Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much!
Ted Rubin 
You know that I’m big on social listening, and have been from the start. We have this incredible, unprecedented resource for learning more about our clients, customers and connections, but we have to listen to make it work. So I’ve been very pleased to see that social listening is (finally) getting some play in the marketing and sales arena.
Social spend—you can’t escape the term in the marketing world, but what does it really mean? Most of the articles and statistics you see on social spend are narrow in focus—it’s all about ad buys. From that perspective, social spend sets a new all-time high every year. In 2015, the estimated social ad spend checked in at nearly $24 billion, largely thanks to mobile advertising. This year, it will surely be even higher.
Let’s put an end to NOT looking people in the eye so you don’t have to smile or say hello. I think 2016 should be The Year of Connection, and I’m not talking digitally here, but face-to-face.
When it comes to getting to know your customers, knowing how to “look people in the eye digitally” has never been more important. Picking up the phone is often the last option for most consumers today. They can get everything they need to make a buying decision online for all but the most complex sales. So how can marketers stay close to the customer without having a lot of one-on-one interaction? How can they discover the customer’s pain points and glean enough information to say the right things without a lot of face time?
Before you attempt a big change in your company, whether it’s a brand overhaul or a systems change, make sure all who are affected know what you’re doing and why. Keeping your business running smoothly in a transition means addressing the needs of your employees before, during and after the change. So let’s start at the beginning and work forward.
Everybody’s talking about customer experience these days, but how many companies actually follow through to ensure that their customers are getting the best experience possible? And how are they doing that?
The “and so it goes” phenomenon of going back to school that was so prevalent when school started again this year reminded me of how important milestones are to the people experiencing them, and why we need to cultivate empathy in all of our relationships (especially during those milestones). Perhaps you’re a parent sending a child off to a new school or college, an employer welcoming a new employee, or even a salesperson nurturing a prospect through a difficult decision-making process. In any type of relationship, the ability to empathize with what the other person is going through is critical.
Should PR or marketing be responsible for corporate social media activities? It’s a common point of contention for businesses. While the jury is still out, research shows one group may be gaining favor.
Need to lower the stress from a frustrating workday or find a way to put yourself in that “happy” place? Learn from children and skip. I’m not kidding! It might sound silly, but it really isn’t. The act of skipping (with or without a rope) involves both sides of the brain, plus it improves coordination, muscle tone—even bone density. Read more on the benefits of skipping here: http://www.iskip.com/what_is_Iskip/index.htm
Ted Rubin, Future Strong Hero Interview ~via Bill Jensen
Social Marketing Strategist, Acting CMO of Brand Innovators
Author, Return on Relationship
• • • • • • • • • • •
How do you stay Future Strong? Back in 1997, I was with working with
Seth Godin at Yoyodyne when he coined the term, Permission Marketing.
That’s where my focus — Return on Relationship — got started, and I
carried that into the social commerce explosion.
My advice to everyone is stop worrying about what’s next, and execute
on what’s now. I see too many people looking too far out into the future.
I am rarely the first guy on new platforms. It’s not because I’m just
waiting to see if they take hold. It’s because I’m very busy executing
in the current media. I’m very present.