04/20/2010
On my happy birthday to me day, thoughts turned to cupcakes. Little tastes of wonderful sweets that do not overwhelm .. but with big flavor. They can be made from decadent chocolate or veggies like carrot or zucchini. Cupcakes are limited only by your imagination. When I was a little girl my mom use to bake the most fun cupcakes frosted in a rainbow of colors and decorated with sprinkles and candy.
I thought a "cupcake" post of several 'tastes' of ideas, instead of just one, might be a fun way to celebrate with you. Read what resonances with you. As with social media .. it's always your choice!
The Social Enterprise - Social media's impact is not confined to the department that initiated the tactic or program. Consumer generated media may find its way into every area/department that touches the customer experience.
Questions: Are communication systems in place to ensure information is captured and received by the ''right' people?' Is there a feedback process in place to ensure people know you are listening and are responsive?
Authentic Brand Stewardship - Social media brings interesting challenges to marketers who are responsible for keeping the brand safe. Together brand managers and customers are co-creating the brand and the brand experience.
Questions: How do you define brand stewardship in the age of social media? How do you ensure a brand's value is maintained, and if you are developing content, still portray your authentic self? How can you share the creation of a brand with your customers .. what does that mean?
New Value Propositionn - In the digital world of bytes you can measure ten thousand nine hundred and fifty six different metrics. However, in additional to traditional web-based analytics, there are new values that are perhaps even more critical to understand and track that pertain to human capital.
Questions: What value do you place on the halo effective that a trusted person brings to your brand with their tweet or blog or status update? What is the value of longevity of a post or review? What is the value that a respected influencer brings to the mix through links and extended community awareness?
04/07/2010
On April 1st I had the pleasure of speaking at the American Marketing Association Charleston Chapter's luncheon about social media marketing. (Wow say that fast .. American Marketing Association Charleston Chapter's luncheon!)
I've been writing Diva Marketing for almost 6 years, and must admit I've taken a sip .. well maybe 3 or 4, of the social media kool aid. So when Kara Neureuther, the AMA/Charleston program chair, asked me me to approach the topic from the view of building trust and relationships it seemed like a great idea. However, since it was April Fool's Day I thought it would be fun to take an opposing position and began with a quote from the Godfather.
- This is business not personal.
Then I'd bring it back with a 'gotcha' .. explain that the Godfather was wrong .. dead wrong .. business is personal and social media helps build those relationships.
However, the more I thought about this social media thing, the more I began to realized that so much of social media is Never about the personal but about the messaging. For many marketers the social web is nothing more but a new channel to reach more eye balls.
And oh by the way, there is this highly coveted thing called buzz. What is buzz? It's a way for you to use your brand fans, your best customers, your brand champions to bring your carefully crafted messages to their friends. So wrong .. the blather of marketing messages posted on social networks like Facebook or Twitter are conversational hoaxes.
Conversation Hoax 1: People don't pass along messages to their friends. They talk about what is important to them. They talk about feelings. They talk about how your brand brings value (or frustration) to their lives. They talk about cool and relevant.
Conversation Hoax 2: Buzz alone does not make the cash register ring. If the product/service is off target the conversation is a hoax. I was talking with a smart women with great traditional marketing credentials. She was confused why a campaign, that pulled a huge number of social media 'impressions', was lack lusher in conversions. Wrong offer? Wrong 'influencers?' Wrong timing? More analysis needed.
Conversational Hoax 3: What do you see as social media conversational hoaxes?
Thanks to AMA/Charleston for their gracious hospitality .. as promised here's the April Fools Day deck!
