The Brothers of Maxwell - a Canadian music duo - take their customer gripe with United Airlines beyond dissatisfaction into vestiges of folk music. At least to me. Video becomes folk commentary.
United Breaks Guitars reminds me of Charlie on the MTA.
Words are powerful. Even more when they're put to music. Even more when video is added. Even more powerful with the the ease of internet pass along. A customer service gripe becomes a "cause." Think about it ..
The recent rains awaken the heady scent of the lavender bush at the front of my house. I pass by it every day. I planted it several years ago but today the scent was exceptionally strong .. almost intoxicating. I had to stop what I was doing for an extra moment or two. Sometimes what we see all the time, what
is in front of us can be overlooked.
This afternoon an email popped into my in-box from a favorite dessert company - Dancing Deer - from Boston. I send Dancing Deer gifts all the time. Somehow I feel connected to the company for a number or reasons: Boston, my friends love their presents, the site is graphically whimsical, frequent coupons, they have "heart" in giving back to the community.
The subject line "Sweet deals and ice cream cookie sandwiches" caught my eye (it's summer and I'm making ice cream .. there goes the diet again!) and I opened and clicked into the site to find out more. The click took me to a blog. Way cool! I had no idea. Dancing Deer and I had yet something else in common - social media. Must be new I thought. Nope .. it's been around for several months.
I went back to the home page - no mention or link. I went back to the blog and searched a round some more. Oh my .. the owner, Tish Karter, was in Atlanta in April for the start of a 1500 bike ride "..to engage the public in a conversation about how to end homelessness." She blogged and vlogged her journey.
Awesome but why did I not know about this? I guess I missed the email? Surely I would have noticed that email. I mean come on .. Atlanta, social media, a bike ride from-to the 2 cities I've lived in. They reached out to bloggers - some of whom are friends. They never talked to me.
Now I'll tell you something that you might think is rather silly .. I felt a little sad. Isn't that odd? I've never met Tish, homeless is not my "cause" but If Dancing Deer had
reached out to its customer base, If they had told me about their blog
or that they were tweeting I might have been able to help. Not only that there would have been a significant brand experience creating not just a fan but a raving fan.
Adding social media to your communication strategy you give your customers more than an email, or a press release or even a free cookie. You are inviting them into your world beyond the spin of advertising or PR. Odd as it may sound - when you talk to your customers it becomes personal for them.
Sometimes, like with my lavender bush, what we see all the time, what is in front of us maybe overlooked. Developing All of your strategies with your customers in mind becomes increasingly critical if you step into the world of blogs, vlogs, twitter, Facebook, podcasts .. social media marketing.
Happy Fourth of July!
Run, walk, watch or read tweets #peachtree road race - The Peachtree is Atlanta's tradition for the 4th of July morning. Today the 2009 Peachtree Road Race celebrates its 40th anniversary back where it started at Piedmont Park. 5500 will proudly wear the 2009 Peachtree Road Race t-shirt this year.
The race is so integrated into Atlanta culture that we simply say "The Peachtree" assuming that all the world understands what that means. Talking with @Pollig this week brought that one home. My friend from Boston, well Weymouth, MA, was confused when I mentioned that after The Peachtree I'd probably join friends in Midtown tonight to watch fireworks.
I thought it does sound funny - "Watch the Peachtree." Why would you watch a street and which Peachtree street might that one be since Atlanta has 50 zillion Peachtree Streets?
How many times do we get caught up in our own company's or industry's buzz words? How often do we confuse customers and especially prospective customers? We don't mean to .. it's just part of our culture. But in doing so we construct barriers that our customers have to figure out by themselves how to maneuver around.
In marketing, especially social media marketing, that seems to happen all the time. So much so that worlds that seem obvious become platitudes. A term that social media consultants and marketers love to toss around is conversation. What are these "conversations?" What does it mean to be authentic? How do you define transparency?
Lessons learned from The Peachtree Road Race: Give your customers an unobstructed course to run your The Peachtree!
Atlanta has a lively interactive and traditional marketing community. As Jenn Bonnett's new Startup Chicks has proven there are lots of women launching exciting businesses with a tech focus. BUT I wondered .. Where are the women in Atlanta who use social media as a marketing tool? Sooo .. I'm doing what any social media marketer would do reaching out to my network on blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and offline too. My goal is to create a resource list.
If you meet this criteria please let me know. Using social media as a marketing strategy for your company/brand or helping clients use social media as a marketing strategy. Check out the other Atlanta Women in Social Media Marketing mini interviews.
Jaime Lackey Pizzeria Venti (Atlanta) @pvatl Pizzeria Venti (Atlanta) Blog
1. What
does social media marketing mean to you? - I started social media
marketing initiatives with the idea that I could help promote my
family’s new restaurant. But once I joined Twitter, I realized how much
more there is to social media. For example, we’ve been involved with
several charity fundraiser events for local organizations that I
discovered through Twitter. In other words, Twitter is helping us to
become a better corporate citizen - and the online community connects
us with our physical community.
2. My favorite social media tactic
is Twitter. At Pizzeria Venti, we have a Facebook page and a blog, but
I find Twitter to be more interactive and I really enjoy that.
3. In
140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a
social media hub? The stigma of “what I had for breakfast” tweets.
Users must experiment to find connections w/value & learn to use
social media effectively.
4. 2 sentences about your company. - At
Pizzeria Venti, we strive to bring the food and atmosphere of Italy’s
trattorias to Atlanta. The food is authentic Italian, and we do our
best to create an atmosphere that is casual and family-friendly but
that puts customer service in the highest priority.
5. I began
offering social media marketing this year, after opening the restaurant
in December 2008. We established our Facebook page first and then realized it isn’t very
easy to have a two-way conversation with fans or to reach out to people
who are not yet fans, so I looked into Twitter. Because of the
140-character limit, I realized I needed a blog so I could link to
details that take more than 140 characters. So we launched our blog in
May.
Stephanie Beckham BrainJocks @sbeckham
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? - Social Media Marketing is an outreach effort for your personal or company brand. Anyone who views it as only a way to push a product, blog or services will miss out on a huge opportunity to connect and listen.
The key word here is “social”. Social media adopters are very reluctant to being “marketed” to, so it’s kind of ironic that we actually call it marketing. Social Media is a tool that should be integrated as part of an overall marketing effort, not as a single strategy to sell. The key here is to communicate, network and above all, be real.
2. My favorite social media tactic is being social. Seriously! That’s it. Oh, and there are all these great tools that help brands strategically target the people they want to engage. These tools are free, easy to use and extremely effective.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? Pushing past our southern stereotype and proving the strength of our interactive community.
4. 2 sentences about your company - BrainJocks is an established Atlanta web technology company that provides web application and product development services grounded in thorough requirements, analysis and strategy consulting. BrainJocks combines their expertise and experience with the latest trends and technologies in web development and online marketing to help power online ideas. I primarily focus on: Sales, conversation and what’s for lunch?
5. I began using all the latest social media tools in 2008. By the way, what’s a twitter?
Lindsay Blankenship Lindsay Blankenship Razorfish @lcblankenship
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? - Razorfish calls it Social influence Marketing (SIM) in recognition of the increasing role that online social influence plays in brand affinity and purchasing decisions. Consumers are communicating and sharing opinions more and more online through social networks that shape other’s opinions whether its family, friends or a complete stranger.
2. My favorite social media tactic is testing pushing promotional snippets out to Twitter and Facebook for my clients with trackable URLs and seeing the compound effect it has on getting the message out and now turning into revenue for clients.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? Making sure we showcase our social media work locally and nationally to get social media street “creds” from our peers
4. 2 sentences about your company. - I primarily focus on Search Engine Marketing; however my company (Razorfish) is a full service digital agency and is one of the largest interactive marketing and technology companies in the world. Razorfish employs more than 2,000 people in 21 offices worldwide and have a world-class client list that includes brands like Carnival Cruise Lines, Kraft, Levi’s, McDonald’s and Starwood Hotels.
5. I began SMM personally in the Myspace days - maybe 5yrs ago. Razorfish has offered Social Influence Marketing to clients for a few years now.
Sandi Karchmer Solow I Send Your Email I Send Your Email Blog @sandisolow
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? - I think of social media marketing as a way to have a direct dialogue with your consumers and stakeholders. The channels defined as social media allow for a unique type of interaction that other marketing channels cannot achieve.
2. My favorite social media tactic is email!
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? Our city needs to find a way to differentiate itself from other major U.S. cities - what's our niche?
4. 2 sentences about your company. I am an independent email marketing consultant for companies of all sizes. Whether the company has an established program or is just getting started, I act as an outside resource for all stages of their email marketing program’s strategy and execution lifecycle.
5. I began offering social media marketing in my blog I like to cover ways for incorporating email into Twitter and Facebook. With clients I am frequently discussing coordinating their email programs with their social media plans.
Atlanta Women In Social Media Marketing
Donna Lynes-Miller GourmetStation
Grayson Daughters WaySouth Media
Lya Sorano Lya Sorano.com
Melissa Galt Today By Design
Jeaneane Sessum allied
Melissa Libby MelissaLibbyPR
Amber Rhea Being Amber Rhea
Jacki Schklar Funny Not Slutty
Laura Nolte Green Theory Interactive
Barbara Giamanco Talent Builders
Sue Rodman Field Trips With Sue
Sherry Heyl oncept Hub, Inc
Nadia Bilchik Nadia Speaks
Jen Gordon A Clever Twist
MIchelle Batten iMediaWorksConnects
Peggy Duncan PeggyDuncan.com
Diane DeSeta White Knight
Carol Flammer mRELEVANCE
JoAnn Hines Packaging Launch
Linda Lindsay Insol
Jamie Lackey Pizzeria Venti (Atlanta)
Stephanie Beckham BrainJocks
Lindsay Blankenship Lindsay Blankenship Razorfish
Sandi Karchmer Solow I Send Your Email
and me! Toby Bloomberg Diva Marketing
This morning, after I washed the news print off of my fingers from the Sunday New York Times, I downloaded some sample chapters on to my Kindle. Several of those books were recommended to me by my dear friends at amazon.com. Others I found on blogs and through Twitter. The world of publishing is not simply changing .. it is colliding with technology and the world of social media.
Don't just take the word of a digital author but people in traditional publishing are taking out their red pens and looking at their current models with a critical eye. If the publishing business is to stay in business I would encourage publishers and editors to take a cue from the lessons that marketers have learned over the past few years. What is important to understand is that these changes come with options for the reader/customer. The "delivery channel" choice may be as important as the content. Do your readers want digital or traditional or an integration of both?
This month Debbie Stier @debbiestier - SVP, Associate Publisher, Harper Studio, Kaylie Jones @KaylieJones - best selling novelist ("Lies My Mother Never Told Me." "A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries"), Kevin Heisler (@KevinHeisler - literary executor and Ron Hogan @RonHogan - curator, Beatrice.com gave their insights about the future of publishing at the 140 Character Conference. The video is well worth a view.
Then there is the other Big Question: How are readers finding books in the new world of tweets, Facebook, blogs? Is the library still important? How has the promotion and building a readership community changed? Publishers and agents tell me not to even consider submitting a proposal without a comprehensive marketing strategy that includes social media tactics. The rules of engaging with editors are in flux also. If you follow me on Twitter or you Friend me on Facebook does that mean it's okay to send you a proposal without an agent?
Nathan Bransford, Literary Agent recently asked his readers- "Where did you hear about the book you're reading?" Over 300 people responded. I was curious about the break down and did a very informal tally. What is probably valid is not the count but the weight of each category.
It will be interesting to see how social media impacts traditional publishing, what emerges as new publishing model/s, who will lead the innovation and who will close their doors. In the mean time I'm curious .. "Where did you hear about the book you're reading?"
The best quote from the aima (Atlanta Interactive Marketing Assoc) June meeting last night was from Carl Warner, JWT/Atlanta who told us what a Marine general had to say about social media.
Seems the agency had briefed the General (the Marines are a client) on social media. My sense is that Carl was a little disappointed in the General's response. Not me! I would have jumped up and hugged the General (Is it against protocol to hug a Marine general?) and said, "Yes! Sir, that was brilliant! You get it. Social media is undisciplined. It is messy. It is coloring outside of the lines."
I would have then expanded our discussion to what are "social media conversations." We'd probably talk about in social media conversations, as in any conversation, there are the people who initiate the discussion and those who respond. Conversations (including videos, photos and podcasts) that are started by civilians might not be nice and neat. In fact they may even be passionate. Who knows who will say what or when or how .. yes, General - very undisciplined. But when you think about it most conversations with friends are spontaneous and don't follow predetermined rules (except perhaps a few rules of etiquette).
Then I'd ask the General to look at social media conversations from the view of an organization or a brand or in this case the Marines. I'm betting he'd be pleased to know there can be .. should be .. some structure to participating in the conversation. That means planning. Strategy is something that I'm sure the good General understands well.
We'd go on to talk about the conversations that take place in the public "parks and spaces" of the internet say on Twitter or Facebook or MySpace versus those that happen in his digital home .. say a blog or community built by the Marines. Although house rules can't be imposed in public gathering places, just as you have expectations for guests visiting your home or office, it is acceptable to have a few guidelines for your online visitors. I'd point him to this post where he could see some great examples of corporate blogging/social media guidelines.
Along the way I'm sure we'd discuss how a strategic direction for his Marines who participate in online conversations would begin with some guidelines. We'd talk about the "brand values" and the love that the Marines have for the Marines. We'd talk about how even in a world that appears to be chaotic there can be some structure and at the same time authenticity. We'd talk about why the Marines would even want to be part of this untamed world.
I'm betting we'd come to the same conclusions that many business owner, CMOs, brand managers have when it comes to social media. At the end of the post or tweet or podcast or vlog or social network it's about the relationships we build and nurture with our customers which leads to achieving the purpose of the business or non profit or the Marines. To bring that full circle .. that can not be done without knowing where you are going. Yes, General the social world is indeed undisciplined but if you use social media as a marketing strategy that becomes more manageable with a strategic overlay.
Diva Marketing Talks is a live, internet radio (BlogTalkRadio) show. 30-minutes. 2-guests. 1-topic about social media marketing. Why? To help you understand how to participate in the "new" conversation without getting blown-up. Miss today's show? You can pick it up as a podcast or listen on your computer.
On today's Diva Marketing Talks CK Kerley - Epiphany and
Valeria Maltoni -Conversation Agent join me to discuss what is frequently at the center of social media marketing .. the infamous "conversation." Can tools like blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc., that were created
for just people to keep in touch with friends and family - not to promote
the latest computer or coffee products, be used by marketers to have authentic
conversations with their customers? How do we over come hurdles to keepin’ it real? And by the way .. what is real any way?
Thanks Valeria for the awesome 3 Divas graphic!
Topic for June 23, 2009:
Time: 6:00p - 6:30p Eastern/ 5:p - 5:30p Central/ 4:00p -4:30p Mountain/ 3:00p -3:30p Pacific
Call-in Guest Number: 718.508.9924 .
Christina "CK" Kerley
High-energy, high-impact marketing specialist Christina Kerley--known simply as "CK"--has been bolstering businesses, brands and causes for over 15 years. Her approach leverages the best of new world and old by blending tried-and-true marketing principles with new technologies (and new practices). More information, tips and goodies available at CK-Blog.
Valeria Maltoni
Valeria Maltoni helps businesses understand how customers and communities have changed marketing, public relations, and communications - and how to build value in this new environment. As a communicator with 20 years of experience, 10 of which online, she specializes in marketing communications, customer dialogue, and brand management.
Valeria has come to define modern business as a long and open conversation. Conversation Agent is recognized among the world's top online marketing blogs. Valeria was handpicked by Fast Company as Expert blogger to write about creating conversations between marketer and customer. She built one of the first online communities affiliated with the magazine.
She is a contributor to Marketing Profs Daily Fix, Marketing 2.0, Social Media Today, and The Blog Herald. She is on the Advisory Board of SmartBrief on Social Media. She is a co-author of The Age of Conversation, a groundbreaking eBook collaboration by 103 of today's top marketing writers. Valeria’s deep experience across a broad array of mid-to-large sized companies in the technology, health care, manufacturing, risk management consulting, non-profit and public sectors have provided her with a wealth of experience and insights.
Tips From The Diva Bag
Complements of Christina "CK" Kerley
1: To succeed in social media, brands must get past thinking “technology” and, instead, think “humans.” As silly as this might sound, you would be amazed how often companies get sidetracked with “all they can do” with Web 2.0 technologies instead of “all the relationships they can build” through these tools.
*Action Point*: In all of your social media programs and communications, instead of focusing on the technology, focus on the people you can connect with and how you will use these tools to open communications with them, add value to their work and/or lives and help them connect with others who share like interests. This simple shift in focus will net extraordinary rewards.
2: Moving from ‘The’ to ‘Me’ is tough stuff (but leap we must). Up until now, when companies have spoken with their markets it's been in broadcasts from “THE” brand, not communications in the “Me” voice. Due to this sea change in communicating with customers, it can be difficult at first to find one’s footing and personal voice... but once companies do, they find it refreshingly natural and their markets find it much easier to communicate with them. Remember, it's hard to like a machine; but it's easy to love a person.
*Action Point* Decide which individuals in your company will represent your brand online and how their unique personalities will dovetail with the personality that you’ve already established for your brand. These representatives will now come to signify and be synonymous with the brand since consumers and professionals can now communicate with them (instead of one-way communications found in other media).
In turn, these representatives are able to build valuable customer relationships and brand advocates that will serve to benefit the brand through Word-of-Mouth mentions, referrals and recommendations.
3: To increase buzz, drop the buzzwords. Learning how customers actually speak can be a big learning curve. We have become so comfortable in our “buzzword bubbles” that we lose sight of how silly we often sound—this is especially true in B2B communications since the subject matter can be quite complex.
But we no longer need to guess or assume how our markets speak, because the Social Web enables us to see how they speak every day (and for free!). And the best marketers aren’t talking nearly as much as they’re listening.
*Action Point* Review online conversations from your market and compare those to your own communications… then assess where your language can be more conversational, less like a talking brochure. After all, social media is a dialogue not a monologue and people become very sensitive to sterile messaging and buzzword-laden conversations.
And for B2B brands, just because you’re speaking in a more conversational manner does not mean you’ll come off as unprofessional or too casual—you’ll just be that much more relatable to your markets.
Complements of Valeria Maltoni
1. Be honest about what you're looking for and you will gain insights in return. According to the 2009 Tribalization of Media study conducted by BeeLine Labs in conjunction with with Deloitte and The Society for New Media Research, market research and insight is the top purpose for companies that seek to build online communities. Successful companies:
Social media is not about a new media channel, it’s about the social taking root in all aspects of business. Businesses that are increasinly seeking more word of mouth for their products and services should be aware of the impact of group behavior on product and service influence and engagement - externally and internally.
2. Celebrate the people where they are, not the products. People within an organization who are blogging, or tweeting, etc. as part of their jobs can have “real” conversations and still represent the brand if they focus on customers and act human. Encouraging fans and evangelists, instead of shutting them down or worse, hitting them with IP infringement sanctions, goes a long way in doing that.
For example, why would you close down a fan site that is generating thousands of hits? Yet, that's exactly what Mars did. This is a cultural thing. Usually top management is focused on remaining competitive and that means on those processes that will allow the organization to operate efficiently and stay aligned behind its own message. Customers and employees rarely have a moment of celebration that is theirs in this kind of environment.
3. You need to like who you are and accept it. I recently wrote a post about it. Even on the Web, you've got to like who you are to sound authentic. This is valid for companies, brands, and people. The relationships, business, followers, whatever that may be, are all outcomes.
To have the outcomes, you need to be open to them. It goes beyond having a personality to embracing what you're about. It means allowing your employees to show their humanity. Is your organization encouraging that for real or are you just going through the moves? This is such a gray area at the moment.
For example, has your organization given any thought as to what it's going to do with the accounts in the names of the employees it is asking to tweet and blog on its behalf? Is it going to take over the account once the employee moves on?
That kind of consideration may be holding you back. Employees are also who you are - perhaps even more so, if they're engaging customers. Successful companies are embracing and facilitating conversations where and how they're happening without worrying too much about keeping it all inside the walls or about the popularity of line employees vs. the C-Suite.
Add one more virtual place to network to your list .. TweetChats. Oh no! girlfriend you might be thinking not another social media thing to add to my running list .. and what is a tweetchat anyway?
Anita Campbell, Small Business Trends, has a great definition.
When Marc Meyer asked me to host one of the most popular Tweetchats this week I said .. of course! Held weekly, Tuesdays from noon - 1p, #socialmedia explores issues about social media marketing. The focus this week was on the "hidden demographics" of social media like bebe boomers, women etc. etc. etc. Title: Deciding the “now what” and the “who with” of social media in your company.
The exchange of ideas was fast, furious, exciting .. and the people .. so smart. Moderating was like running a race while juggling 50 balls in the air. Although #socialmedia is structured around 3 20-minute segments each with a unique question, it was fascinating to watch the sidebar conversations occurring simultaneously. The questions:
#1. What demographics are most powerful in each of the top social networks? And Why?
#2. Which demographics are most overlooked, ignored, or taken for granted, in the top tier social networks? Why?
#3. With the increase of social media usage, which demographics will drive innovation in social networking?
I found that our conversation didn't really follow the progression of the questions as much as some other tweetchats might have; but the discussion happened naturally on its own accord. With tosses of a pink boa to the amazing people who generously shared their opinions and experience and to Marc Meyer and Jason Breed the sponsors .. here are my takes of the highlights.
Boomers
The Baby Boomer generation maybe late in getting to this party but according to comScore there are about 16.5 million adults ages 55 and older engaged in social networking.
@conniereece - All I can say is that marketers need 2 wake up 2 how many boomers R online & how they use socnets. Connie thinks that boomers are the "lost demo" and not only for profits but nonprofits are missing opportunities.
Even in this economy, Boomers have more $ to spend then the X-Yers. Note to brand marketers (and main stream media): Take off your cool shades the internet and social networks are Not only for the "youngsters."
The challenge for brands per @CBWhittemore is to make it .." relevant to baby boomers & others b/c new marketplace imperatives."
The challenge for people who have not grown up with new technologies is understanding how to use the tools. A wrong click will not necessarily bring down the Internet or explode your computer. On a personal level @evelynso shared a great idea .. that might help grandparents have an ah ha! moment. Think of Flickr or Facebook as a global grandkids brag book. You get to share those cute photos of your precious darlings with your closet Friends; and if you wish some you might not know yet.
When it comes to How generations use social media platforms we noticed a few differences. - seniors/ Boomers have a different $ management style. Check
alternatives - sometimes SM is cheaper & faster. From @evelynso and @marc_meyers - boomers share content Gen Y shares the intimate details of their lives.
Where are the Boomers hangin' out? Consensus seems to be on Facebook. Very few boomer friends (male or female) on Twitter. For @conniereece - Lots on FB now, and a few on LinkedIn. @sonnygill thinks that - demos on the more established networks are wider ranged than Twitter is (namely boomers).
Wondering ... will we see a change as Gen Y's and Millenniums' careers shift into management levels and the Boomers become more comfortable with open conversations? Also will Boomers leaving the work force (those that can afford to do so!) result in more transparency in their social media interactions? In other words will the cultures flip-flop?
Gen Y
When it came to Gen Y we thought they were tech savvy but lacking in social media marketing, strategy expertise. @CathyWebSavvyPR
- I've heard from some college students that SM is a part of social
life, they can't see applications. That was my experience too when I
presented social media marketing to an advertising class at UGA.
When it comes to Twitter - @dcgf - I think it's Gen Y who are not very "savvy" w/Twitter. The movers and shakers on here are older...However @CathyWebSavvyPR believes that - I think Gen x/Y will once they begin entering the workforce & needing to use SM. their learning curve may B shorter
Can Social Media Close the Generation Gap?
Example of one of the sidebar tweet conversations
>At the risk of making assumptions, I'd hazard to say that the ave age of THIS "unConference" is over 35! (don't hate-ha) - @dcgf
>@dcgf
as an Mil-gen are you comfortable engaging with the 'older' peeps on
twitter? @dcgf could social media be the way to close the generation
gap? - @tobydiva
>def closes gen gap and @Mark_Meyer I think all gen's want to feel like they're being engaged on a personal level - @dcgf
Women
We wondered where women were hanging out online and if they were using social media diffently than men. Most of our tweets were based on observation and personal experience. @Verbatim told us that - Research shows men preferring Twitter and women, FB. Which makes sense to me, FB being more personal details.
@conniereece in regard to Twitter - if you look at *what* men/women post on Twitter, it's different. Women more likely to share, men to broadcast. #socialmedia (generalization). Seems that a guy agrees with Connie - @marc_meyer men generalize and women socialize...?
Tweets were not all serious we had some giggles along the way. @wpmc - Saw a book on communications "Men are Like Waffles, Women are Like Spaghetti" - Facebook is like spaghetti.
@CathyWebSavvyPR brought out an interesting point that brands should consider when using Facebook to reach women. - I know many women feel that FB is for freinds & family & resent the intrusion of business there. others like it.
Social Media Marketing
We also talked about what is social media? @greenhance offered an interesting concept - Altho I've no proof, I think SM adoption is personality driven. Some are more likely to use Twitter, others FB, etc.
@marc_meyer looked at in from this point of view - Twitter is 4 biz Linkedin is 4 networking, FB is the playground, or something like that. any1 remember the analogy?
When it comes right down to it people agreed with @ddeseta - It's not about the most followers. It's about having the most relevance within yoursphere. and with @mrochte - It's about convening not controlling #SocialMedia " - that's the message we need to understand http://on.ted.com/y mrochte
When it came down to what to make of the "hidden demographics" @greenhance reminded us - Brands can cultivate real loyalty with SM in a way that was previously limited by geography/reach. Social media is one aspect of marketingmarketing basics.
To wrap this up it's back to marketing basics - know who your customers are/where they hang out/what they want. @tobydiva Be careful of what you think you know.. your truth might be an illusion.
Resources
Business Week Social Media Gender Gap
Pew Internet has extensive stats on social media
Forrester Social Technology Profile Tool - John Cass for the link!
Blogher 2009 Women and Social Media Study
Passing along a rather cool "by invitation only" shopping site, bTrendie, that is modeled after QVC. Items, discounted up to 60%, are available for only a short time.
Products are for kids so any mommy bloggers popping by check it out. BBF Jeneane Sessum is behind the marketing and created a special code of us - BlogDiva. Would be cool if they expand into Diva Stuff!
Hope to win the free birthday party package for Olivia who turns 13 this month and is still bravely batteling Cystic Fibrosis.
It's Atlanta. It's not even summer. And it's hot. Although that's just the way it is in Hot'lanta come almost summer it seems like a surprise. People nod and say, "Yup sure is hot."
It's a blog or a tweet or a vlog about your brand. It's not even dressed up in your company's pretty packaging. And it's the raw voice of your customer. Although that's just the way social media is it seems like a surprise. People nod and say, "How can we control it?
Summer is hot.
Social media is come as you are.
At this point it shouldn't come as a big surprise to us.
That's just the way it is.
Friday Fun is Diva Marketing's virtual happy hour from cosmos to Jack to lemonade. A waiting for the weekend 'playground' time to be sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just plain silly.
In the world of social media Facebook, Twitter and other social networks have taken center stage. Our old friend .. the blog .. seems to be relegated to a role in the chorus. Of course social networks can play an important part in social media marketing, however, the platform is not Yours. It will never be Yours. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and every community on Ning could go away tomorrow. All of your contacts, all of your content could blow away like dandelion seeds in the wind.
Blogs, (that you serve yourself) are always Yours (at least until the server crashes or a hacker blows up your site). #BringBackTheBlog is an occasional series on Diva Marketing that highlights some of the great work in the blogosphere.
Blogs do take more time and care than a 140 character tweet or a Facebook wall post. The challenge becomes updating with relevant, interesting content. According to Nettie Harsock, "Conversational content is the base ingredient to any blog truly thriving and engaging a community long-term." Nettie offers 5 Tips For Conversational Content.
Fard Johnmar HealthCareVox has been writing smart posts about healthcare in social media since 2006. His recent post is a great example of building content from other sources, In his post about media consumption habits of e-patients he incorporates findings from the Pew Social Life of Health Information study. By the way did you know that although people are looking for medical information online, including peer reviews, less than 40% use social networks like Facebook and only only 12% are currently taking advantage of Twitter?
Unlike an article written in main stream media, social media provides an opportunity to tell your stories when you want, how you want, without the filter of a reporter or editor. While business story telling follows a similar format to those you read as a kid, there are a few differences. Katya Andresen Getting To The Point, provides us how-to direction including a story telling check list.
When it comes to story telling blog posts that end in marketing lessons no one does it better than Ann Handley - Annarchy. Ann's talent for creating stories about simple every day happenings in her life not only engages us but endears us to her. Word of caution .. don't enter the world of Annarchy unless you have a few spare moments.
When we think of blog posts we usually think of T-E-X-T. However, since blogs are websites and anything you can include in a website you can incorporate into a blog post think photos and videos. Paul Chaney's, The Social Media Handyman, use of video interviews is an excellent example of the versatility of blog content. Paul does one - two minute interviews at the 140 Twitter Conference.
Read more in the all tweet book - Social Media Marketing GPS #smgps - Chapter 6 Tactics Second interviews with Yvonne DiVita and Julie Squires about blogs
When you first step into social media it's often like being the new kid on the block. Sometimes you might feel shy or uncertain about how to or who to play with in your new neighborhood. What do you do when you're the new kid on the block? You reach out to people with the hope that a couple might turn into "friends."
Although Diva Marketing had its 5th blog birthday last month I felt a like a stranger in my own home town. Want to know an awesome woman in India - I can put you to touch with Dina Mehta or perhaps you need a cool diva in Germany - happy to introduce you to Nicole Simon or maybe you'd like to know about vlogs in Hawaii, I'm sure Roxanne Darling would be glad to chat with you.
But when it came to the cool Atlanta divas working in social media marketing my network was sadly struggling. So I did what any social media marketing diva would do I began a networking search through blogs, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, email and traditional WOM too. That search morphed into the creation of a resource list of the Atlanta Women in Social Media Marketing. My thoughts are that this is a work in process .. it all comes down to the relationship.
Criteria: using social media as a marketing strategy for your business ventures or helping clients use social media as a marketing strategy. Look for the Atlanta Women in Social Media Marketing posts over the next couple of weeks.
Where are the Atlanta Women in social media marketing? Part 3 [Part 1 Part 2]
Jen Gordon A Clever Twist Who Is Jen Gordon @Jen Gordon @aclevertwist
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? - Social Media marketing seems like an oxymoron at first, but I think it really just means building a community around a common interest and making a product relevant and interesting- not just trying to sell something.
2. My favorite social media tactic is blogging to me is also the best medium because it gives you more opportunity to express a complete thought. A how-to. Give people something to hang on to and learn from. Blogging can be more of a teaching tool and a lot of social media marketing is about sharing expertise.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? – I think the greatest challenge is proximity to Silicon Valley and some of these places where the innovation is at warp speed.
4. 2 sentences about your company. - Clever Twist designs and develops creative and interesting applications for companies or individuals across all fields of interest. We specialize in custom (and frequently humorous) iPhone and Facebook applications.
5. I began offering social media marketing in Fall of 2008, with the launch of Clever Twist.
Michelle Batten iMediaWorksConnect BlogTalkRadio @iMWconnect @AtlCavalier
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? – To me, true social media is passion + sharing = connecting; the marketing part is really about tapping into the right audience with the right message at the right time in a valuable way so its relevant and acted upon.
2. My favorite social media tactic is reading and commenting on other people's blogs/tweets. Shows you're listening and invites them and others around them to start a dialogue with you.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? WILLPOWER. We must make it an ongoing priority 2 build + maintain connections across disciplines: brands, non-prof, gov, edu, start-ups. This involves listening, sharing + carving the time out 2 participate.
4. 2 sentences about your company. - iMediaWorks helps brands learn how to tell their story, amplify their experience and nurture their tribe and its culture through an integrated interactive communications strategy that puts social media and other digital channels at the core. Our team Creates Digital Roadmaps for brands as well as offers specific consulting services in areas such as digital branding, customer segmentation, cross-channel optimization and decision-based performance analytics. I primarily focus on B2C and non-profits.
5. Began in social media marketing in the Fall of 2006. Currently conducting a research study of the Fortune 500’s use of social media across 8 channels, which will be featured in my new blog series “Will They Stay or Will They Go?” airing Thursdays at 4pm on BlogTalk radio. Also serving as Programming Co-Chair for the Atlanta Chapter of The Social Media Club, which meets the 2nd Thursday of each month.
Peggy Duncan – PeggyDuncan.com SuiteMinute @peggyduncan
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? - It’s magnetic marketing that draws people from all over the world to you and vice versa.
2. My favorite social media tactic is keeping my blog content fresh with technology discussions that everyday people can understand and use.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? - You can be southern and savvy. For some strange reason people are still surprised by that.
4. 2 sentences about your company. – My main focus is on improving personal productivity through training and consulting on organization, time management, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and shameless self-promotion with WordPress. I travel internationally, am an author of several books on my topics, and an award-winning technology blogger.
5. Began in social media marketing March 2007, I transferred my 8-year old Webzine to a blog and kept the same focus of demystifying technology. I'm now conducting a WordPress Blogging Bootcamp for small business owners. They learn how to create a self-hosted WordPress blog, optimize it for search engines, and connect it with other social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. This ties perfectly to my expertise in personal productivity because I also teach how to find time to do all this.
Diane DeSeta White Knight @ddeseta
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? - Social media marketing is about transparency, honesty, tolerance, and giving. As individuals we have the ability to make meaningful connections with people by engaging in dialogue around common themes. For companies it's an opportunity to reveal the humanity behind the brands by encouraging sincere dialogue with customers which can be a potent influence on customer loyalty.
2. My favorite social media tactic is Crowd Sourcing. I consistently reach out to my network of colleagues and clients to vet ideas, help spread the word, and get valuable feedback on marketing campaigns. The crowd is the source in social media.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? Recognizing that we already are a social media hub for the South East.
4. 2 sentences about your company. – My six year old company, WhiteKnightllc is an interactive marketing agency that specializes in creating immersive interactive marketing experiences on the web that engage customers with brands in a meaningful way. We service clients of all sizes in both the B2B and B2C spaces.
5. I began offering social media marketing /or using social media marketing - Our company began offering social media marketing services to clients in 2004 beginning with Fox Interactive Media. Most recently my social media activities include serving as Co-Chair for the Atlanta Chapter of the Social Media Club and spinning tunes as a DJ on blip.fm.
Carol Flammer mRelevance Atlanta Real Estate Forum @AtlantaPR @mRELEVANCE
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? - Social media marketing is about attracting, educating and engaging buyers online. It is a powerful optimization tool, as well as a way to manage reputation, build brand and create community. One of my favorite articles on our blog.
2. My favorite social media tactic is blogging.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? - Atlanta’s social media hub challenge is the same as many cities – lack of talent to effectively tie it all together online - Relevance.
4. 2 sentences about your company. - mRELEVANCE is a social media, Internet marketing and public relations agency creating relevant on and offline relationships for clients. We are known for creating effective web presence with strong content, call to action and measurable ROI. I primarily focus on: B2B, B2C (or your could say Real Estate and related industries)
5. I began offering social media marketing - We started repurposing content online and blogging on behalf of clients in 2006. It was referred to as new media at the time.
JoAnn Hines Packaging Launch Packaging Diva Packaging University @PackagingDiva
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? - Social Media to me is engaging your best audience in a meaningful, constructive manner.
2. My favorite social media tactic is answers questions and provides timely insights, relevant advice plus a few laughs along the way.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? Anonymity of the key players.
4. 2 sentences about your company. - I package people, products and services. I'm one of the most "connected" people in packaging, the 3rd largest industry in the US.
Linda Lindsey Insol @Insol_IT Little Brown Dog Marketing
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? – Social media marketing - finally something new to play with! What's not to like? It's easy, free, fast, track-able, interesting, it's perfect for today's "got to have it now, the way I want it" culture. I've always been fascinated by the sociology behind what makes people do anything, especially interact with a brand.
2. My favorite social media tactic is twitter ... love the varying functionality like twitterhawk ...
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? There is no reason Atlanta cannot be a social media hub…
4. 2 sentences about your company. – Insol takes care of existing and future Information Management requirements by addressing the full life cycle of network services for small and medium sized businesses in Atlanta. Focus is primarily B2B.
5. I began in social media marketing – 2008.
Atlanta Women in Social Media
Donna Lynes-Miller GourmetStation
Grayson Daughters WaySouth Media
Lya Sorano Lya Sorano.com
Melissa Galt Today By Design
Jeaneane Sessum allied
Melissa Libby MelissaLibbyPR
Amber Rhea Being Amber Rhea
Jacki Schklar Funny Not Slutty
Laura Nolte Green Theory Interactive
Barbara Giamanco Talent Builders
Sue Rodman Field Trips With Sue
Sherry Heyl oncept Hub, Inc
Nadia Bilchik Nadia Speaks
Jen Gordon A Clever Twist
MIchelle Batten iMediaWorksConnects
Peggy Duncan PeggyDuncan.com
Diane DeSeta White Knight
Carol Flammer mRELEVANCE
JoAnn Hines Packaging Launch
Linda Lindsay Insol
and me! Toby Bloomberg Diva Marketing
Where are the Atlanta women in social media marketing? Where are the women on the client/brand side? If you want to be included or know of anyone who meets the criteria please leave a comment or shoot me an email.
"We are moving from technology-centric applications to people-centric applications that conform to our relationships and identities. The social graph is enabling a new Web experience that will transform the way we work, learn, and interact across every aspect of our lives." Clara Shih, the Facebook Era
I agree with Clara Shih, and think that the Facebook Era is one of the smartest books about social networks. However, although it is technology that proples the experience the reason social media works is actually very simple. At its heart it's people connecting with each other, telling their stories, sharing their lives. What you share depends on your comfort level of giving pieces of yourself to your digital network.
When those stories and experiences involve brands, organizations, service then it becomes part of "social media marketing." The stories that are tweeted or blogged or put on a Facebook page are exposed to your expanded network. Through digital word-of-mouth your opinions may influence the purchase behavior of people you don't even know.
Sooo .. let me tell you a story. - Today I arrived in a small town in Pennsylvania - Johnstown to speak about social media at PA Development Center's Annual Conference (waves to Elyse Harvey who was wonderful to work with on this project!). I dropped Max off at the vets (with instructions for extra walks and doggie ice cream treats) at 10a and after a long day of travel from ATL to IAD to JST I walked into the Holiday Inn at 6:30p .. famished.
Now I must admit my expectations of Harrigan's Restaurant at the Holiday Inn was .. well .. not very high. In fact, I tried to find another place to eat. Went so far as to do a few Urban Spoon shakes which turned up pretty much only fast food. Sometimes you turn a corner and are delightfully surprised. The venue itself was inviting, Lori, my waitress or is the pc term 'server?' was awesome and most importantly the food was excellent.
To help demonstrate social media and stories for the workshop Lori graciously agreed to have her photo posted, with the amazing dessert tray, on Twitter, Facebook and Diva Marketing. Next time you're in Johnstown, PA head to the Harrigans and ask for Lori .. I promise you won't be disappointed.
Where will this go? Who in my social media network will see a post, tweet or Facebook page? Will the post or tweet make its way into someone's search for Johnstown restaurants or Harrigans? Will Lori make a few extra tips?
So what is great social media marketing? It's all about the stories and the people and the beat goes on and on and on and on ....
Social media marketing is not Only about marketing. Social media influences the way we interact with customers and with the people within our organizations. Social media changes the way we do business.
Recently I spoke about social media marketing to a savvy group of small business owners at the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. No where are employee relations more personal than within a small business. Not only are heart and soul pouring into the day-to-day operations but for most small business owners "the business" takes on its own personae becoming almost a family member.
The session about Facebook with the Chamber members opened an interesting conversation when a women (let's call her Mary) shared her Facebook story. It seemed one of her employees (let's call her Ann) posted to her Facebook wall that she was "bored" with her job. Mary's son was a Facebook Friend (of Ann's) and told his mom. Mary's initial reaction was anger that Ann was wasting time on a personal Facebook page and not doing her job.
Feedback from the other small business owners ranged from you must be careful what you post since you never know who might be listening or telling other people to agreeing with Mary's view to suggestions to have Ann take over the company's Facebook page. Ironically, the company's Facebook page was Ann's responsibility.
Not knowing these good people nor the culture of Mary's company, I didn't want to alienate them, however, it was important for them to understand the bigger social media lessons that they could take back to their organizations.
1. Mary had a new important piece of information about a staff member and perhaps her company.
2. Mary's company was now in public view for other people to see their internal culture.
Social media is not only impacting marketing but management issues that are more complex than a simple Facebook or Twitter post. All that said, social media management should not be used as a new James Bond espionage tool but information to make companies more responsive to internal process. Because as Sybil Sterchic might say social media provides a new way to take care of the people who matter most .. your employees.Who in turn take care of your customers .and make sure as Becky Carroll might say Customers Rock.
Part 2 of Where Are the Atlanta Women in Social Media Marketing?
Part 1
For me, the secret sauce of social media marketing is in how the tech tools with odd sounding names like blogs and wikis and Twitter can build and nurture old fashion corner grocer store relationships. While my travels in social media extended my network across the States and several oceans a few weeks ago I realized I knew few women in social media marketing in my own home town - Atlanta.
To borrow a phrase from my friends at BlogHer I wondered, "Where are the Atlanta women working in social media marketing?" I'm on the search find the talented Hot'lanta social media divas and in doing so create a resource list that will shine a light on them.
Criteria: using social media as a marketing strategy for your business ventures or helping clients use social media as a marketing strategy. Look for the Atlanta Women in Social Media Marketing posts over the next couple of weeks.
Atlanta Women In Social Media Marketing
Jacki Schklar Funny Not Slutty @JackiSchklar
1.
What does social media marketing mean to you? - It means having a forum
to become friends with comedy producers in the UK and Tel Aviv and
working together with them remotely. It means introducing a talented
Australian artist to new fans in the US.
2. My favorite social media tactic is bonding with humor.
3.
In 140 characters what is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a
social media hub?- I think of a social media hub in terms of industry
or interest, not geographical location. I get emails from people who
think I’m in NYC or LA on a regular basis because of my affiliation
with those cities.
4. 2 sentences about your company. – Funny not
Slutty features comedy for women created by female producers, writers,
humorists and comedians. Our content may be a little smarter and a
little deeper than your average web humor (sometimes). Focus is on B2B
and B2C.
5. Began in social media marketing - With the promotion of my
animation project, How to Live and Eat like a Southern Jewish Princess,
in 2008. I had previous interactive and journalism experience so it was
an easy transition.
Laura Nolte Green Theory Interactive @Laura_nolte
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? -Social Media marketing is a very accessible and cost effective way to learn about and engage my client’s customers and prospects. This medium is unmatched in terms of the breadth and depth of targeting that it offers.
2. My favorite social media tactic is contributing to the content and community in highly specialized LinkedIn groups to generate B2B leads. This is particularly effective when targeting C-level executives.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? As a city with a big media presence including TBS, Atlanta is poised for social media growth. The key will be getting Atlanta’s big brands to support this medium.
4. 2 sentences about your company. - Green Theory is a marketing consultancy that works primarily with venture backed startup companies. We develop marketing plans, install marketing technologies and hire marketing teams. 60% of my focus is on B2B marketing and the other 40% is on B2C marketing.
5. Began in social media marketing - I started using social media in 2001 by interacting with food blogs and I started using social media as a marketing tool for clients in 2004 by testing content and advertising on blogs.
Barbara Giamanco Talent Builders Barbara Giamanco @barbaragiamanco
1. What
does social media marketing mean to you? - For me, social media
marketing is the opportunity to create community, conversation and
connection with people anywhere in the world. Used effectively, you can
build brand awareness, demonstrate credibility and capability, and
create relationships with potential buyers long before you meet them.
2.
My favorite social media tactic is sharing valuable content. I use a
variety of social media tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter,
BlogTalkRadio, Delicious, Blogs and more to keep abreast of information
that I then can share with potential clients, current clients or
colleagues that I know will find value in the information. I’m all
about “give to receive”.
3. In 140 characters - What is
Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? -
Atlanta’s current challenge is the “flash in the pan – look at me I’m
an expert” types claiming to understand social media. They don't.
**Add this if you want too…I wanted to stay within the 140 character
request. And a hub implies interconnectedness, but I notice more
individual focus versus a willingness to team up with others to create
something powerful. Ironic given the nature of what “social” media is
all about.
4. 2 sentences about your company – About Talent
Builders: We help business owners and sales teams accelerate the sales
cycle by better qualifying sales opportunities on the front end. The
result is faster close rates and a reduction in wasted money and time.
Our talented team of professionals brings to the table an impressive
array of experience, skills and abilities to assist you in achieving
your sales goals. My primary focus is B2B.
5. Began in social
media marketing - Since 1997 while still at Microsoft, I began working
with the early tools. I headed up Microsoft’s first sales team to
support Internet retailers like Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. My
corporate career was in technology, so I’ve always been an early
adopter and a closet “tech geek”. I have been proactively using
LinkedIn, email marketing and internet radio since about 2004. As other
tools came out like Delicious, Ning, Twitter, etc. I jumped on early
and learned how to integrate them into my sales/marketing strategies.
Blogging took me some time to get in a groove with, but now I’m a very
active blogger.
Sue Rodman Field Trips With Sue @suerodman
1.
Social media marketing offers people and brands the opportunity to
find, build and nurture relationships online, making offline activities
more meaningful. If I follow someone on twitter or see their status or
photos on Facebook, I have some reference for discussion the next time
(or the first time) we meet in person.
2. My favorite social
media tactic is my blog fieldtripswithsue.com. It gives me an excuse to
do fun things with my kids, has become a conversation piece with
friends old and new and opened up doors professionally. It's also been
a great learning tool.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's
greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? - Time. Everyone
wants results tomorrow. Social media is about building relationships,
it doesn't happen overnight. But when it does, it's extremely powerful.
4. 2 sentences about your company. - Fieldtripswithsue.com is
about inexpensive things to do in and around metro Atlanta with
children. It's been nominated as best local blog in the Nickelodeon
Parents' Pick Awards (vote early and often, each day until July 15).
The blog also serves as a testing/ proving ground to
learn more about social media and how to use it for marketing and public relations.
5. Began in social media marketing - February 08 - I
attended SoCon. The big takeaway was that you have to jump in and do
something. Field Trips with Sue was started in Nov. 08 so I could do
something and learn. (It took a while to determine what that something
would be.)
Sherry Heyl Concept Hub, Inc @sherryheyl
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? - Social Media
gives everyone a voice. It is as important as the printing press was
and has disrupted every business model that exist today and is
challenging every assumption we have held about what we are capable of.
2. My favorite social media tactic is status updates throughout my
various networks which helps me to share information and stay top of
mind.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming
a social media hub? Learning to work together as a community.
4. 2 sentences about your company - Launched in 2005, Concept Hub, Inc
is a full service social media agency. Services include; Social Media
Business Plans, Customized Training, and Campaign Management.
I primarily focus on: B2B, B2C, Nonprofit, Education
5. I began in social media marketing Oct 2005
Nadia Bilchik Nadia Speaks Nadia Bilchik @nadiabilchik
1.
What does social media marketing mean to you? - Social Media Marketing
is a way for me to communicate my expertise with many people in a new
way.
2. My favorite social media tactic is using Twitter to tell people about my experiences.
3.
In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a
social media hub? - Atlanta’s biggest challenge is not embracing social
media more!
4. 2 sentences about your company. - Greater Impact
Communucation is a Media and Presentation Skills training company. We
focus on getting individuals to leverage their Personal Presence and to
Elevate sales and the trajectory of their careers. Focus is b2b,
particularly broadcasting. PR, and pharma.
5. First began
offering social media in networking for success workshops for Coke in
2007. Brought in a Linked In Guru to give webinars for my clients. Now
its a big part of Virtual Presence in Professional Presenceseminars.
Atlanta Women in Social Media
Donna Lynes-Miller GourmetStation
Grayson Daughters WaySouth Media
Lya Sorano Lya Sorano.com
Melissa Galt Today By Design
Jeaneane Sessum allied
Melissa Libby MelissaLibbyPR
Amber Rhea Being Amber Rhea
Jacki Schklar Funny Not Slutty
Laura Nolte Green Theory Interactive
Barbara Giamanco Talent Builders
Sue Rodman Field Trips With Sue
Sherry Heyl oncept Hub, Inc
Nadia Bilchik Nadia Speaks
and me! Toby Bloomberg Diva Marketing
Girlfriends, I ask you .. Where are the Atlanta women in social media marketing? Where are the women on the client/brand side? If you want to be included or know of anyone who meets the criteria please leave a comment or shoot me an email.
Walking Max yesterday and saw a beautiful butterfly on a flower. We stopped. We watched. We were quiet for a moment.
I wondered how many times we miss butterfly moments with our customers? Social media listening gives us the opportunity to do just that: to stop, to watch/listen, to be quiet for a moment.
Enjoy my white paper - Two Sides of Consumer Generated Media: Listening & Participating
Thanks to Timothy Hamilton on Flickr
A couple of weeks ago Mashable held a smashing mash in Atlanta for over 400 of its closest friends .. who signed up before the fire marshalls could call Stop! no more people. I shared a glass of vino or two with friends, got to hug a live pink boa, complements of Jungle Disk, and met new people. However it became crystal clear that although Diva Marketing celebrated its 5th blog-birthday my social media network is more global than local.
I found myself asking, "Who are these people and what do they do? What is happening in Atlanta social media marketing? To para phrase from my friends at BlogHer ..Where are the Atlanta women in social media marketing?"
A few months back BBF Dan Greenfield suggested that I interview the women in Atlanta who are involved in social media marketing. Last week ideas synergized .. why not create a resource list that highlights the women in Atlanta who are working in social media marketing? But not just a boring list .. a series of mini interviews where we can get to know these women better. Along the way perhaps new friendships will take online offline.
Criteria: using social media as a marketing strategy for your business ventures or helping clients use social media as a marketing strategy. Look for the Atlanta Women in Social Media Marketing posts over the next couple of weeks.
Atlanta Women In Social Media Marketing
Donna Lynes-Miller - GourmetStation Delicious Destinations Blog
@gourmetstation
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? Social media marketing provides GourmetStation with non-conforming, non-traditional, casual and comfortable ways of communicating with our customers outside of our website. All social media tactics provide our brand with a means for different aspects of our brand personality to shine through.
2. My favorite social media tactic is our travel and culture blog, Delicious Destinations which include guest writers from around the world.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? With Internet driven social media tactics, I believe it will be difficult for any city to be a hub. The Internet is the great equalizer giving all regions the chance to participate.
4. 2 sentences about your company. - GourmetStation is a national food gifting company specializing in 3 & 4 course gourmet dinners, steak & seafood dinners, soup samples and dessert gifts. GourmetStation products also include dining certificates and monthly dinner clubs used by both consumers and businesses. I primarily focus on: B2C and B2B
5. Began in social media marketing: 2005
(Bloggy disclosure GourmetStation was one of my first social media marketing clients .. and proof that clients can be dear friends.)
Grayson Daughters - MediaConnection.tv WaySouth Media, Inc
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? Social media means staying relevant and informed in very turbulent times. Without social media, there's not much I could offer clients, or show potential ones, that could possibly set me apart from the pack.
2. My favorite social media tactic is is the distribution of a video, or other original media I've created for myself or for a client, via Twitter. So easy. So fun. Such immediate feedback.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? In the corporate arena, Atlanta's greatest challenge is getting over the tendency to do things the way they've always been done. For decades. Right now is just the crazy time to try something oh-so-bleeding edge. In an economy like this, what could it possibly hurt?!
4. 2 sentences about your company. - Grayson Daughters is the founder of WaySouth Media, Inc. - producing and promoting new media. She blogs at Mostly Media, and you can follow her on Twitter as SpaceyG. Her very latest online venture is MediaConnection.tv.
5. Began in social media marketing - I started using social media in 1995! (I think that's when I got my first dial-up/AOL account.) I started the first AOL Melrose Place chatroom on AOL, jointly with some dude from LA named J.T. Bug. I'll never forget that name, nor that first live chatroom experience. I published a southern culture webzine called WaySouth from '98-2000. I've been blogging since May of 2005, and was an early adopter of Twitter and Facebook (when it went beyond colleges).
Lya Sorano LyaSorano.com Great Southern Speakers Georgia Gardener
No Twitter – I’m too exhausted!
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? Social media marketing opens up channels of communication and potential sales that did not exist before. Opportunities pop up that twentieth century marketing did not provide.
2. My favorite social media tactic is to provoke discussions.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub?
Traffic! People sit in commuter traffic all day and are too exhausted to peep – much less care about social media.
4. 2 sentences about your company. - The Oliver/Sorano Group, Inc. provides marketing and PR support, including social media strategies, to clients in a variety of industries. I primarily focus on: B2B.
5. Began in social media marketing around 2006-07.
Melissa Galt -Today By Design Melissa Galt.com
@prosperbydesign
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? Social marketing is about the ability to connect to your target market cost effectively, frequently, and succinctly with value content. It is about using multiple channels and layering communications for ultimate effectiveness.
2. My favorite social media tactic is the variety of tools and applications available on Twitter, acebook, and LinkedIN that add fun, convenience, and facilitate the sharing of information. Strategically I am a fan of Tweetlater as it allows me maximum control of my time while still maintaining by exposure and my reach.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? Atlanta has a golden opportunity to truly land on the map of social media, but to do so will require more leaders to step forward and claim their place. The city is home to many great entrepreneurs and creatives, yet still the value of social media is not always understood.
4. 2 sentences about your company. - I speak, consult, train and mentor small businesses who think BIG and want to harness the power of social media and new marketing taking their business to the next level, and unleashing unlimited success.
5. Began in social media marketing - I have been using social media since 2008, and have been offering to clients this year. I primarily focus on: B2B, B2C, Nonprofit, Education. I believe it is the single factor that can keep many businesses afloat in tough economic times as it provides simple, effective tools to reach targeted buyers and decision makers whether business to business or business to consumer. Social media is the cornerstone of relationship marketing and with women becoming an increasingly significant force in both consumer and business goods, new marketing as social media is considered, is essential.
Jeneane Sessum allied Jeneane.net
@jeneane
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? Social Media Marketing means reaching customers and communities on behalf of my clients using social spaces on the Internet, where people come together to do/discuss/create/laugh/complain about what interests them.
2. My favorite social media tactic is monitoring and participating in the range of social media discussions to identify what Really Urgent Community Need a client can help solve to make something better for an existing or potential customer.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? To replace the “broadcast and sales pitch” mindset with genuine listening and understanding. To talk with not at.
4. 2 sentences about your company: Sessum Creative is an Atlanta-based marketing and public relations consultancy focused on helping clients talk with their markets using the power of social media and the Internet. Working with clients at home and internationally since 1998, we help clients with strategy, messaging, content development and media relations. I primarily focus on: B2B, B2C, Internet startups
5. Began in social media marketing - I entered social media as a blogger myself in 2001 with my personal blog allied). My first social media clients were Elimitaste Gum, Qumana, and Cox Communications. I helped these clients develop a blogging strategy and put in place processes to make sure that strategy worked. The primary goal was to use blogs as an effective way to talk to customers and build thought leadership.
Melissa Libby MelissaLibbyPR Atlanta Dish blog
@melissal
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? Social media is public relations at its best. It is old fashioned communications with new technology. You must create relationships and spend quality time with people in order to have a genuine dialogue.
2. My favorite social media tactic is Facebook status updates and photo postings.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub?Too many advertising focused minds.
4. Include 2 sentences about your company. Melissa Libby & Associates was founded in 1992 and specializes in PR and social marketing for restaurants and anything edible or quaffable. I primarily focus on: B2B.
5. Began social media marketing - I attended a social media seminar at the University of Georgia in October of 2007 and it changed my business model immediately. On the way home I spoke to a client, Fifth Group Restaurants, and the owner agreed for his restaurants to be our guinea pigs as we figured everything out. We dove in. By December 2007 I had restructured my company to accommodate the social media function and now have two full-time employees who do nothing but SM.
Amber Rhea Being Amber Rhea Georgia Podcast Network Sex 2.0 Conference
@amberlrhea - To keep us honest Amber provides us a "point counter point."
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? Honestly? Most of the time, when I hear phrases like “social media marketing,” the first assocation in my head is “obnoxious.” That might be unfair; but I guess I've just seen a lot of companies/individuals where I want to scream, “You're doing it wrong!” I don't really use social media for marketing. It's an integral part of my life. I've been doing the social media thing since before anyone used the term “social media,” and it touches all areas of my life. I don't want to get ranty but I have to say one thing I've been disappointed with in the “social media scene” (such as it is) in Atlanta is how there is so much focus on business, marketing, PR to the exclusion of anything else.
If that's not your primary focus with social media, you're really looked down upon by a lot of people; some of them can't even conceive of someone not using social media purely as a marketing tool. It's frustrating because the people who are busy building their “personal brand” and establishing themselves as “thought leaders” wouldn't be doing what they're doing if it weren't for those of us who got into blogging, etc. years ago, back when the business world as a whole scoffed at us.
Example: At SoCon07, a fellow attendee argued with me when I talked about (how) transparency and being real are important things online. He was actually very condescending and was stuck on the idea of, your life will be ruined if someone sees you doing something dumb on YouTube. But funny thing, at SoCon08, he was back, and this time he was a social media consultant.
2. My favorite social media tactic is being accountable to myself and others.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? Entrepreneurs in Atlanta need to think outside the box for real and be proactive, not reactive.
4. Include 2 sentences about your company. The Georgia Podcast Network isn't really a company, except for tax purposes! It's portal site for Georgia-based podcasts. If you live in Georgia and want to start a podcast, you can host it on the Georgia Podcast Network for free. It also includes a directory of podcasts based in Georgia that are hosted on other sites. The show Rusty and I cohost, Mostly ITP, was voted Best of Atlanta 2006 by Creative Loafing, and Best of Atlanta 2008 by Atlanta Magazine.
I primarily focus on: Life, friends, activism, work, technology, sexuality, politics, learning, thinking... and whatever else happens to strike my fancy at a particular moment.
5. Began in social media - I started my blog in April 2002 - so I recently had my 7th blogiversary. I've had a web site since 1996, though (or a "home page" as we called them back then) and have been writing about my life online since then. I wrote a little bit about my history on the internet
Friday Fun is Diva Marketing's virtual happy hour from cosmos to
Jack to lemonade. A waiting for the weekend 'playground' time to be
sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just plain silly. This post was inspired by Mark Story, Where Online Intersects With Offline. Mark is running a series on Mondays he's calling #blogmonday. With all the chatter about social networks and widgets and videos and podcasts and apps and tweets and gizmos (oh that's the next Big thing) the traditional blog has gotten lost in the digital maze. So I thought I'd use Friday Fun from time to time to #BringBackTheBlog by highlighting some of the great work that continues to be done in the blogosphere.
Seems only fitting that the first up should be Mark Story's post - Help Doug Haslam Ride. Blogs are wonderful social vehicles to tell from the heart stories and also to raise awareness for causes. In this post we learn about Dougn Haslam who is riding in the Pan Mass Challenge to raise money for the Jimmy Fund. Through his post Mark gives us a peak into his life as a dad and shows us some of the values that are important to him -helping others. Follow the Jimmy Fund on Twitter.
Sidebar: The Jimmy Fund is a Boston-based nonproft supporting the Dana Farber Cancer Institute that helps children and adults.
Mary Schmidt's posts on Marketing Troubleshooter always make me think. She's smart, witty and quick to the draw proving that blog posts don't always have to be long to position yourself as a thought leader. In her post The price is a surprising happiness to you Mary combines two complex marketing topics - price and email marketing .. and makes her point about both.
It has always amused me and confused me that marketers think no Believe that marketing is vastly different from business-to-business, business-to-consumer, products and services. While there are of course challenges within verticals and sectors the principles of marketing and relating to people's needs remains the same. Francois Gossieaux, Emergence Marketing, addresses that issue in his post about social media communities - B2B and B2C communities - no difference, it’s all about h2h. Francois uses his blog post to present his point of view including a few examples.
I'm going to let you in on my new secret. Shh! If you tell anyone Max might have to howl at you .. he never bites. Mommy blogs. (I'm not a mom so I don't frequently hang out in that blogosphere village though I do pop by to visit friends like Geek Mommy, Mom-101, MomInTheCity.) Remember this is #bringbacktheblog post so I'm talking blogs not necessarily "influencers" .. thought a great mom blog will often be home to a women who is sought after by marketers. Some of the best designed blogs are coming from this 'village' of the blogopshere.
My new favorite is Cool Mom Picks - a multiple author blog led by Liz Gumbinner and Kristen Chase. The branding is clean and consistent and the writing fun and engaging. Take a look at the side nav bars that are used not just for sponsorship ads but for value content. You'll find links to guides and internal content pages .. brilliant!
Sidebar: If you do want to know more about Moms Influencers catch the Diva Marketing Talks podcast where Liz Gumbinner and Susan Getgood join me to dish about Blogger Relations. It's a fun show with lots of great information.
Pop a Cork For The New Diva Marketing Blog. Five years today - May 19, 2004 - that was the head line I wrote for the first post on Diva Marketing.
As my story goes .. I launched Diva Marketing as an experiment because my friend Dana VanDen Heuvel told me I couldn't talk about blogs in workshops I was conducting unless I was active in the space. I pretty much told Dana he was daft. I mean I can talk about any marketing strategy if I understand what it's about. Dana said blogs were different and in order to establish credibility I had to participate in this thing called a "converstation."
What did I really need with a blog .. I had a website!? However I did want to understand the logistics so I launched Diva Marketing. I quickly realized that the website with the funny name was not like any other marketing strategy I knew. Dana was right to "get it" you had to roll your sleeves up and dive in .. watching from the sidelines wasn't going to cut it.
Thanks to you .. five years later the experiment is still around. Diva Marketing turned into not only a learning playground but a labor of love and one of the first blog brands. Who would have thought?
Thanks to you .. for enriching my life. If anyone had told me that some of my dearest friends would live oceans and miles way in India, Europe, Australia, Canada as well as across the country from NYC to St. Louis to San Diego and just around the corner in Atlanta too .. no way Girlfriend would I have believed that one!
Thanks to you .. for impacting my personal and business life and for the opportunity to work with marketers all over the States helping them understand that the importance of blogs/social media.
Here are a few of the Looking Back Lessons that I share with you today.
11 Looking Back Lessons About Social Media Marketing
1. Opening the doors and windows to allow your employees to hear the unfiltered voices of your customers can bring unexpected insights leading to stronger brands, new products/services ideas even more responsive customer service.
2. Management's trust in their employees to represent the brand value in an authentic but respectful manner is the foundation of a social media strategy. This may mean different hiring values and more transparency in the strategic direction of the company.
3. Traveling the social media marketing road alone, without a someone who understand the culture of the "villages" where you want to engage, can do more harm than good.
4. Social media gives more than it takes if you're willing to come out from your walled garden and engage with your customers. No eating M&Ms behind the 2-way mirror .. it's a time for sharing your candy.
5. You can set house rules for blogs and social networking communities and still be "real."
6. People want to know they matter. Social media creates ways to show your customers you care about their concerns and feelings.
7. To succeed social media must be given the same respect and made accountable just as any other marketing strategy. Set strategy that includes: goals, execution expectations of your staff, measures of success.
8. Measures of success may be different from traditional marketing, especially direct response .. but it's okay to view success differently.
9. You can color outside the lines and take risks to try new ways to do it .. IF you stay true to your brand, are transparent, authentic, honest and believe in the conversations you are starting.
10. You don't have to do every thing at once. Review social media tactics with the view point of how they can support your goals. Start with your "digital home" and build out from there. For some organizations that may be Facebook, for others a blog and for some Twitter or ... you fill in the blank. What can you do within your current enterprise's culture and resources of human capital, time and money?
11. Social media puts the heart and soul into marketing.The real power behind social media is in building and nurturing relationships.
Help Me Celebrate Year Five!
There should be a way to pop a cork on a bottle of champagne when a blog turns five. There should be a special way to celebrate a milestone in the digital world. So what should we do?
Tossing this back to you. Drop your ideas in comments I have presents for the folks whose ideas we use - the soon to be released book, Ignore Everyone, by Hugh MacLeod gapingvoid and perhaps some Johnny Depp inspired brownies and a pink boa!
Diva Marketing Talks is a live, internet radio (BlogTalkRadio) show. 30-minutes. 2-guests. 1-topic about social media marketing. Why? To help you understand how to participate in the "new" conversation without getting blown-up. Miss today's show? You can pick it up as a podcast or listen on your computer.
Today's Diva Marketing Talks with Susan Getgood, Roadmaps (blog) and Getgood Strategic Marketing and Liz Gumbinner, Cool Mom Picks and Mom-101 about how to build successful and respectful blogger relationships programs. Blogger Relations, as other social media strategies, have grown in complexity. The stakes are high and the give aways often over the top. But is it a credible marketing strategy?.
Topic for May 19, 2009: Talking Through Bloggers Or How to do Bloggers Relations Without Getting Blown-up
Time: 6:00p - 6:30p Eastern/ 5:p - 5:30p Central/ 4:00p -4:30p Mountain/ 3:00p - 43:30p PacificCall-in Guest Number: 718.508.9924 .
Susan Getgood
Susan Getgood has been involved in online marketing since the early 90s, and watched the web evolve from the first browsers to the interactive communities we participate in today. Since 2004, her firm GetGood Strategic Marketing has been advising organizations of all shapes and sizes on integrated social media outreach and internet marketing strategies that help businesses craft a positive internet presence, meet their customers online, build their brands, and drive revenue.
Prior to founding GetGood Strategic Marketing, Susan was Senior Vice President of Marketing at Internet software company SurfControl. Her professional marketing blog, where she writes about blogger outreach, internet branding and social media marketing strategies, is Marketing Roadmaps. She also writes a personal blog, Snapshot Chronicles, and a family travel blog, Snapshot Chronicles Roadtrip. Susan was named a Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research in 2008 and speaks regularly at social media conferences like BlogHer and New Comm Forum.
Liz Gumbinner
Offline, Liz Gumbinner is a New York-based freelance ad agency creative director and copywriter who's developed award-winning campaigns for brands including Old Navy, Mitsubishi, Ray Ban, and Universal Theme Parks. But online she's best known as the author of the popular parenting blog Mom-101, and the cofounder and editor of Cool Mom Picks, the influential shopping blog which was called "the online arbiter of cool for the swingset crowd" by Parents Magazine.
Liz was recently named among Nielsen's Power Mom 50 for 2009, and called one of ten Mommy 'Hood Gurus by Forbes. Liz is a frequent conference speaker and consultant to marketers on the evolving and sometimes volatile relationship between bloggers and brands.
Tips From The Diva Bag
Complements of Susan Getgood
1. Good blogger relations goes beyond just getting the mechanics right – reading the blogs first, making sure the pitch is relevant, a fit for the interests of the blogger etc. You have to develop a pitch that is both relevant and adds value to the blog. If you can’t add value, you should advertise.
You want the blogger to pass the information on, through the blog, Twitter or another social network, and she or he is only going to do that if you give them something truly worth passing on. My post The Secret Sauce for the Perfect Pitch gives some ideas on the kinds of things you might consider. You also want to look beyond the features of your product to how your customer uses the product, what she cares about when she is using the product, and build your story around those feelings.
2. Don’t limit yourself to just the top bloggers in your space. Don’t ignore them either, but remember that the key is influence, not volume. A blogger with fewer readers but whose interests really match up to your product and service is probably going to do you more good that a high traffic blogger who is only slightly interested. Why? Because the smaller blogger may write about you more and likely has more influence with the readers about the topic.
3. The big splashy events get all the press, but small gestures can be far more effective in building relationships and your brand. For example, 1-800-Flowers did a great campaign recently honoring mom bloggers. Coinstar did a really fun, simple Twitter campaign on St. Patrick’s Day.
Build measurement into the program upfront, and base it on a measurable outcome, not an output. Think of it this way: No one ever went into business to raise awareness. The goal is to close the sale. So ground your measurement in a behavior, preferably purchase behavior.
Complements of Liz Gumbinner
1. Know your audience. Not all tech blogs, mom blogs, or food blogs are the same. You wouldn't pitch a story on a snazzy new drum kit to Sports Illustrated simply because "the demographic is men," and similarly, you need to be sure you're sending the right message to the right blogger.
2. Don't forget the word "social" in social media. Blogger outreach should be about relationships, not press releases, and I'll always give a closer look to the emails I get from PR folks I know. If you get to know a few targeted, influential bloggers and cultivate relationships, you're more likely to have better results than if you buy a list of 1000 and e-blast the whole lot of them.
3. Blogger influence goes beyond page views and traffic numbers. Those are old media metrics and only give a small piece of the picture. You'll also want to consider reader engagement through comments, inbound links on Technorati, Twitter followers, news media presence, and other places a blogger blogs. In fact high traffic may be at times a factor of good SEO and not engaged readership.
4. The pitch is always on the record, unless you have an agreement with the blogger that it is not. Which means bad pitch or an awkward exchange may make a better story for a blogger than the product you're pitching. If you keep that in mind every time you hit send, you'll generally be in great shape
More About Blogger Relations: Diva Marketing Pulse of the Industry Blogger Relations Study
Part 1 - Blogger or Journalist
Part 2 - Successful Blogger Relations Strategy
Part 3 - Agencies Talk To Bloggers
Part 4 - The Brands Talk To Bloggers
Part 5 - Bloggers Talk To Agencies and Brands
One important outcome of social media is the ability to listen and learn from our customers, and even our employees, through the unfiltered conversations of consumer generated media. However, there are other ways to understand our target audiences and that of course is through primary research.
Skipping around the blogosphere I found three posts that included research studies that might be of help to you: women in social media, engaging employees and marketing to African American women. I'm leaving a few virtual bread crumbs for you to follow and perhaps travel down a few new paths.
One - A must read is the BlogHer Second Annual Women and Social Media Study. Elisa Camahort, BlogHer, explains the history of the study. The research takes a close look at the habits and attitudes of heavy users - women who participate in any
social media activity at least weekly.
Participants, who were online were more likely to spend less time engaging in traditional media activities like watching TV (30%), listening to the radio (31%), and reading magazines (36%) or the newspaper (39%).
A few more findings - Women are nearly twice as likely to use blogs than social networking sites as a source of information (64%), advice and recommendations (43%) and opinion-sharing (55%), while they are 50 percent more likely to turn to social networking sites as a means of keeping in touch with friends and family (75%),
Two - Continuing my virtual blog travels I found that Sybil F. Stershic at Quality Service Marketing wrote a great post based BlessingWhite’s 2008 Employee Engagement Report. We're learning that social media influences more than marketing. It's not just about the brand <-> customer relationship. Social media impacts the entire organization from who is hired to management's trust of employees. It becomes even more critical for mangers to understand how to inspire and engage their staff.
Three - Michele Miller, Wonder Branding, concentrates on marketing to women. She well understands that success is dependent on realizing that this segment is more complex than it may appear. There are niches within niches. One important segment is African American women.
Michele points us to an interesting study by Lattimer Communications that found " 86% of African-American women say that advertisers need to do a better job of understanding and marketing to them." Lattimer has developed six psychographic profiles.
Recently I attended a networking event in Atlanta and found myself deep in conversation with a young woman who told me how critical transparency is to a social media campaign. I smiled and nodded in agreement. But my thoughts were flashing back to the thousands of other discussions I had with marketers over the past 5-years when the concept of developing marketing campaigns build on transparency along with authenticity, honesty and passion verged on preposterous. Or more simply put people thought we were crazed. (Diva Marketing post 8-29-05 .. see tip #4)
As we move into 2009 social media is finally taking its rightful place as a credible marketing strategy. Buzz words like transparency are part of the hip new marketing vernacular. However, social media marketing is more complex than buzzed conversation. Social media marketing goes beyond a YouTube contest or a Facebook app.
Some companies and agencies are acknowledging effective social media marketing is not just tactics and technology; but that social media begins with an integrated strategic approach. Recently my friend Geoff Livingston closed the doors of his PR agency Livingston Communications. He shook hands with CRT/tanaka and cinched the deal to bring his firm into their world to ensure that as CRT/tanaka moved further into social media they did it "right."
CRT/tanaka's newest VP - Geoff Livingston and agency President - Mike Mulvihill agreed to tell Diva Marketing the back-story and their vision of how social media is impacting the public relations business.
Toby/DivaMarketing: The acquisition of Livingston Communication by a larger agency is quite exciting and the dream of many small shops. How did you establish your (and Livingston Communication’s) credibility to the extent that CRT/tanaka began serious talks?
Geoff Livingston: I think Now Is Gone was really the thing that established my credibility in the business, and to the extent that CRT/tanaka was interested in purchasing me. The book’s theories on communities seems to have stood the test of time, and our continued work over the past couple of years has backed up the talk, so to speak.
Plus I had a failed acquisition, which while not a pretty thing, certainly demonstrated that such a path was a possible outcome for me.
Toby/DivaMarketing: What role will you play at CRT/tanaka and will your responsibilities differ from what you provided clients at Livingston Communications?
Geoff Livingston: I really have three roles in my mind.
One) Turn CRT/tanaka into a socialprise, an organization capable of using and engaging in conversations across the line and internally for business use. This is the Holy Grail that so many of us envision, and so few organizations have attained. We’re already engaging across the board, and I anticipate a much more dangerous company within six months.
Two) Serve current clients with social media services that deliver meaningful results, and build new clients that continue building our presence in the space. Again, our differentiator will be our ability to deliver real programs that work.
Three) Continue serving the employees and growing our business in the Washington, DC region. Home is where the heart is :-)
Toby/DivaMarketing: How has social media changed the way agencies are doing business?
Geoff Livingston: I think agencies still don’t know how to deal with social media. Some firms do it better than others, but the transparency and results orientation that it creates has been a tough pill to swallow.
Additionally, social media transcends departments. So I am in the interactive department at CRT, but right now I am mostly working on PR and event projects. I am also working on an ad campaign, too. So social media cannot be defined by a silo. We realize that and there’s a lot of flexibility to move in between groups, but you see the issue that agencies and companies face.
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Toby/DivaMarketing: It appears that the agency was incorporating social media offerings to its clients prior to Geoff coming on board. What did Geoff/Livingston Communications bring to the party that others did not offer?
Mike Mulvihill, president, CRT/tanaka: Geoff and his team understand how social media fits in with other marketing disciplines. Rather than looking at social media as a stand alone, they understand how it works hand-in-hand with traditional marketing to advance ideas, concepts, products and services by engaging consumers and influencers in a conversation. He is a great fit with our culture and his team shares our ethos. It was just a great fit from day one.
Toby/DivaMarketing: How has social media changed the way agencies are doing business?
Mike Mulvihill, president, CRT/tanaka: Oh, yeah. It’s a brave new world out there. Social media is something agencies have been trying to harness and our industry has made some messy mistakes trying it on for size. And I think that’s because agencies in general are trying to shoe horn social media into a traditional media message push-out approach. We want to control it.
But social media requires an entirely different approach to engaging people into two-way conversations. It provides feedback. It carves out its own path. And because of that, social media is scary from a control point but quite genuine, credible and self-regulating.
If agencies have not changed the way they are doing business by integrating social media into all that they do, then those agencies are not looking out for their client’s best interest. For us, we are incorporating social media in our strategic approach to each client’s business just as we would any traditional communication or marketing executable.
About CRT/tanaka CRT/tanakais a Virginia-based independent public relations firm.The firm focuses on consumer, health and corporate issues, with accounts in sports marketing, beauty, fashion, home furnishings, health, food & beverage and financial. PR Week ranked CRT/Tanaka as the thirty-second largest independent PR agency in the United States in 2008, with 2007 revenue of $10,515,113. The ranking also notes its staff total of 71.
"Social media" combined with Web 2.0 technology offers new ways to communicate with each other and in doing so we are reminded that "we are not alone." That someone hears us. That we share experiences. That we matter. Some smart marketers, who are responsible for brands, are beginning to understand that this form of communication can be a powerful "strategy."
Popping into Facebook this afternoon I saw Christine Lacombe's wall post and it resonated with me.
Then I saw JessicaRobyn's tweet -
The very heart of social media (or the tools that have been developed) was never meant for marketers to bring our brands to market. They were created for people to engage with people - from Twitter to Facebook to blogs and more.They are one more way in the early 21st century that people can emotionally touch & connect with each other across miles and cultures.
Christine's wall post added one more thread to our virtual relationship tapestry. Jessica's tweet is my heart - (Tears to Smiles for Susan) Today is Mother's Day. A day that celebrates the women who are special in our lives. Christine reminded us that today should also be about the women who were special in our lives .. and will always be so.
This post sends kisses to the stars where my mummy and Jessica's & Scott's, Christine's, Polli's, Marianne's, Bobbi's. Kaye Ellen's, C.K.'s, Sybill's, Kate's, Hilleratte's, Chris', Arline's, Auntie Barbara's and perhaps yours or someone you might hold dear is dancing and smiling.
Marketers as you explore using social media to bring your products and services to the marketplace keep in mind that you're not just creating an advertisement or a crafting a media release. If you are authentic, transparent and genuine you are demonstrating that your customers matter. How powerful is that?
Ta da .. for your reading pleasure here's a list of titles of social media books scheduled to be release 2009 – 2010.
1. The Digital Handshake: Seven Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Social Media by Paul Chaney - Sept 22,2009
2. Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods by Shel Israel - Sep 3, 2009
3. Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod - June 11, 2009
4. The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business by Tara Hunt - April 21, 2009
5. Marketing to the Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Build Your Business by Larry Weber - Mar 3, 2009
6. The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success by Lon Safko and David Brake - May 4, 2009
7. Public Relations and the Social Web: How to Use Social Media and Web 2.0 in Communications by Rob Brown - May 28, 2009
8. Understanding Digital Marketing: Marketing Strategies for Engaging the Digital Generation by Damian Ryan and Calvin Jones - Feb 28, 2009
9. Social Media Marketing: How Data Analytics helps to monetize the User Base in Telecoms, Social Networks, Media and Advertising in a Converged Ecosystem by Ajit V Jaokar, Brian Jacobs, Alan Moore, and Jouko Ahvenainen - Feb 15, 2009
10. Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs by Brian Halligan, Dharmesh Shah, and David Meerman Scott - Oct 19, 2009
11. The New Influencers: A Marketer's Guide to the New Social Media by Paul Gillin and Geoffrey A. Moore - May 1, 2009
12. Yes We Did! An inside look at how social media built the Obama brand (Voices That Matter) by Rahaf Harfoush - Jun 1, 2009
13. Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media Is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR by Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge - Mar 1, 2009
14. The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web by Tamar Weinberg - Jun 15, 2009
15. Mastering Web 2.0: Transform Your Business Using Key Website and Social Media Tools by Susan Rice Lincoln - Jul 28, 2009
16. Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do business by Erik Qualman - Aug 24, 2009
17. Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time by Joel Comm, Anthony Robbins, and Ken Burge - Feb 17, 2009
18. Online Public Relations: A Practical Guide to Developing an Online Strategy in the World of Social Media by David Phillips and Philip Young - Jun 28, 2009
19. International Communications Strategy: Developments in Cross-Cultural Communications, PR and Social Media by Silvia Cambie and Yang-May Ooi - Aug 28, 2009
20. The Social Network Business Plan: 18 Strategies That Will Create Great Wealth by David Silver - Feb 24, 2009
21. The Facebook Era: Tapping Online Social Networks to Build Better Products, Reach New Audiences, and Sell More Stuff by Clara Shih - Mar 22, 2009
22. MediaMasters: Insider Secrets from the big names of broadcast, print and social media by Alan Stevens, Jeremy Nicholas, and Debbie Jenkins - April 3, 2009
23. Friends with Benefits: Online Marketing with Blogs, Facebook, YouTube, and More by Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo - Aug 15, 2009
24. A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization: Strategies, Tactics, and Tools for Succeeding in the Social Web by Deltina Hay - Mar 1, 2009
25. Understanding Digital Marketing: Marketing Strategies for Engaging the Digital Generation by Damian Ryan and Calvin Jones - Feb 28, 2009
26. How to REALLY use LinkedIn by Jan Vermeiren - Mar 4, 2009
27. The Facebook Effect by David Kirkpatrick - Jan 7, 2010
28. The Internet: An Introduction to New Media by Lelia Green - Jan 1, 2010
29. You Need More Than a Website: Promote Your Professional Services Firm Using Social Media by Jan Davis - Dec 16, 2009
30. Social Media at Work: How Networking Tools Can Help Employees Work Better and Faster by Arthur L. Jue, Jackie Alcalde-Marr, and Mary E. Kassotakis - Nov 2, 2009
31. This is Social Media - Tweet, Blog, Post and Link Your Way to Business Success by Clapperton - Oct 15, 2009
32. Social Influence Marketing For Dummies by Shiv Singh - Oct 12, 2009
33. The Young and the Digital: What the Migration to Social Network Sites, Games, and Anytime, Anywhere Media Means for Our Future by S. Craig Watkins - Oct 1, 2009
34. Designing Social Interfaces: Principles, Patterns, and Practices for Improving the User Experience by Christian Crumlish and Erin Malone - Sep 15, 2009
35. Friends with Benefits: Online Marketing with Blogs, Facebook, YouTube, and More by Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo - Aug 15, 2009
36. PR Strategy and Application: Managing Influence by W.Timothy Coombs and Sherry J. Holladay - Aug 14, 2009
37. Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time by Joel Comm, Anthony Robbins, and Ken Burge - Feb 17, 2009
38. The Twitter Book by Tim O'Reilly and Sarah Milstein - May 26, 2009
39. The Social Network Business Plan: 18 Strategies That Will Create Great Wealth by David Silver - Feb 24, 2009
40. All a Twitter: A Personal and Professional Guide to Social Networking with Twitter by Tee Morris - Jul 23, 2009
41. Everything twitter - From Novice to Expert: The Unofficial Guide to Everything Twitter - THE BLUE BOOK 2009 by Steve Soho and Monica Jones - 2009
42. Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan, Julien Smith - August 24, 2009
43. Social Media is a Cocktail Party: Why You Already Know the Rules of Social Media Marketing by Jim Tobin, Lisa Braziel - Nov 5, 2008
44. 33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking by Juliette Powell -Feb 10, 2009
Plus One - Social Media Marketing GPS #smgps .. the first business book written using Twitter as the major content platform and distribution channel. I've been working on the all-tweet SM book for about a month and it's nearing completion. More soon.
Update! I forgot my dear friend Tris Hussey book - Create Your Own Blog: 6 Easy Projects to Start Blogging Like a Pro by Tris Hussey - Sep 3, 2009
I recently found an article that someone sent me back in 1997. I don't know who gave it to me but I saved the article because while the concept was strange to me the idea intrigued me. It was Tom Peters' - the brand called you. As the fates would have ..soon after reading it I was down-sized from my job with the Georgia Lottery Company. Thoughts that a company would want to hire "more than a resume" were radical 12 years ago.
Girlfriend, there was more - Peters said we should manage our personal brand. What did that mean? I should be wearing Jimmy Choos instead of Gucci or investing in a Mont Blanc instead of Bic pens? Did that extend to non business aspect of my life too? In one of my first resumes I included creative cooking. I was told it wasn't "professional" and took it out. Should I add it back it .. was that part of my brand called me?
But as confusing as it was to figure out how to navigate this new way of presenting myself in 1997, it no way reaches the complexities that the Internet and social media have in impacting the brand called you. A few weeks ago I was talking with my favorite niece about the photos on her Facebook page. Last year Jessica Robyn went from college student to career girl. She's more aware of her online presence, especially after the Facebook debacle of content ownership, these days.
Jessica might error on the more liberal side but what about the people in the Boomer generation who are being "down sized" or thought they were retired and now must enter the job market again? They are learning that their resumes must extend beyond paper (or digital) to LinkedIn, sometimes Facebook and if they are adventurous to Twitter. Finding the right balance is a new tight-rope act for many.
With Diva Marketing I guess I'm getting it right because someone who does understand personal branding, Dan Schawbel, publisher of Personal Branding Magazine, highlighted me in his May issue - titled Female Power Brands. Thanks to Dan and Justin Levy for the interview.
I am honored to join divas Sarah Austin, Natalie Gulbis, Laura Ries Valeria Maltoni and Anita Campbell who were also profiled in this edition. In addition, there are articles written by fabulous women: Ann Smarty, Christine B. Whittemore, Cece Salomon-Lee, Nisha Chittal, Judy Martin, Thursday Bram, Maria Reyes-McDavis, Becky Carroll, Pamela Slim, Camille Watson, Natalie MacNeil, and Angela Natividad.
For your reading pleasure .. one of the the answers from my Female Power Brands interview. Sort of like saying that .. Female Power Brands. (I'm thinking of turning the pink boa into a super diva cape! What do you think Connie Reece and Mutha Mae?)
Personal Branding: What role do you think online personal branding will play in getting hired over the next few years?
Toby/Diva Marketing: Looking at how a personal brand fits into an organization's brand, I can't help think of enterprises that have opened social media to their employees. Those companies seem to have a strong sense of "self" e.g., their corporate brand and are secure enough to let their employees' brands complement the enterprise brand.
Personal branding done well extends business into more of a "personal" world. It's a way of taking what is on the inside and courageously letting people see it on the outside. Perhaps (some) women struggle with not being perfect 24-7 especially in the world of business. However, on the flip side it's a way of connecting with people and women do that so well.
As we speak Human Resources is online searching for information about their latest candidates. The perception that someone takes away after reading your posts or tweets or LinkedIn profile is an additional element that will be incorporated into a hiring decision. Ready or not .. you inevitably are creating a personal brand. Why not step back and be a little more strategic? ###
The Internet and social media have changed the personal brand game. We no longer have the luxury of only building our image, which does impact our credibility, based on a choice between designer shoes or flip flops. How do you maintain your authentic self online when Google has become HR's best friend?
What does personal branding in the 21st century mean when the whole world knows not only your name but your favorite toys, games, wine, beer, friends, dating status, doctors and opinions on life in general? Maybe when Dan and Jessica are in charge of running corporations it won't matter much but in 2009 it's a factor.
New social networking communities seem to be on every virtual corner these days. Marketers understand that social media can be a powerful strategy that supports niche or segmentation marketing. However, when brands build out communities it's obviously a business decision that has incurred significant resources - including dollars.
I wondered how do they integrate marketing objectives, while ensuring that the "social" aspects, the heart and soul of the community, are authentically and transparently developed and nurtured? When Chris Kieff offered the opportunity to interview one of his Ripple6 client's from Meredith Corporation's recently launched Mixing Bowl, a food and recipe community - I said yes!
Editors touch every piece of content that exists on our branded sites. We post recipes after they’ve been triple-tested in our kitchens, write how-to articles, and so on. We don’t run Mixing Bowl that way because we want it to be a site created by home cooks for home cooks.
I’m (Heather Morgan Shott) very present on Mixing Bowl (my username is CoolCookie), and my profile page states that I’m a Mixing Bowl editor, but I’d never censor conversation or edit content. I’m there to answer questions as well as contribute to the community just like a typical member would by posting my own recipes, sharing my opinions, and joining groups. From a business point of view, Ripple6 offers advertisers access to a very sophisticated and extensive analytics system.
About Heather Morgan Shott
I'm the Senior Food Group Manager for the Better Homes and Gardens Network, which includes five websites. On Mixing Bowl, I mix it up like any member might--but if there’s a functionality problem I’ll address it.
For example, we had some members who were unhappy with the way in which our contest application worked when we first launched the site. Entries were randomized so members started having problems finding the recipes they wanted to vote for once lots of recipes were entered. They started posting their complaints on the site, and we responded very quickly by tweaking the system so that the entries were static.
Suddenly ‘thank you CoolCookie’ threads started to pop up. Of course lots of people worked to resolve that issue, but I’m the person that the community knows is listening to them, because I’ve established a very visible presence on the site. When I’m not working, I’m cooking, restaurant hopping, drinking wine, shopping, or hanging out with my husband. We live in New York City.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Mixing Bowl is not only a new social media community but a new brand for Meredith. That said, Meredith’s reach with women is wide and established. How did you use those assets to help build membership and promote the site?
We’ve been working with all of our magazines and websites to promote Mixing Bowl. American Baby, Fitness, Family Circle, and Better Homes and Gardens, for example, have all created groups that tie to specific departments in their magazines. Ladies Home Journal features questions and answers from Knowledge Bowl in each issue. We have another magazine that will be sponsoring a contest on Mixing Bowl this summer. Online, we’ve been promoting Mixing Bowl in newsletters. We’ve got lots more to come; this just marks our very early efforts.
Toby/Diva Marketing: There are other social networks that focus on food and recipes. What is Mixing Bowl’s point of difference? Why would I want to join and spend time on Mixing Bowl versus another community?
Heather Morgan Shott: By filling out your profile, Mixing Bowl can deliver a totally customized experience just for you. For example, if you check off quick and easy, desserts, and cooking for kids as your interests, we'll bubble up all the recipes and groups that mesh with those interests. So we’re offering a vastly different experience than you get on other sites where you log in and see everything that everyone else does, and you literally have to wade through hundreds of pages of information to find what’s relevant to your life.
Toby/Diva Marketing: The quality of online peer-to-peer relationships builds over time. How is Mixing Bowl encouraging and nurturing “community” among with its members?
Heather Morgan Shott:I’m dazzled by so many of the people in our community, and I meet new, amazing members every day. When we launched Mixing Bowl, we tried to start things on the right note by inviting some incredible content creators, such as past winners of cooking contests and bloggers, to get in the mix early on. None of them were professional cooks but they all had a certain level of expertise in cooking or baking, so we knew they’d be able to provide high-quality content. We also knew that they had the kind of passion and enthusiasm that we wanted to foster on Mixing Bowl.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Mixing Bowl is a very rich platform, built by Ripple6, that offers multiple ways for people to contribute their favorite recipes and as we love to say, “Join the conversation.” At this early stage in its development which areas or groups are getting the most activity?
Heather Morgan Shott: There’s no question about it, our community loves to bake. We have an extremely rich Ethnic category, with 16 groups covering a range of different cuisines (Chinese, Colombian, Mexican, French, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Parsi, Persian, Polynesian, Puertorrican, and so on); in this category many of the group leaders are actually based overseas, so they’re posting truly authentic recipes. We’re also seeing tremendous growth in areas that we’d expect—quick and easy, healthy recipes, desserts, and entertaining.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Has that surprised you?
Heather Morgan Shott: So far just what we hoped would happen has happened. Our goal was to engage home cooks who specialized in specific topics. What better way to learn how to cook Indian food than from someone based in Mumbai? Who better to get baking pointers from than an owner of a boutique bakery? Who knows picky eaters better than moms raising kids who are picky eaters? These are real people with real solutions and inspiring ideas.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Since this is part of Meredith’s business strategy can you tell us what constitutes success?
Heather Morgan Shott: Our goal is to continue to grow membership on MixingBowl.com. We’re extremely pleased with where we are right now, and we will continue to work to develop an even richer and more robust community.
Toby/Diva Marketing: How concerned is Meredith with, let’s call it “traditional website metrics?”
Heather Morgan Shott: Page views and unique visitors are extremely important, but our top goal is bringing in new members.
Toby/Diva Marketing: I was watching a video where Dan Hickey, Vice President, Digital Conten, discussed marketers (advertisers) participating within the community to add value. Can you give us some current examples and tell us how Mixing Bowl ensuring transparency?
Heather Morgan Shott: Toby, we’re still working on this. We haven’t really rolled anything out yet… We're cooking up some great stuff, and I can't wait to tell you about those efforts once we've rolled them out. Check back with me in a month or two.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Understanding that the site has been live only a few months, what are some of the lessons you’ve learned at the start-up of this venture?
Heather Morgan Shott: In a community, it’s extremely important to be involved, to mix it up with your members. It doesn’t work to just build a community and then abandon it. You need to listen to what they’re saying and you need to respond quickly. You need to show you care, or they’ll go somewhere else. It’s also critical to be flexible and be willing to change something that isn’t working.
Toby/Diva Marketing: At its heart, or in your heart, what is your vision for Mixing Bowl on a long-term basis?
Heather Morgan Shott: We want MixingBowl.com to become the largest community food site out there. We’d love for it to be the number one destination for everyone who loves to swap recipes and join cooking groups. And we’d love to continue to draw in more members from overseas so that we truly become a place for cooks from around the world to connect.
Heather Morgan Shott On Social Media
It’s thrilling, and I can’t imagine life without it. Oftentimes content isn’t all that exciting until people actually start talking about it – and that’s why social media platforms like Mixing Bowl, Twitter, and Facebook have become so central to our lives. They enable us to take one thought or idea and connect about it with hundreds of others, regardless of where those people are in the world. We gain multiple perspectives, oftentimes from people whose views are vastly different from ours, and in turn our own thoughts and ideas become much richer.
More About Social Network Communities From Diva Marketing
Diva Marketing Talks, BlogTalkRadio, with Liz Strauss & Nancy White
Diva Marketing Talks is a live, internet radio (BlogTalkRadio) show. 30-minutes. 2-guests. 1-topic about social media marketing. Why? To help you understand how to participate in the "new" conversation without getting blown-up. Miss today's show? You can pick it up as a podcast or listen on your computer.
Today's Diva Marketing Talks explores a "new" demographic that is joining the social media conversation. Think that social media is all about Mils, Gen X or Gen Y? Think again. The Boomer Generation may be late to this party but will the shear numbers of the demographic influence SM? Des Walsh - Des Walsh dot Com, Barbara Rozgonyi -Wired PR Works and Carlos Hernandez - iRM Consulting, join me to talk about will the Woodstock generation be as open to naked conversations as they were to dancing in the rain sans clothes?
Topic for April 9, 2009: Boomers Step Into Social Media
Time: 6:00p - 6:30p Eastern/ 5:p - 5:30p Central/ 4:00p -4:30p Mountain/ 3:00p - 43:30p Pacific
Call-in Guest Number: 718.508.9924 .
Des Walsh
Des Walsh is passionate about the potential of social media for business transformation. As a strategist and coach he helps businesses and entrepreneurs navigate the social media maze and become savvy participants, developing their own roadmaps to fit their own strategic objectives.
He has been in business for twenty years as a communications consultant and coach, following a public service career with senior positions in education, the arts and major events planning. He draws on that experience to help companies handle the cultural challenge in changing from a traditional command and control approach to marketing and communications, to the more open, transparent world of social media.
Des is co-author of LinkedIn for Recruiting, now in its second edition and an e-book for small businesses, 7 Step Business Blog, recently translated into Mandarin Chinese. He is an Associate of China-based company CultureFish Media, which assists companies promoting their business online in China. He is also a Partner with the Colorado, based company ITBrix, which produces the social media, community building and collaboration platform WordFrame.
He is a regular speaker on blogging and social media and has spoken at conferences in Australia, the USA and China. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the International Blogging and New Media Association and a member of the Board of Governors of the International Association of Coaching. Des blogs at Des Walsh dot Com and Thinking Home Business. @deswalsh
He is based on Australia's Gold Coast and his motto is “have netbook, will travel”.
Barbara Rozgonyi
Barbara is the founder of CoryWest Media, LLC, a strategic social media, marketing and PR consultancy based in the Chicago area. She also publishes Wired PR Works, which is listed on Alltop, ranked in the Ad Age Power 150 and mentioned as one of the top sources for marketing content by junta42. Founder and chair of Chicago ’s Social Media Club, Barbara speaks frequently about how to get new media to work for you. WiredPRWorks @wiredprworks
Wired Works PR
Carlos Hernandes
Carlos is a Social Media Catalyst & Trainer to people desiring to be Web 2.0 savvy, but especially to Baby Boomers. Why so? In February of 2007, he elected to pursue a calling to help people. He especially identified with fellow Baby Boomers who were intimidated by emerging social media technologies.
He has been successful by working with individuals and businesses to leverage Web 2.0 technology in the sales and marketing initiatives. Carlos' has shown fellow professionals how to develop networks and connections via LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter in an integrated and cross-promotional manner.
Carlos made this conscious decision capitalizing on his gifts of public speaking, problem solving and teaching. His knowledge is grounded in a 28 year professional career working for Westinghouse Electric & Eaton Corporations in technical solution sales, marketing and project management. Academically, he studied Civil Engineering at Stanford University's School of Engineering. iRM Consulting @carloshernandez
Tips From The Diva Bag
Complements of Des Walsh
<>One of the best things and also one of the worst things about social media is that there are so many tools available which can help you build a business or kick-start a new career, and which are either no-cost or low cost. It's one of the best things because we now have, on a low or zero expenditure budget, tools which not too many years ago would have cost us thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars to buy or have built for us.
One of the worst things is that there are so many tools, so many services competing for our attention and love, that we can easily get confused, waste time with services that are not quite right and just get overwhelmed. We need to work on our social media business strategy, not just on tactics, tips and tools.
<>Baby Boomers who have been in business are familiar with the Japanese word “kaizen”, which when used in the context of Western manufacturing and other industrial and business processes is usually translated as “continuous improvement”: Tony Robbins re-badged “kaizen” as CANI – “Continuous And Never-ending Improvement.
Part of this kaizen approach is making small changes as you go, not just waiting for some major overhaul. So in the social media context, with low cost or no cost tools so readily available you can make changes as you go. And you no longer have to be a techie to make many of the changes.
<>Think global – if you want to. Or think small and local. One of the great things about social media from a small business point of view is that it allows so many people to live where they want and build a business which can be local, regional, or national or global, as they choose.
Learn how to be findable online, using blogging and other social media. More and more people go online to find what they are looking for, the product they want, the service they need. It's our choice as to whether they find us and like what they find, or find our competitors and never know about us.
Complements of Barbara Rozgonyi
<>Own your age by celebrating your accomplishments
<>Promote your technology heritage as being an early adopter way back when
<>Connect cross-generationally via alumni, networking and social groups
<>Position yourself as a mentor for people starting out in your profession
<>Talk about your collections, hobbies and interests to round out your profile
<>Post flattering and current profile pictures that look like who you are today
<>Be a leader people seek out for social media connections
<>Start out with LinkedIn and develop your professional profile
<>Go through your network and invite friends to connect online
<>Recommend and refer others when you see someone looking for help
Barbara's post on social media and baby boomer statistics
Complements of Carlos Hernandez
<>Don't be surprised if you become labeled a "lurker" for just reading blog posts and the like. It is okay to go slow and learn about the various social media communities. You will know when you are ready to contribute a comment, status update or tweet.
<>Become more than a job seeker on social media networks such as LinkedIn. Tap your passion and knowledge to grow into becoming a thought leader. It's one of the benefits of being older by having made mistakes and learning along the way.
<>I like Tara Hunt's perspective, who was a recent presenter at Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco (Twitter's @missrogue). "What can you give away that won't make you broke?" Social media lets you share your talent for the betterment of others
Diva Marketing Talks is a live, internet radio (BlogTalkRadio) show. 30-minutes. 2-guests. 1-topic about social media marketing. Why? To help you understand how to participate in the "new" conversation without getting blown-up. Miss today's show? You can pick it up as a podcast or listen on your computer.
Today's Diva Marketing Talks takes a dive into Social Media Communities or social networks. Liz Strauss, Successful Blog, and Nancy White, Full Circle, are our rock star guests who will explore if relationships built within social networks are real or an illusion. If there is value in social communities then how do you build and nurture them? In other words how do you get the "community" into communities?
Topic for April 2, 2009: Social Media Communities: Real Relationships or Illusions of Friendships?
Time: 6:00p - 6:30p Eastern/ 5:p - 5:30p Central/ 4:00p -4:30p Mountain/ 3:00p - 43:30p Pacific
Call-in Guest Number: 718.508.9924
Liz Strauss
Liz (Successful Blog) is a social web strategist and community builder. Coming from a background of publishing, business, and instructional design, Liz understands how people perceive a blog, a product, and an experience — how the head and heart engage to make a fiercely loyal customer. She can articulate what makes things irresistible — what keeps people coming back — from literacy, editorial, design, and marketing sensitivities.
Liz works with businesses, universities, and individuals to help them understand how text, words, and images work in the culture of the social web. She has over 20 years in print, software, and online publishing, and has strategized with publishers in Europe, Australia, the UK, and Ireland. She was recently a featured speaker at the Cass Business School of City University in London and will return in the fall to give a presentation and seminar for students at Oxford University.
Liz is a founder of the highly successful business bloggers conference SOBCon — that gained the attention of BusinessWeek, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, and the Innovation Initiative of the Kellogg School of Business. She has been named to the Top 100 Social Media & Internet Marketing Bloggers Top 100 Most Influential Marketers of 2008, the 50 of the Most Powerful and Influential Women of Social Media, NxE’s Fifty Most Influential ‘Female’ Bloggers and her blog is listed on Alltop-Socialmedia and Alltop-Twitterati
Nancy White
Founder of Full Circle Associates (Full Circle), Nancy helps organizations connect through online and offline strategies. Nancy is an online interaction designer, facilitator and coach for distributed communities of practice, online learning, distributed teams and online communities.
She has a special interest in the NGO/NPO sector. Nancy blogs at http://www.fullcirc.com/ as well as teaches, presents and writes on online facilitation and interaction, social architecture and social media ( http://www.fullcirc.com/community/communitymanual.htm). She is co-author with Etienne Wenger and John Smith of the upcoming book “Digital Habitats: stewarding technology for communities.”
Nancy confesses to online interaction, learning and chocolate addiction. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two grown sons.
Tips From The Diva Bag
Complements of Liz Strauss
Some points that interest me right now ...
Malcolm Gladwell talks about it in his book, Outliers: The Story of Successon page 39 when he says
… the thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he o she works. That’s it. And what’s more, the people at the very top don’t work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder. They do the work.
We're taught to be leaders on someone else's path. What path would be ours if we were never taught or graded?
Irresistible takes head, heard and purpose aligned toward the same goal.
Follow Liz on Twitter Lizstrauss
Complements of Nancy White
1. Is this a community of friends/colleagues or a network? If the latter, how much of your personal identity is useful and what should you keep to yourself? (explore issues of boundaries, transparency and identity) Know how to figure out which is what!
2. Experiment - many of the uses of these tools are just emerging. But don't think you have to play with all of them. Better yet, experiment WITH others.
3. Be clear on what you need/want to do and get out of social networks. Purpose drives clarity to a path of useful participation!
Follow Nancy on Twitter NancyWhite
The first day of April maybe April "Fools Day" but to me it marks the start of spring and new beginnings. The world seems to call out .. take a chance .. throw off your winter jacket and dance in the rain or watch as the yellow Forsythia bush blooms bright yellow flowers.
So I listened to the Spring Sirens and took a leap into something new. I'm writing a book. On social media marketing. But not just a 'regular' book. A book written on Twitter. This book will be built on using 140 characters per line. It will be quick ideas but woven together that flows in a consistent book "read.".
However, it will be "traditionally" formatted with a Foreword, written by Shel Israel @sheliisrael, and chapters. Each chapter will include a one question interview with industry experts who will tag their tweets - #smgps The # allows for easy search for tweet inTwitter search.
If that's too confusing or if you want to go back and read it at your own pace I've created a dedicated blog. Social Media Marketing - A Twitter-book . #smgps.
My goal is to create a resource for marketers where the social media marketing community can contribute their insights as well. Call it an experiment in crowd sourcing. Can it work? Wil it work? I don't know. Some Tweeters have said it will fail in less than 140 seconds; others think it's cool and has value; others have a wait and show me stance. For me, social media is all about trying new ideas. So I thought why not?
This quote by Erica Jong was part of the Introduction and captures what it's all about. On a fool's spring day or with a carefully structured marketing strategy. - "The trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more." I extend an invitation to join me on this adventure.
This seems to be the week to share thoughts of some of my smart friends with you. Perhaps we should begin a new series on Diva Marketing .. Sharing The Thoughts of Smart Friends.
My pal Jon Lee Andersen is an attorney in Atlanta. But Jon is no boring lawyer .. he is one cool divo whose practice focuses on the marketing and advertising industries. In fact Jon has bragging rights as the only lawyer who has held the office of president of the AMA/Atlanta Chapter.
Quarterly Jon writes a newsletter on marketing topics incorporating the point of view of the law. He kindly agreed to share his latest article about mobile marketing with Diva Marketing's community. His writing is smart and funny. In this issue Jon's dog analogy so reminded me of Twitter!
New Dogs in Advertising - By Jon Lee Andersen
The Faithful Companion
I once owned a Golden Retriever who followed me everywhere. If I went from one room in the house to another, within minutes he was in there with me. I think he was slightly irritated on some occasions with this movement, especially when he was perfectly comfortable where he was at the moment and could see no good reason to move. As he got older he did stop following me upstairs, but he always waited at the bottom step for me to come back down. When I was at home, he was always at my side.
Now my dog sent me messages regularly, but they were only about himself. Today however, there is another “faithful companion” in our lives and it has the potential to deliver messages to me where ever I may roam: my cell phone. Like my dog it follows me from room to room, and even better - it goes out the door, down the street, to the grocery store, to school, the pizza parlor and the ball game.
Advertisers are taking serious note, since technology now enables them to text me messages about their products and services. I have read that as many as 60 million consumers were exposed to mobile advertising in a recent month and that analysts think the mobile market could be as big as $3 billion in billings within the next 4 years. As text messaging gains even more converts, it is likely to grow even faster. As the saying goes, this marketing dog can hunt!
The Hound Dog
Not is the mobile advertising getting bigger, it is getting more sophisticated. Like a good bloodhound, if my phone was equipped with a GPS system (alas, it is not) advertisers could find me almost anywhere. This would enable them to target me with advertising designed for my specific location, say a coupon good for French fries if I happen to be near a fast food chain. And if the advertiser knew from some other source, such as a behavioral study of my habits from my online usage, that I really liked fast food, the success rate of the advertising should be very high.
The Watch Dog
So, with this proliferation of text and other mobile advertising, what are the problems and the guidelines for doing it correctly? As with the online advertising, the biggest problem is spam, the unwanted ads, junk and schemes being sent. While it is annoying in my computer’s email inbox, at least it is free.
For cell phone customers however, it is not only annoying, it can be rather expensive. Most mobile phone service providers charge for incoming text messages. I have read that in 2008, it is estimated that over 1.5 billion spam text messages were received by consumers at a cost exceeding $225 million dollars.
The principal watch dog for abuses in mobile advertising is the Federal Trade Commission, working under the 2003 CAN-SPAM Act. While CAN-SPAM was initially focused on the glut of spam email messages flooding computers, Section 14 of the Act specifically bans companies from sending unsolicited commercial text messages to cellular phones.
The key requirement for mobile text advertising is that the recipient must give the advertiser “opt-in” to send the text message. By opting-in, consumers have affirmatively agreed to receive text messages from an advertiser and have agreed to pay for any resulting charges incurred. An affirmative opt-in is also required to allow an advertiser to utilize location-based information.
Both the Mobile Marketing Association and CTIA Wireless Association have developed Best Practices Guidelines to address mobile advertising. Both state that content providers must obtain approval from subscribers before sending them commercial SMS or MMS messages or other content.
Obtaining consent may be one of the biggest headaches for advertisers, since the rules require that notice about how and what information will be used must be given in proximity to the consent. Therefore, the small screens of mobile phones will pose some technical limitations. But, I’m betting on technology and advertisers!
The text ad was directed to Mark
Whom they knew was out in the park
And being most careful men
They checked his “opt-in”
So the D.C. watchdog wouldn’t bark
© March 2009 Jon Lee Andersen, Andersen Law Firm, All Rights Reserved
Sign up Jon's quarterly newsletters. He's also happy to answers any questions. jlandersen -at - lawyer - dot - com.
Thanks to BL Ochman, PawFun and whatsnextblog, Benny Bix Ochman Labradoodle's person for the use of his cool photo.
