Marketing Talk

I like to call myself an idea person. I am one of those people who will wake up at 3 AM with a fully formed idea stuck behind my eyeballs. Often, I share these ideas with friends and family to see which ones stick like cooked spaghetti or, alternately, which ones bounce like a big rubber ball. I keep presenting ideas to these people because I know two things. First, they will be absolutely honest. Second, they will not be swayed by my own personal excitement or emotional investment. These are signs of a truly good consultant.

A Growing Field

It seems like there are new consultants every day, doesn’t it? There are a lot of Social Media consultants. There are business consultants, new business consultants, marketing consultants. Lots of expertise, lots of specialties. These people, in order to grow their consulting business, have to be very positive, energized, upbeat, and they have to always demonstrate that they are expanding their knowledge base. They are after the case studies, the testimonials. They are after big risks that pay off. Such is the stuff dreams are made of.

How can you tell a flower from a weed?

Lately, there have been a lot of questions circulating about who exactly should be using this or that new tool, whether it’s technology or Social Media or something else. New tools and new technology are extremely exciting. Trying new things is like an adventure. It’s like embarking on a journey on the Oregon Trail. We are in an era of “go forth, person!” You should be trying things, you should be inventing new things.

I agree with all of this to a point, but there’s an often overlooked caveat. 

Sometimes, trying a new tool or a new technology doesn’t make a wit of sense for you or your company. Sometimes the adventure can have serious, dangerous ramifications.

To me,  the difference maker today among consultants would be the person who thoughtfully analyzes your unique situation and says, as my friends often say to me, “You are out of your mind for even thinking about trying this.”

Saying no can be a real buzz kill. It can mean delaying a business opportunity. It can trample someone’s excitement. It can be disappointing. But it can also be wise, analytical, and customized to a particular situation. It also creates a relationship where a “yes,” especially an emphatic yes, is not taken for granted. It builds trust.

It’s okay to say no or “maybe later”

There are a few things right now that seem to necessitate an affirmation. “Should I join Facebook?” Of course!! “Should my business invest in mobile apps?” Yeah, yesterday!! I think sometimes these positive responses are given because we are being told that those are the correct responses. But there are actually situations where a company Facebook page might not make sense. There might be an individual who would not benefit from a Twitter account even though Twitter is the hottest thing ever. If you are a consultant, it’s okay to say no to your clients. If you are running things yourself, it’s okay to say no to the big trends and out-of-control buzzwords. In fact, I just might advise that you say yes to saying no.

Have you said no to something lately? It may not be as exciting as saying yes, but it could be more meaningful.

Image by Colin Brough. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/ColinBroug

When I was a little kid, I was a complete tattle tale goody goody. I admit it. When kids would try to pull a prank on a teacher, I’d take the teacher aside after class and say, “I just wanted to let you know that so and so is planning on putting jello on your chair. Just thought you should know.” I never did this because I was trying to kiss up to anybody, nor did I have it out for any of the nitwits who thought it was fun to be mean. I just felt that making a teacher sit in a pile of jello was wrong, and I saw a way to prevent the wrong from happening.

I doubt the other kids saw my big mouth in a similarly pragmatic way.

This phase of my life is on my mind because of quandary I have in my Social Media world. No, I’m not tattling on people, but I sometimes wonder if my intentions are misunderstood. I wonder sometimes if people think I mention certain people or promote certain people just to be a kiss-up. I know I don’t, but is that enough?


The tricky thing about authenticity

You hear all of the time that the best approach to Social Media, be it a Blog or Facebook or Twitter, is to be yourself. Be human. Be authentic. In real life, I am generally a nice person (unless you keep driving across a pedestrian cross-walk when I’m trying to walk there) and I also am generally sociable. For me to be authentic and myself in the world of Social Media, this means that I chip into conversations regardless of who might be participating (if I think I have something to contribute). I’ll retweet you whether you have 500,000 followers or 50. I’ll comment on your blog whether you’re a New York Times best seller or whether you just started writing consistently.

Last week, Lisa Barone of Outspoken Media posted a blog about “the 8 new kinds of links.” Basically, she was talking about different ways people try to grab attention or self-promote on Twitter. I started to wonder if that’s how people perceive of me. Do I reply to or mention Chris Brogan or MarketingProfs or other thought leaders at various times? Yeah. Do I retweet posts from Denise Wakeman and Seth Godin? Uh, yeah. Do I sometimes say nice things to or about Jason Baer and Mari Smith? Guilty as charged. This is not all I do. I talk to everyone equally. I try to promote equally. But still, I wonder if my being authentic actually makes me look like an attention grabber. Does this last paragraph seem like an attention-grabbing list or just a set of examples?

So maybe being authentic is…bad?

I’m not really sure what my alternative is. I suppose that in the end, if people perceive me as being the opposite of authentic, there’s not much I can do about it. I suppose I could consciously opt not to reply to or mention certain people. I  suppose I could also refrain from offering what are hopefully helpful tips when someone asks a question. And I could probably just lurk during chats. These don’t really seem like reasonable solutions, however.

Do you have genuine facets of your personality that you think others in the world of Social Media might translate as game playing? How do you deal with that potential perspective problem? Do you just keep plugging away? Do you qualify all of your statements with an explanation?

I’m open to advice and suggestions…from anyone!

I’m going to throw Blogging best practice on its head here and ask a question at the start of my post. Do you think ROI can be measured for a Social Media initiative?

I believe it can, but I think it’s going to be a completely different equation. It’ll be kind of like the difference between the US Gross Domestic Product and Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness. Most of all, I think that measuring the ROI of Social Media will have to depart from a numbers-based system. The “investment” is going to have to be refigured as the investment in Social Media is a) often not financial and b) does not remain the same for any duration. That’ll be kind of tricky. But the really tricky part will be measuring the new “return.” Let me use myself as an example to illustrate that point.

What is that SMELL?

When I reformatted my personal blog into a professional blog, I decided to add Google Analytics so I could monitor my progress. I won’t say this is a user-friendly process. It’s doable, but there may have been a bit of swearing involved. Anyway, when I first started blogging, I would check Analytics every day. Since I was starting from, well, nothing, anything that happened showed as progress on that mesmerizing blue graph. And if you want to talk about influence, you don’t need to go to Fast Company. I was very lucky at the beginning of my blogging days to have some very gracious heroes of mine retweet links to my blog, and boy did my Google Analytics love those days!

As I got more involved in conversing and sharing and less involved in pure stats, I stopped checking Analytics as often. In fact, quite a bit of time elapsed between my check-ins to my Analytics page. So, two weeks ago I decided to see how I was doing. Two letters describe what I saw. P. U.

These stinky results were quite a surprise to me. My blog seemed to be getting more comments, I was receiving a lot of really nice and gracious compliments, and people were generally telling me that I had a good thing going here. But this was Google Analytics. I mean, GOOGLE! They can’t be wrong!!

What Means More To You?

I decided, especially after receiving some very good thoughts from the lovely Ann Handley (aka marketingprofs), that there were a couple of things to consider.

First of all, Analytics systems are not perfect. They are really really good, and they give you building blocks on how you can improve things, but they are not perfect. I can say this with 100% confidence because my Analytics once told me that I had zero visitors two days in a row, two days that I actually received a handful of comments. How could people comment if they weren’t there? This made me a little suspicious.

The other thing, though, is that my Google Analytics numbers don’t really matter to me a whole lot anymore. I mean, if I see that the average time spent on my blog dives to negative 7 seconds or something like that, I’ll take it seriously. I still like to monitor what kinds of posts people seem to find the most interesting. But even if I didn’t have access to these Analytics, I would feel that my blog has become successful because I am getting out of it what I want. I am having good conversations with people, I am sharing ideas, and again, thanks to very gracious people with more pull than I, I’m even getting seen by people who are not directly tied to me, which is pretty cool.

Fans and Followers and Connections, Oh My!

This logic carries across all of the big Social Media sites. Are you unhappy with the number of followers you have on Twitter? Are you lusting after 29,999 more contacts on LinkedIn? If so, have you asked yourself why you’re unhappy with those numbers? If you had 150,000 followers on Twitter instead of 50, how would your life be different?

It’s easy to think, from a business perspective, that the more followers you have, the “better” you are doing, or the more likely you are to increase sales. I must humbly disagree. There are currently about 500 people following me on Twitter. I follow around 370 of them. What is that margin of difference about? Not everyone who follows you is really going to further your business success or provide for you the kind of experience you want. You might have someone following you because they follow anyone who says the word “dog.” You might have a few spam-bots following you. Those sure aren’t going to help you. And then you have people who follow you solely because they want you to follow THEM. That’s why numbers don’t equal influence. Numbers do not lead to Social Media success.

What is the Social Media ROI equation?

Back to my original question. Can you measure ROI in Social Media? I can tell you that so far, the return on my investment, which has been lots of time, has been a massive amount of education, meeting and getting to communicate with truly brilliant and inspiring people, sharing really enjoyable conversations, being able to benefit from graciousness shown to me by others, and building connections that might lead to friendships, partnerships, collaborations, or all of the above. If you are a business, you might be building a team of brand evangelizers.  You might be spreading the buzz.

Compared to solid things like “clicks” and reader response cards and actual in the pocket sales, these things can seem pretty darned fluffy. But I think this is the new currency when it comes to Social Media. Social Media moves fast for a long time. It takes awhile for a flower to bloom, even when time lapse photography is used to speed things up. It takes awhile to build new relationships and new networks, too.

Do your Social Media stats stink by your standards? It really only matters if this is preventing you from accomplishing what you want to accomplish. How do you measure that? Well, that’s the real question, isn’t it?

Image Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/Halifaxsxc

It seems like these days, everyone wants to be Oprah or Dr. Phil. Every day on Twitter, I see literally hundreds of people sending out inspirational or motivational quotes out to the world. The preference is for people to tweet out happy and brave things. Sound byte sort of things. This is an odd juxtaposition to commercials that are on the television every day (you remember commercials, right? Those things you fast forward through on your DVR?). Perhaps you have seen or heard about this one:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-ZNcjtxNbY&hl=en_US&fs=1]

If everyone is so inspired and motivated, why are there so many commercials for anti-depressants? Why is there a commercial about a woman who is so depressed she has to talk about herself as if she is a wind-up doll?

Maybe a lot of these quotes and inspiring words are genuine, but sometimes I wonder. Look at Oprah. Look at Dr. Phil. If you say the same kinds of things they do, then you are on your way to becoming a star. You’ll get retweeted. You’ll build a fan club. Right? It doesn’t matter if your area of expertise is marketing, business, fitness, or something people can’t really quite put their fingers on.

Meat and Potatoes versus Filet Mignon and Asparagus

Personally, and it is a personal preference, I don’t really try to emulate these superstars of motivation and chipperness. That’s not to say that I go around like Eeyore trying to drag people down. However, when I talk to people, when I am conversing with someone or trying to help someone, I don’t try to wow them. I don’t try to create a retweet or a few moments of “Wow, she just said that!” There’s nothing WRONG with that approach. It’s not bad. I view it like one of those super fancy meals at a really high brow restaurant. The kind of restaurant that might serve a “deconstructed something or other.” The kind of restaurant where you get a giant plate with a nickel-sized piece of meat that has a sprig of mint on top of it. It tastes great, divine even, but you’re going to be wanting a hamburger and fries on your way home.

Yes, this is the part where I say that I want to be a burger and fries. I want to converse with people in ways that are genuine, authentic, and really truly meaningful. If I happen to help someone with something, I want it to be noticeable if not tangible. I want it to last. I want to be the person who teaches the poor man how to fish rather than just throwing him some truffles now and then.

Back to Basics

You’ve heard it a million times. In today’s world, authenticity, being human, being yourself, counts. MarketingProfs announced a study today that stated that personal voice, not brands, rule the roost on Twitter. What does that mean?

To me, it means being a meat and potatoes kind of person. When I talk to someone about business, when I talk to someone online, when I’m participating in a chat or posting here to my little world of writing, I would much rather get my point across and start a conversation in lieu of being quoted a few dozen times because of a nuanced little turn of phrase. If I meet you in person, I’m probably not going to introduce myself via a quotation from Nietzsche. Similarly, I don’t try to introduce myself that way in other scenarios. I don’t like trying to talk in sound bytes. I like just talking. I like a “stick to your ribs” conversation that leaves you feeling a little more full than you were before. And that’s how I like to be talked to as well, just for the record.

How Do You Relate?

How do you communicate with people online or in person? Are you maybe a filet person online but a meat ‘n taters person in real life? Maybe it’s the other way around. I used to look at the retweets on Twitter or the shared Facebook status updates and I think, “Man, if I could just come up with something so clever and refined, I could get retweeted 20 million times.” But my own personal experience is that trying to do so feels like trying to walk down the street in a tutu. It just doesn’t feel right because it just isn’t me. As I’ve gotten more used to Twitter, getting retweeted is about the last priority on my mind. I’m conversing, passing on other peoples’ thoughts, and listening. Meat and potatoes kind of stuff. It’s not the right way. It’s not the wrong way. It’s most certainly not the most exciting way. But it is my way. What’s yours?

First Image by Hanka Lehmannova. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/hankaleh
Second Image by Jean Scheijen. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/vierdrie

Once upon a time, a man who had been working at a shoe store went back and told his bosses that he had good news and bad news. The bad news was that he was leaving the shoe store. The good news was that he was starting an advertising agency, and he wanted the shoe store to be his first client.

The year was 1954. The man was my grandfather.

Fifty-six years later, my grandfather’s bet is still alive and well. However, we are functioning in ways that no one could have imagined in the 50s. All work done on computers, including illustrations, for the most part? Email? Getting emails on these amazing smart phones? Who could have predicted any of what has become our day-to-day reality?

The elephant in the room

Right now, society is in a mode of instant gratification, and this really shows through when you start networking with people in the Social Media realm. I’m not just talking about the fact that people want answers immediately (which they do). But what is everyone talking about? The latest thing. How can you beat the Twitter game? How can you market with Facebook? A few months ago Foursquare was the hot topic, but already, Foursquare is starting to be overshadowed by Gowalla.

How fast are things moving? In the first Iron Man movie, at the beginning, there’s a shout-out for Myspace, not for Facebook.

There are a lot of experts who are telling companies how they can succeed right here and now. Social Media is the revolution and you have to decide how you’re going to participate. There are Facebook experts, Blogging experts, Twitter experts, and I’m sure Foursquare experts will be surfacing soon.

But what is not being talked about? How can you make these things work for you for 10 years? 20? Not to mention 50. There has to be something more to the game.

Fifty years hence

How does a company survive through an era of great change? How did factories survive the transition to automation? How did agencies like us survive the transition from markers to Macs? The secret is not just staying up on the hottest trend. The secret isn’t even how to master the hottest trend. The secret is to understand the business well enough that no matter what comes your way, you’ll be able to stay true to your company’s mission. You’ll stay true to the kind of service you’ve always given your clients. I don’t see a lot of “buzz” about this issue, and it worries me.

Where will you or your company be 50 years from now, when your kids or grandkids are laughing at you about how you used to use that old fashioned Twitter? What will you have to offer when your expertise on the “latest thing” doesn’t matter anymore because that latest thing is now old?

It may sound dire, but it doesn’t have to be. But if we only focus on the here and now and mastering what is right in front of us, we’re going to be in big trouble. It takes a different kind of fuel to create a long, steady burn. Do you have that fuel right now?

Image by Markus Huth. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/huthmark

“So now if you have a book called “How To Take Care Of Your Pet” and it includes information about cats and dogs, are you going to catalog it as a cat book, a dog book, or a pet book?”

It’s about 9 years ago and I am sitting in a cataloging class, part of my journey towards pursuing my Masters in Library Science. The professor has posed the question above. As one might expect, a heated debate followed.

In the world of Library and Information Science, catalogers are like a hybrid mix of website developers and SEO experts. Their job is to enter data about books, documents, videos, and the like so that people who would want those items can actually find them. The trick is that you have to guess what kinds of people would want those things and more to the point, how they would go about looking. In the case above, the issue was complicated because the choices were so similar, yet a wrong categorization could mean that one group of searchers would not be able to find the information they needed. For example, if the book was categorized as a “pet care” book, a person interested in just cats or just dogs might think it’s too general. Naturally, categorizing it as a cat book would leave out the dog people.

Back then, the stakes weren’t very high. It was a hypothetical situation, after all, and no money was on the table. But in the marketing world, these kinds of questions prevail, and there is a lot on the line. That’s why I find the recent trend of grouping SEO and Social Media search functions together very disconcerting.

Search Engine Optimization

There are two games at play when optimizing a website. First, you have the fun task of trying to win at the game of algorithms, especially with Google. That feat must be balanced with the equally important task of making sure you are in a place where your customers and prospects would expect to see you. There are lots of ways to reach both goals simultaneously, but it takes some careful crafting and a lot of research, not to mention a fair amount of due diligence and a willingness to update copy as needed.

When people search using Google, Yahoo, or Bing, they tend to want information or answers. You need to figure out what answers your company can provide. If you manufacture pet food, what questions would your existing or potential customers ask? “Which food is more nutritious?” “Is this food safe?” By carefully analyzing how words that drive traffic to your website intersect with words that show high prevalence in the search engine, you can usually get a pretty good read on how to position your company.


Social Media: Aka, the conversational crapshoot

In the ever-growing world of Social Media, the main thing that can be predicted is that things will be unpredictable. This is because rather than being based on just algorithms or link quality, Social Media search functions are contingent on what people are actually conversing about. On Facebook, you aren’t likely to see a status update that reads, “I have pain and pressure in the occipital region of my cranium. How can I relieve these symptoms?” You’re going to see updates that say, “Man, my head is killing me.” Going back to our hypothetical pet food manufacturer, it’s possible that someone might ask questions about nutrition or safety. However, it’s also possible that someone might just say, “I need to remember to go to the store to get Pickles more food.” Is your website optimized for the word “food?” Probably. How about “Pickles?” Probably not.

Is it impossible to place well in Social Media search functions if you’re a company? No. But it’s a very different process from optimizing a company’s website for search engines. People think and research one way. They talk and share in another way. A company must be ready for both.

Getting Found in Social Media

In order to get found in the world of Social Media, you need to become a bit less scientific and a bit more, well, yourself.  What words do you use when you describe your job or your company to a friend who isn’t in the business but seems interested? What kinds of questions does your customer service department or sales team get on the phone? What words do people use in conversation when they are talking to you in real time?

The best way to get found in Social Media is to go out there and join the conversation wherever it is happening. Look for groups, forums, people, chats, or blogs that talk about things related to what you do. Become a part of those communities. Learn to talk to your existing and potential customers in the ways that they define. And don’t depend on sites like technorati or Google Alerts to do all of the hard work for you. These sites are based on single words or phrases. Often the context is lost and the use of a word that happens to be important to you is completely irrelevant. Talk to people. Listen. It isn’t called Social Media for the fun of it.

Research Before Search

Whether you are engaging in Social Media, SEO, or both, research is the key and mantra. Google might tell you that a certain word is off the charts in traffic, but if it doesn’t have anything to do with your company, does it matter? You might be first on the Search Results page based on the keywords you used in your site, but if no one is using those words on Facebook or Twitter, you won’t get very far in those search results.

For SEO, make sure that the words you are using to optimize your website reflect how you want to be found. For Social Media search, make sure that you are using words that will help you find your customers.

It’s a subtle difference, perhaps. But then scientists say there is only a subtle difference between human and chicken DNA. Two different animals indeed.