Servant of Chaos

Gary Vaynerchuck on Social Media ROI

If you work for an agency or are spearheading the social media efforts for your company, this may not be the news that you want to hear. But Gary Vaynerchuck points out the obvious in a compelling way - NOT engaging with your customers via social media creates opportunities for your competitors. And while you may not lose your whole market, you may well lose the high yield, low churn folks who are your bedrock, or you may lose the low yield, high maintenance influencers who help attract a wider audience.

Don't forget, social media loves a niche - and you don't have to serve the needs of your entire community in the same way. Identify key audience segments, understand their expectations and communication needs and then design your efforts around the way that adds value to your mutual relationship. If that means social media, great. If it means, "just give the me a good product when I need it", do that. But make sure you PAY ATTENTION.

Because if you don't, someone else will.

Always Getting Started with Social Media

Image by Funky64 (www.lucarossato.com) via Flickr

When I first began blogging over three years ago, it was completely new to me. There was etiquette to learn, tools to master and people to reach out and connect with.

To be honest, I was sceptical about blogging. I had tracked it as a type of communication for years – reading and being inspired by Seth Godin and the group of expert bloggers at Fast Company – but I could not quite see how it would work, say, at a corporate level.

On a personal level, however, the Wordpress and Typepad blogging platforms provided a simple way of publishing regular material on the web – and they were a perfect fit for my objectives – to build a discipline around writing every day.

And so it began.

I started with poetry, but within days, had shifted my focus to websites and storytelling. It was not intentional. My subject matter simply overwhelmed me. I would begin to write creative work and find, instead, that there was something else on my mind. After a month of blogging I asked, Does Anyone Read a Blog. If I remember rightly, I would have had about FIVE readers – and like many bloggers, I became obsessed with web analytics. However, I was already thinking about the nature of blogging and influence, suggesting that not all audiences are created equal:

It reminds me of a quote by Howard Barker (the great British playwright) - "Because you cannot address everybody, you may as well address the impatient" (49 Asides for a Tragic Theatre). This is what sets the web apart from other revolutionary communications platforms - it is both a catalyst for change and the method of transformation.

The idea of transformation is important in social media … and it is something that we easily forget. What I have learned over the last few years is that I must resist the easy options with blogging. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking of blogging as publishing … of seeking readers rather than conversation – dreaming of reach over influence. It is important to stimulate, engage and challenge myself and my readers … after all, there is PLENTY of great content available on the web.

So while measurement is great, reader figures are gratifying and even humbling, the real opportunity is impact. How does YOUR blog change or inspire the people who read it? What do they take away into their worlds as a consequence? As Richard Huntington eloquently explained:

So long as the digital community clings to its obsession with accountability over effectiveness it will remain in the unedifying position of creating engaging brand fluff on the one hand and highly measurable but largely pointless direct response advertising on the other.

It’s important to “get started” with social media – but remember, we are always in a process of getting started – there is always something new to learn. And as this great list of social media case studies shows – while there is some fantastic work being done, there are also plenty of social media mistakes. If in doubt, remember, “change” and “transform”.

Eat.Sleep.Blog Episode 9

This is the next instalment of the intermittent Eat.Sleep.Blog conversation between Paul McEnany, Sean Howard and Gavin Heaton. ESB is an occasionally NSFW discussion on the current state of marketing and branding. (You can even join the ESB Fan Page on Facebook!)

Eat, Sleep, Blog #09 from paulmcenany on Vimeo.

Running at around 45 minutes, the focus of this episode is on the power, potential and challenges presented by new “community services” such as Google Friend Connect and Facebook Connect. We discuss:

• The sudden appearance of Friend Connect on blogs such as Armando Alves’ A Source of Inspiration and Paul’s Hee-Haw Marketing (1:46)
• Google needing to accelerate their partner network to catch up with Facebook (2:20)
• Is the future of websites “social” and do these services change what we consider a “destination site”? (4:00)
• Will the benefits of “group sourcing” rather than “crowdsourcing” transform “influence networks”? (6:00)
• What is the power of “where our friends are and where they choose to respond”? (7:30)
• Sean explains the value of services like Gigpark (8:10)
• Recommendation engines and influence segmentation (10:00)
• Where is the point of monetisation and how does aggregate data work for marketers? (12:00)
• Why semantic evaluation will not deliver the answers that marketers want (but think they can extract) (14:00)
• The need for human interpretation of data to extract insight (20:00)
• Will social media, influence networks and reputation engines scale in a useful way? (21:00)
• Can we predict who we trust? (23:30)
• What happens when the Internet REALLY explodes as a network with the mass adoption of technology across the world – and what does this mean for “scale”? (25:30)
• Is the semantic web a survival mechanism for the Internet? (28:00)
• Will the web simply become another form of TV measurement? (30:30)
• We send a shout out to our #1 fan, Mack Collier (33:00)
• A new world of privacy (36:00)
• The uselessness of website T&Cs (40:00)
• The attractions of the Dallas Waffle House (47:00) – yes, it goes downhill quickly!

The Importance of Content Marketing

I always find it interesting that a great deal of thought will be put into the strategic planning of a campaign – but very little time will be devoted to creating a content strategy. After all, it is the content that will bring your campaign to life. And perhaps, more importantly, it is content that will feed your social media efforts.

Some time ago, I was interviewed by ethos3 – seven questions on storytelling – where I discussed the P-L-A-Y framework for brand engagement. I remember emphasising the importance of allowing people into the context of your world – like starting a story with “once upon a time”. For me, content marketing comes back to telling a story. It is using the techniques and devices of storytelling to change the way that someone relates to your business, brand or product. And it’s about allowing these people into the process of storytelling. For brands, that means changing the way that you think of your consumers. For businesses, it means transforming the relationships you have with customers. And for marketers, it means changing the very nature of the work that we do.

But if this is the case, where can you find out about content marketing?

Over the last 12 months, additional focus has been given to “content marketing”. The “Top 42” content marketing blogs have been tracked and compiled regularly on the Junta 42 website (servantofchaos.com is currently ranked #16), and Guy Kawasaki has recently created a new content marketing catalogue for his alltop.com site. Each of these sites provide a convenient listing of content marketing related sites – which is valuable for any marketer wanting to think through a content marketing strategy. (And while many people feel more than a little jaded about the relevance of lists with their rankings of “influence” or “authority”, I still feel that most lists like this listing of 150 social media blogs, can prove to be a great resource for all of us).

And in this interview with Bryan Person, David Alston shares his insights around the importance of content marketing. As VP Marketing for Radian6, David has a broad professional and personal interest in social media and the role that content marketing plays in lubricating our social/digital interactions. As David says, "Not everyone's a customer when you WANT them to be a customer" ... so content allows you to offer value (not a product) to build a relationship. And in social media, it’s relationships that count.

So, tell me … what’s your story? Why is content important to your brand?

Social Media Coverage of Mumbai Terrorist Attacks

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Originally uploaded by Vinu

Reports of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India overnight have flooded my inbox and Twitter stream since early this morning. At first, I checked the Sydney Morning Herald site to learn details, but found that Twitter was providing more rapid and constant updates.

Twitter also has the advantage of being able to track details of hashtags – a simple way of indexing all messages from across the global Twitter network. To see the unfolding Twitter stream, click here.

Via this constant message stream, Indian bloggers such as Vinu and Dina Mehta are providing on-the-ground updates. Vinu used a Flickr account to upload photos of the aftermath of attacks near his home.

Within 20 minutes of watching, the focus of the Twitter stream shifted from reporting events to calling for help. A local Mumbai hospital needed additional blood supplies, and through retweets (the practice of spreading a piece of news from one person’s network of friends to another), the details of the hospital, its phone number and a link to a Google map, were shared.

Events continue to unfold. If you have friends or family in the area – especially if they hold British or US passports, essential services contact numbers can be found here.

UPDATE: Gaurav Mishra collates social media responses to the events in Mumbai.

UPDATE2: The crisis continues and can be watched via streaming TV courtesy of NDTV.

UPDATE3: Sonia Faleiro gives a first hand account of the encounter.

UPDATE4: Valeria Maltoni sums up the transformation in the way that information flows via citizen journalists/social media since September 11.

Out-Viralled? How Does It Feel?

Stan Johnson calls out the neat viral work of Droga 5 for their Guitar Hero YouTube video. But then Freddie Wong shows what can be done with limited resources, some creativity and a passion.

Of course, this is part of what can be considered “viral” – where a piece of work mutates by coming into contact with other forces. After all, the “aim” of a viral is not necessarily simply to spread (ie deliver reach) but to prompt conversation and participation. While Freddie only has one-seventh of the views that the original video has, I daresay, the production costs were much lower ;)

How does it feel to be out-viralled? The answer: it rocks.

When Finance Brands Go Wild

After MyFutureBank’s a well publicised “experiment” and withdrawal from social media and the surreal and poorly contextualised Truthpod (courtesy of Westpac), it would be easy to suggest that finance marketers had had their fill of the social media space. Or perhaps, had bitten off more than they could chew.

Yet it seems this is not the case.

Clearly, with Forrester research indicating that 75% of Australians participating in some form of social media, consumer brands have LITTLE CHOICE other than begin to engage with their customers in this way. After all, it is where we are CHOOSING to spend our time and precious attention.

But what happens when a finance brand escapes into the wild? What happens when a business truly asks for the input of its community? Companion Credit Union decided to find out. The Financial Brand blog has some great coverage of this rebranding campaign here.

With a new theme of “We’re Listening”, Companion put their brand on the line and asked their members to vote on a new logo. As the CEO, Ray O’Brien said, “The credit union is really owned by the members and therefore we decided we should invite them to actively participate in helping us decide”.

Over 1000 votes were received (from a member base of about 12,000) … and a new blog has been setup to help the credit union really “get back to it’s roots”. They are even supporting Movember. So what does a customer selected logo look like?

The real opportunities for brands and social media are for those looking to transform their relationships with their customers … so it is encouraging to see brands from a relatively conservative market capitalising on these opportunities. And in a tight market (well, really, in any market), a social media strategy can not only help you stand apart from your competitors, it can also drive value back to your community – which is a great fit for credit unions and other member-based businesses.

Companion is certainly one financial service brand to watch – and as their ongoing marketing and social media strategy evolves, I expect there will be some real insight and proof points around the way that brands can grow and extend their reach and engagement via the micro-interactions that we take for granted. And this is one of the core values of social media for brands – that the difference between what your customers INTEND and the way they BEHAVE disappears – and you are left with a sentiment that contributes to (or detracts from) your brand promise. More power to the community!

Social Entrepreneurs at Vibewire

Running a startup business is a challenge. There are ideas to prioritise, investors to meet, technologies to implement and yes, even work to do. But what about budgets? What about planning? What about marketing? And is there somewhere that you can go to meet up with like-minded entrepreneurs? Yes, entrepreneurship can be an isolating experience.

But what happens if your efforts are not designed around a profit motive? What happens if the outcomes that you seek have a social or a change-oriented focus instead? This is the world of the social entrepreneur – a business that is “for more-than-profit”.

Here in Sydney, Vibewire provides residencies for young social entrepreneurs and creatives. Their sQuareOne space in Ultimo is an incubator where social entrepreneurs can come together, learn from each other and receive support from a small, but flourishing community. sQuare One offer scholarships and host workshops designed to kick-start your social business.

At the Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Opportunity even held at Vibewire, we heard speeches from Annie Le Cavalier, Janine Cahill, Jackie Ruddock and Anna Rose. Annie spoke about the changes underway with Vibewire, Janine discussed the role of vision and futures, Anna explained how she is working to have climate change recognised as a youth issue, and Jackie talked about the School for Social Entrepreneurs which is launching in March 2009.

If any of these activities sound interesting to you, contact the folks at Vibewire, or leave comments below and I will put you in touch.

The Fail First Strategy

There are many lessons that marketers can “borrow” from the IT industry. “Open source”, for example, has changed the way that many of us conceive of ideas – they are no longer considered the proprietary property of one company/business (or they aren’t in most cases) – after all, ideas are the easy part, execution where it gets difficult. (In fact, we can really wonder whether ideas EVER were owned or whether this was just a convenient illusion.)

Most recently, I have been pondering the concept of “failing fast” -  see the wikipedia entry here. It is a systemic approach to programming that aims to identify and report on failures – or events that are likely to cause failures. The focus of the programmer is on passing the message “FAIL” up to a system that is built to respond. There are two important aspects (that I can see):

1. The program escalates the issue or failure to another level of responsibility
2. The program also halts before the failure replicates, spreads or becomes embedded in other systems

From a marketing point of view, there is much to learn from this. And in light of the debacles around Motrim Moms and MyFutureBank more locally, the lessons could and should be absorbed by marketers very quickly:

1. Listen. As Amber Naslund points out, there are plenty of free tools that can be used to begin monitoring what is being said about your brand, products and services. Start with Google alerts. But please, start.
2. Step-in. If you are not listening to the online conversations, the echo chamber tends to get louder and louder. As this escalates and draws more voices into the conversation, the absence of an “official voice” means that there is no way to diffuse the conversation. This leads, as Alan Wolk suggests, to overreaction. Once you are at that point, there is no return.
3. Participate. When you start actually participating you will make mistakes – you may need to slay some sacred cows. But that’s ok … it’s the way we learn. By building relationships you are also creating a community/network. These are the folks who will let you know if someone else it talking about your brand.
4. Learn. There is much to learn by following the first three steps. Take this information and share it with your product development and customer service teams. Use this to transform what you deliver to your markets and how you treat your customers.

Despite the benefits of the fail-fast approach, however, the brave brand manager may want to take a more tangible, proactive and accelerated path – to FAIL FIRST.

Under a fail first strategy, you already accept that there will be mis-steps. You acknowledge that issues will arise that you won’t be able to control. In fact, the approach means taking a POSITION that people can buy into or work against. It is drawing a line in the sand.

Then, once the controversy starts or the conversation begins, you work them both equally using the same four steps above. Those who like what you are doing will converse. Those who don’t will cause chaos. Engage with both and use them to cross-pollinate ideas. Learn from the nay-sayers how and where you can improve your products. Activate and empower your evangelists to tell their stories.

Now, I don’t advocate such a strategy for all brands. But there are some who could do it. And for those who can stand the heat, there are great benefits to flow from failing first and learning. But remember, you need to PLAN a fail first strategy. You need the systems and fall-back strategies in place that can help you overcome the failure. You need the management support to hold course.

The Motrim debacle could have been turned around. Many similar “crises” could. What would you do differently? Would you dare to fail first? What do you think it takes to create the most successful failure in marketing history?

Mainstreaming Social Media

While I normally don’t like using nouns as verbs (perhaps I am linguistically conservative?), I quite like the word “mainstreaming”. It implies that social media is in a state of transition where widespread acceptance and uptake is occurring with the general public. 

Paul Chaney suggests that the rising popularity of social media, while strong, will still take some time to become fully integrated into marketing practices. Interestingly, the social technographics profiling from Forrester shows that consumer adoption levels are high, especially in the “spectator” category – but this reinforces the sense that innovation is being driven not by business but by consumers in their quest for creative interactivity and engagement.

In Australia, Forrester’s Steven Noble’s recent analysis indicates that only 24% of Australians DON’T use social media in some way.

Peter Kim has a great post over at MarketingProfs providing some excellent insight into what these figures mean for bloggers and/or social media consultants:   

On the upside, it's more likely now than before that:

• You, your customers, your prospects, and your competitors are reading and writing blogs
• Better tools to interact with the medium exist for reading, filtering, authoring, and tracking
• You can say the word "blog" in conversation without feeling silly

On the downside, it's more likely now than before that:

• Spam related to your business interests lives in "splogs"      
• Traditional marketing approaches will find new ways to make consumers hate the medium
• Your "regular" friends know what you mean but still think blogging is for geeks

For marketers still finalising their budgets for 2009, I would recommend setting aside a small experimental budget for social media. Hive off 5% or 10% of your MEDIA budget and contact EXPERIENCED agencies and consultants (email me if you need recommendations).

With pressure to perform in tough economic times, it’s time all marketers stop ignoring the spaces in which consumers are ALREADY playing. In this Age of Conversation, it’s time for brands to stop shouting and start participating. Welcome to the mainstream.