Social Media Lesson, Part 1…The Basics

May 21, 2013 Branding, Community, Content Strategy, InterActivate, Marketing, Media, Social Media

I recently told a friend, someone who happens to be a Director of Marketing in the US for two luxury items, that I’d help her understand digital marketing and social media.

She expressed her frustration by saying “There seem to be so many galaxies in the social media universe that when trying to grasp it all I feel a bit like an astronaut cut loose in space to float aimlessly through the darkness”. Very well put.

So, I’ll encapsulate how I’ve responded here.  Not a cut and paste, but I’m rewriting it for the blog.

First of all, what is social media?

It may be easier to start out by pointing out what social media is not.  That’s because we are so used to marketing mediums that are essentially broadcast systems of one to many as with television and radio.  That’s not social media.  The social part changes it because, while it can be one to many, the vast majority of the time it is not restricted by these paradigms we’re used to.  Instead, social media can change to many to one or to many to many, making it at times an ongoing conversation.  It’s not a place where one can simply constantly send out marketing messages of fluff.  Brands often don’t understand that.  They want to promote and wait for the results to pour in.  People have different expectations and will respond in ways they choose as opposed to the way you often want them to.

Social media also allows pretty much everyone to create, to change, to share, to evaluate content.  Content that others can then do the same as well. Some of those “others” become influential, important.  They can be an asset or a threat.

For brands, this means that the content that is created must be relevant to those who it is intended for.  If its not relevant to the receiver, it’s useless to the receiver.

Secondly, it’s already here.

I’ve heard or heard of many a “decision maker” say that they know that social media – or some aspect of it – is “going to be big”.  It already is.  It’s here and it’s likely a major part of life for the majority of the people that each of us know.  And it’s a major part of life for a company’s customers.  There’s over one billion personal accounts on Facebook and over one hundred million accounts on Twitter.
For brands, it means that they now have to be social in nature.  They need to understand that they’re part of all of those galaxies you mentioned.  But they don’t own the galaxy.  They’re sharing it with others.
The takeaways:
1) Social media is not designed to be a broadcast medium.
 
2) Social media is participatory.  Join it and be social.
 
3) Often, it is the consumers of social media that lead the trends and not brands.  
 
4) With social media, you have to deal with your stakeholders on their terms and not yours.  The effects content and approach.
 
5) With social media, anyone can be a publisher. Or an advocate.  Or a critic.  And, importantly for brands, an influencer.
 
6) Social media is now part of everyday life for the large majority of us.
 
7) Brand must be social in nature.

 

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A closer look at the impact of local search on restaurants

May 10, 2013 Branding, Content Strategy, Local, Marketing, Media, Mobile, Public Relations, Reputation Management, Restaurants and Hospitality, Search, Social Media

Let’s take a look at local a bit further.

That report from imma/yp focuses on several industries but eventually emphasizes “Restaurants and Dining” because it not only is one of the most sought after categories, it is also the number one category that the searcher will reach fulfillment with.  Meaning if they are searching for something (a restaurant’s location), they are more likely to actually go to the restaurant.

Now lets remember that search engines, online directories, and social platforms such as Yelp and FourSquare will often have gobs of information about a particular business.  This is true even if a listing hasn’t been “claimed” by that business.  (A major point there is that businesses must first claim their listings and then make sure that they have accurate information.) But these directories have he name of the business.  Location.  Hours of operation.  Directions.  And importantly…reviews.

Here’s a breakdown of the percentages of what people look for when they use local search for restaurants and dining:

  • Maps, distance or direction – 47%
  • Hours of operation – 46%
  • Listings – 41%
  • Address – 40%
  • Prices – 38%
  • Website – 36%
  • Phone Number – 34%
  • Consumer ratings, reviews – 33%
  • Promotions, discounts – 28%
  • Product availability – 14%
  • Other – 5%

It’s somewhat obvious as to why restaurants are the primary category in which people fulfill their search mission:  they’re looking to get information on the place of interest because they have an intent to go.  That means that the information must be accurate and up to date.

It also means that restaurants must have tailored content toward certain types of searches. Business lunch related searches will be different from searches based upon allergy restrictions or accommodations for kids or what the deal is with their happy hour.  People want to get information for different reasons.  This could be done via effective keyword analysis aligned with targeted content.

Lastly, online reviews. If one third of people using local search for your business are gunning to know how others feel about you, then it time to monitor all of this.  Yeah, it’s more work.  But your guests and prospective guests are ahead of you on this one.

One this level, you have to deal with them on their terms.

 

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Local search is vital; six things to remember

May 9, 2013 Content Strategy, Marketing, Mobile, Restaurants and Hospitality, Reviews, Social Media

OK.  More on local.

As with most trends, consumers lead.  And the trend is that we’re now turning to the web as the go-to source for local information.  Not just going to the websites of local businesses.  We’re using local search to reel in information.

According to a report from imma/yp, 40% of us use local search on a daily basis.  And two thirds of us use local search 3-4 times a week.

Wow.  Those numbers are higher than I would think.  Nevertheless, using a PC, a tablet, or a smartphone for local information is becoming standard operating procedure for most of us.  With up to 82% of us having our cell phones with us the majority of the time, it is now becoming vital for local businesses to utilize the tools that are currently available to them.

Some quick pieces of advice for businesses:

1) Make sure that you’re on all the directories.  Services such as GetListed and Yext can show you where you’re not listed.  Some of the sites that they cover may receive little traffic.  No matter.  Those sites may be quite new and may see significant traffic within 12 months.  And having listings in all the local directories and review sites helps immensely with search engine rankings.

2) Make sure the information is accurate.  And consistent.  I notices that one place of business may have several listings on FourSquare because several people registered the business so they can check in.  The name of the business may be slightly different.  Phone numbers could be wrong.  Directions may be unclear.

3) Monitor these sites for online reviews.  They’re public.  They’re used. They could effect your brand.

4) Teach your relevant staff about these sites.  Don’t have someone is a corporate office hundreds of miles away (if that’s the case) handle this task.  They’re likely going to concentrate on the major directories and never come back.  It is the responsibility of the local people to handle local issues.

5) Research trends in your industry.  Why people are searching for you, your competitors, and your general category of industry.  Is is company specific…for directions and phone?  Is it a overall query…electricians in Toledo?  Behind search in intent.

6) Keep learning about local when it comes to the web.  Services, trends, tools.  That’s if you want to keep up with the rest of us.

 

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Small business misconceptions on social media

May 7, 2013 Community, Media, Social Media

In April, I wrote that many small to mid sized businesses struggle to see any real results on their social media efforts.  I theorized that many enter the arena without any sense of what they’re doing.  They often base their efforts on misconceptions about the whole thing.  I wanted to list a few here that I’ve seen in my years of observing and participating.

In no particular order…

They view online as a vast frontier of nothingness where they won’t be on anyone’s radar.

There is, of course, some truth to this.  But this ignores that their company is probably already being searched for, either directly or indirectly.  It ignores that they’re likely being talked about and reviewed. reviewed. It ignores the fact that a company’s competition is also being sought out.

They view digital as being a thing for techies.

Techies create the guts, but billions create the experience.  If one likes to travel by car, they don’t need to know the right mixture of asphalt for the road or how an carburetor works.

They view digital as a place for the young.

Nothing less than a backhanded compliment and a cop-out.  When someone positions anything digital as being for “kids”, they’re attempting to treat it as semi-relevant medium that lacks sophistication or influence.  It also shows fear.  Fear of change.  Fear of adaption.  That’s why it’s also a cop out.

They view digital as a place to simply send out marketing messages.

I’ve never been the type to denigrate marketing via digital.  It’s now become an essential element for that.  But what’s needed to be understood is that, quite often, with digital you don’t have a captive audience. The audience is usually there by choice.  You have to deal with them on their terms.

and perhaps most problematic…

They view digital as a place that they can wing it.

Not taking seriously the fastest growing medium in history…a medium that actually arrived several years ago is…stupid.

 

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Social Media: The reality of it all vs. the wonder of it all

May 6, 2013 Branding, Community, Content Strategy, Marketing, Social Media

One thing that I think is a problem with social media for small and mid-size businesses is that anyone can “do it”.  Or so we’re told.

Yes, any mom and pop can have their own Facebook page.  A Twitter feed can be set up in no time.  Download a blog format from WordPress and you’re on your way.

Over the past few years, I’ve read countless articles, blog posts, and books written by “social media rock stars” that espouse lofty declarations telling us that one can start their blog and now have exposure to “millions of readers”.

This is a tremendous disservice to clients, to other social media practitioners, to the platforms used in social media, and to social media itself.  If it’s not technically a lie, it’s a farce, a false platitude designed to sell a concept (social media) or to sell someones’s dubious level of expertise and experience.

In the meantime, companies continue to struggle with social media at every level.

A major problem is that many practitioners are forgetting that success in social media is dependent on many factors beyond these silly platitudes.

It’s dependent on the industry involved.  While it may be a truism that pretty much every business is now a social business, that width and depth of being social varies as much as categories of business.  Social media needs for a restaurant chain will have different needs for petrochemical disposal company.

It depends on the character makeup of an organization’s leadership.  To have an effective social media presence, an organization needs to have leadership that has vision and commitment.  If an organization’s leadership doesn’t understand that we are now in a social era, then there’s not much we can do to change that mindset.  It’s often not worth trying.  And certainly telling that leader (or having them read a piece that tells them that they can now reach millions) certainly won’t help.  They start out having a very large (but not always accurate) bullshit meter and will laugh you out of the room.   If an organization’s leader(s) do believe in social media, but unfortunately believe some of the hype, they may end up going for the easy low-cost approach because, well, we’ve told them that they can reach millions because they now have their own blog.

It depends on the character makeup of its client base. Many types of business can have an “audience” – a target market that may well be ope to receiving information about products and services.  But they may not – regardless of what many social media practitioners say – be able to develop that audience into a “community” – a loosely organized “tribe” of customers that develop relationships amongst themselves as they relate to the products and/or services.

It dependent of the quality of the content.  Simply put, some businesses can’t consistently come up with compelling content that’s going to result in effective interactions between them and their customers – and also effective interactions between customers.

It depends on the format of the content involved.  Should it be mostly text?  Graphic?  Video/audio?  Should it be shareable?  Formatted for mobile?

It depends on the platforms and methodologies that make the most sense for that business.  Each week, we see changes in what major platforms offer and how they perform.

There are a lot of other factors involved when it comes to social media success.  But we need to get beyond the “wonder of it all” mentality if we went to really help our current and future clients.

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A clue as to why small business struggle in social media

April 22, 2013 Branding, Marketing, Social Media, Uncategorized

Manta Research just came out with some survey numbers that should make many of us be uneasy.  To an extent.

They surveyed 1235 of their members, all small businesses, and found that a solid majority of them (61%) don’t see any positive ROI on their social media efforts. Yes, that’s an alarming number.  And it DOES speak to how effective social media can actually be.  Or not be.

Simply getting people to like your Facebook page or follow you on Twitter isn’t necessarily easy.  And the reality is that the content that a business can share via social networks is often not compelling enough for its fans or followers to value.  Hence, meaningful engagement often doesn’t happen.

But there was a telling survey result that shows me that there’s a poignant reason why so many small businesses are frustrated with their social media efforts.  When they asked these small business whom they looked to for assistance in their social media efforts, 36% said that they looked at online resources (the DIY method), 22% reached out to their own personal circle, and only 18% brought in “3rd party experts”.

OK, so it may be a bit self-serving here, but I would have to say that that statistic shows me that many small business owners don’t serious respect the concepts of digital marketing and social media enough to invest the necessary overall capital to make it work.  This does not mean that I think all small business owners should hire independent consultants such as myself.  But it does mean that its likely that many small business owners enter the arena without any understanding of what it’s about and then make some pretty poor decisions.  They may views its relatively low cost and that there is no need to pay someone to educate them on methodologies, to show them upcoming trends, to help them avoid common mistakes.

Many small businesses view ANY type of marketing communications as simply a series of tactics.  Social media, often perceived as something younger people do, gets short thrift.  I don’t know how many employment ads I’ve seen looking for a “social media intern”.

That type of mentality will likely lead to failure.  Clients like that are the types of clients that don’t listen.  Case in point:

I’m currently freelancing for a traditional PR type.  He has a client, a start-up, that is essentially, a one-person professional services firm in the travel industry.  My role has been blogger outreach on a very low level.  Seasoned bloggers have privately criticized the website of the service, telling me that it looks amateurish.  From a technical standpoint.  From a graphical design standpoint.  From a content standpoint.  They are correct on all counts.

When I related to this to the client – mostly through that PR professional – she (the start-up is run by a woman, the PR person is a man) responded by basically saying that the suggested changes were mostly others’ “personal opinions”.

No.  They are not.  They are professional opinions.

There lies a major problem.  I’m suspecting that many of that 61% that are not seeing any positive ROI through their digital/social media efforts are hampered by their determination to not pay for expertise and guidance as they forge ahead on their own.  Hence, their ROI is elusive.

Just sayin’.

 

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Not much of a surprise on the top local markets for digital usage

April 10, 2013 Community, In the News, Media, Mobile, Social Media

Figured I’d share this chart showing the results of a Scarborough Research survey.  People can take what they want from it.  Austin and Washington DC are the only two cities that finished in the top 10 in all five categories.

My take is that metro areas with higher levels of education and higher levels of wealth, along with university towns will always lead here.  But that’s no surprise.

 

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Your stakeholders are an arm’s length from their mobile phone…and vice versa.

April 5, 2013 In the News, Mobile

Here’s some mundane statistics that actually have some cool ramifications:

According to ArbitronEdison, 52% of mobile cell phone owners always have their cell phone within arm’s length.  And another 30% almost the majority of the time.  That’s 82%.

OK, I think the 52% may be a bit exaggerated.  But the overall point is that  mobile phones are as much a part of us as our watches, wallets, and keys. Only watches, wallets, and keys have a much more limited use.  In fact, mobile phones often now act as watches and wallets.  Soon, perhaps, as keys.

This means opportunity for business and for organizations to connect with their customers, their potential customers, their members, their fans, their stakeholders.

Because they’re only an arm’s length away.

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BAIKelsey’s prediction doesn’t seem to include local political mobile spending

April 5, 2013 In the News, Marketing, Media, Mobile, Politics and Policy, Public Relations

After reading this press release by BIAKelsey, it makes me wonder if they were taking into account political advertising in their forecasting that we’ll be witnessing a growth in local mobile advertising from $1.2 billion in 2012 to $9.1 billion in 2017, with a share of 0.9% of current local media spending to 6.1% in four years.  They project steady growth, but show no uptick for what should be a major spending increase in 2016.

They do point out that, regarding percentage of actual mobile spending, that the percentage will go from 38% to 54% – a reasonable estimate.

But I’m expecting that candidates and interest groups will be using mobile in major ways on the local level starting in 2014 and really coming on very strong in 2016.

I’m in the process of nailing this down with a representative from BAI.

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The trust just isn’t there

March 26, 2013 Advertising, Branding, Content Strategy, Marketing, Public Relations, Reputation Management, Restaurants and Hospitality, Reviews, Social Media

Forrester Research solidifies the idea that we’re pretty much failing to secure the trust in customers in much of what we do in the digital arena.

This doesn’t surprise me in that, whether one sees a marketing message on the television or on their computer screen, that message is a tested, scripted promotional piece designed to at the very least initiate interest in a product or a service.  All good, no bad.

The survey was of 60,000 Americans and 15,000 individuals from the EU-7.  Here’s a screen shot of the results:

Forrester-Consumer-Trust-Advertising-Promotion-Types-Mar2013Talk about a lack of trust…

This survey shows us that the HIGHEST percentage of trust coming from these consumers toward company generated content is 32% – the info that is found on company websites. Emails from companies/brand are at 18%/11%, postings on social media sites sit as low as 15%/10%, info on company mobile apps check in at 12%/10%, and text messages are way down to 9%/8%.

While part of this can be chalked up to an overall lack of consumer trust in advertising and promotion, I’d say that these numbers – especially the ones relating to social media sites – show me that the mantra of authenticity and transparency that many of us talked about a few years ago has fallen on deaf ears.

That’s a failure of monumental proportions.

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