Alphablogs

I just participated in an interesting online seminar put on by My Venture Pad, featuring three people in the know about social media for business: Steve Mann, Jeremiah Owyang and Seth Godin.

Here are my notes.  You can also find more material, as well as a replay of the whole seminar, here on Steve Mann’s blog.

• what’s social media? Jeremiah: easy to use web tools that lets anyone share ideas online
• media can’t be social, people are social
• the power of information has shifted to a wider, broader base, as a result, communities are sharing
• Seth: 100 years ago, mass marketing was born: impersonal ads to people who didn’t want them. The idea that you can buy attention is new - and is disappearing again. Now, we need marketing from 1880 or 1592 but not marketing from 1960
• we have to get out of the idea of marketing = advertising
• Steve: we need to drive customer intimacy; want to be closer, more connected to our customers, want to co-create with customers. E.g. customer recommendation system
• Question: What social media monitoring system should a business use? How do you keep track of people talking about you online?
• Jeremiah: Not much out there right now – only free and haphazard systems like Google alert and very expensive large scale systems
• companies should think about employing community managers and social media strategists; it’s a PR expense that can replace advertising expense
• Question: what about bogging
• Seth: before you blog, think about the people (stakeholders), your objectives, and your marketing strategies. Where does a blog fit in?
• the problem with marketers as we know them is they don’t necessarily bring humility - but now, with social media, they need it. How much can you do for the people with whom you interact?
• in the digital world, the more they do for their users, the more they get
• the enemy online is not piracy, it’s obscurity
• Steve: we’re going to do whatever we can to earn attention. People who earn the attention are the ones who monetize
• the credibility factor is extremely important in driving the brand
• customers want a thick pipe to provide feedback
• build a community of power users who influence and support one another
• research shows: prospects who engage in community interaction at the beginning are more likely to convert
• Jeremiah: The future is in the distributed web - wherever customers decide to go (as opposed to where you want them to be)
• how do you get started? Hard costs aren’t high. Soft cost: labour involved in interfacing with customer
• figure out - what kinds of tools are your community using? how do your customers use your web participation ladder?
• Question: why do blogs matter?
• Seth: if you go to social media to “get new business” the old way, it won’t work very well
• internet is a great way to keep in touch with people you already know but not a good way to “interrupt” people
• if you want to get to know new people through the web, what are you giving them? (don’t be an insurance salesman - people won’t want to do business with you)
• blogs matter because everyone can talk now, anybody can say anything about any topic. That means we have given a global voice to everyone. That changes everything
• now word of mouth is huge
• if you’re a small company, this is tremendous
• e.g. Joel on Software, a small company, has managed to influence big companies
• his writings help customers
• it’s about conversation. Don’t be a narcissist.
• problem with traditional CEOs blogging: they are self involved, they can’t write, they have a hard time being generous, they don’t acknowledge other people
• you need to get kindliness and candour into your vocabulary
• Steve on co-creation: if we invite customers on the types of content that we should provide, then the customer takes ownership over the problem and the solution
• make it a relevant and delightful experience for them, as well as entertaining
• Jeremiah: Microsoft rewards experts/customers
• much better chance to build a new product if you allow collaboration.
• have customers join in internal conversations
• how do you reward customers? Give them access to information, let them look behind the curtain, have their name attached to the product, they’ll defend your product
• Steve: management needs to be changed because of this, this is a new management style
• Seth: what about PR, and how can PR be transparent?
• PR can mean managing your company so that people talk about you in a certain way
• PR can mean publicity. You hammer on the media until they write about you
• but that doesn’t work in social media
• the easiest PR is e.g. when you make a video that is irresistible, when something is really newsworthy
• e.g. Apple iPhone, they made a product that people became obsessed about and then people started blogging. Very little marketing from Apple
• the most important a marketer can do is to refuse to promote a product that’s not worth it
• that’ll raise the game of production
• Question: what about negative experiences that are being blogged about?
• Jeremiah: have someone on point, that person’s job is to create a process: what’s the best way to have a conversation about it online?
• always respond and respond with passion. Just let them know that you hear them even if you can’t do anything about it.
• and of course not all conversations are constantly positive
• sometimes there is more value in the negative comments, helps build better products
• research on customer loyalty: if complaint is handled well, this increases customer loyalty
• Jeremiah: the power has shifted. What power? The power of trust.
• earlier, companies talked at customers. Now, social media allows people to interact with each other about a product
• Forrester research: opinion of a friend: 83% trustworthiness. Online review by a blogger: 30%
• Question: are there companies that should stay away from social media?
• Seth: most organizations should stay away from social media
• if it’s just an add-on, if it’s not in your DNA, don’t do it
• there are industries where it’s inappropriate to be transparent: monopolies, the CIA
• if you can’t do it well, don’t do it
• Steve: the millenials think differently and social media is perfect for them
• but companies need to understand how this works
• Question: what about non profits?
• Seth: Looking at the top 40 non-profits. All of them are the same compared to a few decades ago, except for 3. It’s the opposite for corporations.
• it’s a slow moving industry that resists change tremendously. They have a very conservative governing body.
• they need to start with measurable projects that are likely to succeed. Don’t do the tempting stuff because you don’t want to “burn” your customer
• Question: examples of companies that are doing well with social media?
• Threadless - all their t-shirt designs are done by their customers [note: I immediately went there and spent money. Their system sure works on me!)
• it works because they’re doing this because they believe in it. Generally, a small company like this has a better time with social media
• Dell’s ideastorm
• Last question: What’s the first thing to remember when thinking about social marketing?
• Jeremiah: let go
• Steve: evolution not revolution
• Seth: be remarkable