Top Reasons I Follow Back on Twitter

Let’s face it, the Twitterverse is made up of individuals and brands. While the branded Twitter accounts are staffed by people, the persona of each Twitter account is either an individual or a company or a brand. For example, General Motors has a branded Twitter account, and they also have product branded Twitter accounts.

Like you I receive dozens of new Twitter followers every day. When I plow through them, I usually make my decision to follow back (or not) in under 5 seconds. Here are the criteria I use to make my quick decision. I should point out that these are my criteria. I don’t suggest for a minute that these criteria should be yours. To each his or her own on follow back decision criteria.

I should also point out that my Twitter persona is mostly about marketing. I do very little personal tweeting. When I do it’s usually on the weekend when I may be watching a ballgame or something otherwise leisure related or an occasional random thought.

Why I Follow Back an Individual

Your Twitter account is visually appealing to me. You have more than one photo or you have a creative custom design that is unique. And, you look like an interesting or fun person I would want to meet in person. Age, gender or ethnicity do not affect my impression.

Your most recent tweet was recent (in the last 24 hours). People who don’t tweet daily are not of interest to me. Remember, these are my criteria. You may not share my follow back criteria.

Your tweets are relevant, interesting and they contain links to interesting content. Your tweets will somehow add value to me.

Your profile has a link to your blog or website. If you get my attention and I want to know more about you, you make it easy.

Your profile bio is descriptive. It paints a picture for me about who you are what you care about. It’s uniquely about you.

I get the impression (quickly) that if I met you at a dinner party, I would want to have a conversation with you.

You RT others and reply to others. The absence of either RTs or @ replies immediately tells me you’re using Twitter for one way communication.

You may use hashtags, though sparingly. This tells me you participate in Twitter conversations. This isn’t a huge factor, but I notice it.

Your follower to following ratio is greater than 1. For newer accounts (less than 1000 followers) I’m flexible on this if all other factors are compelling.

A scan of your Twitter home page generally communicates that you use Twitter conversationally, not as a promotional megaphone.

A sample individual Twitter account I like from @AmyMengel:

Why I Follow Back a Brand

The Twitter account design clearly communicates a message about the brand. Whether it’s a logo or other graphics, I get a quick understanding of the brand’s main message and persona.

The profile description clearly communicates the brand’s message and purpose. It contains a link to the website or blog where I can learn more about the brand.

When skimming the Twitter home page I see interesting content with links to more content. The tweets and links inform me, educate me or entertain me in some way.

If the brand offers promotional tweets, they are done tastefully, professionally and in a way that adds value.

The Twitter account is very transparent. You don’t B.S. me. You demonstrate interest in your followers.

You tweet with a human voice. If you’re a brand and you sound like a non-human, I’m not interested.

You engage your followers with @ replies and RTs.

If you get criticism you respond to it openly and swiftly.

You tweet daily.

A sample brand Twitter account I like: @Teddy’s Pride

Do you have other criteria you use when deciding to follow back individuals and brands? Share them below…

@berniebay

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!

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…

Search This… Making Twitter Work for Your Business

Jackie Weber:  Inbound Search Marketing Analyst

There are 14 million Twitter users in the United States today. By the end of 2009, Twitter is projected to reach 26 million users worldwide.

Twitter is a very powerful tool. Used correctly, it can be extremely beneficial to a company of any size.

If you look at Twitter as a marketplace and choose a strategy that makes your presence nothing more than a series of automated sales offers, you’re missing the whole point of Twitter. You become the cocktail party guest who can’t stop talking about himself. Pretty soon, the room empties.

If you see Twitter as an opportunity to join a conversation and connect with a community of like-minded people and share content which is genuinely useful to them, you will find Twitter’s rewards.  You can become the graceful party guest who mixes listening with stories and draws a crowd or at least blends in harmoniously.

If you are ready to join the Twitter party, first set your goals.

Yes, Twitter requires a strategic approach. Without clearly defined goals, your business isn’t likely to make the connections or build the relationships that Twitter offers.  Don’t be like the video comatose cartoon people floating aimlessly in the Twitosphere.  Identify what your company wants to accomplish on Twitter.

Sample Goal:
“Reach out and engage with people in our industry and potential customers, monitor brand sentiment, provide product support, and spread content of interest to the community.”

Once you have defined your goals, you need to map out your plan of action.  Identify the actions needed to accomplish your goals. Define your community. Establish a content strategy. I find that mixing business and some fun makes for a more interesting content strategy.  Your plan should address staffing concerns like protocols and time demands. And most importantly, research, research, research.

It’s a good idea to bring all your key players together to brainstorm and identify your goals. The most important aspect of any social media effort (including Twitter) should be to build relationships.

In order to be effective on Twitter, your business needs to be real and be transparent. Set up your Twitter profile in such a way that anyone visiting your Twitter page gets a glimmer of your personality. Twitter backgrounds can also give your followers a sense of who you are.

There are several tools that can help you find the people to follow on Twitter. It will take time to identify and follow people of interest, and to find influential thought leaders in your community.

Two of my favorite tools for finding followers are WeFollow and Twellow. Another way to find followers is to do a topic search in Twitter Search. Twitter’s search function is very powerful.

If someone follows you, you should consider following them back! Yes, there are some people on Twitter who I don’t follow back. You know the ones who aren’t really people and who spam your Twitter stream with way too many posts. If they want to follow me, that’s fine. But I am not going to follow them.
If someone follows you and you find their content offensive, just block them using Twitter’s block feature. That way you don’t have to see their content, and you won’t show up in their follow list.

No Twitter strategy would be complete without the ability to measure results. How you measure and what you choose to measure depends on the goals you have set.

You can listen in to conversations about your brand and be in a better position to let customers know that they are important. You can measure sentiment about your brand by tracking positive and negative Tweets.

All of these goals turned to actions can be measured. Not only can you measure the number of followers your Twitter account has attracted, but you can also measure reach, geographic interest, SEO value and even brand sentiment.

Twitter works like most other social media: You get out of it, what you put in to it. For small and medium-sized businesses with clear goals, an effective plan, and the right metrics, Twitter can be full of rewarding relationships.

Epic Change, Cause Marketing on the Social Web

Interview with Stacey Monk. Founder, CEO of Epic Change.

If you’re not familiar with this story, get ready for some goose bumps. In addition to warming your heart, this story is a great example of cause marketing with many valuable lessons for marketers.

Epic Change is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization founded by Stacey Monk and Sanjay Patel. They help social entrepreneurs who are change makers share their stories to get funded for a charitable cause. Their current project is partnered with (change maker) Mama Lucy in Tanzania to build school classrooms in the Arusha district of Tanzania, Africa. First, a little background on Stacey Monk (herself an impressive change maker).

A Life Changing  Trip

Stacey always had the inspiration to work in the non profit sector. After graduating from college, she needed to repay student loans so she joined the workforce as a management consultant working in change management. She consulted for businesses and public sector clients on this discipline.  In 2007 Stacy took a life changing trip to Africa where she volunteered at Mama Lucy’s Shepherd’s Junior school. When Stacey returned to her consulting practice, she learned that the landlord sold the land that Mama Lucy’s school was on. That motivated Stacey to act on her life long dream of working in the non profit sector. She and Sanjay founded Epic Change and took on Mama Lucy’s school as their first project.

Using the Social Web to Raise Funds

Epic Change adopted social media out of the gate as a way to reach people for donations through LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. They had a zero dollar budget. Stacey started using Twitter without any idea why. She connected with interesting people around the world which couldn’t have otherwise happened. One of those people is Sam Lawrence who has a popular blog called Go Big Always.  One day Sam said he didn’t feel like writing a blog post. Stacey volunteered to write it for him. She knew that Sam has a large following.  So, Stacey wrote a guest blog post about how she is going big to build classrooms in Tanzania through her non profit Epic Change. Sam shared that blog post on Twitter and it wound up reaching hundreds of new followers. It quickly struck Stacey how she could reach many influential people through Twitter and blogging.

That experience was a huge light bulb. Stacey figured out the power of the social web by connecting with influential people who can spread the word. Stacey’s connection to Sam Lawrence was game changing. His network turned out to be a huge door opener for Epic Change even though Stacey didn’t have a personal connection with Sam. Many new donors and new relationships came from that one connection with Sam Lawrence.

TweetsGiving 2008

Stacey started spending more time on Twitter as a result of her “going big” blog post and her new found connections on Twitter. This inspired Stacey to create a fund raising event called Tweetsgiving. Avi Kaplan, a new friend she met on Twitter, wrote a touching blog post thanking her for mentor-ship and passion for giving.  She was moved by his gratitude. So, Stacey invited the Twitter community to participate to show their gratitude. She asked influential bloggers like Jeff Pulver and Chris Brogan to invite people to give thanks for whatever they were grateful for and invited them to donate to TweetsGiving. The TweetsGiving event took place over just two days preceding Thanksgiving 2008. The goal was to raise $10,000. Over $11,000 was raised in just two days! TweetsGiving alone enabled Epic Change to build a classroom for Mama Lucy’s school in Tanzania.

TweetsGiving Success Factors

Why was TweetsGiving so successful? One reason is clearly stating the financial goal of $10,000 and stating what the money would be used for (to build a classroom). The call to action was to donate $10 for one brick. All the donators are listed on the wall of gratitude in the school.  The wall of gratitude was painted by local artists.  It reads: “This classroom was built from gratitude…Thank you!” All the donors are listed by their Twitter handle as shown in the picture below (that’s my Twitter name in the callout).  The entire classroom is enveloped by the wall of gratitude.

Five classrooms have been built as of this writing. And over $75,000 has been invested to secure land, a school bus, install flushable toilets and implement solar power. Over 300 children are now attending the Shepherd’s Junior school under Mama Lucy, which is triple the size since the beginning of the project! Equally important, this model is now proven which allows it to scale. Mama Lucy has also been certified now in national exams. Her school recently scored #1 out of 117 schools in their district in Arusha, Tanzania!

Building a Technology Lab is Next

An online vote has been mobilized to build a technology lab. Twitter people got involved in the voting along with the local people in Tanzania by going to internet cafes in town to cast their vote to get the funds for the technology lab. For many of them it was their first experience using the internet and they got to use it to vote to get more resources for their local community. On Stacey’s next trip they will teach people how to use the internet. The local people in Tanzania will also get to participate in TweetsGiving 2009.

TweetsGiving 2009

I asked Stacey about plans for TweetsGiving 2009. She was not ready to announce the financial goal when I conducted this interview. But, I’m sure we’ll learn about it very soon. She assured me the goal will be bigger than the 2008 goal. And, I have no doubt it will be exceeded once again.

Experiment that Paid Off

Stacey Monk’s story has so many inspirational lessons for us as humans and as vocational marketers. The main lesson I want to emphasize for marketers is to be willing to experiment. When Stacey launched TweetsGiving 2008 she didn’t know what to expect and she wound up exceeding her goal. She reached out and engaged influential people who helped her exponentially reach many more people. Stacey also produced content every step of the way. Her most successful content was user generated content, especially content that is produced in Tanzania in the way of photos and video.

Inspiration to Others

Many others have been inspired by Epic Change including me. I wrote a story about Epic Change in my book, Marketing 2.0.  Shel Israel has also covered Epic Change in his book, Twitterviille. Stacey was invited to speak at South by Southwest Conference where she learned that others have been inspired by her as a result of TweetsGiving. Many are frequently reaching out to Stacey for advice on raising funds on the social web for a charitable cause.

Stacey’s Advice to Marketers

Stacey is very grateful for the attention she has received, not for self serving reasons, but rather for the positive impact it’s having on Epic Change. Stacey advises marketers to consider partnering with charitable causes to make a difference. Along the way, you can reach influential people who align with the charitable cause. When for-profit businesses adopt a cause marketing mindset there are several winners. One of them can be the marketer. But, the biggest winner is the cause.

Thanks for advice Stacey!  I can’t wait to hear about TweetsGiving 2009.

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

Marketing 2.0: My New Social Media Marketing Book 

This podcast provides an introduction and overview of my new book, Marketing 2.0: Bridging the Gap between Seller and Buyers through Social Media Marketing, now available on Amazon.

Background

I wrote the book between late 2008 and early/mid 2009. My motivation came primarily from my experience running my inbound marketing agency, Find and Convert. We work mostly with small and medium size businesses (SMBs). Our clients are mostly niche companies. During the course of running my agency I have met many businesses who have not yet embraced social media marketing. I realized there is a gap between the seller and the buyer in today’s digital economy. Today’s buyer doesn’t want to be engaged the same way that sellers have engaged them for many years. This book sets out to help SMB business executives think of marketing 2.0 as a mindset.

Foreword

The foreword was written by Mike Volpe, V.P. Inbound Marketing at HubSpot.  Mike mentions that he and I met online and exchanged a lot of content before we met in person. He speaks about inbound marketing as being the new way for businesses to engage buyers and convert them to customers. When he researched me, he found all of my content on the web where he could get to know me and my value proposition and to begin to build a relationship with me. By the time he shook my hand the first time we met, he felt he knew me. He says he had a connection with me. This is exactly how buyers want to feel when they do business with a company.

Testimonials

I am fortunate to go to print with two terrific testimonials on the back cover. Joe Pulizzi, CEO of Junta42 and co-author of Get Content, Get Customers and Gary Katz, CEO of Marketing Operations Partners. Both Joe and Gary are outstanding marketers who were gracious enough to provide testimonials on the back cover.

Chapter Summaries

Following are some of the chapter topics and summaries. For a complete listing of the chapters visit the book table of contents.

Buyers Want to Consume Seller’s Content

Business executives should set out to produce great content, all kinds of content and present it to buyers so they can engage with you on their terms so they can begin to build a relationship with you online.

When buyers seek out new product vendors they have these two habits (hint: the same as you):

1. They search online. They may start at a search engine, but as they click around they find content across the web in blogs, forums, videos, photos, articles, white papers, directories, webinars, slide presentations, etc. None of these aforementioned locations may necessarily be your website.

2. They ask for referrals. They are influenced by other people’s opinions even if they don’t know them.

Content Marketing & Relationship Building

Outbound marketing doesn’t work anymore…In the near future the decades-old form of interruptive marketing will become obsolete. Buyers can already filter out the seller’s outbound marketing tactics. It’s only a matter of time before outbound marketing as we know it today is totally obsolete.

Significance of 2.0

In my book I provide insight into the significance of “2.0.” I provide other examples of major leaps from 1.0 to 2.0. Some of the examples I provide include:

• World 1.0 was flat. World 2.0 obsoleted a flat world when it was discovered the world was round.
• Software 1.0 was installed from from a disc or tape.  Software 2.0 is not installed. It’s accessed from the web and paid by subscription.
• Music 1.0 was purchased physically on a vinyl or CD format. Music 2.0 is downloaded from iTunes and other music sharing sites.

Technology and Social Drivers

We didn’t get to marketing 2.0 overnight. There are many technology and social drivers that have evolved us to where we are now. People under 35 in the workforce are accustomed to using the social web. In time as the workforce ages the marketing 2.0 mindset will be commonplace. At this moment in history, there is still a transition underway.

Developing Communities and Engaging Conversations

Buyers are in control. Sellers must understand this to engage buyers successfully. Buyer perception is what counts. Buyers want to engage with sellers through authentic converstations, not sales pitches. Buyers want to engage through communities where people help each other. The role of the brand has evolved from marketer to collaborator.

Developing a Social Media Strategy

I provide SMBs guidelines to develop a social media marketing strategy. I call it “old school meets new school.” There is research required to devleop an effective SMM plan.

Think Like a Publisher: Content Marketing

A big aspect of Marketing 2.0 is the mindset of thinking like a publisher. Sellers should strive to produce relevant content for buyers so they will engage with your content.

Lifecycle of Interaction

There are four stages in the lifecycle of interacting with community on the web. Sellers must understand these stages in order to understand how to engage people based on the stage they are in.

Measuring Results

Measuring results in a marketing 2.0 strategy is not the same as in years past. First, it is possible. But, the methods and the metrics are different. Some web analytics apply. Sentiment monitoring also comes into play. Measuring qualitative and quantitative results are both important.

Risks of Social Media Marketing

There are many risks in a marketing 2.0 strategy. Though I list more than ten risks in my book, the biggest one is what I refer to as social media abstinence. Understanding the risks will minimize mistakes and minimize failures.

Benefits of Social Media Marketing

There are many benefits to a marketing 2.0 strategy. This chapter outlines the many benefits and how to reap the rewards. One such benefit is the opportunity to build a strong brand even if you compete with a large conglomerate who has a huge budget. The social web levels the playing field.

Staffing Implications.

There are many staffing implications to consider in your marketing 2.0 strategy. This chapter discusses how social media marketing impacts your current staff and possibly future staff. The decisions you make to staff your marketing 2.0 strategy may be different than in years past.

Social Web Platforms

I devoted individual chapters to SEO, blogging, social networking, Twitter, podcasting, video and photos. Each of these is discussed in the context that they are enablers and tools.  None of these alone is the answer.  They enable us to create content and build relationships. Of course, SEO is not a platform. I discuss the role your content on the social web can contribute to your SEO results.

Marketing Operations:

Gary Katz, CEO of Marketing Operations Partners contributed a chapter on marketing operations. Gary explains how to make the marketing department a profit center, not a cost center.

Case Studies

My favorite section of the book is the case study section near the end of the book. I researched and wrote about real world examples of SMBs and solopreneurs who are succeeding with marketing 2.0 and their learning process. Each is learning and each is succeeding. I think you’ll find the diversity of industries and approaches very interesting and inspiring.

It’s About Content and Relationships

In the final chapter, I reiterate a key point I stressed throughout the book. The new mindset of marketing 2.0 is to engage buyers through great content and to build relationships with them. This mindset is a process. The old style of marketing is on its way out. Marketing on the social web can be integrated with offline marketing using the same principles of content and relationship building.

Resources

I put together a list of good books, blogs and podcasts on social media marketing. You’ll find plenty of great resources to further your education and insights into marketing 2.0.

Bernie Borges Live at Your Events

I enjoy speaking on Internet marketing topics at industry conferences and private events. Anyone interested in bringing me in to speak can contact me.

Special Offer

At the end of the podcast,  I offer a free copy of my book. But, you must listen to the podcast to learn how you can get a free copy. No gimmicks. No form to fill out. My offer is a free copy of my book. Listen to the podcast to learn how to get it. Click to play above, or visit iTunes and search for it by my name or by “inbound marketing,” or “social media marketing.”

I sincerely hope my book is a valuable resource to you. I look forward to getting your comments through my blog or the various ways you can contact me:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/berniebay
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/bernieborges
Facebook: http://profile.to/bernieborges
Facebook Fan Page: http://companies.to/findandconvert/

Dear Twitter, I Want to Pay for my Account

Paying for Twitter is in the Best Interest of the Twitter Community

When Twitter suspended my account this week (while on vacation) I was shocked. At first, I didn’t believe it. I almost denied it. But, it slowly sank in that I was without the ability to post (tweet) comments and links to articles, or reply to other’s tweets.

I didn’t realize how dependent I had become on Twitter until my account was suspended. So, I turned to Facebook to ask people who follow me on Twitter to tweet about my suspension. After all, it must be a mistake. I’m not a spammer. And, I certainly didn’t violate their TOS. My hope (fantasy) was that if enough people tweeted about @berniebay being unfairly suspended, that somehow Twitter would notice and reinstate me.

Once I calmed down I learned through a blog article on Mashable that Twitter admitted to a human error that apparently suspended numerous accounts and they were working to restore them. Yes, that gave me some comfort. At least I know I didn’t inadvertently committed some Twitter sin that warranted my suspension.

But, then the light bulb went on. I am so frustrated that I can’t use Twitter that I would be willing to pay for it!

One of my Twitter friends, Peter Rad made the comment on Facebook: “remember that Twitter is free and you have no right to complain when it fails you.” Peter you are correct! Peter also is of the opinion that if or when Twitter starts to charge a fee the uproar will be so loud it will be deafening. I think it depends on their pricing model.

So, here is my proposed pricing model for Twitter usage.

Individuals:

The first 500 users are free. This allows the casual newbies to try it out with no barrier to entry. After 500 followers the monthly fees start. The thresholds I propose are:

501 to 2000
2001 to 3000
3001 to 4000
4001 to 5000
5,001 to 7,500
7,501 to 10,000
10,001 to 15,000
15,001 to 25,000
25,001 to 50,000
50,001 to 100,000
100,000 plus

The monthly fee at each threshold obviously would increase, but until the threshold gets to 50,000 it should not exceed $50 per month. One mathematical approach is a penny per follower with the first 500 free. At 2,000 followers that’s $20 per month. Perhaps above 50,000 followers the per follower fee would drop below a penny to keep the cost reasonable for the Twitter superstars. I also propose a cap so even a Twitter mega superstar would never pay more than a ceiling price.

I like this pricing model for two reasons. First, it provides some revenue to Twitter so support tickets can actually get a response. Second, it provides some accountability. Now, they have no accountability because their service is free. And, third it will dissuade some of the rif raf from spamming us with offers to “grow our Twitter following and make a zillion dollars.”

Brands

Twitter should charge all brands a one time $99 fee. That’s a reasonable amount that any serious brand can afford. A similar fee schedule should apply to brands as the one described above.

Whether or not my model is the right pricing model for Twitter is not my point. No business on the planet can survive without revenue. It’s long overdue. As a Twitter “customer” I have no recourse for my undeserved suspension because I’m not a paying customer.

Dear Twitter – I want to become a paying customer. It’s time!

Would you pay for your Twitter account? How much is it worth to you?

@berniebay

What if Thomas Jefferson was a Blogger?

Every Independence Day I read the Declaration of Independence. I don’t tire of it. Each year I get goose bumps as I read it. The clarity of voice in our founding fathers in the historical document is simply amazing.

This year I got to thinking, what if Thomas Jefferson and the founding fathers had the opportunity to blog? What if the Internet had been invented in the 18th century. Rather than Thomas Jefferson distributing the scroll of paper (after Congress approved it August 2, 1776) announcing the independence of the 13 colonies, he (and many others) would’ve blogged about becoming independent from mother England.

And, what if the Declaration of Independence was drafted as a document in Google docs shared by the committee of five who drafted it: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman and Thomas Jefferson.  Jefferson is credited with the authorship of the famous declaration document which was “inked” into an official scroll document to be distributed throughout the land and delivered to mother England by ship.

I don’t need to be reminded of how fortunate we are to have the technologies we have at our fingertips. Reading this historical document on July 4th every year serves to remind me how blessed I am to be an American and how lucky I am to be alive during this time.

Our military men and women serving us bravely in far away lands communicate with their families with webcams across the Internet. The citizens of Iran have been communicating with the world using mobile devices, Twitter, Facebook and blogs. The Iranian authorities have been unable to completely prevent citizen journalists from essentially playing the role of uncensored media to the world.

Similarly, some business executives have not yet awakened to the capabilities available to their customers, employees and competitors using these commonplace technologies.

Just like long haired ponytails were the popular culture for men during the time of our founding fathers, the modern day popular culture is for people to “tweet” their sentiments about your new product announcement, or your decision to layoff 20% of our your workforce, or merge with your largest competitor, or (fill in the blank). Whether your company is public requiring disclosure of every substantial event, or private, the current culture is that everything is public on the social web.

The Internet makes this possible. The culture of transparency makes this popular.

Does your CEO resist this culture? Does your chief marketing executive resist this culture? Does your chief sales executive resist this culture? Does your chief financial officer resist this culture? Does your chief people officer resist this culture?

Are You Swimming Upstream?

You know the cliche “swimming upstream.” What image do you get when you hear that cliche? My visual is a salmon swimming fiercely against a river current. They do it yearly to spawn but you can’t help but wonder why they do it. Only a few make it. The odds are so against them. Why not “swim with the current” and get there faster?

That’s the question I ask when I encounter business executives who resist the new social web. These are the executives who know social networking is here to stay but think it’s a waste of time for them and their employees.

In my book, Marketing 2.0, I refer to this as social media abstinence. I suggest it’s the biggest risk in business today.

Business executives who abstain from engaging their buyers on the web where their buyers want to be engaged are risking their future. If their employees get it, it’s only a matter of time before they seek employment elsewhere, or worse yet their competitors will engage their customers in the culture of the social web and capture market share.

If Thomas Jefferson had access to the Internet I don’t think he would’ve abstained from using it to write and distribute the Declaration of Independence ahead of time. I bet it would’ve gone viral. Don’t you?

@berniebay

Connecting to Twitter Followers Through the Mail

Podcast Interview with Steve Tingiris: CEO, Enthusem.

Steve Tingiris is a serial entrepreneur currently working on Enthusem which is his third venture.   Enthusem is a very interesting play on social media marketing.  In fact, it’s a totally different twist on any kind of marketing.  Steve’s premise for creating Enthusem is based on a revelation that came to him during his second venture at ProspectSmarter.

Steve understands that traditional marketing is about filling the top of the sales funnel to get results through the bottom. Historically, marketers attempt to get their message in front of as many targeted people as possible (the top of the funnel).  Usually response rates in the 1, 2 or 3% range would produce respectable results. Steve noticed that even the most creative and compelling marketing campaigns have produced lower and lower response rates in recent years. The problem is (in part) we all get bombarded with so many electronic messages it’s hard for marketers to stand out.

Steve believes that, through the phenomenon of social media, it’s not a requirement to get in front of thousands of people any more. The power of social media allows individuals to get the word out for other individuals and businesses.  The Enthusem model is based on the premise that anyone can reach anyone with a personal message.

Steve created Enthusem to turn the funnel upside down. Rather than marketing to many, Steve believes marketers can create relationships with select individuals met online by creating an offline message sent through a printed postal message. But, it’s not just any printed, postal message.

Here’s how Enthusem works. You visit the Enthusem website, sign in and select “send a card.” You can upload your address book or add an address one at a time. Once you’ve identified the person who will receive your card you select an image from the image library for the face of the card, or upload your own. Then, you type a personal message and attach a digital link (optionally). The image on the front of the card is very important. It’s the first step in personalization. The card is mailed in a translucent envelope so the image is visible through the envelope which makes it stand out. For example one of the most popular card images has an image of the Twitter logo and says “Following you on Twitter.” You can upload any image to place on the face of a card.

When someone receives your card, if they type the link retrieval code provided in the card, the sender receives an email alert informing you the name of the person who retrieved the digital link you included in your card. Many marketers are getting creative with these links. You can include a link to any digital file including URLs, documents, images and video. When I attend tradeshows, I take photos of people and selectively mail a card to them with an attachment link to their photo.

Thinking Outside the “Box”

One of Steve’s colleagues at Enthusem, Marc Fors sent a a card to the CEO of Box.net using an image of their board room which he found online. Through a creative personal message in the card, the CEO of Box responded to the digital attachment. A meeting was set up and within 60 days Enthusem inked a deal to offer Box’ 2 million users the ability to send a personal card through Enthusem directly from Box or from LinkedIn which has Box integrated into it.

Let’s summarize this…Enthusem sent a piece of postal mail to the CEO of a silicon valley company and within 60 days inked a deal. That “campaign” cost Enthsem $4, plus a round trip ticket to San Francisco to ink the deal. Sweet!

At the Inbound Marketing Summit in San Francisco, I showed a sample Enthusem card to Chris Brogan. He was very intrigued by Enthusem’s integration of social  networking and postal mail. The following week, Chris called the Enthusem office to learn more about it in response to an Enthusem card sent to him.  Apparently, other Twitter followers had sent those “following you on Twitter” cards to Chris.

Enthusem has been building a fast growing Twitter following.  By walking the walk, Enthusem’s team selectively mails a card to some Twitter followers and many of them have responded to the digital attachment link. Some have even called Enthusem to become an affiliate or reseller.

Most people are used to getting bombarded by electronic messages, but they’re not used to getting a personalized postal card.

Find and Convert and Enthusem have launched a new joint offering which is called the Twitter Marketing Plan. We build a Twitter following for a client using best practices. As followers build up, we selectively send them an Enthusem card with a digital attachment. The idea is to take the contact offline. As attachments get picked up, a viable follow up can occur to explore a measurable relationship.

The Twitter Marketing Plan is popular because Twitter is popular, and this program allows marketers to use Twitter in measurable ways. The marketer can see a tangible result from Twitter by taking the online contact into an offline conversation which can be measured.

Steve’s insight for Enthusem is premised on the need for marketers to get smarter about engaging prospects. He believes marketers need to focus on true relationship building, not mail merge relationships. And, hitting people up with a sales message in social media isn’t very effective. Steve says “people filter out messages that are not relevant, not interesting and not personal. Marketers must communicate in more personal and interesting ways. Companies who do this well will be more successful.”

We have partnered with Enthusem for a special trial offer at http://www.findandconvert.com/enthusem-greeting-cards/.

To learn more about the Twitter Marketing Plan, call or email us.

Follow Enthusem on Twitter at http://twitter.com/enthusem.

Follow Bernie on Twitter at http://twitter.com/berniebay.

You just may get a “following you on Twitter” card one day…

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