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!
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.
Blogs are more than just placeholders for digital content. They are can be the home of thoughts and ideas that bring people together to learn from and with each other. And they change. Diva Marketing's focus has gone from traditional branding/marketing to how social media supports the most important aspect of marketing: the customer experience.
Along the way I've highlighted, interviewed, podcasted (is that a word?) many wonderful Divas who are doing exception working in the social media industry. I realize recently I've never dedicated a post to the "divos" .. the men in my social media world who are just as generous in sharing their knowledge, expertise and support. Today's Friday Fun tosses a pink or maybe it should be a blue boa along with a cigar, beer and bourbon, to those awesome and amazing men.
Firsts are extra special. Paul Chaney, Dana VanDen Heuvel, Bill Flitter, Tris Hussey and Shel Israel were my very first blogger divo pals back in the day when conversational marketing was not even a buzz word. In late night emails, skypes and on blog posts we explored ideas about this new way to communicate with customers that was not messaged control.
My social media divo friends expanded to include many others, Tim and Geoff and Marc and Neville and Rajesh and Des and Wayne and and and! If you have not come across these true divos of social media in your virtual travels I invite you to explore their blogs and Twitter streams.
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 today's show? You can pick it up as a podcast or listen
on your computer.
On today's Diva Marketing Talks we're Taking Tweet Chats Beyond 140 Characters. Twitter opened the door to interactive, real time networking, relationship building and learning .. one 140 character tweet at a time. The next generation of tweets takes it up a notch to structured conversations among many.
Note: Tweet chats are structured Twitter discussions that are
held at a specified time. All tweets in the stream are tagged with a
special hashtag to make it easy to follow the conversation.
Mack Collier is a social media consultant, trainer and speaker. He has been actively immersed in social media since 2005. While being passionate about the social media space, what truly excites Mack is the human connections that can result from the proper use of these social tools. His motto is "Don't focus on the tools, focus on the connections that the tools help facilitate."
His social media 'homebase' is The Viral Garden. In 3-years Mack has grown it into an influential marketing/social media blog with a monthly readership of over 175,000. He is also a frequent contributor to the website Marketing Profs, as well as the marketing blog Daily Fix, and small business blog Search Engine Guide. His writings have been referenced in several mainstream publications and websites, including The Washington Post, MSNBC.com, Ad Age, CNET, and The Boston Globe. @mackcollier#blogchat
Dana Lewis is an experienced consultant and freelance writer in the fields of healthcare communications, social media, public relations, and more. Currently an undergraduate at The University of Alabama, she will complete two bachelor's degrees in public relations and political science in May 2010. Dana co-created and moderates the weekly #hcsm (healthcare communications and social media) conversation. @danamlewis#hcsm
Marc Meyer is the co-founder of Hashtagsocialmedia.com. He's also the Director of Search & Social Media for Digital Response Marketing Group, A boutique digital marketing agency based out of Naples, Florida, and he writes about all things marketing, media and technology related at Direct Marketing Observations. @marc_meyer #socialmedia
Tips From The Diva Bag
Complements of Dana Lewis
1. TweetChats are about people using Twitter to talk about one or more related things - don't put up barriers to keep people from joining the conversation. Also, don't expect to control the conversation. The best discussions aren't structured and are the ones that naturally emerge from the built-in community.
2. TweetChats aren't the answer to every "problem" facing a group of people. At some point, action is needed. The best TweetChats are those that serve as a water cooler for a community that is diversified and widespread. It's important to bring people together to share triumphs & brainstorm ideas to overcome challenges. It's also important to remember that we should take action & keep pushing the envelope!
3. There may be such a thing as "too many TweetChats". Don't feel pressured to take part in every group. Feel free to pick and choose when to participate actively and when to "lurk" or read over transcripts at a later time. Use these chats as resources & take advantage of the people who migrate to various chats - they can be perfect resources for your next challenge or project!
Complements of Marc Meyer
My tips come from some of my past blog posts:
1. Always be a first-rate version of yourself on Twitter, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else
2. Yea Twitter is cool, but in actuality what if it disappears tomorrow?. What will you do? So nurture the connections that you make and not the platform
3. What are you doing to enhance what you know and what you do? Are you enhancing the relationship, the way that you connect or creating a better conversation? Keep moving forward.
Recently I had the pleasure to speak at New Media Atlanta about Building Brand Value Through Social Media.
Managing a brand in this new social media world is definitely a challenge for any brand steward. A world where the voices of your customers (and stakeholders) can block traditional marketing messages, takes new skills: understanding the culture of the "conversation" and how to join in while maintaining brand's equity and your individual authenticity.
I asked the attendees to fill in the blank: Managing A Brand In The Social Media World Is Like ________. Their responses were .. awesome! Which is your favorite?
Christmas. You can make a list but you could get socks. - @andreamoe
Remembering to Think before you open your pieholder. - @michelekersey
Updates: @timjackson - trying to hold smoke rings in your hand
I believe that social media is quickly taking its place as aspect of
brand value. As customers come to expect the opportunity to interact
directly with the people behind the brand social media will be integrated into the overall development of the "brand."
10 Guide Posts to Social Media Brand Value
1. Understand the brand strategy including: brand values, promise and overall direction a. Does the value proposition of your social media strategy support your brand value/promise? 2. Understand more than the demos about your target audience 3. Develop a communication system that loops employees into brand strategies 4. Understand the company culture before you venture into social media 5. Provide tactical support as needed to employees who engage with customers 6. Develop a 1st Listening Post program 7. Create/ensure communication processes are in place to provide feedback within organization and to the customer 8. Identify what is success for each tactic a. Based on business goals and objectives b. Based on the social media outputs – may be different that traditional measurements 9. Create flexible social media guidelines for employees 10. Create flexible social media guidelines for customers
As promised, here's my presentation from New Media Atlanta. Enjoy! Let me know if you have any questions.
Every once in awhile while there are people who enter your life and not only influence your journey but touch your heart. Paul Chaney is one of those people. In his new book The Digital Handbook Paul simply and smartly explains not only why it is now critical that marketers pay attention to social media but suggests ways of how to put the tactics into play.
Paul graciously agreed to an email interview. I asked him to tell us thought process that went into the development of The Digital Handbook. It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to my dear friend and colleague .. author, social media 'rock star' and a true Southern Gentleman .. Paul Chaney.
Toby/Diva Marketing: This is your second book on social media. The first, Realty Blogging, was targeted to the real estate industry while The Digital Handshake seems to be for a more general business audience. In the few years in between the publishing of both how have you seen this emerging industry that we call “social media change?”
Paul Chaney/The Digital Handshake: From my perspective, we’ve had two iterations. Keep in mind that in 2006-2007 I was a bit of a Rip VanWinkle in that I stepped away from active participation, only to wake up and find the world had changed. There were sites like Facebook and Twitter and I didn’t quite know what to make of it. I did realize that, unless I got with the program I was going to become archaic, a relic of the 2004-2005 blog-centric past. I determined not to allow that to happen.
Again, that was my perspective. In truth, this has been a gradual evolution in which blogs played a leading role. I think there was a lot of experimentation with social networks, starting most memorably with Friendster, then MySpace and now Facebook. We’ve seen a maturation process in terms of the degree of sophistication in the types of functionality that social networks allow, most notably Facebook. At the same time, they’ve gotten very easy to use. I know, my wife is on Facebook and if she can use it, anyone can.
I think of equal note is the movement away from purist ethics. Social media has become the latest victim of spammers and ne’er-do-wells. People who don’t understand the underlying philosophy are trying to use the genre as a direct marketing tool, and it doesn’t work. At least, I hope it doesn’t. I pray that doesn’t become the new model.
This medium was built on the chief cornerstones of authenticity and transparency and any attempt to “game” the system should be met with complete disdain.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Your book has been called a “road map” to understanding social media. On a road trip we start at point A to eventually get to point B. What should we take along with us on this journey?
Paul Chaney/The Digital Handshake: The journey begins by knowing the destination. I think you call that strategy. Social media needs to be used strategically, in a way that supports the marketing goals and objectives of the company. It should be treated no different than any other form of marketing and held to a similar standard.
Not only that, you need to know the rules of the road. Social media has evolved to the point where there are some pretty well-defined, if not yet written rules. Those that abide by them will be rewarded, those that don’t, well, read what I said above.
Obviously, to get anywhere, you have to have a means to travel, a vehicle. Social media offers any number of those from blogs, to social networks, to micro-blogs, to video, podcasts and on and on. You have to chose the vehicle that’s right for you in terms of your strategy and business objectives.
I think you also need route by which you travel. For me, where social media is concerned, it consists of three words: Listen, Engage and Measure. Listening is the new marketing and if people are talking (and they are) we had better know what they’re saying, who’s saying it, and where it’s being said.
Listening leads the way to engagement and given that “the CEO wants to know the ROI of SMM” we have to measure the results. Just like you’d measure your gas mileage on a trip, so to we have to assign some metrics to social media when and where it’s appropriate to do so.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Following the idea of a road trip .. some of the most fun trips are those where we go off the beaten path. Can you offer some “side trip” suggestions that would add value to a marketer’s understanding of why or how to engage in social media?
Paul Chaney/The Digital Handshake: I most certainly can and thank you for asking. I think the “side trips” have to do with the people we meet and the relationships we forge along the way. The most attractive thing about social media to me is not that I’ve been able to build a career around or that I can teach businesses how to use it to grow, but that I’ve met a bevy of people who have come to have great meaning to me, and chief among them is you Toby.
If the joy is in the journey, then it has to do with the people we meet along the way who inspire, challenge and enrich us.
Toby/Diva Marketing: The Digital Handbook includes a lot of specific examples that bring to life the ideas and concepts you discuss in the book. In your research did you find any surprises regarding the way companies were using or not using social media tactics?
Paul Chaney/The Digital Handshake: No. (I’m kidding.) Actually, here’s what surprising (or not as the case may be). It’s that people are focused first on tactics and not on strategy. I don’t know that I can apply that statement to the people I interviewed, but it does apply to many I’ve met when doing workshops or giving presentations.
Over and over I hear, how do I use Facebook, or Twitter, etc? I want to tell them, it’s not all about the tools. There’s a mindset to adopt and that the tools are secondary to the marketing objectives.
I’m a tactically-oriented guy, but I’ve learned that, in order for social media to be most effective, it has to tie to strategic goals and objectives. And, it need to support and/or integrate with other forms of marketing.
Toby/Diva Marketing: It can be confusing for people who don’t “live” online to understand that relationships can be built and nurtured in the digital world. Let’s end this mini interview with this question: How you “shake hands” in the digital world?
Paul Chaney/The Digital Handshake: You know, it’s really not all that different than how you do it in the real world. Only, I being an introvert, I find it easier to do it virtually. You break the ice, find some common ground, carry on a conversation and begin the process of relationship-building. Your bio is your business card and a handshake is simply a conversation started by one party or the other.
Don’t be put off by the fact that the tools are unfamiliar. They are easy to use and don’t take long to master.
Social media isn’t about technology so much as it is about people. Focus on the people you’re trying to connect with, not the tools being used to do so.
That was the question asked yesterday by one of the professors who attended UGA's (that's the University of GA for anyone not living in the South or not into college football!) social media conference - Connect. In it's 3rd year, Prof Karen Russell brings together Public Relations students, academics and professionals working in social media.
I had the privilege of sharing a panel with the ever controversial, but always smart, Jeremy Pepper on Integrating Social Media in Business and Industry.
It's an innovative program and I would love to see the Connect model adopted with a focus on social media marketing. Tossing a pink boa to Karen, Diane Murphy and of course the amazing students.
But I digress. As always happens at any type of conference some of the best discussions occur outside of the sessions. The question, "Will social media change our behavior?" was directed not at consumers but the professionals behind the brand.
One of my first jobs out of college was as a customer service rep for a
major health insurance company. Sometimes I felt it was "me and the
customer" against the company. I can't but wonder ..
Will PR and marketing professionals, who traditionally don't daily
interact with customers, approach their day-to-day jobs any differently
if their job descriptions include active participation in social media
conversations?
Does knowing personal details about customers and stakeholders build added empathy to cheer louder - work harder - for the customer?
Does having access to a daily stream of consumer feedback from high praise to disappointments in product and service influence how media releases or ads are written?
If some people in non traditional, call them indirect customer engagement jobs like PR, HR, Marketing, IT, begin to build relationships with customers while others in their department do not, not does this produce conflict about the execution of tactics?
How will job descriptions and subsequent annual reviews and raise incentives change for "indirect customer engagement jobs that include social media participation? Will these jobs be at a higher grade level since additional skills, experience and training will be needed?
As more of our customers and clients join social networks and discover that there is frequently a disconnect between channel service (Twitter responses occur in seconds while call center resolutions may take days) and begin to depend on social channels to "talk to the company" will there be an internal conflict for resources?
This is part of a concept I've been talking about for a long time but finally beginning to explore in more depth - The Social Enterprise. It's an extension of the corner grocery story relationship that is the heart of what I believe makes social media of value to any business. Would love to hear your thoughts : Will Social Media Change Our Behavior?
As social networks like Twitter, Facebook and the like grab center stage of the social media world blogging seems almost retro. Now don't get me wrong I love the tweet bird and have am amusingly frustrated when the Fail Whale pops into view. As for Facebook I am tickled that my 70+ year old Auntie Barbara has a page.
Maybe it's because I "grew-up" in social media beginning with blogs that this funny little word packs a big punch for me. Keep in mind that unless you own the platform although you might "own" your content it is a joint partnership which can change at the whim of the software owner.
Bring Back The Blog will be a sometimes series that highlights some of the great work in the blogosphere. For your reading pleasure ..
The gold ring of digital marketing is engaging with your customer. No easy feat as you well know. Nancy White, blog: Full Circle Associates, has written a detailed and thought provoking post - What do we mean by engagement online? She addresses issues that I haven't seen in many conversations including her idea that we engage with both people and content and as much as we might say comments are in real time there is a time lag .. "snow flake time."
Jason Fall, blog: Social Media Explore, reminds us that
"We wanna blog" is not a good enough reason to launch a blog. His post Good Communication Takes Planning that includes developing strategies against an objective/goal and success measures.
The PR industry's footprint is expansive in the blogosphere running the gamut from global agencies to boutique shops. Kelley Crane takes us behind the scenes of smaller shops with her blog Solo PR Pro. Be sure to catch her evergreen post 44 Tools For The PR Consultant's Toolbox.
Blogs provide a unique opportunity to position yourself as a thought leader. With his blog, The MarketingSavant Group - Leadership Through Thought, Dana Vanden Heuvel walks the talk or should I say blogs the concept. He has identified a niche .. thought leadership is supports it with well researched and smart content. His post "Thought Leading" Your Way to Premium Brand Status describes the " .. characteristics of premium brands and how they correlate with thought leadership marketing."
In addition there are people writing about marketing specific verticals like Healthcare and Pharma. Back of the Book (blog) authored by Ellen Hoeng Carlson is rich with posts that provide in depth information that take the conversation to deeper levels like in Phara and Marketers: How do you elegantly use what you have?
If you are looking for edgy, savvy and someone who pulls no punches when it comes to politics and her view on the world in general then add Lisa Sabiter's blog Cultural Kitchen to your list.
All work and no play makes any Diva .. well a dull yawn. In the spirit of fun and play there are blogs that bring a laugh and a giggle like Jacki Schklar'sFunny Not Slutty video blog. Jacki collects videos of women comics. Added bonus - reduce your stress level.
In a world where we sometimes hesitate to color with more than the standard crayons Alex Geana is not afraid to use the unusual. His blog Alex Geana Sometimes Smart Always Interesting is a prefect description of his writing. Don't miss his coverage of Mercedes-Benz Spring Fashion Week .. as only Alex can tell it.
More later. In the mean time - What's your favorite blog?
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 today's show? You can pick it up as a podcast or listen on your computer.
On today's Diva Marketing Talks we're exploring the world of online publications. What makes a great magazine? Content of course. Writers who have a
unique view point and whose “voices” are enjoyable to read. However,
with the onset of social media your favorite author may not be a staff
writer but a reader .. just like you. Publishing is turning into a
collaborative effort.
Deanna Sutton publisher – Clutch Magazine, Angela Benton publisher–BlackWeb 2.0 and Heidi Richards Mooney, publisher- WE Magazine for Women join me to discuss how online publications are dealing with this new genre.
Deanna "Dede" Sutton is the Founder and Editorial Director of Sutton Media, publisher of Clutch Magazine, The Clutch Blog Network and soon to launch -- Cullen Magazine, which serves as the brother publication to Clutch. After graduating with a degree in Marketing, Deanna Sutton set out to launch Clutch as a print magazine.
After successfully launching as a regional magazine, she soon learned that the print publishing industry served as a bigger challenge than she expected. In 2006, Dede saw a huge void in compelling and relevant online publications for young women of color. In 2007, she decided to take a risk and launch the first on-line magazine for young, contemporary women of color – Clutch.
Dede's vision was for Clutch Magazine to become one of the leading online magazines for multicultural women ages 18-35. With a passion for all things social media, she recognizes the power and opportunity that the new media platform presents. At Sutton Media, she is responsible for business development, marketing initiatives, and editorial and creative direction. Follow Dede on Twitter @clutchmagazineFacebookMySpace
Angela Benton is the Founder and Publisher of BlackWeb 2.0. BlackWeb20.com is a blog that analyzes emerging web trends as it relates to African-Americans and African-American culture.
Her experience spans a variety of industries including consultative
relationships with companies such as UPS, Bizjournals.com,
Realestate.com, and Lendingtree.com.Angela is a frequent guest speakers on topics such as diversity in the web and media industries, web trends, web strategy, and web 2.0’s effects on urban entertainment. She has participated on panels at conferences such as South by Southwest and Experience Music Project Pop Conference.
Angela graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communications with a specialization in Digital Design. She has also completed postgraduate coursework in Graphic Design from Savannah College of Art and Design.Follow Angela@abentonFacebook
For the past seven years Heidi has been studying the Internet particularly as it relates to growing a business online. Her focus for the past three years has been social networking. Heidi participates in more than a dozen social networking sites including MySpace, FaceBook, Linkedin, RYZE, eCademy, Xing, Yahoo Groups to name a few. During her quest for more information about Social Media and Social Networking in particular, Heidi has interviewed hundreds of experts on the topic including bloggers, email experts, forum leaders and Internet celebrities in the top ten Social Networking Sites.
In 2003 Heidi was named one of 50 women shaping the Internet by the International Virtual Women’s Chamber of Commerce. Earlier this year she was named a Twitter Woman to Follow by Only2Clicks.com and in April her story: The Twitter Phenomenon appeared in Twitter Success Stories with Willie Crawford and 17 other Social Networking Experts. On Sept. 1st was named Social Networker of the Year by HER Mastermind Network (a top 20 RYZE network forum in the US). Follow Heidi @HeidiRichards
Tips From The Diva Bag
Complements of Deanna "Dede" Sutton
1. Survey and Listen to your readers. 2. Create content that connects to your readers. 3. Continue to learn and grow as a new media professional by talking to others enthusiast and resources.
Complements of Heidi RIchards Mooney
1. Keep your audience in mind ~ know your niche. I made the mistake of trying to appeal to a much younger audience when my main audience is made up of Gen X and Boomers. I do still interview younger women in the 18-30 are range but that is more of a tactic to see if the younger audience is interested. I can tell by the number of comments if they are or not.
2. Find ways to make your magazine stand out ~ for instance I wanted to offer more than one viewing choice for my readers. In addition to the traditional PDF, blog posts and rss feeds, I wanted to offer the magazine in turning page technology. I looked at several options and because many of them were out of my budget or they didnt' offer all the features I wanted (such as a way to search contents and instructions for the user) I put the idea on the back burner.
About a month after I did all the research I received an email from a good friend of mine, Penny Haynes who is a software developer. She had created a program that not only did the turning page it also could automatically turn blog posts (by any category) into an ebook. I loved the technology and immediately signed up. Since then a few other of my magazine publishing friends have used her product. It is called Rss Zine.
3. Enlist the help of experts when you can. When I first started WE Magazine I went to the store and bought several women's magazines. I cut out all the pages of the things I liked about them. It helped us get a good start.
But I didn't understand about format. So we had lots of mixed fonts, text sizes and one big booboo, we didn't use columns to construct our articles. That made it difficult for our readers to read. A good friend of mine who had previously worked with a major national magazine called me and offered her help. Of course I said yes. We now have what I consider a "user friendly" magazine. We also have about 85% content and 15% advertsing which helps it stand out.
4. And finally, if possible join a peer group; if one is not available in your area, start one. Also another great group I stumbled upon was Magazine Launch. Although the site is relatively new, they have created a community where I have met and been able to discuss challenges with a couple of other digital publishers as well as help them solve a few of their own challenges. The best part is having a place to share resources and learn about the latest and greatest technology.
Dos 1. Do understand that social media marketing is most effective when it is an authentic, transparent dialogue and not a vehicle to push promotional messaging. 2. Do take the time to listen to the unfiltered voices of your customers and people who are engaged in digital conversations about your brand before you jump into the game. 3. Do give social media the respect it is due as a credible marketing strategy and develop a plan that includes goals, objectives, success measures and a value-added content direction. 4. Do realize that resources will have to be dedicated including time, money and most significantly human capital. 5. Do understand the benefits, as well as the limitations, of the tools or tactics such as blogs, social networks, Twitter, etc before creating your initiative.
Don’ts 1. Don’t assume social media marketing is silver bullet which will transform a poor quality product or service into a super brand. 2. Don’t launch a social media marketing plan unless your organization (including management, PR, legal, etc.) understands the risks, as well as, the rewards and has defined its social media direction because social media will change business dynamics. 3. Don’t launch a social media strategy unless you have processes in place such as internal communication plans to field information to the appropriate departments for resolution. 4. Don’t place a person in charge to oversee the initiative who does not understand the impact of the culture of social media (honesty, transparency, authenticity) and has a spirit of generosity. 5. Don’t start a social media marketing strategy unless you want your organization to be perceived as innovative, customer-centric and forward thinking.
Bonus: Social media marketing is a work in progress! Keep in mind - There are as many opinions as there are experts. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
This weekend I was writing a post about how people are using Twitter as a marketing tactic (coming soon). As often happens I got lost in the research. This time the sidetrack was on @marthastewart. Girlfriend, did you know she's posting 140 character recipes? Before I knew it I had copied most if not all of them.
For your cooking and dining pleasure a tweet merged blog cooking post!
Sidebar: Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Marketing VP feel free to "steal this idea" and post on marthastewart.com. If I were the social media diva at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia a cute twitter recipe book would be in the works complete with tweet recipes from our followers. Perhaps I'd turn it into a video cook-off contest. What a great idea Toby ;-)
Are the people within your organization aligned with your social media strategy and do they understand how social media will impact the enterprise?
When most enterprises develop their social media plans the work usually begins with defining goals/objectives which leads to how to measure success and of course defining the tactical execution.
Few companies begin their internal social media foundation with HOW social media will impact the organization, the brand and the people. By people I mean those who actively participate in social media whether through interfacing directly in blogs or social networks AND those whose job now includes analyzing how to (or how not to) integrate the information from consumer generate conversations into product development, customer service, PR, etc. etc. etc.
I also mean your customers and stake holders. Is there a disconnect between your Twitter response time and your telephone customer support hold time? Social media adds dimensions to our business relationships that go beyond negative comments.
Opening the enterprise door to social media impacts the entire
organization from the way communication is handled to customer service
to hiring decisions. impacts the entire
organization from the way communication is handled to customer service
to hiring decisions.
Update Note: It seems to me that a new model is in the making .. let's call it The Social Enterprise.
Last week I had a wonderful opportunity to join marketers and friends at the first social media conference held in Birmingham, AL - Social South or as it was fondly called .. #SoSo. My presentation played off a Southern theme .. I called it Social Media Southern Hospitality Style.
I used the lessons from the culture of Southern Hospitality as the foundation to discuss this critical aspect of a social media strategy that is too often overlooked .. organizational alignment.
How can you be your authentic "self" while staying true to your company's value and culture?
Through a series on interactive questioning we worked (we really did this together!) through four pillars:
Relationships. Values. Culture. Change You can find the deck which includes all the feedback, along with many other presentations from the conference on Social South Slideshare.
In keeping with Southern Hospitality we begin with discussing how "Front Porch Conversations" develop relationships and build community. When you visit on the front porch, or on a city stoop, you extend your world from inside your house to outside into your neighborhood. Sometimes it's neighbors you know who drop by but sometimes it's a stranger new to your community. Southern Hospitality teaches us to wave Hey to everyone.
Question: How do you bring that type of interaction and relationship to the digital world?
Responses: Sharing – always make relationships beneficial for both parties. Invite them to connect. Make it safe for both. Minimize fear. Must be a part of where the people are online: leaving comments, posts, etc. Have a plan. Use personal relationships to refer counterparts, friends and family to your digital world/networks. Build a community: blog, email, Twitter, Facebook.
We spent significant time discussing culture and values. Fried green tomatoes or Bubba's jokes may not appeal to everyone. Each of us has a unique personality and our own approach to social media. The challenge is how to be true to yourself, project your authentic personality while still coloring inside the lines of your company's culture.
Questions: Is it okay to “vanilla down” your personality to fit the culture of your company? How do you remain true to yourself?
Responses: Believe in what you share. Values begets values. What’s in it for them? What’s in it for me? Values, ethics, morals, honesty, transparency, listening. Keep part of yourself to yourself. Remember you’re always on the stage. You have to take your company’s culture to represent them in the social world. Be an advocate at all times for your company. React positively to good and bad feedback. Don’t work for dicks. Exhibit your personality as long as it stays in the guidelines of your brand.
7 Tips For Preparing An Organization for Social Media
1. Create cross functional teams
2. Identify impact on specific areas
3. Are the right communication processes in place?
4. Do employees have the right skills and experience?
5. New job descriptions -> new evaluation criteria may be needed.
6. Where does social media reside? Can it have mulitple “homes?”
7. Who “owns” the customer relation? The answer may hold some surprises.
Social media will disrupt the way you do business .. but if you're prepared it can be a very good thing that helps not hinders the growth of your organization.
Thanks to the great people at Social South who played along with me. @seankelley, @southernplate, @jasonfalls, @ikepigott, @treypennington, @takinpitchas,@bethharte, @mackcollier, @kdrewien, @resultsrev, @kellyecrane, @navistarlpga, @barbersindy, @billpowell, audreypannell, @charityhisle,@annehearnhuff, @sailingbo, @betsyfgray, @sweetsheets, @anwith1n, @thomascook, @dennispillion @ScottSchablow. There were lots more but unfortunately I don’t have their @s.
Recently I was at a StartupChicks networking event chatting with a young woman I had never met nor did we have an "online relationship." Our conversation began with ground zero questions. She told me she was a social media consultant and began to explain what social media was all about. She talked about "conversations" and "listening" and "authenticity."
I smiled and nodded. It tickled me to think how far the social media industry has come in 5 years when I first started teaching marketers about a new way to reach and interact with customers. Concepts that were considered odd are now considered buzz words.
About this time last year about this time I asked bloggers/content providers, brand and agency marketers for their insights about one aspect of social media .. Blogger Relations. As is typical in our industry people generously offered their insights and we learned together how to create win-win-win strategies. 2008 Pulse of the Industry Blogger Relations
As the social media industry continues to mature I continue to wonder how and where does "Blogger or Twitter Relations" fit into the puzzle. What have we learned within the past 12-months?
I would appreciate your insights and have created a quick Survey Monkey survey for 2009 Pulse of the Industry Blogger Relations. As a thank you to you and our industry 'll post results on Diva Marketing and acknowledge your participation.
Note: Love the graphic. Have no idea who designed it.
One of the joys in writing Diva Marketing is introducing you to smart, savvy people - both Divas and Divos- who generously share their knowledge and learnings with us. [Inteviews. #smgps. Diva Talks podcasts] This series, Atlanta Women in Social Media Marketing, is a little different. Not only is it my tribute to the women in Hotlanta who are actively including social media to build their companies (or their clients' businesses) but it's personal.
My adventures in this industry gave me the opportunity to meet wonderful people all over the world but some how not so much in my own back yard. I wondered .. where are the Atlanta Women in Social Media? One by one I am slowly I am discovering them!
It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to one of my new BBF Nancy Chorpenning.
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? - As a business advisor, my first priority is helping clients develop thoughtful strategic and operating plans, including (as a former dotcom executive and professional marketer) Marketing Plans. Social Media are Marketing Tactics, first and foremost. Trying to use Social Media for marketing your business without having a clear marketing plan and success metrics established beforehand turns SM into a fun but dangerous black hole where you can waste LOTS of time and money just like any other misfire (as in “Ready...Fire...Aim!”).
2. My favorite social media tactic: Finding ways to redeploy content automatically by connecting various social media outlets, e.g., Blog publishing that goes to instantly to Facebook page, LinkedIn profile, Twitter, and Ning pages, and all back again. Efficiency is such a kick! And content is king (said the former publisher…).
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? - Dispersion. Our geographical challenges & industry diversity can be both weakness & strength. We don’t have a Silicon Alley or advertising district, just ITP/OTP.
4. 2 sentences about your company. - Leveraging an unusual constellation of experience and abilities as catalysts and connectors, C-Suite Advisors engage Entrepreneurs and fast-thinking business owners with stimulating and pragmatic processes to catapult their firm upward. C-Suite Advisors’ specialty is leading growing organizations to their next level of success, including helping them plan and implement the requisite structure, practices, systems and processes.
5. I began offering social media marketing - My first foray into Social Media was back in 2004, still part of the WebMD StartUp management team, when I came upon LinkedIn. Trying to persuade my former associates around the country of its potential was an uphill battle, but my Healtheon-WebMD colleagues were right there. There were some great benefits to that dotcom culture! We saw the power of connecting with our various disease communities, the real power behind the success of WebMD.
So it wasn't a surprise that (some) people are inclined towards communicating with others of similar interests. It wasn't until last year, when Facebook and Twitter came into better focus that i saw the power of connecting all the various SM outlets with single posts. Of course, I haven't figured out how to get that content created while growing a business! (My business partner isn't interested in participating - NOW he tells me!)
Please let me know if you're in the metro Atlanta area and are using
social media as a marketing strategy for your company/brand or helping
clients use social media as a marketing strategy. Check out the other
Atlanta Women in Social Media Marketing mini interviews.
Cultivating relationships has always played a critical role in business success. This post is dedicated to my dear friends and yours and perhaps you .. people who have unexpectedly found a pink slip instead of a pay check.
The first advice to folks on a job search seems to be to activate or reactive your network. Let's take what we've learned from social media marketing and make it work for a job search.
There are two aspects involved in creating a winning support
system:
1. meeting people who are willing to offer their help and
friendship
2. maintaining those associations.
As our lives grow more complex attending networking or professional organization events becomes a challenge to schedule. Even meeting colleagues across town for a coffee chat is often difficult. Then comes the time investment to nurture fledgling friendships.
As the world spins smaller what happens when your network extends not just to the next city or state but across an ocean? To put it simply, how do you meet people and then stay in touch?
The answers can be found in what might be perceived at first glance to be cold and impersonal … the World Wide Web. The Internet has morphed into an important catalyst for developing and sustaining digital relationships. Through social media tools such as blogs, social networking, online boards people are changing how they interact with each other.
Interestingly, women use social networks differently than men. A recent study by Rapleaf, a San Francisco consulting firm, indicates women appear to spend more time on social networks building and nurturing relationship while men spend their time acquiring relationships. According to Rapleaf the net result is the about the same number of people in both circles.
Developing digital relationships are not much different from the relationships you might make at a Chamber of Commerce event. At the core they are comprised of similar values: mutual need, support, trust and respect. Digital relationships hold a few extra benefits that may not be immediately obvious:
1. If you are shy meeting people at offline events the “fourth wall” of the Internet might make it easier for you to participate in conversations. People appreciate comments on their blogs, profile walls and Twitter @responses that add value. Your thoughts can be 140 characters a la Twitter, a few paragraphs on your own blog post or short video posted on your Facebook page and YouTube.
2. Dropping into a social network site like Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook can be done at your convenience whether at 5a or 5p or midnight. You can engage at your computer or on your mobile phone extending the flexibility even further. You determine how long you stay - a few minutes or a few hours.
3. Similar to building your offline network, social media provides opportunities to “meet” friends of friends. A few ideas to help you jump start building your digital relationship network:
1. Explore the a few social networks. When you build your profile, to prevent spam consider using a different email address from your business or personal email. The following Big Three have become the core platforms for many business professionals.
LinkedIn’s focus is business networking making it an ideal first step into social media. I think of LinkedIn as your digital Rolodex combined with your online resume. Resource: from EZine Articles - How and Why to Network on LinkedIn.
Twitter allows only 140 characters per message or "tweet.” A Twitter strategy can be used not only to grow your professional network but to reinforce your position as a expert in your field. Resource from TwiTip - 8 Twittering Network Tips.
2.Don’t feel obligated to follow/friend everyone who knocks on your virtual door. Sometimes less is more. Take time to read profiles to help you determine who you want to be a part of your community.
3.Participate in discussions in the same way as you would in the offline world. Be yourself. Let your personality come through in your words, on videos or in a podcast interview.
4.Adding value to the conversation will reward you faster and better than a continuous stream of promotion about how great you are .. it's a two way conversation online and offline.
The results are you’ll develop a global network that you can tap into for resources, information, support, advice where you can control where and when you meet-up. Don’t be surprised if the connections you make turn into real friendships that lead to offline meetings! While digital networks are fast becoming a critical aspect of business relationships nothing can replace a face-to-face meeting over a cup of coffee or sharing a meal.
Note: The post is based on an article I wrote for the Sun Journal.
Product. Price. Place. Promotion. The Marketing Four Ps: The nursery rhyme of most marketing 101 courses. The foundation of so many strategic plans.
The only problem is that the four Ps totally ignores customers. The concept assumes the marketer controls the system. Customers and consumers are simply pawns in the gigantic marketing system that the "marketing masters of the universe" have devised and now control. - Professor Schultz
On the other side of the equation is Peter Drucker's view of marketing and business.
We need to get back to what marketing was suppose to do in the beginning: Determine customer needs and wants, and fulfill them efficiently for Both sides.We need to revisit what Peter Drucker was saying in the 1950s: The only purpose of a company is to create and maintain customers. - Professor Schultz (Note: caps on the word Both are mine)
Could it be that social media will lead us back to our roots? To remembering that the customer experience is the heart of what marketing is all about? To dropping the facade of control? Who really believed that one? To understanding that strategy and customer relationships are not mutally exclusive? To creating Corner Grocery Store Relationships?
The more I read about social media campaigns without conversations .. The more I watch companies expand marketing departments to include social media positions that put a premium on tech skills versus marketing experience .. The more I see social media consultants focus on old/traditional messaging wrapped in new/social media Web 2.0 ..
The more I wonder .. I wonder if along the way marketers created a hybrid which isn't social media in the traditional sense of building and nurturing relationships or providing added value to the customer. Let's call this - Social Media Hybrid Marketing.
In interviews I've asked many, many people what social media means to them and the over riding response was two words: people and relationships. In the world of Social Media Hybrid Marketing people and relationshipsseem take second or third place. The emphasis is on driving traffic, creating buzz, sending the message further into the virtual world where if the digital goddess is kind it will go viral. Consider the following in terms of this new model ..
4 Social Media Hybrid Marketing Tactics
1. Videos - It's leveraging technology to send messages like How Stuff Works YouTube video - that by the way pairs up with TV spots. Or FedEx's series also on YouTube. Sure there may be a social element like YouTube's comments .. however, the emphasis not to develop or build relationships with the customer and the people behind the brand.
2. Blogger Relations/Sponsored Conversations - It's using the relationships/influence of others who are active in social media (bloggers, tweets, vloggers, podcasters, etc.) to serve as the messenger for your products or services. Pulse of the Industry Blogger Relations Series explores the expectations from the point of view of bloggers, brand managers and agency folks. The brand manager often forfeits the customer relationship since the social media content provider is the gatekeeper to her community.
3. Contests - It'scontests that capitalize on technology using platforms like Second Life where Coca Cola asked people to design a Virtual Thirst Machine. Or rent.com's video contest where the best voted promotional video won $10k. Similar to video messages the media many have social components but they are rarely utilized by those on the brand side of the equation to chat with customers.
4. Digital Idea Management or Viralsourcing - It's when a company solicits customer suggestions on a platform designed to capture intellectual concepts to improve its products/service or company. Frequently there are social aspects from comments to voting that digg it up or down. Dell, Starbucks, Best Buy have incorporated this approach. Some companies seem to be challenged with how to talk to their customers even to the extend of saying "thanks" for your ideas.
Where does that leave us? Are these simply old marketing programs with technology twists and turns? Or additional ways to view social media? Or is social media changing to where the people/relationship side is not the heart of social media but a nice to have on the way to counting the number of views or clicks?
Imagine this scene - You've invited me to your home to discuss my ideas that may help you .. fill in the blank .. do your job better/make a better product/write a job description, etc. You also invite lots of other people. We find our way to your house. Instead of drinks together in your living room or coffee around your kitchen table you show us to separate rooms.
Then you walk away. However, naive that we are, we assume you are listening, care about us, that we matter to you. So we happily share our creative ideas. Although our thoughts echo in our empty rooms we smile pleased to be of service to you. Every once in awhile some one wanders by and chats briefly. But rarely if ever is it you. Not even to say "thank you."
Where are you? You're sitting behind an online dashboard gathering our intellectual capital as if it were digital diamonds. No girlfriend, it's not a focus group. Or maybe it is. Maybe this is the social media version of a focus group but with less honesty and less transparency. It's called IdeaXYZ or IdeaFireStorm or My(your brand) or ShareYourIdeas ... But don't expect anything back other than the satisfaction you derive in a bit of ego boosting on a brand site with some people who might vote you up or vote you down.
Are The Brands exploiting customers in the name of "engagement?" Are we so excited that The Brands have given us a way to directly and easily express our opinions that we clamor to give mega brands our creative ideas without even expecting a "thank you" in return?
Or is this simply the way that Brands approach the interaction of social media. Is it the way they view their role in the "conversation" of social media? Is it naivety or is it digital social media ineptness on how they perceive what is appropriate to build and nurture relationships?
Social media has two aspects. The first is digital research. That simply means reading posts and tweets of your customers to better understand who they are, what they care about and what they say about your brand. I think of it as raw, informal, qualitative, real time or what should be the "first listening post" in your marketing research strategy.
The second aspect is something that is unique to social media. Other than trade shows, there are no business initiatives that I know of where marketers can hang out with their customers. Like any person-to-person exchange it's rarely structured. It can get messy and to make it work there has to be genuine interest on both sides.
Establishing an authentic presence in social media is where many
marketers fall down. "Most brands aren't doing it successfully." Shiv
Singh, vice president/global social media lead Razorfish (study)
Then there is a new kid on the block - Digital Idea Management or Viralsourcing - which seems to me a mash-up of these two concepts. Although based on the user group experience this has a stronger social media overlay. Customers are invited into a special company-based website to talk about what would make a better computer or latte or retail experience.
It's highly social since comments are open, often voting of each idea is encouraged and of course every post comes with the opportunity to be Dugg, Tweeted, Facebooked (new word) etc. One would naturally assume that the people who are on The Brand side would pop in to offer encouragement, provide feedback, say thank you. In other words to join in the conversation or as Shiv Singh says, "Establish an authentic presence." Rarely happens.
If I were a bettin' diva I would say that Digital Ideology sites will become more prevalent across industries and sectors. Maybe even to engage in real exchanges. For now it seems that companies are using it in a traditional media/marketing way.
Dell is exploring this model and sharing learnings. This presentation from Dell details their Idea Management strategy behind IdeaStorm. On slide 12 Dell outlines customer expectations as positive experience, action taken on ideas and recognition. With tactics on How To Address including: timely feedback, clear status updates, thank you mechanisms.
Happy to help you out dear brands but I expect you to join in the conversation with me and at least say
