TheSocialCMO – Page 54 – THE SOCIAL CMO Blog

Sniffing Out Real Expertise in Social Media

July 22, 2010 by TheSocialCMO

As the field of social media matures, there is the inevitable march of the unqualified and snake-oil sellers into this area of expertise. This is not something surprising given that social media *looks* simple, fun, hip, and sexy. Plus there is draw of, “yes you can be paid actual dollars to play on Facebook and Twitter.”

This march of the pretenders is not something new either. If you worked in the digital world through the booms of the Webmaster, push/pull technology, e-commerce or the early days of SEO, this new set of annoyingly unqualified competitors will be nothing new. However, this wave of shameless self-promoters is all the more concerning because they are using their social media footprint as their main qualifier. In a recent interview, a candidate for a job told me, “you can tell I’m an expert because I have nearly 10,000 followers on Twitter.” Hate to break it to you, but popularity does not equal expertise. 10,000 followers shows me that you are good at buidling followers, but anyone who truly knows the social media world appreciates that it is very complex and pointing to a single number as a demonstration of expertise only shows inexperience.

I have been thinking about a post on this for awhile and then I found an amazing post on the topic from Olivier Blanchard on the Brand Building Blog.

A few things about it really stuck with me:

A true expert is about more than numbers
They need passion that they can demonstrate through experience
That passion should easily come through in any conversation
They also need to be able to plan, but not a pre-baked, one-size-fits-all plan, but one that organically adapts to your organization

Read the full article. It is one of the best posts I’ve seen about this subject.

Rick Wion

Innovative Use of Traditional Metrics

July 22, 2010 by TheSocialCMO

Here’s an interesting concept: using traditional measurement tactics to determine the success of non-traditional (social media) marketing.

At first, it sounds as though this goes against my persistent encouragement for companies to measure the Return on Relationship rather than just the standard Return on Investment, but actually it doesn’t.

In his July 19 blog post entitled “The ROI of Social Media Marketing: More Than Dollars and Cents”, Forrester blogger Augie Ray introduces the Social Media Marketing Balanced Scoreboard. The key word here is balanced. Although he still uses the phrase “Return on Investment,” what he’s writing is actually about much more than the standard notion of return on financial investment only.

Ray writes, “Facebook fans, retweets, site visits, video views, positive ratings and vibrant communities are not financial assets—they aren’t reflected on the balance sheet and can’t be counted on an income statement—but that doesn’t mean they are valueless. Instead, these are leading indicators that the brand is doing something to create value that can lead to financial results in the future.” In other words, ROR – Return on Relationship!

This Social Media Marketing Balanced Scorecard encourages “interactive marketers” to measure success across four areas:

Financial
Brand
Risk Management
Digital

Notice that the scorecard doesn’t measure only financial success – nor does it measure only brand success. Both are included here.

Bottom line? While we social media marketers tend to be all about innovation, there is still room for some things traditional – when used deliberately and wisely!

Ted Rubin

Meet #MarketerMonday Greats on #MMchat !

July 19, 2010June 7, 2011 by TheSocialCMO

MarketerMonday Chat or #MMchat for short was founded by @JeffAshcroft on July 26th, 2010 and every week since has featured a SPECIAL guest and generated an interesting and useful transcript.

Beginning on July 26th, 2010 we were pleased to announce that every #MarketerMonday at 8:00pm eastern we will feature a SPECIAL #MarketerMonday Chat guest on a LIVE tweetchat hosted by @TheSocialCMO !

These tweet chats will be conducted utilizing the hashtag #MMchat and can be followed through the #MMchat on Twitter search or through your favorite twitter tool! And our ongoing schedule for future chats as well as the links to transcripts from our chats already completed are always available at http://bit.ly/MMchat

Join us every #MarketerMonday evening to personally get to know, discuss cool topics and ask questions of our SPECIAL guests on #MarketerMonday Chat!

I’m VERY pleased to announce that our first #MarketerMonday chat SPECIAL guest on Monday July 26th will be none other than Rick Wion @rdublife Director, Social Media for McDonald’s and our topic for the chat will be Social Media Alignment! (Completed see blog post & transcript)

On August 2nd, 2010 our second #MarketerMonday chat SPECIAL guest will be Ted Rubin @TedRubin , CMO of #OpenSky and our topic will be Relationship Commerce.(Completed see blog post & transcript)

And on August 9th the fun continues with Karima-Catherine Goundiam @KarimaCatherine joining us to discuss Multilingual Social Media Platforms (Complete see transcript!)

On August 16th our very own world traveling storyteller @treypennington will join us to discuss Cut through the marketing clutter with storytelling(Complete see transcript!)

And on August 23rd one of the first and still most fervent #MarketerMonday fanatics Cheryl Burgess @ckburgess and Mark Burgess @mnburgess will join us to discuss the Agency Blueprint for Energizing Social Media Business! (Complete see transcript!)

On August the 30th we’re very pleased to have the orginator of #MarketerMonday on #MMchat @KentHuffman will be joining us for a discussion of Social Media Resources. (Complete see transcript!)

After a break for the Labor Day (Sept 6th) long weekend, #MMchat will continue on September 13th with SPECIAL guest @ScottMonty and our topic will be Encouraging Executive Participation in Social Media! (Complete see transcript!)

#MMchat SPECIAL guest on September 20th will be Jeff Wilson @jeffthesensei and our topic will be Online Demand Generation!
(Complete see transcript!)

REALLY pleased our #MMchat SPECIAL guest on September 27th will be Viveka von Rosen @LinkedInExpert and our topic will be Making the Most of LinkedIn Groups! (Complete see transcript!)

On Monday October 4th our #MMchat SPECIAL guest will be Cd Vann @ThatWoman_Is the famous Founder of unGEEKED and our topic will be Issues Surrounding Brand Authenticity vs Personal Integrity! (Complete see transcript!)

@BillBoorman a very prolific and vociferous tweetchatter will join us October 11th for #MMchat and our topic will be Marketing Benefits of Employee Engagement!(Complete see transcript!)

On Monday October 18th our #MMchat SPECIAL guest will be Judi Samuels @ChiefLemonHead and our topic will be True Love, True Loyalty (Complete see transcript!)

Our #MMchat SPECIAL guest on Monday October 25th will be @GlenGilmore the ever famous and original @Trendtracker to discuss what else but Tracking Trends via Social Media! (Complete see transcript!)

Our #MMchat SPECIAL guest on Monday November 1st will be @DannyBrown on the Increasing Role of Content as Engagement & Marketing Tool! (Complete see transcript!)

Our #MMchat SPECIAL guest on Monday November 8th will be Eric Qualman @equalman the Socialnomics dude to chat about The future: Social Search, Social Commerce & eReaders oh my! (Complete see transcript!)

Our #MMchat SPECIAL guest on Monday November 15th will be Chuck Martin @ChuckMartin1 to discuss It’s a Mobile World: Trends & Research (Complete see transcript!)

Our #MMchat SPECIAL guest on Monday November 22nd will be @ChrisBrogan to discuss The Role of Major Influencers in Cause Marketing! (Complete see transcript!)

Our #MMchat SPECIAL guest on Monday November 29th will be John Bernier @BernierJohn Empowerment Ninja of Bet Buy’s original Twelpforce and we’ll be talking Proactive Customer Service in a social media world!)(Complete see transcript!)

Our #MMchat SPECIAL guest on Monday December 6th was Amy @HowellMarketing and @AnneDGallaher to discuss the Impact and Value of Social Media in PR!(Complete see transcript!)

Our #MMchat SPECIAL guest on Monday December 13th will be Laura Fitton @Pistachio Author of Twitter for Dummies and pleased she has chosen #MMchat for the 1st stop on her virtual book Tour!(Complete see transcript!)

The #MMchat SPECIAL guest on Monday December 20th was @ShaneGibson Author of Guerrilla Social Media Marketing!(Complete see transcript!)

Our final #MMchat of 2010 is #MMchat The Year 2010 in Review with @JeffAshcroft on Monday December 27th. Reviewing all #MMchats held in 2010, suggestions for improvements and SPECIAL guests in 2011!(Complete see transcript!)

We continue to round out our future #MarketerMonday Chat schedule and are always looking for great suggestions for topics and SPECIAL guests so feel free to @ MSG or DM @TheSocialCMO with your suggestions.

So make the most of #MarketerMonday and get to know some of the people behind the GREAT suggestions of #MarketerMonday follows right here on #MarketerMonday Chat or #MMchat for short!

Cheers

Jeff Ashcroft

@TheSocialCMO

Relationship Commerce… the new definition

July 15, 2010July 15, 2010 by TheSocialCMO

Long-term E-commerce success is in a big way relative to Relationship Commerce, building relationships and interacting with consumers. Relationships are extremely important. The relationship a customer has with a company can make or break the company’s success… this is perfectly exhibited with what Amazon does to nurture a relationship.

But what about true relationships that already exist online as the basis for commerce instead of the other way around? Bloggers, authors, celebrities, and any internet personalities who have a deep relationship with their followers can now get what I call ROR – Return on Relationship, with a new kind of Relationship Commerce. The company for which I am on the Board of Advisors and Chief Social Marketing Officer, OpenSky, connects people with existing relationships, we call them Influencers (sellers), to people who make great products, we call them Innovators (suppliers).

OpenSky provides a means for our “sellers” to connect their trusted followers to the products they write about, and are passionate about! All this happens in the OpenSky Distributed Cart without taking the users away from the site where the content about the product and relationship originated and exists. We help Influencers enhance their relationships and provide Innovators with a new means of distribution. Think of it as a Relationship Commerce ecosystem.

Ted Rubin

12 Personas to show you who’s online and how they feel about being online

July 14, 2010 by TheSocialCMO

If you want to use social media to build relationships with your customers and prospects, you’ll want to have a very good idea of exactly who they are. ExactTarget and CoTweet have done the heavy-lifting to develop 12 online personas to help you understand customer expectations and behavior on social media.

Their report examines both user-generated content and user-content consumption and charts the results. Here is a quick list of the 12 social media profiles.

Inner Circle: more interested in keeping and enhancing existing relationships than making new ones. Facebook is the tool of choice. Marketers will have a tough time reaching them.
Cautious: very selective about what they share online. If they “Like” a company Facebook Page, it’s only because their friend owns the company. Facebook is their daily tool, but they attempt to keep their social footprint small.
Info Seeker: they’re in search of information and consume it when they find it. They don’t create much content. They’ll “Like” a Facebook Page so they can share, not receive.
Enthusiasts: their offline interests and hobbies drive them online. They intentionally use Facebook to show their support for favorite brands. Enthusiasts rely on each other, not companies, for information.
Deal Seekers: they’re hungry for promotional content everywhere they can get it. Believe it or not, their median income is actually above the national media income.
Shoppers: these folks are more interested in talking about shopping than actually buying something online. Instead, they scour the Internet researching upcoming purchases. Quality, not savings, drives their quest for content.
News Junkie: you know this one—they spend a lot of time searching for late-breaking news. The contribute a ton of content, too, especially as comments on news sites. Surprisingly, they’re even “more likely to read product reviews than Shoppers, Enthusiasts, and Deal Seekers.”
Gamer: the Internet exists to connect these folks with both games and other gamers.
Social Butterfly: you also know this one—”making and maintaining a lot of online friendships” is top priority for them. [hey, stop staring at me. I’m not a social butterfly. I could stop at any time, if I wanted to. Really, I could.] They both create and consume massive amounts of content. Folks fitting this persona make up a relatively small portion (13%) of online users.
Business First: heavy content creators but focused on using everything for business purposes. Also a small group (8%). Though they’re not likely to follow brands on Twitter, “they are the most active on Twitter.” Facebook is NOT the tool of choice. [see, I told you I’m not a Social Butterfly. I’m a Business First guy, right? Oh, wait, maybe not: this is the “most affluent” persona. Guess I’m back to Social Butterfly.]
Megaphone: another one you’re probably quite familiar with. They’re aggressive online, receive more email than anyone else, but see Facebook and Twitter as preferred avenues of interaction with brands. While they’re The Influencers, they are also easily influenced and are “more likely to become a subscriber, fan or follower at the recommendation of others.”
Open Book: they lay it all out on the table. Though they don’t follow brands on Twitter, they are very active on Twitter. If you want to reach them, you’ll have to be very open in encouraging and responding to candid feedback.

Facilitating Integration: Functional lines blurring due to social media

July 14, 2010November 14, 2010 by TheSocialCMO

At this point there seems to be few parts of traditional organizations and the functions within them that will not be touched or even perhaps radically altered by the forces of social media connectivity and communications. But there are still many naysayers out there asking

Why do we need social media?

Some typical responses from those who still don’t get it:

To share inane updates with random persons only hungering for us to follow them back?

To expose ourselves to just one more medium where avid advertisers can spam us into submission?

No if there wasn’t more than this, I would set the Twitter Fail Whale as my screensaver and never turn the application on again! (exercising maximum restraint to avoid mentioning obvious parallel to recent Twitter service uptime issues; oops I guess I just did, sorry @biz =)

Fortunately there’s more, much more to social media that can and will make a difference. A difference in one to one communications, one to many communications and most importantly to all manner of human organizations.

So what is functional integration and why should we all want more of it?

Easiest place to start is to think about what are all the things we hate most about typical organizations today?

Departments which have become little fiefdoms dedicated only to the glory of their self important manager to the detriment of all else.

Companies to whom suppliers and customers have become no more than predatory targets to latch onto and suck their blood until they die.

So what’s new, isn’t that just the way most big companies have been for the last 100 plus years?

And how’s social media going to make a difference in the face of such utter dysfunction?

Well first off there’s nothing better when it comes to Smashing the Silos with Social Media. So whether it’s between departments in one company or between companies needing to work together for improvement, the nature of hypercommunication via social media makes quick work of any little emperors who might try and get in the way.

Through social media, the truth always seems to find its way through any attempts to distort or stop it. There’s now just too many eyes and voices feeding a collective pool of information available to all for the truth not to emerge sooner or later.

So the bottom line for those companies or people who think they can go on treating their customers and co-workers like garbage is that their days are numbered.

Before, except in the most extreme of cases, they could easily divide and conquer those customers who dared to speak the truth about their shoddy service or products. Now a simple keyword search on Twitter reveals what the world really thinks of them. And if they also treat their employees in a similar manner, just what their employees also think of them.

Add to this their environmental record, product quality, social responsibility and even customer service and you get the picture of this new era of accountability and transparency.

And if we really would like to have some fun with this and truly make a difference, the simple application of the above to politics, countries and even the entire planet will reveal the ultimate potential.

Jeff Ashcroft

Your Customers Are Going Mobile

July 10, 2010July 13, 2010 by TheSocialCMO

We’re in the midst of yet another technological revolution slated to be bigger than that of the TV or PC and marketers will be faced with how to most effectively deal with it.

The new market is Mobile and it is about to change everything.

No longer will the customer be found tethered to a TV or PC screen, perfectly positioned to receive a marketer’s message on the marketer’s terms. The Mobile consumer is on the move, on location, and the marketer will have to find where their customers aggregate in this new digital landscape and how to interact with them by adding value.

It’s not the lean back of TV or the lean forward of the PC, but rather the lean very forward of Mobile. It’s up close and it’s personal. Mobile customers are doing a lot more than talking on their phones, based on the latest Pew Research Center study Mobile Access 2010:

The majority (54%) have sent a photo or video
More than a fifth (23%) have accessed a social networking site
A fifth have watched a video
Eleven percent have purchased a product
Eleven percent have made a charitable donation

These Mobile activity indicators are barely the tip of the iceberg of what Mobile is doing to the marketing landscape. More than 13 million people accessed bank accounts through Mobile sites in one month and more than five million people are using banking apps, according to comScore. And that’s just one industry.

The size and scope of Mobile cannot be underestimated. By 2013, there will be roughly five billion mobile subscribers worldwide, according to noted research firm IDC. And global enterprises will be impacted in even more profound ways.

For example, nine out of 10 Mobile users in China text on their phones, based on research conducted by Sybase 365. In the U.S. market, they found only 13 percent use Mobile commerce and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. While that’s slightly higher than Canada, nearly half of those in China already use such systems.

In Japan, consumers are accustomed to swiping cell phones rather than credit cards for payment and in South Korea free Mobile TV has been around for five years and broadcasters there say almost 30 million people watch TV regularly from their phones.

Many of the large brands already have been experimenting with Mobile while many are taking a wait and see approach. In a Mobile marketing study we conducted at the Center for Media Research at MediaPost Communications, 41 percent of those not yet doing Mobile campaigns do not plan to in the foreseeable future. Another study by Acquity Group showed that only 12 percent of the top 500 retailers had sites optimized for Mobile phones.
The time for marketers to get into Mobile is now. It is the wave so you can be on it or under it.

What is the overall Mobile strategy of the business?
Where do your Mobil customers aggregate and what Mobile platforms do they use?
What role does your CIO or IT department play in this? Are they onboard?
Can your point of sale system or rewards program be integrated and maximized for your Mobile customers?
How do you plan to deal with your customers on location?

And those are only some of the questions that need to be addressed.
Mobile marketing is not about providing coupons and discounts, it’s about determining how you will interact with your customers when and where they want and defining the future of your brand in the Mobile environment.

Chuck Martin

Chuck Martin is a New York Times business bestselling author and was the founding Publisher of Interactive Age, the first publication to launch in print and on the Web simultaneously. He is Director of the Center for Media Research, MediaPost, in New York and former Vice President of IBM’s publishing and advertising division. He is the Co-Publisher and Editor in Chief of Social Media Marketing Magazine. He is currently writing a soon-to-be published book on Mobile.

Can the social web play a role in customer retention?

July 10, 2010July 10, 2010 by TheSocialCMO

The recession has culled the weak from the pack but it’s likely that your competition is still fierce. Is there a way to attract and retain B2B customers without lowering your price? And is there a way to leverage the social web to keep your customers … even in the extreme case of a commodity market?

Holding onto customers in a buyer’s market is one of the most extraordinary challenges in business, especially if you’re selling a commodity (Commodity = purchasers view suppliers as identical on all factors but price, i.e. common coal, steel, or chemicals).

There is usually only one winner in a commodity market — the lowest cost supplier — except in periods of high demand when supply falls short. But there are ways to lock-in customers even in ugly downturns. One strategy I used throughout my career was to create a systematic plan to raise switching costs. By this I mean create obstacles — through valuable benefits — to prevent a customer from leaving you for the competition.

A process to retain customers

This process starts with getting out to your most valued customers and listening. And I mean REALLY listening. We would sometimes have half-day sessions to explore un-met and under-served customer needs that would …

Improve their competitive position
Enhance profitability or productivity
Eliminate waste
Lower risk
Increase speed to market

One strategy that uncovered potential points of differentiation was to ask customers what they hated about their job. This always seemed to get people to open up about an idea we could implement to make their life easier! Some other potential approaches to this challenge:

Solve a customer problem (reporting, data-gathering, analysis/testing) that might add slightly to your cost, but establishes enough value to create a hurdle to switching
Create a specialized service that would be difficult for competitors to match (we did a specialized truck-return recycling program, for example)
Work actively with customers to influence specifications and terms that could advantage my company or disadvantage a competitor
Focus retention efforts on most profitable customer locations
Look at eCommerce integration options to enhance retention

Notice that all of these ideas go beyond the basics of price, quality and service. Those aren’t strategic initiatives. Those are competitive tablestakes these days.

When customers don’t play nice

This process of listening, reacting and renewal must be continual and integrated through an effective CRM system. But it doesn’t always work.

In the middle of all this great creative marketing work I just suggested is another dynamic. Purchasing may not want you to implement your ideas – even if there is an advantage – because it reduces their flexibility with suppliers. They may even force you to hand over your innovations to competitors. I witnessed this in the automotive market in the 1990s. This ended up hurting customers because when there is no reward for innovation, innovation ends.

Now what about the social web?

Is it possible to develop some distinct value through social media that could create a switching cost? My answer – probably not. The social web might be a tool to listen and tune-in to possible innovations and market needs but I don’t see how social networks can create sustainable switching costs in this part of the sales cycle. It’s free to everyone and easily duplicated by competitors.

However, I do think you can create PRIVATE information networks and communities that create distinct value. For example, one idea that worked really well was a private, unique market information hub for customers who remained in our top tier in revenue.

What are you doing to hold onto your best customers in tough economic conditions? Can you think of any way to leverage the social web for DISTINCT value in a commodity market?

Mark Schaefer

Mark Schaefer is Executive Director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions and CMO of Freesource Inc. You can find him on Twitter at @markwschaefer and on his blog {grow} at www.businessesGROW.com

5 Steps to Add Social Media to Your Marketing Mix

July 10, 2010July 10, 2010 by TheSocialCMO

Social media participation is a marketing game changer for every size of business. The playing field is leveled and companies from @Ford with 198,000 employees, to @AmeriChoiceFCU with 60 employees, to @GoodHlthRewards with 7 employees have equal opportunity to tell their story, attract an audience, listen to the customer, and make the sale.

Perhaps you think blogging, tweeting, and checking-in is a fad. Who cares if @AlanBr82 had coffee at Starbuck in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania? @Starbucks cares and commercial real estate developers like @RichardEJordan2 care.

“Social media brings new tools to our preliminary market studies,” says Rick Jordan, CEO of Smith Land & Improvement Corporation. “In real time, we can learn consumer trends and desires. Twitter is one massive focus group. As a property owner who leases office and retail space, it’s good to know that our tenants have a loyal following and are building community. By tracking conversations, we can discover what products and services people want in a region and attract specific tenants to fill the needs. That’s good for business.”

Chances are high that your competition is already engaged on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and Foursquare. To find out, go to www.socialmention.com, www.trackle.com, or set up some Google Alerts. If you’re not on at least one of these social platforms, you can join the conversation today to add social media to your marketing mix. It’s never too late to tell your story.

Where should you start?

1. Meet with the CEO to establish executive buy-in. Top-down support drives a social media marketing campaign. Peter Aceto (@CEO_INGDIRECT) is an excellent example of an executive who harnesses the power of social media for a business advantage. He tweets about his institution, his team, his family; and he has gained loyal customers and fresh insight because of his transparency. Ford’s Global Digital Communications Director @ScottMonty explains the power of these tools and the CEO’s support in a video interview at Ford’s World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. Whether an executive understands these nascent tools or not, dismissing them can be business suicide.

2. Develop a social media strategy. Don’t make this step too difficult—plan for where you want to engage your target audience (are they on Facebook or LinkedIn, are they local or global, are they retail or B2B), and plan the content of your messages. Focus your strategy, and commit to participation in at least two channels where your customers or clients are. Determine objectives, messages, and who will lead the messaging. Every tweet and post embodies your brand. Don’t be fooled by the language and brevity in the social media. Those 140 characters carry tremendous potential to boost your brand or set off a PR nightmare. Are you determining trends, seeking opinions, looking for new customers, finding influencers, or pitching the media? Start with measurable objectives and allocate sufficient people, time, and money to accomplish them. (This is where the value of #1 is realized.)