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Do CMOs Really Understand the Value of Twitter?

In a recent blog post on Forbes.com, CMO Club CEO Pete Krainik noted, “Most Chief Marketing Officers see the value of engaging with customers—and the value of engaging them where they hang out, talk, and spend their time.” Pete is surely right about that. But then why are only a very small percentage of CMOs active in the social media world themselves, particularly on Twitter?

I attended the CMO Club’s semiannual CMO Summit in San Francisco last week. Again this year, it was an excellent event and was well attended by a nice cross-section of B2C and B2B Chief Marketing Officers from around the country, representing all different types and sizes of companies and organizations. On the last day of the Summit, I was part of a panel who discussed the business impact of social media and community building, including the most effective social media marketing tools. But surprisingly, I discovered that out of the 80-plus heads of marketing in attendance at the Summit, only 16 who carry the official title of CMO for their organizations are currently active on Twitter:

B2C Chief Marketing Officers:

B2B Chief Marketing Officers:

B2C/B2B Chief Marketing Officers:

This is obviously not a scientific study, but two things struck me when reviewing this list: 1) even though there were more B2C CMOs at the Summit than B2B, more B2B CMOs are active on Twitter than their B2C counterparts, and 2) very few “big brands” in either the B2C or B2B world are represented by their CMOs on Twitter. It’s also interesting to note that you can make the same basic observations when reviewing the list of the top CMOs on Twitter that I curate as Co-Publisher for Social Media Marketing Magazine.

So why is that the case? Do most CMOs not understand the value of Twitter and other social media tools? Or do they just not consider them a priority for their careers or their companies?

“Most CMOs barely understand the value of building relationships with customers and giving them a voice, let alone how to navigate and make use of the world of Twitter. Social media marketing to most in the C-suite is still something campaign based, but social media marketing needs to be woven into fabric of all marketing channels, strategically managed from a 360-degree perspective,” said Ted Rubin, Chief Social Marketing Officer at OpenSky and the most-followed CMO on Twitter. “The key here is to convince CMOs to get personally involved in social media by having someone with hands-on knowledge mentor them, so they get first-hand knowledge, build their own personal following, and learn from the ground up. That way, they can properly guide and manage the integration process,” Ted added.

John Dragoon, the Chief Marketing Officer at Novell, noted, “All markets are conversations, and good marketers are embracing new tools to have these conversations. The beauty of social media tools is they allow you to experiment quickly and learn even faster. Active participation is the key to success. And make no mistake—your customers are listening.”

Kent Huffman

Who Wants to be an Athena?

The Athena Award is a prestigious, national honor given to a someone in the community who exemplifies eight attributes of female leadership: authentic self, relationships, giving back, collaboration, courageous acts, learning, fierce advocacy, celebration and joy.

As a previous recipient of this award bestowed by the local Chamber of Commerce, I had the privilege of participating in selecting the next awardee. As is our custom, the nominees are interviewed by a panel of previous recipients and a few others. All of this year’s applicants had been nominated in prior years. (I have the distinct honor of holding the county record for being nominated seven different years before I was selected; I jokingly tease my peers that they selected me simply because they didn’t want to see my nomination form again.)

I was fortunate in being well-acquainted with all of this year’s nominees. While it was a difficult choice for the committee to make, we selected the person we felt best exemplified the eight attributes of leadership at this time.

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Getting Pumped for #MMchat with Eric Qualman @equalman Monday November 8th!

We are extremely pleased to relate to all #MMchat tweeps out there that Eric Qualman @equalman will be our SPECIAL guest on #MMchat on Monday November 8th at 8:00pm eastern!!

Here is a refreshed version of Eric’s viral video Social Media Revolution 2 based on his book Socialnomics to get you all in the mood for Monday’s tweetchat!



The topic for our chat with Eric is very timely with the growing proliferation of tablets and e-readers as we talk: The future: Social Search, Social Commerce & eReaders oh my! We look forward to Eric’s unique insights and viewpoint in this regard based on his position as a visionary at the forefront of the social media computing revolution!

As you can imagine Eric is now an in demand speaker all around the globe and this video shares with you clips and insights from a number of these presentations.

Hope you’re all as excited as I am to have Eric Qualman @equalman join us and mark your calendars to be with us on November 8th, at 8:00pm for it truly is all of you who make #MarketerMonday Chat matter!

Remember #MMchat makes Mondays MARVELOUS!!

Cheers

Jeff Ashcroft

@TheSocialCMO

Social media fueled political drama in the U.S.

Election Day is over here in the United States and we appear to be on the brink of a significant social change. Fueled by outrage over the financial meltdown, economic stimulus attempts, government bailouts, and the election of Barack Obama, The Tea Party Movement is upending incumbents in the name of fiscal conservatism.

Many are pointing to the role of social media channels in spreading this movement. Did social media create the Tea Party Movement, and if so, does this prove that the social web can enable dramatic social change?

Just two years after a sweeping Democratic victory, the tea-party movement re-drew the landscape again. Nurtured by online networking, it helped disparate activists across the nation link up and already push aside high-profile incumbent leaders in multiple states this year.

A thorough history of the Tea Party Movement in The Wall Street Journal is peppered with references to the use of social media in building a national movement. Let’s start with a brief summary of how social media played a role in these sweeping changes:

Blogs

The genesis of the Tea Party Movement may have been a blog by Stacy Mott, a stay-at-home mother fed up with the government’s economic policies. Enraged by the government bail-outs, she started a blog for conservative women called “Smart Girl Politics” and launched a social networking site at the same time. This and other conservative blogs were catalysts for live rallies. The content caught the attention of influential blogger and political commentator Michelle Malkin who started to write about the rallies. After a dramatic online television rant calling for a modern-day Tea Party movement by CNBC Commentator Rick Santelli, the Smart Girl blog went viral. Hundreds of other blogs popped up, creating a grassroots cry for change.

Social networking

Facebook pages started springing up locally and then nationally, uniting disparate activities. The movement initially had no budget, so Facebook served as the central directory for the party’s activities. Within a year there 2,000 Tea Party-related Facebook pages. Eventually one of the founders created a website and social networking site called The Tea Party Patriots.

Twitter

Many believe the first seeds of the movement were planted on a list of top conservatives on Twitter, dubbed #tcot” for short. This list spawned other lists and within weeks #tcot grew from 25 names to 1,500. Twitter was used to unite disparate voices and organize conference calls, town hall meetings and rallies.

Wikis

As the movement grew, organizers established wikis to provide protest advice and organizing techniques.

Fueled by these social platforms, general disenchantment coalesced into a cause, and in just a few months the movement enjoyed a stunning victory when Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts won Senator Ted Kennedy’s long-time Democratic Senate seat.

The social media revolution?

Undoubtedly social networking unified an idea among disparate interest groups with no organization and no budget. Does this amazing success discredit the much-discussed Malcom Gladwell article claiming that the weak links and lack of hierarchy could not promote such dramatic social change?

Yes and no. If you look carefully at the brief history of the Tea Party Movement, it may actually SUPPORT Gladwell’s contention.

The WSJ article shows the initial loose organizations created on social networks were eventually dismantled by in-fighting, controversy and hurt feelings. Once the euphoria of the initial change began to wear off, the social networks could not sustain the change and even the early pioneers united by blogs and Facebook became bitter and divided. Relationships among the loosely-based coalition deteriorated so quickly members began suing each other.

The real catalyst came from coverage by the traditional media. News programs on the Fox Network and articles in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal fueled interest in rallies. Live conference calls to organize the initiative seemed to be the linchpin between chaos and unity. Town Hall meetings and live rallies kept the momentum alive. Embarrassing content, like a racist photo-shopped images of the president, quickly went viral on the social web and actually created more divisiveness among the members.

The other important point that Gladwell was addressing was that revolutionary change requires risk to personal safety. Voting for the Tea Party Movement in the privacy of a voting booth carries the same risk as clicking a “like” button on Facebook so this is not exactly a test case for his theory.

In any event, there is no doubt that the Tea Party Movement could not have coalesced with this speed and forcefulness without social media. What are your thoughts on this Social Media Political Revolution?

Mark Schaefer

@DannyBrown Made Monday’s #MMchat Memorable!

Our fourteenth MarketerMonday Chat #MMchat was a refreshing burst of energy and wit from our SPECIAL guest, @DannyBrown, who is Co-Founder and Partner at Bonsai Interactive and past roles include Social Media Strategist at Maritz Canada and a Corporate Account Manager at FedEx.

This is only the fourteenth #MMchat we’ve held and see #MMchat for more details on MarketerMonday Chat our previous SPECIAL guests, transcripts and our upcoming schedule.

Thanks again to @DannyBrown as well as all of you AWESOME #MMchat tweeps who joined us and participated in this enlightening tweetchat on the Increasing Role of Content as an Engagement and Marketing Tool!

Check out the full transcript of the chat at http://bit.ly/DannyBrown and please join us next week as Eric Qualman. @equalman joins us November 8th at 8:00 pm EST when we’ll be talking about, The future: Social Search, Social Commerce & eReaders oh my! See you all then!

Cheers

Jeff Ashcroft

@TheSocialCMO

At the Heart of Today’s Game-Changing Marketing Strategies

Ask a dozen professionals from a variety of endeavors to define marketing and you will likely receive variations on two or three different themes. Retailers, B-to-B enterprises, service providers, Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurial start-ups – and everything in between — often view, plan and budget for marketing from unique perspectives.

But all of us, unique perspectives notwithstanding, count on our marketing investments to do one thing: contribute to a change – in awareness, in behavior, in loyalty, in habits or routines.

You may not think of or define marketing as an agent of change, but consider it. Regardless of the deliverable, from a single effort to an entire campaign, marketing is designed to instigate some type of change in the status quo. It may be about transforming a target into a client, expanding a customer’s use of your product/service line, creating awareness, or deepening loyalty to a brand. But effective marketing is, at its core, an agent of change.

Enter “Social Media”

I don’t believe any single solution is the holy grail of marketing; but the so-called “social media” options present marketers a new level of access to a critical dynamic of change – the oft overlooked (or ignored) element of dialogue.

Simply put, dialogue is the life-blood of enduring change. One-off decisions and temporary digressions can be precipitated by an event, an incentive or a compelling message. Dynamic campaigns can certainly win customers. But lasting change – the kind that lies at the heart of repeat business and customer loyalty – is the byproduct of feedback, conversations and the dialogue attendant to shared experiences. And “Social” provides a platform for numerous approaches to each of these activities.

We have long recognized the potential impact of “word-of-mouth” marketing. Get satisfied clients/customers talking about their experience with your product or service, and the marketing game changes. No longer is it the voice of the company extolling benefits; customer-originated messages have authenticity. Shared experiences resonate.

Add the element of actual real-time feedback, and you’ve tapped into the real marketing potential of social media; now you’re building relationships. And relationships trump everything. Relationship is the context for trust. Conversations that allow for questions and answers, musings, what-ifs, and even the airing of a problem – this kind of dialogue is the DNA of relationships that grow and thrive.

So when you wonder about the role of social media in a marketing strategy…or how to introduce the idea to leaders in your company…or what the best practices might be with respect to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, remember the seed that eventually gives rise to the most pervasive and enduring change your market will ever know – dialogue. Today’s game-changing marketing plans create shared experiences, encourage on-going dialogue, and build communities with clients and prospects.

Eric Fletcher

Pass the Popcorn, Please

I love using the power of a good story in my classroom. As a part of my class this fall, each student takes a turn, sharing a story about an entrepreneur’s inspiration and journey to the marketplace.

This week, it was Stephanie’s turn to share her story about Brian Taylor, a guy whose relatively ordinary name might lead you to believe he might have nothing distinctive to offer the world. A philosophy major at the University of Michigan, his friends begged him to share the fabulous popcorn seasonings he created – and the idea was born for Kernel Seasons. Using money from his summer jobs, Taylor worked with flavor experts to develop fourteen flavors without butter, salt or MSG and upon graduation, launched his business.

Stephanie could have just taken us to the website and read a written report. But this sharp student understood a basic element of connecting with her audience; she drew them in with not one, not two, but six lunch sacks with popcorn samples flavored with different Kernel Seasons products. (Little did she know that one of her professor’s longtime favorite addictions is popcorn.) So, as she regaled us with this entrepreneur’s story, we happily munched on garlic parmesan, kettle corn, ranch, nacho, butter, and white cheddar popcorn. And, being the thoughtful gal that she is, Stephanie also provided us with napkins, handwipes, and a bottle of water.

Without being told, Stephanie knew a pivotal secret of connecting with her intended target market: the more senses you employ, the more memorable (you and) your information becomes. She had the visual stimulation of images projected, taste of the Kernel Seasons products, and the delicious smell (the sense which connects most powerfully with our memory) of the popcorn going for her.

So, how can you make your next presentation stronger?? (Oh – and pass the popcorn, please.)

Kathy Snavely

Photo courtesy of carabou on Flickr, “Popcorn Cupcake,” http://flic.kr/p/6vV9A5

@DannyBrown to be SPECIAL Guest on #MMchat!

Very excited to relate to all of you #MMchat tweeps out there that the inimitable @DannyBrown has agreed to grace us with his jocular presence on #MMchat on November 1st at 8:00pm eastern!!

And going it even one better, together we have agreed that for the first time, the topic for @DannyBrown ‘s #MMchat will be crowdsourced from all of you #MMchat tweeps out there!

So please send us your suggested topic for @DannyBrown to wax poetic or type frantically about, and he’ll pick the best one for our firehose chat with him on Monday November 1st. Simply @Msg or DM @TheSocialCMO your suggestion by midnight Monday October 4th if you’d like it to be considered. We will of course recognize the selected suggestor and they will even get the honour of posing the first question to @DannyBrown on their topic.

Hope you’re all as excited as I am to have @DannyBrown join us and we look forward to gettng some amazing topic suggestions from all of you who make #MarketerMonday Chat matter! Remember #MMchat makes Mondays MARVELOUS!!

Cheers

Jeff Ashcroft

@TheSocialCMO

Dump your followers!

Picture credit: NathanHulls.Com

This post was prompted by a conversation I had in the #MMChat with SPECIAL guest @GlenGilmore on twitter, that takes place Monday nights. We got a little hung up on the whole “engagement” thing.

I get tired of being told that:

“It’s all about the engagement”,

“It’s all about the conversation.”

Time for a reality check. A minimum of 95% of the connections in mostpeoples networks are passive in social-media channels. It’s a bit like the number of people who have real conversations with others outside of their immediate circle or acquaintances in a bar, not very many. Social, often reflects real life.

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Social Media and the Power of Business Etiquette

With billions of Facebook posts, tweets, and YouTube uploads, there’s never been a more appropriate time to evaluate our social graces—in real life and in social media. The relaxed communication style of emails, texting, and the public timeline can present an illusion of relationship. After one tweet, we find ourselves sharing personal information with total strangers and risking a breach of business decorum.

Inextricably woven into the art of doing business is etiquette: a combination of common courtesies, mutual respect, and common sense. Learning how to build appropriate relationships in business is crucial to business success. By focusing on three core areas—actions, appearance, and words—we can gain a clearer understanding of the messages we send to colleagues, managers, and customers.

Make it easy for people to do business with you. We all want to work with smart, perceptive, well-mannered people. If your actions and personality get in the way of your clients’ receiving what they need from you, change. Are you hard to please? Critical? Unappreciative of colleagues or vendors? You’ll lose clients and employees with a history of these behaviors.

To discover how to attract and keep clients, find the best leaders and emulate them. Notice how they lead, how they conduct business, and how they treat their team. Interestingly, people’s personalities aren’t disguised on social media channels, they’re actually magnified. When one executive showed me his 3-page resume, I smiled and said, “We might not need traditional resumes from job seekers now, we’ll just Google them. We can learn immediately who they keep company with, how disciplined they are, and if they show respect to others.”

Common courtesies in business begin with punctuality, a firm handshake, and attentive listening—online and in person. Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval have captured valuable business lessons in their book The Power of Nice, How to Conquer the Business World with Kindness. They explain that “Nice makes more money. Nice is healthier. Nice spends less time in court.”

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