3 of 10 Social Media Commandment: From Honesty to Trust

Good morning everyone! Here is the third installment of the 10 Commandments to Social Media Marketing. We have been talking about listening to consumers and about transforming your product into an experience but now it is time for the main enchilada: Honesty and Trust.

In his book, Emotional Branding, Marc Gobe talks about taking a brand from honesty to trust. We have been relating his 10 Commandments of Emotional Branding to social media and the third commandment hits it home for me.

From Marc:

“Honesty is expected. Trust is engaging and intimate. It needs to be earned…Trust is something else altogether. It is one of the most important values of a brand and it requires real effort from corporations. It is what you would expect from a friend.”

Honesty is expected? Absolutely it is expected! This is not only a moral and ethical obligation for a company but YOU (the corp) are going to be found out anyway. With millions of bytes of content being produced on a daily basis it is important to remember to be honest with all the content being developed surrounding your plan.

Social media allows you to take ENGAGE with your clients. It creates multiple tools that allows you to build a relationship and interact with the people that will spread your message to their friends and eventually the masses. Trust can be built in an online environment. It can be built by using the tools available to you through Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, LinkedIN… etc… etc… etc…

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I Am Speaking at International Networking Week

I am excited to announce I will be speaking in a couple of days at the International Networking Week. I will be joined with the likes of Lorraine Ball and Hazel Walker. You all should come out and join this shin-dig.

Press Release:

International Networking Week

The central Indiana Region of Business Networking International and Rainmakers, two of the largest and most active networking associations in Indiana, announced they will collaborate on a joint celebration for International Networking Week. This half day event featuring presentations, break out discussions, a local business showcase and time for casual networking will be held on February 5th from 1:00 – 6:00 p.m. at Junior Achievement Center of Central Indiana on 7435 N Keystone Ave.

This exciting event features keynote speaker, Mike Fry, owner and founder of Fancy Fortune Cookies, Inc. and renowned motivational speaker, and successful business owner Brooke Billingsley will be the MC for the day.

Also joining BNI and Rainmakers in this event are networking association Confluence! and the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Rainmakers on this exciting world-wide event.” said Hazel Walker, BNI Executive Director of Central Indiana. “Our members have much to learn from each.”
“The Indianapolis business community is poised for growth in 2009,” said Lorraine Ball, President of Rainmakers. “This collaboration will help members of the local business community get the year started right.”

Invitations to attend are open to the wider business community, members of other networking organizations, students, press representatives and interested parties from all levels of government and business. Advanced registrations are $49. In addition there are a limited number of table sponsorships for the business showcase. Showcase tables are $149 and includes one registration.
For more information or to register go to: http://www.internationalnetworkingindiana.com/

About International Networking Week
The purpose of International Networking Week™ is to raise the profile of networking in the wider community, recognizing it as an essential tool for success in today’s business climate. The week will feature networking events around the globe recognizing and celebrate the role networking plays in the development and success of businesses worldwide

From Product to Experience: 10 Commandments of Social Media

I don’t know about you but I am ready for the second installment of the 10 Commandements of Social Media series. Commandment number two of social media marketing is From Product to Experience. Disclaimer: The following title was taken from the book Emotional Brandin by Marc Gobe. His 10 Commandments of Emotional Branding are brilliant models for the use of social media.

From Product to Experience

From Marc Gobe:

“Products fufill needs, experiences fufill desires. A product or shopping experience, such as REI stores’ rock climbing walls or the Discovery Channel stores’ myriad of “sound zones” has added value and will remain in the consumer’s emotional memory as a connection made on a level far beyond need.”

I could not have said it any better myself (pertaining to social media marketing). We all sell a product or service. It is universal across the business landscape. Guess what else is universal?

The expectation of the consumer when being involved in the marketing process of a product or service. The consumer expects to be hit with direct mail. They expect to briefly read your billboard before slamming into the car in front of them. They are USED TO reading your article or ad in the newspaper.It is known.

What is the remedy to fulfilling a need through the process of experiential marketing? Social Media marketing allows you to continue being “socially and emotionally relevant” to the consumer.

Join them where they live and work. Become socially relevant to your consumers. The transition from product to experience will breed a sense of trust in your brand and in you.

Social media gives you the chance to come face to face with the life experience of each and every customer.

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1 of 10 Commandments to Social Media: Consumers to People

Two days ago I wrote a post about the 10 Commandments to Social Media based on the The Ten Commandments of Branding in the book Emotional Branding by Marc Gobe. The first commandment is called “From Consumers to People.” The point of the next 10 posts is to connect the concepts in Gobe’s book with the strategies of social media marketing.

Let’s dive in.

From Consumers to People

Traditional marketing and communications has created a landscape of constant battling. The board rooms in advertising and marketing firms have conversations surrounded around the concepts of “attacking” and “owning” a particular consumer group. Times are changing with social media marketing as part of the overall marketing strategy. Marc Gobe gives reference to the concept of marketing battles:

“Terminology like “breaking down their defenses, decoding their language, and strategically to win the battle” is in my day-to-day experiences, still commonly used.” (pg xxviii, Emotional Branding)

We are now a community centric consumer base. We listen to our peers more often than the billboard on the side of Interstate 465.

Your consumer (client) is human.

They live. They breathe. They have families, small children and college grads. They love everything from American Idol to Dirty Jobs. They have lied, hurt, and been punished. AND… they buy.

You are no longer dealing with separate groups of consumers. You are dealing with hundreds of millions on people…

And they talk daily.

You Need A Job? Get Off Your.. I’m Tired of Helping

I have reached a critical point. I wouldn’t say it is as much of a breaking point as it is a… just being pissed off point. Let me explain.

We all have friends, family, and acquaintances that have lost their job. It is a recession and the economy is not as strong as it once was (back in the day). It makes sense that someone you are connected to.. somewhere.. is going to lose their job. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a friend losing their job?

Right. “How can I help them find a job to provide for their family or themselves.”

Second scenario. You have a friend that asks for help or asks for you to provide assistance to a third party. Out of the goodness of your heart… you help that person.

Now.. maybe I am just over the top and I expect to much from people but when someone helps me, gives me advice, or the tools to get the job done… I use it and I thank them. It is a novel concept, I know. I actually use the tools and advice the mentor gave me in order to further myself in life.

I don’t know if certain people in my generation are just lazy or complete idiots. I have had multiple times when I have helped out a third party (someone relocating or a friend-of-a-friend) and they do nothing I tell them to do.

“Are you looking to relocate to Indianapolis? Cool. Well you should join LinkedIN, SmallerIndiana, and Facebook. You are welcome to connect with anyone you want from my LinkedIN account. I will forward the introduction and Smaller INdiana is a great place to meet like minded individuals that will also have jobs or know of job openings. You could also start a blog/site where your resume is highlighted.”

The majority of the time they don’t do any of it. They even forget to send me their resume until three days later. If I was looking for a job I would be salivating at the chance to connect with over 400 professionals through an account on LinkedIN. I would be listening intently to advice given by someone.. anyone.

My advice:

Quit being normal. Quit being lazy. Get off your ass and get something done. Be proactive. Be extraordinary. Write a note and thank someone for helping you out. Do everything they ask and do it the day they give you the information. Don’t wait 5 days to setup a stupid social media profile because they are watching.

And do you think I am going to forward a resume that wasn’t sent to me until a week after I talked to you? Click. Trash.

And next time YOU decide to call me and ask for advice… you will be receiving a bill in the mail for my hourly rate because you don’t deserve it.

Okay I’m done.

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The 10 Commandments to Understanding Social Media

I am obsessed with a book by Marc Gobe called Emotional Branding. It was written in early 2002 and is (in my opinion) a staple to understanding the concepts of emotional branding and marketing. He has a section in the introduction of the book (pg. xxviii) called The Ten Commandments of Emotional Branding. I was reading through the ten steps and realized they fit perfectly with understanding the model of social media and how to use it to better communicate with your clients and potential clients.

The Ten Commandments to Understanding Social Media

1. From Consumers to People.

2. From Product to Experience.

3. From Honesty to Trust

4. From Quality to Preference

5. From Notoriety to Aspiration

6. From Identity to Personality

7. From Function to Feel

8. From Ubiquity to Presence

9. From Communication to Dialogue

10. From Service to Relationship.

We are going to focus on each one of the ten commandments in the next couple of days. The concepts outlined in the book by Gobe were not dedicated to social media but they are essential to understanding how to use the tool. They are based completely behind the idea of understanding the emotional relevance of the communication tool called the Internet. Joel Desgrippes of BrandImage says it best:

“Branding is not only about ubiquity, visibility, and functions; it is about bonding emotionally with people in their daily life. Only when a product or a service kindles an emotional dialogue with the consumer, can this product of service qualify to be a brand.”

First on the docket: Consumers to People. I can’t wait. Stay tuned.

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This Is Not Easy and It Shouldn’t Be

If you haven’t figured this out already… running a small business is not easy.
Marketing your small business’ services and products is not easy.

Nothing in this world that is worth anything of value is EASY to obtain. Well…unless you grow money on trees or you are just THAT good… The majority of us have not found the seed to grow a tree that sheds Mr. Ben Franklins ($100 bill for the layman) twice a year.

It is hard to get to where you WANT to go in life. It shouldn’t be easy.

I am amazed that people want the easy way out. How do we make this tool easier to use? How can we spend the LEAST amount of time possible to get a project completed? Why do we have to spend money on marketing? How can I get to the 4-hour work week? No thank you.

Social media marketing is not easy and it is not cheap. If you want the intangible and tangible benefits of social media tools you have to agree to work hard or pay someone to work hard for you.

Don’t confuse the concept of social media marketing to be the answer to all your problems and concerns. It works when you combine the new with the old, the traditional with the web 2.0/3.0.

If it was an easy thing to accomplish wouldn’t everyone be doing it? Wouldn’t everyone be successful at it?

What is the first step to tackling the monster? Read. Learn. Interact. Get on Facebook and go to WordPress and start a blog. After you have posted a couple of blogs and have used Facebook for at least a month… you are ready to contact a new media marketing company to take the next step.

Dive in.

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