May 12, 2008
In prep for writing my Age of Conversation book II page, I reached out to
Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, for his insights about social media. Not only does Tony blog but he actively tweets (on Twitter the 140 character micro blogging platform).
In fact, that's where I "met" Tony. I sent him a Twitter DM (direct message). With Tony following 4658 people I 
wondered if he would respond. He did indeed .. within minutes (!) providing me with his off Twitter email so we could continue the conversation without the 140 character limitation.
Sidebar: Not to digress but .. where else .. how else could a little ol' diva in Atlanta connect with the CEO of billion dollar corporation based in Las Vegas? I tell you girl friend, that alone boggles the mind. One more testimony to how social media and in this case, Twitter, can open the doors and windows a little wider to develop relationships.
Toby/Diva Marketing: What influence has social media had on how you conduct business? Does Zappos have a system or process in place to respond to the concerns/complements from consumer generated mentions about the company? And to respond back to the blogger, tweeter, etc?
Tony Hsieh: We haven't really changed any of our internal processes yet. Right now the stuff I am doing on Twitter is just me... if someone Twitters me then I personally respond.
We now have close to 300 employees on Twitter, but
our main motivation for getting our employees to join Twitter was to help improve our company culture.
Company culture is our #1 priority. We believe that if we get the company culture right, most of the other stuff (including great customer service) will happen on its own.
Toby/Diva Marketing: What advice would you give to a CEO on how to incorporate social media and the feedback from social media into an organization?
Tony Hsieh:
I think if the CEO starts using Twitter on his/her own and is actually passionate about it, then that passion will eventually rub off on the rest of the organization.
You can't fake or mandate passion, you actually have to be passionate. On Twitter, people can tell whether you are actually passionate about connecting with other Twitterers, whether they are your customers or employees.
About Zappos - Founded in 1999, Zappos is an online commerce
company that got its start selling shoes. Since then their product line
has morphed to include: handbags, clothing, electronics and more.
According to Marketing Sherpa, Zappos anticipates to top $1 Billion in sales in 2008. With a focus on superior customer service Zappos is game to try innovative strategies that bring them closer to their customers. Zappos Blogs Zappo Tweets. Sounds like a match made in Social Media Heaven!
Jan 22, 2008
Diva Marketing Talks is a live, internet radio show. 30-minutes. 2-guests. 1-topic about social media marketing. Why? To help you understand how to participate in the "new" conversation without getting blown-up. Miss today's show? You can pick it up as a podcast.
Today's Diva Marketing Talks focuses on how micro blogging is creeping into social media marketing. Can 140 characters of text messaging really impact your marketing strategy? B.L. Ochman and Connie Reece tell about their experiences on Twitter and how a few little twits turned into pea soup. With B.L. and Connie as guests at the mic this is sure to be an exciting conversation you won't want to miss!
Topic for January 22, 2008: The Impact of Less Is More: Micro Blogging
Time: 6:30p - 7p Eastern/ 5:30p - 6p Central/ 4:30p -5p Mountain/ 3:30p - 4p Pacific
Call-in Guest Number: 718.508.9924
Guests:
B.L. Ochman
B.L., publisher of What’s Next Blog, helps companies incorporate social media marketing tools into their communications programs. Her clients (whatsnextonline.com) include IBM, Cendant, McGraw-Hill, American Greetings, Kaneka Corporation and others. She has been working as an Internet strategist since 1995. Previously, she ran B.L. Ochman PR, which she grew to one of the top 100 independent PR firms in the U.S. before turning her sights to the Internet in 1996. Find B.L. on Twitter.
Connie Reece
These days Connie wears several hats that all have a focus on social media including Principal, Austin Social Media LLC; Founder, Every Dot Connects and Executive Director, Social Media Club International. She brings diverse experiences to the new communication space that range from direct response copy writing to fund raising, to donor development to publishing. Find Connie on Twitter.
Tips From The Diva Bag
Complements of B.L. Ochman
1. Microblogging is a way to learn where your customers’ attention is right now
2. Social Networks allow you direct access to people you might not be able to reach directly otherwise, and to see who they are influenced by
3. There is a huge marketing opportunity in 140 character conversations
4. Putting your thoughts into 140 characters will help you become a better communicator
Complements of Connie Reece
1. Tumblr.com - blogging so easy, a caveman can use it. Well, at least an 83-year-old woman can use it -- my mom does.
Pro: most user-friendly; post with a click of your browser toolbar.
Con: if you want comments, it requires workaround using different application
2. Jaiku.com & Tumblr.com are convenient to use as "lifestream," a place where all your online content is automatically posted.
3. The more people you follow on Twitter, the more interesting conversations you can have. When you set up a Twitter profile, include a link to your blog or website with enough personal information that a viewer can make a decision in under 10 seconds whether you're someone worth following.
4. Twitter is a stream (soon to become a raging river, I suppose). The point is that you can't swim the length of the pool; just dip in now and then and enjoy a refreshing break.
5. When you follow a lot of people on Twitter, you're bound to miss conversations, even when you check the Replies tab. To minimize this, use Twitter SMS tracking, RSS tracking using Terraminds, e-mail tracking using Twittermail, or a third-party client such as Snitter or Twhirl.
My current choice is Twhirl because it streams replies and DM's in the same app window, and highlights them in different colors for easy scanning. Because of Twitter API limitations on 3rd-party clients, if you receive more than 20 messages per update, some will be dropped.
Can't call in but have a question for B.L. and Connie ? Drop a comment and I'll ask it for you. Let me know what you'd like Diva Talks to chat about. Don't forget Diva Marketing Talks morphs into a podcast.
Update: Thanks Geoff Livingston for the live call-in question.
Resources:
Your Guide to Micro-Blogging and Twitter
10 Micro-Blogging Tools Compared
Dec 24, 2007
Do you believe in
people miracles? On this day, or eve, perhaps you're popping by after the last package has been wrapped, I'd like to tell you a, as CK (@ckEpiphany) calls it, a social media Xmas miracle story. Steamy hot chocolate or spiced cider along with a cookie or two would be lovely to indulge in right now.
Connie Reese tells the story best of how a tiny snowflake twit grew into a green pea snowball of love. A green pea snowball .. how odd you may say but true stories are often stranger than fiction. Our story includes invisible people, a big scare, a brave woman and the spirit of kindness from so many.
Chapter One By Connie Reece (@conniereece)
A friend I’ve never met in person is scared. Very scared. Susan Reynolds (@susanreynods) is having a mastectomy tomorrow. She found the lump on December 5, went to the doctor the next day, and was immediately sent to a diagnostic radiologist. Big words, big fear: Invasive Lobular Carcinoma.
You can read about Susan’s journey through the cancer experience in her new blog, Boobs on Ice. The story I want to share is how a community of so-called invisible friends rallied around Susan to support, comfort and cheer her up–and somewhere along the way turned it into a fight–and a fund–against cancer.
It started on Twitter, where Susan is the self-proclaimed nana; she’s also a power networker with hundreds of followers. When she posted a new 
avatar–a photo of a package of frozen peas tucked inside her camisole to relieve the pain from multiple biopsies–she joked about putting her boob on ice. Her friends continued the joke.
On the Friday before Xmas Susan's surgery was a success. Joyous twits flew across the globe.
Chapter Two The Peavatars
Then came Ann Miller (@annohio)
who changed her avatar on Twitter to a package of peas. Within a twit Twitter was a wash in green
peas. Of course the peavatars must have a Flickr Peavatar Group. When last checked Frozen Pea Friday had almost 300 PPPs!
Chapter Three Frozen Pea Fund
One of social media's strengths is the evolution of ideas. Cathleen Rittereiser
(@cathleenritt)'s suggestion went from simply friends-helping-friends to a challenge to raise money for cancer research. In honor of Susan, the Frozen Pea Fund was launched. In the first 15 hours $3,493 was raised from 118 peaple on 3 continents.
FrozenPeaFund launched in under one week w/ no budget, no biz plan, no
mtkg plan .. just a handful of volunteers who understand social media - Connie Reece (@conniereece)
Chapter Four Lessons Learned and Questions To Ponder
As in any really good story there are lessons that we take with us. Frozen Peas teaches us lessons from a belief in the goodness of people to the power of micro blogging. What made this work was a sense of community. A sense of belonging. tiny snowflake messagethat grew into a green pea snowball of love.
Jonathan Trenn (@jtrenn) insightful observation - We weren't being consumers. We were just being people. Spontaneous caring.
Could a company accomplish as much as quickly with a formal strategy? Could a not for profit make a similar impact? Can Spontaneous caring occur as a social media marketing strategy? What happens if say, Birds Eye was part of a community would you feel the same? Would you embrace this type of marketing initiative if the American Cancer Society was behind it?
Chapter Five It's Personal
I must tell you I don't know Susan. But we have dear friends in common who through hundreds of twits connected me to Susan's world. Her fight touched my heart for you see my sister fought a brave battle with breast cancer. 
Her name was Susan too.
You are fabulous, thanks so much for encouragement, smiles, support. You really make me feel like this is a team effort. Susan Reynolds (@susanreynods)
Chapter Six The Community Fundraising Challenge
CK words "community" fundraising are spot on. The Frozen Pea Fund is growing quickly organically. Perhaps the time has come to dream bigger. The Peavatar Group is now challenging corporations to join in the fight.
Birds Eye Jolly Green Giant how about matching funds with what the community raises?
We will not apeas cancer!
Blog title inspired by a twit from Drew McLellan * Drew's post on Marketing Profs is wonderful and these are too!
wondered if he would respond. He did indeed .. within minutes (!) providing me with his off Twitter email so we could continue the conversation without the 140 character limitation.
