Think Social Media Is a Panacea for Small Business? Get real!

751 LinkedIn connections.
1,443 Twitter followers.
410 Facebook friends.

Those are my stats as of this morning.  Trust me, I know there are countless people whose numbers make mine sound limp.  And trust me again, I know the numbers don’t mean much for anybody if the connections aren’t real.

Collecting followers, fans and friends is an ultimately fruitless hobby unless something substantive happens after the point of “accept” or “approve”—or unless something substantive had already happened before the request was made.  Even as my numbers organically grow in my social networks, the most valuable online relationships are the extensions of real-life, three-dimensional, old-fashioned human contact.

As social media has taken hold in the business world, there’ve been those voices touting its use as a panacea for small business sales and marketing.  Of course, those voices typically follow their definitive proclamations with “act now” offers for webcasts, seminars or the like.  Fact is, social media is an amazing tool, but it’s not fairy dust.  Just like everything else, it takes strategy, hard work, skill and savvy to be effective.  There’s no secret formula for this stuff.  No matter how much we log on and rack up online connections, if we’re not making one-to-one connections with other people in substantive ways, it’s all for naught.

No matter all the social media, it still matters how quickly—and kindly and effectively—you respond to customer requests and concerns.  It still matters that you are in direct touch with what’s going on with your clients, hearing straight from them and nurturing the relationships established long before anybody had a LinkedIn or Twitter account.

Here’s an example…  I’m a Comcast customer for wireless Internet service, and as a work-from-home professional, I rely on that connection for just about everything I do. When a felled tree took down our line and thusly our service, I scheduled the repair with Comcast, and waited patiently during the lovely three hour block of time in which they’d promised to arrive.  As the minutes ticked down, I grew wearier and tweeted my frustration.

In no time, I had direct messages from a couple of Comcast’s Twitter watchers, stating they could help, etc.  Yet still I waited for the service technician to come reestablish the line.  When the fellow finally arrived—well out of the prescribed time window—he explained in very human terms that “there’s only one of him” and that one of him had a very full day.  In spite of the immediate response of the Twitter brigade, it was only the feet on the street that mattered.

And frankly, I much more appreciated the realness of the on site technician, than the false hope of a couple Tweets from unseen people I’ll never meet. That technician has since been out to the house to remedy another issue, and we have had positive interaction that represents Comcast well.

My point? (and I do have one…)

Yes, social media is real.  Undeniably real.  It has an ever-evolving, ever-growing role in the business world, and business people are well-advised to embrace it and determine the best ways to incorporate it into their overall strategies.  However, it’s essential to maintain interpersonal contact—great service and solutions, face-to-face meetings, phone calls, personal correspondence—to forge the kind of relationships that will sustain for the long term, through the ups and downs, over time.

I just checked my email; I’ve got three new LinkedIn connection requests:  #752, #753, #754.  But that won’t mean much if I never relate one on one.

Thanks!

Too Busy To Blog? Tips for Small Biz Bloggers

I knew this was how it was going to be.

I knew there’d be seasons in which I’d get so busy I’d have to let my own blog take a backseat to my paid writing gigs.  As a matter of fact, that’s why I’d been a writer without a blog for years; I’m usually blessedly busy doing this stuff for other people who deposit money in my account for the effort.  So when I finally committed to starting my own blog—this very one you’re reading—earlier this year, I made my peace with the reality that busy seasons would come and I’d have to prioritize accordingly.

Though I’d prefer to never have a lag between postings, it’s reasonably acceptable in my case because…

• This is self-governed blog.  Though I’m committed to writing for my readers, I’m not obligated to any sponsors, advertisers or clients who dictate my schedule on this endeavor.
• I’d established a good root system from the get-go, so the blog’s continued to be read even without fresh posts for a few weeks; I truly knew I’d be back on track as soon as my workload allowed.
  
• The blog itself led to some of the new work that, by necessity, diverted my attention. Thus, my goal with this blog—to share credible ideas that help small biz people and open professional opportunities for me—is already being achieved.
  
• Paying clients always come first, in a tie with my sanity.  There’s only one of me, so something had to give over the last weeks!

According to Harper’s Index this month, 94% of all existing blogs have not been updated in four months.  That’s a lot of cyber space going to waste.  That statistic makes my four+-week hiatus seem relatively harmless.  But what about your the blog for your business?  When’s the last time you posted?

In these weeks that I’ve not written on smallBizBigtime, I’ve actually been blogging faithfully on behalf of clients for whom it would not be reasonably acceptable to not post in a month, let alone four.

For branding and business blogs, it’s not okay to be among the 94% that are out-of-date and stale.  When you consider the reasons and strategies for blogging for your business, it becomes abundantly clear why you should commit to consistency.

A business blog will help you…

• Establish credibility: become the authority/the resource/ the idea generator/the facilitator, become the company that’s quotable and ‘repostable’
• Raise profile and visibility: create fresh content to bolster web presence (SEO), use content throughout the social web to become a regular and welcomed fixture in customers’ lives, cross-pollenate with other sites/pages/online networks
  
• Inform, educate and motivate: engage customers, inform in a timely fashion, invite interaction, earn the right to sell, make special offers
  
• Craft your message, build your brand: be your own publisher, establish your own look and content style,   communicate within your own guidelines…to your own, targeted audiences
  
• Maximize content: heighten other PR/marketing/promotional efforts by reusing content in other forums, ensure consistency of message, increase frequency of messaging, offer content to other media outlets (with assured attribution)
  

Obviously, there are many great reasons to not only start a blog, but to commit to one.  If you haven’t begun one yet, weigh it seriously before you dive in.  Are you prone to be momentarily motivated or intermittently committed?  Do you rarely have enough to say for your monthly newsletters?  Do you loathe writing?  Are you perplexed by social media in general?  Then maybe a company blog isn’t for you.  Or perhaps you should delegate the task to another employee or hire the help of someone like me to get you going.

And if you do take on a blog, give at test run of a month (or two) before you promote it to the world, to make sure you’re going to be able to create great content on a regular basis.  Also note, there’s no rule about how frequently you must post, though “once a quarter” just won’t cut it.  Start realistically; slow and steady will win this race.

And if you’ve already got a blog but haven’t posted in a long while, consider whether or not to pull the plug.  Few things look less professional than a four-month old blog on your website.  If you aren’t ready to abandon ship, consider investing to get the help you need.

I’ll soon be starting a new blog on behalf of a client.  To get her rolling, I’m going to set up the blog—the account creation, the name, look and customization.  Then, I’ll write one post a week for her.  She can supplement as she has time or feels led throughout the week, but she’ll always be assured one healthy post per week.  We’ll be able to push that content out through her Facebook fan page, LinkedIn group and her company’s website.  I’ll be writing in her style and voice, so the brand will be enhanced in tandem with her credibility.

This approach will cost her more than the total do-it-herself plan, but she knows full well she likely wouldn’t always do it if it were up to only herself!  But she believes a blog is another great way to take her small biz big time.

Thanks for reading today, and I promise it won’t be another four weeks until we meet again!

Is Your Biz a “Lust” or “Must”? Use Social Media to Convince Customers They Need What They Want or Want What They Need

Windshields.  Cupcakes.

In the gravel-spattered roadway of life, windshield fix-it shops exist to meet the needs of drivers.  A cracked windshield could pose a danger; it’s imperative it be repaired.  Thus, this service is pretty much a “must.”

On the contrary, cupcake bakeries offer optional fare.  There’s really no “must” about a$3, 3-bite confection; this delectable is truly a “lust.”

“Must” businesses often focus on advertising’s frequency more so than its creativity, knowing their messages must align with the steady stream of potential customers’ needs.  When that cracked windshield happens, customers will zone in on the most prominent, present advertiser and call the shop that’s top of mind.

Promoting a “lust” business—goods or services that are truly optional in the course of life—is a different endeavor.  Generally, these businesses have to be creative in order to get attention and very convincing to motivate consumers to make the next move.  The art is to turn a “lust” into a “must,” and this can be challenging, especially in a beleaguered economy in which consumers are trying to stifle their desires for trifles.

How can a “must” business such as windshield repair earn and hold position as the first-dial when customers have a need?  How can a cupcake purveyor elicit the budget-conscious to part with three hard-earned dollars for such a fleeting pleasure?

Here are some ideas.

Meet your potential customers where they are.
In person or online, find ways to be meet and greet the people who may love your product or service.  For example, consider my present fascination with cupcakes.

I recently attended a networking event at which gourmet cupcakes were served.  Though I’d normally ration my cupcake intake, these delights had me revisiting the dessert table two…okay…three times.  Let’s just say I had my cupcake and ate yours, too!  And frugal as I try to be these days, I gotta admit I’d plunk down $3 for such yumminess.  This is a new “lust” I’ve personally decreed a “must.”

However, I’ve since searched for the cupcakery online, to little avail.  They don’t use Twitter or Facebook, and their website is a one-page digital business card.  They’re highly praised on Yelp! and other review sites.  But if I could follow these bake masters on Twitter, I’d easily be lured by daily updates about fresh flavors.  If they had a Facebook fan page, I’d sign up without hesitation and rally pals to join as well.  This business “met me” at the event, but how can I ever really get to know them now?

Offer incentives to motivate response.
Even if you succeed in being where your customers are, you’ll likely need to do something to be heard over a cacophony of competitive marketing messages.  You have to stand out from the pack, differentiating your company by motivating consumers to take action.  Value savings, buyer advantages, special status, premium service—no matter what you offer, you need to show customers there’s something in it for them.

Have you ever gotten something that looked like a coupon, yet it had no discount or saving offer?  I get those duds every now and then in the stack of auto-generated coupons that are printed at the the end of my grocery store check-out or even in those Valupaks that are mailed to the house.  Why would a business invest to be included in the Valupak or in the store coupon program and not give potential customers a nudge? No matter how great your biz may be, customers will ere on the side of “discount” or “incentive” if given the choice.

The aforementioned cupcakery contributed a buy-one-get-one-free coupon in the swag bag for the event I attended.  That was a smart move, as that offer provided the extra nudge I’d need to go from ‘event groupie’ to ‘paying customer.’

Be consistent to stay ‘top of mind’ and ‘front of the line.’
Frequency and positioning matter in this message-a-minute world.  That’s why advertisers run repetitive campaigns with brain-burning jingles, celebrities show up for flashing cameras at every premiere and charity event and media moguls chime in on all the issues or tweet their most fleeting opinions 20 times a day.  Businesses or personalities that want to have last word often ceaselessly strive to stay top of mind and hold position at the front of the line.

For small business owners, being consistent doesn’t have to also mean being outlandish, brash or intrusive.  It’s simply a matter of being present on a regular basis.  Customers who are busy with work, family and life in general are constantly rattled and riddled with marketing messages.  Any business or service provider that becomes a voice of consistency can earn and hold top position in customers’ minds and benefit from being first in line when those customers need what the business has to offer.

That’s the beauty of social media.  Customers elect to participate in social media, and they exercise their right to select connections within those networks, sites and forums.  A business has an open door to create ongoing relationships, illicit interaction and become part of their customers’ daily lives.  The key is to be the steadfast voice in a sea of hit-or-miss messages.  That’ll help make a “lust” product a “must” purchase.

Again, if that newly beloved cupcakery were to join in the conversations on Twitter or Facebook, I’d definitely welcome them into my circles.  However, if I don’t hear from them soon, there will be another flavor to steal my attention.  I’ll get busy and diverted, and I’ll inevitably file the fact that I loved those cupcakes deep in my overloaded brain.  It’s in their court to remind me how wonderful they are.

Whether promoting something people want or need, social media, mixed with a strategic blend of traditional advertising and marketing methods, can be the icing on the (cup)cake for small businesses.

More bite-size ideas coming soon…
Thanks!

Can You Make Money on Facebook, Twitter or Other Social Media Networks?

“Has anybody figured out how to make money on here?”

I’ve run across people asking this question on Facebook and Twitter quite often, and the topic even comes up frequently offline.

Of course, this question isn’t coming from casual passers-by who’re just interested in reconnecting with their pals.  The question of social media monetization belongs to the business people, the entrepreneurs who’ve logged on with blatant or subdued hopes of cashing in.  And the question seems fair enough.  After all, we’re spending lots of our time and energy on these sites.  Will there be a pay-off…ever?

My quick answer is “no and yes.”

If the motive is the fast buck, good luck.  I’ll risk repeating myself to say that social media is not an outlet for ceaseless strings of 140-character classified ads.  If you deluge followers and friends with nothing but direct selling messages, you soon won’t have many followers or friends.  Granted, that tactic can work when playfully carried out by the occasional local pizzeria or bakery (hourly updates about what’s fresh out of the oven go over nicely with hungry Tweeters, I suppose) or retailers offering exclusive deals (i.e. – Dell’s successful Twitter sales pushes).

Nonetheless, status is usually done for gratis.

I liken the approach to social media to that of public relations.  In PR, we earn trust and presence with constituencies by bringing forth quality information and ideas on a consistent basis, offering pertinent and timely responses/input to current issues and substantively participating in communities.  PR is about building reputation, and try as we might to assign exact dollar signs to the value of a great reputation, it’s pretty much priceless.

Still, it’s fair to presume a business with a great reputation would have sales that reflect its positive market perception.  The dividends may not pay out in immediate, directly trackable and measurable ka-ching as would an advertising or direct marketing campaign, but the long term value is immense, impactful and important.

Social media lets companies be part of communities.  Social media extends business’ presence into customers’ lives.  It generates and facilitates conversation, connects friends old and new and adds dimension to what people know about a company. Ultimately, these things build attraction and affinity with a loyal audience that will take action (get a free white paper on this topic) by making purchases.

There will be pay-off, yes.  But it will take time, patience and ongoing nurturing.

A recent Forbes.com article also delved into the idea of cashing in on social networking.  The article features an interview with Brett Hurt, founder of Bazaarvoice.  Bazaarvoice offers user-generated review platforms that can be incorporated directly into brand websites.  The business model contends that people go to brand websites to buy, thus it’s beneficial to incorporate social networking at the point of purchase.  Hurt likened participating in Facebook and Twitter to attending a cocktail party, with the punchline being that “nobody shops at a cocktail party.”

Very true.  When people are mixing and mingling in their favorite social network, they probably don’t have their credit cards in hand.  But they are trading ideas and information with friends and deepening relationships in real, though often subtle, ways.  And in the business world, there are some pros who have the knack for working cocktail parties to their great advantage.  A few biz cards collected at a networking event can lead to paying gigs down the road.

My friend and colleague Paula Swift, owner of Prosper, Business Image Consulting, is a perfect example.  Just like Paula can work a cocktail party or networking event, she can work her presence on Facebook and LinkedIn.  When she makes a connection online, she’s savvy to take note of the person’s occupation, and if things align, she simply takes the effort to inquire further about what they do.  And now and again, that little extra effort pays off.

Paula recently reconnected with a school friend on Facebook and noted he works in the promotional merchandise business.  She followed up by inquiring about ideas for promo items for one of her clients, just to keep in mind.  Months later, Paula knew who to contact when a specific opportunity arose, and the entire transaction occurred within Facebook.  Paula’s old friend from school landed an order, Paula was able to charge her agency commission, and thus, using Facebook really did pay off.

The great thing is, it happened organically.  There was no intense hounding, spamming or pelting sales messages.  Paula noted a professional synergy with a Facebook friend, the friend responded, and when the time was right, both benefitted from the connection.

Another phenomenal example of organic, social networking business combustion:  Help A Reporter Out, the brainkid of Peter Shankman.  Shankman is an NYC PR guy.  He has many clients and knows tons of reporters, thus he launched a Facebook group to connect media in need of information with sources who could supply.  All this is for FREE, mind you.  The group exploded past Facebook’s allowable numbers, so Shankman shifted the burgeoning entity to his own website.  In just a couple years, this group—still FREE for participants—is a profitable venture.  Shankman sends three emails a day, chock full of media leads (you really should sign up!), with an amusing, paid ad at the start of each email.  Shankman started by giving…and continues to give, but he’s certainly gained in the process.

That’s great news for Swift and Shankman, but what about the question at hand…for YOU?  Is there any money to be made here?  No and yes…

No, social media is not your marketing microwave, your online cash machine for new biz.  You’ve got to invest for the long term and be willing to give to get.  Yes, social media can nurture reputations and create and enhance relationships that pay out dividends in the long term.  It’s not the be all, end all.  Small businesses are well advised to invest in comprehensive marketing, including SEO, advertising, direct communications, traditional PR and in person networking and sales.

Growing a business offline or on, it’s still true that the harder you work, the more successful you’ll be.  That you can count on.

Thanks!

How to Create & Maintain a Facebook Fan Page

A Facebook fan page can be a great tool for your business, personality or endeavor.  It serves as a fun way to update interested parties about what’s new and what’s news and is especially effective since so many people are already turning to Facebook as a means of staying connected.

Before you create a Fan Page, make sure this is the right option for you.  Sometimes people confuse Facebook fan pages and groups.  I’ve blogged about this topic before (click here to read that post); it’s my most read blog entry, as people search for this information every day.  Here’s a quick recap.

Create a Facebook fan/brand page if
* you want to build buzz around a brand name or create interest/support of a product or service.
* you want to convey information to a core group of people who show interest in your specific topic.
* you want a place for comments and feedback, yet with less focus on interactions and discussions.
* you prefer to guide the tone and content of the page as it represents the person, company, product or service being promoted.

Examples of pages:
* Musical artists, celebrities or public personalities
* Businesses or brand names
* Products or services
* Events – for purposes of promotion, not planning

If you’re certain you need a fan page, here’s how to start it and make it work for your business.

Once you’re logged into Facebook, go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php.  You’ve got to be authorized to create the page, and filling out the preliminary information is self-explanatory.  Just be sure you’re making proper selections from the get-go so you don’t have to fret with corrections after set up.

Populate your page with useful, interesting information.  Post some photos.  Add a few wall postings.  Don’t treat this page as a static profile.  For a Facebook Fan Page to be effective, it needs to be consistently injected with fresh material, news, images and information.

After the page is created and populated with good content, invite people to become fans.  Whether you tap into your existing Facebook friend base or invite people not aligned with you within this website, all Facebook fans will have to first be Facebook users.  However, considering the ever-growing numbers of Facebook users, this shouldn’t create too much of a hindrance.

Obviously, by inviting people you already know to be “fans,”  you’re really tapping into your network of “friends.”  Eventually, you’ve got to grow from having friends to having true fans; heightened success with your page will take place when you see people you don’t even know participating.

So just how can you attract people beyond your existing friend base to become your business’ fan?  Here a a few ideas.

• Ask your friends/fans to ask people in their networks to join.  Sometimes it’s really as simple as making the request, and friends will rally.
• If you have employees, encourage them to help spread the word and support the page as well.
  
• Run Facebook ads.  Facebook ads can be very affordable, easily managed and nicely targeted to reach interested parties.  The ad can offer a direct link to the fan page, to encourage quick, simple affiliation.
  
• Add links to your Facebook page to existing communications, i.e. – email signatures, other profiles, websites, etc.
  
• Offer an incentive to fans via a membership drive.  For example, I’ve seen musicians offer a free download for all fans once the page reached a milestone number of fans (“help me reach 500 fans by the end of this month, and everyone gets a free download of my latest song!”).
  

And just why would you dare drive traffic to a Facebook fan page and not your existing website?  The reality is, you need to meet people where they are, and right now they are on Facebook.  This is about building relationships with your constituencies, not hard line, direct selling.  Think of this as great bonding time!

Your fans are logging into Facebook to connect with friends, message each other and share information.  By capturing fans on Facebook, you then have the opportunity to message them (with good discretion, please!) about other news, links and products.  The fan page becomes a meet-them-where-they-are message board, and via that ‘board’ you can ultimately offer links to send them wherever they need to go to get the full scoop on your business, product or brand.

Long term. it’s up to you to keep breathing life into your fan page.  Personally, I’m a fan of many things of Facebook, but I rarely hear from the companies, artists or products I’ve chosen to acknowledge.  Never assume your fans will keep coming back to your page on their own.  Artfully remind them!  When you post something new to your fan page, send a quick, single topic message to all members; feel free to add a live link to your main website if you so choose (some people will click through).

Even though we may now rely on click of mouse as much as word of mouth to share recommendations and information, we still value the input and perspectives of family and friends to find out about great things.  With the innate interconnectivity of Facebook, friends and family can help convert others into new fans.  And that’ll surely help small biz go big time!

Thanks!

PR in a Web 2.0 World: Tips for Small Biz

I have seats on both sides of the aisle as a member of the media and a PR person.    What a fascinating view, seeing firsthand how it works from either direction!  And now that view is bathed in the light of the social web, it’s as if the glow of a computer monitor is spotlighting the many aspects of PR in this evolving age.

From either angle and in this light, I see clearly that the more things change, the more they stay the same.  The basic truths for earning coverage have really not altered that much, though the modes of communication and the face (and faces!) of journalism have.

Does “Spray & Pray” Pay?
The ol’ “spray and pray” PR approach hasn’t gone anywhere.  Ten years ago, the ‘spray’ of mass press releases came in the form of unsolicited junk mail.  Today, it comes as email spam.  Either way the ‘spray’ typically does not pay.  It’s rare thing to earn notable coverage from a faceless, graceless mass message.  (Thankfully, deleting emails doesn’t add to landfills, so at least PR2.0 is more environmentally friendly.)

Mind you, this tactic can work a bit like a big direct mail/email campaign; when you send to thousands, even a 1% response rate seems passable.  And if you’re pitching a general interest topic to a media list encompassing journalists of like beat and like audiences, this is not a wholly unacceptable approach.

For example, I’ve done PR for home products for years, and it’s often worked very well to send new product announcements en masse to New Product Editors at shelter publications and home-related media outlets.  I send just what those editors need in these instances when the warm-fuzzies of a targeted pitch is simply not necessary.  They get a new product for one of their new product round-up stories, I get coverage for my client and all is well.

If you must go “mass” with a PR message, consider using a wire service.  Though there’s added costs involved, the mechanism of a wire offers vast distribution without you or your company being invasive.

How to Reach Your Feature Goals
However, if you want to earn feature coverage, you should never rely on a mass message.  With my ‘both-sides-of-aisle’ view, I know this to be true.  As a PR person, I understand how daunting (and time-consuming) it is to try to get into the minds of specific journalists, producers, reporters, bloggers.  Yet pay-off comes only when I’ve taken time to get to know the person to whom I’m pitching.  Now that I’m also a columnist and blogger myself, I can tell you even a little effort to indicate genuine connectivity can make all the difference.  “Delete” is a common response I give to emails I didn’t ask for, from people who don’t know me and vice versa.

New Challenges Reaching the Media to Connect with Readers
These days it’s hard to find the right person to target.  In the past, I worked with journalists within a segment so consistently and for such a long time that I established very valuable relationships, as well as real friendships.  Even if a contact switched jobs, I knew their whereabouts and altered my communications accordingly.  Now many of those contacts have been laid off from their corporate media houses and have started their own blogs or taken on freelance assignments.  What was once a narrow and deep river of media has become a sprinkling of lakes and ponds.

Likewise readership has divested as well, and you’ve got to know where to find the loyal, responsive followers.  These days, PR efforts may be better spent with the top  three bloggers in a category, because those bloggers have devoted readers, rather than on one traditional media outlet. As I write for my blog and column, it’s inspiring to know that my message is being received and read, even if my numbers aren’t near the circulation of traditional media outlets.

It’s Still a Matter of Good News
The quality and newsworthiness of the story conveyed is still the crux of PR success.  As a PR person, I never want to wear out my hard-earned welcome with a media contact with a story I feel is not worth the time or effort.  PR is not a cloak for an advertising message.  And now that I’m receiving pitches from others, it’s interesting to discern what’s really worth pursuing and what’s simply corporate jargon in disguise.  If there is notable, important news to be covered, reporters probably won’t fret too much about how personalized the pitch was; a good story is a good story.  Period.

New Measure of Success
Anyone still measuring PR success solely on total circulation figures or advertising equivalencies is missing the boat.  Big circulation numbers may not translate into responses like the smaller (and often indeterminate) numbers of a topic-specific blog potentially could, and advertising is such a moving target that it’s just too arbitrary to find comfort in assigning PR coverage a specific dollar-value (but that’s always been true!).

For anyone who’s wondered if PR was still viable and necessary in our Web 2.0 market, I assure you it is.  There is still an art to crafting a newsworthy message and conveying that message to the world.  Pitching is still required to earn coverage, and not just anybody can do that.  The skill of defraying impact of negative news and communicating in times of crisis is still essential.  Integration of PR into the core of any marketing communications effort bolsters the strategy and thinking and helps organizations get into the minds and hearts of its constituencies.

For small businesses, PR can be an effective and cost-effective means of getting third-party endorsement, raising awareness and carving a presence with key audiences.  Tried and true, here and now—PR can help small biz go big time!

Thanks!

Want Visibility & Credibility for Your Small Biz? There’s No Marketing Microwave

I’ve spent my career explaining—and explaining again—the difference between advertising and PR.  I’ve got the short answers down pat.

“We pay for advertising.  We create and control the message and place ads where we want them.  Advertising increases our visibility.”

“We do not pay for editorial coverage; we earn it through our PR efforts.  PR helps us gain credibility.”

It’s helpful to blend advertising and PR into a communications plan, to utilize paid messages to get attention and earn editorial coverage to build reputation.  Of course, the ability to do both (and do them well) often becomes a matter of budgeting, creative amperage and people power.  I’ve seen so many potentially powerful campaigns wither because the money was tight, corporate was antsy about allowing a message to be shared, and the staff was already strained under normal workloads.

That’s why social media is such a compelling component in today’s message-making.  Social media merges the abilities to be visible and credible.  It can offer great frequency and reach of message like advertising, yet it can also allow messaging to integrate into the daily lives of audiences, like an extension of a quality PR campaign.  However, because social media is so, well, social, it enables companies, personalities and brands to mix and mingle in deeper ways, to not just speak for themselves but to speak with the audience.  One connection really does lead to another in social networking.  Reach a few and you could ultimately reach thousands, all through the art of conversation.

Mind you, social media’s not a panacea for the aforementioned impediments.  It still requires investment of time, energy and money.  Social media is not a marketing microwave oven, a better, faster, cheaper means of telling and selling.  It is a slow bake, but its potential reward and long term results make it well worth while.  And over time, you can see the benefits of being both visible and credible swell into opportunity.

How can you be visible and credible in social media?  Here are some ideas that’ll help your oven reach temperature.
Be a listener online. Join groups on LinkedIn, get a Twitter account and starting following others, and peg some blogs you can benefit from reading regularly.
Evolve from listening to contributing. Respond when people ask questions,  Acknowledge things you like, and let your presence be known.
Create your own forums. If you see a need, create a group on LinkedIn or Facebook,or start lobbing questions to folks on Twitter.  Engage others, not to pound them with your message but to hear and learn from them.
Create quality content. When generating original material, think like your audience and offer information and ideas of substance.  You will be proud to draw attention—and be visible—when you know what you’re offering up is truly worthwhile and credible.
Be the stalwart. Imagine all the companies and brands cranking up their social media ovens right now.  Imagine where they’ll be 6 months, a year from now.  These things take time, and you’ll be incredible visible and credible when you’re still present, reliable and viable down the road.  As others fade, you’ll be the one worth coming back to again and again.

Thanks!

New Stats on Small Biz & Social Media – Are We Telling or Selling?

What’s the real scoop on the usage and effectiveness of social media for small business?  Between information from a couple of recent research reports and real life scenarios, it seems small biz is using social media primarily for telling—not selling.

A new white paper based on a survey of 151 small businesses using social media (sponsored by Sage and conducted by AMI-Partners) states that 64% of respondents spend most of their time in social media sites answering customer questions.  57% ranked networking activities as their most prevalent, while 44% indicated “reference/education” as their most dominant activity.

Only a few businesses indicated they were using social media sites for direct sales.

These stats hold true for Lars Hundley, gardenpreneur of Clean Air Gardening, an online retailer of eco-friendly lawn and garden supplies.  (Hundley, pictured jumping like nobody’s watching above, was not part of the AMI survey.)  Because his is a web-based company, Hundley has long incorporated digital social media tools into his marketing and promotions and utilizes them daily.

“We’re not generating any measurable sales from Facebook or Twitter,” explains Hundley.

Instead, Hundley and his team have found social media to be most useful for customer engagement and product education.  The company’s Youtube channel is a simple medium for providing tips and how-to videos, and its various topic-specific microsites are hubs for customer Q & A.  The latter has proven to be an “awesome technique” for facilitating interaction.

While social media is second nature for a web-savvy business owner like Hundley, many other small biz people have been slower to dip toes into the water.  The April Discover Financial Services Small Business Index (a national, random survey of 750 small biz owners) revealed that 38% of respondents now report being part of at least one online social site, up from 22% in October 2007.  However, less than half of the 38% have used social sites for business purposes.

Likewise, it’s taken longer for them to feel comfortable using the tools.  The AMI study found that 65%  of respondents had grown more at ease with social media in the last year and that those who’d been engaged longer (over 3 years) were more open to social media use for the future. Obviously, usage over time fosters familiarity and increased skill.

(Of course, social media tools are moot points for businesses that don’t even have websites.  In the April Discover Financial Services index, 62% of respondents stated they don’t have websites for their companies.  Really?!)

On the flip side, there are some fun, inspiring stories floating around the blogosphere about businesses owners who’ve proven to be real social media mavens, integrating techniques into their companies’ inner workings or successfully instituting promotions that bring in the bling.  In particular, there’s the much-buzzed story about the Naked Pizza Twitter promo.  This New Orleans pizza purveyor did some sniper shot microblogs just to see what would happen, resulting in 15% of a day’s receipts coming straight from tweets.  Not too shabby…

Overachievers aside, it’s clear that social media use for small biz is on the rise across the board.  As for the effectiveness of that use?  Only time will tell…or sell.

Thanks!

Attention Small Biz – What’s Your Social Media “Win”?

Games don’t go from being favorite pastimes to big business by having ambiguous rules and indeterminate winners.  Nobody’d show up for the World Series if there wasn’t a vested interest in a specific outcome:  one of the teams playing is gonna win.

And so it is with social media.  I mean, let’s be honest.  Most of us aren’t motivated to be here—online, using these tools—simply for the challenge of articulating thoughts in 140 characters or less.

So why do you do this social media thing each day?  Why do you devote any portion of your day to tweet, blog, post, update, add, forward, link, bookmark, connect or click?  What’s the “win” for you?

Surely, or hopefully, you and I are here for specific reasons, for clearly defined gains.  Why suit up for the game if you’re never going to look at the scoreboard?  I contend that if we haven’t named our “win” in all this, we may as well spare the effort and go get a new pastime.

A few weeks ago, I blogged about having “one question” to help guide business decisions.  The whole idea is to identify the one thing you’re aiming for, and let everything else fall in line with that singular focus.  I learned this approach years ago from a client, and now I find myself using it with new accounts, especially as we’re incorporating social media into overall marketing plans.  Without focus and defined purpose, social media can easily be nothing more than a time zap (just like any other tactic in a marketing program).

Can you state how social media tools are helping you answer the “one question” for your business?

For any plan or proposal I create for a client, I begin by stating goals and objectives.  That way, it’s always clear that the details to follow flow from the goals, and we can be assured that everything we do—including social media—is done in context to achieve the stated objectives.

When it comes to social media, we need to be in it to win it.  I don’t mean that in a ‘high-fiving,’ competition-crushing kind of way.  I just mean you’ve got to know why in the world it’s worth it.  Of course the “win” for your business may be something very different from the “win” for mine.  The main point is that we’ve all got to know when the scoreboard is reading in our favor, lest social media become just another pastime.

Thanks!

Five Elements of Social Media – Free White Paper

When it comes to social media, do you ever feel like you’re blowing a kazoo in the middle of a marching band brass section?  Or do you feel like your occasional trumpet calls get quick salutes but no lasting results?

As with any marketing effort, social media takes strategic, sustained creativity to get attention, draw attraction, spark affinity and build an audience that will ultimately take action.  We call it “earning all A’s,” and it’s what it takes to make the grade.

I know firsthand that the “A’s” can be moving targets.  What might work during one season (or, heck, one day!) may become passé the next.  Just when you think you’ve got ‘em in your court, somebody else, with just as inviting a court, may come along.  If it’s not one thing, it will be another, and as the ever-evolving world of social media ebbs, flows and grows, those of us charged with the task of leading communications are in constant target practice.

However, it helps to keep our eyes on the A’s—to stay focused so that we go in order and  stay within the borders to effectively connect.

If you need to begin at, well, the beginning, I’m happy to give you five: “Five Elements of Social Media,” the white paper I helped pen for Social Media Connection.

Download here:  Five Elements

This handy guide helps you conquer feelings of information overload by whittling down the process into bite-size pieces.  And you can refer to it anytime you feel like you’re drifting from all A’s down to the B-team.

So put down the kazoo, and get your A’s in order.  It’s time to take small biz big time!

THANKS!!