Keep Your Friends Close and Your Followers Closer

What’s more important:What you say or what others say about you? When it comes to your brand what matters most to you? Are you self promoting and only allowing good comments to be posted? Where do you draw the line?

Social media is a tool the should be used to help others speak about you. When there’s a negative comment do you delete it? My suggestion is to leave it. Although,  it may not be a good or accurate reflection of you it lets others see that you’re real. If all you ever read  is good content (about something) then usually you jump to the conclusion that something is not right with that individual. We’re not perfect and we can’t make everyone happy. The bad comment won’t ruin you. It’ll give you credibility. It shows that you can take criticism. You can deal with it and you can move on from it. However, do not mistake dealing with it as ignoring it. You want to respond to all negative publicity no matter how severe.

You can draw the line at slanderous material.

Self promotion is good when done in moderation. I would rather not go to your Twitter account and only see you patting yourself on the back. Yes, it’s good to read about your accomplishments and your other latest successes… However, there has got to be more to you than that. If not, consider yourself un-followed. Thank you very much. Spend time complimenting the successes of other people. Get to know your followers and give back by retweeting or engaging in conversations. Engaging with others fosters relationships, which will ultimately create community that you are apart of. This bodes well for you especially when a dreaded negative comment appears.

In times of trouble you’ll have all the friends you need to back you up  because of the community you’ve invested in. It’s  similar to the old saying “treat others as you’d like to be treated”. We may have grown up but childhood principles can always be applied.

The Value of a Social Media Conversion Funnel

Kristina Allen is the online marketing manager for @ioninteractive where she handles social media and PR initiatives. Kristina is also a graduate student currently working towards a master’s in communication with an emphasis on classical rhetoric. You can read her daily blog posts at The Post-Click Marketing blog, or connect with her @allenkristina on Twitter.

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Setting up a social media presence is easy. Engaging with targeted followers and fans is pretty easy too. Tying social media back to business objectives shouldn’t be hard. Connecting social media to ROI via social conversions…yikes!

A few weeks ago Jay Baer participated in a podcast with the Executive VP of ion interactive (my employer) on why a social conversion funnel is so important to a mature social media strategy.

Jay says we have to move past using the number of fans, followers, and subscribers as key metrics, and start deciding which user actions or set of actions leads to an actual conversion. Once these actions are defined, we can then use them as key metrics that are easily tied back to ROI.

For instance, if you’re an online marketer looking to generate leads by having a visitor fill out a form on your website, the hard conversion will still be having the form filled out. However, the social media conversion would be tracking how many of the people who fill out the form came in from one of your social channels.

An example might be:

It should be easy to see how tying these actions back to social media ROI is clearer than going the murky route of trying to tie the number of followers you have to ROI.

Jay says, “What I think a lot of people are referring to when they say ‘social conversion’ is converting people to fans or followers,” but “what’s the point in having a Facebook fan page if you don’t really have a plan for what to do with those people once they get there. So I would certainly hope that we can get to the point where social conversion is really a funnel, and not just a single action.”

Of course a sale isn’t the only type of conversion that matters, and in fact if the main objective for your social strategy is driving awareness or loyalty, tracking a hard conversion like a sale wouldn’t be of complete interest to you. In that case it would be good to look at the number of social engagements taking place in your universe (RTs, comments, social bookmarking), bounce rates and time on site.

It would also be a good idea to track which pages your visitors from social sites click through beyond the entry page. Do they look at your About page (probably), do they look at your services page?

Which pages are they looking at, and how can you optimize those pages for your social traffic to benefit your ultimate objective?

If awareness is your goal, what can you do to get RSS subscribers to “like” you on Facebook or follow you on Twitter and then share your content?

If loyalty is your goal, what can you do to get visitors that enter via a blog post to stay on your site? How can you get them to read multiple blog posts or subscribe to your RSS feed or newsletter?

Figure our which user action or set of actions determines your social media ROI, and then track those metrics. Having a social conversion funnel will help you watch your program grow and succeed, and will also show you which initiatives are failing, so you can move on to something else.

If you’re interested in learning more about social conversions, you can read the Jay Baer podcast episode transcript here, or download the episode from iTunes (search: ion interactive or “conversations on conversion”)

Which social conversion metrics are you currently tracking, or which ones do you plan to start measuring to improve your strategy?

HootSuite Offers New Features for Customer Interaction

There is no denying that the relationship between customers and business have changed due to the evolution of social media.. This evolution has created a new customer to business relationship. Customers aren’t only seeking interactions they are expecting it. However exciting this is, it’s difficult for a business to produce consistent  communication and spread consistent themes. This in part is due to the overwhelmingly amount of social media channels. Hootsuite, a social media dashboard, has taken notice and is ready to help.

Hootsuite has recently added new tools for businesses to better serve their customers. These tools help businesses to offer assistance, provide information relevant to its audience and socially manage campaigns.

Are you looking to find out who in your network is most influential? Hootsuite allows you to filter columns by influence score. This will show which followers are ideal for campaign candidates or are a response priority. Essentially, you can learn which followers are most beneficial to maintain for your business reach.

Are you struggling with message overload? You can focus your columns by keywords. Simply type in words that center on what’s most relevant to you and remove all the unnecessary clutter. This tool is helpful when looking to track a topic or look for prospective clients. Wanting to get to know your audience better? Hootsuite offers an “insights” tab where you get access to your contact’s social profile links, images occupations and titles all in one view.

Now let’s say your problem is tech support. Well, don’t worry anymore. Your customer service conundrums are the least of your worries with the help of Zendesk, a help desk app.

Hootsuite also offers Team Collaboration tools that help users add extensive networks. This allows you to manage you network by showing your contacts on each network while allowing you to add more on one view. If your interested in this click the Owl, go to settings, then My Organizations.

Hootsuite aims to help businesses get their messages heard, monitor conversations and track results. Now, they are offering paid plans that grant premium users access to extra features. However, users in general still have access to 95% of all Hootsuite features. The paid plans are yet to be releases but will offer unlimited social networks, unlimited RSS feeds, advanced analytics and reports and also expedited support.

The Power of Social Media: Educate Embrace and Empower

There are things (thoughts, opinions, and ideas) that need to be talked about… hashed and rehashed over the course of months… to years. Implementing a successful social media strategy is one of those ideas. How do you implement something internally? How do you implement an idea… how do you push it to gain traction and succeed?

Educate. Embrace. and Empower.

Embracing: The first step in implementing a social media strategy (as part of your overall marketing strategy) for your business is to embrace the concept of communication in the online environment. It is simple. It means you recognize the change that is transforming the way millions of people communicate on a daily basis. As a brand, you are embracing social media as a way to create a marketing message and tell a story to thousands of potential clients. You do not need to be particulary comfortable with the notion of open communication but you DO need to understand the concept of implement a strategy into your business.

Educating: Once you have embraced the concept of using social media as a communication platform.. it is important to educate yourself and your staff in the philosophy and practical use of the platforms. Whether you are debating on using tools like Twitter or Facebook it is important to educate yourself in the simple and complex workings of the social media world.

The first step in education? Listening. Listen to what people are saying on the Internet about your company, product, or industry. By listening to the masses you will be able to adapt yourself to the world of online communication.  There are also great seminars and learning environments to immerse yourself into.. every city has them… search and you will find.

Empowering: After embracing the tool and educating yourself (and your team) on strategy and usage it is time to empower the actual implementation of a social media strategy. This could mean with money, time, and other resources. Use the strategy plan you have written (or had written from an outside firm) and empower your team to use the tools.

Remeber that pig headed discipline always wins out in the long run. Empower yourself to have the discipline to stick with the strategy you have crated whether it surrounds blogging or a use of a social network.

This is just the start to great journey that is unfolding in front of us. Use the Internet to communicate (both internally and externally). I think you could be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.

The Power of Douglas Karr and DK New Media

Who is Douglas Karr? If you don’t know, you should.  Douglass Karr is a Social Media consultant, United States Veteran and the CEO of DK New Media, an online marketing company. His company helps implement social media into large technology companies. Doug himself is a professional speaker who does on-site strategic consulting or private blog coaching. This doesn’t do him or his company justice. Let’s get to know this guy and what he does a little better. Doug has helped hundreds of companies realize the power of blogging through his Corportate Blogging book due out in August. He is also the founding father of the Marketing Technology Blog which features many informed authors. Douglas himself has written 1,513 posts with his latest being How to Generate A YouTube Thumbnail. To say the least… this guy knows a thing or two about social media, blogging and search engine optimization.

The way DK New Media serves its clients is through a process. (taken from DKNewMedia.com)

1.Analysis – of the clients in terms of their current resources, strategies and implementations.
2.Implementation – of the tools and processes necessary to measure success.
3.Optimization – of campaigns to continuously improve the results as opportunities arise.
4.Automation – development and integration of tools and processes to reduce resources.
5.Education – of client’s staff to assume control and execution of the strategies developed.

This process ensures the creation of a successful strategy plan. They fully embrace the ideal of being partners with their clients versus consultants, developers or subcontractors. DK New Media has helped companies from all over the world. It is a company known for being innovative, creative and experts in this field. The Marketing Technology Blog showcases these very attributes  by acknowledging other like minded experts and being as current as possible. This blog, in short, leaves nothing out. It provides all the technology and marketing advice you could ever want (or need). The blogs alone offer rich, relevant content from experts who have experience and know how…..not to mention these blogs are also interesting. However, don’t just take my word for it. Visit yourself and discover something  new and valuable. I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know Douglas Karr…you can call him Doug…he and his company are one to read about.

And not to mention… he is the one who started me in the world of social media!

5 Reasons Why Whole Foods Knows Social Media

Thanks to Mike Heffner at Express Employment Professionals in Greenwood, Indiana for sending me this story on Whole Foods. Whole Foods is giving their managers and their employees the ability to make their own “brand” on social. This shows an extreme trust because Whole Foods is switching from a centralized to decentralized brand messaging model.

If you go to Whole Foods’ site and click “Facebook,” you see a hub page that lists not only the main Whole Foods account, but all the individual stores’ accounts. This is a smart move, for 5 reasons:

1. It says that Whole Foods trusts its people. The company empowers its managers to speak online about their favorite beers, store events, jobs, you name it.

2. Potential applicants get a genuine glimpse of their local store’s culture. Knowing the culture of the Company-with-a-capital-C is only half of the story; future employees also want to know what it’s really like to work for their neighborhood store.

3. Allows Whole Foods to become a community. By creating these pages Whole Foods has embraced the idea of creating a community. Where customers begin to think of their trip to Whole Foods as a community experience rather versus just a trip to the store.

4. Through empowering its managers it empowers its customers. How? Customers now come in anxious to try what’s being talked about online. This gives credibility to its employees and allows the customer to engage offline.

5. All the information is in one spot. Future employees or customers can search for Whole Foods and find all they need to know without having to extensively search. The research is done for you; all in one stop

Whole Foods serves as an example of good online branding. They have successfully blogged about their industry, set up social networks where people can engage directly and empowered their current employees.Whole Foods sets a tone for other stores to follow. In this day and age no industry is left out, which even means grocery stores. They have been innovative with their online quest and serve as a good reminder on what to do.

10 Ways to Build and Focus on Passionate Content

I was reading a post by Jay Baer titled the 14 Things I Think I Think About Social Media (Great title huh?) and one of the fourteen points hit me pretty hard.

“Social media is fueled by passion, and too many companies try to take elements of their company that aren’t passion-worthy, and attempt to build a social media program around it.”

How do you go about defining passion-worthy elements within your company? What does it mean to have passion filled content to share across the expanse of the Internet and the tools afforded through social media?

I don’t know if companies knowingly choose elements that “aren’t passion-worthy”… maybe they have no idea? They have been rooted for years in this centralized brand strategy… rooted in the belief that they (in the ivory towers) understand what makes their product or service passionate.

How do you go about creating passionate content or choosing “passion-worthy” elements within your company?

10 Ways to Build and Focus on Passionate Content

1. Tell the story of founding the company or your first week at the company. What sites and sounds did you experience? What made you love what you did that first 72 hours?

2. Tell the story of a client. Who is your best client? Who makes the world go round for your company? We all have them. Tell THEIR sorry… now THAT is passionate content.

3. Better yet.. get your client to tell the story for you! Ask your best client to write a guest post. They are the passionate user.

4. Include your own opinions and arguments about popular trends. Great writing moves people and inspires them.

5. Ask your employees what makes them passionate. Does it have to do with the overall company product or service? Heavens no! Your employees are as much of the brand as your overpriced logo on the side of your overpriced building.

6. Remember… your customers and employees are the most important part of your passion worthy content. Let them tell the story for you.

7. Great user/customer experience creates passion-worthy content. What does it feel like when an individual walks into your store? What is the experience when someone clicks through your website?

8. Check out the 4 cornerstones to creating great content from Rand (SEOmoz).

9. Keep tabs on your blog content creation guidelines. How are you creating your blog content? How are you systematically telling your story?

10. Leave no question behind your motives.  Create transparent content that elicits a response. If you have multiple writers in your company… be very sure you have a system and policy in place to allow them to write authentically.

Are Traditional Coupons Dead?

Consumers are getting more and more technologically savvy. Threatening the practice of getting and using coupons in the traditional way.  According DMNEWS Newspaper subscriptions have declined by 9% in the past year, which means that consumers must be getting their coupons through other sources.  We are not only getting our news from other sources, but are we, as consumers taking advantage of online coupons and deals?

The obvious answer is yes, of course. All traditional channels for information are in question. Marketers understand that consumers are doing a majority of their shopping online. Therefore, marketing efforts are pointing toward online users.

This got me questioning the value of print media in today’s world. If we as culture no longer go to traditional sources for coupons, news, weather etc then what is the future for those traditional forms? Newspaper subscription has gone down, which is ultimately a sign of a shifting trend.

So, are the use traditional coupons near extinction? Let’s say that for now, no. Eventually, I’d say yes. As the the Baby Boomer generation moves along with the Millennial generation in going online the traditional sources are going by the wayside. Coupon cutting and clipping are relevant in an uncertain economy but it’s much better done online. Many companies are also delivering coupons straight to the consumers phones via e-mail, text, social media and other smart phone applications. Like every change big or small the shift from print to digital won’t be a quick process. Who knows, maybe we’ll all miss lazy Sunday afternoons with a pair of scissors and a newspaper and resist another modern change.

The Beauty of Purpose Driven Marketing for Business

I have never been a huge fan of the book Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. For the readers who are fans… I apologize… I hope this does not ruin our “friendship.”

This post is not about hating on the famous book by Pastor Warren but is only the connection point between a thought I had this morning. I was scanning the book titles on my shelf at the office and happened over Purpose Driven Life. The thought of having a “purpose driven life” slapped me… straight in the mouth.

Of course… being fully surrounded by business and marketing on a daily basis… I connected it to marketing and corporate communications.

How can you lead a purpose driven marketing initiative? How do train your corporate culture to drive towards a goal with purpose?

Is it an awesome… kick butt mission statement? Not really.

Is it creating training and communication modules to help employees communicate with each other? 50/50

Purpose driven marketing is a two-fold process.

1. Your purpose should be defined (much like your mission statement) as the reason you are in business. What need are you fulfilling?)

2. Driving that purpose should be the stories told by the people being fulfilled by your purpose…. the clients.

Only when you have clients and positive contacts sharing your message will you understand the full extent of purpose driven marketing.

Hey Execs: It’s Time to Embrace Social

I had the pleasure of contributing content to an excellent report released yesterday by email/direct marketing company, ExactTarget. The report is called Letters to the C-Suite: Getting Serious About Social Media. Here is the breakdown:

You know social media is a big deal and that you brand should be engaged. But you still find yourself questioning how to monetize social media and where it fits with your other marketing activities. Sound familiar? Here is what is covered:

1. The importance of planning and implementing a social media strategy

2. How to build stronger customer relationships using social media outlets
3. Operationalization of social media marketing and how it directly impacts your bottom line
4. The value of social media testing and optimization efforts

I was joined by eleven other consultants in the report. Please check out their sites and join in the conversation:

Jay Baer – Convince and Convert

David Baker – Razorfish

Sergio Balegno - MarketingSherpa

Olivier Blanchard – The Brand Builder

Jason Falls – Social Media Explorer

Ann Handley – MarketingProfs

Joseph Jaffe - Powered/Flip the Funnel

Valeria Maltoni – Conversation Agent

Shelly Palmer - Advanced Media Ventures Group

Trey Pennington – Spitball Marketing

Jeffrey K. Rohrs – ExactTarget

It is all about navigating through the wonderful world of social media. If you would like to download the report please click the follow link and enjoy > Letters to the C-Suite: Getting Serious About Social Media.