Why Kodak Thinks You Should Use Social Media

Kodak has been doing some interesting things in social media over the past couple of years. Leave it up to the photo giant to release a Kodak_SocialMediaTips_Aug14 describing their experience using the tools. There is some extremely valuable insight from the Chief Marketing Officer, Jeff Hayzlett. I thought I would lay out some of the key points he made in his introduction letter at the beginning of the report.

“Why do I take the time to use social media like Twitter and Facebook? Because in today’s media landscape, it’s vitally important to be where our customers are. Kodak has always embraced this marketing philosophy, and today that means being active in social media.”

This is a huge step for corporations to make when using social media as a tool for communication. It is encouraging to see a c-level executive using and relating to the tools within the social media world.

“Social media has enabled new ways to initiate conversations, respond to feedback and maintain an active dialogue with customers.”

“I strongly believe that if you get involved in social media, it will grow your brand, strengthen the connection between you and your customers and keep you grounded and aware of what people really think about your company. It’s well worth the time invested.”

Kodak is making pretty large strides into the world of online communication. The research report is pretty simple but powerful in the same way. For many social media users the information contained in this report may seem secondary knowledge… but for the majority of the CEOs, CMOs, and business owners in the world… it is a light shining through the darkness.

Well done Kodak… Well done.

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Balancing Perception and Reality in Social Media

Is social media everything we really make it out to be? Is there an imbalance between perception and reality when it comes to social media? I would venture to say yes. Before we get into the underlying argument of the two terms… let’s define them (from dictionary.com).

Perception: a single unified awareness derived from sensory processes while a stimulus is present.

Reality: something that exists independently of ideas concerning it.

There is probably a universal argument of perception versus reality in terms of marketing. We are going to touch on that briefly. The majority of marketing communication exists in order to balance the worlds of perception and reality among consumers… among your clients. When it comes to social media  there is an imbalance of the two worlds. There seems to be more perceived value of the tool than the the actual reality (at this given moment).

We can talk about the growth of networks and the stats surrounding the baby boomer adoption of Facebook. We can talk about the growth of Twitter and the role it plays in international foreign policy. However, the fact remains that only 22% of the globe (350 million) has adopted social media as an  avenue for communication.

We are still in the infancy of this communication medium. That is the reality.

However, I am not discounting the value of perception. If a tool is perceived to have high value… it is my belief… that mass adoption is going to come much, much quicker than previously anticipated. What happens when perception turns into reality and your company is left behind because you didn’t change… you didn’t adapt?

There will always be the balance of perception and reality in any form of communications advancement. Did anyone really perceive the true value of television before mass adoption? What about radio? Newspaper? We tend to only leverage a communications medium after mass adoption.

It only makes true business sense to stay ahead of the curve. It is your job as business owners, marketing directors, and C-level employees to watch for the perception turning over to reality.

What do you think? Do we actually have an imbalance?

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Video: My Thoughts on Social Media Productivity

This video was made about a year ago when Brandswag was still working out of my apartment in Fishers, Indiana. Please ignore the dresser. I wanted to repost it because of the content relating to the productivity of social media.

Balancing Client and Social Interactions in Social Media

I was recently asked by Duncan Alney from Firebelly Digital on a recent Hoosier PRSA blog post to detail how I balance client interaction with social interaction in the social media realm. Here is the question:

“BTW Kyle – perhaps you should share with those that don’t know – how you balance client and your own social media interactions. I know how you do it (now) but clearly – there are others that are dying to know ”

With such a great question posed how could I not answer it? Duncan is a great guy and an awesome social media advocate. I would encourage you to check out the blog over at Firebelly.

I am going to take a stab at this question and form my own opinion on what Duncan meant by client and social media interactions. The idea of being able to balance personal social experience with client lead generation is a valuable commodity when using social media. It is extremely hard in the long run to balance both without taking to much time in both categories. I would venture to say that you shouldn’t try and balance the two… they should be intertwined.

Time is a huge commodity when using social media. How do you take the time to truly use social media without wasting the day away… because we all know… time is money. When the importance of productivity is realized

The social world is beginning to change the way consumers look at brands. Are they viewing the brand as a logo or as an experience? In my humble opinion… the user is viewing the brand as a person… as an experience… as an extension to their daily lives.

I use social media to show my personal side… to show that life is revolving around more than just a balance sheet, an income statement, and an accounts receivable report. Social media is about giving a perspective into the daily lives of the individuals that make up a company. People buy from people and the importance of showing more than just a product is being lost by many individuals using the communication systems provided on the Internet.

When writing a blog, using Facebook, or connecting on LinkedIN… you should be making it a point to deliver a half/half balance of life as well as business. Your potential clients want to know about your knowledge in your given industry but they also want to know about your daily routine… what makes you tick.

I try to balance the two by using Facebook as my social interaction tool and my blog as my business side of my life. How do you balance the two? Do you even try to balance the two?

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Should a Not-for-Profit use Twitter?

The first step in utilizing a social tool like Twitteris to understand the human element in relation to social media. The human element can be referred to as an underlying form of authenticity when using social tools for communication. When consulting with a company, I tend to recommend two separate accounts. You should always have social media tools for your personal life, which could be separate from your business. There are (of course) different argument for both accounts.We can go into that at a later date.

When a person is seeking out information on your company they want two things concrete information (hard data, contact info, about us, etc) and the human element (owner, employee, company mission, etc). Twitter, not to mention every other social media outlet, gives you the opportunity to show a more human side to your business/organization.

Next step: Just try it out. Start an organization Twitter account (ie. Comcastcares). Search for people in your area and start following. See what happens.

Put some HUMAN into your COMPANY. Believe me, it is worth it.

After all, an empty, heartless logo is the last thing a donor will give money.

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What The Top 10 Banks on Twitter Have in Common

ComputerWeekly released a detailed list of the top 10 banks on Twitter and what made them valuable to the end consumer.  I made it a point to go through each of the bank’s Twitter pages and figure out (at least) one thing they had in common. This one thing is based around the overall usage of the Twitter tool and how the banks communicate with current and potential clients. What was the overall theme for most of the Twitter bank pages?

Customer support and communication. To be more specific: customer centric.

The majority of the top 10 banks on Twitter use the tool to support customers with Q&A, idea generation, and live feedback on account information. From my viewpoint… the top banks are actually using Twitter in the right way when it comes to communication. Customer support and service is a huge pull when viewing Twitter as a business tool (whether you are a bank… or not). What other points did I take away from the bank pages?

1. Communication is Key. Do not broadcast a message. If you are wanting to use Twitter for another RSS feed to share PR releases and company news, you have the wrong idea.

2. Listen to Customers and then Respond. It is important to take personal time and invest it in the use of the tool. If you are communicating with your clients it is important to reply back to their inquiries. The same concept applies to a missed phone call or email. Put major emphasis on replying back to questions and comments. Do not let any tweet go unanswered.

3. Every Follower is Important on Twitter. Let me rephrase that… Every follower is important on Twitter if they are REAL and actually MATTER. A Twitter user being real or fake is pretty easy to measure over the long run. We do not want to be communicating with spam accounts. You can tell is a user matters if they are actually sharing content and communicating a universal message to their followers. If they have something to be excited about (new content)… help them by sharing that content.

Take the top 10 banks examples and use Twitter effectively.. both for customer support and communication. Remember that social media is a two-way strategy… listen, speak, and then repeat.

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3 Steps to Being Productive in Social Media

Everyone loves social media. That is not the issue. There is really one huge issue that keeps individuals from using social media and that is time. Time can be an ugly thing if you are not productive with the tools and time given to you. How are you productive and manage your time effectively? I use the four-touch point model.

Step 1: Use the 4-Points Model

When using social media you should keep in mind the 4-points model. There are 4 points social media applications should touch in regards to your daily life: Business, Local Business Networking, Social, and Information. Choose four main networks where you spend the most of your time.

I use LinkedIn for business applications, Smaller Indiana for local business networking, Facebook for social application, and Twitter for information. LinkedIn can be described as my connection Rolodex. Facebook is to keep me updated on my friends and acquaintances from college and high school. Twitter is a wonderful information aggregation tool where you can follow influential people and the information they share. Smaller Indiana is a great place to connect to local professionals and share ideas on how to make Indiana a better place.

Step 2: Commit Yourself

You get what you put in. How many times have we heard that? When using social media commit to a set amount of time a week to using your applications. You will find yourself spending to much time on your applications if you fail to designate a certain amount during the week.

I try to designate an hour of each day to information sharing (writing blogs, commenting on blogs, perusing my Google Reader) and an hour a day to using my other networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, and Smaller Indiana).

Step 3: Be Authentic

I get numerous e-newsletter in my inbox everyday, most of them vary from mundane to outright boring. When posting on your social media applications, try to add some authenticity and personality to the information you are sharing. When I am reading blogs and posts on social applications the last thing I want to read is an impersonal e-newsletter. I want to know that the keystrokes behind the information is an actual person. Be personal. Be Authentic.

There are the three steps I use to get the most out of Social Media. Cheers!

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The Brains Behind Social Influence Marketing

If you are running a social media company or  thinking about implementing some type of social media strategy into your business… there is no better company to track than Razorfish. They recently released a report called Fluent which examines the possibilites of using social media influencers (like Chris Brogan and Douglas Karr) to market a product or service. The definition of social influence marketing is as follows:

Social influence marketing is about employing social media as part of the entire lifecycle of a marketing campaign, even beyond the campaign.

There is also a deeper understanding to the concept of social influence marketing (SIM). The idea that marketing has turned away from the company and now is in control of the customer (or at least soon will be) is the basis of SIM. How do you create a market when in reality… in the not-to-distant future… marketing campaigns may not exist. How do you empower certain evangelists to spread the word about your product or service and seem absolutely genuine at the same time?

Razorfish is leading the way in deciding the right form to tackle social media as part of a marketing process. I would encourage you to read the report and experience the world of social influence marketing.

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Is Social Media Changing Lead Generation?

I was reading Jeremiah Owyang’s post about social networking and corporate sites connecting and he makes a general reference about the changing landscape of lead generation:

“Because brands will let users login using their social network identity (like Facebook or Twitter) they are increasing their chances of user interaction and engagement –but miss out on lead generation in the traditional sense.”

This was an interesting proposition from one of the leading minds in the Internet interaction world. Is the entire definition of lead generation changing in the business environment? I would venture to say… maybe a little bit.

There are plenty of lead generating activities that will not change the overall concept when it comes to search engine marketing or e-mail list buying. There are still ways to produce lead generation using content through software services like Compendium Blogware or an awesome organic search firm like Slingshot SEO. But there has been a slight shift in how small businesses and corporate brands are building lead generation through social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIN.

We are talking about  lead generation activities built through relationship development. Let me be clear that you need both strategies when developing a marketing strategy for the Internet but it is important to recognize that consumers may want more interaction than previously believed.

Through interaction and engagement you can build a different type of list than in the “traditional sense.” This is the whole concept of customer evangelists… empowering people to share your brand. You may find that sales may be longer but they are sales just the same.

Connect both strategies of search lead generation and social networking interaction when connecting your brand to the marketplace.. you may be pleasantly surprised!

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Twitter Usage Plan for Success

Twitter is the talk of the town from marketing firms to small business owners… how do we use this tool to increase leads and drive growth? This seems to be the question most people are asking across the business landscape. If you are skeptical and a little confused… believe me… you are not alone. I am immersed in social media on a daily basis and I am still testing strategies when using Twitter.

We are all trying to figure out this new world of online communication.. so where do you start when diving into Twitter.

Twitter is just another tool in your (business) aresenal to drive brand awareness across a specific group of people. So what do you do when first starting out? Limit your twitter use. It is extremely important to build out a usage plan for Twitter when first starting out on the tool.

An example:

Phase 1

• Use Twitter for 30 minutes a day
• Add 10 strategic relationships to follow every two days (between 30-45 followers a week)
• Tweet (send a twitter message) three times a day
• Write down all strategic relationships or new business leads formed when using Twitter

Phase 2

• Move up to an hour of Twitter usage a day. Example: designate 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes after the work day. You could also break the usage out over the day
• Sign up for a HootSuite account to help with Tweeting and follower management throughout the day.
• Move up to 10 tweets a day. If need be… use HootSuite for random posting through-out the day.

This is just small example of how you can build out a Twitter usage plan for yourself or your employees. There are a couple of important things to remember:

• Use the tool on a daily basis. It is important to build up a habit of using the tool.
• Measure. Measure. Measure. Measure. If you do not see some type of success from Twitter after 3-5 months.. re-evaluate your usage.
• Remember that Twitter is just another medium to reach potential consumers… don’t give up your other marketing strategies… integrate your approach

Twitter is a great tool to use for communication and brand awareness. Do you have any other productivity tips? Ways to be productive? This is just a small example but I would LOVE to hear from other people.

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