ROR

Lessons from the Chapstick Social Media Fiasco

What do “butts,” “ChapStick,” and “social” have in common?  They are all part of a recent huge—and very public – series of poor choices that have seriously impacted the reputation of a major brand. I actually pulled those three words from the categories assigned to Tim Nudd’s recent AdWeek article, ChapStick Gets Itself in A Social Media Death Spiral.

So what happened?  Long story short (read the article for full details), ChapStick posted an ad that was offensive to some people, and when those people voiced their opinions on ChapStick’s Facebook Fan Page, ChapStick deleted those comments… and kept deleting them as they were posted.

Read more

Return on Relationship, ROR (#RonR) – Implications for Global Impact

We are at an incredibly important time in the evolution of “relationship commerce” (buying from people you know and trust).  This is the time when our actions will decide if “relationship commerce” ends up as simply a phrase on a list of buzz words, or becomes an effective – and meaningful — way of doing business worldwide.

The deciding factor will be whether or not enough brands and marketers are willing to go beyond just talking about relationships … to actually building and sustaining those relationships with consumers, peers, employees, and others in their social graph.

How many of us believe in the business value of relationships enough to put in the effort required to turn a one-time contact into an ongoing meaningful interaction?  How many of us even believe that “business value” and “authentic relationships” even belong in the same sentence??  I do, because I have seen this play out time and time again.

Read more

What Blog World Expo Taught Me About the Future of Social Media

I recently spent three days in LA at Blog World (Blog World and New Media Expo #bwela), with some of my favorite people (bloggers and those connected to them), saturating myself with information while starting new and building on old relationships.  As you probably know by now, I love connecting with people online, but I love even more connecting the old-fashioned way – face-to-face!

Other than stronger connections and new relationships, the most important takeaway from the conference, IMHO, is that we all need to stop worrying about “where it’s going” in Social and start concentrating on “where it is.”

Read more

Make it a “Social Thanksgiving”

Thanksgiving, the time when we give thanks not just FOR, but TO those who have been an important part of our lives:  our friends and family, our customers, shoppers, advocates, and critics.  Yes, I give thanks for ALL of them because they all provide a possibility for a relationship, which is really what it is all about. 

This year, I propose we all try a Social Thanksgiving – one where we focus on the true meaning and value of relationships, and take the time to pay attention to others first (and ourselves next).

Let’s make this Social Thanksgiving a time to make sure everyone remembers two of the most important rules of a relationship:

#1: More important than finding your own light, help others to find theirs.

 When we help others find their lights, we enter into a relationship with them – collaborating with them, giving of ourselves, and experiencing the gift of seeing life for a while through their eyes.  We can always use a chance to and a fresh perspective on our own lives (and who knows, that could be the way that we end up finding our own light!).

 #2: Build people up, don’t tear them down. 

This is one of my rules and it should be one of yours too… no matter who you are interacting with.  When we tear others down, it is only because we feel small and inadequate and are taking it out on someone else.  Take that energy and put it into BUILDING the relationship and supporting others instead of trying to make them small enough that you seem more powerful, wise, or successful.

All people deserve your respect and genuine caring, and what really makes you shine is when you accept them, and build them up so they can see their own light and shine it on the path for others.

Why not take this Social Thanksgiving idea one step further, and going forward, use those two rules of relationship to inspire campaigns and consumer outreach that leads to deeper emotional connections with customers/shoppers?  I have tried it – it is the way I do business – and I can tell you, IT WORKS.

So this Thanksgiving, I thank each of you for building me up and helping me shine my light, and I hope I have the chance to do the same for you!  May you and your loved ones have a Happy and Social Thanksgiving! 

Ted Rubin

Originally posted at TedRubin.com

 

Brand Immersion with Contests… Don’t Forget About the Relationship!

A well-structured contest — wisely integrated in social media, encouraging participation of groups, and easily enabling the sharing and including of the social graph of participants — will bring consumers into your brand experience.  Savvy marketers can leverage contests to increase both short- and long-term return.

As with any marketing campaign using social media, a contest needs to be part of an integrated media strategy, using a blend of social and traditional media as appropriate for your brand’s consumers. And as always, remember to keep your message consistent.  A great contest that does not match your brand message is a waste of your resources and does little to add long-term value. Many are using strictly social contests to grow Facebook “likes” and Twitter “followers,” and this is ok if that is your objective, but keep in mind those are very targeted initiatives and offer little value to the brand experience.

Read more

12 Most Important Things We All Can Control

There are so many things in life that we simply cannot control (as is especially clear right now, around the 10 year anniversary of 9/11), but what about the things we CAN control?  As human beings, we have the power of reasoning and choice, both of which give us substantial control over our own life situations… we just need to be reminded of this from time to time.  Following is my reminder list of the 12 Most Important Things We All Control:

Read more

Let’s take back the word “Friend”!

Facebook has done an amazing thing – they now own the word “friend”!  The problem is that they have devalued the word while adding value to their brand. Let’s take back the word “friend” and fill it with value again!

How many of you use “air quotes” when you say so-and-so is your Facebook “friend”?  That’s exactly my point.  The word now, more often than not, just means that you exchanged a keystroke with someone.

To be clear — I am not saying that connecting through Facebook is a bad thing; I’m saying that few of us actually take the time to connect in the ways that a real friend would.  We are missing the chance to use social media as a tool that facilitates real relationships and instead using “friends” as points in a popularity contest.

Read more

Café de Colombia – Branding at Its Best

I met Juan Valdez — yes, the “actual” Juan Valdez — this week (more on that at the end of this post)!  The fact that I am genuinely excited about this, and that you likely know who (and what) I’m referencing here says a lot about the success of this brand.  

Café de Colombia is a brilliant example of what can happen when relationships are placed in the forefront of all aspects of an industry – from production, to sales and distribution, to marketing, and beyond.

I had the honor of spending time in Colombia as part of my involvement in Social Media Week in Bogotá (#SMWBOG), sponsored by Café de Colombia.  My colleague, DJ Edgerton, co-founder & CEO of Digital Innovation Firm Zemoga asked me to speak at the event, and provided this amazing opportunity to visit coffee-grower farms and directly engage with Café de Colombia representatives.  This was one of those “MUST write a blog post!!” experiences!

Read more

12 Most Important Reasons I Love Bloggers and You Should Too!

Bloggers are amazing people who add a great deal of value to my life and work – and in my social media saturated work/life, that means a great deal! 

Every day I am thrilled to be part of the awesome blogger community, and here’s why you (and your brand) need to love bloggers too:

Read more

Is Your Marketing Igniting Shopper Purchase …or Shopper Spam Filters?

Marketers used to be able to get away with intrusive advertising, placing online ads as pop-ups, highly distractive Flash animations, and a variety of other methods designed specifically to grab shoppers’ attention.  However, consumers have changed and are no longer enticed by ads (or other marketing tactics) that interrupt them… it’s as though they now have a built-in attention spam filter that automatically blocks the ads from their awareness.

As shoppers are bombarded with information, they have become resistant to intrusive advertising.  Advertising that is poorly-timed, irrelevant, and/or interrupts a current task quickly becomes an annoyance rather than an incentive to pay attention.

Read more