Should You Use Social Media? Ask Your Customers.

There is one common thread that holds  the worlds of customer management and marketing together. There is one common practice that drives every live event, direct mail campaign, email marketing push, and billboard ad. It is pretty simple in the world of business communication… you go where your customer goes… you (try) to speak how you customer speaks… you live where you customer lives… you are on their turf.. you want to be in their living rooms… you want to be in their thoughts.. you want to be first thing they think of when the pain point arises.

How do you decide which avenue to use when you are developing a strategy campaign to reach your customers? Chances are… you are going to decide based on market reach and campaign costs… Your organization is going to ask itself: How do I reach the largest amount of people for the least amount of dollars? Period.

Is social media right for every business? No. However, you need to ask yourself… Are my customers on social media? Do not take advice from your own personal experiences. You may be a baby boomer business owner who has never used social media tools but you are in the minority. Baby boomers are the fastest growing demographic using social media.

The best way to find out? Ask you customer. Engage in a conversation. Do they think it would be helpful to communicate one-on-one with your employees or maybe even you?

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The 4th E of Social Media is Engage

Kat Jaib beat me to the punch! I had been writing this 4th step in implementing a social media strategy as engage and Kat beat me to it in a comment earlier on my morning blog post. Kat is right when pertaining to the 4th E in the social media strategy: Engaging the Community

After you have stepped through the 3 E’s of Embrace, Educate and Empower it is important to engage the community in conversation. If you think of it as an action point you are listening and learning. By engaging the community you are creating action steps to supporting relationships to the people using social media.

Engagement means you care about what other people are saying online. What happens when you actually listen and engage? You create a new lead generation and communication tool.

When people know you care… they return the favor.

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The 3 E’s of Social Media: Embrace Educate and Empower

I had the pleasure of talking to the Indianapolis Public Relations Society yesterday about the evolution of technology. The concept of the presentation is to shed light on the ever-changing landscape of communication. How is technology changing the way we communicate? How are WE (as communication experts) transitioning into the new age? Are we allowing for a paradigm shift?

The people attending the presentation are stoic figures in the public relations community in Indianapolis and while talking with them I realized three important principles to implementing social media into your organization.

Embracing. Educating. Empowering.

Embracing: The first step in implementing a social media 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.

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15 Ways to Promote Your Blog Offline

The website is changing. The simple fact that individuals are wanting, craving, and needing updated content is generating a ton of traffic to one thing on your website : your blog. We know of multiple ways to promote your individual or company blog online but what about offline? The following is a list of 15 ways to promote your blog in a “traditional” sense. Some of the tips are a little outrageous but ya know what… we are all outrageous in some way… That is business, baby!

1. Put your blog address on your business card. If you have a personal bog (like mine: www.kylelacy.com) or even if you have a business blog off of your current website (example: getbrandswag.com/blog). Single out your blog on your business card.

2. Talk about you blog with every breath you take.. every move you make. This does not mean you overpower and drown people with your blog thought and opinions. This DOES mean that you talk about your blog when the time presents itself. If somebody is asking your opinion on a certain topic… give them your ideas and point them towards your blog.

3. Stick em up! Stickers for promotion. I have seen multiple bloggers and Internet-preneurs have stickers designed and printed that promoted their blog. If you have a catchy URL or tagline (example: Sometimes it is better to be socially creative) it might be a good idea to produce some stickers and hand them out.

4. Traditional Networking Rocks. Find a Chamber or a Rainmakers. If you are a small business owner, sales manager, or account manager… you are more than likely already involved in a traditional networking event. Hand out your business cards, pass out your stickers, and talk your blog up! People want to read content that helps them with a pain point in their lives. Help them out and they will be forever grateful!

5. Hire a Dominos or Liberty Tax Guy/Girl. We have all seen them holding a promotion sign and dancing on the side of the road. I have had my fair share of almost running them off the road by accident but out of all honesty, it could be a great way to promote your blog. There is one benefit to hiring a roadside promotional person… they are hardcore!

6. Ninja Attack on Display Computers. This idea comes from Future of Blog. If you find yourself in a Best Buy or any store that may have display computers… jump on the computer and surf to your blog and walk away. Now, this is not going to push any valuable traffic to your blog (who knows) but it was a funny idea.

7. Write an article for a magazine. There are plenty of local magazines around your area. Find the magazine that caters to your demographic and write articles for submission. This will help in your ability to gain traction with a knowledge hungry public.

8. Expensive Traditional Marketing. It pains me to write this portion of the tips but the ideas can still be used to promote a blog. Buy traditional marketing. Traditional marketing could be anything from radio, TV, billboard, or yellow page advertisements. I wouldn’t mind seeing my blog on a billboard but honestly, you have to REALLY justify the cost.

9. Sponsor a fund raising event. Find an event or not-for-profit that you can sponsor as a writer or blogger. This will help in your promotion to the community. One tip: Make sure you believe in the community based sponsorship before you buy.

10. Attend Conferences and Conventions. This idea could be delegated to an individual inside the company or yourself… it is all dependent on your time and ability to commit to different conferences. The same concept applies to offline networking groups applies to attending the conferences and conventions in your industry. Your online relationships are SO much stronger if you connect in the offline environment.

11. Get a vehicle wrap going on your car. We have all seen the massive car wraps. If you are wanting to REALLY promote your blog… get a car wrap but to be honest… I wouldn’t recommend it.

12. Write a Press Release and Include Your Blog. There are individuals better at writing about promotion through the use of public relation tactics but it is still a viable option to promoting your blog.

13. Attend a TweetUp. You are probably already using Twitter and if you are not… you probably should be. Twitter users usually have different networking events where different users can meet each other in a specific geographic location. Attend a TweetUP and give more face time with the people you communicate with online.

14. T-shirt It Up. This tip comes directly from @baldeagle on Twitter. Put quotes from your blog on a t-shirt. Make sure that you wear them around as much as possible. This may seem a little egotistical but come on… most of us are… at least a little bit.

15. Create a brochure with your top post. Many of us are in agreement when we talk about the power of an integrated marketing approach when it comes to promotion. Create a brochure that is catered directly to your blog. Take the best and top read post from your blog and transfer it to the print material. Be sure that you hand your blog-chure out whenever you have the chance. This could be extremely valuable at speaking engagement. I have printed blog posts out in order to hand them to event attendees.

233 Million Hours Spent on Facebook in April

(Stat courtesy of the Seattle Times)

Nielsen recently reported that there was an average of 233 million hours spent on Facebook in the month of April. 233 Million HOURS! Let me repeat that.. Americans are spending 233 million hours a month on Facebook. That is unbelieveable.

I would like to think that the majority of the time spent on Facebook is productive and not a MASSIVE time suck but that is not what is important. The important thing to take away from this Nielsen Online study is that the online communication platform is still growing. There is a massive shift happening in how people communicate. Whether you like it or not…

People are moving online to share ideas, thoughts, opinions, and their lives.

What does this mean to the business owner? Your customers are experiencing a new way to communicate. They can now connect to individuals through their daily lives! Get your sales people on Facebook. Teach them how to interact with people in the REAL sense of true interaction. This is not a hard sell environment… this is a relationship based environment.

Create relationships and win… and maybe… you will find that 233 million hours spent on Facebook can actually drive leads to your door.

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The Failing Marketing and PR World

I am becoming increasingly concerned with the lack of blog writing by public relations, marketing, and advertising firms in the city of Indianapolis and abroad. The simple fact that a communications company is not in-tune with the changing landscape of the consumer driven world is troubling… to say the least.

If there are any industries that should be on the forefront of social media and blogging it is the public relations and marketing worlds. YOU are the communications arm for major brands both large and small. YOU are driving them out of business because of your lack of knowledge pertaining to the changing world.

If you do not believe in social media as a valuable device for communication (two-way communication)… I am concerned for your company health and your clients bottom line. You may be riding the fair wave of strictly using traditional marketing and media buys… Don’t get me wrong… it is still extremely valuable to use and implement but only when integrated with new techniques.

But what happens when 6 to 12 months down the road… when you realize that you did not change in the right direction… What happens when you are surpassed by smaller, more agile firms and your market share is ripped away because of one thing..

THEY realized it was important to talk to single consumers instead of a HUGE demographic mix. They realized it was important to communicate instead of blasting messages over the airwaves.

It is important to understand that social media will be new medium of communication. It may be a new concept but in the next year it is going to revolutionize the way we communicate. Are you searching for the truth? Are you watching the trends?

Most are not.

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Are You Vomiting Ideas Through Social Media?

I know. I know. This is probably not the best title to read early in the morning. For that matter, it is probably not the best post title to read any time of the day.

When writing your blog, participating in social media, or just communicating (period) it is important to remember that your readers and participants are consuming your data. There is plenty of regurgitation happening on the Internet… an idea is started on one end of the world and re-written hundreds of times. Where does the original content come from? Is there really such a thing as original content? Yes, there is and it happens from the personal realm.

Many would argue that there is no such thing as a new idea. We all write and read marketing, accounting, financing, and business content that has been hacked a part and repurposed countless times… so where does original content come from? Your personal experience.

Remember to write about what you learn on a daily basis in your business. How do YOU help your clients and customers? How did “Mary” feel about your product? How did an individual experience your thought leadership? How are you building trust?

We are all trying to produce content that people will read and share. The most original content you can create is through your personal experience. Write about what you learn, know, and experience and we will love you for it.

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Marketing is Always Different

I think the beautiful thing about the web, social media, marketing, and the business world is that fact that everyone is different.

We would like to sit here and say that there are TONS of companies that are the same. There are 30,343 graphic design firms in Indianapolis. Not true, but you get the point. I am not talking about face value. The difference in each organization is the people behind the brand.

Each company has individuals that run every facet of the arms, legs, and head of the company. They are each an individual. They are each… different. They each have their own ideas, thoughts, and imagination on where the company is headed into the future.

This is an extremely important concept to understand. You need to utilize each individual under a common brand. We all have different ideas on marketing and that is why companies vary greatly on marketing potential… and (of course) disaster.

Utilize your employees. Utilize your customers (your brand). Create a sustainable future for your (their) company. Create a company that embraces change, ignites excitement, and takes full advantage of a trend.

Marketing is always different. Ideas are always different. It is the implementation… that moves mountains.

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The Value of Thought Leadership for Your Business

Is thought leadership valuable for a small business? That is the question that is being asked around the blogosphere as of late. Is it important for an owner, sales director, or a sole proprietor to be involved and have their “head” into the concept of thought leadership?

Well. I would say yes but what is the definition of a thought leader?

Thought leader is a buzzword or article of jargon used to describe a futurist or person who is recognized among peers and mentors for innovative ideas and demonstrates the confidence to promote or share those ideas as actionable distilled insights (thinklets)

Now, I don’t have a clue what a “thinklet” is but there is the definition of thought leader from wikipedia. Does this strike you as something important for your business? Instead of thinking of a thought leader as a single individual why not view your entire company as a massive thought leader?

Using social media can help you develop and nurture your (company) thought leadership by sharing ideas, view points, and opinions on events in your industry. By developing trust you are developing thought leadership. Last time I checked… trust potentially can lead to a long term sale.

By constantly producing content that is genuine, up-to-date, thoughtful, and insightful you can develop a leadership base that will follow your lead.

What do you think happens when one of your readers runs into a pain point in their business that you talk about on a daily basis… lead generation at its best.

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Clinging to the Past and Destroying Your Business

I am reading the book Only the Paranoid Survive by Andrew Grove (Co-founder of Intel) in the book he talks about the inertia of success and how in some ways… it can lead to the defeat of your business in the long haul.

We are all searching for success in our businesses and when that success happens there is a tendency to wade through the water and not try to swim again.

“When the environment changes in such a way as to render the old skills and strengths less relevant, we almost instinctively cling to our past.” -Andrew Grove

There is danger in becoming complacent with success. This danger is unforeseen and will wreak havoc on any company that decides to wade into the water of success and not look up for more… plentiful streams.

We are experiencing a shift in marketing and communications that is changing the landscape of how companies and customers interact with each other. I am afraid that many companies have become complacent when it comes to communication with the very people that help them survive: their customers.

They would rather go back to the old way then forge ahead and try a new form of promotion… of business growth.

Beware of success in marketing and beware of the revolution that is known as the Internet and social media sweeping away your customers…

Directly to your competitors.

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