Play their game.  Don’t try to make your own game (at least not all the time).

Big brands are especially bad at this.  They want to own everything.  They are used to it being their event and their idea.  Participating in the events that the community has already created to can win trust and goodwill of the members – you can be perceived as a supporter vs. a company trying to get people to join their event.  The other good news is that it is usually cheaper.  Most community events are organized voluntarily, and donating something free or covering food or drinks can go a long way.

Start With: How Can I Add Value?

Start by asking yourself how you can add value to the community?  What can you provide them with that they will actually derive value from?  It doesn’t have to be financial or free products – you can add value by facilitating social events or providing useful information.

Last year Verizon hosted a “Blogger Party” in Cincinnati where they showcased their new phones (around the time of the Droid launch).  In addition to hosting a great social event where bloggers were able to connect with their friends, they allowed bloggers to borrow the phones for a few weeks with a full service plan – no strings attached.  This generated conversations and discussions around the new phones while providing bloggers with a fun new gadget to test drive for a few weeks.  Think about how your business can creatively add value while connecting with influencers.

Start With: How Can I Support the Community?

Whatever product or service line you are in there are probably already a number of community organizations and events taking place.  Rather than trying to create your own community or event, look at how you can support the community that already exists.

For example, there is a twitter hashtag called “woofwednesdays” where people tweet about their dogs.  If you want to connect with dog enthusiasts participate in the pre-existing hashtag conversation and add value.

Another example is participating in or sponsoring MeetUp groups.  There are meetup groups for many different topics – from hiking to biking to photography.  I participate in a hiking Meetup group that has hundreds of members.  If you are a hiking supply company you could offer to donate lunch or water bottles for the hikes (which would probably cost < $100).  By surprising people with a friendly offer (and not asking for anything back) you can earn the goodwill of the community.

Rather than trying to own the community (ie. start your own hiking club or hashtag) look for ways to join the existing community.  In addition to being cheaper you can earn the goodwill of the organization and the members.

Success: GM and BlogHer

A year ago Jory DesJardin was in Cincinnati for PRSA Day (we were on a panel together).   Jory shared how when GM first wanted to get involved with BlogHer their initial idea was to have car experts help answer questions about their cars.  Instead, GM brought a bunch of cool cars to the conference and let BlogHer attendees drive the cars around for a few hours for free.  Rather than making it about them (ie. we want to tell you about our product) they made it about the blogger by providing a valuable and fun service.  Get involved in the community and help facilitate what they are doing (or want to do).  GM equity scores among BlogHer attendees have actually increased due to their participation.  The results speak for themselves.

Anyone else have ideas or examples?

Online reputation management is more important now than it ever was in the past.

While many brands focus on creating a beautiful website, they fail to remember that many people will see search results first.  Search results will often impact what someone thinks of a brand before they ever make it to your perfectly crafted website.

The basic problem is that brand spending is out of synch with what is actually influencing purchases.

Online brand management can make or break your business online.  Many brands do not effectively monitor ratings and review sites to understand how consumers perceive their brand.

We trust 2 things: People we know and people we don’t know.  We don’t trust advertising.

This is why online reputation management is important.  Consumers are forming their opinions based on what other people say about their brand.  This means that it is vital to understand what people say and why, and respond accordingly.

See my presentation for some of the key points as to why online brand management is so important, and what you can do about it.

In case you missed it, the short story is:

1. Chapstick posted an add on their Facebook page of a woman with her a$$ in the air
2. A blogger wrote a post about how offensive she found it and also left a comment on the Chapstick Facebook page
3. Chapstick deleted the comment
4. Others comment on the Facebook page and their comments are deleted
5. Chapstick’s ads with the line “Be Heard at Facebook.com/chapstick” become comical
6. Chapstick continues to try to delete posts, but the posts are getting through (they can’t keep up with it)
7. Eventually Chapstick deletes the offensive image
8. Chapstick “apologizes” sort of.
9. The head of global media relations for Chapstick says “We’re committed to listening. We’re committed to the dialogue. This is a perfect example of listening to your followers, your fans. We’re trying to live by those words.” (haha)

Where they Went Wrong and What You Can Learn

1. Don’t Delete Comments

If people have a problem, acknowledge it and address it.  I don’t personally think the ad was all that offensive, and in reality, many ads offend someone.  People share with you that they are offended because they want to be heard – they don’t expect you to immediately pull the ad.

My assumption would be that the person managing the Facebook page didn’t know how to respond, so they deleted the post while they figured it out.

This was the biggest initial mistake.  Don’t delete comments, respond.

Let them know:

- You are sorry they are offended

- You care that they are offended

- You will share their feedback

2. If you Apologize, then ACTUALLY Apologize

Chapstick doesn’t really apologize or take ownership.  The “apology note” says “We apologize that our fans felt like their posts are being deleted”.  They didn’t feel like their posts were being deleted, they were actually being deleted.  It was a fact.

Next, they basically tell you that it is your fault that the comment was deleted.  In most cases I suspect that the comments wouldn’t have actually fallen in to those categories.  Sharing dislike with a brand is not offensive.

When you apologize, actually apologize. Admit your mistake

3. Do What You Say or Become a Laughing Stock

Part of the problem is that brands are used to having mission statements like “we care” or “committed to improving lives”, but they don’t really do it.  It is really just a bunch of nice words put on a page.  They don’t mean it or live it.

In social media, if you don’t do what you say you can quickly become a joke.

The response from the VP is kinda hysterical  A commitment to listening doesn’t mean that you eventually take down an ad because someone doesn’t like it.  It means that you respect and acknowledge their comments and feedback.

Do what you say you will, or people will laugh.

One of the biggest challenges for businesses on Facebook (or on any social media channel) is to understand the actual content that will drive fans to engage (step 1) and take action (step 2).  The key to success in developing your social media marketing plan is to really understand what it is that your customers want.

A study in September of 2011 asked fans what they want from brands in Facebook.

Your Challenge: Compare your content on Facebook with the content that fans generally want.

Knowing what users expect form you after liking you is the key to posting great content.  One of the challenges to keep in mind is that Fans make the choice to pay you the honor of publicly being your fan. Ask yourself, how can I reward or recognize these fans?

Action for Marketers to Take:

When asking people to fan your page, tell them what they will get by fanning you.  Rather than blindly posting “like us on Facebook” buttons all over your site and in your store, tell them WHAT THEY WILL GET by connecting with you, and make sure that you have a compelling proposition for them.

Dispel Their Fears

Another chart in the Emarketer article asked what has prevented people from fanning a brand.  The results of this are also telling.  The things that prevent people from fanning a brand, are probably also the same things that prevent them from signing up for your email, following you on Twitter or engaging in the rest of your opt-in marketing.

Action for Marketers to Take:

The Implication for marketers is to proactively communicate to avoid not getting liked because of these fears.  Tell them “Don’t worry, we’ll only message you once a month” or “we post once a day” or “we don’t sell your information”. Be sure to do what you can to dispel these fears upfront so that people will still connect with you.

The Problem with Justifying Social Media

The problem with trying to measure social media marketing is that unless you invest a lot of time in an assessment, you will never be able to fully quantify the impact.  I worked at P&G for many years.  To measure the effectiveness of traditional marketing we invested in focus groups and quantitative testing that would allow us to predict the impact of an ad, and we invested in expensive studies that showed how the various elements of our marketing contributed to sales.

The reality was that quantifying these things was difficult.  Many aspects of marketing have a lasting impact over time (I will talk about this more later).

The reality is that most people don’t see or hear an ad and immediate take action. I don’t run to a store to buy Tide after watching a TV commercial, or drive to my nearest car dealership after hearing a radio ad.

Yet, when it comes to social media we are holding the measurement bar to the immediate action that we are able to generate. The reality is that social media isn’t always the best direct response tool, and it actually drives value in a variety of different ways that generate results over time.

We are holding digital to a different standard, and as a result, we are not getting a clear picture of the actual value of social media.

The Answers Lie in Human Psychology

Seriously.  The answers to why social media marketing is effective lie within psychology and can eventually be translated into business results.

I read a lot of books on psychology, because understanding people is at the core to effective marketing.

As we look at how people work, and what drives them, there are some key insights that explain why social media works.

The reality is that people like and trust things more the more often they see them.  This is actually scientifically proven.  If you meet two people, and you have the same impression, over time, if you start to see one of those people more, even if the interactions are not positive, you will start to like that person more.

We like people and things more the more that we are exposed to them.

Think about it.  When you go to a store you don’t want to buy the random brand that you have never heard of (it might suck). Even if you haven’t tried another brand before, if you have heard about it multiple times you are more likely to buy it.

The Rule of 7 Brings Psychology to Marketing

Marketers often say that you have to have 7 interactions with someone before they will choose to purchase from you.

Social media can help increase the # of impressions or interactions that people have with your brand, and as a result, they are more likely to choose to do business with you, when the time arises.

The key is to trust the underlying science and know that over time, the more people who are exposed to you or your business, the more they will like you and the more likely they are to do business with you.

This isn’t just my opinion.

It is a scientific fact.

The Next Time You Have to Justify Social Media……

Many people who have experience in social media marketing know that it works, but can’t exactly explain why. Hopefully this post helps add clarity to WHY social media marketing works (or at least one of the reasons).

Even if they are no immediate clicks, we know that the more people see us, the more they will like us.  We also know that people do business with people they like.

This is why I invest time on sites like LinkedIn, Slideshare and Facebook.  Even if I don’t get immediate business, I know that the more that people see my brand and my name the more likely they are to do business with me (as long as the interaction isn’t negative).

I’ve recently done a lot of presentations on social media ROI and the question that everyone has is “How do I track ROI from Social Media?”.
This is a legitimate question, and one that you should strive to answer.  The problem is that the answer to this simple question isn’t simple at all.

Why?

For two reasons.

Not Everything that Counts can be Counted

First, not everything that counts can be counted.  What this means is that many of the things that add business value in social media can not be easily counted (unless you have a 6 figure budget to invest in measurement).
For example the value of brand awareness.  We know that there is value in brand awareness – that is what most TV and Billboard advertising aims at – yet we can’t directly tie that back to sales.  Many studies show that the more we are exposed to a brand, business, product or person the more we like them (assuming that the experience isn’t negative) and the more likely we are to choose them when making a purchase.  Even though we can’t measure the sales from brand awareness activities, we know that they lead to purchases.
The reason is that most people don’t make an immediate decision upon hearing about something or seeing it.  Purchasing is a process and the things that build awareness, trust and ultimately equity can be difficult to measure, although they are factors that lead to an eventual purchase.

Consider another example.  A customer tweets about a positive experience “I love company X – they are amazing and have top notch customer service.”  Did anyone immediately click on the link and buy the product?  Probably not.  Over time however, it may lead to purchases.

This is the problem with measuring social media, and all marketing for that matter.  Purchasing is a complex process, and many of the things that ultimately lead to a purchase are difficult to measure.  Just because you can’t tie it back to immediate sales doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter.

It is important to use common sense and consider the complete buying cycle to successfully measure or attribute value to social media.

Not Everything That Can be Counted Counts

This is the other truth to measuring social media.  Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Just because you can measure fans, friends, followers, RTs, @ replies, etc, doesn’t mean that these metrics counts.

Take # of fans.  I can’t tell you how many businesses measure the success of their Facebook efforts by the # of fans that they have.  The problem is that this has nothing to do with the ultimate success of their social media marketing efforts.  Number of fans/followers doesn’t necessarily tie back to business results.

Just because you can count something and tie a number to it doesn’t necessarily mean that it counts, and it doesn’t mean that it is ALL that counts.

Even things like engagement don’t necessarily count.  For example, a business owner I spoke with said his social media was very effective in driving his business.  He pointed to @replies and RTs.  The problem was that most of the replies and RTs were related to posts that had nothing to do with his business, so it is difficult to judge whether or not they are ultimately driving his business.

Tips for Success

The key to success in measuring social media is to inject some common sense and back of the envelope math to assess whether or not your social media is really working.  Don’t forget to look at qualitative metrics as well as quantitative, and consider your efforts comprehensively.  The keys to success are:

• Use common sense
• Do basic “back of the envelope math” like – how many new customers do we need to acquire for this to be worth it?
• Include qualitative samples
• Look at the IMPACT of social media mentions/impressions vs. counting them
• Ask the people on the front line
• Don’t rely too heavily on charts and graphs

What do you think?  Do you count the things that count?

The problem is defining what exactly influence is.

One of my favorite books is titled Influence.  It focuses on the key psychological triggers that ultimately cause us to take action.

So, if influence is the ability to drive action in others, how then, do we find and define “influencers”.

There are a lot of measurement systems that try to help us define influence online.  Many of them focus on things like audience size, popularity, people who respond to you, etc.

The problem with these metrics is that they are missing is key factor.  There is a HUGE difference between influence in the sense of being able to incite action and having people listen to you.

Charlie Sheen has Massive Klout… or does he?

For example, Charlie Sheen recently joined Twitter, and before he even Tweeted he had a million followers and a Klout Score of 57, which is pretty high..  Klout is a social media measurement tool that scores accounts based on “influence”.  Sheens account immediate received a high Klout Score because by there metrics, he seemed influential.  He had lots of followers (even though he wasn’t following anyone back), a verified account (which means he is a business or celebrity) and probably a lot of mentions.

The problem, is that Sheen isn’t actually influential.  He is entertaining in a train-wreck kind of way.  Sure lots of people are following him (#tigerblood is even a trending topic) but not because he can inspire them to take action.

Brands who use Klout will often look at a Klout score as a way to identify influencers and then try to connect with them or offer them free stuff in an effort to have the “influencers” talk about their products.

In the case of Sheen, imagine if companies like Virgin Airline offered him freebies in order for him to mention them.  It would actually have a negative impact on their brand.

The real problem is three-fold.

1) Audience does not equal influence

Having a large audience, even an audience that interacts and responds to you, does not necessarily mean that you can influence them.  Voice or reach is only one part of the equation.  Trust and credibility are the other part.

2) Influence is topical

Even if I do have “influence” it is probably somewhat topic specific.  For example, people probably take my advice about social media, hockey or igloo building, but would ignore my advice about fitness tips.  That is because “influence” isn’t universal – it is typically related to topics of perceived expertise.  I would trust Sheen’s advice about strippers but not investments.

A few years ago I tested a service called Sponsored Tweets where I was paid $10 to Tweet something specific.  The Tweet I was given was about a K-Mart Blue Light Special on Diamonds.  I don’t shop at K-Mart and I have never purchased a diamond.  Many people responded to the tweet, with comments like “haha – was that a mistake?”.  My Tweet appeared to ignite a conversation, but it wasn’t relevant or positive.

3) Marketers should still do lots of research

There are no short-cuts here. Blindly relying on a Klout score or website traffic usually doesn’t work.  Metrics can be general indicators, but trying to quantify the qualitative never really works well.

I’ve seem spam accounts earn really high Klout Scores by gaming the system.

I’m not saying don’t use Klout, but rather do your research and know what it is and what it isn’t.  It is not a measure of influence.  It is not a substitute for manually seeking out the people with a relevant voice in your industry.  It isn’t perfect.

These mistakes happened with ads that were well thought out, reviewed by countless people and possibly even focus-group tested.

In the world of social media things move much more quickly.   With content posted as-it-happens (often at the discretion of one or two individuals) it is no wonder that mistakes are made.

Two recent mistakes come to mind.

The Red Cross Twitter account accidentally tweeted the tweet below about “getting slizzerd”.  The social media manager accidentally posted to the Red Cross account instead of her personal account.

The Red Cross took the error in stride. It responded in jest, tweeting: “We’ve deleted the rogue tweet but rest assured the Red Cross is sober and we’ve confiscated the keys.”  The tweet ended up creating a campaign for Dogfish Head beer who ran offers for free beer with blood donations.  Clearly this mistake was handled well and actually turned into a positive for both organizations.

Another recent Twitter slip came from Kenneth Cole regarding the Egypt situation.  His tweet was considered insensitive, and resulted in significant backlash for the organization.  The tweet originated from Kenneth Cole himself in this case, and was quickly followed by a retraction.

People often ask me how they can stay out of trouble in social media, and the truth is that some times it will just happen, and you can’t control it.

Here are some tips that will help keep you out of trouble in social media:

1) Respond Fast

A quick response can often prevent a major blowup (although not in the case of Kenneth Cole). In general, if you have an issue deal with it fast before the conversation gets out of control.  The longer you wait the more the conversation progresses without your point of view.

2) If you Mess Up Admit It

If you make a mistake admit it.  We all make mistakes, and most people understand that.  If you argue or debate (when you are in fact wrong) you will create an even bigger issue.  When you are wrong, admit it quickly.

3) Don’t Overreact

Make sure that your reaction is appropriate for the situation.  In the Red Cross example they responded quickly with a humorous tweet.  When relaying the story to a friend she asked if the social media manager was fired over it.  That may have been an overreaction for the error.  Don’t over-react to the situation.  Respond in-stride.  Make sure that your response is appropriate.

4) Have Someone Else Review Your Stuff First

Before you post something (especially something that could be taken the wrong way) have a friend review it first.  You don’t need a complex official process, just ask 2 people who walk by your desk to share their thoughts.  Some times we aren’t the best judge (especially with humor).  Ask for a second or third opinion.

5) Be Direct in Your Response

Respond directly to the issue.  If you mess up, offer a clear and direct response.  Get to the issue quickly.

6) Offer an Explanation

Explain in a non-defensive way.  Most people are reasonable and want to know why you did what you did.  Offer an explanation that helps people understand.  If you tested the offensive commercial, let people know.  People appreciate honesty and can relate to real people.

7) Avoid Politics, Religion or Anything Controversial

Seriously, try not to post about any topics that could get you in to trouble.  Also, be careful with topical humor.  If people could be offended it is often best to just avoid the subject all together.

Anyone else have tips on how to stay out of trouble or minimize it when it happens?

So why do ad agencies struggle with social media?

A big part of it is what is commonly referred to as content marketing.  We talk about online content marketing as if focusing on marketing content is a new thing.  It isn’t.

The focus of TV advertising is the content (the commercial).

The focus of a billboard is the content (the ad).

Sure there is also media buying and targeting, but the main focus is the content.

The idea that content is at the core of your marketing isn’t new.  That is why companies spend so much money coming up with clever catch lines and entertaining ads (like during the superbowl).

The thing is that most ad agencies and marketers are great at content marketing. It is just the wrong kind of content.

Content Needs to Shift from Product Centric to Value Centric

The focus of the content is what has to shift.  In traditional marketing the content is based on what will best sell the product.  Having been involved in consumer goods advertising I know that for a TV commercial to sell a product it has to provide some product benefits, feature the product for a certain amount of time, etc.

There is a formula for the content, based on 60+ years of experience and millions if not billions of dollars spent on testing ads.

Here is a crazy idea – maybe online marketing and social media marketing should be tested before posting it?  Imagine if online content went through the copy scoring process before it was posted?

The point is, we’ve had many years of experience in copy writing and testing for traditional marketing.  But the problem isn’t a focus on the content.  It is on the type of content.

Social Media Marketing Should Focus on Giving the Consumer Value

This is the real difference.  The focus is now on an entirely different type of content.  In traditional marketing the goal is to showcase the product.  In social media marketing the goal is to offer something of value to the customer.  Value can be entertaining, informational, resourceful, etc.

The key difference is that the focus of new media is on creating content that people actually want (and that also sells products).

This is the challenge.  Agencies and marketers need to adapt their thinking to consider how their marketing efforts are inherently valuable.  What content do people actually want?

If you think about traditional media, the TV show was the entertainment that people wanted.  The newspaper articles are what people want.  The ads are the cost of getting the material.

In new media marketing your marketing has to be the part that people want.  And it also has to sell your product.

Agencies have to Change the Focus of the Content

This is the result of what Seth Godin calls permission vs. interruption marketing.  In interruption marketing you pay for the right to interrupt me.  This is traditional marketing.  Your goal is to use the interruption time effectively.

In permission marketing the consumer gives you permission to connect with them because you provide interesting/entertaining/valuable content.  This is the same concept that Bob Gilbreath talks about in his book “The Next Evolution of Marketing” or Marketing with Meaning.

The real challenge of this is that agencies and brands have never been the entertainers.  The TV producers and newspaper writers have been.

Months ago when I interviewed HubSpot about their marketing strategy, Mike Volpe, VP of Inbound Marketing at HubSpot told me that they initial hired great writers for their content strategy.  They hired people with editorial backgrounds vs. marketing backgrounds.

Really, it should be Product Centric vs. Useful Centric Marketing (But

that doesn’t sound as good)

The fact that content matters isn’t new.  The kind of content that matters is new.

And it will take time to nail the content.  This is what TV commercials looked like in the 60′s.  It was a minute long (this one is also hysterical).

Typically there are one of two problems: either they don’t try to ever make a sale (or compel you to take an action that will eventually lead to a sale) or they try to sell directly.  The thing is that both of these problems have the same solution.

Sounds contradictory, I know.

Here is the thing. If you are a business owner and you want to get some sort of results from your social media marketing (which hopefully you do) you have to clearly plan for it.  You have to know what you want and build a plan.  “Just trust me, we’re talking to people”, doesn’t get business results.  Impressions don’t even guarantee business results.

On the other had overt and direct selling doesn’t work well either.  Unless you are offering a high value discount/deal/coupon it is unlikely that direct selling will work on social media.  Repeatedly pitching your business doesn’t work.

The reality is that purchasing is a process.  Most people don’t immediately buy upon learning about something.  I heard at a search marketing conference that people typically visit a site 5.6 times before purchasing.  This means that going for the direct sale won’t likely work, not only because of social media, but also because it takes more than one visit.

The Key to Success  – Creating a Conversion Path

The key to success in marketing isn’t to go for the sell right away.  It is to create an initial entry point where you can build a relationship that will eventually lead to a sale.

This is probably best illustrated with an example…

You Tweet about an upcoming webinar with a sought after industry expert who will discuss a relevant issue.  Your followers sign up for the webinar.  Prior to sign up you ask them some lead-qualifying questions.  After the webinar you follow-up with a sales call.  You also add them to your email marketing newsletter.

Now you have three different contact points (sales call, email marketing, twitter) that you can work to drive a sale.

For a consumer marketing company it could look like this:

A Facebook ad that offers an incentive to become a fan.  The fans enter a contest and provide their email address.  You can market to them (new products, offers, deals, etc) through email and your Facebook relationship.

In either case you can see that the initial touchpoint on social media is used to create a slightly deeper relationship that can then help close the sale over time.

Getting them in – Offer Something of Value

In order to get them in to your initial stream you have to offer them something of value.  A webinar, a special report, an e-book, a white paper, a coupon, a discount, a sneak-peak, the options are endless.

The key is that you are asking for something from them – information so you can build a deeper relationship and improve the likelihood of a sale over time – and in return you must offer them something of value.

Consider what you can offer that might be of value in return for the opportunity to deepen your relationship, stay top of mind and eventually get the sale.

Ultimately, Think of Social Media as a Funnel

Social Media, and Internet Marketing is about getting your clients to make incremental committments that allow you to deepen your relationships.  Sophisticated internet marketers know the value of a fan, a follower or a person on their email list over time.

In order to get value from your social media marketing efforts you have to have a clear plan and know the steps that will lead to the sale over time.  It isn’t about ignoring selling or aggressively selling.  It is about slowly and carefully bringing them down a path of incremental steps that ultimately lead to a purchase over time.

Have you Had Success with This?