Do you sometimes long for the simpler days of social media, say 5, 6+ years ago, when the hot issues were should comments should be monitored and how to handle the negative ones? Especially for marketers, the social web grows more complex by the nano second.
As customers come to expect the opportunity to interact with (hopefully!) the people who are behind brands we find ourselves addressing aspects that impact brand value. Note: Please check out Diva Marketing's post Where Does Transparency Fit In The New Social Media Marketing Model?
How can social media help tell the stories of your brand?
Can you be a steward of your brand while still maintaining your authenticity?
How can you integrate social media into the DNA of your brand?
These were the questions that I used to jump start the conversation about branding and social media at SONCON10 last week. Although I created a deck (yeah I know some people hate PPT .. but people learn in different ways and sometimes visuals are helpful.) our time turned into a great discussion that really was peer-to-peer learning.
As promised to the great people who attended the session, I'm posting the slides. One of my goals was to provide a thought process to help incorporate social media into the DNA of a brand.
6 Questions To Help Build Your Brand Value Through Social Media
1. What sets your brand apart from the rest? How is it special and unique to your target marketing?
Our brand is the only ________ that ___________.
2. Especially in the social media world brand values become important in building content direction.
In 3 words what is the essence of your brand? Or if you want to get social .. describe your brand value in 140 characters.
3. People use social media networks, platforms, tools different making identifying your audience critical.
Who do you want to talk with or who is your target audience?
4. Determining what you want to accomplish will guide your decision in what you consider to be success. Which in turn will lead to your metrics.
What are your objectives and goals? How will you know if you succeeded?
5. Determining resource allocation: people, time and money will impact which tools, or tactics, you choose to use Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Flickr, Video, etc.
What are tactics will you use? How will these tools reinforce brand value?
6. The more you can integrate social media tactics into initiatives (social media or traditional) the more benefits you'll see.
Identify current programs where social media can support the brand and build relationships with customers (and other stakeholders).
Many thanks to the terrific people who made SOCON10 so much fun for me. Here are a few ..
Unlike most business strategies, social media is built on a culture that is developed by the people who are involved in digital communities. The concepts of transparency, authenticity, honesty and passion for the topic/brand have evolved as 'society norms' for communicating and forming relationships in the world of the social web.
In an environment where your changing avatar is accepted as your image to the world, where people exchange ideas that frequently lead to business opportunities and where 'real' friendships are formed it was important to have a few boundaries that could help establish trust.
As marketers began to use social media platforms like blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc., to communicate with their customers and stakeholders it didn't take long to realize that to sustain and grow interest in our brands we had to provide unique content. Agencies, consultants and freelance copywriters seized an opportunity to provide that all important Content.
My friend John Cass, PR Communications, and I had an interesting discussion about where the concept of transparency fits into the new social media marketing model - content developed by people outside of the enterprise. We decided to collaborate on a cross-post and did what any good social media citizen would do .. we opened it up to the community to discuss on our blogs, on Twitter and in a few emails.
Bloggers have long discussed the importance of transparency when writing content on a blog. With the growth in the adoption of social media marketing, many marketers now wonder how would they develop enough content for all of their new social media channels.
When a client hires an agency to write content for their blog, twitter account, Facebook page, we are wondering about the level of transparency by an agency writer on a client's social media channel.
We would like to ask you: What are the practices that you think should be followed? Feel free to tell us if you have differences of opinions across social media channels.
39 people, active in social media, shared their insights with us. Their views ranged from total transparency to not necessary. As Jeremy Pepper indicated this is a complex situation that is "fraught in grays." Yvonne DiVita reminds us, " .. in the end it isn't the bloggers, the company or the agency that will dictate the success ..it's the customers." What are your thoughts?
Degrees Of Transparency Quotations
Jim Alexander (No link given) - As
long as the client is willing to own the consequences of engagement by
proxy I don't think the identity of the content authors need be an
issue. Jump to Jim's content
Ellie Brown - I don’t think it matters who is doing the responding, as long as they are responding. The goal of social media is to facilitate discussion and generate attention through tweets and posts by real people. The company name on that person’s business card doesn’t matter. The agency is an extension of the client, and as long as the agency is well-informed, genuinely interested, authentic and responsive – everything should be good. Jump to Ellie's blog post
Bob Cargill - I think it’s perfectly acceptable for an external resource to write and
post social media content under the aegis of a brand. The client
representative just needs to be mindful to speak in the first person
plural, “we,” as he or she is communicating on behalf of the brand as a
whole, not as an individual. Jump to Bob's content
Susan Cartier Liebel -
'Personal' in my opinion isn't about a 'particular' person ... it's
about personalized service through social media that ends with a happy
customer and a positive impression which builds the company's brand. Jump to Susan's content
Jeff Cutler - The other matter is using a ghost blogger to put up content that
supposedly comes from an executive. I think this is OK if the writing
is merely rewriting or editing. Jump to Jeff's content
Susan Getgood - Bottom line, the more personal the expression, the more
important it is to know *who* is speaking. When the social media channel, or the brand’s use of it, more closely resembles broadcast, it isn’t nearly so
critical. Jump to Susan's content
Brendan Hurley- In
reality who is writing the content isn't nearly as important as who is
'approving' the content. Strict policies and procedures should be
drafted by the client, so the agency knows what it can and cannot do or
say, while giving the writing enough freedom to be creative, passionate
and opinionated when necessary. Jump to Brendan's content
Trish Grier - If a company is outsourcing its social media to a consultant, who is then creating copy for them via a social media platform of some kind, then it should be clearly disclosed that the person is an outside representative of, and not an employee of, said company. Jump to Trish's blog post
Max Kalehoff - The fact is that everyone has an agenda, and therefore is an agent of
some kind. It builds trust when one is forthcoming with his agenda, and
even better for all to simply anticipate agenda and not be surprised. Jump to Max's content
Rick Liebling - My current thinking is that the upside for trying to hide agency
involvement is almost nil, but the downside can be high, at least from
a consumer perception stand point. Jump to Rick's content
Jim Matorin-
The agency people are jumping in because we are alphas that
understanding social media is a platform to deliver messages/content,
to open conversations with consumers. Dinosaurs need agency folks to
jump start their new marketing initiatives at this point. Jump to Jim's content
Marc Meyer
- At the end of the day, agencies see an opportunity and until
businesses find the time and staff to learn to do this on their own,
there continue to be this need coupled with the void supplemented by a
lack or transparency. The better question may be, Who owns the mistakes
and customer service miscues that may arise? Jump to Marc's content
Lynn Anne Miller It is quite
common now for blog posts to be ghostwritten and then edited and
approved by executives prior to publication, just as is routinely done
with contributed/authored/bylined articles, speeches, etc. I see that
as a practical approach, but the twittering and blog commenting should
be disclosed with the author's true identity. Jump to Lynn Anne's content
Melanie Notkin -
As long as content is authentic and approved by the client, I'm not
sure there's a difference when a "social media consultant" or freelance
writer writes the content for a brand. Jump to Melanie's content
Jeremy Pepper - The basic premise on transparency, though, is to provide a biography (large or small) to show who is taking care of what. Jump to Jeremy's content
Tim Skaggs - I can see why larger companies would not be transparent in the social marketing because of the previous types of marketing done by the company in the past. Jump to Tim's content
Liz Strauss - The key is to choose people who will champion the company because they want to be part of celebrating what the company is doing and they're proud to put their own name on their efforts. Jump to Liz's content. Jump to Liz's content
Mike Volpe - Where you might be posting on behalf of a person, say the CEO of a
brand/company, then I think complete transparency is called for. Jump to Mike's content
Steve Woodruff
- Let people get their feet wet and outsource as they must. We should
encourage brands to use social media responsibility, realizing that
those who abuse it by a lack of transparency will be outed in time, and
the lessons will be learned! Jump to Steve's content
Total Transparency Quotations
Chris Brogan -
Content creation and the like: we use our own name, but willingly
create on behalf of the company. We work to educate our client partners
so that they can create on their own, but we still fill in and create
under our own name. Jump to Chris' content
Matt Churchill
- If we are managing a Twitter stream on behalf of a client, we
disclose in the bio which team member is running it, the fact we work
for Edelman and also include our Twitter handle. Jump to Matt's content
Yvonne DiVita -
In the end, it isn't the bloggers, the company, or the agency that will
dictate the success; it's the customers. If they accept it, we'll see a
lot more of it. If they reject it, we'll see companies scratching their
heads in confusion, because the agencies know all, don't they? Jump to Yvonne's content
Arik Hanson Overall,
I tend to fall on the side of transparency. But, that doesn't lend
itself too well to agencies making money. Jump to Arik's content
Roger Harris - Most people would rather be aware that content is being provided with an agenda or an element of bias and then make their own decisions rather than have the wool pulled over their eyes. Jump to Roger's content
Ellen Hoenig - Social
media is about listening, learning and building relationships..how can
you outsource this? And from my own experience, how can you learn or
develop your own voice without doing it yourself and experiencing the
ups and downs first hand? Jump to Ellen's content
Jonathan Kranz - You wouldn’t get married, then hire someone
else to have sex with your spouse; the point of the relationship is to relate,
in all its forms. Jump to Jonathan's content
Tracy Malone - My
gut reaction is yes, social media is meant to be nothing but authentic.
Relationship development, at it's best, and an opportunity to have more
insight into a brand and the people behind the brand. Jump to Tracy's content
Lionel Menchaca - The
basics of the policy will stay the same: strive to be honest and
accurate while maintaining transparency when speaking about Dell. Jump to Lionel's content
Chris Norton - If I am to write on their blog I will become a guest author and I will make sure it is clearly disclosed in the about page so readers know who is writing what. Jump to Chris' content
Tom O'Brien - I think the “transparency” requirement is at the brand level. Not at the “agency on behalf of brand” level. Jump to Tom's content. Jump to Tom's content
B.L. Ochman - Hell there was once a time when you could get by with typewriters and
mimeograph machines. Those days are long over and businesses need to
stop whining about social media and adapt. Just as companies had to
hire IT people a couple of decades ago so they could remain
competitive, they now need to hire community managers and others who
can participate in online interaction. Jump to B.L.'s content
Jeremiah Owyang - Disclosure is key, and in some cases, may be enforceable by the FTC, we encourage all organizations to abide by the law. Jump to Jeremiah's content
Rick Short - In 2010, the "rules" are that the blogger/tweeter is authentic, or is
pulling a fast one.
And (Rick gave quotes to both Toby & John) Today, given all the concern with transparency in social media, I feel
that today's "rules" guide us to be completely open about exactly who
is publishing what. It is phony to tweet, blog, and/or post to Facebook
or LinkedIn as an executive (or anyone else), when you are a
ghostwriter. If your name is on it and it blows up in your face, the world won't allow you to slip out of it by blaming a ghost writer. Jump to Rick's content
Caroline Slomski - These channels are embraced because of the level of authenticity they bring - authenticity that would be completely lost without transparency. Jump to Caroline's content
C.B. Whittemore -
It's been fascinating to observe the process of evolution from
traditional to social, and what it takes to get immersed in the social
aspect. What this tells me is that the more transparent and authentic
the effort, the more credible it is. Better not to delegate all
responsibility for your social efforts to 3rd parties who - for the
most part - really can't speak competently to your customers. Get
guidance, include them, but own it. Jump to C.B.'s content
Jack Yan -
My rule is to be transparent on everything that is public knowledge.
There is nothing wrong with being personal about the Tweets as long as
what you write does not attack the company or in my case the campaign.
(Jack is running for mayor of Wellington, New Zealand) Jump to Jack's content
As
long as the client is willing to own the consequences of engagement by
proxy I don't think the identity of the content authors need be an
issue.
I don't expect UPS or FedEx to identify their seasonal temps, as
such, when they deliver my holiday packages. I (as I suspect, their
respective employers do) expect them to comport themselves as competent
and capable representatives of the hiring firm.
Whether the authors catch a salary + 401K for the client or work on
the cum for the consultants take matters little. At the end of the day,
if the purpose is served it is irrelevant who dished it up.
Having worked on the agency side for most of my career, I’ve earned my livelihood by writing content – direct mail, email, ads, etc. – for my clients. And in that traditional marketing world, there was never much talk about being transparent in communications. It just wasn’t an issue.
In the world of social media, however, transparency and authenticity are essential. The more capable an organization is of keeping it real on the grid, the more successful it usually is in the blogosphere, on Facebook, Twitter and everywhere else it maintains a social media presence.
But not everyone has the bandwidth, capability or desire to use social media themselves. Or they may need a little help getting started. Each of these barriers to entry represents a tremendous opportunity for agencies, consultants and freelancers to provide assistance to their clients. So yes, I think it’s perfectly acceptable for an external resource to write and post social media content under the aegis of a brand. The client representative just needs to be mindful to speak in the first person plural, “we,” as he or she is communicating on behalf of the brand as a whole, not as an individual.
I don’t believe in posting for another human being, though. “Ghost” tweeting and blogging is verboten in my book. I know it’s done. And I don’t pass judgment on anyone who does it. But if there’s a name and photo attached to a blog post, tweet or any other activity in social media, I think the words should be coming from that particular person and not someone else.
That doesn’t mean that one can’t receive a lot of help behind the scenes. Those who aren’t the best writers in the world or who have more important priorities can have someone provide them with ideas and even draft posts, tweets and updates. Shared thoughts and opinions should reflect the account holder’s views, however, and – ideally – should be posted by him or her, too. That’s the only way to really get anything out of social media anyway – to be immersed in it yourself, not to have someone acting as your proxy.
Whether social media is outsourced or not, what matters is the end
result to the customer. If the goal is to facilitate discussion,
improvement of the product or service or quick easy access to 'someone'
who can resolve a problem, I don't care if it is the president of the
company, a designated CSR or the PR agency who is going to make sure
the suggestions, complaints, promotions are handled properly from the
customers perspective. What matters is the end result and the press for
the company left in the wake of the interaction. Does it build or tear
down the brand?
I'll give you two anecdotal situations from my own experience. I
needed to reach someone in control at a furniture company. When I got
to their website they did everything imaginable to avoid a customer
interaction other than sending an e-mail they could respond to at some
future point in time. I ended up calling corporate directly after
looking them up on line in the white pages bypassing their website and
getting head of quality control. I told him how challenging it was to
connect with a live human being and he said that was deliberate because
customers are supposed to go through their sales representatives
through their stores. Needless to say I was less than impressed.
On the other hand, I had an issue with Jet Blue who is on Twitter
and Facebook, has set up fan pages, etc. I knew they were on Twitter
and started to air my complaint. I don't know who facilitates their
account. I didn't care what their name was. But I quickly realized
through this vehicle that I was able to resolve my problem because we
took it from Twitter to e-mail to resolution with the company.
'Personal' in my opinion isn't about a particular 'person'....it is
about personalized service through social media that ends with a happy
customer and a positive impression which builds that company's brand.
While transparency is vital to get consumers to buy into a firm's product or service offerings, it sometimes handcuffs an organization when they're using an outside party or a freelancer to create content. Like anything else, there are no absolutes. If I write a tagline for Gulf Oil and they pay me for it and use it on all their collateral, I don't expect that the public needs to know I created that content. Moving down the line, if I pen a product description in a catalog for a client, nobody really needs to know who the copywriter was on the job. But then comes the sticking point...is the material being written supposed to be impartial and unbiased?
If the answer is yes, it behooves everyone to reveal where it came from and the credentials of the writer.
If the answer is no, you can do what you want.
The other matter is using a ghost blogger to put up content that supposedly comes from an executive. I think this is OK if the writing is merely rewriting or editing. If it's wholesale editorial change, then you can't really give the executive credit for the post. But you could say that the material was written based on input from that company rep.
Tweeting for hire is another issue. With so little space - and admittedly so little impact for each 140 character tweet - I'm conflicted. Guest tweeting is fine if the credentials are revealed in the bio of the Twitter name/profile page as there's no room to really put a byline on each tweet. Also, if the person tweeting has the blessing of the communications/marketing department on messaging and promotion, I don't see an issue. Where I do feel misled is when some random person tweets to me from a corporate named account and they have no official affiliation to that firm.
Hope that helps.
Full disclosure.... I currently guest blog and tweet for a number of organizations and most of them reveal my identity. There are a few that don't deem it necessary or the pieces I'm writing are just revised materials from existing marketing or advertising.
Before I address your question, I want to touch on a related
issue. In my opinion, as ethical best practice and per the FTC guidelines
on endorsements and testimonials, agency personnel commenting about clients and
client products on social media channels must identify their interest. Even on
Twitter – it only takes 8 characters (client), 10 if you count the spaces.
I’ve also long thought that public relations, marketing and
advertising bloggers should include a list of their active clients on their
About page to better inform their readers about potential influences on their
opinions. Some agencies and people do it, others do not, on the theory that such
a list creates a prospecting list for competitors. Maybe so, but I believe
transparency requires it. Utopian of me I know.
Does this mean that Richard Edelman’s About page needs to
list every Edelman client. Of course not. The Edelman website surely does that
already, and as agency head, he’s not actively engaged in all those accounts
anyway.
But if you are actively engaged in an account, even at a
senior level, and commenting on the client’s industry, even if not directly
about the client, don’t your readers deserve that information? I think so.
Now to your question. What is best practice about
transparency/disclosure for agencies creating/writing content for their
clients’ social media channels? In other words, when acting as a proxy for the
client.
Let’s take blogs first. I have no problem with agencies
creating the content for client blogs, as long as it is disclosed. I also don’t
have any issue with blogs written by an impersonal “Company Moniker” as long as
there is a page somewhere that tells who the people are behind the writing. I do
prefer it when those posts are attributed to the individuals writing them,
rather than the group identity but also recognize that there are many
circumstances when the more impersonal is the better choice. You are building,
writing and speaking for the brand, not an individual.
I do not like ghostwriting, i.e. when someone else writes the
blog for a named person like the CEO without attribution. There are so
many other tactics available to us in social media to can bring the executive
voice to the customer that a ghostwritten blog is just a cop-out. You can do a
podcast, and then like Marriott does, transcribe it onto the blog. You can have
someone interview the executive periodically, much as you might for a customer
or employee magazine. You can do video chats and roundtables. You can even have
someone edit the original writing of the attributed writer. But write it 100%
for someone else, under their name, on a blog. Nope.
Similarly, I’m not terribly fond of ghostwritten tweets –
ghweets – for individuals. However, the practice of having multiple people tweet
on behalf of an organization under the organization moniker is fine, and even
better when there is a page that tells you who the Tweeters are. That’s what GM
does. It’ll be nice with the forthcoming Twitter functionality that those tweets
can be identified to the people if the organization chooses, but I don’t think
that is absolutely necessary.
Facebook Fan Pages. By design, fan pages are impersonal.
Posts default to the fan page name, regardless of which administrator is posting
the material. In fact, unlike Groups, you don’t even know WHO the admins are. I
imagine this was an intentional decision to focus attention on the brand, not
the individuals. It’s not supposed to matter *who* is talking – it is the
brand. For this reason, I don’t think it much matters whether it is an agency or
internal individuals posting to the page. [Side note: In fact, I’m not even sure
if you *can* post to a Fan Page for which you are an admin as
yourself, and not as the page. If it is possible, I wish someone would tell
me how, as I think we *should* be able to do this.]
Bottom line, the more personal the expression, the more
important it is to know *who* is speaking. When the social media channel,
or the brand’s use of it, more closely resembles broadcast, it isn’t nearly so
critical.
This is an interesting question. At the end of the day, the client
should be reviewing and approving any content that goes out through its
social media channels anyway. So in reality, who is writing the content
isn’t nearly as important as who is “approving” the content. Strict
policies and procedures should be drafted by the client, so the agency
knows what it can and cannot do or say, while still giving the writer
enough freedom to be creative, passionate and opinionated when
necessary.
As you recall, one of the reasons we decided on the use pseudonyms
for our fashion blog and Twitter sites (DC Goodwill Fashionista) and
mission focused Facebook and Twitter sites (Good Willy) was to enable
us to maintain consistency in the “name” of the content provider, even
though the individual behind that pseudonym may change…as it did when
we transitioned from Em Hall to Gillian Kirkpatrick as the writer of
the DC Goodwill Fashion blog.
In order to be transparent, we wrote a series of “transition blogs”
where Em “officially” turned over the writing of the blog to Gillian,
so readers knew the writer had changed, even though we never dropped
the DC Goodwill Fashionista name or image. That pseudonym and avatar
represent the “writer” of the blog, not the “person” writing the blog.
Not only was the blog not damaged as a result of the transition, its
readership has actually grown quite substantially. And Gillian is not
an employee, she is a volunteer.
We recently launched a Spanish fashion blog using the same strategy,
which is also doing very well. That writer also is a volunteer.
Max Kalehoff: The fact is that everyone has an agenda, and therefore is an agent of some kind. It builds trust when one is forthcoming with his agenda, and even better for all to simply anticipate agenda and not be surprised. Agenda is not some evil tendency. It's our perspective when going about the world. It's ok.
Personally, I don't advocate ghost writing -- but believe it has its place, but only when the attributed author personalizes and approves the copy. OK for an agent to update a wiki entry on behalf of a company? Absolutely. In fact, agents often can be better suited, more trusted and more capable of acting on behalf of a company than many of a company's own employees. I'm being extreme here, but you get the concept. In my case, we have awesome employees, but we also several contractors (technically/legally) who operate as full-fledged members of our team, with full access and privileges.
John Cass: Do you think your thoughts on ghost writing have changed over the years?
Max Kalehoff: I think there is greater expectation that the author attributed was the actual author, not a ghost writer. Which means that writing skills are becoming perhaps more important in business.
This is an issue that comes up quite often for us. My current thinking is that the upside for trying to hide agency involvement is almost nil, but the downside can be high, at least from a consumer perception stand point. So I would advise that any blog, Facebook page or Twitter account be labeled as being written by the 'Company X' team. The term 'team' covers a lot, and certainly makes it clear that the content is not coming from a specific individual.
Now, if you are talking about a blog that is being positioned as written by a CEO, then you've got to make sure it is indeed the words of that CEO. She doesn't have to be the one responsible for uploading and making sure the links work, but it has to be her words.
Thought provoking post and in agreement re: transparency. However, I
think we should recognize that all the agency people are jumping in
because we are alphas that understand social media is a new platform to
deliver messages/content, to open conversations with consumers. In
closing, dinosaurs need agency folks to jumpstart their new marketing
initiatives at this point.
Great topic John and Toby. Surprisingly all we need to know has
already been covered by your uber smart readers. The issues as to the
why are simple. Clients have neither time nor talent and in most cases
knowledge to carry this out. Thus, enter in the Agency, which should
have all...OK, Maybe 2 out of three.
I'm still on the fence about knowledge. But nevertheless some great
points were made in regards to a) end result b) transitioning the
duties and c)some modicum of ownership is better than none.
At the end of the day, agencies see an opportunity and until
businesses find the time and the staff to learn to do this on their
own, there will continue to be this need coupled with the void
supplemented by a lack or transparency. A better question might be, Who
owns the mistakes and customer service miscues that may arise?
Lynn Anne: I just
had a very interesting discussion with a potential client about this
issue. The client, a savvy Capitol Hill type, did not agree that the
agency contact's name should appear along with client names on a client
twitter account. He pointed out (rightly so) that CEO speeches and PR
commentary are routinely ghostwritten, and said that his clients would
be confused if someone else's name appeared on the company Twitter
account.
We got into a discussion about the timeliness factor...a CEO always
approves a press release or speech before it is released, whereas that
is not the way real-time social media channels work.
Increasingly, I see disclosure of team members on Twitter feeds, and
I regard that as a best practice. The actual author simply uses his or
her initials at the end of the tweet in brackets.
Still, it can be tricky to implement this when every one of those 140 characters counts!
I think the situation is different with blog posts. It is quite
common now for blog posts to be ghostwritten and then edited and
approved by executives prior to publication, just as is routinely done
with contributed/authored/bylined articles, speeches, etc. I see that
as a practical approach, but the twittering and blog commenting should
be disclosed with the author's true identity, in my opinion.
John Cass:You mention it is quite common for blog posts to be ghostwritten. What do you think of that practice?
Lynn Anne Miller: In
very few cases does a CEO have the time, talent, or inclination to
blog. There are of course notable exceptions (one thinks of Mr.
Marriott dictating his blog entries or Seventh Generation's Jeffrey
Hollander, who is also an author is his own right).
Blogging is just one more public communications channel for an exec.
Few CEOs write their own speeches so why should they labor over blog
posts? I'd rather a CEO focus on more material business matters, and
simply review/edit/approve copy that is posted under his or her byline.
I think that is entirely appropriate, and I would wager that is the way
it is done in most companies.
That said, any comments posted from the CEO should of course come directly from him or her.
John Cass: Why would any comments have to come from the CEO, if the blog post was ghost written?
And what do you think are reader expectations about blog posts, do you think readers believe such posts are ghost written?
Lynn Anne Miller: From your questions, John, I'm wondering if we're in agreement regarding the definition of ghostwriting.
Typically, a CEO brings in a ghostwriter to discuss his or her ideas
for the article, speech, blog post, or whatever is being crafted. (In
some cases, such as when the CEO or politician has one or more
GW/Speechwriters on staff, the writer will know the CEO well enough and
the subject matter well enough to approach the CEO with ideas). Then
the CEO reviews and approves the copy, sometimes making substantial
edits, but usually, if the GW is any good, making very few. Then the
piece is published under the CEO's name.
So let me ask you this: When you heard Obama's acceptance speech,
did you think of John Favreau, his speechwriter? When Reagan spoke, did
you think of Peggy Noonan? When Carly Fiorina gave her speeches at HP,
did you think of her speechwriter?
Back to your questions:
1. The comments would need to come directly from the CEO because the
comments are in real-time and demand a real-time response and immediate
judgment regarding the issues. (That said, in reality, I bet the CMO or
his or her designee is the one actually monitoring the blog, drafting
those responses, and running them by the CEO for approval before
hitting publish).
2. Regarding reader expectations, I think it totally depends on how
the blog is positioned with the public. There are some CEOs who have
very publicly stated that they in fact are doing the blogging. Those
tend to be the best blogs - they may not be perfectly "crafted," and
they may not appear on a very regular basis, but the passion and the
voice of the CEO comes through loud and clear. In many other cases,
though, a post is contributed by the CEO to a group blog and it is
ghostwritten just as all the other executive communications are
ghostwritten.
So no, I don't think most readers think posts are ghostwritten
anymore than they think a CEO's speech or bylined opinion piece was
ghostwritten.
That said, is it the CEO's role to labor over prose, or is it his
role to communicate ideas to the communications experts and then review
the final product?
John Cass: Well
ghostwriting means that someone writes a blog for someone else, and
there's no revelation that the post was written by a ghost writer.
It is standard practice in political speeches to have a speech writer.
If you look back at the early history of blogging, the clear
expectation on the part of most bloggers and blog readers was that
blogs would be written by the author. The reason, blogs are not just
publishing tools, but rather two way communications tools, they enable
people to have a two way conversation back and forth. I don't dispute
it may not be the CEO's role to labor over prose in most circumstances,
but some in the industry would argue that in the example of blogs and
social media, if you are not the author you shouldn't be writing. Toby
and I have been in the industry a while, and we developed our
strategies for marketing in social media during the early days of how
social media should be discussed. We both think that there's a large
sea change in how the industry is developing. And that is why we want
to get a gauge on where the industry is today. In 2004 if you asked
most bloggers is it okay for a CEO to have ghostwritten blog articles
they would say no. Today I don't know if that would be the answer. We'd
like to find out what the answer is, and perhaps what the answer should
be.
As long as the content is authentic and approved by the client, I'm
not sure there's a difference between when a "social media consultant"
or freelance writer writes the content for a brand.
The same rules apply: if someone other than brand-guardians are
communicating content, it should be guarded and approved by the brand
manager and follow brand guidelines. If the writer is writing on behalf
of a CEO or other executive, the same rules as ghost writing should be
used. Any CEO, brand manager or communications manager who let's
someone else communicate on behalf of their company without approval is
probably not just downgrading the importance of social media, corporate
communications and branding, they are downgrading themselves, their
brand and their company.
Transparency has always been a big sticking point
for me - and a hot button issue for the industry - but I learned a
while ago that it is not a simple black and white issue. It is fraught
with greys, and it is hard to figure out where those lines are, and who
is really in the right to call out people.
As you know, for generations, PR firms have written white papers,
contribute articles and the sort for clients. And it was fine, no one
questioned it because it was standard procedures for PR.
And, a few years back, it came to a head with The Newsmarket and Andy
Plesser: Corporate Blog Published by your PR and
Corporate Blogging and Honesty.
Plesser had hired journalists to write the corporate blog for The
Newsmarket, and most people attacked it. Ironically, I defended it at
the time, and still believe they were handling it the right way.
And I still believe that. Internal people have a lot to do, and
ghostwriting DOES happen, and there can be both, and a marriage to
transparency. And, with Twitter, we'll see agencies helping out more
with the corporate accounts.
The basic premise on transparency, though, is to provide a biography
(large or small) to show who is taking care of what. It can be the
agency, an outside writer, an internal person ... anything. For
ghostwriting, well, that will happen but have the final person actually
review and edit, so it is in his/her words. It's not the best practice
in transparency but it works.
I agree that the full disclosure of the writer should be viewable by readers and visitors. My clients have a brand to stand by and 'honesty' is a key factor to trusting the brand. The manner that the company conducts themselves will eventually be realized by the visitor or reader. The problem I see here is that companies have hired out to create marketing products before the creation of Social Media and those marketing products do not have any type of transparency as though the company created those marketing products themselves. I can see why larger companies would not be transparent in the social marketing because of the previous types of marketing done by the company in the past.
This is no different than hiring a contractor to do any other project for your company.
Every
business hires writers to create content. Heck, I am hired by many of
the biggest. They never disclose that I created the content. Why?
Because it is not in their best interest to tell who is an employee and
who is a contractor. The last thing the business wants is to have
someone taken by a competitor.
Be clear on your goals. In this case, three great goals might be:
- to foster relationships that work for of the client, the agency, and the client's customers
- to build an exchange of information that invited participation because it is easy, efficient, and meaningful / fun
- and to build a situation that can transition in the future if others take over the content producer role
The agency bloggers should use their own names, even if it's first name only. A good partnership is something worth sharing with customers. The agency bloggers should write what they know or can research, with an eye toward what interests the client's customers (not just the client.)
On Twitter and Facebook, the agency social media folks can build a client account, but their client account or fan page should reveal their relationship as well. On YouTube, I'd suggest that agency folks get permission to and find ways to feature heroes who work for the company and customers. Creativity can make this low prep, high interest, and high value.
The key is to choose people who will champion the company because they want to be part of celebrating what the company is doing and they're proud to put their own name on their efforts.
I think if it is for the brand/company, then it is fine to just go ahead and
post as the brand and not disclose exactly who the post is coming from. Just
like a number of different employees might post on behalf of the company, you
might also hire an agency to do so. And there is not that much difference
between the agency and the employees, especially in today's world of
contractors, part time workers, outsourcing, etc People who see posts coming
from a brand should understand that it is a person or a team of people posting
on behalf of the company, and they need to consume the communication in that
way. Just like you might get an advertisement or letter or email from a company
and it is not "signed" by the marketing person or agency that created it, you
might get a Tweet from a company but not know who exactly wrote it.
Now,
in the case where you might be posting on behalf of a person, say the CEO of a
brand/company, then I think complete transparency is called for. People deserve
and expect to know if they are actually speaking with Marc Benioff or someone
posting on his behalf, because there is a real person in the conversation. By
the way, this does not mean that it is bad to have people post on your behalf.
I think Guy Kawasaki on Twitter is a great example that being interesting is
much more important than posting everything yourself.
I think that the goal of the agency/consultant worth its salt should
be to enable the client to build relationships (real ones) with their
online communities. The content creation that enables that, without
being untruthful, unethical or misleading, should be whatever works.
These platforms are communication channels and we all have to take a
deep breath and have a reasonable view of how companies will use them.
I happen to think that the companies who advance with real personality
in their social media endeavors will likely do best, but not every
company is prepared out of the gate to have designated in-house
personnel to “feed the beast.”
We don’t need to beat these folks with a purist club and accuse them
of being inauthentic – unless they’re being inauthentic! Let people get
their feet wet, and outsource as they must. We should encourage brands
to use social media responsibly, realizing that those who abuse it by a
lack of transparency will be outed in time, and the lesson will be
learned! Read more at Steve's post Who's Behind The Avatar?
Here's where we (New Marketing Labs, LLC) play in the transparency for clients department:
Content creation like blogs and the like: we use our own name, but
willingly create on behalf of the company. We work to educate our
client partners so that they can create on their own, but we still fill
in and create under our own name. We haven't ghosted. Do I think it's
okay to ghost? I think it's more okay to ghost articles than I do
social presence. Ghost tweeting seems a bit less genuine to me. Maybe
that's splitting hairs, but that's my gut take.
Social platforms. We don't create on the client's behalf. Tweets
should come from the company, not the agency. I think you can tweet on
behalf of the agency from your own account, but if I'm talking to
@Coke, I want it to be someone from Coke.
I work at Edelman Digital in the UK, and this is a topic that is very important to me. The digital team practice full disclosure on every piece of Social Media campaign activity we are involved with. For example, if we are managing a Twitter stream on behalf of a client, we disclose in the bio which team member is running it, the fact we work for Edelman and also include our Twitter handle. This is reflected when also managing Facebook profiles and pages, where we always state who we are and our affiliation with the client. Consumers appreciate the transparency and it ensures that the client is not perceived as running a campaign nefariously.
First of all, I'm appalled that so many PR firms and agencies are
blogging and tweeting, and perhaps doing Facebook, on behalf of clients
without letting the end-user know it's them, not the client.
Personally, I don't see how they can talk about anything except the
current campaign, project, or contest. And that's advertising, not
having a conversation.
Ghost blogging is wrong when it's done to deceive, or to be part of
the crowd without putting in the work. Ghost blogging where you
represent the client because you're in the industry, or know the
client's work so well you can speak for them, is somewhat okay. Which
means...tweeting on behalf of the client can be okay, if you're really
there to talk WITH people, not AT them and if the company participates
at least by following the discussion. I see some brands that have
twitter accounts that openly say they're an agency or PR firm doing the
twittering on behalf of so-and-so...and I watch, and wonder - why can't
so-and-so do it for themselves? But, in the case of big brands, they
might not have the talent in-house - or, which is more likely - they
don't want to train in-house and they are willing to give their brand
image over to the agency because...that's what they've always done.
The folks who blog, tweet and create Facebook accounts for
themselves, and traverse the many gates one needs to pass through for
social media success on their own, are the ones who will see the most
and best positive return. That doesn't mean they can't engage a PR firm
or agency to HELP... maybe to guide them. But, in the end, it's a
consumer controlled environment and the consumer doesn't want to talk
to your agency rep. They hate your press releases, and they are
especially looking askance at your attempts to fool them with twitter
accounts that do nothing but announce your latest product release.
I know companies that have ventured into social media and are
relying on agency advice and assistance, when they have some talented
small business bloggers on the payroll. Rather than tap into the folks
who are experienced with blogs and twitter and Facebook, this company
is relying on its ancient roots of paying an agency to tell them what
to do and how to do it. I'll be watching to see how they do - because
in the end, it isn't the bloggers, the company, or the agency that will
dictate the success; it's the customers. If they accept it, we'll see a
lot more of it. If they reject it, we'll see companies scratching their
heads in confusion, because the agencies know all, don't they?
Personally, I think the answer to that is no, they don't. Real people,
with real personalities, who identify themselves on the blog, twitter
page or Facebook, have the answes. And the answer is: this is who we
are (real people), this is who we work with (real company), this is who
we want to talk with (you).
This could go either way. I'm betting on the consumer maintaining
control and agencies and the companies they represent learning the hard
way that transparency is more than being the mouthpiece for the PR
department or "interactive media" - which is the new popular phrase for
online media. It's allowing the consumer access to the people who make
the company what it is. The brand is not the agency. The brand is not
the twitter account. The brand is the conversation between the company
and the consumers. It starts with, "Hello, my name is..." Not with,
"Hello, look at our new product launch!"
Overall,
I tend to fall on the side of transparency. But, that doesn't lend
itself too well to agencies making money. That said, I think there's
still a big role for agencies/consultants to educate, coach and advise.
And to keep clients one step ahead in this constantly evolving
environment.
I have worked on both the agency side (Capstrat) soliciting bloggers to write content and as a blogger.
I am strongly of the opinion that complete transparency is essential, whether the content provider is working through their own blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. The agency writer needs to fully disclose the relationship with the client, although this does not mean on every blog post, Tweet, Facebook update. Simply that the information is readily available for people who are interested in understanding the motivation and resources of the content provider.
There are too many examples of situations where content providers (usually employees) have contributed ostensibly as objective outsiders, only to be discovered as working for a promotion. Why take the risk of losing credibility and embarrassment? Most people would rather be aware that content is being provided with an agenda or an element of bias and then make their own decisions rather than have the wool pulled over their eyes.
I'm of the mind similar to BL Ochman that company outsiders should
be helping company people learn how to use social media themselves, and
if they do write, its not done as 'ghost' but 'guest'...
Social media is about listening, learning and building
relationships...how can you outsource this? And from my own experience,
how can you learn or develop your own voice without doing it yourself
and experiencing the ups and downs first hand.
If a company is just doing sm to 'cross it off their list' or to use
it as another source of one-way communication, then its not really
social media and probably isn't fair to the readers who are genuinely
looking for dialog and relationship building/learning. On twitter
especially, I find it disconcerting for people to post for others
without at least leaving some initials so the reader knows who tweeted
it etc.
First, I believe that much depends on the nature of the content and its
corresponding reader expectations. For articles, white papers, ebooks and such,
I think ghostwriting is entirely legitimate. In these instances, reader
expectations are focused on the substance of the content, rather than on
its author; as long as the ideas truly belong to the putative author (the person
to whom the work is attributed), there is no violation of the implied social
contract.
But blogs, tweets, Facebook entries and other forms of social
media communications are another story. Here, the emphasis is flipped on its
head — it’s the author of the communication, not the substance, that
attracts readership. After all, if you were to take the same 140 character tweet
generated by Seth Godin and attribute it to someone else, it wouldn’t have the
same meaning or impact; the tweet is relevant because of the person behind it.
The attraction is not the substance, per se, but the reader’s expectation of
having some sort of relationship with the author. In this case, I think
ghostwriting — or agency creation of social media content — is indeed unethical.
I also think it’s pointless. You wouldn’t get married, then hire someone
else to have sex with your spouse; the point of the relationship is to relate,
in all its forms. And the point of social media isn’t the exchange of ideas
(some cynics might wish one luck finding them), but the building of
relationships. If you’re not going to personally participate, why
bother?
Very interesting and controversial topic you have brought up! I own
an ad agency and have seen many of our competitors embrace social media
and quickly jump up on a pedestal touting themselves as experts so that
they can "help" their clients enter the social media-sphere and take
the reins as an opportunity to rack up additional hourly billing each
month.
So MANY are doing this. But does it go against the grain of
everything that social media stands for? Good question. My gut
reaction is yes, social media is meant to be nothing but authentic.
Relationship development, at it's best, and an opportunity to have more
insight into a brand and the people behind the brand.
But I do have to admit that we, as marketers, do try our best to
become TRUE partners with our clients. Having them see us as an honest
extension of their staff. Their advertising/marketing department
extended, just beyond the boundaries of their building. And with a more
subjective viewpoint.
So that does mean that, in theory, an agency who is very tapped in
to their client, their products and services, understands who that
client is, their brand, personality, how they live, eat, breathe, could
potentially act as a vehicle for helping that client connect with their
market and prospects via social media and actually provide a fairly
authentic experience. I do think it is possible. Is it truly REAL,
though? Probably not.
That said, our agency is taking another route, and helping our
clients put together strategic plans for how to leverage social media,
then training them and giving them the tools they need so that THEY can
implement it themselves. We've seen great success. And clients who
swore they just "don't have the time to blog" are now putting it at the
top of their daily priority list because they've seen the light and
tremendous results.
So I do think that that is the ideal way to go. Real. Authentic.
Personal. If you want repeat traffic and to develop a great following,
I think being real and having the client do the work and the agency the
guide is the best route.
We don’t use agencies for content. We do use them for some design
help (page and site design on some things). One thing we’re focusing on
now is revamping our employee policy in an effort to scale more of the
work we do into areas within the business. The basics of the policy
will stay the same: strive to be honest and accurate while maintaining
transparency when speaking about Dell.
I am a blogger and public relations consultant and I write, tweet and help my clients all the time but I am transparent about how I do it. For instance, if I am to write on their blog I will become a guest author and I will make sure it is clearly disclosed in the about page so readers know who is writing what. Not only that but I will introduce myself clearly. I think this is simply good practice so the readers aren't reading lots of posts under admin and worst still mislead. People prefer to buy into the bloggers personalities and often they will subscribe to different authors RSS feeds.
I have been pretty much a hard liner on this issue – full disclosure is best. I don’t think the agency/client relationship (typically) requires disclosure – what requires disclosure is that the communication is being done on behalf of the brand.
John Bell from Ogilvy gave a great presentation on this topic for WOMMA: Finding Best Practices for SM Health Marketing. While SM in the health context (involves FDA regulation) is different from other SM, I think the ideas in this presentation are 100% relevant to the question being discussed.
So, I think the “transparency” requirement is at the brand level. Not at the “agency on behalf of brand” level. Consumers don’t care about that. My $0.02.
I think the best role agencies, consultants, etc. can play is
coaching clients so they can learn to use social media. As you said,
the tools may be free, but effective participation takes time,
experience, and a realistic budget to pay for expertise.
Hell, there was once a time when you could get by with typewriters
and mimeograph machines. Those days are long over and businesses need
to stop whining about social media and adapt. Just as companies had to
hire IT people a couple of decades ago so they could remain
competitive, they now need to hire community managers and others who
can participate in online interaction.
Used effectively both internally and externally, social media is not
just a time sink. It can increase productivity, and help to build
sales. However, I think some standards are necessary. I've blogged for
clients on topics as diverse as clutter control and hairstyles. I
always write under my own name, with my bio attached so it is clear who
I am and what role I play. My goal always is to turn the blog over to
the client so they can do it themselves once they learn what's needed.
Jeremiah Owyang: In general, that's a bad idea. Agencies should teach their clients
how to 'fish' rather than do it for them as strategic advisors. I
don't have data to how much this happens.
Disclosure is key, and in some cases, may be enforceable by the FTC, we encourage all organizations to abide by the law.
John Cass: I’m getting reports back of agencies conducting campaigns
for clients but being transparent about the relationship. What do you
think of that? Edelman does this apparently.
Jeremiah Owyang: That's a best practice, absolutely.
Why? It builds trust with their own community and readers.
I reject the premise. I do not recommend people hire agencies to create
content. Instead I recommend that they hire journalists -- either
full-time or part-time to create content. More here http://bit.ly/ABHLd
I
think if a company hires a journalist as a full or part time employee
(with a title, email address and whatnot), and that person creates
content, then there is no transparency issue.
Being on the agency side, I see my role as consultative more than contributory. My clients need inspiration (and reminders!) to keep their blogs and social networks fresh. If I were to cross that line - especially undisclosed - I risk not only my client's brand reputation, but mine as well. These channels are embraced because of the level of authenticity they bring - authenticity that would be completely lost without transparency.
In these early days, blogging and tweeting are felt to be from the stated
author. Just like in the early days of giving speeches - people assumed
(rightly so) that the speaker penned the words.
Lynn Anne reveals the crux of the issue when she says, "In very few
cases does a CEO have the time, talent, or inclination to blog."
Understood - so don't pretend that you do!
As things evolve (like speech making did) expectations will change.
In 2010, the "rules" are that the blogger/tweeter is authentic, or is
pulling a fast one.
And Rick Also stated:
Today, given all the concern with transparency in social media, I
feel that today's "rules" guide us to be completely open about exactly
who is publishing what. It is phony to tweet, blog, and/or post to
Facebook or LinkedIn as an executive (or anyone else), when you are a
ghostwriter.
If the "author" doesn't have the time, skill, or ability to write
and post, then they shouldn't pretend to be doing so and falsely
representing both themself and their company's communications
program/capabilities. Why? Because social media was born in an era of
transparency and authenticity. Because social media is held, by so
many, to be a true voice.
Interestingly, the rules don't apply evenly to all forms of business
communication. For examples, a CEO addressing a room full of
shareholders may or may not have written his speech. That nuance is not
a big deal. The President of the USA addresses a group and no one
believes that he wrote his speech. Again, not an issue. Why? Because
the practice is both well known and well accepted.
What all media now have in common is that whoever signs their name
to the piece must stand behind it. Regardless of the medium or
platform, you can't have it both ways. This is because, while different
media have different expectations and "rules", people are now held to
one standard of transparency. If your name is on it and it blows up in
your face, the world won't allow you to slip out of it by blaming a
ghost writer.
Toby, thanks for this timely and relevant discussion. It's
interesting to step back and appreciate that social media tools are
communication tools [marvelous ones in my opinion!] and they can be
used in the traditional push format or to engage & interact &
be social. It's a subtle difference if you're in the traditional
mindset and a glaringly obvious one if you're already on the social
side.
To be effective in a social environment, you must be human,
authentic, responsive, consistent and genuinely interested. It's what
you so often remind us of: it's like being invited into someone's
living room.
I recently set up the "Social Flooring Index" to monitor the social
state of flooring - an extremely traditional industry mostly committed
to push marketing. It's been fascinating to observe the process of
evolution from traditional to social, and what it takes to get immersed
in the social aspect. What this tells me is that the more transparent
and authentic the effort, the more credible it is.Better not to
delegate all responsibility for your social efforts to 3rd parties who
- for the most part - really can't speak competently to your customers.
Get guidance, include them, but own it.
I love the approach that DC Goodwill has taken to make the
transition in DC Fashionistas and establish connection/continuity for
its audience. About developing enough content. Companies develop
content ALL the time [or they should be!]. With social media, they have
the opportunity to multi-purpose their original content work and
distribute it in a variety of forms. It takes some effort at first to
proactively think in those terms, but it's effective. When I did that
in pre-digital days, I referred to it as 'merchandising my marketing.'
Thanks again for this marvelous discussion.
My rule is: be transparent on everything that is public knowledge,
or allowed to be public knowledge. Do not talk about emails or letters
that have come in to the firm if the sender can be identified, or
anything where there might be the remotest confidentiality involved.
Talk about what you would talk about if you were at the pub for
after-work drinks. Not that I go to the pub for after-work drinks.
When it comes to the mayoral race, there is a Tweeting strategy. For
instance: do not Tweet about getting people excited to vote when voting
forms aren't even available. These need to be timed accordingly.
However, these should reflect the mood one is in, and the things one
does, preferably after the fact for security reasons. It shows what you
believe in and what you are prepared to do for the city.
Again, they should not be critical unless there is a very good
reason, so no negative campaigning or Tweeting. They should generally
be positive and inspirational. There is nothing wrong with being
personal about the Tweets as long as what you write does not attack the
company or, in my case, the campaign. I cannot see any point being
different just for Facebook: use the same messages on all platforms, to
be consistent. (Note: Jack is a candidate for mayor of Wellington, New
Zealand)
Friday
Fun is Diva Marketing's virtual happy hour from cosmos to Jack to
lemonade. A waiting for the weekend 'playground' time to be
sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just plain silly.
Top 10 Reason Why Not To Use Social Media
With apologies to Mister Letterman ..
10. Social media is just a fad.
9. Social media is a kid thing.
8. None of my customers are using social media or those network things.
7. Why would I want to know what you had for breakfast?
6. Twitter twits tweets. How you take something that sounds like bird seed as a serious marketing tactic?
5. We don't have the time.
4. No way to determine ROI.
3. Our brand could get blown up.
2. People who use social networks or those blog things just want to rant about things they know nothing about.
and the number one reason not to use social media
1. Social media will break down the carefully built silos in our company and we really don't trust each other enough for that to happen.
When I heard a colleague call social media a "consequence free environment" one word came to mind: Chaos. Dictionary.com defines choas as: a state of utter confusion or disorder; a total lack of organization or order. In the business world, where order and analysis are the basis of strategy, it's a small wonder why many marketers think of social media as their worst nightmare!
However, as is often the case of a Google search I saw something else .. another spelling - Khaos - and followed the links. Khaos was the Greek Goddess of the space between heaven and earth. Some ancient writers believed that she was primary source of all things.
Okay .. I promise not to leap into the gaping void and propose that social media is the source of all new marketing. If we think of social media not as Chaos, but as Khaos a new way to breach the void of customers and company, then perhaps we shed light on what is scary in the night but finds purpose in the day.
What do you do if you find your brand in the midst of a 'consequence free environment' where the conversation is more of nightmare than a pleasant dream? Here is a model to help breach the gap. For best results, of course, it should be part of your Social Media Enterprise Plan and dovetail into "In The Moment Marketing."
3 Steps to Khoas Social Media
Step 1: Determine Extent of Influence
a. Follow the conversation
b. Identify the people who are posting and who is commenting
c. Determine viral impact e.g., retweets, blog links, forum discussions, etc.
d. Monitor for main stream media mentions
Step 2: Analyze Meaning
a. What aspects of the brand resonated with customers?
b. Where are the emotional ties to the brand?
c. What is the impact on customers about the brand and the
company?
d. What is being repeated/RT’ed?
e. Is there offline impact e.g., customer call center?
Step 3: Determine Opportunities for Engagement
a. Tell your story in the same platforms
b. Co-create with your customers and fans
c. Join the conversation before it occurs!
Now I ask you, where else can you find social media served up with Greek Mythology?
Update: Thanks to @Attentio who reminded me that this is a circle strategy .. monitoring is the first and last steps; reviewing your results is also critical. So add 3 more steps please.
Today Max and took a walk in the rain. Max hates to get wet and while I might like to fantasy about dancing in the rain with Gene Kelly, being out doors in a cold winter rain with winds blowing is not my ideal of fun. But we were safe. I knew we were going back to a warm house where I could relax by the fire with a hot cup of tea or even a snifter of brandy and Max, of course, could chew on a doggy treat.
There are millions of people today in a small island in the Caribbean who are not safe. The people of Haiti will not be safe for many weeks or more likely many, many months.
Diva Marketing is a wee voice within the billions of web pages on the Internet; however, I couldn't let the opportunity of using the space on this site go by without an acknowledgment, of what my friend Geoff Livingston says, goes beyond the damage of a hurricane to the devastation of poverty.
If there is anything social media has taught me .. it is to believe in the miracles that people can make one-by-one-by-one. Just in case you wandered in and needed one more bit of encouragement to help here are a few sites that provide information.
It's an honor to be aligned with some of the best blogs (be they written by a diva or a divo) and with women who I admire .. many who I am privileged to call "girl friend."
If you're new to Diva Marketing .. Welcome! I cordially invite you to visit awhile and explore some of the posts, interviews and podcasts. Drop a comment & let me know your thoughts about social media .. then go visit some more amazing women of ..
Forbes 20 Best Marketing & Social Media Blogs By Women
Toss of a pink boa to Nancy Chorpenning, who inspired the title of my presentation on social media marketing for NAWBO Atlanta (National Association of Women Business Owners), and was an always awesome support as we developed this session. We felt "Follow The Dots" would be good way to frame the flow from strategy to tactics ... however .. as is sometimes the case one dot led to something slightly different.
As I began building the deck (I often like to mix slides with conversation. People learn differently and PowerPoint offers a visual media.) candydots ran through my mind. I thought it would be fun to include an image of candy dots to help illustrate the strategy trail. When I went to look for graphics I found what I remembered to be "candy dots" were actually called "candy buttons." I decided to have a bit of fun and create the presentation and analogies around a candy theme.
The Same But Different: The candy names were different. The taste and texture were different. One candy was hard while the other was soft and chewy. However, they were both candy. They were both sort of round and colorful. Different but the same.
Using that as an introduction to the session led to an interesting discussion of how not all social media tactics serve the same purpose. That what is right for one organization may not be right for all organizations. Different. However, to succeed in social media all organizations must create a plan that integrates social media into their master marketing plan. Same.
Our Conversation Guide focused on 3 questions:
1. What exactly Is "Social Media?"
2. Is Social Media right for my business right now?
3. Which tools/channels/tactics should I begin with?
As promised to the wonderful women of NAWBO I'm happy to share the deck. Enjoy with some of your favorite childhood candy .. if you can't have a little fun with your social media, why bother?
Blogs and Facebook and Twitter and YouTube and Flicker .. Oh My! The options for participating in social media are like the little, energizing bunny .. it keeps on going and going and going. Social media grows more complex by the nano second.
On the plus side: for the most part, the capital cost of these tools is free or at a very low cost. On the minus side: the price you pay for a social media program is in human capital and time. For an organization that runs lean and mean the execution of social media can be a challenge. Social media is a hungry beast that to succeed demands content.
Enter stage left - PR agencies, advertising agencies and social media consultants who are seizing an opportunity to carve a service niche from their time pressed, staff starved clients. Yes, girlfriend, the agencies are stepping in
and taking over the role and responsibilities of implementing social media initiatives.
But unlike an ad campaign or dropping a media release where no one really cares what name you use, social media is suppose to be different. Tweets and posts are suppose to be from the real people who are working for the brand .. just in case you might want to develop a real relationship. Keep in mind those who hold the conversation control the relationship.
There is a a buzz brewing that reminds me of the
controversy over ghost blogging. However, since on Facebook and often on Twitter
"no one knows your name" seems to be the acceptable norm,
2010 will see more. Is it good? Is it bad? Is it just fact of social media marketing life? Does it really matter? These are some of the questions that John Cass, PR Communicationsand I tossed about.
We thought it would be fun and an interesting exercise to collaborate on a post about the transparency of content writing and social media engagement for client social media channels. We're reaching out to people involved in social media and asking their opinions about the level of transparency owed to a a client when an agency is hired to write content for a blog, twitter account,
Facebook page, etc.
What are the practices that you think should be
followed? Feel free to tell us if you have differences of opinions across
social media channels.
We'll collect responses through January 15th and then share the learnings by cross posting on John's blog and on Diva Marketing. Read John's introduction post on PR Communications.
Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. ~Oprah Winfrey
As we end 2009 and begin a new decade I want to make a virtual toast to You.
Thank you for your friendship.
Thank you for your belief in social media as a credible strategy.
Thank you for your skepticism about social media as a business initiative.
Both ends of the spectrum help us learn together the possibilities of conducting business and marketing in a new way that weaves our customers' need with the brand promise.
2009 holidays are winding down. Social networks from Facebook, Flickr to Twitter helped us share memories with family and friends. But for some people holiday memories were not so merry or jolly. In the
spirit of the season, to give back, Diva Marketing is showcasing the stories of smaller nonprofits throughout December.
It's my wish that together we can help raise their
visibility, perhaps find a new volunteer or even encourage a donation or two. Because as Laura King Edwards, Taylor's Tale, says, "Nothing should stand in the way of a dream." Also the nonprofits that are using social media have agreed to share their strategies so we continue to learn together.
The tale of the Miracle of East Lake begins with, Tom Cousins an Atlanta real estate icon who had a "crazy" vision that golf could rebuild an inner city community. The story is told by Mary Dugenske, Director of Marketing and Communications for EastLake Foundation.
Everyone deserves a chance to succeed – which is why the
East Lake Foundation provides tools for Atlanta’s
EastLake
residents to build a brighter future for themselves and their families."
Just 15 years ago - EastLake
was a blighted, crime-ridden area, home to one of the nation’s most troubled
housing projects. Only 5% of students met state math standards, and the
employment rate (not unemployment rate) was just 14%.
Three key building blocks - Working with residents, the East Lake Foundation brought
hope to this historic community, relying on three key ingredients:
•Quality Education: EastLake kids now enter a
cradle-to-college pipeline that includes an early education program that’s become
a statewide model and Atlanta’s
first charter school. Students learn, excel and graduate – in fact, 97% are the
first in their families to attend college!
•Affordable Housing: Families now have access to safe
housing choices, plus classes, events and support groups that help them build
knowledge, skills and lasting financial strength.
•Community Connections: Neighbors connect and learn from
each other – for example, through The First Tee of East Lake, a dynamic program
that teaches both golf and life skills while opening the doors to colleges,
scholarships and jobs for hundreds of children.
Toward a brighter future - As EastLake
families begin to break the cycle of poverty, EastLake is becoming a community of
choice. Violent crime is down 95%, while school test scores and property values
have surged.Today’s economic challenges
hit working families particularly hard — but thanks to donors and volunteers,
the East Lake Foundation can continue to provide tools that build brighter
tomorrows. Just $10 a week provides a child with after-school tutoring,
educational support and enrichment activities that foster lasting academic
success.
Social Media Strategy
Expanding the conversation - Like many small nonprofits, the Foundation has long relied
on “social” events (especially volunteer opportunities) to connect donors,
partners and neighbors. We’re excited about the opportunities that social media
offers to connect with our supporters and broaden our outreach.
Right now,
we’re focused on listening and learning about what others are saying about our
cause, as well as helping supporters and volunteers tell our story via their
blogs and tweets. In 2010, we look forward to expanding the conversation
ourselves via our own presence on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other social
media channels!
Before you go off the grid for the holidays .. or perhaps when you come back on after toasting in 2010 .. imagine a time when there was no Internet or Twitter or blogs or Facebook or even email. It is Christmas 1947 and the
CEO of a major retail organization briefs the company's ad department.
"No high pressuring and forcing the customer to take something he
doesn't want. We'll be known as the helpful store. The friendly store.
The store with a heart. The store that places public service ahead of
profit. The plan sounds idiotic and impossible...consequently, we'll
make more profit than ever before."
No, it's not a new Twitter customer care strategy. But it is an innovative sales program launched in 1947 by Macy's Department Store .. it was a Miracle On 34th Street .. on the silver screen. Customers would not be coerced into buying what they did not want and
if another store had a better, less expensive product Macy's would send
them to that store.
Fast forward 62 years to 2009. Social media is
one of the most
exciting marketing strategies we've seen in the last 60+
years. Social media teaches us many lessons. One of the most important for marketers is our business is not all about the brand .. it is all about the customer. As with so many lessons, we seem to keep relearning this one.
In the world of conversational marketing there is no room for high-pressure sales
techniques. As Mr.
Macy learned we have to take our lead from our customers. Adding
a relationship focused social media strategy to your master marketing plan can be a powerful initiative which demonstrates that you place your customers' needs above a one-off sale.
The digital
relationships that the people (not departments) who are the heart of your brand can set off a chain reaction. Continuous listening -> which leads to continuous learning ->
which leads to a continuous conversations -> which leads to trust -> which
leads to loyalty -> which leads to the cash register bells ringing. And every time a cash
register bell rings a marketer gets a bonus or gets to keep her job
(!).. oops wrong film. Sorry.
Corner grocery store digital relationships
that are build not only with you and your customers, but among your
customers, could never have been imagined when Kris Kringle entered
Macy's in 1947. However, even as we approach 2010, for many organizations open
conversations still seem like a Miracle on (insert organization name
here) or like the ghost of Xmas future (oops wrong movie again. Sorry.)
The plan sounds idiotic and impossible... consequently, we'll make more profit than ever before.
As we begin 2010, technology developments spin even faster
taking digital marketing into areas that were
impossible in '47 or '57 or even '09.
Imagine a site that holds current inventory and pricing, allows for on-line financing and results in better, faster cheaper processing.
Imagine a site that allows for product customization.
Imagine a site where you can start a conversation with a real person about what matters to you regarding a product or service.
Imagine a site where you can talk to a real person who doesn't respond with an FAQ list.
Imagine a site where you can actually help change the direction of a product or service before it's even launched.
Imagine a site where you can include your review of the product, service or customer care.
Imagine a site where you can talk to people about their experiences and learn from each other.
Imagine a company that doesn't close the door (or comment section) to you or your ideas.
The plan sounds idiotic and impossible...consequently, we'll make more profit than ever before.
It's interesting to compare a 1940's film, where finding solutions
to customers' problems was perceived as unique, to 2009 where finding
solutions to customers' problems is considered ingenious.
The techniques may have changed. New buzz words may be added to the
mix. Bells and whistles may be a little louder. However, after all is
said and done, the premise remains the same:
-Listen
-Understand
-Add value
-Do what it takes to go the extra mile to delight your customer
The plan sounds idiotic and impossible...consequently, we'll make more profit than ever before.
And with that Max and I wish you a holiday full of joy and all things wonderful in the new year.
Sidebar: A Classic Diva Marketing post based on an article written for AMA Marketing News.
Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. ~ Francis Pharculles, The Sun
There are people who play Santa year long. Many bring their talents and hearts to the important work they perform for nonprofit causes. Throughout December Diva Marketing will highlight stories from smaller nonprofits
that light the way for causes but rarely pull mentions in the main stream media.
It's my wish that together we can help raise their
visibility, perhaps find a new volunteer or even encourage a donation
or two.
Because as Laura King Edwards, Taylor's Tale, says, "Nothing should stand in the way of a dream." Also the nonprofits that are using social media have agreed to share their strategies so we continue to learn together.
The story is told by Miranda Lynch who is the 15-year old co-founder and vice president of Isipho. Miranda's story is as much a part of the fabric of Isipho as the children she is passionate about helping.
My name is Miranda Lynch. I co-founded Isipho in December 2009 so I could do everything possible to improve the lives of the children in Nzinga, South Africa after visiting there in August 2008 while on vacation to celebrate my 14th birthday with my dad.
When we first got to Nzinga, all I wanted was to turn around and leave right away. I had never experienced such hardship or poverty. It was really overwhelming.
But I didn’t have time to be overwhelmed, because the second I got out of the car, a girl my age handed me a saw and pointed to some wood. I understood that she wanted me to cut the wood; something I had no idea how to do, but was embarrassed to admit that, so I just started sawing. As the evening evolved, I realized that the wood I was sawing was the wood we needed to make a fire to cook our dinner. Just making and then cleaning up after dinner was such hard work and took so long that by the time we finished, I was exhausted and went straight to bed. I guess it’s good I was too exhausted to leave!
The next day my life was changed forever, because I met Amahle, the beautiful, smart, precocious two-year-old daughter of our host. Amahle doesn’t have the same opportunities in life that I do - the opportunity to receive a quality education, the opportunity to have three healthy meals per day, and the opportunity to earn a living and support herself once she’s an adult. Amahle became my little shadow, and I came to love her like a little sister.
When we left Nzinga, I kept thinking about Amahle, and was determined to do all I could to change the inequality in her life; to do everything possible to give Amahle and every other child in Nzinga the opportunities that I believe every person deserves.
I know I’m just one American teenager, but I knew I had to at least try, and that I couldn’t just leave and never look back. When my mom and dad saw my passion for this, they agreed to help me help Nzinga overcome their biggest obstacles to a better life.
The municipality where Nzinga is located has identified severe and chronic malnutrition and illiteracy as two of the biggest contributors to the poverty in Nzinga. It seemed so simple to me that if they could grow their own fresh vegetables and had the proper resources to be able to receive an education, their lives would vastly improve. So we decided to start a non-profit to focus exclusively on this small village and to make a difference one child, one family, one food garden, and one classroom at a time.
I decided to name the nonprofit Isipho, which is the Zulu word for “gift,” and the nickname that Amahle gave to me because she couldn’t say “Miranda.” Our Isipho, or our gift, is to help the people of Nzinga create a better, self-sustaining community.
We do not give them more hand-outs that just extend the cycle of dependence. We give them the tools they need to feed and educate themselves within five years without any outside assistance. Specifically, we provide them with fencing, gardening tools, seeds and gardening training so that they can learn how to garden for themselves, and be able to protect their gardens from grazing animals.They do all the rest.
We also provide books, school supplies, educational toys and teacher training so that the kids in the village are all going to school and are learning when they get there. Before we started Isipho, only 44% of the villagers had ever attended any school at all, and only seven percent had ever graduated from high school. Our goal is to get 100% of the children in the village enrolled in school, and to increase graduation rates so that their poverty begins to improve.
In our first year we raised almost $20,000, and on just that limited amount of money we’ve been able to send:
~23 villagers through a 3 day sustenance gardening training program with the regional agriculture college. ~Provide fencing, tools and starter seeds for more than 500 square yards of community vegetable gardens ~Provide fencing, tools and starter seeds for 40 smaller, individual family garden
~Deliver over $3,000 worth of books, mathematics tools (calculators, protractors, etc.), and other needed school supplies. ~Encourage development of a local committee that will oversee and lead the programs going forward so that the villagers have ownership and ultimate responsibility for long-term success. More than half of the committee is comprised of women.
Isipho is run by me, my mom and my dad, so far on a 100% volunteer basis.
I’m founder and Vice President of the Board of Directors. I spend most of my time working on public relations and fundraising, and I’m also busy making a short film about Nzinga, using video footage that I shot this past August when we were in Nzinga building vegetable gardens and working in the schools.
My dad, Tom, is President of the Board. He does marketing and fundraising, and is always spreading the word about Isipho.
My mom, Sheri, is Executive Director of Isipho. She handles all the day-to-day operations.
The three of us work together to plan all of the programs. We’re also putting together a really great Board of Directors right now.
It’s been really interesting to work together with my family like this. We’re a business, so we have weekly meetings, as well as quarterly planning sessions and an annual planning retreat. I’ve learned a LOT about what it takes to run a business, like how to do strategic planning, how to organize fundraisers, what it takes to do even a simple program, and a lot about business etiquette. Most of that I’ve learned by making mistakes and embarrassing myself. But that’s OK – that’s one of the nice things about learning all this stuff as a teenager – people are quick to forgive my mistakes!
Social Media Strategy
Social media is important for us, but also very natural. My dad has worked in digital marketing for a long time, and I’m 15, so I’m on it all the time. We have a limited budget, so social is a great way to spread the story and get people involved. It has been great for us, and also a lot of fun.
It also is a lot of work though, because you have to stay active. Sometimes we’ll find that too much time has passed before we’ve interacted, and other times we’ll find we’re all on our individual Facebook pages saying the same thing.
Sometimes being consistent and coordinated is not as easy as it would seem.
In midst of the chaos of shopping, gift wrapping and cookie baking I invite you to join me on Diva Marketing for a quiet moment to learn about the work of some smaller nonprofits. Throughout December I'll be highlighting stories from nonprofits that light the way for causes that may not be on the front page of the New York Times. It's my wish that together we can help raise their
visibility, perhaps find a new volunteer or even encourage a donation or two.
Because as Laura King Edwards, Taylor's Tale, says, "Nothing should stand in the way of a dream." Also the nonprofits that are using social media have agreed to share their strategies so we continue to learn together.
Story is told by Suzanne Conti who has been involved with the St.
Vincent and SarahFosterCenter for many years.
At one time the St. Vincent
and SarahFosterCenter
was a foster home for children with volunteers providing Easter Baskets and
Birthday toys.Through the Center's
studies they believed their efforts would be more fruitful if the children
stayed with their parents as long as they taught the parents how to provide and
parent for a successful family life.
Tutoring of all forms is on-going and the results are wonderful, but the
needs for these young Detroit
families are greater than ever.Sr.
Judith would be so grateful to any assistance given to help these children and
parents, whether it be crayons for the kids after school programs or warm coats
and boots.
Providing education and skill development opportunities for at risk children and families in Detroit
which have been devasted with the highest unemployment (38%) and highest levels
of high school drop out rates (28%).This charity is going to the heart of the problem- working to strengthen
the family unit to become nurturing productive sources for children.
The odds say many of the children served in the Brightmoor
and surrounding communities of Detroit
will end up dropping out of school and going on to lives of poverty. Children's
Learning Experience helps children beat those odds. Individual and small group academic support and
encouragement a positive, nurturing environment that fosters a love of
learning. Strict participation standards that include a high degree of
parental involvement. The goal of the Children's Learning Experience is to ensure
children are performing at or above grade level, and that goal is being met.
Many in the area are living in poverty, unable to support
their families. Lack of education is a major component of the generational
poverty that plagues this area. The Adult Learning Experience addresses this. The Adult Learning Experience has been designed around the
concept of First Steps and Next Steps. In this program we recognize that
getting a high school diploma or completing a GED is the crucial first step and
the foundation for self-sufficiency. To help our students take that first step,
we provide tutoring in math and language.
But a GED is no longer enough to give adults the ability to
support themselves and their families. It is an important first step, but only
a first step. That's why the Adult Learning Experience program goes further.
Building on the confidence that comes with reaching a hard-won goal, we work
with our graduates on Next Steps. Whether that Next Step is enrolling in college, attending a
vocational school or getting into an apprenticeship program, we support program
participants as they take measured, lasting steps toward self-sufficiency.
Values
The values of founders St. Vincent de Paul and Louise de
Marillac, continue to guide the expression of the Center's mission.
Simplicity
Honesty, integrity and openness in all of our words and
actions
Teamwork
Working together in service to others
Advocacy
Advocating for those with no voice
Inventiveness
Being creative in everything we do
Respect
Showing respect for those we serve and everyone we contact on their behalf
Service Quality
History
The agency traces its beginnings to 1844 when the Daughters
of Charity first arrived on the streets of Detroit
with only $8.50 in their pockets, with the intentions of opening a school.
Within two years, they responded to community need by establishing the St.
Vincent Orphan Asylum and a hospital. In 1869, the sisters opened a program to
provide for the needs of unwed and/or deserted mothers and their children.
It is this spirit that began the Daughter’s 150 years of
service to those in need in Southeastern Michigan. They
had no idea that they would be responsible for founding the first hospital in
Detroit, Providence Hospital in 1945, the first private psychiatric hospital in
Michigan, three schools, an orphanage, and a home for unwed mothers and
children in just over two decades.
In 1928, a fire destroyed a summer home located in Farmington
Hills that housed children from the old St. Vincent
Orphan Asylum in Detroit. Mr. and
Mrs. Charles T. and Sarah Fisher of the Fisher Body Family read the news
accounts of the fire. Because of their extreme gratitude to the Daughters of
Charity and Providence Hospital for saving the life of their fifth son, Thomas
Fisher, Charles Fisher took action by donating more than $700,000 to build a
new structure at the corner of 12 Mile and Inkster Roads.
The formal opening took place one year after the date of the
fire on November 25, 1929.
The home reflected contemporary thinking in the institutional care of children.
The Center’s Farmington Hills
campus remained open as a residential facility for foster children until
October 2005. In 2006, the St. Vincent and SarahFisherCenter
brought 150 years of family and child experience to the Brightmoor area and the
surrounding community. The statistics for the area are daunting: A 40% poverty
rate for children; a nearly 30% drop out rate; and unemployment levels that
hover around 36%. Children are at risk, and families are failing under the
crushing weight of poverty.
In the
spirit of the season, to give back, Diva Marketing is showcasing the stories of smaller nonprofits throughout December. It's my wish that together we can help raise their
visibility, perhaps find a new volunteer or even encourage a donation or two.
Because as Laura King Edwards, Taylor's Tale, says, "Nothing should stand in the way of a dream." Also the nonprofits that are using social media have agreed to share their strategies.
Story is told by the founder Dennis
Hodges who explains how he came up with his unique concept where people can directly help others. As Dennis learned some times fate steps in and changes your dream for the better.
Lendego is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization based in Atlanta, Ga. that helps meet the needs of others by connecting
them with individuals wishing to give. Lendego empowers its donors to choose
the individuals, families, groups or organization they want to help.
Powered by
givers, Lendego positively impacts the lives of real people with real needs.
With Lendego’s peer to peer giving platform, funds can be directed to specific
individuals, families, groups or organizations in need.
I came up with the idea for Lendego,
a nonprofit peer-to-peer lending organization, where individuals hoping to
start a business could post their ideas and stories. Those interested could
lend money to the individuals and then be repaid at a later date. Hence, the
name Lendego. I created my business model, built the website and was ready to
launch Lendego when the 2009 flood happened in Atlanta.
Watching the floods and hearing
about all the victims so close to home had a very profound impact on me. The
incident made me think about all of the individuals who were affected by the
tragedies of life on a daily basis and how it was often extremely difficult, if
not impossible for those individuals to receive financial help in their time of
need.
In October of 2009, I converted my
online lending platform to an online giving platform and Lendego, a nonprofit
dedicated to peer-to-peer giving was born. Individuals or families struggling
with difficult circumstances can contact Lendego for assistance. Recipients can
post a need themselves or be submitted by a “sponsor” -- family members, a
friend, church, employer or another nonprofit that is working to help meet the
individual's need.
After the need is verified by Lendego staff, their story is
posted at Lendego;
where givers can browse all the needs and select those for which they wish to
help. Givers can give the amount they choose to each recipient. Once the need
is met, Lendego disburses the funds directly to the family or individual in
need.
Social Media Strategy
Lendego’s grass roots campaign is
conducted via Facebook, Twitter and traditional public relations. Right now the
organization is working on the Faces of Lendego, each month a different story
will be told to the public making them the Face of Lendego. The goal of this
campaign is to raise awareness of Lendego and to change the attitudes and
perceptions behind peer-to-peer giving.
Diva Marketing Talks is
a live, internet radio (BlogTalkRadio) show. 30 minutes. 2 maybe 3
guests. 1 topic about social media marketing. Why? To help you
understand how to participate in the "new" conversation without getting
blown-up. Miss the show? You can pick it up as a podcast or listen
on your computer.
On today's Diva Marketing Talks Fard Johnmar, Envision Solutions and Steve Woodruff, Impactiviti, join me to explore how social media impacts healthcare, with a focus on the pharmaceutical industry. In November the FDA held two days of open hearings that began the process of their development of regulation guidelines for Pharma. For any enterprise stepping into the social web can be a challenge. However, for companies in highly regulated industries, especially healhcare, the stakes are high to get it "right."
Fard Johnmar, M.A., founder of Envision Solutions, has extensive experience in the healthcare marketing communications arena. He has developed and implemented programs for numerous major global and domestic pharmaceutical companies, nonprofits, medical associations and government organizations. Pfizer Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Novartis Pharmaceuticals and the International Society on Hypertension in Blacks are just a few of the organizations he has completed engagements with.
Mr. Johnmar has special expertise in cardiovascular disease, mental health,infectious disease, oncology, social media communications, public health and health policy. He holds a Master of Arts degree from New York University's well-regarded Gallatin School of Individualized Study in communications and health policy. He completed his undergraduate degree at Amherst College where he earned a B.A. in jazz ethnomusicology with additional concentrations in pre-medical studies and political science.
Mr. Johnmar writes regularly on healthcare marketing, policy and related subjects for Know More Media (KMM), a leading global business blogging network and other publications. His blog on KMM, HealthCareVox, was recognized as one of the world's top 50 English-language health blogs by edrugsearch.com. Follow Fard on Twitter.
Steve Woodruff is President of Impactiviti, a pharma network advocating new on-line solutions for communications, and "matchmaking" pharmaceutical clients with best-in-class vendor/providers. Steve has over 23 years of experiences in the life sciences arena, and is a well-respected thought leader in the social media field.
Steve has rich experience consulting with numerous pharmaceutical clients (such as Pfizer, Wyeth, Novartis, J&J, Abbott, Takeda, Sanofi-Aventis, Daiichi Sankyo, and many others) on training and marketing solutions, including technology platforms and global applications. Having consulted on the design and implementation of many types of learning initiatives (virtual universities, pre-launch training, printed modules, on-line tutorials, product portals, assessments, webcasts, etc.) for a wide variety of companies, Steve brings a broad perspective to clients as new training and marketing activities are planned.
Steve contributes to the Small Business Branding blog, Marketing Profs Daily Fix, and was recently featured in an article on Better Branding in TheStreet.com. Steve has also launched several on-line portals with aggregated content feeds from the blogging community; PharmaCentral, the Marketing Bloggers portal, and BrandingWire. He has contributed to two recently published “group-authored” books, Age of Conversation and Not Quite What I Was Planning. His branding/marketing/social media blog is called StickyFigure. Follow Steve on Twitter.
In The Diva Bag
Complement of Fard Johnsmar
1. Understand what you face: Pharma companies should understand how e-patients feel about them journeying into the social media space. According to a national survey we recently conducted, they aren't too happy about pharma communicating with them via social media.
However, drug firms may be able to improve e-patient perceptions by providing them with what they want: the straight facts about medicines and valuable information about the conditions they or their loved ones face.
2. Remember, this is Washington: A lot of the commentary I've seen focusing on the FDA hearings deals with the mechanics of Internet promotion and how pharmaceutical companies are being restrained from participating fully.
However, people have to remember that the FDA is not just going to listen to industry insiders when developing policy. They have to deal with Congress and very active and vocal patient/consumer activists who will have a lot to say about the regulations the FDA releases. Back in the 1990s when FDA decided to approve more robust DTC marketing, many said that the agency went too far.
Now, we have the Internet, which is some ways, is a much more powerful and pervasive medium than television. We have to remember that FDA is being pushed in many different directions. We may get regulations, but we may not like what the FDA does.
In addition, we have an article on our new knowledge community, Living the Path, summarizing the FDA's changing regulatory stance and how it impacts pharma and health companies.
The holidays are a time to give back to others. In that spirit, Diva Marketing is highlighting the stories of smaller nonprofits through out December. It's my wish that together we can help raise their
visibility, perhaps find a new volunteer or even encourage a donation or two.
Because as Laura King Edwards, Taylor's Tale, says, "Nothing should stand in the way of a dream." Also the nonprofits that are using social media have agreed to share their strategies so we continue to learn together.
Story told
by Virginia Sowers, Community
Manager, ChildFund International. For
more than 70 years, ChildFund International (formerly Christian Children’s
Fund) has been inspired and driven by the potential that is inherent in all
children; the potential not only to survive but also to thrive, to become
leaders who bring positive change for those around them.
We help
deprived, excluded and vulnerable children around the world and in the United States to improve their capacity to
improve their lives and have the opportunity to become young adults, parents
and leaders who bring lasting and positive change to their communities.
We believe
that change must be child-centered. Our distinctive approach focuses on working
with children throughout their journey from birth to young adulthood, as well
as with families, local organizations and communities globally to create
environments children need to thrive.
Our work
would not be possible without the generosity of our child sponsors and donors,
and we are most grateful for their support.
Social Media
We have used social media extensively as part of our
rebranding effort that began last July. In changing our organization’s name to
ChildFund International (to align with the ChildFund Alliance), we have found
social media to be an important tool to communicate the name change, build the
ChildFund brand and also engage more interactively with our supporters.
In July, we launched a Twitter campaign. For every 200
followers we attracted on Twitter, an anonymous donor would provide a gift to
country in which ChildFund worked. For example, one gift was a goat to a family
in The Gambia. We shot video of the goat’s arrival and shared that back through
Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. We gained 2,200 followers in the two-week
campaign, resulting in 11 gifts to vulnerable children.
We also ran a Twitter event this fall. In conjunction with
the 20th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child on Nov. 20,
we invited Twitter followers to tweet on a right they believed children should
have for healthy development. After a set time, we voted on the top 5 tweets
and put those back out on Twitter for a bit of competitive retweeting. We’re
about to announce the top 2 tweets (as based on the number of retweets). Those
two individuals are receiving a coffee table book with photographs of children
around the world.
My friend Caryl is getting started in social media. It's fair to say that Caryl is not a digital native but I felt for certain she'd feel right at home in the world of online conversations. She is one of the friendliest women I know. She's funny and smart and the first person to make a new comer in the group feel comfortable. She has the talent of talking to people.
I was surprised when she mentioned she hadn't dropped into her LinkedIn page since we set it up 4 months ago. Her reason was simple - she didn't feel comfortable. "How could that be?" I thought. Caryl is a People Person with cap Ps. Social media = people.
As we talked I found a few reasons why it wasn't as simple as dropping into a Chamber networking event for her.
Caryl's 4 Big LinkedIn Questions
1. How do you engage and determine interest without physical or tonality cues?
2. How do you jump into the conversation when you don't know the people?
3. How do you enter the conversation without being invited?
4. How do you know when to continue the discussion when there is no feedback from the group?
8 Ideas On How To Join A LinkedIn Conversation
1. Read the post and any subsequent comments before jumping into the the discussion.
2. Review the profile's of the people interacting on the thread. You may find some ideas of how to frame your remarks that add specific ideas for your group members.
3. Remember the culture of (most) social networks is not based on who you know but what you share.
4. Remarks are welcomed that take the conversation into areas where new ideas are explore and even when the status quo is debated.
5. Realize that although your input may be considered valuable people may not comment back. Don't take it personally.
6. Returning often to the group will help people know you better, you them and increase your comfort level networking in the social web.
7. Results often lead to "off LinkedIn" conversations where you can continue to build relationships in more depth.
8. Respect the people in your group by keeping your comments on topic *no spammy or overt selling in this world.
What advise would you give Caryl to help her feel more comfortable using LinkedIn and social networks?
Through out December, Diva Marketing is showcasing the stories of smaller nonprofits. It's a small way to give back to others who give so much. It's my wish that together we can help raise their
visibility, perhaps find a new volunteer or even encourage a donation or two.
Because as Laura King Edwards, Taylor's Tale, says, "Nothing should stand in the way of a dream." Also the nonprofits that are using social media have agreed to share their strategies.
Story by Ramona Nichols, founder and Executive Director of GCI. My mother and sister have epilepsy, and I experienced through their
eyes the stress and isolation that disability may create for every family
member. My animals provided a support system of unconditional love, which
helped the family deal with the physical, emotional, and social effects of
epilepsy.
After studying animal behavior at the University
of Georgia, I dedicated my
life to training dogs to improve the quality of life of people with
disabilities. Photo: Ramona with canines Mary Kate and Ashley
Georgia Canines for Independence is
a 501-c-3 nonprofit. Donations are tax-deductible. Georgia Canines for
Independence (GCI) provides trained
assistance dogs for children and adults with physical disabilities and other
special needs. GCI
is an all volunteer organization.
Each service dog learns 90 commands and performs skills such as
opening/closing doors, turning lights on/off, retrieving dropped or needed
items, and pulling wheelchairs. After completing 2 years of training, each
canine partner is given away at absolutely no cost to someone in need. GCI
also provides a lifetime of instructional support for each service dog team.
Service dogs increase independence. Many of
our service dog recipients have gained employment or been able to attend
college as a direct result of having a dog to assist them with daily living
activities. Assistance dogs also increase self-esteem and social interactions
and decrease stress and loneliness. Many service dog owners have also reported
improvements in physical health and a reduction in the number of doctors'
visits leading to decreased healthcare costs.
Because GCI does NOT charge for its
services, our programs are made possible by community support. Insurance does
not cover animal therapy or service dogs.
Social Media
GCI has a donation page on Facebook, several videos on YouTube that demonstrate how these amazing dogs help "their people" in daily living, a MySpace page and of course a presence on Twitter.
The Back-story - Last week I met an amazing women, Laura King Edwards, who told me the story of the nonprofit she launched to support her little sister Taylor. Taylor has Batten disease, a rare neurodegenerative disease, with no known cure.
Laura and Taylor touched my heart and inspired this series, Stories From Smaller Nonprofts. In the spirit of the season, to give back, the month of December will showcase wonderful nonprofits. It's my wish that together we can help raise their visibility, perhaps find a new volunteer or even encourage a donation or two. Because as Laura says, "Nothing should stand in the way of a dream."
Story told by: Laura King Edwards: Current board president, founding member and
older sister of our namesake, Taylor King; also the blogger, Webmaster and
Facebook.
Taylor’s Tale
Story was inspired by Taylor King, an 11-year-old native of Charlotte, NC.
She was diagnosed with infantile NCL, a form of Batten disease, in July 2006.
Taylor's Tale
raises funds for research and promotes public awareness of Batten disease. We
are a non-profit, tax-exempt entity pursuant to Section 501(c)(3). We were
originally founded by a group of dedicated volunteers in Charlotte,
N.C. in early 2007.
For two years, we
raised funds for the Batten Disease Support and Research Association (BDSRA).
In January 2009, Taylor's Tale was
granted non-profit status. Today, we work in tandem with BDSRA and other
non-profits to provide financial support for Batten disease research. We have
raised close to $200,000 since our inception.
We made it possible for a prominent researcher, Sandra
Hofmann, MD, PhD, of the University
of Texas SW-Dallas, to begin
evaluating and testing enzyme replacement therapy as a cure for infantile NCL.
Today, she is in the preclinical studies stage.
Her close colleague, Beverly
Davidson, PhD, of the University of Iowa, whose work is very similar to Dr.
Hofmann's but for a different form of the disease, just had a major
breakthrough for not just Batten disease, but all of medical science. Dr.
Davidson figured out a way to cross the blood brain barrier and deliver
therapeutic molecules directly into the brain - a discovery that has
implications for all brain-based diseases (i.e. Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, brain
cancer).
In addition to Dr. Hofmann's work, we have supported or
currently support work at WashingtonUniversity
in St. Louis, the University
of Rochester and the National
Institutes of Health (NIH).
What is Batten disease?
Batten disease is an inherited neurodegenerative disease
that primarily strikes infants, toddlers and school-aged children. Presently,
there is no known cure, and it is always fatal. Batten disease is rarely
diagnosed immediately and is often mistaken for epilepsy, mental retardation,
retinitis pigmentosa or even schizophrenia in adults.
Onset is characterized by
beginning vision loss, seizures, clumsiness and personality and behavior
changes. After onset, Batten disease causes continuing physical and mental
deterioration, and affected children eventually become blind, bedridden and
unable to communicate.
Why Taylor's
Tale?
All children have dreams. Some dream of becoming astronauts
and exploring outer space. Some envision careers as baseball players or
firefighters. Others want to be doctors or teachers.
Taylor King, a girl who
loves princesses, sparkly jewelry and the color pink, dreams of becoming a pop
star or fashion designer. She loves to sing. She believes in fairy tales. Her
courage inspired us to fight for a cure for Batten disease.
We are writing her
story because we believe that it will help us save children like her. Every
child is entitled to dream; every child's story should be a fairy tale.
Taylor's
Tale began as Taylor's story, but
along the way, it has become a story for all children. Because nothing should
stand in the way of a dream.
Goals
Specifically, we work with the BDSRA to identify promising
proposals made by Batten disease researchers and then provide the funding to
make their work possible. Taylor's
Tale believes that proposals should be built upon a "bench to
bedside" philosophy; we want the work we support to work toward the end
result of a human clinical trial and a possible cure for Batten disease.
And,
we are proud to say that we have been able to help make history over the past
several years: we are infinitely closer to a cure - perhaps only a few short
years away - than we were when we began.
Social Media Strategy
Our small size, limited resources and strong desire to
reserve the vast majority of funds we raise for research grants led us to
position social media and digital marketing channels as major players in our
overall public awareness/marketing strategy. Along the way, we've discovered
that these tools are not only the cheapest way to spread the word - they're
also the most effective in many cases.
We chose the name "Taylor's
Tale" because we want to play the role of storyteller in the fight to cure
Batten disease. Social media channels have an uncanny ability to help us tell
our story virally - and it allows others to be storytellers, too, which fosters
further support and keeps people inspired. Without social media, we'd be left
with local person-to-person networking and special events to build awareness.
We'd have our Web site, but alone, that'd be a pretty static tool. Coupled with
social media tools like blogging and Facebook, we've been able to reach more
people than we would have ever imagined. Our blog, for example, garners
feedback from people scattered across the globe. We've been able to position Taylor's
Tale as a major source of funding for the research community and a reliable,
welcome information source for families whose children are newly diagnosed.
So what's next? We want to add Twitter to our social media
toolkit and continue to enhance our presence elsewhere. We also want to
continue pushing a campaign we launched recently called Project E-wareness - a
call to people who want to help us build support for Taylor's
Tale using social media channels. We even created a pdf e-wareness guide that
people can download.
I'd like to tell you a story. Social media is all about the stories. This
tale begins with two friends from opposite ends of the world who met in
the virtual world of blogs. One was from the middle of America and the
other from down under in Australia.
Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton had a wild idea to crowd source author
a book about the new conversations that were changing the fabric of
marketing. In 2007, they asked bloggers and people active in the new media
space (social networks were on the distant horizon back in 2007!). Each
author would have one page in the book - a max of 400 words. About 100
people joined Drew and Gavin on their adventure .. and hence was born
the Age of Conversation.
2008 brought Age of Conversation 2 with
over 200 contributing authors. Age of Conversation 3 is in the
works with about 300 authors with a publishing date in 2010. Age of Conversation 3 is subtitled - It’s time to get busy! The direction focused on action versus theory. This social media book is divided into 10 sections:
1. Conversational Branding
2. Influence
3. Getting To Work
4. Corporate Conversations
5. Measurements
6. In The Boardroom
7. Pitching Social Media
8. Identities, Friends and Trusted Friends
9. Conversations At The Coalface
10. Innovation and Execution
I'm proud to have participated in all 3 Age of Conversation books. Part of the authors' agreement is to wait at least 6-months after the book is printed and available for purchase (all of the profits are donated to charity) to publish our pages. Now that 6-months has come and gone I'm happy to share my pages from AoC 1 and AoC2 with you.
.. and a preview of my page inAge of Conversation 3 - Chapter Corporate Conversations: Building The Social Enterprise
Once upon a time there was a CEO who worked diligently for many years building a successful company. One day she (or perhaps it was a he) realized the business model she had carefully crafted was no longer valid.
She found her customers and prospects were not waiting for her website to be updated, new ads to launch, sales calls returned, or direct mail pieces received in order to make purchase decisions. She discovered customers were not in company service queues waiting for answers to their questions. [To be continued in AoC 3 publish date 2010]
Idea! Age of Conversation 1 & 2 would make great holiday gifts!
It's not a revelation that social media occurs in the digital conversations of the Internet. However, some find it strange that conversations with people who might be more of an acquaintance than one we might call a "friend" often lead to important ideas.
It can be easier to open discussions in the world of blogs, tweets or Facebook where your thoughts fly into cyber space. Sitting across a table, where body language and facial experssions can immediate challenge your views, before words are even spoken can be a big risk.
On this day before Thanksgiving, when the smell of turkey roasting evokes memories of loved ones who broke the wish bone or split the last piece of pumpkin pie with you, I'd like to suggest a topic of conversation for you to consider. It's the type of discussion that we often shy away from because it brings our vulnerability into play. But it's a conversation that shows how much you care. It's a conversation we need to engage in with grace and caring sooner than later.
Paul Levy, Running A Hospital, once again asked if I would join in the Engage with Care blog rally. This one hits home for me so it is with deep respect for the work of Alexandra Drane and Matt Holt who launched EWC to honor Za Vandenberg that I tell you the ..
Engage With Care Story
Last Thanksgiving weekend, many bloggers participated in the first “blog rally” to promote Engage With Grace – a movement aimed at having all of us understand and communicate our end-of-life wishes.
Over 100 bloggers in the healthcare space and beyond participated. The timing was purposeful since it coincided with a weekend when most of us are with the very people with whom we should be having these tough conversations – our closest friends and family.
The original mission – to get more and more people talking about their end of life wishes – hasn’t changed. At the heart of Engage With Grace are five questions designed to get
the conversation started. They’re not easy questions, but they are
important
However, sometimes it's uncomfortable to start this type of discussion so it might be easier to begin with a bit of levity. To help ease into the tough questions, and in the spirit of the season, here are five parallel questions that ARE easy and fun to answer:
Silly? Maybe. But it underscores how having a template like this – just five questions in plain, simple language – can deflate some of the complexity, formality, and even misnomers that have sometimes surrounded the end-of-life discussion.
The five questions from Engage With Grace follow. I encourage you to think about them, document them, share them.
Some of the stories that the Engage With Grace people have heard are heartfelt. One man shared how surprised he was to learn that his wife’s preferences were not what he expected. You might have a similar story. At the very least you'll know what your loved ones want to do.
I'll end this post as I did last year ..
Toby - Proud sister of Susan Ellen, proud daughter of Anne and Lou. Believer in the Power of Conversation.
Max and I wish you and yours a most wonderful Thanksgiving.
Recently I was explaining social media to a friend and I had an ah ha moment. This business feels as specialized as well .. healthcare. Consider ..
Consultants ..
Social Media Consultant - Generalist
Social Media Consultant - Specializing in Verticals e.g,., healthcare, real estate, nonprofit, etc.
Social Media Services Add On - The Agencies: PR, Advertising, Consulting
Social Media Enterprise Structure - Focus on Internal Business Structure; Enterprise 2.0
Social Media Monitoring
Focus on Blogger Relations
Social Media Niche Communities
Social Media Community Managers
The Lawyers
Social Media and Government Regulations
Freelance Content Authors
Add to that companies that are bringing us ..
Social Media Conferences and Workshops
Add to that the ad world ...
Social Media Advertising Networks
Social Media Blog Networks
Focus on Facebook or Twitter advertising
Add to that
Technology end from social media platforms, widgets, apps and well .. just take a look at the Conversation Prizm by Brian Solis and JESS3 ..
This industry grows more complex by the nano second.
Note: 451 Marketing created a list of over 50 Top Social Media Strategists To Watch in 2010.
Be sure to check comments for more talented people. I'm included .. and
although a list is a list is a list .. still it's nice to be
acknowledged.
Hundreds of thousands of digital voices are taking medicine to the virtual streets. There's a new cause being fought in social media communities. Not unlike the grass root movement of the '60's this will also influence change but this time in the world of healthcare.
As we've seen with consumer and business brands ePatients are using the Internet for research and social media for peer-to-peer support. On the other side of the street some healthcare providers (physicians, nurses, physician assistants, etc.) are doing much the same. Blogs, social networks, Twitter, along with gated communities like Sermo -an only for docs world- are finding their way into the process of daily communication.
However, the healthcare eco system is complex and goes beyond those two populations to include government agencies like the FDA, Pharma and point of care providers (hospitals, medical centers, out patient facilities).
Simply put .. here lies their social media dilemma .. how to authentically (with no marketing spin) participate in the social discussions while maintaining public safety, patient privacy, transparency .. not to mention ensuring conversations are "people talk." From a lay person's perspective it sounds fairly simple; however, especially for pharma the social landscape can be a slippery slope.
Last week the FDA held a Public Hearing on Promotion of FDA-Regulated Medical Products Using the Internet and Social Media Tools. To their credit the FDA made the 2-day proceedings available to the pubic through live streams. The goal of the back-to-back 15-minute presentations from marketers, pharma companies, government agencies and media companies was to educate by responding to a series of predetermined questions from the FDA.
While some people seemed a bit self-serving, others presented carefully researched conclusions; and others offered specific solutions from creating a task force to developing widgets for adverse events (AE) to designing online advertising. Running in the background were people tweeting the hearing.#FDASM The commentary, often couched in humor (I learned a new buzz word from Mark Tosh : Data Smog), was as valuable to me as the formal proceedings.
From a marketer who has worked in healthcare, as well as, from a personal perspective here are my takeaways:
Monitoring Some people felt pharmaceutical companies should be responsible for monitoring misinformation and AE comments .. according to pre determined guidelines. Others strongly felt that monitoring should not be mandated or as @rohitbhargava tweeted that brands should not be "cyber sleths." However, if Pharma does come across inaccurate data or patient concerns what should be the response protocol?
Customer Service and the ePatient How to manage service relationship is an important issue that was addressed only slightly. Perhaps it was outside the scope. Consumer brands are setting expectations for fast, online responses to questions and concerns. My instincts tell me that this will be the next big area for digital/social media healthcare. There are many issues to be explored from: What does digital healthcare service mean? to: How to address questions in public forums. How are AEs addressed and misinformation corrected? Where to address those issues and when to participate in social networks.
To encourage patients to report AEs they must feel as though they are
getting value back. How to encourage engagement and what constitutes
"value" is critical to understand. All who are involved in caring
for and serving ePatients must realize that it is not about the
technology but developing a productive collaboration. Whatever means
are used must be simple. Social media is about a new set of digital behaviors that begin and end with trust based on transparency.
The social media service relationships between ePatients and healthcare providers will grow in importance .. watch for it.
Physician/Patient Relationship Most U.S. physicians like the idea of empowered patients who are knowledgeable about their conditions Patients are utilizing digital resources, including social media, for pre treatment and post treatment Docs remain the most trusted source of medical information
Pharma Docs want information when they want it. Consumers want customer service. The big challenge is to correct misinformation without a self serving spin. Seems sad that would be an issue. I can't help but wonder if/how the social media culture will influence the culture of pharma.
FDA Step into the social media world. Open a page on Facebook so the public will have easy access to information. Don't expect people to search to find you .. go where they are online. A benchmark for success should be sharing experiences vs. filling out forms. The FDA should take the lead in creating a participatory culture.
Consumer education will be critical to the success of this undertaking. Pharma could help with the out reach as could other providers. If creating consumer awaremess and understanding is not an integrated aspect the best of plans will fail.
Keep in mind that regulations should not get in the way of expected interaction (between pharma and customers and pharma and physicians.
The post about a conversation I had with a doc I met on a flight about blogs seems almost surreal. It went something like this .. The doc said to me - I don't want to give them that information. There's too much on the internet already. Great opportunity to make sure they have correct information, I replied. The old school doc volleyed a last remark, "I don't practice medicine that way."
My response back, "Perhaps you need to change the way you practice medicine. If I were you I'd keep on eye on blogs." Wonder if he changed his mind.
Sidebar: Thanks to Jean-Ah Kang, PharmD, Special Assistant to the Director for her gracious eMail. - There will be transcripts posted approximately 30 days after the conclusion of the public hearing, and the docket will have copies of the presentations/oral testimonies that can be requested from FDA. We would welcome any comments you would like to provide on these issues as our docket is open until February 28, 2010 - please consider submitting comments!
Over the past few years I've asked hundreds of people what they thought social media meant.
Duncan Wardle's, VP Global PR for Disney, response was typical of most. - "Creating dialog with consumers."
Spent the last 2 days at social media events in Atlanta. Blogwell,
complements of Gaspedal, and Atlanta Interactive Marketing, sponsored
by an alphabet soup of Atlanta marketing groups: AiMA, AMA, AAC, BMA,
PMA. The format for both was case studies which always makes for great
learnings. I had the opportunity to see work from some big brands in a space that we mash-up and simply call "social media."
Although fun and creative, several of the strategies shared were not traditional social media inthe sense that Duncan described. Let's call them Consumer Engaged Digital Events. The goal didn't seem to be for people from the brand to develop relationships with their customers but to provide a playground for customers to upload their own media photos, videos. Of course there was the proverbial for popularity voting and social bookmarks included.
Although these elaborate campaigns wrapped around peer-to-peer available conversations options, social media channels like Facebook and Twitter were used more as a vehicle to present messaging than conversations. Social media tools became the back drop to play against not the focal point. Think of it as putting social media in the role of as a support character.
Are these mash-up or hybrid campaigns "social media?" Are they digital WOM? Are they new media advertising campaigns? Does it matter?
From social media networks to blogs, widgets, tweets and hot mobile apps marketers are faced with more choices than we ever could have imagined.
It seems every day brings a new shiny toy to try .. and to confuse. Add a few traditional tactics .. PR, email, advertising and search and the job becomes overwhelming. Overlay that with an internal structure where functions are silo-ed by departments and you have a frightening disjointed marketing program.
One of the benefits that social media brings to the enterprise is a critical need to ensure cross functional communication systems are in place. As we're seeing social media does not live only in PR or Marketing or Customer Service.
Over the next few days let's take a dive into creating a Social Media Marketing Plan. The first step is to align internal stakholders and understand the landscape. What I call the P-I-E-C-E conversation is a process that helps develop a foundation for The Social Enterprise and sets the stage for developing an integrated marketing plan.
PIECE Conversation Step 1: Prepare: educational component. as it relates to social media: competitive analysis, customer activity, industry trends Step 2: Invite people who perceive they have a stake: C-suite, marketing, legal, technology, customer service Step 4: Encourage people to talk openly Step 5: Confirm and prioritize issues (including objectives/goals) Step 6: Engage next steps create a Red Flag Memo
Friday
Fun is Diva Marketing's virtual happy hour from cosmos to Jack to
lemonade. A waiting for the weekend 'playground' time to be
sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just plain silly.
In the spirit of David Letterman's Top Ten ...
13. A zillion landing page blogs are pretending to be social media .. take off the mask and you find a search strategy built on a blog platform
12. A comment that lists a company name instead of a person is likely looking for link treats not a relationship.
11. Facebook "fan" pages with posts lifted from corporate brochures and press releases is just another tricky search strategy.
10. Nondisclosure of paid posts or reviews of comp'ed products services comes with tricks of its own .. a big fat FTC fine Make sure you are up to date on the law or your compensation treat will pay for your legal fees.
9. The trick is on the Twitter automatic followers .. no one cares about you - BOO!
8. No @s in your Tweet stream is a sign that you 1. have few friends to play with or 2. don't know how to share treats with others.
7. Not linking to sources sites or including RT (re-tweet @s) is another signal that you don't know how to play well with others.
6. Barbs on the "Back Channel" that don't help move the conversation along in a win-win for the audience and speaker is a clue that you want all the candy for yourself.
5. Not listening to your customers' who take time to express their pleasure and concerns in the social world is a sad trick for both customer and company.
4. Not building social enterprise processes to ensure the impact of social media lessons are shared across multiple departments is like not sharing your Halloween candy.
3. Emphasizing measurements that don't align with your objectives and goals are like getting socks instead of candy.
2. Discounting the relationships you build and networks that you (and your customers) participate in are as real and valuable as any offline is like wearing the same costume year after year after year.
And the Number One Reason To Halloween Toilet Paper A Social Media Strategy ...
1. Forgetting to say "thank you" to your customers, employees, fans and friends who shared their Halloween candy with you.
Max and I wish you a Halloween filled with lots of treats and few tricks!
This is a continuing series highlighting some of the fabulous women in the metro Atlanta area who are working in social media marketing. These divas include women from both the client and the agency side. From a personal (and I must admit selfish) view it's been a fun opportunity to meet and answer the question .. Who are the Atlanta Women In Social Media?
Today's post takes a slightly different direction. Toss of a pink boa to Karen Russell, an amazing prof at UGA, who suggested that I include a special post on educators. I'm very excited to introduce you to professors who are opening the doors of social media strategy to the next generation of marketing and PR professionals.
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? - Social media marketing is not so much a marketing plan that is created at a corporate level - rather, I see it as the organic word-of-mouth marketing that happens when a product is genuinely good. When it is good & people find it useful, they talk about it & recommend it to others.
Social media public relations, on the other hand, is just an extension of normal public relations where instead of just saying one's publics are important, the company actually reaches out through mass media to individual stakeholder. And then they build real & meaningful relationships with them.
2. My favorite social media tactic - I don't pinpoint a favorite tactic because each group and each goal is differently met. But if I had to have a fave, it would be to be REAL.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? Confidence. We have Fortune 500 corporations headquartered here but don't see ourselves as kewl as the San Francisco set.
4. An overview of your class - I teach public relations classes at all levels (undergrad up to doctoral) at the University of Georgia, primarily research. I incorporate social media assignments like creating a Google Analytics reports & teach how to pinpoint meaningful metrics in social media.
5. Social media in your class - I began integrating social media into my classes back in 2004. Since then, I've increased the amount of instruction & focus we have in class on social media. I focus on how social media & metrics supplement traditional programs.
Urkovia Andrews, Assistant Professor Department of Communication Arts Georgia Southern University - Practical Issues@uandrews
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? To me social media marketing is the use of social media sites to connect with individuals of the same interest area, such as public relations, communications, teaching, etc. The wealth of information and urgency in which it is dispersed via social media sites is idealistic, overwhelming, and yet refreshing.
2. My favorite social media tactic is - I utilize Twitter more than other social media sites due to the immediacy. It’s often been said we live in a microwave world and Twitter helps amplify the cliché. Unfortunately, this can sometimes be a double-edge sword, as can be seen with recent well-known corporations.
3. In 140 characters What is Atlanta’s greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? Atlanta’s already a social media hub, but needs to avoid self-absorption. A lot is offered in Atlanta, but it’s not the end all.
4. Overview of class. I use social media mainly in the International Public Relations course. International PR is designed to expose students to public relations conducted in an international context. The class focuses on the various structures-political, economical, social, etc-that influence public relations practice in the chosen region.
This semester students were required to post their reaction to the various components of International PR on their personal blogs. Several of my tweets this semester have been geared around international issues relevant to the regions we are covering at the time. I’ve also secured upcoming guest speakers via social networking sites. Three of the guest speakers will be visiting the class via Skype calls due to their national and international location. My students are encouraged to engage these guest speakers on Twitter, PROpenMic, or through their blog or website.
5. When did you begin including social media marketing in your classes? I’ve maintained a website for my classes since 2006, yet this is the first semester I’ve branched beyond the website.
Karen Russell, Assistant Professor at University of Georgia Grady College. Dr. Russell is the editor of the Journal of Public Relations Research. Teaching PR@karenrussell
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? - To me, social media is where marketing meets PR, because it's often about building relationships and publicizing people, issues and products.
2. My favorite social media tactic - Twitter. I love connecting with students, PR pros, and other educators in such a quick and easy way.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? Right now it's the economy -- I hope when it picks up people will hire my social media savvy students, who have the expertise and the passion to help Atlanta organizations move into the social media space.
4. Overview of class - UGA has about 180 PR majors, and it's my mission to expose them all to a variety of social media practices. I use social media in all of my public relations classes, by asking students to participate, such as on Twitter, by showing YouTube videos and other social sites in class, and by bookmarking course readings on Delicious.
5. When did you begin including social media marketing in your classes? I began offering I used a class blog starting in January 2006, and started my own blog in April of that year.
Sidebar: Drop a comment if you are prof teaching social media and want to be highlighted
Augmented Reality. Even the name sounds scary and a bit creepy. Seems it's the latest shiny object to hit the social media world.
From a non tech perspective, augmented reality adds a 3-D touch to websites, blogs and mobile. David Berkowitz says, "Augmented reality provides a layer of digital content over real-world experiences." Marshall Kilpatrick says that Yelp was the first iPhone app to add augmented reality. John Mayer, singer-songwriter says it's a "digital hologram" and he's incorporated the technology into his video for Heart Break Warfare.
Meijer, a retail store that opened its doors in 1934 in the Greenville, MI is certainly keeping up with the times. Their step into augmented reality is a quirky and fun Halloween experience. With your computer and a webcam you can be transformed into a scary Halloween mask that complete with sound effects. The sort of social aspects comes into play with the ability to send to your pals in Facebook, eMail or a tweet where they can comment on how cool or dorky you might appear.
Meijer is a client of BBF BL Ochman who offered to send a free webcam (via Meijer) to the first 12 people who raise their virtual hand and drop a comment that you want one. That's BL in the photo ..wonder what Benny Bix thought of the gorrila noises.
From an interactive marketing perspective it seems like a fun campaign but I'm wondering where the integration is from the website to the Halloween page and from the Halloween page to the website. Can't seem to find the link.
Max and I were taking a walk yesterday. A big yellow and white cat came over to Max and he stopped to play with her. Yes, Max likes cats. His little tail wagged so quickly. His concentration on his kitty friend was total and complete. He was in the moment. When he was done he walked happily away to his next important thing to do. Max is a very busy pooch.
I thought .. social media is an in the moment way to conduct marketing. Then I thought .. the idea of responding to an external influence at the time the incident occurs is foreign to traditional marketing. Marketing is based on strategy where research, plans and how to figure it all out comes before a formal execution of tactics is achieved. Even PR whose charge it is to 'manage' the reputation of the brand rarely responds in the moment.
Social media goes against the grain of how marketers including PR, sales and to a great extent customer service professionals have managed their responsibilities as stewards of the brand. Or does it? Can the two concepts happily co-exist? Can marketing maintain a strategic focus while still being in the moment?
Let's first define what in the moment marketing means in terms of social media. In the simplest of ideas it takes into account only four steps: Monitoring, Understanding, Interacting, Integrating
1. Monitoring the discussion occurring in the digital world of blogs, tweets, forums, social networks, etc.
2. Understanding the challenges of customers and stakeholders to what they feel impacts the brand promise; as well as appreciating the people who say nice things.
3. Interacting with the people who take the time to have digital discussions about your brand.
4. Integration of ideas into your company and into the brand.
The complexity and sophistication of social media in the moment marketing occurs behind the scenes in the How where traditional marketing's strong suite comes into play through building the foundation.
Questions to help you think through the process of in the moment marketing for your organization.
1. How will monitoring or listening occur? Will you use a free tool like Google Alerts or RSS key word feeds or will you contract with a social media monitoring company?
2. How will understanding or hearing what is critical information be determined? How will the information be sent to the right people at the right time .. which may be real time? Who are the "right" people?
3. How will you reach out to customers and stakeholders? Will that occur in public through comments on posts or in tweets? Will you take the conversation offline in an email or phone call? Who will be responsible for follow-up .. both to the individual and to the community at-large who has passively heard the remarks?
4. How will you integrate the learnings into the fabric of the brand or into new processes for your enterprise?
It's all a part of developing the new social enterprise .. but it takes so much more to be in the moment for a brand than for a dog!
