?

I am a BusinessWeek subscriber and I have been for many years. I rely on BW to keep me informed on many business topics. I have seen BW do follow ups to stories in the past. For example, in May 2005 BW did a cover story on blogging and the impact on business. In May 2008 they did a follow up to that cover story called Beyond Blogs, which expanded the coverage to social media. While the social media snake oil story is not a cover story, I would like to see BW do a follow up story with favorable examples of companies (not limited to large brands like Ford) who are getting solid advice from consultants and who are achieving measurable results, even if those results are results in motion….

What Are You Grateful For?

What Are You Grateful For?

This Thanksgiving I, once again, marvel at how much I have to be grateful for. I have a wonderful family who loves me unconditionally. I have a loyal staff that loves me (nearly) unconditionally. I have a client base that probably loves me a little bit, too. I have many friends who put up with me. And, I have Tweetsgiving to thank for using social media to build classrooms in Tanzania.

If you’ve never heard of Tweetsgiving, get ready for goose bumps as you learn its story. Stacey Monk founded EpicChange, a 501c3 U.S. “that amplifies the voices and impact of grassroots change makers by sharing their stories in ways that raise visibility and funds to support their extraordinary efforts to create hope in our world.”

In Thanksgiving 2008, Tweetsgiving was launched two days before Thanksgiving as a 48-hour celebration of gratitude, and it became the number one trending topic on Twitter and raised over $10,000 to build a classroom in Arusha, Tanzania. Anyone who contributed to Tweetsgiving had their Twitter name displayed on the wall of gratitude.

Tweetsgiving 2009 will repeat this marvelous display of gratitude only on a grander scale. This year there are more sponsors and people rallying around this wonderful cause.  This year’s event will raise funds to build an orphanage, a classroom, a cafeteria and a library at Mama Lucy’s school in Tanzania.

There are three ways you can get involved in Tweetsgiving 2009. 1) Attend a gratitude party in a city near you.  2) Spread the word. Tell your friends online and offline about it @tweetsgiving 3) Host a party. Have friends over to raise funds for Tweetsgiving 2009. Of course, you can always donate some of your hard earned money too.

The best part of Tweetsgiving (besides the smiles on kids’ faces in Arusha) is the role that social media plays. Strike that….The best part is that people (you, me and anyone who cares) can have an impact simply by using social media to spread the word. Just by a few clicks, we can help educate poor kids in a far away place.

If you don’t have goose bumps yet, you haven’t clicked through to Tweetsgiving.

Happy Tweetsgiving!

Should Twitter be Allowed in the White House?

You do know that President Obama has a Twitter account, don’t you? He is widely recognized for his use of Twitter and social media during the presidential campaign last year. In fact social media as a communication platform received a lot of fanfare during the 2008 presidential campaign as both the Obama and McCain campaigns used Twitter and Facebook to communicate their campaign promises on a regular basis.

There is a television report out that Twitter is banned at the White House. Here’s the video clip:

The fact that Twitter is banned in the White House is very interesting and has stirred debate among American citizens and no doubt people outside the U.S. President Obama continues to use his Twitter account to communicate. It doesn’t matter if it is or isn’t really him typing the tweets. The fact remains that we know for sure the Twitter account belongs to President Obama, not an impersonator. Twitter displays a “verified” symbol on his account as a means of communicating that it is really his account. That’s Twitter’s way of preventing people from hijacking a Twitter account from celebrities.

Should White House employees be permitted to use Twitter? What does it imply if they are not permitted to use Twitter? I won’t get into the political aspect of this topic. I will take this in a different direction.

Should employers allows employees to use Twitter?

There are many employers who don’t allow employees to use Twitter. While I’m sure there are cases where that decision makes good sense, as a general rule I don’t like it. Consider these comparisons. Should employers not allow employees to have Internet access? Should employers not allow employees to bring cell phones to the office? Should employers not allow employees to bring leisure reading material to work?

How much distrust should employers have toward employees?

When senior management is aligned with the values of employees and vice versa, tools such as Twitter can and should be considered permissible and productive. I certainly don’t condone abuse of Twitter at work, or for that matter any aspect Internet access during work hours, or reading leisure material in the middle of the day (other than during a legitimate break of course).

My point leads to another point. Twitter is still not as mainstream as people think it is. Sure, there are CEOs such as Tony Hsieh of Zappos who use Twitter every day. In fact, he allows his employees to use Twitter. Strike that…He ENCOURAGES his employees to use Twitter. Why? Because he gets it. He understands that his employees make or break his brand. His employees create great customer experiences in part through communicating through Twitter. He gets it!

Does your company get it?

There are many companies who still don’t get it when it comes to Twitter. I’m sure this statement sounds condescending. I don’t mean it that way. But, I do argue that Twitter is a powerful communication tool and not permitting employees to use it is like not allowing them to use email. That’s right, email! What if an employees wastes time using company email? What if an employees sends an inappropriate email? Sure, those are real risks. But, are these risks reason enough to ban corporate email by all employees but a few who need to communicate with customers? Sounds like a silly question, huh?!

It’s about communication

Twitter is a communication platform. It’s time businesses held classes on how to use Twitter reviewing the do’s and don’ts. Company guidelines are appropriate and even necessary so employees know when they are crossing the lines at the risk of losing their job. But for heaven’s sake, don’t stifle employees from using contemporary communication tools. The truth is, you can’t prevent them entirely from using it. Just look at the situation in Iran. Average citizens used Twitter to communicate to the world the events as they unfolded during recent unrest. The Iranian government couldn’t stop it.

What’s in your corporate communication arsenal?

-Bernie Borges
@berniebay

How Broad is Your Footprint on the Web?

Create a Broad Footprint on the Web to be Found the way Buyers Search

The first decade of the new millennium is almost over. As I look at the history of marketing on the web over the past two decades I make these big picture observations, which I discuss in my book, Marketing 2.0.

1990 to 2000 – Most businesses developed their first website. Websites were a one way communication medium from the seller to the buyer. Most businesses had little understanding of organic search engine optimization or pay-per-click advertising to “be found” by buyers.  Websites served mostly as an online company brochure. The strategic value of corporate websites was generally low for most businesses.

2000 to 2010 – Most businesses evolved through their second or third generation websites. Strategic value of corporate websites skyrocketed as 24/7 marketing/selling was recognized. Marketing efforts to be found through SEO and paid search marketing have become prominent among businesses of all sizes. Job descriptions and job titles in some marketing organizations include words like “Internet,” “digital,” “online,” “community.”

The Broad Web Footprint

But, there is one aspect of marketing that is not yet mainstream save a few hundred (maybe a few thousand) companies around the world. To be found by buyers, you must create a broad footprint on the web with diverse content. Since there is still one more year and a half left in the decade, there is still time for sellers to jump on this band wagon.

I want to be found by anyone, anywhere in the world, even though I primarily market in U.S. and Canada. And, I certainly DONT’ want to limit where I’m found to Google or Bing or Yahoo (or any search engine).

Sure, being found in Google through organic SEO is very important to me and most businesses. And, pay-per-click advertising (aka SEM), is a terrific way to be found, as long as you’re using best practices.

But, most marketers still think being found on the web means being found in a search engine either in an organic listing, or in a paid (sponsored) listing (PPC). This is a limited view of effective inbound marketing on the web.

Buyers Buy Differently Than They Did Last Decade

I was contacted by a prospective buyer recently. When I asked him how he “found” us his answer was music to my ears. He didn’t remember exactly where he found me. He told me that during the previous week he visited my website, my blog and listened to one of my podcasts. By the time he contacted me, he already had considerable insight into me and my inbound marketing agency. He was ready to speak with me. He was ready to make a buying decision. He had consumed my content long before he called me.

Search Engine Results are Evoloving

The way search engines deliver search results is changing. Google is providing multiple forms of content through “options”.

Bing’s search results are still pretty traditional with links at the top for other content search results:

Kosmix delivers diverse search results. It’s my prediction that before the close of this decade, Kosmix’ search results model will be the norm. Note the prominent display of search result options: Media; News & Blogs; Reviews & Guides; Shopping; Web Search.

The social web has created a conglomeration of platforms where marketers can be found. Buyers are searching for information and finding diverse options of content across many social media platforms. Along the way buyers get influenced by  what others say about sellers.  Sellers who want to compete in the second decade of new millennium must be prepared to have a strong presence with great content across many relevant web platforms. Sellers must build trust and engage relevant communities there with a broad footprint.

Will SEO and PPC become less prominent as methods for being found in the near future? Probably not. I submit the definition of SEO and PPC is evolving. The influence is shifting to buyers. They are the ones who decide whether to contact you based on how effectively you create a broad footprint on the web.

How broad is your footprint on the web?

@berniebay

Marketing 2.0 What Does it Mean?

This podcast is a brief introduction to Bernie Borges’ forthcoming book: Marketing 2.0: Bridging the Gap Between Seller and Buyer. Targeted publish date April 2009.

So, what exactly do I mean by Marketing 2.0?

Marketing 2.0 is a play on words on which parallels Web 2.0. As you know Web 2.0 allows for an interactive experience on a web site (blog, social network, podcast, wiki, etc.)

In Marketing 1.0 we interrupt, we intrude, we disrupt our prospective buyers through various advertisements, direct mail, email messages and cold calls. Marketers have tried for decades in 1.0 to interrupt the buyer in hope of getting a message across with a call to action. Then, if we get a 1% response to our interruptive marketing, we think we’re doing well!

Some forms of Marketing 1.0 can be effective, such as advertising on the side of a shuttle bus at a convention to a targeted audience. Or, some banner advertising can be effective in a very niche industry website. If you are a supplier in a narrow niche and there are good niche portals in your industry this can be an effective marketing strategy.

But even effective 1.0 marketing should be supported with 2.0 strategies comprised of great content on blogs, podcasts and other social web platforms where you can engage in two way conversations.

Marketing 2.0 shifts all the power to the consumer (the buyer). It’s a paradigm shift. I argue it’s even a mindset shift. The power is no longer in the hands of the marketer. The buyer has the ability to engage in conversations on the web with others who share common interests to learn, research and hear from others about products and services of interest. The buyer can learn about a company whose product is being considered, the industry trends, employees, the people of influence, etc. Before a buyer makes a purchase decision he/she has an unparalleled ability to hear from others who have made a similar purchase decision.

Then, how can marketers influence buyers in a world of social interaction on the web?

Through a Marketing 2.0 mindset!

As marketers we have to be aware of this shift of power and engage our buyers in sincere and authentic conversations. A conversation is two way. We need to speak with, not talk (shout) at them.

In the old 1.0 world marketers blasted messages out. Marketing 2.0 is speaking with your buyer in conversations, getting engaged and listening to them.

For example I heard a story about how Paul Colligan was flying somewhere on a Southwest Airlines flight and his flight was canceled. He posted a comment on Twitter (his Twitter name is @colligan) about his frustration and when he eventually landed on the other side, Southwest Airlines had contacted him through the web (on Twitter) to say “we heard you and we want to make it right.” Kudos to Southwest Airlines for listening and taking action quickly! Paul Colligan then Tweeted about the positive reaction he got from Southwest Airlines. In the end, Southwest Airlines got good exposure for their swift action, not in the media but on the social web (which I argue is the new media but that’s the subject of a future blog post).

Too many people view the web as a one way communication experience. However, social media allows us to have two way communication through engagement. For example, if you have a comment to add about this podcast/blog post you can leave comments below.

All companies of all sizes have the opportunity to get engaged and listen to their prospective buyers using Marketing 2.0 strategies.

Are you using Marketing 2.0 strategies?

Bernie Borges
@berniebay

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