SocialMedia

What’s Missing In Your Social Media Program?

I was having lunch with my friends Ike and Jacob Pigott recently and we were discussing the state of social media here and across the US. I got on a bit of a rant but I think I had a good point to make. As a strategic marketer it drives me absolutely nuts to see [...]

I was having lunch with my friends Ike and Jacob Pigott recently and we were discussing the state of social media here and across the US. I got on a bit of a rant but I think I had a good point to make. As a strategic marketer it drives me absolutely nuts to see companies (and professional marketers) executing tactics without a solid STRATEGY. This practice seems to be even more prevalent in the emerging social media field. Everyone with a Twitter account is an expert. Every company with a Facebook fan page is “doing social media.”  Social networks are tools, tactics are tools, heck, a hammer is a tool. Would you hire anyone who can use a hammer to build a house for you? I hope not. You’d want someone who could help you develop a PLAN for the house. Not just a plan for putting up walls and a roof, but a plan that would create a house that does what you need it to do. A plan that ties the different systems together in an elegant and useful way.

Then I started thinking about what else is missing. It stands to reason if there is no strategy and your just swinging your social media tools at random people, you probably don’t have much CREATIVE thinking involved either. After all, CREATIVE is what conveys the message that came out of the, you guessed it: STRATEGY.  I happened upon a post by Edward Boches, Creativity in the age of social media. Bam! Edward hit the nail on the head. He says that in social media’s infancy, the the tendency is to “simply abide by the protocols of social media:” i.e. listen, learn, share, engage and be transparent. His next questions are exactly the ones I’ve been thinking about:

But what happens when every brand is on Facebook and Twitter, when there are so many communities and conversations that we encounter cacophony? Will it be possible for a brand to gain notice or attention without it? Perhaps. But my instincts tell me that we, as marketers, will have to get more inventive with our content and that we as consumers will demand it.

We have an unprecedented opportunity for unlimited creativity not just in the content itself but also in how it’s presented and how users interact with it. Have you noticed that the most creative ideas are part message, part meme, part distribution? My two favorite examples that  Boches provides are Nike’s use of the Chalkbot and the Boone Oakley website that they executed on YouTube. See the embeds below and then next time you’re thinking about social media, think about creating an effective STRATEGY and stretching your CREATIVE muscle before picking up the social media tools.

Two Dell Executives to Perform Keynote at Social South

Social South™ has announced that two exciting speakers will perform Friday’s keynote address at the social media conference: Richard Binhammer, Strategic Corporate Communications, Social Media and Corporate Reputation Management at Dell and Lionel Menchaca, a 15-year Dell veteran and chief blogger at Direct2Dell. Richard and Lionel will take the stage together for the first time [...]

Social South™ has announced that two exciting speakers will perform Friday’s keynote address at the social media conference: Richard Binhammer, Strategic Corporate Communications, Social Media and Corporate Reputation Management at Dell and Lionel Menchaca, a 15-year Dell veteran and chief blogger at Direct2Dell. Richard and Lionel will take the stage together for the first time ever. It promises to be a lively and enlightening discussion as they reveal the strategy behind Dell’s successful social media presence. See Social South for more.

What Five Little Boys and a Lemonade Stand Can Teach You About Social Media

I think about Social Media a lot. All the time, in fact and I’m always observing online and offline behavior and trying to draw a correlation between the two.
This past weekend my two boys joined three other neighborhood kids in setting up and running a lemonade stand. I sat across the street watching the whole [...]

I think about Social Media a lot. All the time, in fact and I’m always observing online and offline behavior and trying to draw a correlation between the two.

This past weekend my two boys joined three other neighborhood kids in setting up and running a lemonade stand. I sat across the street watching the whole production; smiling each time they learned a new selling tactic.  I also discovered something that I think demonstrates the value of social media to small business.

As I observed the kids efforts to attract the attention of the drivers rolling by, I noticed three basic types of driver behavior:

1.     Some would glance and smile but kept right on going. 

2.     Some would slow down and wave or say hello but did not stop. 

3.     The rest would stop and actually make a purchase. They would pull up, interact with the kids and talk with the parents nearby.

If you overlay the observed behaviors with social attributes you see that generally the first group was either in hurry or did not know the children or families involved. The second group (based on my personal experience) ‘knew of’ the kids and parents but did not know them well. The group that actually became customers was comprised of people that had an actual relationship with the sellers. They had conversations on many previous occasions and wanted to support the kids’ entrepreneurial efforts.

How does that translate to social media? Well, social media is all about the conversation and building relationships with your customer. By using social media to reach out to your customer, by listening, conversing and providing value, your customers will be glad to stop by your lemonade stand. And the ones who wave and say hello are only a few conversations away from being customers as well.

So next time you’re apprehensive about where to start in social media, step away from the overwhelming flood of tools and tactics and remind yourself it’s about the people. Imagine a little lemonade stand in the Southern suburbs where friends stop by to share stories and sip on an ice-cold cup of hand-squeezed lemonade.

Worldwide Social Media Strategy Workshop Makes its First Stop in Birmingham, Alabama

Go to http://smcwbirmingham.eventbrite.com/ to register. Use the discount code STIMULUS for 33 percent off!
The Birmingham Social Media Workshop will be held on Monday, April 27 in Birmingham Alabama. After taking the pulse of the market, reviewing the result of the Social Media Buyers Guide and discussing anecdotal evidence, we came to realize pretty quickly that [...]

Go to http://smcwbirmingham.eventbrite.com/ to register. Use the discount code STIMULUS for 33 percent off!

The Birmingham Social Media Workshop will be held on Monday, April 27 in Birmingham Alabama. After taking the pulse of the market, reviewing the result of the Social Media Buyers Guide and discussing anecdotal evidence, we came to realize pretty quickly that almost everyone is in need of a clear strategy for integrating social media into their marketing and communications mix so companies can start to engage. It was also clear, that the biggest challenge social media champions face is selling it internally and educating coworkers, so our plan for this latest series of workshops pretty much wrote itself.

You will benefit from the experience and creative insights from some of the leading practitioners in social media for business. Join Mack Collier, Scott Schablow, Ike Pigott and Chris Heuer for a full day workshop where you get to leave with the framework for your social media strategy and insights on how to sell the plan to management so you can begin to make it real.

So roll up your sleeves, this isn’t a bunch of pseudo-celebrities trying to show you how great they are while talking about how many followers they have on Twitter, this is about you making social media an integrated part of your business strategy. We are doing a WORKSHOP so that you can put social media to work for you. In fact, when you register, you can tell us what you are specifically trying to accomplish and we will work to tailor the final agenda and related discussions to your specific needs.
So what will the Social Media Strategy Workshop look like?

We will start the day discussing the impact Social Media has on your business and why so many people are turning to social media for an up turn in their business during the economic downturn. How does social media change things? What exactly is it? What is possible and what is not? How can it help your business? Why is everyone talking about it? What are the most important principles you need to understand? What’s the different between a status update, a Tweet, a poke, a nudge and all those other silly sounding terms?

After a brief introductory presentation addressing these key questions, each of our workshop leaders will host smaller conversations in breakout groups so we can more directly support your specific needs. Each workshop leader will then host a conversation that includes some presentation materials as well as demonstrations of important services, software and web sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, YouTube and more. We will also highlight important areas of focus which may be a part of your final strategy including:

* Review of current marketing plan (do you have your’s? bring it.)
* Building and maintaining relationships
* Looking, Listening and Responding
* Producing Media
* Engaging with the Market
* Managing Community
* Social Media Campaigns
* Metrics and ROI
* Becoming a Social Organization
* Social Media Campaigns
* Measuring Influence and Maximizing It

After lunch we will review case studies from leading companies such as Dell, H&R Block, GM and Zappos as well as from smaller everyday folks applying the same insights in distinct ways. While the cases are all unique to the specific situation at hand, they do offer incredible insight into the perspective required to be successful. Participants are encouraged to share their own case studies as part of this discussion too so that we may learn from each other throughout the day.

The remainder of the afternoon will focus on developing a social media strategy for you to take back to your business. In addition to discussing in-depth details behind key strategic decisions you need to make, we will also discuss how you can get support for these activities within your organization. So you will leave at the end of the day with a strategic plan and a plan for how to begin putting it to work within your organization.

Participation is limited, so if you live in or near Birmingham, we hope you will consider spending the day with us figuring out how to apply social media to your business. It’s a transformational step for you and your career as well as your business. So, please register today and join us in Birmingham on Monday April 27. http://smcwbirmingham.eventbrite.com/

We are also currently still seeking sponsors for the workshop. If you are interested in sponsoring the event, $5,000 will make you the title sponsor for the workshop. If you are interested in supporting your local community and you are looking at buying 2 tickets, you might be interested in becoming a participating sponsor for $1,500 which includes 2 tickets for you and your company in addition to 2 tickets for a non-profit organization and traditional workshop sponsorship coverage. Contact us for more details.
Monday, April 27 at the McWane Center in Birmingham, AL, 9am-5pm

Questions? Email Scott.Schablow@gmail.com

Facebook + Twitter + LinkedIn ≠ Social Media

So you’ve decided that social media would be good for your business and you’re testing the waters.Good for you. You’ve set up a Facebook page, a LinkedIn Group and a Twitter account. Those are plausible tactics using the most popular social networking tools.
So you’re done right? You are now using social media to market [...]

So you’ve decided that social media would be good for your business and you’re testing the waters.Good for you. You’ve set up a Facebook page, a LinkedIn Group and a Twitter account. Those are plausible tactics using the most popular social networking tools.

So you’re done right? You are now using social media to market your business. Or are you? Does a mere physical presence and occasional post to a social network constitute an effective social media campaign for your business?

The answer is a resounding NO. When I speak to businesses about social media many of them respond proudly that they’ve got social media covered. “We’re in Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter,” they proclaim! They are mistaken and uninformed. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are NOT all there is to social media marketing.

If you have begun using popular social networking tools for your business I congratulate you. You ‘get it’ in terms of the value of conversing and engaging with your customer. What you don’t get is the value that experienced social media marketers can add to the equation.

For instance, did you begin by developing a social media strategy? Does that strategy support your brand message and does it integrate seamlessly with your offline efforts? An effective strategic plan is imperative to your online success.

There are many issues to consider to effectively leverage your presence in social media. I’ve listed some key considerations below, but there are many more that depend specifically on your particular goals, objectives, and most importantly your audience. Have you thought about:

• How can you determine which tools and tactics are the ones that are the best match for your brand?
• How are you going to use social media to build your brand and bolster credibility among customers?
• What can you do to maximize cohesiveness and build synergy between the social networks you are involved in?
• Among the tools and tactics you’ve identified, in what order should you begin your participation?
• How do you ensure that you are reaching your target audience within each social network?
• What are the online protocols for each social network and what unspoken rules must not be broken?
• How should you best budget your time to get the most out of your social presence?
• What kind of tangible results should you expect? Prospects? Loyalty? Sales?
• How will you measure success and ROI?

If you didn’t think of these questions, much less answer them, you may actually end up doing more harm than good. Social media can reap great benefits for your brand and your business if done correctly. It can just as easily tarnish your image in an instant. If you are interested in venturing into social media for your business, seek the assistance of a qualified experienced social media marketer.

The NEW Art of Networking: Peter Shankman

The April Meeting of SMC Birmingham will be a joint session with PRSA Alabama Chapter.

Be sure to join us April 14 at the PRSA Alabama Chapter meeting for “The NEW Art of Networking” with guest speaker Peter Shankman. More info: http://bit.ly/Vpk0
Just be sure to RSVP BEFORE April 7 as space is limited! PRCA members [...]

The April Meeting of SMC Birmingham will be a joint session with PRSA Alabama Chapter.

Be sure to join us April 14 at the PRSA Alabama Chapter meeting for “The NEW Art of Networking” with guest speaker Peter Shankman. More info: http://bit.ly/Vpk0

Just be sure to RSVP BEFORE April 7 as space is limited! PRCA members Birmingham Social Media Club members and guests are invited to attend.

UPDATE: Join us for a little meet and greet social at The Garage Cafe http://www.garagecafe.us at 8 p.m. April 13. Peter will be there as well and all of our friends from the PRSA, PRCA and Social Media Club of Birmingham to welcome Peter to town with a beverage and some mingling.

Social Media and Scalability

Beth Harte recently wrote a blog post asking if social media is scalable. She asserted that once hundreds or thousands join the conversation, one person/company cannot continue a two-way conversation. She concludes:
“Two-way conversations are not scalable. Once they reach the tipping point, two-way conversations revert back to one-way conversations (or the community conversing amongst themselves). [...]

Beth Harte recently wrote a blog post asking if social media is scalable. She asserted that once hundreds or thousands join the conversation, one person/company cannot continue a two-way conversation. She concludes:

“Two-way conversations are not scalable. Once they reach the tipping point, two-way conversations revert back to one-way conversations (or the community conversing amongst themselves). At this point, Web 2.0 tools join the arsenal of traditional marketing tools (such as direct marketing, e-mail marketing, PR, advertising, etc.) to continue mass, one-way communication efforts.”

I don’t disagree, but I do have a slightly different perspective. That is, done correctly, social media IS scalable. In fact for it to become a valuable tool for any company is MUST be scalable. Take Comcast for instance. They have at least 8 customer services representatives actively engaging customers on Twitter. Dell computers also has several official reps there too. They may not all be in the same conversation, but  they are still all having a Comcast discussion. Much like the small groups that form at a very large party.

Zappos and others have created a scalable scenario by encouraging and empowering the entire staff to be brand evangelists through social media (Twitter specifically, but expansion beyond that platform is inevitable). I recall reading a post (can’t remember who, thinking Mack Collier) that said, in essence, think of the benefits a large corporation would receive if they took a million dollars from the ad budget and hired a staff of ’social media relations’ experts to, listen, blog, comment on blogs, and Tweet all day, every day.

Which would have more of a positive effect on the bottom line? A couple of network TV ads that were largely ignored or several hundred (or thousand) customers transformed into enthusiastic brand ambassadors through meaningful conversations. Corporate marketing directors easily discount the idea, claiming they have a consumer affairs hotline that can address issues in real time. When, in the real world, they perform below consumers expectations. On the phone they are expected to be reactive, concerned and compassionate. Regulatory and legal constraints prevent them from offering what the consumer expects. In a social media setting, the consumer is sought out and contacted proactively, which generally impresses the consumer.

Just as the editor of the New York Sun Time proclaimed to Virginia, yes, there is a Santa Claus, I submit that, yes, Social Media IS scalable. It just depends on your belief in the value of it and your commitment to fully funding social media relations in your company.

What do You think? Post a comment and join the conversation.