3 Most Challenging Aspects Of Social Media Marketing

Marketing in the distributed web takes a completely new set of skills than traditional business marketing.  We have been conduction a poll asking our audience (almost 1,000 on LinkedIn)of business owners and senior executives “What the most challenging aspect of implementing a social media marketing program is?”.

Here are some results:

Most Challenging Aspects Of Social Media Marketing

Unscientific LinkedIn Poll

By far, “strategy for a campaign” is the most challenging. Not surprising since we have so much information coming at us all the time and new ideas, techniques and media options emerge every day. I also suspect that many are confused between social media marketing and interactive marketing in general (the emerging distributed web).

Second runner up is content creation and distribution. Most companies are not set up to be publishers. They don’t have the skill set or workflow and systems to do it. In the distributed web, becoming and information publisher and educator in your market are critical to success.

The third biggest challenge to implement a social media program is time to implement. This is scary stuff for executives already overwhelmed with things they need to do just to get their current tasks done.

Company Size

We also looked at these same variables by company size and it sheds more light on this subject.

Most Challenging Aspects Of Social Media Marketing

By Business Size

Unscientific LinkedIn Poll

Larger organizations appear to be more focused on understanding the strategy and how it fits the overall marketing communications effort. This makes sense since there is more structure and moving pieces in a larger enterprise. Larger organizations also do not appear to have as much of a concern with the content piece of social media marketing as does smaller businesses where resources and skill sets are more limited.

Social Media Challenges By Age

Interestingly, we also looked at these same variables by age.

Most Challenging Aspects Of Social Media Marketing

By Age of Respondent

Unscientific LinkedIn Poll

Business owners and executives in the “middle” of a career seem to focus on strategy.  Younger respondents have the most concern about content development and distribution. Possibly because they don’t have the experience, contacts or perspective yet to consistently create content.  Older professionals find the time issue hardest to handle. This new marketing world requires a time commitment and attention that they are not used to.

In our judgment, this all points to an idea we have been playing with (and testing in our GenNext Media Labs) over the past year. We created a system to abstract away the complexity of implementing a social media program. Not that our “system” is easy, because the fact is doing social media marketing right is not easy and requires more time and attention than traditional forms of marketing. Our solution to these challenges is a process with, work flow and organization businesses of any size can understand and implement.

The key, however basic, is to have a plan using a proven set of actions to start with so your organization doesn’t get trapped. Look at businesses that you think are doing it right and model what they are doing.  Follow what is working and then expand once you get started.

We launch social media marketing programs for companies large and small using a proven template of content, distribution, and a website/blog that all works together to have an impact. The focus is getting some level of leads and/or traffic to our sites quickly. It’s amazing how much time people find to do things once they experience some success.

If you have not responded to the survey, please go to this link and tell us what you think…most challenging aspects of social media marketing

Please Don’t Use Social Media Marketing If You…

Please Don’t Use Social Media Marketing If You…

…have the slightest inkling you have torpor.

Torpor means “lack of vitality or interest”.

Creating a long-term relationship with consumers, clients and brand advocates via the distributive and social Web requires that you have, or are doing, something we’ll find interesting: a message, product or service possessing value and exuberance.

Too many businesses, sites and brands are defined by torpor.

They have no purpose, they clutter the world with more useless “stuff”, they are boring, cookie-cutter products, and are not worthy of our attention.

These same brands and companies jump into the distributive Web hoping to build fans and to connect with existing as well as new customers.

Where is the passion and purpose in your brand or product? Can we “feel” it when we click on your site, Twitter page or blog?

Figure it out before you fill us with apathy (another aspect of torpor).

Definition from Visual Thesaurus: (one of the best sites and best annual subscription for just about everyone).

WR-per\, noun:

1. Lacking in vitality or interest.
2. A state of mental or physical inactivity or insensibility.
3. Lethargy; apathy.

Harnessing Brand Advocates In Social Media

Prospects involved in online communities can have a multiplier effect on your marketing effort if you can convert them into brand advocates for your business.

In a recent eMarketer post we found a recent survey conducted by Synovate for word-of-mouth ad network PostRelease investigated just how likely Internet users are to talk about Brands and motivate consumers to become advocates. The study confirms that involved Internet users express this brand advocacy in many ways online and offline. This is called “earned media” in professional marketing circles…where brand messages get repeated in traditional media outlets, online in social networks or offline in recommendations and conversations. It’s free and very valuable.

The concept of earned media is important because it is the most powerful form of communication. Studies have shown for years that work of mouth communication is the most powerful form of motivating consumers. This study looks at (and confirms) how online brand advocates influence friends and family around them online and offline.

The most common word-of-mouth activity reported by respondents was helping a friend or family member with a purchase decision, but more than two-fifths also said they had shared advice offline about information they learned on the Web. Significantly fewer Internet users posted their own ratings and reviews online, and only about one-half as many shared links to articles or reviews about products.

As you might expect, participation in social media and word-of-mouth activities was highest among the younger set. Even more interesting, almost half of them gave offline (in-person) advice based on information they saw online. But the numbers are strong across age groups.

eMarketer reports that PostRelease also broke down respondents according to whether or not they participate in online forums, which about one-fifth of those polled did. Forum participants were significantly more likely to take part in all the activities queried. Notably:

• 65% of forum contributors give advice offline based on information found online, compared with 35% of noncontributors.
• 66% of forum contributors post online ratings and reviews, compared with 16.8% of noncontributors.
• 43.6% of forum contributors share links to articles and reviews, versus 12% of noncontributors.
• 20.6% of forum contributors publish a blog, compared with 2.1% of noncontributors.

Users of forums, who are already actively engaged in online social activity, make for “enthusiastic consumers and influential brand advocates,” according to a statement by Justin Choi, president and founder of PostRelease.

What does this mean for your business?

You know those fans you are collecting on Facebook, the followers you are collecting on Twitter and the readers you are engaging with on your blog? Those are people you want to make into passionate brand advocates. They will have a multiplier effect on your top line revenue that will give you the edge in your market. The key is to carefully and deliberately build your fans, followers and readers so that you have a real relationship with them. Nurture them and activate them.

What do you think?

How To Create An Economic Advantage Using Social Media Marketing

As we discuss in Digital Forensics, listening to your customers and observing your competitors can give you a big edge when it comes to business marketing using social media and the distributed web. Done right, your will get to the point where you are learning a ton about how you can improve your product, delivery and messaging.

If your at the point where you have a good pulse on your customers from listening and participating in blog and forum discussions, then it may be time to consider embracing this information and taking action to further your brand objectives. By incorporating some of this rich customer information and  feedback into your marketing campaigns or product design or service offering, you can gain brand advocates and improve your brand/business positioning.

Getting started is simple:

1. Figure out the best way to solicit ideas from customers. Where appropriate, use the blogs you are following and participating in to propose ideas/solutions you would like to test and solicit comments. Another great way to do this is using Yahoo Answers, LinkedIn Answers and other sites like them to ask questions directly and get a read on who is asking questions similar to yours. Don’t be afraid that competitors will be getting this information as well. They key is acting on the information, and the next three steps will put you way ahead of them.

2. Vet feedback. Not all information you get back will be good information or necessarily reflect the underline idea you are testing. Spend time sorting through the feedback and continue to clarify and hone the ideas in the communities you are participating in until you feel comfortable that you have a solid idea.

3. Structure internal communication and process to best incorporate these customer ideas. Ideas without follow through will not get your new customers or market share. You now have the knowledge, the key is working this information into your internal workflow so that you incorporate these new ideas into your business.

4. Communicate the changes and improvements you will be making to your communities. Use the communities that your developed your new product or service ideas with to become brand advocates. They are already pre-sold on what your product strategy is…find ways to empower them to let others know.

Implementing this strategy will create huge economic advantages for your business. By identifying and executing new ideas that will expand your customer base, and have them purchase more products from you more frequently, your business can expand margins because capital investment to implement these ideas is not high (in most cases).

Go try it and tell us what you think.

Business Marketing In The Coming Decade: Frustration Or Opportunity

In between skiing the moguls last week I was thinking a lot about what this next decade will look like for business marketers. We wrote the “Disrupted” book to give you a road map of what to expect with the profound changes taking place right now because of technology and new applications. This is all happening faster than we could have ever expected…and you have a choice to make.

That’s right. The ball is in your court, but you need to decide if you’re business is going to look at this change as an opportunity, or become bogged down with anxiety and frustration. Seth Godin had a great post on this a few days ago. He framed this in big, drastic terms because the stakes are so high. “The revolution is in full swing and an entire generation is eager to change everything because of it”.

Let’s get started in this first week of the new decade. No better time than right now to get your business and team on-board for the marketing revolution!

Where to start?

1. Embrace change- Learn, experiment and test new things. This is not a one time thing…you will need to build this into your business process and culture because this change is happening over years and is not stopping.
2. Lead by example- Some of this new stuff is hard. Just mention blogging to your staff and watch them squirm. Participating in the community and becoming a trusted source takes time and a new kind of professionalism that needs to come from the top.
3. Measure everything- Huge economic advantage will go to the businesses that understand this revolution and know how to optimize it for their purposes. You can’t optimize unless you are measuring.

Get help if you need it. Things are moving very quickly and it is hard to keep up unless you are following technology and case studies very closely.

Here’s to the next decade!

What are you thinking?

How Well Is Your Business Adapting To Social Media: 4 Ways To Measure

How is your business marketing working for you right now?

If you are reading this blog you know that marketing as we know it has changed forever. New technology, new applications combined with a tough economy to completely change the game. This coming year will be the new beginning for many businesses…or the beginning of the end for some.

Why? Huge economic advantage awaits companies that can lower their average cost per lead and increase their average revenue per customer. New mareketing techniques in the distributed web, including social media marketing, will be a big driver.

The question is how is your business doing?

The begining of a new year is a great time to reflect on these areas of your business and set new goals for 2010:

1. Are you listening? Does your business have an active, pro-active strategy and plan to make sure you are observing all the relevant conversations occurring across the web? Winners in the new marketing paradigm will understand their customers and competitors better than anyone else.
2. Are you adding value? How well are is your business creating valuable content to educate and nurture your prospects so you can grab and hold their attention?
3. Are you participating? Being regularly involved in conversations makes you known, and if done well, liked in the community you are working within.
4. Measuring and monitoring! This ties it all together. Measuring key metrics like where your traffic is coming from and what are the conversion metrics. How is your list growing for various social networks as well as your overall database. If you are not growing, something is not working.

Gone are the days when you created a print or TV ad, agreed on a media plan, and ran it though the year. This requires and active, daily presence by your business. You need a strategy and plan to make it work.

What do you think?

Major Trends For Small Business Marketing In 2010

Small business owners are getting ready to take Internet marketing to the next level as they see the economy starting to turn.

According to an Ad-ology Research study, small business owners are planning to engage customers in new ways in 2010. Armed with web 2.0 and social media marketing applications, they are looking to find ways to break through the clutter of the marketplace and generate leads and sales.

In this study, 28% of small business respondents say they will spend at least the same or more on online video, an increase of 75% over last year’s plan. Social media wins big with 25% saying they will commit more resources to social media; and 21% say the same for mobile advertising.

Outlook Improving

Well over half of small business owners (57%) say sales in 2009 were equal to or higher than sales in 2008, down from 60% who said the same last year. Looking ahead to 2010, 86% expect sales to be equal to or higher than 2009 figures, up from 83% last year.

More important, concerns about the economy have eased since last year: 22% say they are fearful about the economy, compared with 25% last year; 48% say they are concerned about the economy, compared with 58% last year; 17% say they are “cautiously optimistic.”

Internet Marketing

Small businesses have lot’s of room to grow in their Internet marketing strategies and use. The good news is they see light at the end of the recession tunnel and are looking to grow their businesses. Online marketing is seen as a key new opporutnity.

Nearly one-half of small businesses (46%) say they do not currently have an active company website. Of those with active sites, the primary functions are to inform customers about products/services, provide general information, and offer special promotions. Many small businesses really have not integrated Internet marketing into a comprehensive interactive marketing platform….yet! In our view, winners over the next year will gain a huge economic advantage by using the social web to bring down average costs per lead.

The survey results also indicate email marketing and business websites remain the most popular online marketing tools for small business owners.

In 2010, many small businesses plan to spend the same or more on the following online activities:

• 57% on email programs to current clients.
• 57% developing a company website.
• 55% on email programs to potential clients.

Here’s a chart reflecting plans to spend more or less (time or money) on online marketing in 2010.

Interest In Social Media Marketing For 2010 Is High

Plans for incorporating social media and web 2.0 marketing strategies into the mix show a notable increase over last year.  In the survey, 28% say they will spend more or about the same time or money on online video in 2010, an increase of 12 percentage points from last year, and 21% say the same for mobile advertising, up 10 points from the previous year.

But…Small businesses are confused about how and why to use it!

Overall interest in using social media in 2010 is nearly the same as in 2009, as 58% agree that social media is a good way to both increase business and know what people are saying about a business. However, some 46% say they wish they knew more about social media, and 27% think only young people use social media.

Small business leaders say Facebook and LinkedIn are more effective than other sites. We note this could be self fulfilling if they do not know the other local or vertical market social sites that are available or how to use the larger ones properly. Among those who say social media is “very or somewhat beneficial” to business:

• 33% say Facebook is more effective than others.
• 21% say LinkedIn is.
• 19% say Twitter.
• 17% say MySpace.
• 15% say YouTube.

As the chart below reflects, among small business owners who use social networking, the top benefits cited include generating leads (50%), keeping up with the industry (45%), and monitoring online conversations (44%).

Overall, this study reinforces the momentum behind social media marketing for small business. But also points out the confusion and complexity that small businesses face implementing new media marketing programs.

What do you think? Does this sound right?

The Reason Most Companies Will Fail With Social Media: 5 Phase Process To Get it Right

I have to get this off my chest.

Over the past few months we have encountered way too many great organizations implementing new websites and social media marketing programs without any clear objectives, strategy, measurement for success…nothing. Just and email from an executive demanding something get created that resembles social media so they look good in a press release, to the board or the CEO.

It reminds me of when I was running a major web 2.0 widget syndication platform company, and I got a call from the President of the digital division of a major entertainment company demanding that they need to get a Facebook application up asap!  It was when Facebook opened up the platform to third party developers for apps. When I asked why, it was just cuz…

We need to stop the madness or this social media marketing thing is going to hit a wall. Lots of time, money, and more importantly expectations, will be put into programs that will not work. Yes, it’s not that costly to build a Squidoo page, and you can build a Facebook Page in 45 minutes. But trust me, these efforts done in isolation, without being connected to all the other activity your business is doing, and without a strategy that builds on each piece, will not result in any meaningful impact on your business.

Seth Godin wrote about this issue in the context of businesses finding it easier to create events versus employ a process. It’s much easier to create a event (Seth uses the example of a trade show, but you could substitute a Facebook Page instead) because it has a specific focus and it’s temporal. It’s much easier to implement and get people rallied around a trade show booth…or get your 25 year old developer to do a Facebook Page! Social media marketing is a process that takes time, attention and a new kind of professionalism. Done right, it is a process and can be very effective and giving your business a real economic advantage.

Here is an outline of how we think about the process when we engage a client:

• Understand The Client’s Business:
  • What does your sales and product funnel look like?
  • Who is your best prospect, what is the emotional connection and how can we improve engagement?
  • Who are the top competitors and what makes them successful?
  • How can we improve exposure and coverage?
  • How are we empowering the community to interact and expand?
  • How can we increase lifetime value of each member of the community?
  • How can we build a voice and a new stage for your licensees?
  • How do we bridge offline experiences with online presence?
  • How are we extending to the mobile environment?
  • Baseline metrics

• Digital Forensics: Complete Analysis of the Marketplace
  • Reverse engineer digital footprint of target customers, key competitors and existing licensees
  • Uncover the most powerful, high volume keywords and phrases used that we can win
  • Step inside the dialogue going on in the target customers head while searching for related solutions
  • Partnership and linking strategy
  • Evaluate how competitors are implementing keyword/positioning and conversion mechanisms

• Get The “Home Base” Right: Website and Blog Evaluation, Organization and Structure
  • SEO site structure including landing pages and site sculpting
  • Content planning for distributed web, blog and website
  • Blog strategy
  • Take advantage of content pumps and leverage

• Build The Distributed Network: Social Media Content Build-Out And Distribution
  • Blog, Website and landing pages (plug-ins) as needed
  • Build and assemble content assets and other resources
  • Publish and distribute 10-12 SEO rich articles to start
  • Create 10-20 videos in the form of FAQ’s or mini-course. Distribute to over 80 sites using four different keywords
  • Create 4-5 Web 2.0 SEO optimized pages including Squidoo, Hub Pages, Facebook and Twitter (also vertical focused)
  • Establish Internal and External linking strategy
  • Blogging and forum participation strategy
  • Tools, dashboard and workflow
  • Integrate lead follow-up with autoresponders and/or sales people

• Measurement: Monitor key metrics on dashboard
  • Identify what is working and do more of it
  • Identify what is not working and do less of it
  • Work the math model to reduce average cost per lead/customer over time

This is a four plus month process and it actually never ends because you should be continually optimizing. These phases build on each other and are all connected so they have huge impact on your business. Also, this new marketing paradigm is moving so quickly, new concepts are being introduced daily, you should be always integrating new ideas.

Their are many terrific people and firms that can help implement a similar process. But as a businesses owner or manager, you can no longer abdicate the knowledge of what should be done, and how to do it right. Don’t let the “event planners” ruin your opportunity!

Forum Marketing Secrets That Will Explode Your Business Opportunites

Through years of experience in online marketing (forums go back to the early days of the Internet) and the many projects at the GenNext Social Media Lab, we know that forums are one of the best ways to market your brand, generate qualified leads and develop relationships with other individuals in your niche market. It’s amazing how this can snowball into new marketing partnerships, guest blog opportunities and traffic to your blog or website.

Don’t know where to start?

Well, finding a forum for your niche market couldn’t be easier. Technorati is the webs largest blog directory and a great place to start. You can also search in Google Blogsearch. Just search by keyword for the niche or market you are competing in. You can also search in Alltop, this is a curated site which means sites must be submitted and approved. So, you know these are pre-qualified to some degree. While you are at Alltop and Technorati, make sure you submit your site as well!

The key is to start your focus on a few sites that you can put into your RSS reader and easy check and participate in daily. Start with 5-6 sites and move on as you get the hang of it. Be sure to visit many sites before you choose a few that you are going to concentrate your efforts on.  Also, it’s make sure you scan the forum posts to ensure that this is, in fact, a forum within your niche and has an active participation level.  Do not waste time replying questions and posting threads if no one is there to see them.

Simple But Effective Art Form

There is a simple art to Forum marketing that many businesses are unaware of.  Here are some of the secrets to creating an established presence within a forum and sky-rocketing the visibility of your product:

Introduce Yourself

Most forums have an introduction section for new members. Some also use community forum management applications (like Disqus) that provide an opportunity to add a profile so people can look you up and learn more about you. This should be your initial step when entering.  Tell everyone your name, company, title, website and blog address and expertise.  This establishes rapport with the moderators of the forum and also gains the trust of the members.

Brand Yourself

Create a signature that you add at the end of every post you make. Many forums allow you to use one or two links, so use this to your advantage if they do. You can find out by looking at other posts and seeing what others are doing. Key here is to use your “link bait”, blog posts or articles on your site as targets for your links so it does not appear to be commercial.  These links will increase the traffic to your site. Do NOT spam people with promotion. This should be about sharing experiences and relevant information in the context of the discussion, not marketing.

Listen First

Initially, it is important to become an active listener. Take some time to look through the posts and get a feel for the tone of the conversations. Become familiar with the moderators and those members who are frequent posters. Get a feel for how you can help. This could give you great insight into what kind of educational materials you will want to develop for “link bait”.

Be Consistent

Be a constant presence. A forum is similar to any blog or group, you must remain visible in order to establish credibility. The more people see your name, the more they will remember you. This is about smart commenting and participation in the community. You are there to help!

Wrap-Up

The objective here is about producing leads and increasing your bottom line.  This is not done over night though. Forums are a great way (for FREE) to converse with members of your market in a casual and hassle free manner. You will learn as much by listening as you will be talking. Beware though, forum’s are like families.  There are rules and guidelines that are established by the site owner. Become aware of these and abide by them or you will do more harm than good to your brand.

Find another great post on forum marketing at Social Media Examiner.

Have you started to participate in forums yet?

Going Viral: Success Strategies for Viral Marketing

What is Viral Marketing?

Often referred to as word of mouth, creating buzz, piggybacking…

Viral marketing is a strategy that makes your current customers or people on your list visible, big supporters of your business (brand advocates). It’s a great straetgy to expand your user base to increase sales and customers. To make this work, your current customers need to feel comfortable and connected to your product or service, and willing to pass it on to others to consider.  Done right, the cool thing about viral is that you leverage a dynamic of the social graph that is hugely important…empowerment.  Think about it, if I can introduce my friends to something very special, cool, fun, money saving before anyone else does, just because they are my friend, that gives me more status in my social graph.

The key to a successful viral marketing strategy depends on your market, and what motivates target users.  You must mold your strategy to connect with your target prospects.  Viral marketing will never take off if you don’t have a high pass-rate within your market and you will not have a high pass-rate if your product/service does not have a solid reputation with your customers and a very cool “empowerment” concept.

How do you go about this?

Here are some tips to create your viral marketing strategy and create chatter within your target audience:

• Make your audience feel some type of emotion.  Whether they love you or they hate you, nothing is worse than feeling neutral.
• Do something that lets people notice you.  I always use the example that if there was a room full of green jackets, what would you do to stand out? Not wear a green jacket, of course.  Do not be a copycat.
• Identify something that you can offer that will make people want to share it (because of the empowerment concept) and make it very easy to share. Special discounts, unique products, exclusive content, private access are great tools.
• Now that you have your audience’s attention, they want to talk. Follow up with related content and value to get your new prospects to act.
• Don’t sell! Share, empower, cultivate, schmooze…

Viral marketing is a little like drilling for oil.  You will need to try different approaches to see what works. This is best done in quick cycles with good feedback so you can build on concepts that are getting traction.

Check out “Six principles of viral marketing” for some very specific ideas on how to execute a viral marketing plan.

What do you think about viral marketing?

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