Book review: The Power of Alignment

This is an absolute masterpiece that reminds all business managers that if an activity is not aligned with the overall objectives of the organization then it should abandoned or not embarked upon and that profits come only after relentless focus on people and service.

The authors describe the overall objective of the business or organization as The Main Thing and remind us how critically important it is to make sure that The Main Thing remains the main thing in the business otherwise the forces and efforts exerted in the business are at risk of working against each other. Yes, departments can meet their immediate or departmental goals and objectives but actually not get the business any closer to its overreaching goal if things are not properly aligned. I've seen far too many businesses operate with a silo mentality where silo goals are almost completely detached from overall corporate goals. This condition has lead to devastating results in management, branding, marketing and acquisition strategies. The authors remind us how important it is to make sure everything is aligned and remains in alignment.

Does everyone in your business know how their objectives are tied to the overall objective or mission in your organization? Do they really understand how all other employees' objectives are tied to the overall Main Thing? If not then "The Power of Alignment" will help you understand how to bring about organizational and cultural change that will allow your business to prosper and endure.

Loaded with great quotes from business leaders and plenty of examples, this book will show you how to make sure everyone in your organization is working together to hit the main target and why it doesn't actually matter if that main target changes from time to time when market conditions change. In fact, if your organization is aligned to hit targets then the target can be just about anything.

I highly recommend this book and hope that one day it is required reading at all business schools and executive management courses.

How to Use Facebook to Drive Higher Sales

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/03/how_to_use_facebook_to_drive_h.html
"As Facebook has grown to more than 600 million users, many companies have been struggling to figure out how to leverage it to help their businesses.

Most have limited themselves to advertising or establishing company pages on the platform only to discover that while these methods allow them to engage their Facebook fans in a dialogue and increase brand awareness, they do not necessarily lead to increased sales..."

continue to article @ Harvard Business Review.

Just exactly what is a brand?

Brand - Direct Marketing

In my humble opinion, the integration of brand marketing and direct marketing is the way of the future.  With online and digital marketing more important than ever and traditional (paper) direct mail nearing extinction, savvy marketers will look for ways to generate a direct response (a click, collection of user contact information, purchase, etc.)  while creating a brand supporting impression at the same time.  The core brand values will be communicated while trying to elicit a direct response in some fashion.

Look for it.

http://chiefmarketer.com/disciplines/directmarketing/brand_direct_marketing_10182006/

Long-term value creation

I see a future where businesses are judged based upon the long-term value they create rather than quarterly financial reports or short-term dividends and profit numbers. Too much emphasis is placed on short-term results and the practice is harming long-term value creation and business viability. The short-sighted goal of pleasing investors on a quarterly basis places an enormous amount of pressure on managers to take short-cuts and artificially inflate traditional business performance metrics. The many recent corporate scandals clearly illustrate that many business managers succumb to the short-term profit pressures placed on them by investors. Let's all stop it and look to invest in long-term value creation.

Source: http://www.davedolak.com/mission.htm

Branding Gone Awry: 10 Most Ill-Advised Ads of All Time

From Bschool.com:

Branding Gone Bad: 10 Most Ill-Advised Ads of All Time

Capitalism is the answer

Unleashed capitalism is the answer to economic recovery.

Hire those overqualified applicants!

The Dec. 2010 issues of Harvard Business Review has a short article entitled, The Myth of the Overqualified Worker that discusses new research that reveals that overqualified applicants/new hires are not more likely to quit sooner or under perform on the job because they feel they are superior.  Counter to conventional wisdom, overqualified workers tend to perform better than other employees and they don't quit any faster.

Keep this in mind as you start to hire new employees coming out of this period of economic depression.  There are many overqualified applicants out there that are more than worth a second look.

Why would you not hire somebody capable and willing to deliver more than you ask for?

Social media is not a business model

Back in 2007  Rob Frankel posted an interesting analysis of the buzz environment that surrounded online social networking sites. In fact, Rob predicted the demise of social networking sites.

http://robfrankel.blogspot.com/2007/09/demise-of-social-networking.html

I agreed with Rob at the time in that current practices in marketing and advertising did not (and still do not) support the business models for many of these social networking sites.  The "build traffic now and worry about revenue later" mantra just won't cut it unless these sites can exist using an advertising-supported model.  Indeed, many social networking sites have vanished since 2007.  Friendster anyone?

So what if pure-play social networking sites are able to collect large numbers of users who interact in these online communities? Just because lots of people do it doesn’t mean there are profits to be found for the site owners--unless, as already stated, these sites can be ad-supported or user-supported which is hardly anything new.  In a nutshell, social media must in the long run be monetized by those who own the sites and the servers.

Most people who participate in social media simply are not willing to pay a fee to participate just yet.  Would you be willing to pay a monthly fee to be on Facebook?  Would you be willing to go to a "PPT" (Pay Per Tweet) model on Twitter?  Without substantial advertising revenue the name of the game in the long term will have to be building brand loyalists for these online sites. Loyalists who gladly contribute an ongoing revenue stream.  Right now social media users find paying fees undesirable and targeted advertising just a bit creepy.  In fact, targeted advertising is often seen as an invasion of privacy and when users sense that too much personal information is being shared with advertisers they quickly revolt.

Integrating social media elements into existing sites that already survive on revenue generated in other ways is a great way to bolster brands and further engage customers.  Adding Twitter, YouTube and Facebook to your marketing tool kit is just plain smart.

Just don't succumb to the notion that engaging in social media is in-and-of-itself a business model.

The latest logo debate says a lot about brands and social media

Starbucks recently unveiled a new, revamped logo that is stirring some heated debate and has some of its loyal customers frothing at the mouth based on some of the comments on the company's Facebook wall.

While some like the new logo others seems to absolutely hate it and say they want the old logo put back on the cups.  Starbucks has dropped both the name and the word "coffee" from the new logo.  Evidently being seen with the Starbucks cup is as important--if not more important--than what's actually in the cup to some.

This brings to mind a passage from Theodore Levitt in Marketing Imagination when he talks about the importance of packaging and how it is sometimes more important than the product itself.  The image projected and the feelings you have about a product can sometimes be more important than the benefit you derive from the functional product attributes themselves.

And so it is in the modern era of branding.

Marketers know within hours what people think of any change in their brands' packaging and identity elements because people express themselves openly, freely and almost instantaneously on social media.  People passionate about a brand will sound off about it and make their voices heard.  Remember that your brand never, ever meant anything other than what the market thought about it anyway.  You don't get to define what your brand means, they do.

It does make me wonder, though.  Do we buy the coffee because we think it is superior and that we are paying a fair price or do we buy the cup with the logo on it so others will see us with it and the content is inconsequential? 

Does PR Drive Sales?

Christine Huynh recently posted a good piece that discusses whether or not PR--especially using social media--drives sales.  Find it here: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/7331/Why-PR-Doesn-t-Drive-Sales.aspx.

Social Media Marketing - An Overview

The 6 Elements of an Influential Web Experience

From Copyblogger

http://www.copyblogger.com/imfsp-radio-5/#more-12457

Message mismatch?

During a long drive yesterday I noticed quite a few vehicles on the road with trailer hitches on them.  At some point an ironic thing came to mind after seeing so many HiddenHitch brand hitches.

If they truly are hidden hitches then why do I see so many of them?

stealthybuzzysocialmediamarketing

"stealthybuzzysocialmediamarketing"

I think I'll use that one again and again.

Gap Logo Part II

So Gap has unveiled its "new" logo and people all over the Internet are going crazy and losing their minds over it. Marketing wonks and designers are spewing venom at Gap for the new design and for some reason they're coming completely unbuckled over the fact that Gap has responded by suggesting a "crowd-sourcing" approach to an alternative logo design.

My guess is that consumers have been drifting away from this brand recently and that’s why Gap decided to make some bold moves. I have no idea. I don’t work for Gap or any of their agencies but I just can’t believe this amateurish/stock art-looking logo that has caused all these marketing & design wonks and regular consumers to lose their minds and go so nuts over it was a serious effort at creating this particular new logo.

Maybe Gap is just having a hideously public Tropicana Moment and really did just screw this one up. If so I’m sure they’ll dump the new logo in a hurry.   But let’s not confuse the feelings toward the logo with feelings toward the overall Gap brand.

If a brand has no more equity than what people think of its logo then it doesn't actually deserve to exist. That said, I've got to believe the Gap brand promises and delivers some value to people somewhere that has nothing whatsoever to do with its logo.  If the Gap brand has any equity left then its loyal customers will surely forgive a little logo mishap, right?

I am just guessing (ok, maybe hoping) that there is more behind this than just a logo change. I think Gap is struggling and is hoping to get consumers riled up such that they open up and pour their hearts out as to what the brand means to them because Gap probably realize they’ve lost some relevance and maybe don’t really understand how they are perceived anymore.

And guess what?

People all over the Internet and at the company's Facebook page are engaged and telling Gap exactly what they think about the "new" logo and telling Gap what they should focus on rather than a new logo design. Hmmm. People now buzzing about a brand that I actually didn't even realize was still around. Double hmmm.

I certainly wouldn’t have gone about it the way Gap has but I’ve got to believe there is more behind all of this logo change. It is just my personal guess and maybe a little cynicism about how companies are experimenting with stealthybuzzysocialmediamarketing (yes, I know I made that all one word) and maybe drinking a little too much “social media changes everything” Kool-Aid. They had to be hoping such an amateurish logo would stir things up and get people talking. Did they really blow a new logo design or are they getting exactly what they wanted to get all along?

Time will tell.

Gap Rebrands Itself Into Oblivion?

The many self-ordained branding experts currently chattering about Gap probably have it all wrong.  Just because Gap has put a new logo out there does NOT mean they've rebranded themselves.  A logo is not a brand!

My hunch is that they've put a teaser out there to get people who are interested enough to offer their own insights on what the Gap brand means to them to do so.  Indeed now even the President of Gap, Marka Hansen, is telling us that she is interested to hear what's on the minds of their "passionate customers" to help guide Gap through the evolution to the "next phase of of Gap."

It sounds to me like they understand they are having a brand identity crisis and they are reaching out to the marketplace to provide feedback so they can gain an understanding of just exactly the Gap brand means to people today.  They are reaching out to understand how the Gap brand currently connects and resonates in the hearts and minds of consumers.  They will then have a basis for understanding the equity the brand still has and how it has already evolved in consumers' minds.  Then all Gap has to do is build on what is there and try to incorporate new attributes into their rebranding strategy.

I think they are brilliant.

The "new" logo isn't the end of their rebranding process, it is just the beginning.
~~~
Read the .BrandChannel.com original article.

Will Budweiser regain its brand mojo?

So InBev thinks the way for Budweiser to regain its market share is to provide samples of free beer.  I seriously doubt the new ad blitz and free sample promotion will restore this once mighty brand to its former glory.

There are simply too many other options in the category including many national beers and unspoken numbers of local, craft brews.  Bud is (arguably) not the best tasting, not the cheapest and not all that prestigious.  On top of that it is not even an American brand any more since being acquired by InBev.

I don't think the problem is that people haven't tried it.  I think the problem is that preferences have shifted and even as a lifestyle brand Bud does not represent a highly aspirational choice.

What is the biggest threat to direct mail?

Read Craig Huey's excellent answer and analysis at Brandweek.

We're all drowning, and all you do is raise the water level...

We're all drowning, and all you do is raise the water level...

The danger of acronyms in branding

Are You Making this Classic Marketing Mistake?

Just because you know what the jargon and acronyms mean doesn't mean that anyone else does.

Great book: Ad Land

Does anyone else want to shoot this pig and have a baby back rib BBQ or is it just me???

4 Powerful Web Content Ideas that Don't Depend on Text Alone

4 Powerful Web Content Ideas that Don't Depend on Text Alone by Nick Usborne

Introduction to KPI's: How to Develop Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

You become what you measure

On various occasions throughout my career I've given presentations in which I've stated, "if you can't measure it then you can't manage it." I might have to modify that statement and take it to the next level in the future.

Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational, writes in the June 2010 issue of Harvard Business Review that CEO's and employees care a lot about how they are measured and as a result do everything they can to score high on the measurement scale--whether or not it is actually tied to financial or business success of the organization. He suggests that individuals will strive to optimize their performance score on the overriding measurement metric. In other words, as a manager or business owner you get what you measure.

We see this all around us. Some organizations might covertly send a message that sales are valued above all else. Yet other companies might telegraph that short-term stock price is the ultimate measure. Commercial airline passengers might think that the overriding metric of the industry is on-time departures when it seems that pushing away from the gate on time is the only thing that matters to the airline. The drive-through customer at the burger joint who gets a bun with no patty might infer that speed is valued above accuracy or quality.

This is an important point to keep in mind. Not only can't you manage it if you can't measure it but be careful what you measure because the one metric that seems most important to the people in your organization will be the one they work hard to optimize above all others.

I believe that future managers and business leaders will be measured on their ability to communicate to their organizations the importance of setting the right metrics, showing balance in their metrics and not allowing any one single metric to solely shape the culture of the organization. Communicating the right mix of metrics and the values behind them and then subsequently balancing them to ensure long-term organizational health will be the skill set of the business leaders of tomorrow.

Economic growth is highly correlated with small, entrepreneurial employers

In the current issue of Harvard Business Review, Edward Glaeser and William Kerr reveal the results of their research in an article entitled, The Secret To Job Growth: Think Small.

In the article the authors find that there is a high correlation between the existence of small firms and job-growth rates during times of economic recovery. The bottom line is that industries with more small companies and start-ups enjoy faster employment growth and that while politicians like to trot out large companies as examples of recovery these large companies actually generate comparatively little job growth even if they are doing well.

The authors suggest that the way to real economic growth is for politicians to reduce costs for start-up companies and small businesses.

HOW TO: Help Employees Talk About Your Brand Online

http://mashable.com/2010/07/28/internal-brand-management-online

What Exactly is Twitter and Should You Be Using Twitter For Business?

What Exactly is Twitter and Should You Be Using Twitter For Business?
By Jeanne Kolenda

Twitter, twitter, tweet, tweet everywhere! It seems that almost overnight Twitter burst onto the scene and created quite a stir. At first, it seemed ridiculous that little short one-liners about inane things would be anything I'd want to involve myself with as a business owner. Well, I changed my mind, and I'll tell you why.

First, Let's Define Twitter
In simple terms, Twitter is a free service that allows one to say just about anything to anyone else in 140 characters or less. It's referred to as "micro-blogging." You go find people you want to follow and click on their "Follow" button and they usually click back on your "Follow" button, and it goes from there. It's not like Facebook, in that you don't even have to have a clue who these people are to follow them. Usually with Facebook, you start off with your family, friends, business colleagues, and it may grow from there. But not with Twitter. My general rule with Twitter is that I'll follow anyone who isn't being illegal, obnoxious or offensive. And I periodically go through manually (there are tools for this) and "Un-follow" people who have not followed me back, unless there's a compelling reason to leave them on my active list. So that's Twitter in a nutshell.

Is Twitter a Waste of Your Time?

So, the real question is why you would use Twitter. If you look at it on the surface, it really can appear to be a colossal waste of time. And it can be. Before you answer the question of whether or not you should use Twitter, it may be beneficial to analyze your objectives.

Reasons I Use Twitter

The best way to help you answer the "Twitter" question is to share with you the reasons I choose to use Twitter on a regular basis.

1. I find it is a valuable way to network and connect with other people in my line of work who have similar interests.
2. I have learned to quickly scan through those short little "Tweets" and stay in touch with business thoughts and ideas.
3. With all the links that are available in those brief 140 characters, I have access to a much broader and deeper knowledge base.
4. I find a steady stream (I sometimes refer to it as a rushing river) of ideas, links, resources, content and valuable tips.
5. Some of my current customers have found me on Twitter. Maybe they saw one of my Tweets, clicked on the link, read a blog post, and signed up for a free webinar, and then purchased a product. This is not uncommon.

Now, before you would decide to use Twitter for your business, you'd need to identify at least one compelling reason from my list above. If you can identify that reason, then start to focus on how you can learn to use Twitter to that end.

In closing, Twitter is not learned in a single day, or even a week. It's a process that evolves over time. But it's a good idea to get started if you think it's right for you.

I have produced a quality eCourse on how to make Twitter work for you. I invite you to check it out here:
Make Twitter Work

Thank you for reading. I wish you much success!

Jeanne Kolenda is a small business marketing coach, specializing in bringing offline businesses online. Logon to http://www.businesstrainingteam.com and download a free eBook entitled Local Business Marketing On the Internet. To contact Jeanne, email ]Jeanne@businesstrainingteam.com.

Article Source: What Exactly is Twitter and Should You Be Using Twitter For Business?

Does it pay to advertise commodities?

http://people.ischool.berkeley.edu/~hal/people/hal/NYTimes/2006-06-01.html

The goal of marketing is not to build awareness - Please tell those Twitterers (or Tweeters?) in your life

"Awareness" in and of itself is worthless without creating differentiated, strategic awareness that builds brand preference and positive purchase decisions.

Got it?

Evidently most people who fancy themselves "Twitter marketers" don't get it.

Why is it that so many people are afraid to admit that the goal of marketing is to drive sales?

The Twitter Landscape

If Twitter "changes everything" then why is it that nothing much has changed as a result of Twitter?

Back...

Well, Blogger shut off the ability to publish to a custom domain so I went AWOL for a while thinking that I would find a solution to the problem. The fact of the matter was, however, I don't have time to search for answers for the technical side of blog management. When I find something interesting or think of something to write about I post it and move on. I don't have the time or inclination to manage the technical side of things.

In that spirit, this blog is back on the blogger.com domain.

Sometimes it is about the obvious

The Importance of YouTube for Online Marketing with Greg Jarboe

How to screw up your marketing

These 12 easy steps show you how.

David Aaker: Spanning Silos

Remove the barriers to great marketing and great branding.

Product overload

There is a story on CNNMoney.com that discusses how Wal-Mart and other stores are reducing the number of product brands they stock on shelves in recognition of people cutting back their spending in the face of too many product brands in many categories.



I find this adjustment long overdue as countless brands have done a great deal to differentiate themselves by trying to create perceived differences that are not always tied to tangible customer value. Too many brands have tried to stand out merely through visual identity, fancy packaging and flashy or intrusive advertising. Now that consumers are cutting back their spending they are looking for real differences in the value they receive from products.

Those brands that have created their brand propositions on delivering real value should hold up well while those "me too" brands based on lesser differentiation will soon fade away.

When we take ourselves off autopilot and pause to think about the brand choices we make we reevaluate the brands in our decision set and rethink what they mean to us. Those that don't stand for much in the way of tangible benefits will be excluded from our purchase decisions. It is as simple as that.

Does anyone make quality cars anymore?

Can we admit that maybe there is very little difference between car companies and their quality standards at this point?

Book review: Celebrity Leverage - Insider Secrets to Getting Celebrity Endorsements, Instant Credibility and Star-Powered Publicity

I finished reading my review copy of this book over the weekend and highly recommend it for marketers of all stripes.

Whether you are seeking to build celebrity status within your own enterprise or whether you are seeking outside celebrity endorsements for your brand this book is packed with tangible advice and is loaded with actionable ideas and references to additional resources.

From product placements, celebrity endorsements and celebrity-themed events to branding yourself as an expert resource within your own niche, becoming a celebrity author in your own right or becoming the "go to" resource for media outlets that cover your space, you will almost certainly walk away with some new ideas and inspiration.

Get the power of celebrity working for your brand. Jordan McAuley does a great job showing you how.

Is AOL a brand that can survive?

If I asked you to tell me what comes to mind when you think about the brand America Online (AOL) you might respond with words like, dial-up access, email or maybe even recount the days of endless discs or CD's showing up in your mailbox urging you to try the online service or perhaps an old, familiar voice that used to inform you that "you've got mail."

According to a Washington Post article, AOL announced a reduction in force of 1,000 employees as it tries to rebrand itself as a web content publisher. The article states that AOL's target is to shed 2,500 jobs or 1/3 of its workforce. That means that AOL must think that it can survive as a web content provider with ~5,000 people which seems awfully bloated to me.

Will AOL survive? If it does my hunch is that it will be as a much, much smaller entity than 5,000 people. An even stronger feeling tells me that brand AOL will go away all together. If it survives at all it will be a much smaller entity with a much different business model. And it will most likely have a new name at that point. Something that has modern, relevant meaning and much less historical baggage.

Pepsi to Skip Super Bowl Ads in Favor of $20M Social Media Campaign

I never thought that Pepsi would be the first large Superbowl advertiser to realize that spending $20M on 30-second Superbowl ads might be better spent elsewhere.

Good for them.

Policing the Holiay Inn brand

InterContinental Hotels Group has been in the process of enforcing strict guidelines for its Holiday Inn brand of hotels for a while now and is requiring its individual property owners/managers to make upgrades to adhere to its brand guidelines. The chain expects to lose about 300 lodgings by the end of 2010 according the an LA Times story.

A brand represents a set of expectations and Holiday Inn guests have not exactly always known what to expect. Maybe they would check into a property with outside access rooms and a 1970's style room layout with a stale smoke smell or maybe they would get a modern room complete with comfy workspace and flat screen TV.

Holiday Inn is doing a wise thing by telling its customers what they can and should expect and then telling individual property operators to make sure they deliver on those expectations. There may be some pain in the short term but in the long run owners and customers alike will benefit by a strengthened Holiday Inn brand.

How to Plan Your 2010 Marketing Budget

Many marketing professionals are currently pulling together their marketing plans and budgets for 2010.

If you are faced with making some hard choices because of a weak economy then let me offer some advice.

Attempting to spread your limited marketing investment across as many different media as possible is dangerous. Depth in media is absolutely essential to get the results you want.

All too often people spread their marketing dollars across too many different media and dilute their message and their success. They believe that "being everywhere" to create awareness is the most important thing they can do.

They are dead wrong.

These marketers would be more successful if they focused on mastering a few media first and then made the bulk of their marketing investment in those proven media rather than trying to be everywhere. Just because you test on a small scale with one medium and find a winning campaign that is ready to be scaled-up within the same media does not mean that it is time to roll it out into many different media at the same time. Different media might deliver very different results.

Concentrate on the few media channels with which you are successful. Experiment and measure until you have the return on investment solidly working in your favor and then pour most of your allotted marketing dollars into those media while testing new media on a smaller scale. Master each one of your media channels one at a time and then add them to your mix one at a time until you find the optimum mix and balance.

A winning message in one medium might not translate into a winning message in a different medium. Don't gamble on unproven media because most of the time you will be disappointed. This is especially true when it comes to social media.

If you are just starting with social media marketing (SMM) do not assume that social media is simply a new channel or set of channels through which to push out your traditional marketing messages. Social media requires engagement, transparency and a little experimentation to understand how it works. Traditional marketing rules do not apply in social media because in social media you do not control your message or the conversation about your brand. Others do.

If you are expanding your marketing toolkit in 2010 to include social media for the first time, then it is especially important that you take your time to understand the environment and that you do not sacrifice some of your proven marketing tactics in order to shift to the perceived low-cost nature of social media marketing. You might not like the short-term results because social media marketing takes plenty of time and engagement before you'll begin to see results. It also takes plenty of experience with it before you figure out the rules and can intelligently make decisions about how to make deeper marketing investments into it.

In 2010 you must make some hard decisions about your marketing investments. Try some new things but don't try to do everything. Trying to spread your marketing dollars as far as they will go will be a huge mistake as will be shifting the majority of your efforts into social media when it is a new arena to you.

Inspired marketing?

I'm glad to see that our tax money that was used to bail out the car companies is being invested wisely for truly inspirational marketing that is effective, innovative and uplifting.


Not.

Brands must help human brains

Image from ClipArtHeaven.com

Humans like things that are predictable. As such, one thing that a brand must do is act as a proxy for an expected future event, reward, benefit or feeling. A strong brand is something that brains can use as a shortcut to represent a set of expectations. Each and every brand comes with a set of expectations and implies some predictable result.

Your goal as a brand builder is to fully understand what those expectations are and then deliver on them so people see your brand as something predictable and therefore something that does not require a great deal of future analytical thought. If your brand delivers on promises of value and meets expectations every time then people will simply see your brand as a highly predictable, low-involvement decision and they will choose it more often than not.

Once you do not meet the expectations, however, then people's brains will start to think analytically again and you'll have to convince them to choose your product over the competing ones all over again.

Book review: Marketing Public Relations: A Marketer's Approach to Public Relations and Social Media

Great for students and marketing practitioners alike.

I bumped into Gaetan Giannini virtually in a Facebook marketing group and he graciously offered to send me a review copy of this book. I'm very glad we had that chance encounter because this book is a comprehensive guide to modern public relations and marketing that others need to know about.

This book is a textbook but it should gain traction as a modern day playbook for any marketing or PR professional. Gaetan resets the entire public relations foundation in a new landscape of online social media where you have access to the connectors, gatekeepers and media like never before.

Covering topics from the new PR model to press kits, social media, the marcoms mix, media relations, crisis management, creating and pitching stories, networking with bloggers, blogging as a PR strategy and media planning & measurement (just to mention a few), the book delivers plenty of actionable ideas that the reader needs to consider in order to function in the modern media environment in which many of the rules have changed and old media models have been tossed out the window. This book is quite literally a comprehensive course in modern PR and marketing and even seasoned professionals (maybe especially seasoned professionals!) will learn new tricks.

I highly recommend this book.

...and to return the favor of the gift of this book, I'll gladly send my copy to the first U.S.-based student who contacts me and requests my copy. (The book was claimed within hours.)

Recall another blow to Toyota's reputation

The story in the L.A. Times details Toyota's battles with quality problems and how those problems might tarnish the brand's reputation.  The Toyota brand has earned a reputation as a high quality, trouble-free automobile over the years but the recent problems fly in the face of that perception.

Part of having built a strong brand, however, typically means that consumers will be more forgiving of problems when they arise as long as the brand owners acts swiftly and definitively to rebuild and reinforce what the brand means in the minds of consumers.  If Toyota addresses the problems properly and assures consumers that they will redouble their commitment to quality and safety then the brand can easily be repaired and not suffer long-lasting brand equity erosion.

Will the Toyota brand recover?

My bet is that it will but only time, Toyota and consumers will ultimately make that determination.

Top 10 Brands

The latest annual Interbrand report on the Best Global Brands says that ideas like trust, loyalty, familiarity and innovation matter more -- not less -- in an economic brown-out.

Here are the Top 10 brands according to Interbrand:

1.Coca-Cola
2. IBM
3. Microsoft
4. GE
5. Nokia
6. McDonald's
7. Google
8. Toyota
9. Intel
10. Disney

It is better to build your brand than to tear down others'

I thought this was a meaningful quote in a BrandChannel.com article about comparative advertising.

"Tearing down other brands is not brand building. When a brand begins to define itself by its competition, it loses some control, and can easily suffer the consequences when that competitor brand updates, improves or proves it false."

Comparative advertising definition: An advertisement in which there is specific mention or presentation of competing brand(s) and a comparison is made or implied.

Please welcome and patronize my new affiliates

Sony unwittingly teaches us a lesson about branding

There is an article at BrandChannel.com entitled, "Will Sony's Brand Revival Salvage Its Reputation?" that discusses Sony's tarnished reputation and diminished brand equity. The company has experienced some hiccups and problems while its competitors have come on strong. Amazingly, the article quotes senior executives at Sony stating that they are ready to "reinvent [Sony's] marketing" and that "[Sony] cannot just rely on the brand to sell products."

I find that statement amazing.

Great brands are not built on great marketing. Any brand equity built upon mere marketing will fade quickly. Great brands are built on real benefits delivered to customers.

Consumers want superior products and services and prefer brands that evolve and continue to keep promises...and consumers want those promises to be meaningful to them. In a day and age where just about every product category is crammed full of competitors who are pushing all products into a fast slide toward commoditization, it is more important than ever to build your brand on very real differences that matter to consumers over the long term. Sure, people might buy your product once but once they've experienced it that product had better live up to their expectations of the brand if you are hoping they are willing to pay a premium for it and make a repurchase decision.

Marketing is not going to solve Sony's problem. And what about this "can't rely on the brand to sell products?" Excuse me, the brand IS the problem in this case and if you cannot rely on your brand to sell product then why not just take your name off of it and OEM the product for somebody else?

Once a brand stops delivering on its promises then it will go into decline. If you promise leadership (however you define it) then lead. If you promise innovation then be truly innovative. If you promise quality then you darn sure better have higher quality than everyone else in your category.

Once people have set expectations about your brand you cannot relax. You must go about understanding what those expectations are and then deliver on them every single time. Falling short on customer expectations and then just tweaking your marketing isn't going to fix anything unless your new marketing goal is to lower those expectations. And if this is where Sony's is heading then they are further devaluing their brand and accelerating its demise.

New FTC social media endorsement law kicks in on Dec. 1, 2009

Starting on Dec. 1, 2009 all those who are paid to blog or promote a product or who receive products or other considerations for their testimonials or endorsements must clearly disclose the relationship. If you blog, are involved in social media or write reviews or recommendations you need to familiarize yourself with the new law.

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Part 4



Part 5



Part 6




More info. at ftc.gov or read the actual guide.

Is Social Media a Fad?

Social Media has changed the way your customers communicate, shop and do business.

Will you meet them where they are, or leave it to your competitors to build brand loyalty with one-to-one relationships?


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And from The Onion, Pepsi to stop advertising: "You can't taste an ad, anyway"

Pepsi To Cease Advertising
'We Know It's Good, And That's Enough' Says CEO

September 28, 2009 | Issue 45•40

John Tantillo To Kick Off Brand For Breakfast On November 18

John Tantillo, nationally known marketing and branding expert and Fox Forum columnist, has announced the first event in his Brand For Breakfast series for small business owners and professionals. According to Tantillo, the aim of the breakfasts is to show non-marketers the necessity of marketing their brands and their businesses and to equip them with the tools to make immediate and lasting changes to their operations.

“'Brand for Breakfast' is a way for me to share with a smart, engaged and select audience marketing as marketing is meant to be —not gimmickry, but something founded on the reality of your business that will build your business if you learn and follow its rules,” Tantillo said.

Tantillo, known as The Marketing Doctor, holds a PhD in research psychology and is credited with coining the term “The O’Reilly Factor,” used as the title for the Fox commentator’s show. Tantillo is regularly called on by the media to apply his experience in psychology and marketing to everything from politics to celebrity brands. He has a reputation for identifying early trends and shifts in the political, cultural and corporate marketplace. Tantillo was one of the first commentators to draw attention to the recent trend of creating an advertisement for the sake of generating controversial coverage and ensuring many more impressions than a typical media buy. He named the phenomenon “adpublitizing,” since it harnesses traditional advertising to publicity.

For Tantillo, the Brand for Breakfast series is the next chapter in something of a personal crusade to rescue marketing from what he sees as its chronic mis-representation.

The Brand for Breakfast event will be held between 8am and 10am at Etcetera Etcetera, 352 West 44 Street, New York, New York on November 18, 2009.

Register online at http://blog.marketingdoctor.tv

The cost of the seminar is $75 and may be paid to the Marketing Department of America Ltd. through PayPal when registering online.

For any questions, contact Rolf Graber: 212-679-5700, rgraeber[at]mdaltd.com

# # #

Does the hard sell work on social networks?

According to Brian Morrissey at Brandweek I think the answer might just surprise you.

Small Business Branding Tips

Branding is a key way to set your company apart from the competition, and there are some simple ways you can achieve this. Small business owner Rachel Bitan talks about the importance and mechanisms of creating a strong and memorable company brand.

http://video.about.com/sbinformation/Small-Business-Branding-Tips.htm

A good Twitter primer

Jason Davey has put together a 24 slide presentation that covers the basics of how to use Twitter for business.

My favorite tip?

Don't sell. Share.

Twitter Tips for Business - August 2009

View more presentations from Bullseye.

Twitter is spam

I still have a bit more research to conduct, but I'm pretty sure that Twitter is nothing but a spam facilitator for businesses.

The only difference between tweets and regular spam is that people are slightly more likely to read your spam on Twitter because they "opted in" in the first place and they at least know that each spam message will be very brief.

Oh, and just because somebody opted-in to your list? That doesn't mean that relentlessly attacking their email box isn't spamming.

The Great Twitter Project: How To Make Money On Twitter

It's time to put your money where your mouth is.

What is it?:
A project to learn how people are making money with Twitter. Participants will be sent a short survey to explore their stories on how they are using or have used Twitter successfully to make money. Some participants will then be selected for more in-depth interviews. All stories, case studies and data will then be compiled and written into a special report that will be shared with all participants. The result will be an exclusive report packed full of tips describing how to successfully integrate Twitter into your marketing activities to increase your sales.

When?:
This project started on October 10, 2009 and new participants will be accepted until June 30, 2010. At that point the final surveys and interviews will be conducted and the final report written and sent to participants. The report is anticipated to be ready in late July, 2010.

Why?:
To learn how people are using Twitter to make money and to share your success stories with others so best practices may be developed for those who wish to integrate Twitter into the marketing mix for their business. Also, the final report will list many participants by name & URL and contain ample footnotes. As such, this is a great opportunity for successful Twitter users to raise the visibility of their brands and further enhance their online Twitter success. Progress reports and other gems will be shared along the way.

Where?:
Anyone who has access to the internet and who has an email address can participate. International, broad-based participation is encouraged.

Who?:
This study is being conducted by Dave Dolak, a U.S.-based marketing professional. Dave is tired of hearing so much hype about Twitter and his aim is to cut through the hype and uncover the cases in which people are actually using Twitter to contribute to commerce in some way. Unless a potential marketing tool like Twitter causes money to change hands at some point then it is just a fad, an electronic diversion, a way to waste of great deal of time and effort and not actually a real marketing tool at all. This project aims to uncover those people who are using Twitter as a true marketing tool and to share their methods with others. Learn more about Dave at www.DaveDolak.com or Twitter.com/davedolak_va.

How?:
Become a participant in this project right now by subscribing via the “Add to cart” PayPal button below. The cost to participate is merely $2 and that buys you the final report at the end. 6 months after the report is released it will be made available to others outside of this project at a much higher price.


The great Twitter Project: How To Make Money On Twitter participation. $2.00 (USD)

Enlightened Stupid Marketer

The value-centricity of this video cannot be overstated. "I'd prefer someone to be aware of my product than to not purchase it."

Somewhere, somehow Spinal Tap must have gone back to business school.

Book review: Buying In

In "Buying In", Rob Walker explores how modern consumers interact with brands and why you are less in control of what your brand means than ever before.

Consumers understand marketing because marketing has been coming at them from just about every direction since the day they were born. Much "stealth" marketing, manufactured or fertilized word-of-mouth marketing and sponsorships are easily spotted and identified by consumers as exactly what they are. Nobody is fooling anybody anymore. That's OK Walker tells us because consumers will willingly become part of the process if you allow them in the right way. Welcome to the world of "murketing."

This book has lengthy case studies that sometimes seem to ramble off-point but hang in there because they all make a larger point.

The big point is this:

The art of modern commercial persuasion allows people to become part of your branding process and allows them to co-opt your brand in order to enable them to weave and express their own personal narrative through their individual expression of your brand and others'.

You might not always understand how they are defining your brand and personally identifying with it, but if you leave enough of your brand open to interpretation then you should allow high reach influencers to co-opt your brand and then watch what they do with it and where they go with it. Then strive to embrace it and build upon how they define it because ultimately consumers define your brand, not you.

Consumers reflect and project themselves through brands. You must allow them to do this by not tightly and narrowly defining your brand. Leave enough open to interpretation so that people have some flexibility for personal interpretation. This is a very important concept and Walker strongly supports it with research and case studies.

I highly recommend this book.

What are your promotions really doing for you?

Definition: Sales promotion - Sales promotions are short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service. Sales promotion includes several communications activities that attempt to provide added value or incentives to consumers, wholesalers, retailers, or other organizational customers to stimulate immediate sales. These efforts can attempt to stimulate product interest, trial, or purchase.

An interesting article appeared recently in the Boston Globe that talked about the aftermath of the "cash for clunkers" program that saw our U.S. government offering up to $4,500 as an incentive for people to trade in their old clunker automobiles for newer, more fuel efficient vehicles. After spending nearly $3 billion on the program, what lasting effect is it having on U.S. auto sellers? Nil. Nada. None. The recession is back in full force at auto dealers across the country.

Sales promotions are by definition short-term programs. Their aim is to spur purchase of your product or service.

Before you run your next sales promotion try to answer a few questions first.

1) If the promotion works and it increases sales in the short-term, will that have any negative effect on long-term sales?

2) Will I simply be moving the purchase time frame for somebody who would have purchased from me anyway?

3) Will I be conditioning my customers to wait for an incentive or discount next time such that they will forever more be less likely to pay full price?

4) Is my brand suited to sales promotion which in one way or another is really a discount?

5) Will I be damaging my brand in the long-run?

See also:

http://www.getelastic.com/how-much-is-your-coupon-code-box-costing-you

http://mktsci.journal.informs.org/cgi/content/abstract/13/1/23

http://books.google.com/books?id=o_mIiLQrNnsC&pg=PA8&lpg=PA8&dq=sales+promotion+brand+value&source=bl&ots=rdH8FlIEXA&sig=tqAzicEKHpqibqKJLIbz3_ukMzE&hl=en&ei=eza4SrD9NsbllAfC9OzJDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8#v=onepage&q=sales%20promotion%20brand%20value&f=false

Book review: Obsessive Branding Disorder

In the early sections of this book I thought Conley must have been rejected by some branding agency at some point and had a score to settle. I was convinced that he didn't know the difference between brand, image, identity and advertising. I was already formulating my scathing review of this book in my mind and was ready to pounce.

But then I kept reading.

By the end of the book I was convinced that every brander must read this book.

Conley masterfully traces the history and future of branding and discusses the dangers involved when companies stop investing in product development and innovation because competition easily copies true innovations and then finds a way to manufacture and sell them cheaper than you. He talks about the inevitable results of shortsighted brand managers with short tenures who are being rewarded based on short-term performance. He covers the logical results of trying to differentiate products in a world where most product categories are loaded with products that are all pretty much the same and all pretty good options in their own right.

From emotional branding to personal branding, brand churches, experiential marketing (XM), using sound, smell and a full slate of other tricks to differentiate aside from actual product attributes or performance we are shown how we can be manipulated without any awareness or rational thought on our part whatsoever. We are shown this potentially dangerous future of branding in a world where the products are the same, the promises are the same and the tangible benefits are all the same amongst competitive choices.

This book should serve as a wake up call and a warning to branders everywhere and underscore the importance of true product innovation, making unique promises of value that are hard for competitors to copy, long-term view of the brand as a strategic asset and why the commoditization of just about every product category is such a threat, challenge and opportunity all at the same time.

If you are serious about marketing and branding then this book is a "must read." I highly recommend it.

Social Media Word-of-Mouth vs. Traditional Marketing

There is a noteworthy study in the current issue of Journal of Marketing (Sept. 2009, Vol. 73, No. 5). Entitled, "Effects of Word-of-Mouth Versus Traditional Marketing: Findings from an Internet Social Networking Site," authors Trusov, Bucklin and Pauwels report the results from their research that find that word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing about online social media sites is more effective than traditional marketing actions. They also report that while the effectiveness of online word-of-mouth is higher than traditional marketing efforts initially it also grows over time.

In the long-term their research finds the elasticity of WOM is ~20 times higher than the elasticity for traditional marketing events and ~30 higher than traditional media appearances.

The impact for online marketers, of course, is that this study presents evidence that online word-of-mouth is more cost effective and less expensive than traditional marketing. Let's chock one more up to the power of social media marketing.

The authors, however, also point out that organic WOM online (that word-of-mouth that occurs naturally and without intervention) is probably different from WOM stimulated by the company or organization. They claim that the latter could be called "fertilized WOM."

Personally I hope the phrase "Fertilized Word-of-Mouth" catches on and I will do everything I can to spread it (pun intended.)

The authors did not study organic vs. fertilized WOM but we should assume that if marketers pay for word-of-mouth and are discovered that not only will their efforts be less effective than if the WOM occurred naturally but they might actually be punished for engaging in the practice.

Fertilized Word-of-Mouth. Help spread it!

If you can't define it then how can you do it right?

If marketers have such different views on the definition of marketing then how in the world can anyone expect them to get it right?

Systemic Marketing asked marketing professionals on Twitter how they define the term "marketing."

"Marketing is a relationship"

"Marketing needs to tell a story to consumers that makes them want what you've got"

"Marketing is the brand shepherd that ensures that every customer contact point is consistent"

"Marketing, in short, is manipulation."

"Marketing is magnetic induction that leads to seduction."

"Marketing is three parts science, two parts art, one part passion, 1/2 part participation, and a dash of magic. Adjust portions to your taste!"

"Marketing is distilling chaos into beauty."


Yikes! We might be in trouble here folks.

Social media marketing secret: Aim is to aggregate High Reach Influencers (HRI's)

Social media marketing presents business marketers with a unique set of tools and marketing communications platforms to take two familiar concepts to a new level.

Customer lifetime value is an important business metric as it defines the value of your customers over their lifetime of doing business with you. Influencer marketing is the ability to identify and influence the influencers in your particular market. Influencers are those who hold influence over others and help guide and shape brand preferences and purchase decisions. If you can influence the influencers then you can help drive brand preference and purchase preference for your brand.

Think of social media marketing as a way to attract and communicate with the high reach influencers in your space.

If you view social media marketing as a way to attract and influence the influencers in your market, then you should also look for ways to measure their value to your business.

By calculating a High Reach Influencer Value (HRIV) then you can start defining a value for those top influencers who may fall outside the customer lifetime value calculation. Indeed, HRI's may include both customers and non-customers. Defining their value to you is important when creating your social media marketing strategy and budget as it will help guide you in your social media marketing (SMM) investment decisions.

Once you know the value of these HRI's then you can decide how much to invest to attract them online.

The Difference Between Traditional & Social Media Marketing

I sat on the sofa this morning during Saturday morning cartoons trying to explain Twitter to my 8-year-old son when he asked a good question. "Daddy," he asked, "Isn't Twitter a lot like broadcast but only on the Internet?" (Did I mention the kid is brilliant, loves all things related to computers and electronics and has to endure a marketing guy as a father?)

That's when it hit me.

The old days of traditional media saw marketers sending marketing messages out to a great many people in the hopes that the messages would resonate with the right group and cause them to take action of some sort. Sure there was targeting and market segmentation as much as could be achieved with the available media, but sending a broadcast message out was the way to reach your target audience. Kind of like carpet bombing in the right general area.

Unfortunately, in the process a lot of uninterested people also heard those messages and that is what gave marketing and advertising bad reputations.

The difference between traditional marketing and social media marketing (SMM) is this: Traditional marketing sent messages to an audience that contained people who just did not care about what was being offered.

Social media marketing, on the other hand, attempts to attract an interested audience through dialog and engagement first and then targets them with relevant marketing messages of interest to them.

Think of SMM like permission-based marketing except instead of people opting-in to your mailing list they actively follow what you have to say through networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, blogs, YouTube and other sites that allow social interaction. Instead of uninterested parties opting-out of your mailing list they simply stop listening to you or stop following what you say.

It isn't rocket science but what remains is the same challenge for marketers: Find the right people who want to hear what you have to say and engage them in a conversation. The Internet just makes it a lot easier than it used to be.

For those marketers currently trying to attract as many Twitter followers as possible or as many social networking fans as possible please keep history in mind. When you try to build quantity instead of quality you are repeating the mistakes of marketing history and trying to turn a one-to-one medium into a broadcast medium that puts your message in front of many of the wrong people.

Provide value and give some of it away first and the right people will find you, follow you and be receptive to parting with their dollars to receive more of what you have to offer.

It really is just that simple.

The new public relations (PR) reality

Deirdre Breakenridge has posted an interesting article describing why she feels that public relations professionals must now embrace a mixture of traditional channels with new social media channels. I believe she is right. No longer are there just a few editors, publishers and gatekeepers to control the message. Now that it is very easy for anyone to reach just about anyone the role of public relations must be seen in a new light with the dawn of social media.

I just ask one question.

What happens when the PR function uses social media the wrong way and merely pushes out messages to an audience who may receive it but not actually hear it above the noise of all the other messages? What if marketers with good intentions become nothing more than non-targeting spammers only using social media channels?

My fear is that marketing folks will push out so many messages to try to create pull that the whole concept of business communications and marketing will have to be reexamined because it will amount to nothing more than spamming in the social space.

I cannot stress enough the importance of attracting and targeting the right audience with the right message of interest. It is not a game of numbers anymore, it is a game of quality and you cannot carpet bomb your message and hope you hit the right people with it.

Your message must be heard by the right people and it must be compelling and it must be done with surgical precision.

How to build a powerhouse brand

e-Book on Branding

This e-book details the steps and principles involved in brand building, brand management, and internal branding that aligns your organization with the promises made by your brand. Building strong brands using these powerhouse branding techniques will cause your brand to resonate with your target market so people emotionally connect with your brand while you ensure you meet and exceed their expectations-- and increase your profits. If you are launching a new product or trying to increase sales of an existing product or service, then this e-book is for you.

A strong brand will allow you to:
o Influence buying decisions and shape perceptions held by your customers and prospects

o Command a premium price

o Build customer loyalty through emotional involvement

o Make purchasing decisions easier for your prospects

o Maximize your profits

In this work, Dave discusses image, identity, awareness, brand preference, brand equity and more critical-to-understand branding concepts while also describing the brand management process. He includes a thorough discussion of "The 10 Steps in Building a Powerhouse Brand", outlines the Brand Audit process, and reveals why you must educate people about your brand with both emotional and logical appeals.

"I wanted to extend my gratitude and thanks to you for your insight on Branding through this [e-book]. I have read several opinions on the subject and find your work to be the most informative and easy to understand. I look forward to reading more of your work." -- Miles B., Florida

2 Bonus Sections: Positioning and Integrated Marketing Communications

This newly revised and expanded booklet includes two special bonus sections which you are sure to find helpful. The first is a Brand Positioning Workshop that describes how to go about choosing the best position for your brand. This bonus section walks you through the 8 Steps in Defining A Strong Position that will drive your competitors crazy while the second bonus section on Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) will help you leverage your marketing budget while all your efforts remain in true alignment with your brand's core values.

Marketing secrets on Facebook

Marketing secrets on Facebook

13 Tips for B2B Social Media Marketers: One marketer's thoughts on business-to-business social media marketing

by Dave Dolak

First of all let me sketch out an overview of my experience with social media lest you start to think that I am some advanced expert in social media marketing. I am not. I do not claim to be an expert in social media marketing. What I am is an experienced B2B marketer who has been engaging in and experimenting with social media on my own over the past several years trying to understand how to best leverage it as part of the marketing mix.

I've been on Linkedin for approximately 2 years and have not been very active on the site because I haven't found a compelling reason to dive into it deeper. I've made some connections and had a few fruitful exchanges with new contacts but that's about it. I log in maybe once every 3 or 4 months if that.

I've been active on Facebook for approximately one year and find that this is my "go to" outlet to get in touch or stay in contact with friends, personal contacts and old schoolmates. Facebook also seems to be great for organizing local special interest groups or promoting local events that may or may not have their own, dedicated web presence.

Fellow local kayakers? I'm in your group so I know when and where the next paddling trip is taking place. My niece's college a capella group sending me an invitation to attend your next concert because I'm a member of your Facebook fan page? I'll accept the invitation and let you know I'll be there. Old schoolmates who talk about their business or invite me to their spouse's business seminars every so often? I actually enjoy hearing about those things. I've joined several groups (we used to call these things forums) and participate in some discussions but I don't expect to receive anything in return for my contributions.

I certainly don't expect businesses to find me and contact me on Facebook. It would be a breach of protocol as far as I'm concerned. I might find some businesses or brands that I'm enthusiastic about and become a fan of their page or join their group on Facebook but I go searching for these in my leisure time or friends recommend these pages to me. You can try to advertise to me as a consumer on Facebook with an obvious ad that matches my interests or you can start a group or fan page and maybe I'll find it, but please don't try to be stealthy about your marketing or try to pitch me directly. I'll see you coming from a thousand miles away and run the other direction.

I don't expect to find any deeply valuable B2B resources on Facebook. In fact, I do not accept invitations to connect, or "friend requests", from business contacts on my Facebook account at all. Facebook is personal space and I can't imagine trying to monetize it for business-to-business reasons in any way except for maybe those companies offering services to other companies to show them how to effectively market to consumers using Facebook. If most businesses discourage their employees from logging into Facebook during work hours then what does that tell you about the current B2B potential of Facebook? With 250 million worldwide users it might be a B2B force someday, but not yet.

MyFamily.com? Obviously that one is reserved just for my family. A great place to have group discussions and share family pictures. Sure, some of my more tech savvy family members are also my Facebook friends, but on MyFamily.com we can tell inside jokes and discuss in private those odd or embarrassing things that family members do that we don't want those other Facebook people to see. This space is very private to me so marketing to me here would be very intrusive. If you tried to target me here with marketing I'd fear that my privacy was compromised and I'd be very resentful.

I started becoming active on Twitter a few weeks ago. Strangely, I had 3 followers before I ever sent my first tweet. Who in the world were these people and why did they want to follow me before I even said anything?

Going back to my earliest experiences with social media, I can easily remember back to the early to mid- 1990's on Compuserve when my preferred place to go was the PRSIG (PR & Marketing Forum.) This was the place on Compuserve where PR and Marketing professionals hung out and offered advice to others who would pop in seeking answers. Some of these people were other marketing professionals and some of these people were small business owners. It was a nice environment. Everyone was there to help each other by engaging in discussions, uploading white papers and articles and talking about marketing best practices and upcoming industry events.

Though the thought leaders in that forum probably never knew it, I was influenced by many of them. Pros like Marty Winston, Denny Hatch, Shel Holz, Paulette Ensign and Marcia Yudkin were there sharing their knowledge. In fact, I now have several of their books on my bookshelves because I respected their opinions and wanted to learn more from them. These people engaged in the discussion in ways that were very helpful and never intrusive.

Not only were blatant commercial posts (now known as content spam) frowned upon in the Compuserve forums but posts were moderated and those purely commercial ones were not allowed to be posted in the first place. If they somehow made it through they were quickly scrubbed. Anonymity was minimal and there was a great deal of transparency. We knew who was there and what their motivations were.

After Compuserve forums lost their luster due to an explosion in alternate, free online resources and dwindling numbers I then went on to create my own online marketing discussion forum during the late 90s that started out as a great place for exchange of ideas but eventually had to be killed because it started taking up too much of my time fixing broken code and cleaning the boards from content spam, links to porn sites and many posts of no value.

I started blogging in 1998 during a ski trip with friends. Of course the terms blog and blogger had not been invented yet but I was updating the site daily with pictures and written descriptions of our adventures on the slopes and in the lodge for those friends who were unable to attend and for anyone else who happened to find the site.

Ultimately, I started blogging as part of my professional development and personal branding efforts in 2005. I don't even remember the first platform I used but it also quickly became overrun by content spam and dubious links to all sorts of highly questionable websites so I killed it. By this time, I had already learned that an "anything goes", completely open policy is a recipe for disaster on such an online exchange. Things in social media seem to spiral quickly downward to the least common denominator if left alone and you might not believe how low that least common denominator actually is and how quickly you can get there.

Then when Blogger came out with an easy-to-use platform that allowed me to easily moderate comments and control (yes, I said control) the discussions I then resumed blogging on the new platform. I currently try to moderate as little as possible at my blog but at times I simply have to disallow some valueless comments and spam.

Now that my street cred has either been establish in your mind or I have completely rendered my opinions on social media devoid of any value to you, read on using your own best judgement. At least now you know where I'm coming from.

I have no idea whether or not I fit the profile of the typical person engaged in social media right now. I'm certainly not an early adopter (or am I?) but I'm probably ahead of the average person online. I've read lots of hype and can't escape all the the proclamations about how social media “changes everything” but I just don't quite see it that way for business-to-business marketers. At least not yet. Social media is nothing new. From the early days of the commercialization of the Internet such social interactions have been part of the mix.

Certainly the media hype about social media has increased in the past couple years. So has the chatter from those who are newly engaged in social media who think it is an entirely new concept. It is not. I venture to bet that many current bloggers and people who engage in social media today cannot even spell HTML because they don't need to. The platforms now make publishing easy and painless using plain text and they don't require any special knowledge or computer code writing skills.

The Internet has developed to the point where there is widespread access and just about anyone can create content and upload it to a myriad of websites that are open to just about all Internet users. No longer are these discussions hidden behind the walls of proprietary, commercial service providers and gate keepers. No longer does engaging in social media communication require any special knowledge of any computer programming languages or require dedicated, in-house server maintenance or IT staff. It is for these reasons that I believe participation in social media passed critical mass a long time ago. Because the barriers are so low there are more people than ever participating in it and talking about it.

As I hope I've shown you, the tools and names have changed, but the concept of online social media has been around for a long time. Sure there are now sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace that have become very popular and are all the rage in mainstream news media but they are just the latest twists on an old concept. These modern sites are far more than the listservs, newsgroups and online forums of yesteryear. Today's modern social media sites allow a much more enriched, multi-media experience with enhanced two-way communication. These are, however, evolutionary advances rather than revolutionary ones but they are forever changing the way people interact and seek information before making decisions.

The basic concept remains the same: create a shared-interest environment online, engage with people on a personal level in a public way and allow others who are interested to watch and join in. That's all. Through these online conversations participants then become part of your brand because they give you honest feedback, offer suggestions, ask questions, tell others, engage with each other, complain and maybe even sing your praises a little bit. At the heart of it all for you as a business marketer is a deeper involvement and a more personal discussion with customers, prospects, fans and detractors that just can't be gotten through focus groups, dry market research and sanitized/compromised data resulting from bad news being spun as it travels up the silo to your top marketing executives.

There is a dearth of readily available information about B2B social media marketing and I believe this is for good reason. There aren't huge numbers of success stories out there and those companies who have figured it out and are meeting with success aren't talking because they at a competitive advantage until everyone else catches up.

Don't fear. The environment isn't really all that intimidating and the technologies and platforms that make social media exchanges possible are easier than ever to master.

(continued below...)


With this all in mind I'd like to humbly offer a few suggestions about social media to those who have an interest in using social media for B2B marketing.

1. Provide value.
The best social networking abounds with information that others find interesting, informative or otherwise useful. Social networking for entertainment's sake alone just doesn't really work for any business trying to seriously use it as a marketing tool. Ok, so you can entertain. So what? Unless you are selling entertainment services this ought not be your primary objective. Entertaining or capturing attention without being able to move somebody to some sort of action in the direction of ultimately making a purchase decision is not marketing. Don't engage in social media marketing simply to entertain or grab attention. Offer useful information and build communities that are focused on creating value for others. When there is value there is potential for meaningful exchange of value.

If successful, hope to gradually build a loyal following of people who you'll also consider resources. Yes, I'm aware I said "loyal" not large. Yes, I know that somebody wants to see numbers that support ROI, but would you rather have a huge audience with little or no measurable business impact or a small audience that moves the sales needle a little bit or provides valuable direct insights about how your customers think, feel and act?

2. All things in moderation.
If you send many tweets per day or blog constantly I will come to form one of only a few opinions of you. You are either: a) Not employed full-time and have lots of spare time on your hands b) Are not very busy in your day job and have lots of free time, c) You are a business owner and your business is very slow or not very successful and you fill your time with blogging, tweeting and/or logging into social networking sites or d) You are employed by somebody full- or part-time to engage in social media marketing on behalf of some business entity and you are part of the advertising effort. For you serial B2B tweeters, bloggers and social marketers out there, you can decide for yourselves if you like the fact that I have categorized you into one of these boxes. If I have put you into one of these boxes then I've probably also blocked your tweets and removed you from my RSS feeds already.

3a. Stop Twittering about Twitter (and stop blogging about blogging).
I get it. Twitter is new and we're all still trying to figure out how to best leverage it but how about figuring out more ways to create professional value for me and tweet more about that rather than just updating me about current Twitter usage statistics and trends? How about tweeting about your core values, your business philosophy and case studies about how you've helped other businesses? If you are a Twitterholic, Twitter-centric tweeter twit with nothing much to offer, then I'll either not follow you in the first place or end up blocking your tweets. Any gems or thoughtful insights you have about my areas of interest or your area of expertise get lost in the noise. Just because you think you've mastered the medium doesn't mean you are cool or that you are communicating your core message effectively .

3b. Maybe Twitter can create a special, confined area where self-proclaimed Twitter and social media experts can talk amongst themselves about Twitter and social media. It would make finding other useful B2B information easier for the rest of us and we'd know where to go when we need a dose of Twitterandsocialmedia commentary. (Yes, I know I wrote that as all one word.) Until that happens how about we all try to cut down on the noise?

4. Seek to extend conversations offline or outside of the social medium by being a good, genuine community member.
I truly appreciate those people and businesses who share my interests and who further our exchanges both online and in offline, private discussions. Those calls from other marketing professionals who just want to bounce around ideas will always be taken. Those emails from people asking for small bits of advice or a point in the right direction will always be responded to. Calls and emails from editors, authors and practitioners? If I have some expertise that can help you with your project I'll be happy to help if you are a good community member and have followed the online conversation. Do you offer some products or services that might benefit my followers or people in my networks? Let's talk. Even if you merely have a passing interest in what I'm doing then I'll give you 5 minutes of my time if you are genuine. In fact, I'll bet that if you start becoming a good, trusted social media community member then you'll start getting those calls and emails too.

5. Comment and participate in other peoples' related blogs and social media spaces.
I appreciate comments on blog posts, Twitter tweets and forum messages that are on-topic and further the discussion or ask for clarification. I don't care if they play to your strengths and make me aware of your products and services as long as they are helpful, on-topic and not overly commercial.

6. Give rather than expect to receive.
I have no use (or time) for those people who are lazy or do nothing but use social media to send self-serving messages and content spam. If you are sending me never-ending solicitations about your business before giving me anything at all of value then I've probably already blocked you, put you in my spam blocker, "defriended" you or otherwise banished you from my digital life. I've come to be able to spot students easily online. How? Because I've gotten so many unsolicited questions from students that are obviously from professors. The questions were obviously cut and pasted from a marketing project or assignment sheet and sent to me and I'm asked to provide my answer along with supporting case studies and examples. These students are just plain lazy. Business marketers? We can be just as lazy at times. Just because we think that we have related or remotely-related products or services to offer doesn't mean we should approach people from out of the blue and ask for an order. That is just plain obnoxious. Further the public discussion or put something of value on the table first and then you'll have your prospect's attention.

7. Create useful and unique content.
We all appreciate those who consistently create content that is useful to us. When you do we will follow your tweets, read your online posts and more closely listen to what you have to say. Create your own content and share it freely. This is especially important in a business-to-business environment where people just want you to make them look good in front of their bosses.

8. Don't be a middle man.
I used to appreciate those who did not necessarily create content but at least directed me to useful third-party content but I'm starting to appreciate these people less and less in my digital life. They are simply intermediaries who don't add anything and can easily be bypassed. Social media is all about disintermediation after all so I don't need anyone to merely regurgitate information from others.

9. Play it low key.
Heavily advertising your social media marketing efforts goes against the social media culture. I'm more likely to find you if a colleague I already know and trust suggests you, your tweets, your blog, your online video or some other useful resource that you've created online. I'll seek you out when I have a current project or pressing need but in these cases I'm also probably going to review your website and contact you directly rather than start following you on social media sites. If I have a long-term need, general interest or if I'm just starting to understand my business problem then I might start following your social media marketing activities but don't expect me to make a quick purchase or fast decision. Once I've found you I'm going to find others like you and follow you all for a while to see who strikes a chord.

10. Make it personal.
I don't want to hear from a business entity or a brand. I want to hear from a real person. Put a name and a face on your business and allow that person to speak in their own voice. I guarantee that if your content is generated by a team, approved by a committee or passed by your legal department first that it is pretty dry, boring stuff that is not compelling in any way. Yes we're in the business-to-business space but interactions are still person-to-person.


11. Define the strategy behind your social media marketing efforts before you start.
Remember, you are trying to attract, engage and provide value to the audience that is right for you in the places that they gather and socialize online. You are trying to establish yourself as a thought leader and a trusted resource in your category. You are trying to be a valuable resource even if it might not lead to a huge increase in sales right away. Make sure your strategy is correct and then choose the right measurables that are tied to that strategy. You might be tempted to become distracted by lots of other data you gather along the way but if you make it clear from the start that you are making decisions based upon those metrics directly tied to your strategy then you'll stay true to what is most important to your business. Keep in mind that the first step in your social media strategy is figuring out if your target audience engages in social media in the first place. They might not so don't go chasing B2B ghosts just because everyone else is doing it.

There you have it. 11 things that I wish B2B marketers would keep in mind as they engage in social media marketing. I hope at least one of them helps you with your social media marketing efforts.

Oh, and another thing while I'm on the subject.

12. To that girl who has found me on Twitter: I am flattered that you want to find a boyfriend who can sponsor you as a visitor from Russia and bring you to this country. I'm almost embarrassed that you think the right boyfriend might be me. Unfortunately my wife doesn't let me date anyone else and I'm not so sure we would be compatible anyway. I also think there might be some scam involved or at the very least it is just plain creepy that you want to follow my tweets so you've been blocked. I don't want just anyone following my tweets just to make it look like I have a huge following. Who I attract reflects on me almost as much as what I have to say.

What's my point you, dear reader, might ask?

You can bet I'll check out who is following your business in social media before I choose to deal with you. Who you attract is almost as important as what you have to say. Why? Because by choosing to do business with you I am identifying with all those other people attracted to your brand. I'm potentially putting my business reputation on the line if I build a case for dealing with your company and I don't won't to put my professional reputation on the line for a business with a sad or questionable online following. You can't always control who is following you but understand that you will be judged by the crowd you hang out with. Attracting the right audience is all about understanding your brand attributes and targeting your audience correctly. Properly articulate and translate your brand values in social media and you will attract followers who are also aligned with or aspire to those same values. If you appeal to and attract the wrong people then you probably have a fundamental misunderstanding of your business, you product or your market or your chosen communication strategy.

and lastly...

13. Keep your promises.
This one requires no further explanation at all.

See? This social media marketing stuff is actually a throwback to the good old days of traditional marketing, isn't it?

Don't be scared or intimidated by it.