THE SOCIAL CMO Blog – Page 32 – Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much!

Stories of Leadership: Moving Beyond Authority to Influence

March 18, 2014April 8, 2014 by Anneliza Humlen

THEME #5 of Post Series on Humanizing Brand Storytelling

A brand’s story is comprised of many elements, phases, and characters. One of the most important being the leadership story of a brand. The rise of social networks has played an important role in bringing the stories of great brands, and the leaders behind these great brands, to life. Social networks have democratized communication between business and people, as well as the conversation regarding leadership. Through social networks, anyone can connect to the inspiring words and shared wisdom of leaders everywhere. Conversely, leaders themselves have access to unlimited sources of inspiration to fuel their vision. Social networks have also redefined how we perceive leaders – and in the process, elevated our expectations. Today, it takes far more than the respect for a title, or recognition of authority, to earn the support and trust of followers. People look for reasons TO BELIEVE in the vision of one potential leader over that of another. When these reasons are grounded in humanizing leadership traits that transcend policy or promise – people can then connect emotionally to a bigger, and unify ideal and story.

Forget B2B or B2C and Focus on BwB or BwC Instead ~guest post via @BLichtenwalner

March 15, 2014December 20, 2014 by Ted Rubin

The terms “Business to Business” (B2B) and “Business to Consumer” (B2C) are outdated. These terms imply your business is doing something to a customer. That may be how business was conducted decades ago, but it’s always been better – and is now necessary – to conduct business with your customer. Business to a customer is a transaction. Business with a customer is a relationship.Whether your customer is a business or a consumer, they prefer a relationship over a transaction.

What’s the ROI of a Smile?

March 8, 2014December 20, 2014 by Ted Rubin

I sent something out on Instagram recently—a photo collage of the smiling faces of friends—with the following comment: “Smile at your customers, Smile at your employees, Smile at your vendors, Smile at your family and friends, Smile at strangers. SMILE… the ROI will amaze you!” It got over 30 likes almost immediately. I sent the same message (and photo) out on Facebook, with even more engagement.

People commented how good it made them feel, and some said they were taking the message to heart and spreading the word. People want to be happy! And when you send them a photo with a smiling face, it generates warm feelings and a wish to keep feeling happy.

In Brands We Trust – Why Brands Must Treat Trust Like Gold

March 6, 2014December 20, 2014 by Steve Olenski

Back in January of this year I wrote a piece which spoke to the need for every marketer to remember a certain nine-letter word: Relevance. And while I firmly stand by what I penned then I am here to tell not just every marketer, but every advertiser and brand under the sun as well that there’s a five-letter word that must be treated like gold for when it is achieved, wondrous things can occur.

The word is trust.

Now the word “trust” in it of itself has many different connotations and in the context of advertising, marketing and branding it comes in different shapes, size and meanings, too.

Why CMOs Need To Remember They Are Consumers, Too

February 14, 2014December 20, 2014 by Steve Olenski

Note: While this article is written directly toward CMOs, make no mistake about it, CEOs should heed this advice, too.

The time has come. The time to remind the leaders of marketing departments across the land that they are also consumers, too and as such they need to care about consumers and the business they bring to the bottom line; and that they need to care about things that go way beyond a marketing plan.

In other words they need to remember they are people, too, just like the person on the other end of that cash register, email, Facebook post, advertisement and on and on and on.

Evolving stories beyond closed to open social collaborative

February 12, 2014February 12, 2014 by Anneliza Humlen

THEME #4 FROM 7 PART POST SERIES EXPLORING THE EVOLUTION OF BRAND STORIES & THEMES

The arts are one of the few industries that exist today where exclusive control may result in a stronger creation. Think of musicians who have succeeded without a record label, or independent films powered by open social interest. In business, the opposite is happening. Greater innovations are being created through shared IP and collaborative strategic partnerships. This open approach to business development is counter to traditional beliefs that IP if closed/proprietary, or so unique that it is incompatible with competition – would be of greater value to the market. The business culture and leadership vision, whether closed or open, is evident in a brand. Brands born out of a culture that is closed and control-minded, usually show limited interest in engaging with people and pursuing new collaborative partnerships. In contrast, brands born out of an open, social, and collaborative business culture, are usually the brands that are most enduring, share-worthy, and human.

Logistics, Systems Key to Social Business Customer Experience

February 11, 2014February 11, 2014 by TheSocialCMO

Recently IBM Connect 2014 in Orlando was a great opportunity to catch up with a number of thought leaders and frontline practitioners working every day to bring Social Business to life.

Numerous reports have been emerging showing that anywhere from 50 to 70% of both B2B and B2C sales in coming years will be driven via the web through online and social marketing channels making the movement to a social business approach a must for leading firms.

Learning to speak “Human” #H2H

February 10, 2014December 20, 2014 by Ted Rubin

In his new e-book There is No B2B or B2C: It’s Human to Human: #H2H my good friend Bryan Kramer gives some wise advice to brands: “I don’t care what language you speak, who your brand is or what message you’re trying to send, we all need to speak more human.” I love that statement because it so perfectly reminds us that in the midst of all of our increasingly complex digital sophistication, making the human connection is more important than anything else. Because of the power of social to inform and educate consumers, companies need to be a part of the social scape, and that’s means functioning in the world on a human to human scale. They can no longer afford to hide behind a logo. They have to converse with their market and above all, listen.

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