Posted in Corporate Strategy, Social Media Community, Social Strategy, relationship, small business, social media, social media marketing, social media mission
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20/04 2009

Next Time. Punch Fear in the Face.

What is it about fear that immobilizes an individual or an organization? The fear of failure… The fear of not understanding how to use a specific tool.. The fear of being left behind.

The problem with fear is that it paralyzes and damages the great things your company or organization can do in the future. At Brandswag we come across many individuals, companies and organizations that are simply afraid of jumping into the world of “the social web.”

It could be the fear of open conversation. It could be the fear of not knowing what to do. What is driving your company? What is the driving factor for not changing? What is keeping you from not adapting to the changing world of communication?

The simple fact…

You cannot let fear rule the way you run your business. The world is changing. People are controlling conversations, brands, and causes. Your brand is built by people. Why not use the tool most associated with communication?

You may not want to change for a variety of reasons… but you don’t really have the choice. Remember the term Evolve or Die. It applies here.

Here is what I want you to do… Next time you are sitting down and reviewing methods and procedures for the marketing of your product or service and that fear starts to rise in the back of your mind… you have two choices…

Ignore it or Embrace it.

Which one do you think is going to revolutionize your company or organization in the years to come?

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Posted in Social Strategy, social media, social media marketing
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15/04 2009

20 Ways to Engage Contacts in Social Media

What is it? What is it good for? Engagement.

One of the primary selling points of social media is the concept of engaging a potential customer or partner in your product or service. So how do you accomplish engagement on a personal level?

20 Ways to Engage a Potential Customer Using Social Media

1. Start a blog. This seems like an obvious one. This should be one of the first things you think about doing when contemplating using social media as a marketing tool. There should always be a hub where your contacts can interact. The so called “hub.” WordPress is a great tool to start blogging. Get on it!

2. Join Brightkite and Use it during the business day. Brightkite is a service that allows you to update your location to the people following you on a regular basis. I do not recommend using this tool after business hours (could turn a little creepy) but it can help your contacts get an idea of what you do on a daily basis. Even if you are just sitting in your office for most of the day.

3. Join LinkedIN and recommend your partners. Most of us are already using LinkedIN (if you are not click this link for great information on LinkedIN). When you start to recommend the people you love working with it will help spread the goodwill that your business partners deserve. What happens you spread goodwill? Ever heard of pay-it-forward?

4 and 5. Start an RSS Reader and Find 10 Blogs. It is important that you use an RSS Reader to help with the organization of the blogs you read. For more information on starting and maintaining an RSS Feed check out this link. By using a Technorati or Google BlogSearch you can find 10 blogs that are industry “blog leaders” in your dedicated profession. By following and commenting on the blogs you will start to engage other readers.

6. Place a Poll on Your Blog or Website. There are plenty of tools available for polling on your website or blog. Wp-polls is a great resource if you are connected with wordpress. Ask a question to your audience. How can I make my content better? What are you wanting to read or learn about? This will help in engaging your more loyal readers and followers.

7. Ask a Loyal Reader to Guest Post. There is a ton of value in having your loyal readers do a guest post for your blog. They will feed your link to their subscribers and it also gives them a pride in ownership of your blog. This allows for the strengthening of a relationship in the long run.

8. Identify Your Strategy. This should have been placed at number one because it is the more important of everything you could be doing online. If you do not have a strategy in place to lead the charge into social media you will be at a lost when it becomes overwhelming. A strategy allows you to measure success points in your social media journey. This only helps when it comes to YOU engaging THEM.

9. Focus. Really Focus on Your About Page. What is the second most read page on a blog? The about page. People want to know who they are communicating with. The last thing you need to do (and I am also guilty of this on my personal blog KyleLacy.com) is to create a boring about page. Spice it up. Add some details that will create the best about page you could possibly want! Also.. enable comments on your about page. Allow people to comment on yours likes and dislikes.

10. Use Twitter on a Daily Basis. Now this might be a little overwhelming to the young at heart in social media but Twitter is fast becoming the ideal means of online communication. For a detailed explaination of Twitter check out DiTii.com’s video.

11. Add Your Social Media Information to Your Business Card. I have written a ton about this in previous posts. If you want to truly engage with the people you meet offline… add your social media sites to your business card. I have my LinkedIN, Twitter, and Blog URLs on my business card.

12. Be open to collaboration. You may have run your small-to-mid sized business for years by yourself but social media is built on the art of collaboration. People will be giving their opinions on a daily basis and it is in your best interest to take those opinions with stride. Collaborate and join in on discussions surrounding ideas related to your industry and your life. Collaborate. Learn. Listen.

13. Start a Facebook Page and Add in Your Family Life. Facebook is an extremely personal tool that can be used to connect with individuals on an emotional basis using pictures. You have to be open in sharing some of your family life with the outside world. There is a reason why PR companies have used the idea of “family man” to save many tarnished CEOs. Add pictures of your family, your dog, your vacation. People will connect. (New to Facebook. Check out this link on getting started as a company).

14. Pick 4 Social Sites and Maximize. You will become anti-social if you become overwhelmed with the multitude of different social media sites in which you are a member. We teach a 4-touchpoint theory of choosing four social media sites to spend your time. With a limited amount of time you will find that 4 sites benefits you in two main ways:

1. You will have more brain “bandwidth” to communicate on a deeper level.

2. The same people will pretty much be on all the sites you choose. (I say this loosely)

15. When someone comments on your blog email them a thank you. I learned this from the famous Gary Vaynerchuk. If someone is joining into the conversation on your blog and adding content make sure you thank them for your support. The people who show a vested interest are key to growing your readership. Don’t be alarmed if you don’t have time to email people the moment they comment. It sometimes takes me weeks before I send a follow up email.

16. Write About Personal Experience. We talk a lot about this. Write about the way you see life. Write about the way you experience your business on a daily basis. TAlk about how you are helping people. Talk about how you are solving the problems on a daily basis. Use Twitter. Use Facebook. Tell stories on your blog. People engage in stories. They connect with stories.

17. Try to Keep Yourself Within 450 Words or Less on Your Blog. It is important to keep blog posts concise and to the point. If you have trouble writing this will help you in the long run. As you can tell by the post you are currently reading, it is not essential that you keep it to 450 words. If you have advice and knowledge to send out to the masses.. . please do so. If you keep blog posts short it helps to keep readers and that is the goal.

18. Remember Quality vs Quantity. Quality is always better than Quantity. I have always said that 100 extremely engage readers are infinitely better than 4000 quasi engaged readers. Quality allows you to truly form relationships with the people you are dealing with on a daily basis. You can build your base anyway you like but make sure you always come back to quality over quantity.

19. Monitor the Conversation around Your Brand both Personal and Professional. For more on this read: 25 Tools and Tips to Following Your Brand Online. Why is it important to follow your brand online? You need to be involved in all the conversations surrounding your product, service, or YOU.

20. DO NOT HARD SELL! I am going to repeat this again: Do Not Hard Sell. This means you are not sharing about sales and detail after detail about your company. It means you are concentrating on listening to the people who are investing in your writing and social media prescence. Nobody cares about your 50% sale. They care about who will be greeting them at the door of your store or place of business. Personality rules and if you want to act like a used-car sales man… go work at one.

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Posted in Corporate Strategy, Marketing, Social Strategy, productivity, small business, social media, social media marketing
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14/04 2009

Social Media According to Zhang Yu

I am re-reading The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

Let me be clear. When I say I am re-reading it actually means I am reading it for the first time, a second time. It is amazing the kind of insight you take away from a book when you read it through different parts of life. It has been a couple of years since I picked up the book and a section about adapting caught my eye.

Zhang Yu : Adaptation means not clinging to fixed methods, but changing appropriately according to events as is suitable.

We are in a phase of adaptation in the world of marketing communications. With the advancement of the Internet (mainly the growth of commercial social media) a new phase of communication is quickly becoming a premiere way to connect with a demographic. But..

You have to adapt.

If you do not adapt to the changing business environment.. you will be lost in a world that is moving faster and faster with every moment. It is important to destroy the learning curve that is forcing multitudes of companies to rethink the way they communicate with their clients and potential clients.

Remember that adapting and changing is not an easy thing to do but it needs to be done. The key is to learn and soak in as much as you can when it comes to business communication. We are all in this changing environment and some are adapting faster than others.

The key is to adapt, strategize, and execute….

and repeat.

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Posted in Marketing, Social Strategy, social media, social media marketing
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13/04 2009

Why Banks Should Listen to Social Media

I was in a recent conversation with an owner of a local advertising firm in Indianapolis and we were discussing the merits of social media with banks. In my mind, any business can benefit in some way from using social tools on the Internet. Even if the only strategy is to listen and respond… that is better than not listening at all… right?

Nielsen recently partnered with NeuroFocus, the global leader in neuro-marketing, and released a study focused on the banking industry. There were some startling facts. You can find the entire study (here).

I read the report and here is what I walked away with:

  • Feelings of stability, solidity, partnership, empathy, and understanding scored highest.
  • Clutter free, humanized web interaction that was different from everything seen earlier scored the highest – time to invest in web site redesign
  • Empathy is most important: Consumers want to hear that banks understand their pain. Claims of “sacrifices” and applying “hard work” did not resonate as well.
  • Blogs work: Blog postings – even those written by parties with a vested interest in the subject – were deemed to be the most effective form of written advocacy among consumers.

If you needed any more evidence that now is the time to step up in the banking industry and take advantage of social media… there it is.. easy to read and right in front of you.

Partnership and human interaction can be accomplished by using social media as a form of communication with your clients. We want to know you CARE about what we are experiencing.

Take that cold outward demeanor and turn it into a loving embrace… and it will be welcomed.

“The strongest message consumers want to hear from banks is how much their bank empathizes with their pain. These are neurological insights that banks cannot afford to ignore right now,” said A.K. Pradeep, CEO of NeuroFocus.  Nielsen, 3/31/09

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Posted in politics, social media marketing, social networking
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8/04 2009

Traditional Media Blasts Google

I have always been under the assumption that traditional or “old” media has lost its’ mind. I have looked at traditional media (mainly newspapers) as a dying breed of communication that will not change with the landscape of technology. If you do not shift your paradigm you will die and currently.. that is what is happening.  Traditional media never ranked high with me but I have started to see another side to this coin.

Recently the Wall Street Journal editor Robert Thomson blasted Google and other content aggregators as “parasites of the Internet.” I thought this was a little over the top and then I read a little deeper into the article.

I am going to stop there for a side comment. The simple fact that I decided to read the REST of the article before making a qualified decision is probably part of the problem. We are way… way.. way.. to ADD as a society and social media is not helping in that arena.

I am starting to understand the concept behind the value of premium content. I can see where WSJ is coming from when it comes to content aggregators. I can also see where the Internet model is changing the way we consume media. Rupert Murdoch at News Corp is trying to be innovative with the media shift but I do not see the WSJ making any HUGE strides to welcome the new wave of communication tools. Please, correct me if I am wrong.

There is going to come a time when the shift is over and traditional media will be mutated into a massive conglomerate of data and information. Until that time, Google and premium content portals like Wall Street Journal will need to become even MORE innovative than before.

The world is consuming content at an unbelievable speed. The question is… how do you monetize that consumption?

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Posted in Marketing, Micro-Blogging, Reputation Management, innovation, relationship, small business, social media, social media marketing
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7/04 2009

What Roseta, PA Can Teach You About Social Media

I have been reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and just to be clear… the book is awesome.

At the beginning of the book Malcolm talks about a researcher named Stewart Wolf who was fascinated with the long lives of a group of Italians living in Roseto, Pennsylvania. Wolf did extensive research to try and figure out when the citizens of Roseta had virtually no heart disease or any sickness related deaths of any kind. It was not the diet, exercise or location… what Wolf found was that it was the city itself (pg 9). The conversations and relationships that “Rosetians” experienced on a daily basis helped keep them healthy and jovial.

This post is not about the City of Roseta.. it is about the data that was presented to medical communities across the world. Wolf was being met with resistance because of lack of “long rows of data arrayed in complex charts (pg 10).” They had to convince the medial establishment to look PAST the data and look at the findings in an entirely new light.

The same is true for using social media. There is still resistance from the “establishment”  because of the lack of data and charts to show growth rates and return-on-investment. Have we started to discuss the negative ramifications of not being involved in the new medium of social media?

Roseta citizens remained healthy and content because of conversations and relationship driven communication.. can’t that be applied to your marketing? Can’t that be applied to your communication strategy

What is stopping you?

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Posted in small business, social media, social media marketing
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6/04 2009

Respect the Social! Be Responsible.

What is the number one thing holding small business owners away from using social media? I will give you an example.

Brandswag: “So.. that is basically what social media can bring your business. It is a broadcast/communication medium that will turn your leads just a little warmer. What do you think?”

Small Biz Owner: “This sounds great. It really does. I just don’t have the time to spend on using the tool.”

It always seems to be time. This is not an issue for the larger companies we work with at Brandswag. They have the resources to hire either outside consultants or in-house people to act out their social media campaigns. What many small business owners fail to understand is that they have the personality that will win them business in the long run. It is harder for large companies to have individual personalities show through.

As a small business you have a huge opportunity to leverage social media as a relationship and lead generation tool. You have to make the time. You are a small business owner! You knew this was going to be more difficult then being an employee… you knew this was a bigger time commitment then the 9-5. Be responible.

If you do not respect social media… it will not return the favor.

And by respect… I mean spending time on the medium. Manage your time effectively and you will see return.

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Posted in Marketing, small business, social media, social media marketing
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31/03 2009

Targeting Location and Conversation on Twitter

Imagine if you could target conversations around a specific target location? Do you think that would be valuable to any small business or marketing firm using Twitter as a communications tool? Probably and Yes.

I stumbled across TwitterHawk this morning while finishing up some last minute preparations for a pitch and I would have to say… at first glance.. I am pretty impressed.

Developed by Duellsy , Twitterhawk allows you to search for keywords across the conversations happening on Twitter. Now… this is not revolutionary.. I know but the cool part is that you can target specific geographic locations around a keyword. If you want to know all the conversations about coffee happening between people in Indiana it is possible to track. Here is an example:

Let’s say you just opened a new coffee store in Queens and wanted to let people know about it. As part of your advertising efforts, you could setup TwitterHawk to search for things like “coffee near:Queens within:8mi” (of course you could simply search world wide if you are global).

We would then periodically (at a frequency determined by you) find twitter posts that mentioned coffee by users that are actually located within 8 miles of Queens such as
‘@cracksh0t Oh I could really go for a coffee right now’ or
‘@loxly Coffee… my one true love’

Talk about a great marketing tool to start a conversation! I am still debating on whether or not this is just another form of Auto-Dm… which I despise.. I haven’t really made my decision. It is a great way to start conversations and use Twitter as an actual marketing platform. It is only disingenuous if you don’t respond after the initial connection is made.

What do you think?

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Posted in Reputation Management, Social Strategy, Viral Marketing, small business, social media, social media marketing, social networking
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30/03 2009

When is Social Media a Primary Marketing Tool?

Let me be the first to say that social media is a brilliant tool. It can enhance every aspect of your marketing plan from Public Relations to direct mail. Although… there is a time and place for everything. It is extremely important to realize the potential of social media can either be a primary or secondary.

When should social media be used as a primary tool?

If you are building a personal brand, social media can be a huge driver to increase a following or “fans.” Many small businesses are run by so-called thought leaders… The visionaries behind the brands that are being built by the thousands. Small businesses must rely heavily on referrals and word-of-mouth marketing and what better tool to help the process than soacial meda. As you advance in a community of clients and customers you can use social media as your primary source of marketing.

Whether social media can be defined as a medium or a tool (later post) is not the point. Arguing over semantics hasn’t helped anyone in the past. You have the opportunity to build your brand.. both personally and professionally. Embrace it.

This is the first time in history when millions of people are just a click away. You can’t get any better than that. So how should you get start on your online brand development?

  • Do your customers even care? Make sure you do not negate your current clients. Keep picking up the phone. :-)
  • Research what others are doing in the area. What are your competitors writing about? How can you be different? How can you do it better?
  • Start a blog. Sign up on WordPress.com and start writing (after the research, of course)
  • Go to CommonCraft and get update on the more recent tools on the Internet. They will help you in your social media quest.

And remember… be conscious of your people. What makes them tick?

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Posted in blogging, customer service, innovation, social media, social media marketing
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26/03 2009

It is About Experiences Not About Sales

Tuesday I gave a keynote at the Hoosier Hospitality Conference in the beautiful city of Indianapolis. The presentation was over the future of online communication and what it means to business and the tourism industry. While giving the keynote… I stumbled across a recurring theme…

The value of experiences over the value of a sale.

When you are using social media as a tool in your marketing mix… It is important to remember how the world is changing (in terms of communication).

People are craving experiences. We have experienced decades of 50% off and last chance now sales ads. We have been pushed multiple advertisements in the span of a thiry minute television show.

1st mile. Billboard. 2nd mile. 5 radio advertisements. 3rd mile…

We all get the picture don’t we?

Everyone says they have excellent customer service. Everyone has a half-off sale.

Not everyone can create unbelieveable experiences for their clients. Show the experiences. Show the respect and trust.

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