The truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time but it ain't goin' away. ~ Elvis Presley
Just One Crowd Sourced Question
Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin,
Pinterest and other social networks changed how we think about "social media" from those long ago days of the blogosphere. However, I wondered if the "truths" of
social media also changed.
Is social media still about people-to-people conversations or is
monetization the focus? Has social media become a ghost writer's paradise or is
transparency still critical? What does authenticity mean in 2013?
Just Once Crowd Sourced Question is a Diva Marketing
series where the community shares their insights on a specific social media
issue. One truth that still remains consistent even in 2013 .. social media is about learning together.
What Is Your One Big Truth About Social Media in 2013?
Jack Yan. I think social media are changing forms.
I go to my
Facebook feed and I see links. This could be the new Digg (something I’ve said
for years). I didn’t come here to see links, I came here to share and see what
my friends are up to. Facebook is too busy monetizing and breaking its own features,
too, which doesn’t help. It’s buggy as heck. It has zero user support.
So to
get those people-to-people connections, I have to go to Instagram, where the
“conversations” (via photos) are just that more authentic. I don’t see that on
Pinterest or Linkedin. But if I am sharing on Instagram, then something’s got
to give.
Twitter, once so open, has become a closed-minded place—it’s not
helped by Tweetdeck, which crashes like crazy now, and Metrotwit doesn’t handle
multiple accounts. I know there are other tools, but my point is that things
aren’t all running in Twitter’s favour any more. So if I have good tools to use
for Instagram, then why should I bother with Twitter?
Tumblr, which I always
thought was a blogging platform, is still a neat insight into our preferences
and how we think. In that way, it has a social connection for netizens. Plus it
has reached 100,000,000 users—and staff can still send personal replies,
responding to bug reports and other enquiries. Facebook, Yahoo, Google and
others have a lot to learn from these guys.
Social media are still about
people-to-people conversations. We had those conversations with Vox between
2006 and 2009, which predated Facebook with sharing to different audiences.
Transparency is still important.
I don’t think these definitions change—just
that the sites that once hosted them are not what they used to be.
Nettie Reyonds. I would say that this year the big and necessary truth is for social media to stop taking itself so seriously.
It's not what it has been hyped up to be and people need to employ the social media economy of effort - meaning use the tools to connect with your customers on a real basis - make that effort and your company will benefit long- term much more than it would mired in hype, haste and hastily pushed out disingenuous content!!! ~ @netreynoldsNettie Ink
Anonymous. My one big truth about social media: it continues to be my most important source of news and information, and it continues to baffle most companies. Wait! Is that two thruths?!
Judy Mod. We believe social provides a lens into the world of our buyers and continues to transform the way buyers go-to-market to solve strategic business problems.
The problem we are focused on solving within the Social Executive Council is the shift from vendor-driven to peer influence is marginalizing vendors as buyers demand to be empowered with education on the problem definition before they engage for education on solution differences.
How do we arm buyers in the market to operationalize their problem diagnosis to reach them early enough to be a trusted advisor in their buying process and throughout their life cycle as a customer?
This shift and our lack of market visibility because of the noise and barriers to buyer adoption are having a significant impact on every aspect of our business performance. ~ @JudyMod
Anonymous. You don't have to be on every form of social media just the
ones that work best for you and your business.
Michael Rubin. It's ultimately still about people. Technology's the tool,
social media's the rocket fuel, people are the soul. ~ @merubin MichaelE.Rubin.com
Tanya McGill Freeman. I think it's
absolutely about people-to-people conversations...now more than ever!
People do
business with people that may represent companies but not really just the
companies themselves as a whole. Therefore the act of authentic, real
engagement is so incredibly important. We tend to do business with those we
know, like and trust, and social media provides a very effective way to
establish those bonds and maintain them. @D_Sophisticate
Kelly Dovovan. social media is still about one-to-one or one-to-few
conversations, but social media networks are making that harder to do as time
goes on.
Facebook admits that they show a Page's posts to only about 16% of
that Page's followers' news feeds. You have to pay if you want to send a direct
message to your fans, too.
Both Facebook and Twitter have started cluttering
users' news feeds with ads and sponsored posts/tweets, making it harder for
users to notice your posts.
LinkedIn seems to be the least commercial platform,
but surveys show that people online spend only about 2% of their social media
time on LinkedIn, so your conversation better stand out for the moment when
someone in your LinkedIn group actually logs into that network or you will miss
them.
Our challenge in 2013 is to meet users where they are and position
ourselves as someone worth actively following.
He: I need more traffic to my blog, more followers to my Twitter account and more likes on my Facebook.
Me: So I told him the 7 Step Secret Sauce Recipe For Social Media Success. In all candour, it's nothing new but as a reminder I thought I'd pass along.
1. The End Game - Start with the end game in mind .. or as marketers might say -- your goals.
What do you want to achieve? What is success to you? Is it gaining a new audience or repositioning your brand with current customers? Is it building stronger relationships with your employees?
2. Know Your Audience - The more you understand the profile of your audience the better you'll be able to put into play steps #3, #4, #5. Building a personae of people you want to reach helps to go beyond traditional demographics to including digital/social behaviors.
3. Selfless Content - Posts that take the needs of your community into consideration and are aligned with the values of your brand/company.
Mantra to repeat before hitting the publish key:
It's not about me it's about you.
4. Focused Content Direction - Choose a topic that is big enough to give you some flexibity but narrow enough to carve out a niche that sets you apart in the cluttered social media space. Helps if you are passionate or have a high interest in the topic .. to help you sustain over time.
5. Consistency Over Time/Social Platforms - To be The "go to diva or divo" - post several times a day about trends, hard to find information, hot tips, industry news.
To position yourself as a "thought leader" consider weekly posts using platforms that offer longer formats than Twitter and can be deep linked e.g. blogs, YouTube/Vimeo (video), SlideShare. Content ideas: opinons on industry trends, current issues, interviews with leading experts.
If you're focused on innovation or a start-up it might mean you become active on the latest shiny toy. Yes, there are times when jumping into the the new is a valid strategy.
6. Community Generosity - Identify your peers, influencers and greatest fans. Join the conversatons where they hangout. Contribute to the discussion with your ideas, links, opinions. Rarely does that mean pitch your product.
If you're in a more conservative world or your end game is to sustain your current positioning, it might mean the tried and true blogs, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.
Keep in mind that you do not and never will "own" any social network e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, FourSquare, g+, etc. You are a renter abiding by the rules (terms of service) that can and are changed at the discretion of the network.
The only social media properties you have control over are the blogs, communities, sites you build and host yourself.
6. Resources - Much as we might like to think that the digital world is a free for all .. if you're using social media as a business strategy keep in mind there is a cost. The price you pay is in time, human capital and yes, hard earned dollars too.
Determining how your resources will be allocated will save you a few sleepless nights.
7. Determine Results - Is it working? How will you know (refer to #1)if your end game is met? Think about the metrics that will provide you the greatest insight. Hint: Likes are probably not the best indicator.
There are at least 27 billion tools (well .. that might be a slight exaggeartion but perhaps not!) to help you track, measure and analyze. Some are free while others can run you some major bucks.
Me: Right, this stuff is really not as difficult as say finding the perfect jeans. (Girlfriend, now he began to look puzzled .. but you know what I mean.) But there is one more step that I forgot to mention.
The spice that kicks it up a notch ...pulls it together .. it's the person who builds and implements and ensures that outcomes are met within two cultures -- that of your brand and social web.
The skill set and experience that should be brought to the party grows more sophisticated and complex as social media becomes integrated into a business' DNA.
Social Media Manager Skill Set
Business experience, marketing experince, strategy understand and in the weeds tactics, great verbal and written communication, knows how to write for the web, problem solving, analytic skills, expeience in web analytics, understands the concept of digital conversation, continuous learner, generously shares, team player with people of diverse backgrounds, comfortable moving between online and offline environments, creative approach to the mundane and the unexpected, ability to work in a constantly moving world, likes helping people, customer first orientation, understands the concept of selfless content, content curation and creation, importance of multiple devices, understands digital behavior and building community.
Add to that the working knowlede of mulitple social networks, blogs, the concept of authenticity, transparancy, honesty.
Include an understanding of your brand value and promise and how content and conversations must align but not message or sell within the social web.
Oh yes .. throw in a little passion for social media and the brand and having fun.
Remember the all important word we were taught in kindergarten? Share.
We shared crayons, books and sometimes our PB&J sandwiches. Through sharing we made new friends.
What we didn't understand, at least at five I had not a clue, was that from these small interactions we were creating a unique 'classroom community' that was a little different from the other kindergarten classes.
Taking that idea into the social web .. each social network and digital community we particiapte in has its own culture influencing our experiences.
In the social web we're sharing like mad. Some people might say we're sharing too much. (Perhaps that's a post for another day!) There are lots of different social shares from product reviews on sites like Yelp to retweets, repins and of course Facebook and post/article shares.
The social web has brought friends and strangers together in a way that would have been difficult to image 10 or even 5 years ago. I wonder why it seems we've become obsessed with sharing. I came across an interesting study, conducted by the New York Times,The Psychlogy of Sharing. Passing along to you.Ok .. so I'm sharing!
Why People Share?
1. To bring valuable and entertaining content to others
2. To define ourselves to others
3. To grow and nuture our relationships
4. Self-fulfillment
5. To get the word out about causes or brands
What Influences A Social Share?
1. Appeal to consumer's motivation to connect with each other not just with your brand
2, Trust is the cost of entree for social shares
3. Keep it simple and it will get share .. and won't get muddled
4. Appeal to their sense of humor .. I might add carefully
5. Embrace a sense of urgency
Social sharing goes beyond an nice to know. Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Yelp, MySpace have forever changed what and how we buy. We've always sought opinions from family and friends. It may seem odd, but we now also depend on the reviews of strangers to shape our purchase decisions from the most important products .. like your 27th pair of black shoes to the mundane .. which dryer to buy.
The Advertising Research Foundation recent study - Digital & Social Media in the Purchase Decision Process -calls this type of shopping a winding journey where the shopper is “always on” because of the constant interaction with brand.
Social Sharing Tips
For Brands - Invest resources to monitor and track what people are sharing about your brands especially on your own social network pages like Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram. Go beyond counting the number of shares. The gold is in the details of the extended sharing and conversation.
For Customers - Before you take out the plastic read multiple reviews from more than one source or site. A Tweeter search on the product name might pull up some interesting insights and links.
Social sharing takes your unique, personal brand experience and turns it into a brand experience for anyone who happens to come across your comments. You could be more influencial than you ever imagined!
When The Baltimore Ravens might be walking way with the 2013 Superbowl win, but when it came to social media marketing Oreo won the viral prize with a simple tweet.
When the lights went out in the Super Dome tonight the savvy Oreo Twitter team had a brilliant light bulb moment.
Within minutes their tweet ~ "You can still dunk with the lights out" was was being shared across social networks, on blogs and picked up by main stream media. When I first checked there were 10,521 retweets within 41 minutes.
Let's do a little sideline analysis.
The Plays
Content: relevant, creative, fun, supported customers' activity with the product "oreo cookie dunking"
Contextual: perfect timing, leveraged social web buzz re: the Super Dome lights going out. I suppose it didn't hurt that people were bored waiting for the game to start.
Twitter Team: agile, content created in real time in response to an unexpected opportunity
The Fumble
Oreo missed the opportunity to integrate the tweet into it's social web eco system.
Now, I'm not necessarily a fan of automatic social network insertion. I believe we should take advantage of the unique features and culture of each platform. However, often it makes sense to cross post content modified for the platform.
Oreo's Facebook page shows 31,534,863 Likes. The community is failry engaged. I can help but wonder ..
~The extent of sharing, liking and commenting if the tweet were Facebook posted.
~The type of conversation that might have occured .. might it have been different from Twitter?
~ What the ROI comparison was in terms of its TV ad, other social initiatives and this one unexpected little tweet.
Lessons Learned: Real time contextural content can not be pre programmed but the impact can be huge.
It's a time when people who work in smaller nonprofts are welcome to tell their stories. It's a way of giving back through shining a light on lesser known organizations through the voices of the those who are passionate about their cause.
It's a hope that perhaps before the year ends you'll reach into the your heart for one last 2012 donation. Or as 2013 begins find a new organization to support.
This year life got in the way of life. As The Fates would have it, just as I was feeling sad that I didn't have a nonprofit to share with you, once again social media came to the rescue. This time it was a LinkedIn connect request from a young women .. Simon Bernstein.
Skipping around her profile and then her web presence I knew the story of VolunTEEN Nation would be the perfect way to close the year. I am humbled and honored to introduce you to Simon and her story.
The story is told by Simone Bernstein who is a junior at St. Bonaventure University. After three years of success with her local organization, Simone and her brother launched VolunTEEN Nation in March 2012.
Engaging youth in volunteer service heals divisions within communities. As an avid volunteer in both my hometown and college community, with a passion for engaging youth in volunteer service, I took the initiative to launch a national website for youth to easily find and connect with volunteer opportunities and resources at volunTEENnation.org. Utilizing social media tools to promote the website over 8,500 youth have found volunteer opportunities through the website, organized volunteer events, and our annual volunteer fairs.
My initial spark to volunteer in my community was ignited when my dad was deployed in the military. My siblings and I were overwhelmed with the support our family received and the outpouring of volunteers: bringing meals, helping my mom with childcare and daily errands.I wanted to volunteer, too.
I was fortunate through word-of-mouth to find youth volunteer opportunities. During high school, I took the initiative to create a regional website stlouisvolunteen.com out of my own frustration and difficulty in finding volunteer opportunities for youth on-line. Due to safety, security and liability issues and concerns, many non-profit organizations and agencies limit the minimum age for an on-site volunteer to 18. I wanted to make it easier for area youth to find volunteer opportunities.
Interest in our regional website from schools, non-profit agencies and students around the nation drove my brother and I to create a national tool or resource for youth interested in volunteering.
Note It's A Family Affair! Photo of Simon's sister Sophie, brother/co-founder Jake, their Dad who is a captain in the Navy and Simon.
Meeting with local and national government officials, I advocate for service learning in our nation’s schools. The challenge facing our nation’s school’s is the crisis of high school dropouts due to lack of support both in the school and home. Engaging youth in service learning provides a valuable link back to the community with a strong connection to the classroom.
I organized and created the first St Louis Youth and Family Volunteer Fair. The Fair is now an annual event hosted at The St Louis Magic House, Children’s Museum with over 35 family-friendly non-profit organizations recruiting student and families to volunteer.
Wanting to engage more youth, I organize flexible volunteer projects for youth. I coordinated a September 11, 2011 tenth anniversary volunteer service project to engage youth and families “Serve to Remember” park clean-up. Combining sports and youth, my brother and I recruited 25 youth volunteers to instruct tennis lessons at “Aces for All” a weekly tennis clinic for youth on the autism spectrum “Soccer for All” and “B-ball for All”. I also helped start Making Music Matters, a successful organization where teens volunteer to teach music lessons in the inner-city schools.
My goal is to inspire others to find ways for all youth improve their communities.
It is well within the reach of any student to get involved and make a difference.
Ideally, I would like to create an international volunteer site and combine my passion for volunteer service and my medical training to advocate for quality maternal.
"We'll be known as the helpful store. The friendly store. The store with a heart. The store that places public service ahead of profit. The plan sounds idiotic and impossible...consequently, we'll make more profit than ever before."
Customers would not be coerced into buying what they did not want; however, the real courage was if another store had a better or less expensive product Macy's would refer them there.
Fast forward 65 years into the future and we struggle with similar issues of how to provide value for our customers. Technology has given us an amazing, let's call it a gift, that provides a new way to for us to build relationships and nurture with our customers.
Pull off the pretty red bow and you'll find digital platforms with funny names like blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Google+, LinkedIn and Pinterest. It's a world where to succeed we have to go beyond a one-off sale to opportunities where three entities: company, employee and custome can create the brand experience .. together. That takes courage too.
Unlike the impact of Macy's initiative, social media impact reaches beyond just one customer. For the first time, the entire enterprise has skin in the game. The digital relationships that the people who are the heart of your brand can set off a unique chain reaction.
Continuous listening -> learning -> understanding -> results in trust -> leads to loyalty -> leads to the cash register bells ringing. And every time a cash register bell rings a marketer gets a bonus or gets to keep her job (!) .. oops wrong film.
Corner grocery store digital relationships that are build not only with you and your customers, but among your customers and your employees could never have been imagined when Kris Kringle entered Macy's Santa Land in 1947. However, even as we approach 2013, for many organizations open conversations still seem like a Miracle on (insert organization name here) or like the ghost of Xmas future (oops wrong movie again.)
The plan sounds idiotic and impossible... consequently, we'll make more profit than ever before.
As we begin 2013, technology developments spin even faster taking digital business into areas that were impossible in '47 or '57 or even '2012.
Imagine a digital destination where you can include your review of the product, service or customer care that influences your or your friends' buying decisions.
Imagine a digital destination where you can talk to a brand employee who doesn't respond with a scripted answer.
IImagine a digital destination that allows for product and service customization.
Imagine a digital destination where you can start a conversation with a real person about what matters to you regarding a product or service.
Imagine a digital destination where you can actually help change the direction of a product or service before it's even launched.
Imagine multiple digital devices, moblie, tablet, computer, television not "or" but "and" ... and one day even your glasses!
Imagine a digital destination where you can chat with people about their experiences and learn from each other .. in real time during your shopping experience. The result is smarter purchases.
Imagine an authenitc conversation, in real time, with your favorite actor, politician, author or reporter who responds to your comments.
Imagine an authentic conversation with your senior managmenet or an admired corporate executive where ideas are transparently exchanged.
Imagine an organization that works in partnership with its customers and employees to create a brand experience that is relevant, innovative and imaginative across multiple divices.
Imagine an organization that cares not simply about for for its customers.
The plan sounds idiotic and impossible...consequently, we'll make more profit than ever before.
What a funny world we live in. It's interesting to compare a 1940's film, where finding solutions to customers' problems was perceived as unique, to 2012 where finding solutions to customers' problems is considered ingenious.
The techniques may have changed. New buzz words may be added to the mix. Bells and whistles may be a little louder. However, after all is said and done, the premise remains the same:
-Listen
-Understand
-Add value
-Do what it takes to go the extra mile to delight your customer
I believe that as we learn how to use social media it will change how we conduct business .. leading to creating an environment where people truly matter. And that my friends, is as couragous and innovative as Mr. Macy's Miracle on 34th Street.
The plan sounds idiotic and impossible...consequently, we'll make more profit than ever before.
Sidebar: A Classic Diva Marketing post based on an article written for American Marketing Association Marketing News.
Max and I wish you a year of little miracles, joy and all things wonderful and bright.
It's amazing how days turn to weeks and weeks turn to months. Life gets in the way of life and before you know it the best of intentions slip through the proverbial cracks.
In this case the best of intentions, are of course, to write and share learnings about marketing and social media with you. And so, I must apologize for the long lag in posting. Here's why ..
I've often said that social media gives back more than it takes and this part of my story is another testimonial to that belief.
After 15-years of solopreneurship I was offered an exciting opportunity to join an organization that is focused on digital innovation. No, I'm not an on-air talent (at least not at the moment!). The work is to support almost 100 media properties and the enterprise at-large to more effectively incorporate the social web and leverage the social graphic.
Of course, all opinions are 100% mine and do not necessarily reflect that of anyone else, including my employer or even Max. I appreciate your understanding and ask for your patience as I adjust to the rythm of a full time corporate gig and ensuring that there is great content on Diva Marketing.
One of my all time favorite things to do is walk-the-beach in the morning. (I also like to walk-the-city.)
A few weeks ago I was visiting my family in Massachusetts. Lucky me that my cousins have a beautiful home a block from the ocean.
The beach is a wonderland of tactical sensations that helps me quiet my mind: sound of the ocean surf, the touch of the waves and sand on your toes, the smell of salt water and the gentle comraderie as people nod their hellos and exchange smiles as if to say .. "Welcome to our world."
As artist Maria Kalman says, "Wonderful things happen when the brain is empty."
As much as the walk can be a 'rebooting' experience, eventually you do have come off the beach. That's where it can get tricky. Walking a few feet away from the path that set you on your adventure you suddenly realize there are few signs to mark your return destination spot.
You have to make an effort to remember from whence you came.
Walking along I wondered .. how does a brand approach social media without getting lost in the wonderland of new sensations and shiny toys? To put it in marketing terms, do we even remember to take brand values into consideration? Or do we skip onto the social platforms and never look back from whence we came and one day realize that we are totally lost and that our customers are totally confused?
Seemed to me that there were two critical issues to consider content and voice. Here are a couple of examples including B2B, B2C, Twitter, Pinterest and Blogs.
1. Content -- While social media content can and should relfect the 'human side' of your authors, to be part of a business initiative it must align with your brand.
IBM's Pinterest bio positions the company as "forward thinking." Boards about a computer (IBM Watson) that played Jeopardy, building a smarter planet, smarter cities and more support that brand value. IBM gets a check for consistency. IBM Values Statement
2. Voice - Employees writing for your brand should be encouraged to develop their unique 'voices' while maintaing brand values and promise. Keep in mind "voices" may not always be text .. video, podcasts, images count too.
One of my favorite CEO blogs is Marriott On The Move written by Bill Marriott. His posts, seem like personal letters direct to me from a charming man who I'd love to sit across the table from and share a meal or a glass of wine. Mr. Marriott wraps his post around personal experiences that always lend insight into the company or himself.
I must admit, if I were to learn that a PR manager or an out-sourced agency was ghost writing for Bill Marriott I'd be more than sad. I'd feel a break in trust between my friend Mr. Marriott and myself. Trust is a hard won prize not to be taken lightly.
Not all content or voice tonality will be right for every brand. While a funny cat post on Facebook may result in a bunch of likes and shares is that what you really want your customers and prospects to keep top of mind about your brand? Humor can be a great content direction but can you create it to be both relevant and fun? Are a few easy, off-brand wins worth a wobble to your brand image?
No one said ths stuff would be easy.
You have to make an effort to remember from whence you came.
9-11 .. eleven years ago our world came tumbling to a halt.
As people, from every country, watched in horror then, eleven years later we tell the stories again so our children and their children and their children will not forget.
Within the story of giant flames we also take time to remember that this was not One Big story. 9-11 is a mosaic of a multitude of smaller stories all important and impactful.
Each story still burning brightly in some person's heart.
It is with great pleasure that I have the honor of introducing our Diva Marketing community to a dear friend, Sybil Stershic.
Sybil's second book, Share of Mind, Share of Heart, explores the world of nonprofit marketing. The book takes a different slant from other books about NPOs; it focuses on the impact that employees and volunteers have on brand perception.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Sybil, Right from the start of Share of Mind, Share of Heartit’s clear
that this is a book that you believe in and that comes from your heart. The
Forward sets the direction that nonprofit marketing holds an additional element
that may not be as prominent in other industries. It’s often based on a personal and passionate
commitment.
How do you walk the fine line of believing passionately in a
cause while maintaining business objectivity?
Sybil Stershic: It
can be a challenge, Toby. Passion for the mission is what attracts nonprofit
employees, volunteers, donors and other supporters. It helps connect them and
keep them engaged with the work of a nonprofit.
But passion for the mission
without a bigger picture perspective can be dangerous – it can lead to burnout
and a condition known as “mission creep” that dilutes organizational focus.
Effective oversight by nonprofit leadership, via the executive staff and board
of directors, is needed to maintain a dual focus on both the mission and the
organization’s viability. While a strong mission helps drive financial support
– i.e., “no mission, no money” – these leaders understand the reverse is also
true – “no money, no mission.”
Toby/Diva Marketing: Your book is full of practical, creative
ideas that at first glance seem so simple; however, we know too well that
implementation can be a challenge.
Would
you talk to us about what you refer to as “After The First Day” (P 59)? After
the initial orientation and excitement about the organization has waned how can
we help remind staff and volunteers of the mission and goals and keep them on
track?
Sybil Stershic:
New staff and volunteers get a lot of attention when they first join the
organization. Even in smaller organizations that don’t have formal orientation
or on-boarding programs, there’s still an effort to “imprint” the new person
with the organization’s mission, values, and goals.
After a while the newbies blend
in with other staff and volunteers. If the collective group is not kept
informed on an ongoing basis as to what’s happening in the nonprofit and how
it’s responding, the people within the organization tend to hunker down and
lose sight of the big picture. Job descriptions become outdated; members of the
board turn over, yet the staff doesn’t know who the new board members; the
strategic plan is updated, but not shared with staff and volunteers; etc.
In
the absence of ongoing communication, people start to disengage.
What’s amazing, Toby, is that the remedy
to this isn’t all that difficult. It involves being intentional in proactively
communicating with staff and volunteers. For example, the Jewish Family &
Career Services of Atlanta (Whom you introduced me to, thank you! My pleasure Sybil. Bloggy disclaimer: JF&CS is a client.), holds an
all-staff meeting the day after each monthly
board of directors’ meeting to share board meeting results along with updates
on grants and special events. JF&CS also recognizes and shares volunteer
accomplishments in its monthly e-newsletter.
Another great example is the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute that starts
staff meetings and board meetings by reading aloud its mission statement to keep
everyone focused. These two examples illustrate that keeping the people who
help fulfill the mission “in the know” doesn’t require a Herculean effort
– it’s basic communication and
engagement via staff meetings, volunteer meetings, internal newsletters, training,
staff/volunteer recognition, and special events, as needed.
Diva Marketing/Toby: “So the
degree to which you capture and keep consumers’ share of mind and heart is
directly influenced by their interactions with your staff and volunteers.”
(P 33) I really like this statement ... a lot.
Since Diva Marketing is focused
on social media I’m wondering how much of a nonprofit’s online engagement in
social networks, e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc. influences
share of mind and heart?
Sybil Stershic: The
degree to which a nonprofit uses social networks depends on the organization – its
culture, mission, key audiences, etc. That said, social media is a wonderful
way to grow share of mind and heart with mission-inspired content.
Sharing
stories and pictures of how people benefit from the mission (while not
breaching confidentiality)
… volunteers or donors sharing their experiences
supporting the mission (also reinforcing the ways people can get involved) … staff members offering a behind-the-scenes perspective
of a special event … these stories help bring the mission to life. A nonprofit
can also write blog posts and share links to content that educates people about
its mission and programs.
While social media advocates say “content is king,” I’d go
even further to say “careful content is critical” in that nonprofits need to
consider sensitivity in how they present any and all messages that reflect on
their mission and brand. A negative impression can easily go viral. Toby/Diva Marketing: What are your thoughts about involving staff,
who are not in the marketing department, and also volunteers in participating
in social media/networks? Let’s take these two ways. The first is as one of the “voices” of the
nonprofit.
Sybil Stershic: I
know this seems like an oxymoron, but any “voice” speaking on behalf of a
nonprofit needs to be authentic to be
credible, yet carefully managed to
ensure the wrong message isn’t put out there. That’s why social media
guidelines and training need to be part of both Human Resources and Marketing
policies.
Toby/Diva Marketing: The second ... how would you encourage
nonprofits to interact with consumers in the digital world?
Sybil Stershic: The answer to this depends on the
organization and its target audiences’ access to and use of social media.
For
example, I know a health-related nonprofit that combines both high-tech and
low-tech approaches in building share of mind and heart. To broaden its
outreach efforts, the marketing director produced a brief educational video as
part of an “ambassador portfolio” that also contains a list of frequently asked
questions and updated brochures for use by board and staff members. Employee
reps show the video when meeting with outside groups or hosting on-site
facility tours.
Marketing is also in the process of updating the website to be
more engaging. Yet because many of its older board members do not use email, this
nonprofit communicates with its board primarily by phone and regular mail.
Toby/Diva Marketing:
You’ve worked with many different types of nonprofits, and you’ve also worked
with for profits. For me your book provides a roadmap that can be easily
modified and used by both. One challenge
that both nonprofit and for profits face is opening lines of communication
across the organization .. or “de-siloing.” What suggestions can you give us to
help that critical process?
Sybil Stershic: The
best way to start is to ask employees for their ideas on what works in bridging
these silos. They can also help identify which departments or divisions are
already doing with well with inter-organizational communications; these areas
can serve as role models.
Toby/Diva Marketing:
Sybil, as is the tradition of Diva Marketing interviews, you have the last
word. What would you tell our community, especially those marketers working in
the nonprofit world?
Sybil Stershic: Recognize
your marketing team includes everyone who works in your organization,
regardless of the department or function they are assigned. So you need to
effectively engage the minds and hearts of the people behind the mission (your employees and volunteers who impact your
brand) as well as the people in front of
the mission (your consumers and the public).
The secret to success in any social network, or blog, marketing strategy is elevating the content direction to beyond just messaging about the brand product. The challenge is to ensure that this value-added, or what I call "selfless content", supports the brand promise and values.
Diva Marketing/Toby: In any new social media endeavor, they will not come unless you tell them. How is Baylor creating awareness for its Pinterest boards?
Ashley Howland: We recently created a tab on our Facebook page where fans can peruse our Pinterest page without ever leaving Facebook. We have also added the Pinterest button to our website, business cards and will soon be adding it to our email signatures.
Occasionally, we feature a Pinterest recipe of the week on Facebook and Twitter or showcase holiday ideas from our “Healthy Holidays” board (that’s my favorite board by the way!). We are also planning to experiment with Pinterest contests in the near future which will cross over to our other communities.
I’m a big believer that content doesn’t have to stay on the site it originated in. It’s natural to compartmentalize and segment your communities, but you don’t have to! If you have an awesome pin or a compelling blog post, share it across the board.
Don’t keep a pin on Pinterest, a post on Facebook or a tweet on Twitter. Share it amongst your other communities. Cross over is key. At the end of the day, you are managing one big community of people.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Pinterest provides interesting consumer insights. Is Baylor doing any analysis beyond a quantitative count of pin, comments, repins, etc? If you what have you learned about your community?
Ashley Howland: Measurement is huge when it comes to Pinterest! You can count repins and likes all day, but it won’t give you an accurate picture of what’s really going on. Measuring click-throughs is critical.
We use Pinerly.com to measure our Pinterest activity. It’s been a great tool not just for measurement, but as a workaround for pinning static content on our website that may not have a compelling image to accompany it (as I mentioned above).
We have learned that just because something isn’t repinned, doesn’t mean people won’t like it. We have also learned that like almost everything else in life, presentation is everything. You have one image to communicate your message and grab their attention so make it count! In this case, people do judge a “pin” by its cover.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Let’s talk about docs. Are you seeing any physicians successfully using Pinterest?
Ashley Howland: Not yet! But that doesn’t mean we won’t. Physicians have been very slow to adopt social media. Some are very sceptical of it and fear that it will put them at risk for violating patient privacy laws.
As I mentioned above, all social media sites have their risks, but training and education is key.
Have you seen Dr. Oz’s Pinterest page? It’s a natural fit for him and he’s doing a great job!
Q: To wrap this, what lessons learned can you share with us about healthcare in the world of Pinterest?
1. Don’t be afraid to stick your toe in the waters of Pinterest…it’s exhilarating! J
2. Good content is all around you. It’s a matter of making it “pinable.”
3. Think visually.
4. Don’t be a self-serving brand. Make sure you’re pinning things that are useful or interesting to other people.
5. Pin frequently, but not excessively. I’ve heard pinning up to 20 times a day (both original content and repins) in the evenings and on weekends is the key. However, there is no scheduling app for Pinterest just yet so that may be difficult. (Pinerly promises that it’s coming soon!)
Join Ashley and the Bayler Healthcare Sysem social media team ..
This week I was called to jury duty. The Honorable John Doran, Jr. presided.
A jury selection is much like making a film or a commercial. There are a lot of stops, starts and waiting around while lawyers and judge side-bar conversations that you can't hear but would so love to be invited to the party. Voir dire (questioning the jury panel to establish suitability) of the 50 member panel took over a day.
Much like the beginning of a focus group, to help respondents develop a comfort level for future complex questions, the defense attorney asked what I thought was an interesting multiple choice question. How did we feel about our day in court?
1. Excited to be part of the process
2. Interested in the process
3. Anxious or apprehensive
4. Frustrated or perhaps a little resentful
An ah ha moment. Each of these feelings could be held by people new to social media or even challenged with taking social media initiatives to the next level. The big realization .. we rarely stop to acknowledge and address these concerns before we plow into creating strategies and executing tactics. The results can be too many side-bar conversations that add time and dollars to our process.
Several times Judge Duran offered explanations about the proceedings that brought context helping us not only understand the legal whys of the Court but the humanity of the judicial system. I suspect this was also his way of easing the boredom of the wait .. his and ours.
As a group, we were engaged with Judge Duran but on a passive basis. That is no one commented or asked a question. Our thoughts were our own not encouraged to be shared. One might say we were a captive audience and the good judge held our attention because he provided a distraction from the tediousness of the day.
But .. he spoke to us about what he obviously cared about and showed us his humanity. How can you help but engage with that type of person?
Later that night I conducted a directed discussion with a group of Millennials about their Facebook habits. Although Facebook of course encourages interaction through likes and comments, the feedback was that a like did not necessarily equate to brand engagement. And most certainly a random like could not be taken at face value to gauge brand loyalty.
We discussed brands that drop multiple daily status updates that are little more than thinly veiled ad disguises. Where is the humanity in that?
An ah ha momement. As a marketer living in the age of social networks I think about what engagement means in terms of bringing a brand to life.
How do we know a like from a passing post in a customer's stream was clicked while multiple tasking or to ease the bordom of the day? We don't. Yet we make multi-million dollar decisions based on what equates to a teeny percentage of our base of page likes.
Just asking ..
1. Are we tipping the social media scales of engagement with wishful thinking that likes = engagment = expanded awareness = monetization?
2. Are we taking the easy way out, of a complex situation, to justify our activity in social networks?
3. Are turning one of the most exciting and innovative communication stategies of 21st century marketing into another mundane messaging channel?
4. Are we missing the opportunity to create authentic people-to-people engaged relationships?
But .. he spoke to us about what he obviously cared about and showed us his humanity. How can you help but engage with that type of person?
Interestingly, it's a lesson that the Food Network is also learining. People relate to people.
Perhaps some social media brand managers might take a lesson or two from His Honor.
The relatively fast Pinterest adoption rate, of what we might call nontraditional to social media verticals, is amazing to me. From financial services, manufacturing to B-to-B, Pinterest seems to capture the imagination of marketers.
In particular is the healthcare sector where many hospitals and medical centers are embracing visual communications and doing interesting work on Pinterest.
I was very excited when Ashely Howland from Bayler Healthcare System agreed to tell us the back-story of Bayler's Pinterest strategy. Ashely graciously shares her insights and learnings. In fact, her interview was so rich and detailed that we decided to run it as a series. Please join me in welcoming Ashley to Diva Marketing!
About Ashley Howland is the social media manager for Baylor Health Care System. She has been with Baylor for 8 years where she got her start in Media Relations. She took on Baylor’s social media efforts in 2009 “on the side” and it quickly turned into a full time job.
Diva Marketing/Toby: I applaud Baylor’s step into Pinterest. Your boards were one of the first that I pinned to my Brand Board. Perhaps you can shed some light on something I’ve been thinking about since I first saw your boards.
Healthcare, as an industry, was slow to participate in the social web. However, it seems the opposite is true for Pinterest. On a high level why do you suppose that’s the case?
Ashley Howland: Thanks for adding us to your brand boards! You’re right; health care was very slow to adopt social media. One of the biggest reasons for that are the regulations in our industry, i.e. patient privacy laws.
We have now embraced it and are using it to inform and educate the public with credible health information. We’re also using it to learn from them as well…what kind of experience they’re having in our hospitals, what type of information they’re looking for and most importantly, we’re using it to help our patients connect with each other for support.
I think one of the biggest reasons Pinterest is so popular in the health care industry is because of its demographic. Nearly 70% of Pinterest users are women, which is a target audience for the health care industry. Women usually make the majority of health care decisions in a household and are usually the ones searching the web for health information.
Pinterest is also not as personal as some of the other social platforms. While Facebook and Twitter are hugely popular, not everyone is comfortable interacting in those spaces. Millions of people have accounts, but they may not be very active on those sites.
I think Pinterest fills that void. It appeals to the people who may not want to share the personal details of their life, but have no problem sharing about their interests and hobbies.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Let’s explore Baylor’s presence on Pinterest. What was it that first caught your interest about Pinterest to take the “pin leap?” When did you pin your first pin?
Ashley Howland: We pinned our first pin in January of this year. I was using Pinterest personally and became addicted to it very early on…like everyone else!
We decided to take the “pin leap” because it seemed like such a natural fit for us. As a hospital system, we have historically been concerned with treating illness, but now more than ever, we are responsible for treating wellness.
Social networking sites are the perfect place to do that. With sites like Pinterest, we can not only inspire people to live healthier lives, but we can show them how.
We are taking the wealth of knowledge and expertise we’re privy to inside the walls of our hospitals and converting it to an easy-to-comprehend visual format.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Currently Baylor has 21 boards with a wide range of topics from healthcare games and tips, food. holidays, fitness and even animal therapy and boards about Texas. How did you determine the topics? Any surprises on the reactions from your community?
Ashley Howland: At first, we determined the topics of the boards based on the content we already had available. We also started paying attention to what people were pinning on our personal Pinterest spaces. In addition to home décor, fashion and arts and crafts, I noticed that my friends were pinning lots of recipes.
Baylor may not be able to help you put together a stylish outfit or show you how to Mod Podge a picture frame, but we’ve got recipes covered! We also noticed that people were pinning a lot of fitness pins and just everyday tips and tricks. We have an abundance of printable health checklists and how-to guides on our website so we pinned them and people loved them!
The biggest surprise was the reaction we got from our Interactive Health Quizzes board. We have many health quizzes and risk assessments buried on our website so we dug them out and started pinning them.
I was surprised that some of them didn’t get any re-pins or likes, but once we started measuring the click-throughs, we realized they were wildly successful! Some people may be shy or embarrassed about pinning a “Are you at risk for depression?” quiz or a risk assessment for cancer, but they will definitely click-through to take the quiz.
Diva Marketing/Toby: What types of content are you pinning?Ashley Howland: What’s great about Pinterest is there is an audience for just about anything! Sometimes brands are frustrated by it because they think they have nothing to pin. On the contrary.
Content is everywhere you look! You just have to think visually and figure out a way to re-purpose it for this medium.
Got a blog post with a list of tips? An online interview with a subject matter expert? Find a graphic for it and pin it! If you have graphic design skills or have access to a graphic designer, that’s the key. And don’t forget about videos! Videos are becoming very popular on Pinterest. In short, almost anything can be turned into a pin.
That being said, we pin just about anything we can find at Baylor. Instead of being an afterthought, Pinterest has become a driving force for our social media efforts. Every piece of content we create, we try to think of how we can turn it into a pin. Instead of communicating with words, we’re all learning to communicate visually.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Understanding that Pinterest is still in its infancy, what are your measures for success?
Ashley Howland: Although Pinterest is still in beta phase—which is pretty incredible considering the number of users—there are already third party websites available that can help you measure your success.
Right now, we are using Pinerly. Pinerly is amazing because it not only tracks your click-throughs on a pin, it allows you to upload content that may not have an image already attached to it. For example, say you have a great blog post or an article on your website titled “5 tips for working out at home,” but there is no compelling image on the page. If you are using Pinterest to pin this content, it won’t work. However, Pinerly allows you to upload an image of your choice while posting the link behind it.
Another measurement tool that I recently discovered is Curalate. I’m really anxious to try it out!
Diva Marketing/Toby: With any social network initiative there are risks associated with active participating. What were Baylor’s challenges and how did you overcome them?
Ashley Howland: You’re right; every social networking site has its risks. Unfortunately, Pinterest has been singled out lately and a lot of attention has been called to its Terms of Service. They have made a lot of changes to their language about copyright issues, but the truth is their Terms of Service are very similar to other social networking sites as well.
As far as copyright issues are concerned, we try very hard to pin as much original content as we can. We definitely repin the brands and people we follow, but we try to make sure we repin from credible sources and that the original source of the content is credited.
One of our biggest challenges with Pinterest, and any social media outlet for that matter, is to make sure we are sharing or repinning content from credible sources. Many people will repin without clicking through right away.
As a brand, we click-through every image we want to repin to make sure it’s coming from a credible trusted source, that we’re not endorsing a product, and most importantly to make sure the pin is not linked to a spam site. Even our beloved Pinterest is not safe from spammers, unfortunately.
Diva Marketing/Toby: In social networks there are two paths we can take: passively providing content and actively engaging within others. At this point, most people seem to be sharing content/pins but there is not a lot of conversation happening.
How active is Balyor in terms of engagement e.g. commenting, repining, likes?
Ashley Howland: Engagement is a big priority for us, but to be honest, we haven’t really taken advantage of fully engaging with pinners…yet. On occasion, we’ll thank someone for repinning us, comment on other pins and give out likes, but engagement takes time and a lot of effort.
It’s a big and very important job. We have recently increased our staff to include two community managers and one of their primary goals is to spend time interacting with pinners.
Diva Marketing/Toby: One of the big questions that I’m asked is how do you find time to include another social network into your communication outreach? Would you give us an idea of the resource structure (people) and approximate how much time you’re investing to Pinterest?
Ashley Howland: I believe you get out of these networks what you put into them. If your intent is to share content, that’s great, but then you’re only scratching the surface of social media and using it as another one-way communication channel.
It’s a two-way channel. In fact, it’s more than that…it’s a community of real people. I think brands are finally starting to realize that social media isn’t a side gig. It’s an integral part to any communications strategy. Most importantly, it’s not free which is a big misconception. Of course the tools are free, but the effort that goes into them isn’t.
I think you have to figure out what your priorities are and what your company’s goals are and then go from there. Not every business will greatly benefit from Pinterest. Evaluate your objectives and figure out where you should be spending your time.
Baylor is very supportive of our social media efforts and has given us additional full time employees to help manage our social media presence. I recently hired two community managers who are doing a great job of not only finding and creating relevant content, but talking to our communities and helping us reach beyond the day-to-day postings.
We could all stand to do more listening instead of talking in our social landscape!
In addition, our Public Relations/Media Relations department has incorporated social media as a part of their jobs.Everyone in our Marketing/PR department; including many of our clinical employees such as physicians, nurses and dietitians; is encouraged to attend what I call the Social Media Campfire, a monthly discussion of the tools we’re using and how all of us can make them a part of our communications toolbox…no matter if you’re in the Social Media Department or not.
Continue the conversation with Ashley and the social media team from Bayler Healthcare System
Pinterest continues to fascinate me by it's simplicity and ease of use.
However, if you peak behind the curtain it holds a similar sophistication to that of Twitter. Who would have thought we'd call a 140 text platform sophisticated communication?
Where this new visual social network will take us is the guess of crystal ball gazers and social media pundits. Neither of which am I.
I'm just a working gal who loves, not necessarily the technology, but the promise of what it can do to bring business back to the corner grocery story relationship. (C.B Whittemore's post) For me the two driving benefits of social media have always been:
1. Build and nuture relationships
2. Tell the story of the brand through the people who are its heart: employees and customers
If you get those right it's a marketing two step along the way to making the cash register ring. Oh by the way, don't drink so much of the Koolaid that you believe a sales is a direct result of Only a tweet or status update or even a pin.
As part of client work and creating workshops on Pinterest I develope a running list of ideas. Some are strategic and others more tactical but I thought I'd pass them along to help you frame your adventure (and it should be!) in the visual world of Pinterest.
Strategy
1. Determine how graphics as linked to content can align with your brand values brand promise
2. Determine how Pinterest will support your goals and business outcomes
3. Determine if your Pinterest page will support a specific segment or the brand at-large
4. Critical: determine your content direction that goes beyond your brands or company messaging
Board and Pin Creation
1. Include search engine optimize key words in bio, board and pin descriptors
2. Link images that you upload to an appropriate web/blog page. Amazing how many people forget to include a URL.
3. First rule of Pinterest Etiquette: never change the source link of images ‘borrowed’ from a website not your own
4. Build your Pinterest page as if it were a book: boards = chapters, pins = content body
5. Create a bio board that can be used as a “media page” for solopreneurs/small business owners
6. Create media/news board for larger businesses
7. Arrange boards in order of importance and change as needed the order as appropriate. For example, your Fourth of July board can be brought to the end until next year when you can move it to a more prominent position.
8. In creating your pin look at it through the lens of a great ad: strong visual, headline that grabs, copy that supports.
9. Board names should be creative but descriptive key words are a bonus.
10. Identify sites will you not pin (from)
Content
1. Although your pins should reflect your brand values/promise (Strategy #1) not all pins should be directly related to your products, services or company (Strategy #5). This is so important that I felt it belonged in Strataegy and Content.
2. Three pillars of Pinterest content direction: inspire, inform, imagine
3. Test live pinning for events/tradeshows. If you can't link pins to a site in real time (at the event) go back at a later time to add those important URLs. Example: Oscar De La Renta Bridal Show .. it's really cool .. go on click but come back please. To view the story read from the bottom up.
4. Create collaborative boards with clients and colleagues. Added bonus multiple pinners increase awareness of the board.
5. Review content that you’ve posted in other social networks. How can it be repurposed for Pinterest?
6. Review content that is not on digital properties e.g. white papers. How can they be included on your digital assets such as websites or blogs so that you can include them on Pinterest?
7. Test “pin it” contests. Keep in mind they will not come unless you tell them. Build an awarenss strategy into the overall plan. Example: Elizabeth Arden's PinItToGiveIt Cause Marketing used social media (Facebook, Twitter, bloggers) and traditional media (PR/Events-BlogHer). #PinChat with Christine Bennett, Manager PR for Elizabeth Arden.
8. Use Pinterest to support campaigns and programs runnng in other media
9. Pin to help your fans “create” not curate their boards
10. Take your community “behind the scenes” of your company e.g. a day in the life of …
11. Be mindful of copyrights. If in doubt reach out to the author, artist and ask for permission. Bonus you'll develop new relationships.
12. Protect your images with watermarks that include your URL or at the very least your company name. Example: Bella Cupcake
13. .Create a board to tell the story of your company/brand. Great examples from the State of Maryland Pitch Contest. Check out the Diva Marketing interview I conducted with Zoe Pagonis, Governor Martin O’Malley’s New Media Manager.
14. Highlight employees in creative and fun ways that go behind “business” accomplishments e.g. pets, shoes, sports interests, favorite quotes
Awareness
1. Cross post on social networks
2. Follow the people who follow you. Note: Following boards versus pages may be less overwhelming to your stream.
3. Comment on people's repin of your pins. It's nice to get an acknowledgment and never know where the relationship or conversations might lead. My comment on Irene Turner's board let to a new author for All The Single Girlfriends and a great new friend.
4. Build “pinner relations” programs
5. Add Pinterest links to support your media releases
6. Since Facebook does not allow for 'pinning' if you upload a graphic that might make for a great pin consider serving it on your blog/website or Flickr instead.
7. Add Pinterest link/Icon to Home page of your website And on the footer.
Research and Consumer Insights
1. Consumer insights for product development
2. Consumer insights support customer persona development
3. Completive intelligence
4. Consumer insights to understand meaning of the “ordinary” of every day life. For example what does "family" mean?
Engagement: Emotional involvement or commitment Merriam-Webster
Ever think about the words we use to discuss social media? Well, I do.
I find it fascinating that so many of the words we bring into "social media talk" e.g. humanize, conversation, community, listen support that this is a people first approach to marketing.
The brass ring, or perhaps it should be the diamond ring, that is based on likes, shares and digital conversation is Engagement. Social Engagement is one of the most highly prized words/concepts in social media marketing. It seems we use it all-the-time. What does it really mean?
If we take the Merrian Webster definition of engagement literally, "emotional involvement or commitment", we can appreciate why for marketers, social engagment is important. Looking at social engagmement from this perceptive it is a significant value in building customer loyaty. Powerful.
As with a traditional engagement social engagement takes time and relevant actions to build trust that leads to that emotional involvement or commitment. As we all know .. it's not as easy as it may seem.
Last week I had the honor of teaching a two-day social media workshop in Chicago for the American Marketing Association. The concept of social engagement was a topic of significant discussion. Taking our cue from social media crowd sourcing the smart participants created a list of 25 ideas that they agreed I could share with you.
The ideas fell into seven broad buckets: brand created content, fan/customer created content, social media technology, know your audience, promotions, additional channels and employees (one we often over look).
25 Social Engagement Ideas
Brand Created Content
1. Talk about product in different context that goes beyond a sales pitch
2. Highlight customer of the week/month
3. Provide something interesting to talk about
4. Inspiring quotes with images relating to brand values
Fan/Customer Created Content
5. Ask fans to create content and reuse
6. Poll/questions on existing social media channels it builds two-sided relationship. Idea: a one word answer
7. Jump start conversation e.g. ask a question
8. Testimonials including video
9. Feature customer videos about topics that may not related directly to your product or service but on a ‘side step life style topic’ or brand value.
10. Post your events encourage and people to post theirs photos videos from the event
11. Funny “old” content that from your content archives
Social Media Technology
12. Make it easy to share
13. Drive mobile engagement
Know Your Audience
14. Fish where the fish are
15. Tap evangelists for feedback
Promotions
16. Contests/give aways/incentives to talk
17. Rewards for referrals
18. Build in sharing after purchase
Additional Channels
19. Email footer
20. Tip of the month card tease (e.g. website, email, direct mail) .. drive to social networks for more information and conversation. This will also work on cross social networks. For example use Twitter to drive traffic to Facebook for expanded discussion.
21. QR Codes on vehicles
22. Packaging and promotion materials
23. Custom wrappers
24. Nonprofit partnerships programs that include charity donation by the partner as an incentive for Likes
Employees
25. Encourage employees to Like and Follow
Bonus: I'd like to add one more .. please participate in conversations. Jump in and chat with your customers/fans. Thank people who have taken the time to contribute to the exchange. If you're really daring join the conversations outside of your own brand's social network pages and blogs.
Let's continue the learnings. What is your hot tip on how to socially engage with your customers and prospects?
Sometimes we find innovation and inspiration in what may seem unlikely places.
Who would have thought that one of the most creative Pinterest contests would be developed by an institution not necessarily thought of as taking a lead in social media .. and definitely not on Pinterest. The U.S. Government. I know!
Toss of a pink boa to the State of Maryland, and specifcally toGovernor Martin O'Malley and his communication staff!
The Pinterest State of Maryland Pitch Contest asked entrepreneurs to pitch their businesses by using Pinterest to tell the story of their company. A panel of business experts chose winners in two different categories: “Student Entrepreneurs” and “Boot Strappers. First place winners received MacBook Air and runner ups received an iPad courtesy of Baltimore Angels. Partnership included: University of Maryland College Park, the Future of Information Alliance, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development and the Baltimore Angels.
Zoe Pagois graciously agreed to tell us the back-story.
About Zoe Pagonis - My name is Zoe Pagonis. I am Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley’s Communications and New Media Manager and am responsible for making sure that we are taking advantage of every possible tool to best communicate with our citizens.
Diva Marketing/Toby: What I’m most curious about is the why the State of Maryland chose to create a Pinterest Pitch Contest to bring attention to the small business owners of the state. Note: Submission boards.
Zoe Pagonis: Governor O’Malley’s number one priority is creating and saving jobs and as an administration, we’re constantly looking for ways to showcase our small businesses and encourage entrepreneurship. As one of the fastest growing social networks, Pinterest seemed like a natural fit for bringing attention to our small businesses and showcasing all that the State of Maryland has to offer.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Pinterest and contests go together like PB&J. However, your approach was not only unique but it supported what social media, on any platform, is all about: telling the stories of the people who make up the brand .. both customers and employees. Please tell us your behind the scene story of how the concept evolved.
Zoe Pagonis: Our office is always looking for new and innovative ways to connect with our citizens so as Pinterest grew in popularity, we created an account and used it to showcase what we’re doing in State Government (and also give people a behind the scenes look at who the Governor is as a person—he’s an avid reader!) In our State, we’re also blessed with an abundance of incubators and diverse centers of higher learning.
A few months ago, the Governor was scheduled to attend the University of Maryland College Park’s entrepreneurial Invitational and Cupid’s Cup Competition. In pulling together information about the event, we came across “Tweet Dingman” which was a unique competition that asked entrepreneurs to pitch their businesses using 10 Tweets. This contest sparked the idea to use Pinterest.
The rest was a great collaborative effort and an eye-opening experience of just how many people in the State of Maryland are willing to lend a hand in support of local entrepreneurship.
Diva Marketing/Toby: What were your goals for the contest?
Zoe Pagonis: The main goal of the contest was to highlight entrepreneurship in Maryland by using an innovative new technology. We also wanted to showcase our partner organizations and support entrepreneurs by connecting them to these great networks.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Were the results what you had expected?
Zoe Pagonis: The results were better than I had expected. We had submissions from people all over Maryland of all ages. We even had three that came from students under the age of 13. I was also very impressed by the collaborative efforts of the judges and how willing everyone was to help with the contest in the name of supporting Maryland entrepreneurs.
Diva Marketing/Toby: I loved reading the “stories” from the businesses. The creativity that went into their boards was amazing. What surprised you about the submissions?
Zoe Pagonis: I was surprised most by how many talented individuals we have in the State of Maryland and equally delighted to see the three entries from the young students.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Pinterest provides interesting consumer insights. Are you doing any type of analysis to mine that data?
Zoe Pagonis: We are still very new to Pinterest and are exploring all of the ways we can use it as a tool to connect with more Marylanders. As with all of our new media accounts, we monitor the feedback and use it to guide our decision making.
Diva Marketing/Toby: With any social network initiative there are risks associated with active participating especially from the point of view of a government entity. Did you get push back? What was the reaction from the lawyers?
Zoe Pagonis: One of the criteria of the contest was that the pictures be unique to the individual or that they use proper attributions. We consulted with experts in the business community on the guidelines of the contest before moving forward.
Diva Marketing/Toby: It seemed to me that when the contest launched, the State of Maryland’s Pinterest page was fairly new. How did you create awareness with your target audience?
Zoe Pagonis: We relied heavily on our partners and existing social channels to spread the word about the contest. Governor O’Malley also announced the contest at the University of Maryland’s Entrepreneurial invitational event which helped to generate buzz.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Thinking about the entire campaign, what would you do differently?
Zoe Pagonis: We had help from a few partner organizations but in the future, I would reach out to every business incubator in Maryland and associated organizations for help in promoting the contest.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Let’s shift gears slightly and talk a little about your boards in general. There is even a board for Govenor O'Malley. Wondering what benefits he sees in social visual communication over other channels of communication?
Zoe Pagonis: All forms of communications are important and we’re always looking for the most effective ways to connect with citizens and share resources.
Diva Marketing/Toby: In terms of content, are you pinning from only Maryland State owned images or are planning to include citizen images too?
Zoe Pagonis: At the moment, we are posting images and videos about our programs and resources but we are exploring all options–including citizen generated content.
Diva Marketing/Toby: One of the big questions that I’m asked is how do you find time to include another social network into your communication outreach? Would you give us an idea of the resource structure (people) and approximate time you’re investing?
Zoe Pagonis: Social media is highly integrated into our overall communications strategy and we see it as a great way to amplify our existing message. As the number of networks expands, it does become more difficult to keep up with everything but we focus our attention on the resources that we think will help us do the best job in communicating with Marylanders. As the fastest growing network that was driving a significant amount of referral traffic, we knew that we wanted to be on Pinterest.
Diva Marketing/Toby: What lessons learned can you share with us from your overall experience with Pinterest from both the contest and the overall board management?
Zoe Pagonis: Pinterest is great in that it doesn’t require as much time. You can update it less frequently and still achieve your objective of driving traffic to your resources. For the contest, it was a great platform for showcasing our small businesses. The images lended themselves well to telling a story and we’re going to continue to look for more opportunities to use the platform in the future.
Diva Marketing/Toby: To wrap this up what’s next for the State of Maryland Pinterest’s boards?
Zoe Pagonis: In our Administration, what’s next is anything that’s innovative, cost-effective and works to amplify our existing resources. We see Pinterest as one of the many ways we’ll continue to connect and how we use it will depend on which of Maryland’s great entrepreneurs invent the next Facebook or Pinterest!
Congrats! to the winners of the Maryland Pinterest Pitch Contest.
It is my pleasure to introduce you to the co-author of Marketing In The Round .. my friend Geoff Livingston.
One line in Geoff''s bio tells all you need to know to understand the man behind this newly release book. "He brings people together, virtually and physically to affect change and achieve higher knowledge."
In his third book, co-authored with Gini Dietrich, the focus is on integrating traditional and new media marketing elements and breaking down those stifling internal silos.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Let’s start this off with “Why this book?” Seriously, why does the world of marketing need this book now?
Geoff Livingston: When Gini Dietrich and I focused on multichannel integration, our logic centered on delivering ROI and outcomes for social media. So much of today’s conversation is about how marketers can get results from social. To us, that lack of results has more to do with siloed communications and a failure to integrate all marketing disciplines together. Integration also includes adding hard lead generation-oriented metrics from direct and advertising to the mix.
Even though that was a year, ago the problem persists. Two recent studies from the CMO Council and the CMO Survey showed that less than 10% of lead marketers are running well integrated digital campaigns [Geoff's post - What CEOs Want: Better Social Integration & Anaylics]. Integrating marketing and general understanding of diverse disciplines has become a lost art.
Diva Marketing/Toby: So many options. So little time, money and people. From your perspective, what is the most significant challenge facing the 21st century marketer?
Geoff Livingston: Without question, it’s understanding the modern stakeholder’s media experience.
Marketers think like media tools, literally. It’s as if we were media hammers. How can I get people to use my nail? How can I drive the nail home? But in reality, people walk around an entire media structure in which there are many nails, dry wall, support beams, screws, hex nuts, roofing, lights, tiles, etc. etc.
Until we stop marketing from our perspective, but from the perspective of the true media landscape as seen by our customers, including mobile, 21st century marketers will struggle.
Diva Marketing/Toby: The visual model ofMarketing In The Round is built with “marketing” as the center and let’s call them marketing functional areas (advertising, web/digital, content, direct mail, etc.) as spokes from the center. Based on your model, how do you define “marketing” that makes marketing unique from the functional tenants.
Geoff Livingston: The ability to build, maintain and administrate holistic communications and interaction strategy for an organization and its stakeholders.
Toby Bloomberg/Diva Marketing: Wondering... where do customer care, research and sales fit into the model?
Geoff Livingston: They definitely fit in frequently. When we present the Round concept live you’d see them brought into meetings frequently. They don’t usually end up at weekly meetings of the marketing group, but are an integral part of the larger customer experience, and as such, they end up attending CMO meetings almost every month if not more frequently. Ideally, everyone is closely seated together to help foster further integration.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Sounds like you’re restructuring the marketing department. Who leads the charge of Marketing In The Round if not the CMO? What skills/talents should that person have to make it work?
Geoff Livingston: It is the CMO.
That person should have a couple of skill sets. First, they are an administrator and a manager. Their job is to facilitate the marketing function from a resource and operational perspective, incentivize what had been here-to-fore silos to work together, and lead the department in its interface with other departments so that marketing acts as a networked component of the larger enterprise (as opposed to its own silo). Secondly, that person is usually a marketer themselves, and as such they need to have graduated from tactician to a strategist who can understand the value of branding, strategic approaches and tactics.
Diva Marketing/Toby: One of my favorite lines in the book is –“.. you lend that content to and community to outlying networks ..” (p 24) The question then becomes is what’s the source of the content and community?
Geoff Livingston: Usually, it’s the company. If the company is successful in its groundswell and top down approaches you’re seeing true customer word of mouth take place and they start developing content. Stakeholder generated content creates brand and product advocacy, as well as (hopefully) inspiring media stories, speaking engagements, analyst reports and other types of traditional professional content produced independently of the company.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Coming from a research background, I appreciate the time you dedicated to consumer insights .. both traditional and social media. It seems as though the concepts of “listening” and “monitoring” had different meanings in the book. How are you defining concept of “listening” and that of “monitoring?”
Geoff Livingston: It may be an issue of semantics on our part. They are closely related.
Listening occurs before, during and after a marketing effort. But in many ways it’s the harnessing of data – big data if you would. I think hearing is the ability to decipher that data into meaningful and regular intelligence. Monitoring to me is the practice of hearing that data intelligence formally and regularly as a company. Now, that’s my opinion based on the question. Gini may have a different take on that.
Diva Marketing/Toby: I really liked the charts, worksheets and resources that you and Gini integrated throughout the book. One of the Pros under social media (p27) indicated “inexpensive form of sponsoring messages on the social platforms.” Does this refer to “blogger relations” and are you advocating paying bloggers for their posts?
Geoff Livingston: I don’t advocate paying bloggers to blog on their site. I do advocate paying people to intelligently interact with bloggers to provide useful content ideas and guest posts wherever possible.
I pay bloggers for their posts on Inspiring Generosity. Getting great content for your site requires paying talent, in my opinion. I hate people that ask me to blog for free consistently without any clear value for my effort. It’s the primary reason why I stopped blogging for Mashable. The effort outweighed the value.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Several different dashboards ideas are presented. While I think dashboards are a great way to track and analyze do it right is a time resource/commitment. If a company can only manage One dashboard what would be your suggestion?
Geoff Livingston: There is no silver bullet, unfortunately. Whatever a company selects they will end up customizing it if they want meaningful analytics for their monitoring program. Google Analytics, Radian6, Hubspot, Marketo, and Eloqua is where I’d start depending on budget, from free to full enterprise.
Diva Marketing/Toby: In your travels Geoff, what organizations did you find that were doing it well?
Procter & Gamble does a lot better than people give them credit for. They are a brand management organization in the CMO sense, using agencies to execute tactics. I think they get social in the sense of when an agency or partner is doing a good job for them, and when they are not.
Google is doing really well, even the + network isn’t (or maybe it’s just bad press). Google clearly listens to feedback, and it seems to me they are becoming a social enterprise.
Etsy and Five Guys are brilliant at word of mouth marketing. Chrysler has proven itself to be a savvy advertising company in its current incarnation. And Apple is probably the best all around integrated multichannel marketing organization out there.
Diva Marketing/Toby: As is the tradition on Diva Marketing the last questions is yours to take and run with as you would like. What would you tell our community about integrated marketing in the round?
Geoff Livingston: This isn’t rocket science. Our book is not going to teach you black belt jujitsu. It is about the basic fundamentals of marketing together as an integrated multichannel organization. No matter how fancy your marketing strategy and tactical execution is, if you aren’t blocking and tackling, you will likely lose.
It’s a reminder about what worked before social, and what still works in the current digital marketing era, teamwork, and thinking together as collective communications team. That’s integrated strategies.
As marketers begin to explore Pinterest the first question that I'm asked is:
If my company isn't "visual" like a business to consumer (B-to-C) retail or food or fashion company, but is business to business (B-to-B) is Pinterest right for us?
The second question, almost before another breath is taken, is "What can we pin?"
Keep Pinterest in perspective. Like every other social network (inclding blogs) Pinterest helps you continue to tell the stories/promise/values behind your brand including the people who are its heart e.g. clients/customers, donors, volunteers and staff, etc. End of story. Beginning of story. (Of course it has to support goals .. see below.)
Let's step back before we step forward. I would encourage you to do a few housekeeping activities before you dive into creating those fun boards.
1. Review your social media strategy as well as marketing strategy. Not only for goals/objectives but for the content direction that you've chosen to pursue. Pinterest should support the work you've done here.
2. Identify content that is 'pinable' on your site and social platforms. If you have YouTube videos those are pinable.
3. Great time to dig out the photos that never got posted to the web. My guess is you have quite a few from events.
Decide if your photos/images will be included on your site and where. Depending on your IT/webmaster's time you may decide it's easier to upload images directly to Pinterst. After they're uploaded you can then add a link back to your site.
4. Image/Pin Considerations
Will you watermark your photos?
If you add a $ before a number it turns into a banner sign and drops into the "gift" page. I tested it for a NPO's event and the pin was immediately repinned (Pinterests term for sharing).
What sites will you not pin/repin from e.g. competition, rouge/spam, etc.
5. Board Ideas Beyond Your Product or Service
For non profits and events .. a thank you donor or sponsor board that links back to their websites (not yours).
For all companies and NPOs .. staff boards help make the people who are the heart of your brand "real." Are some of your emplpoyees hesitant about being on the Internet? WPTV has a staff "Fashion Board" that includes employee's shoes and socks too! Are your employees into sports? How about a board of their running shoes?
How about a resouce board for your clients that focuses on a specific interest?
Following is a strategy outline to help get you started
I. Goals II. Content direction a. Develop Board Concepts b. Segments taken into consideration e.g., donors, volunteers, staff, other stakeholders c. Develop series of board topics III. Logistics a. Identify board authors b. Determine pinning frequency c. Key words to optimize descriptors d. Will images be water marked prior to pinning? IV. Create guidelines a. Review sites associated with pin prior to pinning b. Sites not to pin from e.g. spam, V. Who will you follow? VI. Create awareness with your target audience (who may or may not be on Pinterest) a. Add link to your website b. Add link to staff's email signatures c. Include in eMail newsletter d. Mention at board and staff meetings
VII. Don't forget to monitor comments. The special sauce is commenting back. Since not many people are doing that (yet) it will help cut through the clutter and of course, build relationships.
VIII. Analyze the data beyond repins, likes and comments. The descriptors and board names are a fascinating source of consumer insights.
So much more .. but for now this should get you started thinking strategically and tacitly.
It was great fun and I even won a Pinterest T-shirt. Seems appropriate that Max should model it since he has his own Pinterest board. Don't you think he makes a cute model?
Anyway, needless to say, I was excited to meet fellow pinners and talk about strategy, cool tools, what works, what doesn't.
"Were you on the PinChat when host & founder Kelly LIeberman brought in Lizze from McDonalds?" I asked a few people. My question was met with puzzled looks. "Oh big corporations are pinning?" Now I was surprised. Ah..yes.
Granted, I only spoke with a handful of people, but it seemed most were pinning for fun or using Pinterest in a very limited way for business e.g. one board among many personal boards.
My big take aways: Pinterest, as a business tool, is still in the beginning stages of adoption .. even for the pioneer pinners. Even more than the idea of pinning for business, is the concept of putting a focus on pinning for business by creating and maintaining a variety of boards that support a brand.
When it comes to social media, we learn most from the people who have stepped out before us and generously share their experiences. In this Pinterest Pinning For Business Learning Series post we take a look how a business-to-business company, Brandwatch, is using Pinterest as an inbound marketing tactic.
About Brandswatch: Launched in August 2007, Brandwatch develops tools for monitoring and analysing social media conversations. The company is experiencing huge growth in the young sector.
Our interview is with Joel Windels. Joel is the Community Manager at Brandwatch where he is responsible for all of Brandwatch’s presences online, including social networks like Pinterest.
Diva Marketing/Toby: In a world that began as a social network to share images of food and fashion Brandwatch is one of the early business-to-business brands on Pinterest. What did you see about the platform that caused you to actively participate?
Joel Windels: The key thing to remember with social media is that it is not only incredibly new, but it is also changing at a rate that is almost impossible to stay totally on top of. At Brandwatch, we’re obviously very interested in making sure we’re keeping track of all of the most popular social sites, so once Pinterest began to show itself as a rising star, we had to take notice. The meteoric rise of the network and simplicity of the image-sharing idea struck a chord with me, so I decided to test the waters.
Diva Marketing/Toby: From a high level, what is Brandwatch’s Pinterest strategy?
Joel Windels: We generally see Pinterest as a traffic-boosting network, with site referrals from Pinterest forming a small part of our wider lead generation strategy. As an inbound marketing tool, it’s an excellent place to house links to lots of our content in a visually appealing and clever way, in a way that’s not centered around our own website.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Understanding that Pinterest is still in its infancy, especially in terms of b2b, what are your measures for success?
Joel Windels: As I mentioned before, we’re just testing the waters and, for the moment at least, we’re measuring its value in referral rates. There’s something to be said for the qualitative worth in having a presence, such as using it as a resource for curious prospects and simply for broadening the visibility of Brandwatch, though the primary measurement is through number of visits to our own site from Pinterest for the time being.
Diva Marketing/Toby: With any social network initiative there are risks associated with active participating. What were Brandwatch’s challenges and how did you overcome them?
Joel Windels: One of the more interesting ways we’ve been using Pinterest is through the use of our ‘social media monitoring’ board. We’ve created it to house a board of our main competitors, as we regularly get asked about the other options in the market, so it gives us somewhere to point people to. Using our own tool, we also search the web for individuals and companies that are enquiring about SMM tools and the industry, so we often step in to offer advice, sometimes via our Pinterest boards.
While it may be a cliché, we think that our tool is the best around and that people will come to that conclusion by themselves, so in pointing our prospects to our competitors we’re not approaching marketing in an orthodox way. The risk is that we’re not as good as we think we are (very low, of course)!
Diva Marketing/Toby: If you’re not a visual thinker it might be a “content challenge” for a services business to sustain pinning over time. What is your content strategy .. In other words what are you pinning?
Joel Windels: Pinterest is a supplementary channel for us, so we don’t have a content strategy for the platform. We’ve created one-off boards, such as the monitoring one and a set of pins to support our Superbowl project back in February, though we are now using the site as a seeding channel for our main content – namely our eBooks, our case studies and our blog posts. Essentially our Pinterest content plan mirrors our general one.
Diva Marketing/Toby: In social networks there are two paths we can take: passively providing content and actively engaging within others. At this point, most people seem to be sharing content/pins but there is not a lot of conversation happening. How active is Brandwatch in terms of engagement e.g. commenting, repining, likes?
Joel Windels: This is a very good point you’ve made, as they are indeed two very different approaches. There are 1001 different social networks propping up and lots of guesswork involved in determining how to spend your ‘community time’. Therefore I decided that, for now, we’ve tried to keep our primary focus for engagement on tried and tested platforms like Twitter, whilst using Pinterest for its own strengths.
For the moment, we’ve walked the first type of path in passively providing content, though as the site progresses and we hire more community staff in the coming months, we may well take a look at the second approach.
Diva Marketing/Toby: One of the big questions that I’m asked is how do you find time to include another social network into your communication outreach? Would you give us an idea of the resource structure (people) and approximate time you’re investing?
Joel Windels: Our team is split across the UK, Germany and the USA. Understandably we’re still putting together the processes that divide the community spread, but at the moment it’s just me on Pinterest. We’ve pulled a bit of focus away from the likes of Google plus and other networks for the time being, as we’re seeing more referrals through Pinterest. We’ve had other monitoring companies repin some of our pins, and plenty of staff members contribute to the content that our pins link to, but as far as actually maintaining our profile and our uploads, that task currently sits at my desk.
Diva Marketing/Toby: In any new social media endeavor, they will not come unless you tell them. How is Brandwatch creating awareness for its Pinterest boards?
Joel Windels: Well, you know what? They have been coming anyway. Like I mentioned before, we often link people through Twitter and other sites to our collections – good articles, our eBooks, competitors when someone wants an overview. We haven’t really pushed our Pinterest presence very strongly; it seems to have grown organically, with users sharing it amongst themselves because they like our boards/content rather than us trying to draw attention to it.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Pinterest provides interesting consumer insights. From the point of view of a research company, I’d love to hear your views of what marketers can gain from analysis of pins and boards.
Joel Windels: Well, Pinterest is a bit of a pain with its API so it’s very hard to work out exactly how much coverage we offer. Obviously it’s the best possible, but we are aware of some pins slipping through the net. Useful features like sentiment analysis and author metrics can help analysts work out how companies are faring on Pinterest, and how they might be doing that.
As with all of the data we track, searching the web for social media mentions of your brand, your industry or your competitors will allow you to get a much greater understanding of what your customers are saying. Even if people are pinning and engaging positively on your brand page, doesn’t mean people aren’t indicating otherwise elsewhere. The only way of truly gleaning insight from the social web is through monitoring tools and the features they provide. Exactly what each company will discover from an analytical point of view will differ in each case.
Diva Marketing/Toby: To wrap this up. what lessons learned can you share with us about business-to-business companies coming jumping onto the Pinterest train?
Joel Windels: As with any new and untested platform, it’s quite fun to test the waters with what works and what doesn’t; it’s certainly good advice to poke your toes in before diving in at the deep end. Furthermore, we’ve found that through being open, interesting and experimental we’ve managed to get a good ROI from being on the network.
Note: #PinChat is held Wednesday at 9p Eastern Time.
In 1886, Mr. D. H. McConnell launched what was to become one of the most beloved brands... Avon.
Let’s flash back 126 years when women were expected to be housekeepers, wives and of course mothers. In steps a man who defies convention when he builds his sales force with a team of women. D. H. McConnell intuitively understood that as salespeople women could relate to other women and bring a passion to his new perfumes better than men.
Based on its direct sales approach, which was built on developing relationships and sharing conversations, Avon has been called the original “Social” Brand. However, its competition has left it in the 18th century “social media” dust.
Avon has seen a 75% decline in operating profit over the last decade. A Wall Street Journal article, Avon Is Late to Social Media’s Party, reported sales for cosmetic products have steadily moved online. Although Avon does have online channels it's not been as aggressive as other cosmetic companies.
Recently Warren Buffet and Coty experssed interest in this iconic company now in crisis. In a 5/13/12 media release Avon said it would "..consider Coty's letter.."
Update: 5/14: Coty has back off of its offer. "Your total lack of engagement with us leads us to believe that you remain reluctant to explore a friendly, negotiated combination on a reasonable timetable," Coty Chairman Bart Becht said in a letter to Avon dated Monday and made public. "Two months is enough." - Reuters
When my pal and social media colleague, Rob Petersen, founder of BarnRaisers and co-writer of this blog post, invited me to collaborate to bring Avon some 21st century social media ideas I was there. So Avon bebe .. this one is for you!
10 reasons Avon Is Not Too Late To The Social Media Party
Subtitled: But the clock is ticking, the cake is getting stale and the tinis are getting warm.
1. BUSINESS STRATEGY: Of any brand, Avon has one of the most powerful social business strategies available. They have a brand community of 5.8 million reps. There are great examples of brands that put their community to work and turned their business around. Take for example, Harley Davidson. This may seem like an odd comparison but stay with us.
On the brink of bankruptcy in the 1970's, Harley Davidson overhauled their business to realize their most valuable asset was their riders. In other words, the people were even more important than the product so Harley: 1) Spoke to the shared interest of their community before product benefits 2) brought advocates together and let them help build new relationships. Avon needs a business strategy, not a social media strategy. Now, here's what they can put it to use.
2. "AVON CALLING" ONLINE COMMUNITY: Avon's famous slogan could now be a live, online community where their sales reps offer daily advice about Avon products, deals, help customers with a cosmetic question, refer someone to the Avon rep in their area and talk about who they are as people (e.g. where they like to go on vacation).
By the way, this is what Harley does daily at HDTalking.com, a customer created content community of close to 400,000 members.
P&G also has a highly successful online community, Being Girl, for their Tampax and Always brands that has achieved a 4-to-1 ROI over traditional channels. Avon even has an online community in the UK, Avon Connects, demonstrating they are not late to the party, they just need to join in.
3. "LIKE" US ON FACEBOOK (AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS): Every brand wants you to "Like" them and Avon has a pretty robust but commercial Facebook page that 660,000 people already like. They could use their sales reps more and show a human side.
For example, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, recently produced a video called "Likeapella" to celebrate the people who like them. Not to suggest that Avon do the same thing but to make the point that major brands need to use social media to make a more personal connection. Here's what Kraft did.
4. AVON CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DAYS (VIA TWITTER SEARCH): If Avon representative wanted to build 1-to-1 relationships in larger venues, they could go to high traffic locations in their area like a mall; then, if they use Twitter Search, they could find other women in the same mall and begin a conversation they very same way with the very same techniques they use when selling door-to-door.
5. KLOUT PERKS: With 5.8 million sales reps, they must have a very large number who have high Klout scores. Why not demonstrate to how powerful they already are in social media. Put this social influence to work and see how many rewards Avon reps can get through "Klout Perks." This would show how much social influence sales reps already have.
6. AVON PINTEREST: The newest darling of the social networks, Pinterest, aligns with Avon’s targeted female demographic. Online products provide Avon with the base for creating a Pinterest page that has multiple benefits from reinforcing community with boards that highlight new and seasonal products, provide lifestyle the “Avon way” with beauty to showing the caring side of Avon through its nonprofit work. In addition, likes, repins and comments offer Avon new consumer insights.
7. AVON PINTEREST CONTEST: Taking Pinterest one step further is the idea of a “Pin It To Win It” contest. Avon has the opportunity to engage with its customers in creative ways that includes both customers and sales representatives. For example, many of Avon’s products are colorful from its nail polish to lip glow. A red, white and blue Fourth of July themed challenge could create fireworks of fun.
8. AVON SALES REP SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING: Avon has created an innovative online training program, Beauty of Knowledge, for their sales reps. Topics range from how to start your new Avon business to money management, logistics, goal setting and traditional marketing support. However, in my research I came across sales reps who had posted on social networks the need and their desire for social media courses to be included in their training.
In April, I had the honor of speaking at the Possible Woman Conference about social media marketing. Among the brands represented, by over 400 women attending the event, were sales reps and leaders from Avon. I saw first hand their enthusiasm mixed with confusion and frustation about how to leverage social media. After one of my sessions an Avon rep spent two-hours talking about her social media efforts with a speaker from the panel.
Sidebar: Founded by the visionary Linda Wind, Possible Woman is an excting conference that brings inspiration and leadership training to women in business.
Although Avon sales reps are currently involved in social media many still have challenges regarding how to start and/or how to take their initiatives to the next level. In addition to the training we suggest that Avon consider developing a series of template models for Twitter, Facebook and blogs.
9. AVON MOBILE APP: Smart phones and tablets have opened additional eCommerce channels and created new ways to engage with customers. With the ubiquity of smart phones branded apps continue to grow in popularity. Research conducted by Women at NBCU’s Brand Power Index found that women are more likely to have gaming apps on their smart phone (75%of women versus 67 % of men). What fun it would be for Avon to explore developing a gaming app and of course, a mobile commerce app.
10. SOCIAL MEDIA MEASUREMENT: Including social media as part of a marketing communications strategy can help accelerate achieving your goals. However, with so many moving pieces, Avon doesn’t need more measurement, they to identify the ones that matter most, their Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and report, track and be prepared to take action on them.
Maybe, if Avon follows this plan, it would let Warren Buffet and Coty know just who they're dealing with .. a Top 50 Cosmetic Brand. No matter how this plays out Avon's legacy of empowering women will be part of history.
Some great brands have turned their business around by realizing and reaching out to their strongest asset .. their community. After all, they call it Social Media for a reason.
What are your thoughts? Do you think it's not too late for Avon and their 5.8 million sales reps to join the Social Media party or is the cake too stale?
There I've said it. Now I'm definitely out of the P-closet. That does sound a bit odd .. well you know what I mean.
Couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of conducting a members only web cast for the American Marketing Association on Pinterest. The approach I took was a little different than the millions (not an exaggeration!) of webinars, presentations and posts that help you through the logistics of how to pin. Important no doubt but here at Diva Marketing it's a focus on the strategy and tactics versus the logistics.
I have so much 'good stuff' to share that I thought a series on Pinterest might be fun. Oh no Toby not another Pinterest post! Well, yes but we'll look at Pinterest a little differently.
As my friend Barb Giamanco the diva of social media for sales said to me - I get B2C but other then showing the "human side" of a B2B company I'm not sure of the application benefits. So we'll explore verticals and brands that you might not think "fit" in a social visual communication network.
Social Visual Communication
Vocabulary matters. No more pinboards when you talk to the C-suite please.
A CMO of a prominent B2B company recently told me she thought of Pinterest as a game for moms and didn't consider a "pinboard" a serious business tactic. Rather reminds me of the days of when blogs were called journals or diaries. Love this quote:
However, along the way we learned that if we thought a little differently that blogs could support business objectives. The rest, as they say, is social media history.
With Pinterest it's not only a matter of looking at the world a little differently .. but repositioning to include concepts and language that the C-suite (CMO,CEO) can understand and "get." As social media becomes more sophisticated and is integrated into the life style of our customers, it is no longer is a rogue tactic that flies under the radar and suddenly becomes the darling of the company. There is too much at stake.
I'm suggesting that we use the term Social Visual Communication.
We'll talk strategy, target market, customer insights of course. However, there are so many people that are off and running that I want to start inside out. With very basic website tactics.
Six Tips on How To Make Your Website Pinterest Friendly
1. When you're planning content on your site include an image as part of each text article
2. If you're not serving videos publicly e.g. YouTube include a graphic near the video.
3. Graphics should align with your brand promise and values.
4.Consider what images your target audience will feel comfortable pinning.
5. Consider how your banner is created. If someone wants to pin your page versus an article is there a non flash image that can be taken?
6. Last, but important since people are still hesitant to pin because of copyright issues*, indicate that you encourage pinning. Best placement would be above the fold. *Poll taken during the AMA Pinterest webcast .. 80% of respondents were hesitant to go forward with Pinterest because of legal issues.
Bonus if you're really forward thinking: I do believe the Pinterest format: horizontal, graphics, sharing will become integrated into websites as the norm.
Read more .. Diva Marketing Interviews with smozy/Kotex and Microsoft
By default this series began a few weeks ago with an interview with the CEO,Yael Linen-Zuchman, of an Israeli digital agency smoyz and the brand manager of their client Eran Sion/Hogla-Kimberly. They launched an innovative Pinner Relations (think blogger relations) program.
I also had the pleasure of interviewing BJ O'Hare, the woman in charge of Microsoft's Mouse Design Pinterest contest.
Reach out if I can help you with a Pinterest strategy. As you might guess, I've been sipping the Koolaid on this one (smile).
This week I had the amazing opportunities to particiapte in two "taking online offline" experiences. Experiences I would never had if it were not for Diva Marketing, blogging and of course social media. Friendships I would not have made if I had not take a risk.
I joined BBF Lynn Epsteinas part of Everywhere's, a social media marketing firm, ongoing Wise Women series where women share their stories with the Everywhere staff. The other was at digital agency Engauge where I was part of a blogger influencer discussion with about 10 other women.
We had wonderful, interesting discussions. As you'd expect, if there was disagreement people were gracious and considerate.
I've been living in the digital world for almost 8 years (Diva Marketing celebrates it's 8th year in May). OMG! that sounds like something from the Matrix. The reality is, at least for me, it's more E.T.. Not as scary and if you're open to possibilities beyond your safe world magic can happen .. including new friendships, opportunities and inspiration.
Before, as Neo says in the Matrix, "anything is possible" and you can collect the benefits from socal media, you have to step out.
Talking to new bloggers this week at the Possble Women conference I was reminded that one of the risks in social media participation opens the door for people to "talk back." In the the offline world, where you are face-to-face and see expressions and body language, that usually doesn't present a big challenge.
Girlfriend, I well understand those new Jimmy Choos can be wobbly when you first try to walk in them. Shh .. don't tell anyone but my first comments I was so nervous to post I must have rewritten them at leat half a dozen times. It was with a deep breath that I clicked on the comment publish link.
Kris Ruby, in his MSN Business On Main article, asked nine entrepreneur for their advice on how to handle anonymous negative comments. Skip over and take a look .. and then come back please.
Considering different opinions, hearing new points of view is part of our on-going learning experiences .. online or offline. If you do disagree and add your voice to the converstation, please keep in mind that your words are taken to heart .. be kind. Kindness is the new little black dress!
Let's Have FUN!
MSN Business On Main/Diva Marketing Small Business Tip Contest ~ Win $100!
Your challenge is to share 1 idea on the new little black dress .. social media kindness. How can we ensure that if we if we agree to disagree we treat each other with respect and consideration?
Rules of MSN The Business on Main/Diva Marketing Social Media Small Business Tips Contest
1. Post your tip for how to use social media for branding on this Diva Marketing post And on this MSN Business On Mail Post.
2. Identify your post on Business On Main with the words Diva Marketing. Important! If youdon't post on MSN BOM and indicate Diva Marketing in your comment you cannot qualify for the $100 prize.
3. Winner is at the pleasure of Diva Marketing with the help of Max, of course!
4. Contest ends midnight May 11, 2012.
5. You must be at least 18 years of age
6. A valid eMail address must be included on the "Post a Comment Section" of your Diva Marketing comment. (How will I know where to contact you to send your check?)
This wraps up my blogger relations series with MSN Business On Main. Hope you enjoyed the contests and the added resources that MSN Business On Main provided to Diva Marketing's post. My lessons learned were it forced me to write more and to think outside of the box to ensure that the content created stayed true to Diva Marketing's mission of sharing learnings about social media marketing.
Diva Marketing is part of an online influencer network for MSN Business on Main. I receive incentives to share my views on a monthly basis. All opinions are 100% mine.
Pinterest, the darling of food and fashion pinners, is on a hyper growth slope with brands that at first glance have nothing to do with "life style" e.g. business-to-business, technlogy, software, finance, miliatry, staffing companies and more. Hop over to my Pinterest brand board .. Brands Beyond The Expected to see 101 (and counting!) examples.
As we've seen with Kotex (Diva Marketing interview with the brand manager and agency) brands are exploring ways to engage with customers that go beyond a pin and comment.
Contests are hot hot hot on Pinterest. When I came across an interesting sweepstakes from Micrsoft I wondered if Pinterest contests could really work for tech companies. BJ O'Hare, social media lead for Microsoft Hardware Team, graciously agreed to tell us the back-story in a Diva Marketing Mini Case Interview. Thanks to Kristina Libby for the intro.
About BJ O'Hare - BJ O’Hare is the Social Media Lead for the Microsoft Hardware Team. Over the course of her career, BJ has combined her passion for interpersonal engagement with her enthusiasm for technology to develop expertise in the realm of social media and marketing.
In her current role, BJ is responsible for the management of all Microsoft Hardware social channels including its Blog, Twitter Handle and Facebook page, which she worked to launch in late 2011. She also collaborates closely with Windows and its social channels, particularly its Pinterest page.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Of all the tactics Microsoft could have chosen to create awareness for its new mouse designs, which by the way are very cool and fun, why Pinterest?
BJ O’Hare/Microsoft: Pinterest is a great way to virtually express yourself and be creative. The new mouse designs are very expressive and appeal to people looking for ways to personalize their everyday life, so Pinterest was a good fit for this Microsoft Hardware campaign.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Were there other social networks/social media and/or marketing initiatives included in the campaign?
BJ O’Hare/Microsoft: It was promoted on various Microsoft Facebook & Twitter pages as well as Microsoft blogs. It was also a discussion topic during a Windows Tech Tuesday #winchat which is a weekly Twitter chat held by the Windows PR and social media teams from 12-1pm PT on Tuesdays. The chats cover a variety of topics from partner products to consumer trends. To participate in a chat follow @windows or @windowsblog and the hashtag #winchat.
Diva Marketing/Toby: How did Microsoft create initial awareness of the sweepstakes?
BJ O’Hare/Mircosoft: We announced the sweepstakes by partnering with the Windows team and promoting the campaign on various Microsoft Facebook & Twitter pages and on Microsoft blogs and continue to promote on those channels.
We also add new images every few days so there are fresh pins for people to use so they will continue to stay engaged with our boards.
Diva Marketing/Toby: What were your goals for the sweepstakes?
BJ O’Hare/Microsoft: Our main goal was to generate awareness of the new colors and artist designs through engagement with an audience that is active on Pinterest, and looking for colorful and rich assets to decorate their boards with. We also wanted to increase followers of our boards and generate repins. Diva Marketing/Toby: Can you share a high level of the results?
BJ O’Hare/Microsoft: We generated awareness which resulted in an increase of followers and re-pins.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Were the results what you had expected? Can you tell us why or why not?
BJ O’Hare/Microsoft: The audience that uses Pinterest is interested in images that they can use to decorate their boards. This was a successful campaign and allowed users to do that through repinning Microsoft mouse designs. We were successful in generating awareness and increasing our followers and repins by using colorful and stylish images.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Did you do any analysis of the pins/boards for consumer insights e.g. Designs most pinned, pin/board descriptors, etc. If so what did you consider?
BJ O’Hare/Microsoft: We did some simple analysis which included designs vs color images pinned, repinning the contest pin, pin & board descriptors, and group of images vs single item images. We are also doing some analysis on product images vs lifestyle images.
Diva Marketing/Toby: I noticed that the contest board is now the last board on the page. When the contest was running was it the 1st board? Also, do you plan to keep the contest board or delete it like Kotex did with theirs?
BJ O’Hare/Microsoft: When the contest was running it was in the first row of boards so it was clear to see. We have new sweepstakes we’ve run since Spring Inspirations and now currently Mother’s Day which is the 1st first board you see. We are building our long term strategy for what the presence of contest boards looks like after the contest has finished.
Diva Marketing/Toby: If you were to redesign the campaign, in retrospect, what would you do differently?
BJ O’Hare/Mircosoft: When using Pinterest as a platform to promote campaigns, each will have a variety of different tactical components that will work. For this campaign, we achieved what we set out to do.
Diva Marketing/Toby: What lesson learned can you share with us?
BJ O’Hare/Microsoft: Pinterest is a great way to virtually express yourself and be creative. Since we had such great artists that designed amazing art on our mice, Pinterest proved to be a great vehicle to promote this initiative.
This was a collaborative effort between the Microsoft Hardware and Windows teams and may not be representative of what other teams at Microsoft are doing with Pinterest.
Pinterest Pinning For Business Learning Series
To learn more about our Pinterest contest, please visit the Windows Team Blog. If you’re interested in learning more about Microsoft Hardware and Windows, please explore the following:
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. A time to go off topic.
Truly wonderful the mind of a child is. - YODA, Star Wars
What do children have to do with social media marketing? Nothing. Everything.
When was the last time you attempted to try something new without benefit of strategy, research or group consensus? Even outside of a work environment adults incorporate these three safe guards to make decision. Stay with me on this one.
We even use these safe guards when we're taking a fun family trip. Strategy: What will you pack? We need a (planning) list. Research: Are the reviews on Yelp more credible than on Trip Adviser? Group Consensus: Let's vote. Who wants to go to the beach and who wants to go to the mountains?
I know what you're thinking. "Hey, Toby you've been talking to us for the past 27 billion years about the importance of planning and strategy." Well, it's really been only 8 which in social media years is just about 27 billion years so I guess you're right.
Sometimes I think we think too much and the innovative ideas blow by us like danilion seeds.
Our friends at MSN Business on Main have some interesting content posted about young adults who dived into business. One is a video about how two college pals created a summer job, College Hunks Moving Junk (love the name!), that morped into a mulit-million dollar business.
At the time their risk was small .. a start-up for the summer. Sure there were learning and growing pains that might have been avoided if a plan and research had been in place but would the business exist?
The other is an article fostering entrepreneurship in young children and quotes Dr. Cathy Ashmore, founder, Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education. I had the pleasure of taking part in the intial planning session (oops! that word) for the Consortium Forum 2012, 30th year education in entrepreneurship conference, taking place in Atlanta in November. Truly an amazing event that I encourage anyone who is involved in teaching children about entrepreneurship to attend.
I can't help but wonder how many children might have followed a different path if they had been given the confidence and told it was okay to catch a few danilion seeds blowing in the wind. Innovation first. Planning second.
If you're interested in helping children explore the path of owning a business skip over to Lemonade Day a nonprofit that offers an ".. experiential learning program where communities across the nation unite to teach youth how to start, own and operate their own business through a lemonade stand."
Let's circle back .. what do dandilions, summer jobs, lemonade stands and children have to do with social media marketing? You connect the virtual dots and tell me!
That’s the real trouble with the world, too many people grow up. - Walt Disney
Diva Marketing is part of an online influencer network for MSN Business on Main. I receive incentives to share my views on a monthly basis. All opinions are 100% mine.
Jessica Robyn, a typical millennium and 7-year Facebook member, has not seen any of the new time lines for brands.
You see, on January 13, 2012 Jessica disabled her account and began an experiment of "Life Without Facebook."
This quasi social media reality series with Gen Y Jessica Robyn takes us into her world of Life Without Facebook where she offers her insights into the questions: Why? What now? How do you exist without Facebook?
Read Jessica Robyn's Life Without Facebook ~ A Veiw From Gen Y Interviews Part #1Part #2Part #3 Part #4
We found it interesting that Jessica's posts have been the basis for talking points for parents to discuss Facebook with their children. Brand managers have also gained insights.
We also discovered people were not only curious about how Jessica is living without her online peeps, but how her friends are reacting. We thought it would be fun to ask a few so we formalized the process into an online survey.
Here are a few comments from the question - What was your your reaction when you discovered I disabled my Facebook?
"I was very skeptical. Porter was ALL about facebook in her hayday."
"I couldn't believe it."
"I thought it was cool since I had disabled mine before in the past."
Diva Marketing/Toby: Your friends were really supportive of you disengaging from Facebook. Although some people thought it was a joke. But they miss you. Did anyone’s comments surprise you?
Jessica Robyn: I laughed a lot reading Greg’s answer that parents being on Facebook ruined it. It’s funny cause I think out of all my friends my dad was one of the first to join Facebook. That is why I was glad there were so many privacy settings.
Diva Marketing/Toby: I found it interesting that it wasn't one of your friends who want to see you back on Facebook but someone from the boomer generation , Auntie Kaye. - “Holy cow, how will I be able to see what is going on in your life?”
Why did you think that is? What are you doing to stay in touch with Auntie Kaye?
Jessica Robyn: I think Facebook is just an easier way to at a glance find out what a bunch of people are doing at once and what’s new in their lives. I know Auntie Kaye liked seeing pictures of what I was doing and who I was out with so clearly that hasn’t been happening. We have emailed and talked on the phone to keep in touch.
Diva Marketing/Toby: You’ve been off Facebook for almost 3 months now. Have you missed anything, other than chatting with your friends, from not being on Facebook?
Jessica Robyn: It’s weird cause I wasn’t really missing Facebook or thinking about it until a few weeks ago.
One of my close friends was throwing a surprise party for another one of our mutual friends and I found out about a week or so after that I wasn’t invited. She called me a few days later to apologize explaining that she and another person planned the party mostly via a private facebook event and she forgot to let me know outside of that resource.
I know at the time I wasn’t physically out or around as often (I sprained my ankle and have been recovering), but I had still been in contact with her via text message and email. I wasn’t on her mind during those conversations to invite me. To be honest, I was a little hurt, but I was also expecting something like this might happen.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Your friends have given you all sorts of suggestions for when you should go back on Facebook:
One year from the day you gave it up. 365 days of life without fb!
When you feel like you can use it on your terms. Don't get sucked into anything you don't want to!
Totally up to you. It is more a part of a younger person's world- but not essential. Certainly a nice resource to have- but not at the expense of meaningful relationships.
What do you want to say to them?
Jessica Robyn: I think the one year idea is interesting, but I have no idea if that will happen. I think a few of my friends know me well enough, are supportive, and also understanding which is why none of their responses shocked me.
I will reactive my account at some point and hopefully whenever that happens it won’t be as big of a part of my life as it previously was and I can manage my time on there better.
Recently Jay Baerasked a question on his blog that led to over 100 comments. Based on an interview that Guy Kawasaki conducted with INC Magaine, Jay wanted to know, "Is social media strategy required or redundant?" As I began to join the comment thread, I realized that my response was a "post" and not a "comment." Toss of a pink boa to Jay for inspiring this post.
From the content on Diva Marketing, you can probably guess which side of the fence I'm on. Not to make things more complicated, but especially in social media marketing, you can't expect to build a strategy without first understanding the "tools" e.g. blogs, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. etc. etc.
Much of our learning about social media/networking is derived from experience and experimentation.
When a new social network tool hits the virtual scene making the decision to include or not to include and when takes you down a different road than if you were to incorporate email, advertising or public relations. Why? Glad you asked.
Answer: We have no history to base our decision. At the early stage there are probably few examples from specific industries or customer bases. Dare I say it, at this point in the game there are no "best practices." It's not a surprise that many marketers take the wait and watch approach.
Although I agree strategy is critical, in order to determine if a technology should be considered you must first understand the tool. Although most social networking platforms include some sort of engagement and sharing features, each new category tool is slightly different. Each also brings a unique set of benefits and challenges.
I created a 4 step, call it a road map, to help you think thought the process. Let's use the newest darling of the social networks -- Pinterest as an example.
New Social Media Network Road Map
I. Before You Begin Questions
1. Does the brand lend itself to social visual content/communication?
2. Do we have the resources e.g. time, people and budget to create and maintain?
3. Will our customers and prospects enjoy and use this tool? Note: Your answer to this may be "yes" but your customers may not be using the technology yet. Now would be a good time for early learnings and testings.
4. Is our culture open to learning without direct ROI? Note: In the early stages of a social media technology don't fool yourself that you know where the real benefits will occur.
5. What unique issues might your company face? For Pinterest that might include: Terms of service, copyright, pinabilty of your own visuals.
II. Tool Specifics Incorporated Into Enterprise Social Media Guidelines
Example social network: Pinterest
Note: We'll assume that your company has created Enterprise Social Media Guidelines. If not here are some examples.
Note: These are not strategies
1. What type of graphics are appropriate and which are not?
2. What type of sites will you pin from and which will you avoid?
3. How will you manage Terms of Service and copyright?
4. How will links to your pins be handled?
5. How will attribution be acknowledged?
III. Create A Whisper Campaign
1. To learn in a (relatively) safe environment, I encourage clients to explore and experiment with the tool by creating a page that does not relate to the company, brand or aspects of their personal lives that they don't want to share in a public forum.
Perhaps it's about a hobby, favorite sport or your favorite shoe designer. Not only will you have an understanding of the logistics but of the culture .. critical in social media/networks. Have fun, learn and when you're done feel free to delete the page.
2. Don't have time to develop your own knowledge base? Find support through a consultant who has done the ground work and understands not only the tool but how it can support your brand, your culture and that of the social network. She can share critical learnings as she guides you to avoid mishaps in a new social networking space.
IV. Strategy
Now you're ready to hit the strategy route.
You know the drill here: goals/objectives, metrics, content and the beat goes on .. Keep in mind there are two ways to incorporate social networks into your marketing or business plan.
1. Stand alone - the social network is maintained as a long-term tactic.
2. Integrated - into other initiatives e.g. advertising campaign, trade show, new product launch campaign. For the most part, integrating social media into an imitative has a beginning, middle and end.
An example is the Pinterest Kotex Campaign where the boards were deleted after the campaign was over. (Diva Marketing Post: Kotex + Pinterest + Innovative Campaign) Or for a trade show the social media/networking elements may live forever on a special micro site.
Seems we can’t turn a virtual corner without bumping into a post about the hottest social network Pinterest.
What started as a playground for mostly women to share life style images is morphing into a serious business platform. Many brands, B2b, B2C, as well as, nonprofit and even the military and higher ed are pinning.
Recently I was contacted by an Israeli agency about a Pinterest campaign that they launched for Kotex: Kotex Inspiration Day.The strategy capitalized on Pinterest in an innovative way beyond brand pins on a board. Let’s call it a “Pinterst” relationship strategy a la blogger relations. In fact, it might be the first. But I can assure you it will not be the last.
Yael Linen-Zuchman, CEO of the agency smoyz, kindly agreed to fill us in on the back-story, offer her insights about the strategy and share some lessons learned.
About Yael Linen-Zuchman, CEO of smoyz. She is a 30 year-old who graduated with a BA in business in 2009 at IDC Herztelia Israel. She established smoyz, a creative agency in 2010. She's "always looking for the next (simple yet brilliant) big thing."
About smoyz. A creative agency founded in 2010. smoyz is an agency for unique marketing on New Media, specializing in creative and novel content activities and building optimal platform for the brand on the web.
In several questions Yael asked Eran Sion, Digital Marketing Manager at Hogla-Kimberly to share his views. We have a unique view of the campaign from two perspectives: the brand and the agency.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Yael, let’s start at the beginning. How did the idea to reach out to pinners come about?
Yael Linen-Zuchman/smoyz: To communicate the launch of "Kotex Design" designed pads and panty liners by Kotex. We searched for an innovative social platform where women can express themselves freely and openly in a unique way.
Pinterest, and especially pinners, were found to be the best candidates because of the simple and brilliant (and not too invasive) way Pinterest works. In one simple action (pin) you can express yourself.
Diva Marketing/Toby: So, if I understand you, it seems that before you could reach out to women to give them the unique gifts from Kotex you first had to identify them and Pinterest was how you chose to do that.
Yael Linen-Zuchman/smoyz: That is correct!
Diva Marketing /Toby: Although you were going into a new area of social marketing… call it social visual communication, as marketers we seem to always be held to the standard of achieving goals/objectives. What were the goals/objectives that the client wanted to achieve for this program?
Eran Sion/Hogla-Kimberly: Kotex is "the underdog brand" at the feminine category in Israel and therefore we looked for a unique and unconventional activity that will encourage Israeli women to talk about the products and rethink their habits and attitude towards the brand.
Diva Marketing /Toby: Since this was a novel approach to Pinterest, what did you/smoyz want to learn from the experience that might have been different from Kotex’s goals?
Yael Linen-Zuchman/smoyz: We generally think the same as Hogla-Kimberly. We were looking for an activity that would generate buzz around the product/brand. My brief was to create the conversation and maintain the brand as the creator of the move.
Diva Marketing /Toby: Creating a YouTube video to tell your story of the brand strategy was nothing short of brilliant. Note: if you have not seen the video it's worth a click and watch.
In the video you indicated that 50 women were contacted. Let’s dive into what many marketers would like to understand .. your process of the hows and whys. Now, we’re not expecting you to give away any trade secrets Yael but a high level over view would be great.
How were the women identified? In other words was it done manually or through technology?
Yael Linen-Zuchman/smoyz: The women were identified by a few categories: viral, trendsetters and active on pinterest (many profiles on pinterest are open though not active enough to be relevant for this campaign). The women were identified first via social media monitoring and analysis technology and then manually picked the most inspiring ones.
Diva Marketing /Toby: Did smoyz and Kotex develop a set of criteria e.g. age, country, type of interests, etc?
Yael Linen-Zuchman/smoyz: We looked for profiles / pictures that could creatively be transformed into "real life products."
Diva Marketing /Toby: I guess it goes without saying, the women were from Israel (smile). Was an “influencer” or “power pinner” part of your criteria? If so how did you define that e.g. by number of pins, followers, ect?
Yael Linen-Zuchman/smoyz: Yes, an influencer & power pinner were part of our criteria; we looked for profiles which are both active and both viral (followers wise).
Diva Marketing /Toby: What were some of the challenges that you encountered?
Yael Linen-Zuchman/smoyz: The main challenge was to make the pinners cooperate with a commercial activity owned by Kotex. Because we were very accurate and relevant to the Pinners, we received fantastic collaboration.
Diva Marketing /Toby: From the video it seemed as though the gifts were a surprise. I’m curious as to how the women’s addresses were located.
Yael Linen-Zuchman/smoyz: After monitoring an inspiring pin we prepared the gift and pinned a photo on our Pinterest profile (Get Inspired). Then, on each pin that we monitored we commented and added a link to the gift, in order to receive the gift all they needed to do was repin our photo.
The repin was a signal of their interest, the addresses were taken via personal message approach. We used both the @ symbol and both the pin & like in order to get their attention properly.
Diva Marketing /Toby: Your results were beyond impressive; especially since the women posted across multiple social networks. How did you track the analytics? Note: almost 100% participation.
Yael Linen-Zuchman/smoyz: Technical social media monitoring and manually monitoring these 50 women.
Diva Marketing /Toby: Yael , I’d love to see how the women positioned their pins? Can you share a couple of the Pinterest board with our community?
Yael Linen-Zuchman/smoyze: The profile we created, was deleted and no longer exist, that's why you can't see the photos. We decided to open the Kotex Pinterest "Get Inspired" profile temporarily and closed it after the campaign. (Note: Eran addresses this approach further below.)
Following are some of the women who participated in the Pinterest Kotex campaign.
Diva Marketing /Toby: My friends (and I admit me too!) are so curious .. what were some of the presents that were in the boxes? That must have been a fun part of the project .. making sure the gifts reflected the pinner’s interests.
Yael Linen-Zuchman/smoyz: This was the most amazing part of the campaign. After locating each womens inspiration smoyz team went out for an inspiration treasure hunt.
We went to markets, malls, searched the internet..and finally bought 50 unique inspiring gifts. After buying these gifts artists designed on these gift the new kotex design look. Among the gifts:
A women pinning cat photos received two bowls designed and with her cats names. (Note: Maxie pup approves!)
A women that pinned sweets, got a kotex designed jar full of hearted sweets.
A women that pinned cupcakes & got kotex designed cupcakes.
A young girl pinned diaries & got a pocket diary with her name painted on the diary.
A women that pinned pastry-cooking stuff received a cooking kit designed with her initials.
Diva Marketing /Toby: Yael what fun .. buying presents. I want that job! By the way, does Kotex have a Pinterest page? And if they do would you be so kind as to give us the link? If not are any plans in the works that you can share with us?
Eran Sion/Hogla-Kimberly: We believe that any activity on behalf of the brand, should give true value to our consumers and reflect the core values of the brand. The latest activity did just that. We are in a constant search for a platform that will enable us to provide added value to our consumers – It does not have to be a long lasting engagement, short term relations are also welcome.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Interesting approach to Pinterest and social media. Not only short term boards for campaigns but taking them down after the run of the campaign. Eran, I'm curious .. why wouldn’t Kotex want the long-term awareness that the board would bring?
Eran Sion/Hogla-Kimberly: The main goal of our digital platforms is to promote awareness to the brand and we support them constantly. Nevertheless it would be ambitious to create constant excitement on behalf of Kotex on a Pinterest profile; but due the success of the "Kotex Inspiration Day" activity, we will examine our long term presence on the platform.
Diva Marketing /Toby: Diva Marketing is all about learning from each other. Yael, would you please share a couple of the overall lessons that you learned?
Yael Linen-Zuchman/smoyz:
In my opinion New media marketing in 2012 is all about creating intimate moments with the brand.
These amazing platforms enable the brands to touch their audience in the most intimate way.
Conventional advertising and marketing cannot stand alone today without a simple yet brilliant touch to blow people away and create a real organic engagement.
Diva Marketing /Toby: In the tradition of Diva Marketing interviews, you get the last word. So the virtual stage is yours .. wrap it up any way you’d like.
Yael Linen-Zuchman/smoyz: Would it be cheesy if I quote my most favorite one? Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication -- Leonardo de Vinci
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.
If you don't have a dream how you gonna have a dream come true? - South Pacific
Social media is built by people who dream and create. Two qualities of what I think of defines the entrepreneurial spirit.
Even if you're not developing a new social widget or strategy, but are exploring and using social media, I believe you have some of that spirit. You're thinking in new ways, trying a different approach. Toss of a pink boa to you! By the way, in an innovative imitative Babson College is asking people to define "entepreneurialship."
Entepreneurs inspire. We look at their accomplishments and perhaps we're encouraged to take our dream one step further. We look at the lessons learned that they pass along and take a few to heart. Perhaps we'll stumble over one less rock in the road. I'd like to introduce you to a couple of people who took a chance and are making their dreams come true .. some beyond their own expectations.
Think that fashion and bargains are just for divas. Think again. Jason Ross, founder of JackThreads tapped into guys who want to be cool on a budget. He built an eCommerce sample site ..with a twist. It was members only. Every aspect, from the products to the photography reinforces the brand value and promise.
"We're kind of like the Robin Hood of men's clothing, minus the grand larceny and the pointy hat." - Jason Ross. MSN Business On Main has a great interview with Jack. Worth a click and a watch. @jackthreadsJackThreadsFacebook
This week in Atlanta, the Digital Divas, a SIG of the AiMA (Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association), brought together a panel of women entrepreneurs. Lynne Laube, President and Co-Founder, Cardlytics; Caroline Van Sickle, Founder/CEO, Pretty in My Pocket and Kris Zagoria, founder, Moxie Interactive shared their stories and lessons learned of taking start-up companies to multi million dollar enterprises.
I find it interesting what people take away from a speech. In tweets, here are some what the audience found inspirational.
Let's Have FUN .. You Can Win $100!
MSN Business On Main/Diva Marketing Small Business Tip Contest
Your challenge is to share 1 idea on what inspires you when it comes to tapping into your entrepreneurial spirit.
Rules of MSN The Business on Main/Diva Marketing Social Media Small Business Tips Contest
1. Post your tip for how to use social media for branding on this Diva Marketing post And on this MSN Business On Mail Post. If youdon't post on MSN BOM and indicate Diva Marketing you cannot qualify for the $100 prize.
2. Identify your post on Business On Main with the words Diva Marketing
3. Winner is at the pleasure of Diva Marketing.
4. Contest ends midnight Saturday April 14, 2012.
5. You must be at least 18 years of age
6. A valid eMail address must be included on the "Post a Comment Section" of your Diva Marketing comment. (How will I know where to contact you to send your check?)
That's it .. now it's your turn! Wouldn't $100 a great way to say thank you to You?
Looking forward to your ideas!
Thanks Rob for the edit!
Diva Marketing is part of an online influencer network for MSN Business on Main. I receive incentives to share my views on a monthly basis. All opinions are 100% mine.
Sometimes the smart people can be the most naive when it comes to social media and social networks.
In the post I wrote on employee personal branding I offered the premise that an employee's digital personae will likely be affilated with their employee's brand during, as well as after, employment ends. Hold that thought please.
When I teach, especially social media workshops, I make every attempt to create what I call a "social media offline environment." As with social media online, although I have material to present, listening and sharing play important roles. Adults learn best from peer-to-peer interaction and people are generous to share their own lessons learned.
I want to pass along a story that a participant, a small business owner, shared of how she discovered one of her managment employees felt his job was boring and un-challenging. Let's call the business owner Ruth and the employee Bert.
To frame this, the guy was in his early thirties and not at the beginning of his career path. He had been using Facebook, Twitter and LInkedIn for personal and professional use for several years. One afternoon at work, he dropped a seemingly innocent remark on his Facebook wall (privacy setting set to allow friends only) that he was bored with his job and was looking for a new position.
You can easily connect the series of dots and dashes. A "friend" who wanted to be helpful to his friend's job search efforts, copied the update and sent it to someone who sent it to someone who sent it to the business owner.
As Ruth told our class, sometimes the best intentions of placing what you think is the right person in the right position just don't work. When she read Bert's post she had a lot of emotions. She was angry. She felt betrayed. She also was concerned about the perceptions people might have of the company, as well as, the job that she would sooner than later have to fill.
Her company was a small business where she tried to create a trusting environment. Evidently Bert didn't feel comfortable discussing his concerns with his manager or even with her. Ruth was at a cross road at how to handle the sitution. Was she not utilizing Bert's capabilities? Should she find another opportunity for him? Hop over to MSN On Main for some ideas on how to identify "diamond in the rough employees" that you may be overlooking.
As our in class discussion continued, it was became more obvious that the bigger issue for Ruth was the trust that she felt had been broken. In social media we talk a lot about building trust in the digital world. However, sometimes we forget that trusted relationships are continuously being played out in on-line public forums. We can impact people (and organizations) casually mentioned in a tweet, update or even a pin. Often these people don't belong to our merry band of of Follwers, Likes, Friends, Connects, Pinees, or well .. you get the idea.
In this situation we have three smart people who were naive about the impact of social media. Bert of course. Ruth who should have offered training and established guidelines to her staff. The third is Bert's friend who was only trying to help find a a pal a new job.
Lessons Learned: There are no gated communities on-line. Don't post what you don't want passed along. Employers it is critical to teach your employees good social media/networking etiquette and periodically remind them of your corporate guidelines.
You do have social media/networking guidelines? Excellent! I knew you did. Just in case you want to freshen them up .. here's a post with links to many examples.
I left off the ending purposely. Wondering how would you handle the situation?
Diva Marketing is part of an online influencer network for MSN Business on Main. I receive incentives to share my views on a monthly basis. All opinions are 100% mine.
Do you remember Tom Peters’ innovative Fast Company article The Brand Called You?
Back in the ‘90’s Peters presented what for the time was an unusual concept: employees could position themselves, within their organizations, as though they were a brand. His idea was employees were more than cogs in a corporate wheel. By taking a lesson from how marketers branded products people could successful manage and grow their careers.
There have been volumes written about how to create a “personal brand” including right here on Diva Marketing posted in 2009. However, social media and social networks have added an interesting dimension.
What if ..
your employer helped you develop your personal brand to the benefit of both you and them?
What if ..
then you both leveraged the credibility, visibilty and goodwill of each to create a an earned halo effect that supports and aligns your values and the company's brand promise?
Answer: You have an Employee Personal Branding Strategy.
Enterprises which place a value on encouraging employee branding, experience multiple benefits. For instance it strengthens corporate branding both internally and externally. When an organization helps its employees create their brand for mutual value, from the company’s point of view, many positives can occur from decreasing business costs to increasing market awareness.
Six Benefits of Employee Personal Branding
1. Industry knowledge transfer which may decrease training costs
2. Trend identification which may present new product development and sales opportunities
3. Stronger collaboration with subject matter experts which may increase logistic efficiencies
4. Increased leadership development which may decrease recruitment acquisition costs
5. Employees can serve as brand champions increasing visibility within the industry and building important relationships with customers, prospects, influencers and thought leaders.
6. Improved corporate brand perception which can positively affect not only marketing goals, but improve recruiting top people to the organization by becoming a more desirable place to work. This is the ultimate “halo effect.”
Employee personal branding is a aspect of social business that I believe will become increasingly critical as employees take for granted using social networks, like LinkedIn, to cultivate relationship building opportunities.
On the flip side, organizations are neglecting low cost ways to increase brand awareness, credibility and goodwill through the people who know their brand the best .. their employees.
I am excited to be working with Bernie Borges to create an important training workshop sponsored by the American Marketing Association: Personal Branding within in the Corporation. Please enjoy this podcast where Bernie and I take you on a deeper dive of this exciting concept.
Update: After my conversation with John Cass, I'm adding one more
What if ..
the "halo influence" of employer/employee continues even after you leave an organization. Why not work together to create a mutual beneficial employee digital presence .. for the present and the future?
