Hey Politicians - Stop Cutting Down Trees! Try Some Online Campaigning

It's election time - this is NOT a political post by the way - and I'm wondering...what notes were these guys taking when Barack Obama (like him or not) demonstrated the incredibly effective (reach millions, seems like 1:1) and efficient (CHEAP and easy) use of social media to get out communications?

Everyday our mailbox is completely stuffed with full color, card stock grade direct mail pieces from dueling politicians. NONE of which are ever read in our household. *The picture above is only from 2-3 days.

Here's why:
1) I assume you're out of touch if you think direct mail or the phone is how to reach me.

2) We are green - and your full color brochure on heavy card stock is a display of irresponsible use of resources and money, not to mention very out of date.

And here's another picture with a full size one subject notebook to give you perspective on the LARGE size of these pieces.

And we get double the mailings and phone calls- one of us is a registered Republican, the other a Registered Democrat, so we're hit twice as hard.

Also, understand that this stuff actually impacts who people choose.

Social Media is the same as you handing me that banana by the train Alderman Moore, only less creepy. We can "have a conversation" only I don't feel ambushed, free breakfast or not, on my way to work. Now, politicians are ambushing our phone lines and our poor little mailbox - which is really only used for sending and receiving thoughtful cards and thank you notes.

I know you won't see this, but if you do, please, try some online campaigning. Save a tree!

Keep Clicking! (Not PRINTING!)

Michelle

Managing Redundancies Across Social Media Platforms

Happy New Year!

I was just answering a bunch of questions on LinkedIn and thought I would share some of my answers with you too - a little bit of "soft goods" karma for the new year!

A question asked was:
What is the best way to manage receiving identical FB/LinkedIn/Twitter status updates from the same person? Do we really need to read the same person's status in every social network?

My Answer (augmented here for you):

How far we've come! Channel conflict within social media (yay!) Good for your friends who are posting across the various platforms - they understand reach and channel preference. But - a facebook status and a tweet really should be written differently and LinkedIn - that's mixing business with pleasure. Definitely don't want to add that hilarious anticdote from last night at the bar when you were late to work today! The FaceBook status is for inner circle communication (where messages should be a little more "between you and me") and tweets are for the general public. LinkedIn statuses should reflect your day to day goals and projects in a professional manner, not make people laugh.

However users will have need to learn to adapt to either ignoring redundant posts, or by adjusting their settings. It is a world of personalization after all!

This question related very closely to the above so here it is for you too:

Is there a Software as a Service that allows you to create an event and then post it out to wide variety of social media outlets like LinkedIn, Facebook, Meetup, evite, MySpace, etc. that you have an existing account on?

My Answer:

There are a lot of ways to save time when posting an event - that are not necessarily "software" or "services" - like using the "Share" tool which will assist you in posting your info just about anywhere! Use the status section of online platforms to post info. And you can use dual updating apps like "Duo" to update simultaneously on Twitter and Facebook. But also be careful in pushing an identical message across all social platforms - each has a unique style - and it will not be as effective if you try to use one style across all of them. Plus most of your recipients are probably tuned into multiple platforms and thus will receive multiple invites from you which could cause problems on your reporting (if they all receive the same message/offer/invite - how will you measure which platform was most successful?) This doesn't even touch on the issue of managing the responses and offers after at the event - "How did you hear about it?" "Where did you get this coupon?"

And, because I'm a big "rule of 3's person" here is a question that has an answer related to the above (measuring effectiveness of social media messages):

By many accounts, 2009 was a year of social media (Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, etc) for individuals, companies and various brands. 2010 will be the year of [_____] ? Why and how?

My Answer (augmented for you here):

Office doors will start opening at companies all over the country and out of touch leaders will decide people need to drop everything and start implementing more social media projects. Shortly after, they will require ROI and other analytical reports which they won't understand and will announce that social media is not effective and go back to direct mail.
Smart leaders will continue to polish their online personas and provide valuable information and communication across growing social media channels. I don't believe any of the big platforms (FaceBook, Twitter) are going anywhere, but the distinction between business and personal use and channels will take more thought and effort. We'll need to get better at controlling frequency and saturation, as well as provide more value as content contributors on these platforms. I receive so many more invites now to shows and events that I now know that these are not as effective as they use to be. We'll have to adapt the messaging much quicker than traditional marketing channels and also prevent the platforms from becoming the "Banner Ads" of this decade. It is our duty to protect the "collaborative" and "community" feel of online media - and not forget that we have to add value to it to get value from it.


I have several more answers posted on LinkedIn - if you see one and you like it, tag it!

Keep Clicking!

Michelle

Leverage the "Tuned In" Audience: How to LISTEN

What is the difference between traditional marketing activities and social media activities?

Well for one, most traditional marketing activities merely circle the target instead of actually participating one to one with them.

Here's what I mean:



See how the activities simply rotate around the customer? But never actually get any closer or touch them?

Now look at social media:



A web audience is "tuned in". Meaning that they proactively SEEK OUT, SHARE, AND DEVELOP content. Do not ignore these possible brand advocates or brand haters. Respond to blogs, tweets, etc. the very same way you would a customer service call - in fact that department is likely the best qualified group to handle online grievances as they have already been trained to avoid any actions that are not permitted by your organization.

But I will say this - there is nothing more powerful than leveraging your highest ranking officials in this capacity as well.

The key is LISTENING.

Here are two simply tactics for listening:
Set up Google Alerts
They'll find your company's name whereever it's being used and serve up links to you in the frequency you specify.
You should also monitor tweets. For this, I recommend TweetBeep.

Why You Shouldn't Hire An Agency for Your Social Media Communication

Ever wonder why some people are really good at reaching their customers and others invest millions on campaigns that fall flat?

Well, wonder no longer!

When companies choose to talk to their customers themselves they gain more than just insight, they also create relationships. Agencies that push messages can't do that...and consumers know the difference! There is very little that could ever replace good old-fashioned customer service, and that is the backbone of social media success online.

It isn't the cool gimmick of tweeting or posting that people are actually enjoying, it's the chance to speak one on one with companies, and it works even better if your top leaders are the ones talking.

Why do you think FaceBook is so successful? It's not the application itself, which is fairly cumbersome to navigate...it's the opportunity to connect and millions of people simply accept the obstacles of the platform so that they can collaborate and catch up with their friends.

If you hire an outside agency to write your blogs, answer questions, or post on Facebook or Wave, you're doing yourself a disservice. You're taking the actual value out of the connection - you. I personally don't want to speak to a third party, I want to tell a manager, or even the President of a company when I'm really dissatisfied, how about you?

No matter how much your agency makes you feel that they understand your business goals and needs, keep in mind that they have a bottom line too, and it usually means tacking on sparkly shiny things you probably don't even need. And everything they say is going to have potential to get lost in translation, so just do the talking yourself! Remember this: SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESS IS NOT RELATED TO TECHNOLOGY, IT'S RELATED TO COMMUNICATION.

Save yourself some money, and get in on the conversation. It's likely your customers are already talking.

Coming up next time...Leverage an audience that is tuning in, rather than bouncing your messages and hoping for a hit.

Keep Clicking!

Michelle

Ten QUICK Ideas for Twitter Messages

Not quite sure how to get started with your shiny new Twitter account? Here are 10 quick and easy ideas to get you started. (Remember, Twitter only takes a line or two.)

10.Announce New Products or services and include a link to your web site.
9. Provide a link to download a white paper or other valuable document.
8. Create a scavenger hunt for your customers. Use your site content as the map.
7. Congratulate a customer on a new innovation or other significant achievement.
6. Announce employee achievements via Twitter.
5. Post a poll question. (Helpful for researching new product ideas, issues.)
4. Post an advertisement in parts, like a progressive billboard campaign.
3. Invite product spokespeople (especially if you're in NASCAR) to "guest" tweet.
2. If it's your first tweet, introduce yourself!
1. Post a link to a downloadable coupon.

Hope these ideas get you thinking and tweeting! Got ideas? Post in the comments!

Keep clicking!

Michelle

Delivering Bad News Online

It's inevitable. Every company will have some bad news to report at some point during it's existence. There are a myriad of ways to convey information, and where does the web fit into the mix?

Sure, you'll have the traditional press release, an update on your company's website, perhaps your executive team will even hold some sort of teleconference or send out letters. But, there is yet another way to reach your audience and share information that can help you get closer to your customers than the more traditional avenues.

Blogs can be an unconventional, yet brilliant way to communicate bad or negative news. First, online communication is much more informal, which can help to make the information seem more like an intimate conversation, rather than an announcement from on high. Second, it provides a channel to receive feedback on the information. Yes, this can be scary, but it engages you (the company) in the conversation and see firsthand what questions, concerns and negative feelings are being shared, instead of simply pushing the information out and shutting down. A practice that often leaves customers reeling and angry.

Social media sites (like blogs) also give you an opportunity to leak information at a controlled pace, and to educate your customers/the public on what exactly is going on throughout a difficult time. This is always better than suddenly announcing bad news. Of course you have to be cognizant that any negative information presented must be communicated internally first, then externally, and everyone must be armed with appropriate responses to the questions and comments that may come about. But these highly calculated leaks can also prevent confusion, anger, and make your customers feel more a part of the equation, rather than victimized.

Whatever your bad news, keep in mind that there is more than one way to skin a cat, and sometimes, crazy times call for really unique responses.

For more information on social media, here is some REQUIRED READING: Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff.

In the meantime, keep clicking!

Michelle

Who Should Blog For Your Company?

This is a very important question and one that should not be taken lightly. This person is the face and voice of your organization, so make it count. The very best person? Your CEO or other high-ranking executive. This creates an approachable platform for the general public to be introduced to your company - but it doesn't always guarantee the right spin. The personality of your leader should be taken in to account. If your CEO is stodgy and quiet, or often keeps the office door closed, seek out someone else. Perhaps a Marketing, Public Relations or Human Resources Officer can fit the bill.

It doesn't matter who posts it...(could be your web content manager, webmaster or other IT staff member), but who writes it and what they write does matter.

Again, Southwest's Gary Kelly takes the cake. Check out hislatest - he doesn't blog that often - but does when something is up - I imagine there will be another coming if the Frontier merger goes through.

He often addresses both challenging and humorous topics in the same breath, something that is appealing to the traveling audience. Also, this transparency is also appealing and I'm sure is a huge reason why the Southwest brand has the most loyal following on the web of all the airlines. You get the feeling they want and need to hear from you, that you are on the team yourself. They carry this through their entire experience, which is why they are the only airline that still makes any money.

So if you're going to get in on the blogging, it needs to come from somewhere on high (or the highest "cool" person at your organization), it should reveal facts and figures but also be conversational and it can be short and sweet.

Successful CEOs are usually the ones that you like to be around. The person that inspires you, that makes you want to do the best job you can, and that you feel works hard too. Successful people in general make others feel good, and feel included. Whether it's your CEO or someone else, make sure that your company is representing this type of attitude online as well as in the elevator.

The next truth? Delivering bad news online.

Keep Clicking,

Michelle Marquardt