11/16/2009
Hundreds of thousands of digital voices are taking medicine to the virtual streets. There's a new cause being fought in social media communities. Not unlike the grass root movement of the '60's this will also influence change but this time in the world of healthcare.
As we've seen with consumer and business brands ePatients are using the Internet for research and social media for peer-to-peer support. On the other side of the street some healthcare providers (physicians, nurses, physician assistants, etc.) are doing much the same. Blogs, social networks, Twitter, along with gated communities like Sermo -an only for docs world- are finding their way into the process of daily communication.
However, the healthcare eco system is complex and goes beyond those two populations to include government agencies like the FDA, Pharma and point of care providers (hospitals, medical centers, out patient facilities).
Simply put .. here lies their social media dilemma .. how to authentically (with no marketing spin) participate in the social discussions while maintaining public safety, patient privacy, transparency .. not to mention ensuring conversations are "people talk." From a lay person's perspective it sounds fairly simple; however, especially for pharma the social landscape can be a slippery slope.
Last week the FDA held a Public Hearing on Promotion of FDA-Regulated Medical Products Using the Internet and Social Media Tools. To their credit the FDA made the 2-day proceedings available to the pubic through live streams. The goal of the back-to-back 15-minute presentations from marketers, pharma companies, government agencies and media companies was to educate by responding to a series of predetermined questions from the FDA.
While some people seemed a bit self-serving, others presented carefully researched conclusions; and others offered specific solutions from creating a task force to developing widgets for adverse events (AE) to designing online advertising. Running in the background were people tweeting the hearing.#FDASM The commentary, often couched in humor (I learned a new buzz word from Mark Tosh : Data Smog), was as valuable to me as the formal proceedings.
From a marketer who has worked in healthcare, as well as, from a personal perspective here are my takeaways:
Monitoring
Some people felt pharmaceutical companies should be responsible for monitoring misinformation and AE comments .. according to pre determined guidelines. Others strongly felt that monitoring should not be mandated or as @rohitbhargava tweeted that brands should not be "cyber sleths." However, if Pharma does come across inaccurate data or patient concerns what should be the response protocol?
Customer Service and the ePatient
How to manage service relationship is an important issue that was addressed only slightly. Perhaps it was outside the scope. Consumer brands are setting expectations for fast, online responses to questions and concerns. My instincts tell me that this will be the next big area for digital/social media healthcare. There are many issues to be explored from: What does digital healthcare service mean? to: How to address questions in public forums. How are AEs addressed and misinformation corrected? Where to address those issues and when to participate in social networks.
To encourage patients to report AEs they must feel as though they are
getting value back. How to encourage engagement and what constitutes
"value" is critical to understand. All who are involved in caring
for and serving ePatients must realize that it is not about the
technology but developing a productive collaboration. Whatever means
are used must be simple. Social media is about a new set of digital behaviors that begin and end with trust based on transparency.
The social media service relationships between ePatients and healthcare providers will grow in importance .. watch for it.
Physician/Patient Relationship
Most U.S. physicians like the idea of empowered patients who are knowledgeable about their conditions
Patients are utilizing digital resources, including social media, for pre treatment and post treatment
Docs remain the most trusted source of medical information
Pharma
Docs want information when they want it. Consumers want customer service. The big challenge is to correct misinformation without a self serving spin. Seems sad that would be an issue. I can't help but wonder if/how the social media culture will influence the culture of pharma.
FDA
Step into the social media world. Open a page on Facebook so the public will have easy access to information. Don't expect people to search to find you .. go where they are online. A benchmark for success should be sharing experiences vs. filling out forms. The FDA should take the lead in creating a participatory culture.
Consumer education will be critical to the success of this undertaking. Pharma could help with the out reach as could other providers. If creating consumer awaremess and understanding is not an integrated aspect the best of plans will fail.
Keep in mind that regulations should not get in the way of expected interaction (between pharma and customers and pharma and physicians.
Healthcare in social media has certainly come a long way (with miles to go) since I facilitated sessions at the Healthcare Blogging and Social Media Summits 2006-7.
The post about a conversation I had with a doc I met on a flight about blogs seems almost surreal. It went something like this .. The doc said to me - I don't want to give them that information. There's too much on the internet already. Great opportunity to make sure they have correct information, I replied. The old school doc volleyed a last remark, "I don't practice medicine that way."
My response back, "Perhaps you need to change the way you practice medicine. If I were you I'd keep on eye on blogs." Wonder if he changed his mind.
Sidebar: Thanks to Jean-Ah Kang, PharmD, Special Assistant to the Director for her gracious eMail. - There will be transcripts posted approximately 30 days after the conclusion of the public hearing, and the docket will have copies of the presentations/oral testimonies that can be requested from FDA. We would welcome any comments you would like to provide on these issues as our docket is open until February 28, 2010 - please consider submitting comments!
Resources
Spreadsheet of presentations
Story of Two ePatiens by Dr. Val Jones
hcsc - weeklytwitter chat on social media and healthcare
Marci Roth for the illustration
Update 11-18-09 Webcasts of the FDA hearing on the Internet and Social Media are available for next 30-days.
11/03/2009
A thought inspired by too much Halloween candy.
From social media networks to blogs, widgets, tweets and hot mobile apps marketers are faced with more choices than we ever could have imagined.
It seems every day brings a new shiny toy to try .. and to confuse. Add a few traditional tactics .. PR, email, advertising and search and the job becomes overwhelming. Overlay that with an internal structure where functions are silo-ed by departments and you have a frightening disjointed marketing program.
One of the benefits that social media brings to the enterprise is a critical need to ensure cross functional communication systems are in place. As we're seeing social media does not live only in PR or Marketing or Customer Service.
Over the next few days let's take a dive into creating a Social Media Marketing Plan. The first step is to align internal stakholders and understand the landscape. What I call the P-I-E-C-E conversation is a process that helps develop a foundation for The Social Enterprise and sets the stage for developing an integrated marketing plan.
PIECE Conversation
Step 1: Prepare: educational component. as it relates to social media: competitive analysis, customer activity, industry trends
Step 2: Invite people who perceive they have a stake: C-suite, marketing, legal, technology, customer service
Step 4: Encourage people to talk openly
Step 5: Confirm and prioritize issues (including objectives/goals)
Step 6: Engage next steps create a Red Flag Memo
10/30/2009
Friday
Fun is Diva Marketing's virtual happy hour from cosmos to Jack to
lemonade. A waiting for the weekend 'playground' time to be
sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just plain silly.
In the spirit of David Letterman's Top Ten ...
13. A zillion landing page blogs are pretending to be social media .. take off the mask and you find a search strategy built on a blog platform
12. A comment that lists a company name instead of a person is likely looking for link treats not a relationship.
11. Facebook "fan" pages with posts lifted from corporate brochures and press releases is just another tricky search strategy.
10. Nondisclosure of paid posts or reviews of comp'ed products services comes with tricks of its own .. a big fat FTC fine Make sure you are up to date on the law or your compensation treat will pay for your legal fees.
9. The trick is on the Twitter automatic followers .. no one cares about you - BOO!
8. No @s in your Tweet stream is a sign that you 1. have few friends to play with or 2. don't know how to share treats with others.
7. Not linking to sources sites or including RT (re-tweet @s) is another signal that you don't know how to play well with others.
6. Barbs on the "Back Channel" that don't help move the conversation along in a win-win for the audience and speaker is a clue that you want all the candy for yourself.
5. Not listening to your customers' who take time to express their pleasure and concerns in the social world is a sad trick for both customer and company.
4. Not building social enterprise processes to ensure the impact of social media lessons are shared across multiple departments is like not sharing your Halloween candy.
3. Emphasizing measurements that don't align with your objectives and goals are like getting socks instead of candy.
2. Discounting the relationships you build and networks that you (and your customers) participate in are as real and valuable as any offline is like wearing the same costume year after year after year.
And the Number One Reason To Halloween Toilet Paper A Social Media Strategy ...
1. Forgetting to say "thank you" to your customers, employees, fans and friends who shared their Halloween candy with you.
Max and I wish you a Halloween filled with lots of treats and few tricks!
10/23/2009
This is a continuing series highlighting some of the fabulous women in the metro Atlanta area who are working in social media marketing. These divas include women from both the client and the agency side. From a personal (and I must admit selfish) view it's been a fun opportunity to meet and answer the question .. Who are the Atlanta Women In Social Media?
Today's post takes a slightly different direction. Toss of a pink boa to Karen Russell, an amazing prof at UGA, who suggested that I include a special post on educators. I'm very excited to introduce you to professors who are opening the doors of social media strategy to the next generation of marketing and PR professionals.
Dr. Kaye Sweetser, Assistant Professor, Public Relations University of Georgia Grady College - Kaye Sweetser.com Google Profile UGA Profile @kaye
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? - Social media marketing is not so much a marketing plan that is created at a corporate level - rather, I see it as the organic word-of-mouth marketing that happens when a product is genuinely good. When it is good & people find it useful, they talk about it & recommend it to others.
Social media public relations, on the other hand, is just an extension of normal public relations where instead of just saying one's publics are important, the company actually reaches out through mass media to individual stakeholder. And then they build real & meaningful relationships with them.
2. My favorite social media tactic - I don't pinpoint a favorite tactic because each group and each goal is differently met. But if I had to have a fave, it would be to be REAL.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? Confidence. We have Fortune 500 corporations headquartered here but don't see ourselves as kewl as the San Francisco set.
4. An overview of your class - I teach public relations classes at all levels (undergrad up to doctoral) at the University of Georgia, primarily research. I incorporate social media assignments like creating a Google Analytics reports & teach how to pinpoint meaningful metrics in social media.
5. Social media in your class - I began integrating social media into my classes back in 2004. Since then, I've increased the amount of instruction & focus we have in class on social media. I focus on how social media & metrics supplement traditional programs.
Urkovia Andrews, Assistant Professor Department of Communication Arts Georgia Southern University - Practical Issues @uandrews
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? To me social media marketing is the use of social media sites to connect with individuals of the same interest area, such as public relations, communications, teaching, etc. The wealth of information and urgency in which it is dispersed via social media sites is idealistic, overwhelming, and yet refreshing.
2. My favorite social media tactic is - I utilize Twitter more than other social media sites due to the immediacy. It’s often been said we live in a microwave world and Twitter helps amplify the cliché. Unfortunately, this can sometimes be a double-edge sword, as can be seen with recent well-known corporations.
3. In 140 characters What is Atlanta’s greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? Atlanta’s already a social media hub, but needs to avoid self-absorption. A lot is offered in Atlanta, but it’s not the end all.
4. Overview of class. I use social media mainly in the International Public Relations course. International PR is designed to expose students to public relations conducted in an international context. The class focuses on the various structures-political, economical, social, etc-that influence public relations practice in the chosen region.
This semester students were required to post their reaction to the various components of International PR on their personal blogs. Several of my tweets this semester have been geared around international issues relevant to the regions we are covering at the time. I’ve also secured upcoming guest speakers via social networking sites. Three of the guest speakers will be visiting the class via Skype calls due to their national and international location. My students are encouraged to engage these guest speakers on Twitter, PROpenMic, or through their blog or website.
5. When did you begin including social media marketing in your classes? I’ve maintained a website for my classes since 2006, yet this is the first semester I’ve branched beyond the website.
Karen Russell, Assistant Professor at University of Georgia Grady College. Dr. Russell is the editor of the Journal of Public Relations Research. Teaching PR @karenrussell
1. What does social media marketing mean to you? - To me, social media is where marketing meets PR, because it's often about building relationships and publicizing people, issues and products.
2. My favorite social media tactic - Twitter. I love connecting with students, PR pros, and other educators in such a quick and easy way.
3. In 140 characters - What is Atlanta's greatest challenge in becoming a social media hub? Right now it's the economy -- I hope when it picks up people will hire my social media savvy students, who have the expertise and the passion to help Atlanta organizations move into the social media space.
4. Overview of class - UGA has about 180 PR majors, and it's my mission to expose them all to a variety of social media practices. I use social media in all of my public relations classes, by asking students to participate, such as on Twitter, by showing YouTube videos and other social sites in class, and by bookmarking course readings on Delicious.
5. When did you begin including social media marketing in your classes? I began offering I used a class blog starting in January 2006, and started my own blog in April of that year.
Sidebar: Drop a comment if you are prof teaching social media and want to be highlighted
10/19/2009
Augmented Reality. Even the name sounds scary and a bit creepy. Seems it's the latest shiny object to hit the social media world.
From a non tech perspective, augmented reality adds a 3-D touch to websites, blogs and mobile. David Berkowitz says, "Augmented reality provides a layer of digital content over real-world experiences." Marshall Kilpatrick says that Yelp was the first iPhone app to add augmented reality. John Mayer, singer-songwriter says it's a "digital hologram" and he's incorporated the technology into his video for Heart Break Warfare.
Meijer, a retail store that opened its doors in 1934 in the Greenville, MI is certainly keeping up with the times. 
Their step into augmented reality is a quirky and fun Halloween experience. With your computer and a webcam you can be transformed into a scary Halloween mask that complete with sound effects. The sort of social aspects comes into play with the ability to send to your pals in Facebook, eMail or a tweet where they can comment on how cool or dorky you might appear.
Meijer is a client of BBF BL Ochman who offered to send a free webcam (via Meijer) to the first 12 people who raise their virtual hand and drop a comment that you want one. That's BL in the photo ..wonder what Benny Bix thought of the gorrila noises.
From an interactive marketing perspective it seems like a fun campaign but I'm wondering where the integration is from the website to the Halloween page and from the Halloween page to the website. Can't seem to find the link.
10/14/2009
Max and I were taking a walk yesterday. A big yellow and white cat came over to Max and he stopped to play with her. Yes, Max likes cats. His little tail wagged so quickly. His concentration on his kitty friend was total and complete. He was in the moment. When he was done he walked happily away to his next important thing to do. Max is a very busy pooch.
I thought .. social media is an in the moment way to conduct marketing. Then I thought .. the idea of responding to an external influence at the time the incident occurs is foreign to traditional marketing. Marketing is based on strategy where research, plans and how to figure it all out comes before a formal execution of tactics is achieved. Even PR whose charge it is to 'manage' the reputation of the brand rarely responds in the moment.
Social media goes against the grain of how marketers including PR, sales and to a great extent customer service professionals have managed their responsibilities as stewards of the brand. Or does it? Can the two concepts happily co-exist? Can marketing maintain a strategic focus while still being in the moment?
Let's first define what in the moment marketing means in terms of social media. In the simplest of ideas it takes into account only four steps: Monitoring, Understanding, Interacting, Integrating
1. Monitoring the discussion occurring in the digital world of blogs, tweets, forums, social networks, etc.
2. Understanding the challenges of customers and stakeholders to what they feel impacts the brand promise; as well as appreciating the people who say nice things.
3. Interacting with the people who take the time to have digital discussions about your brand.
4. Integration of ideas into your company and into the brand.
The complexity and sophistication of social media in the moment marketing occurs behind the scenes in the How where traditional marketing's strong suite comes into play through building the foundation.
Questions to help you think through the process of in the moment marketing for your organization.
1. How will monitoring or listening occur? Will you use a free tool like Google Alerts or RSS key word feeds or will you contract with a social media monitoring company?
2. How will understanding or hearing what is critical information be determined? How will the information be sent to the right people at the right time .. which may be real time? Who are the "right" people?
3. How will you reach out to customers and stakeholders? Will that occur in public through comments on posts or in tweets? Will you take the conversation offline in an email or phone call? Who will be responsible for follow-up .. both to the individual and to the community at-large who has passively heard the remarks?
4. How will you integrate the learnings into the fabric of the brand or into new processes for your enterprise?
It's all a part of developing the new social enterprise .. but it takes so much more to be in the moment for a brand than for a dog!
10/09/2009
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.
Blogs are more than just placeholders for digital content. They are can be the home of thoughts and ideas that bring people together to learn from and with each other. And they change. Diva Marketing's focus has gone from traditional branding/marketing to how social media supports the most important aspect of marketing: the customer experience.
Along the way I've highlighted, interviewed, podcasted (is that a word?) many wonderful Divas who are doing exception working in the social media industry. I realize recently I've never dedicated a post to the "divos" .. the men in my social media world who are just as generous in sharing their knowledge, expertise and support. Today's Friday Fun tosses a pink or maybe it should be a blue boa along with a cigar, beer and bourbon, to those awesome and amazing men.
Firsts are extra special. Paul Chaney, Dana VanDen Heuvel, Bill Flitter, Tris Hussey and Shel Israel were my very first blogger divo pals back in the day when conversational marketing was not even a buzz word. In late night emails, skypes and on blog posts we explored ideas about this new way to communicate with customers that was not messaged control.
My social media divo friends expanded to include many others, Tim and Geoff and Marc and Neville and Rajesh and Des and Wayne and and and! If you have not come across these true divos of social media in your virtual travels I invite you to explore their blogs and Twitter streams.
Paul Chaney Twitter thedigitalhandshake
Tim Jackson Twitter Masiguy
Geoff Livingston Twitter Geoff Livingston
Kevin OKeefe Twitter LexBlog
Tris Hussey Twitter A View From The Isle
Mack Collier Twitter Viral Garden
Neville Hobson Twitter NevilleHobson.com
Arun Rajagopal Twitter Arun Rajagopal
Drew McLellan Twitter Drew's Marketing Minute
John Cass Twitter PR Communications
Rick Short Twitter B2B Marcom
Nick Jacobs Twitter NickJacobs.org
Mike Schinkel Twitter MikeSchinkel.com
Dan Greenfield Twitter Bernaise Source
David Meerman Scott Twitter WebInKnow
Bill Flitter Twitter Pheedo
Rajesh Lawlani Twitter BlogWorks
Tom Colins Twitter Books Blogs and Beyond
Tom Lynch Twitter Tom Lynch Marketing
Alex Brown Twitter Alex Brown Racing
Shel Israel Twitter Global Neighbourhoods
Peter Fasano Twitter Peter Fasano's Social Media Strategy Blog
Joel Rubinson Twitter JoelRubinson
Jamie Turner Twitter 60 Second Marketer
Michael Squires Twitter Softscribe
Ben McConnell Twitter Church of the Customer
Michael Kogan Twitter Definition6.
Jason Falls Twitter Social Media Explorer
Chris Abraham Twitter Abram & Harrison
Jeremy Pepper Twitter Pop PR Jots
Chris Brogan Twitter Chris Brogan
Gavin Heaton Twitter Servant of Chaos
Trey Pennington Twitter Trey Pennington
Dave Taylor Twitter Ask Dave Taylor
Scott Schablow Twitter Provenance Digital
j brother love Twitter jbrotherlove
Ike Pigotti Twitter Occam's RazR
Scott Burkett Twitter Pothole On The Infobahn
Marshall Kirpatrick Twitter Read Write Web
Doug Meacham Twitter Nextup
Cameron Reilly Twitter Gday World Podcast Network
Chris Wilson Twitter Fresh Peel
Brian Cauble Twitter App Solution Genius
Guy Tessler Twitter American Israel Chamber of Commerce
Chris Heuer Twitter Chris Heuer's Insytes
Carlos Hernandez Twitter xeesm
Alex Geana Twitter Alex Geana
Aaron Brazell Twitter Technosailor
Lionel Menchaca Twitter Dell2Direct
Lance Weatherby Twitter Force of Good
Dan Schawbel Twitter Personal Branding
Graham English Twitter Graham English
Pete Blackshaw Twitter Tell 3000
Greg Verdino Twitter Greg Verdino
Phil Gerbyshak Twitter PhilGerbyshak
Brent Leary Twitter Brent's Social CRM Blog
Joe Koufmann Twitter Gumbo Show
Michael Russell Twitter Planet Russell
Merrill Dubrow Twitter Merrill Dubrow's Blog
Richard Binhammer Twitter RichardatDell
Lewis Green Twitter Biz Solutions Plus
Des Walsh Twitter Des Walsh Dot Com
Michael Rubin Twitter Michael Rubin
Marc Meyer Twitter Direct Obeservations
Hugh MacLeod Twitter gapingvoid
Robert Scobel Twitter Robert Scoble
Jonathan Freed Twitter Digital Wagon Train
stay tuned for a few more good men ..
Olivier Blanchard Twitter Brand Builders
Steve Woodruff Twitter Steve Woodruff
Alan Wolk Twitter The Toad Stool
Francois Gossieaux Twitter Emergence Marketing
Peter Kim Twitter T Being Peter Kim
Jay Berkowitz Twitter Ten Golden Rules
David Berkowitz Twitter Inside the Marketers Studio
Robert French Twitter Auburn Media
Wayne Hurlbert Twitter Blog Business World
Jack Yan Twitter Jack Yan my site
Steve Garfield Twitter SteveGarfield.com<
Kevin Nalts Twitter Nalts On YouTube
Andy Wibbels Twitter Andy Wibbels
Lee Odden Twitter Top Rank
Josh Hallett Twitter hyku
09/22/2009
Every once in awhile while there are people who enter your life and not only influence your journey but touch your heart. Paul Chaney is one of those people. In his new book The Digital Handbook Paul simply and smartly explains not only why it is now critical that marketers pay attention to social media but suggests ways of how to put the tactics into play.
Paul graciously agreed to an email interview. I asked him to tell us thought process that went into the development of The Digital Handbook. It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to my dear friend and colleague .. author, social media 'rock star' and a true Southern Gentleman .. Paul Chaney.
Toby/Diva Marketing: This is your second book on social media. The first, Realty Blogging, was targeted to the real estate industry while The Digital Handshake seems to be for a more general business audience. In the few years in between the publishing of both how have you seen this emerging industry that we call “social media change?”
Paul Chaney/The Digital Handshake: From my perspective, we’ve had two iterations. Keep in mind that in 2006-2007 I was a bit of a Rip VanWinkle in that I stepped away from active participation, only to wake up and find the world had changed. There were sites like Facebook and Twitter and I didn’t quite know what to make of it. I did realize that, unless I got with the program I was going to become archaic, a relic of the 2004-2005 blog-centric past. I determined not to allow that to happen.
Again, that was my perspective. In truth, this has been a gradual evolution in which blogs played a leading role. I think there was a lot of experimentation with social networks, starting most memorably with Friendster, then MySpace and now Facebook. We’ve seen a maturation process in terms of the degree of sophistication in the types of functionality that social networks allow, most notably Facebook. At the same time, they’ve gotten very easy to use. I know, my wife is on Facebook and if she can use it, anyone can.
I think of equal note is the movement away from purist ethics. Social media has become the latest victim of spammers and ne’er-do-wells. People who don’t understand the underlying philosophy are trying to use the genre as a direct marketing tool, and it doesn’t work. At least, I hope it doesn’t. I pray that doesn’t become the new model.
- This medium was built on the chief cornerstones of authenticity and transparency and any attempt to “game” the system should be met with complete disdain.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Your book has been called a “road map” to understanding social media. On a road trip we start at point A to eventually get to point B. What should we take along with us on this journey?
Paul Chaney/The Digital Handshake: The journey begins by knowing the destination. I think you call that strategy. Social media needs to be used strategically, in a way that supports the marketing goals and objectives of the company. It should be treated no different than any other form of marketing and held to a similar standard.
Not only that, you need to know the rules of the road. Social media has evolved to the point where there are some pretty well-defined, if not yet written rules. Those that abide by them will be rewarded, those that don’t, well, read what I said above.
Obviously, to get anywhere, you have to have a means to travel, a vehicle. Social media offers any number of those from blogs, to social networks, to micro-blogs, to video, podcasts and on and on. You have to chose the vehicle that’s right for you in terms of your strategy and business objectives.
I think you also need route by which you travel. For me, where social media is concerned, it consists of three words: Listen, Engage and Measure. Listening is the new marketing and if people are talking (and they are) we had better know what they’re saying, who’s saying it, and where it’s being said.
Listening leads the way to engagement and given that “the CEO wants to know the ROI of SMM” we have to measure the results. Just like you’d measure your gas mileage on a trip, so to we have to assign some metrics to social media when and where it’s appropriate to do so.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Following the idea of a road trip .. some of the most fun trips are those where we go off the beaten path. Can you offer some “side trip” suggestions that would add value to a marketer’s understanding of why or how to engage in social media?
Paul Chaney/The Digital Handshake: I most certainly can and thank you for asking. I think the “side trips” have to do with the people we meet and the relationships we forge along the way. The most attractive thing about social media to me is not that I’ve been able to build a career around or that I can teach businesses how to use it to grow, but that I’ve met a bevy of people who have come to have great meaning to me, and chief among them is you Toby.
If the joy is in the journey, then it has to do with the people we meet along the way who inspire, challenge and enrich us.
Toby/Diva Marketing: The Digital Handbook includes a lot of specific examples that bring to life the ideas and concepts you discuss in the book. In your research did you find any surprises regarding the way companies were using or not using social media tactics?
Paul Chaney/The Digital Handshake: No. (I’m kidding.) Actually, here’s what surprising (or not as the case may be). It’s that people are focused first on tactics and not on strategy. I don’t know that I can apply that statement to the people I interviewed, but it does apply to many I’ve met when doing workshops or giving presentations.
Over and over I hear, how do I use Facebook, or Twitter, etc? I want to tell them, it’s not all about the tools. There’s a mindset to adopt and that the tools are secondary to the marketing objectives.
I’m a tactically-oriented guy, but I’ve learned that, in order for social media to be most effective, it has to tie to strategic goals and objectives. And, it need to support and/or integrate with other forms of marketing.
Toby/Diva Marketing: It can be confusing for people who don’t “live” online to understand that relationships can be built and nurtured in the digital world. Let’s end this mini interview with this question: How you “shake hands” in the digital world?
Paul Chaney/The Digital Handshake: You know, it’s really not all that different than how you do it in the real world. Only, I being an introvert, I find it easier to do it virtually. You break the ice, find some common ground, carry on a conversation and begin the process of relationship-building. Your bio is your business card and a handshake is simply a conversation started by one party or the other.
Don’t be put off by the fact that the tools are unfamiliar. They are easy to use and don’t take long to master.
- Social media isn’t about technology so much as it is about people. Focus on the people you’re trying to connect with, not the tools being used to do so.
Thank you Paul! Check out The Digital Handshake on Facebook and become a fan.
09/20/2009
That was the question asked yesterday by one of the professors who attended UGA's (that's the University of GA for anyone not living in the South or not into college football!) social media conference - Connect. In it's 3rd year, Prof Karen Russell brings together Public Relations students, academics and professionals working in social media.
I had the privilege of sharing a panel with the ever controversial, but always smart, Jeremy Pepper on Integrating Social Media in Business and Industry.
It's always fun and invigorating to be part of a student event. Highlights of the speaker's ideas/presentations were captured on a retro social media platform .. the UGAConnect 2009 blog. Here's mine.
It's an innovative program and I would love to see the Connect model adopted with a focus on social media marketing. Tossing a pink boa to Karen, Diane Murphy and of course the amazing students.
But I digress. As always happens at any type of conference some of the best discussions occur outside of the sessions. The question, "Will social media change our behavior?" was directed not at consumers but the professionals behind the brand.
One of my first jobs out of college was as a customer service rep for a
major health insurance company. Sometimes I felt it was "me and the
customer" against the company. I can't but wonder ..
- Will PR and marketing professionals, who traditionally don't daily
interact with customers, approach their day-to-day jobs any differently
if their job descriptions include active participation in social media
conversations?
- Does knowing personal details about customers and stakeholders build added empathy to cheer louder - work harder - for the customer?
- Does having access to a daily stream of consumer feedback from high praise to disappointments in product and service influence how media releases or ads are written?
- If some people in non traditional, call them indirect customer engagement jobs like PR, HR, Marketing, IT, begin to build relationships with customers while others in their department do not, not does this produce conflict about the execution of tactics?
- How will job descriptions and subsequent annual reviews and raise incentives change for "indirect customer engagement jobs that include social media participation? Will these jobs be at a higher grade level since additional skills, experience and training will be needed?
- As more of our customers and clients join social networks and discover that there is frequently a disconnect between channel service (Twitter responses occur in seconds while call center resolutions may take days) and begin to depend on social channels to "talk to the company" will there be an internal conflict for resources?
This is part of a concept I've been talking about for a long time but finally beginning to explore in more depth - The Social Enterprise. It's an extension of the corner grocery story relationship that is the heart of what I believe makes social media of value to any business. Would love to hear your thoughts : Will Social Media Change Our Behavior?
09/06/2009
Dos
1. Do understand that social media marketing is most effective when it is an authentic, transparent dialogue and not a vehicle to push promotional messaging.
2. Do take the time to listen to the unfiltered voices of your customers and people who are engaged in digital conversations about your brand before you jump into the game.
3. Do give social media the respect it is due as a credible marketing strategy and develop a plan that includes goals, objectives, success measures and a value-added content direction.
4. Do realize that resources will have to be dedicated including time, money and most significantly human capital.
5. Do understand the benefits, as well as the limitations, of the tools or tactics such as blogs, social networks, Twitter, etc before creating your initiative.
Don’ts
1. Don’t assume social media marketing is silver bullet which will transform a poor quality product or service into a super brand.
2. Don’t launch a social media marketing plan unless your organization (including management, PR, legal, etc.) understands the risks, as well as, the rewards and has defined its social media direction because social media will change business dynamics.
3. Don’t launch a social media strategy unless you have processes in place such as internal communication plans to field information to the appropriate departments for resolution.
4. Don’t place a person in charge to oversee the initiative who does not understand the impact of the culture of social media (honesty, transparency, authenticity) and has a spirit of generosity.
5. Don’t start a social media marketing strategy unless you want your organization to be perceived as innovative, customer-centric and forward thinking.
Bonus: Social media marketing is a work in progress! Keep in mind - There are as many opinions as there are experts. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
