Laurie Griffith Buczek, Intel‘s platform manager and social media strategist for digital marketing, acknowledges that the technology company and its 80,000 employees worldwide are more wired than the average person.

“Employees are probably connected more on social media today than through traditional ways,” she told the audience at the Sept. 23 Marketing Technology Summit in Phoenix.

Intel has embraced social media to engage customers, advance its brand, empower employees and recruit future workers.

Here are some of the ways:

• A YouTube channel
• A LinkedIn profile (with 47,000 employees listed)
• A Facebook page (which 163,263 people like)
• Twitter accounts.

On Facebook you can find pages for: Intel Core i7; Discover Intel Global; Intel Pakistan; Intel Retail Edge Program; Intel WiMAX, and many more.

Here are just a few of the Twitter feeds: @intel; @intelnews, @Intelinside; @IntelOpenPort; @IntelSoftware; @JobsatIntel; @Intel_Education; @IntelScoop; @IntelEvents; @IntelUK; @IntelXeon; and @Intelanz.

Buczek said that Intel has a program called Digital 500 that trains employees on how to become brand ambassadors for the company in social media.

She describes the corporation’s approach:

Intel is also known for its blogs.

They began external blogs in 2004, with most involving researchers or technologists, or being geo-based around a specific facility, she said.

Intel is now looking to do more to offer customer support through blogs, she said.

“It’s a large part of the reason people come to Intel.com,” Buczek said.

Attention is now being focused on constructing a website that understands visitors’ behavioral patterns.

“Then we can personalize that experience for our customers,” she said. “You build a base-level experience … then you are able to stack on the module experience (like Pandora, Amazon or Netflix).”

Intel is also continuing to build out its own intranet, with social-media features like YouTube for employees to use. Already there are 13,000 users groups formed around products, communities, or work and free-time interests.

“We asked, ‘How could social media make a difference in engaging employees and encouraging collaboration?’” she said.

Krause, vice president of marketing and communications for the Lisle, Il-based enterprise, discussed the change that has occurred since April 2009 at the Sept. 23 Arizona Marketing Technology Summit in Phoenix.

Molex is a global supplier of interconnect products. Its engineers design and develop electronic, electrical and fiber optic interconnects to switches and applications.

One could say it followed the “social media playbook”: introducing The Connector blog, an informal conversation separate from the Molex website; a YouTube channel; a Facebook page; and a Twitter account. It created a company profile on LinkedIn.

Here’s how he describes the approach:

Molex works with its partners and distributors to “broadcast” each other’s messages. They connect, re-Tweet and refer each other’s customers to the information.

“Together we are taking our messages out to the marketplace,” Krause said.

It’s working, he said. With all of the external links and some SEO, Molex has climbed up the search rankings from fourth or fifth to first or second, he said.

Krause emphasizes that doing business today is different than how he use to interact with customers.

The lesson? Identify ways to add value to your relationships with customers.

Data Doctors founder Ken Colburn gave 200 small-businesspeople a lesson in Social Media 101 in an Aug. 28 talk for Greater Phoenix SCORE.

The key takeaways from Ken Colburn’s recent talk on social media: “Use Facebook” and “Social media is free.”

“Facebook is now the third largest country in the world, behind China and India,” he said. “It has more than 500 million people using it.”

If one considers that the average user has 131 “friends,” that’s a lot of people you can reach via word-of-mouth, he said.

Using “word of mouse” is also a great form of marketing because it’s free.

“Using social media costs time, not money,” Colburn said.

The founder of Data Doctors, a computer-repair and data-recovery firm with stores in 11 states, spoke to 200 small-businesspeople Aug. 28 for Greater Phoenix SCORE.

The topic was Social Media 101, an introduction and how-to on engaging customers.

Colburn advocates a Facebook-centric approach.

“Facebook is great for customer feedback,” he said. “Let’s face it, it’s probably more conducive to engaging your customer than your website is.”

In fact, instead of directing customers to its website, Data Doctors funnels them to its Facebook page.

“Promote your Facebook page on everything,” he said. “Tell folks to ask questions on Facebook. That’s where connection occurs.”

Technology allows businesses to use a “like” button to connect customers to Facebook. These are your “brand apostles,” he said.

The key is to “engage.”

“This is not a marketing exercise to promote yourself,” he said. “It’s a place for conversations and relationships.”

Colburn said it’s the same as your approach at a networking event.

“You don’t go up to people and start talking about yourself,” he said. “It’s meeting people and engaging in conversations of mutual interests.”

If you’re not going to listen to your customers, don’t use social media.

If Facebook is where to engage your customers, Twitter is where to reach future customers, Colburn said.

“Twitter is the place to get information and make new connections,” he said.

There is a world of Tweeters to search, follow and interact with. Ask questions. If your subject is dry, make it fun. But if you want to be an authority figure, don’t be goofy.

His company monitors use of the phrase “data recovery” on Twitter. Someone then answers the comment with a Direct Message with an offer to help.

“It costs time, but not money,” Colburn said.

Similarly, Linkedin is a spot for employee recruitment. It is also a wellspring of subject authorities.

“Linkedin skews older,” Colburn said. “It has a neat section with what customers are asking.”

If you have answers, your visibility rises, he said. People are asking for your help each day

And it’s fast. Colburn posted a question on insurance for his business twice on Linkedin. Within two days he had 40 responses.

“What required months of research before was cut to a fraction of that time,” he said.

Designate a 15-minute segment each day as Linkedin time, he suggested.

Businesses can also take advantage of “free” marketing through Foursquare.

The location-based social media invites its 3 million users to “check in” at establishments for badges or points. Businesses can market to these potentially loyal customers by offering specials.

Adjacent businesses can also get involved, as coupons show up for the stop’s neighbors.

“If you eat at Panda Express in Mesa, it shows a special on computer services at our nearby Data Doctors location,” he said.

Colburn said Foursquare was useful during a recent trip to Washington, D.C. He was looking for a place to eat. If you Google “D.C. restaurants,” the list is unwieldy.

So he clicked on Foursquare and looked at “tips” posted by users for the adjacent area. One for a nearby bistro read that the mac and cheese was the bomb.

“I went there and had the mac and cheese and it was the bomb,” he said. “And I don’t even like mac and cheese!”

If you are unsure of which social medium to use, take a look at Ping.fm.

In addition to engagement, small businesses need to have a plan to listen and measure.

Tools like Addictomatic, SocialMention, Google Alerts (for the entire Web), Google Realtime (for social), and Monitter allow companies to find mentions of the firm and industries.

“Monitter also allows you to get customers within a 50-mile radius,” he said.

In addition, he suggests looking at MuckRack, a site that follows what journalists are working on (“Listen to them and then offer help on stories they’re doing), and Listorious, which lists experts in specific fields.

“Check on your own company and your competitors,” he said.

For measuring, investigate Bit.ly (which shortens URLs in tweets for free but also shows how many people clicked on your link and from where); Facebook Insights (shows breakdown of fan base by gender and age); Google Analytics (to track visits to your website); HowSociable (a brand’s social report card).

Notably absent from Colburn’s talk – which one questioner noted – was discussion of YouTube.com.

He said he considers it “not entry level” for small businesses.

But he does encourage its use.

“Start generating video content,” he said. “Maybe you’ll be like the ‘United Breaks Guitar’ guy, whose video now has 9 million hits and he’s got a record contract.”

]]> http://www.johnswolfe.com/socialmedia/facebook-centric-strategy-for-small-businesses//feed 0 http://www.johnswolfe.com/socialmedia/promoting-your-business-in-the-virtual-world/ http://www.johnswolfe.com/socialmedia/promoting-your-business-in-the-virtual-world/#comments Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:19:03 +0000 admin http://www.johnswolfe.com/socialmedia/promoting-your-business-in-the-virtual-world/

This image of a “virtual” Times Square reinforces the idea that businesses today need to operate in the “real” world and the “cyber” world.

When I talk with clients about the importance of an online strategy, I still see some reluctance. It’s time-consuming, there’s a cost involved, it’s unclear if it’s effective, and our customers really aren’t online are some of the refrains.

But those opinions ignore reality; there is a cyber world out there and, like it or not, your business is in it already.

Consider it “space”: people are in there sharing information and recommendations, on Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, blogs, consumer forums, and user-review websites. Don’t you think you should be there?

Companies large and small need to have a strategy for competing in the virtual world, just as they have a strategy for the real world. If they devote attention to how employees answer the phone, where to distribute ads or flyers, and what the office or storefront looks like, they also need to do that online.

There are four key online segments for any business. Some may be more important to you than others, but each is significant.

1. Listening: It is very easy for individuals to express opinions today and publish them for wider distribution than just the table at the coffee shop. To protect your brand, you need to know what’s being said, who is saying it and what traction it may be gaining. This can be done by an employee using search or, for larger firms, a provider like Radian6 or Synthesio. While critical comments can be demoralizing, they create an opportunity to win back fans by solving problems. Interacting with them is more beneficial than ignoring them.
2. SEO: Ted Turner once explained his secret to success this way – “Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise.” In 2010, advertising can be often be equated to how your business shows up in user searches. If you Google your brand and you’re not on the first page, you need an optimization effort. This involves website design, titles, keywords and a host of other factors. Don’t overlook this fundamental necessity: You probably rely on Google or Yahoo or Bing; so do your customers.
3. Engagement: There has been some discussion that corporations today don’t even own their brand. Customers do, and they can make it or break it through their comments. Imagine if your company could harness the allegiance, emotions, suggestions and megaphones of your customers. Would that make a difference in a positive way? The virtual world affords easier ways to get immediate feedback, identify and hone new products or services, and build brand loyalty. Rather than expect individuals to visit your website, companies need to go where they are – like Facebook or Youtube – and interact with them. And use tools like email and Twitter to solicit feedback and – most importantly – engage customers in a positive way.
4. Thought Leadership: In a world drowning in information, people thirst for knowledge. Every company – from the cell-phone provider to the extermination service – has the opportunity to educate customers on trends, innovations, regulations and challenges. Done in a timely and succinct manner, a company can extend its brand, become a trusted resource – and increase sales. If you’re not doing it, someone else is.

Of course, one size does not fit all. Most companies may find only a few of these “channels” to use, based on their market, their product or service and their capabilities.

Before your company jumps in, it’s vital to identify your objective, know your target audience and its preferences, and select the “tools” (social media, email, SEO etc.) that will be most impactful.

To sum up: Don’t forget about the “real” world. Just don’t ignore the “cyber” one.

What’s an advantage of an in-store experience over one online?

The knowledge of a salesperson, a chance to quickly see a variety of products, conversations and serendipity.

T.M. Lewin, a major UK clothing chain, saw an opportunity to become a “thought leader” on men’s fashion in London through the Internet.

“We wanted to see ourselves as the authority on business dress and give insight to customers on products and fashion,” head of director marketing Naomi Paget told the audience at the June 17 Social Media Marketing conference in London. “We also wanted to educate them and excite them, and introduce them to our other products.”

Over six months the company created an online community for men’s business clothing, OfftheCuff.com. It also has a Facebook page for the feature.

The plan was to leverage its expertise through sharing information and producing informative videos. A popular one is “How to fold a shirt.”

“We wanted to replicate the level of service in the store to the customer in the living room and around the world,” she said.

One element was securing knowledgeable bloggers.

T.M. Lewin asked 16 individuals across several areas of men’s fashions – i.e. suits, ties, shoes – to become company bloggers for the website.

These experts would offer sartorial advice and invite questions from readers.

The responses were written by the expert, creating “conversations,” Paget said.

“We have four new blogs each week and one poll a week,” she said. “We try to keep it topical.”

The key was to have the content lined up well in advance, she added.

Social media – particularly applications like Twitter and Foursquare – are so new that there are not a lot of examples of campaigns and effectiveness.

So individuals and agencies are blazing trails, trying new things and seeing what works and what doesn’t.

Andrew Walker of Thin Martian (@killdozer on Twitter) and Steve Parker of Cohnwolfe had such an experience.

Steve Parker discusses marketing “The Anvil” DVD on Twitter.

In January 2009 the pair was challenged with marketing DVD sales of the 2008 movie Anvil, an English spin on the “Spinal Tap”-style rockumentary.

Often such campaigns are like the movie release: a buildup of several weeks to a launch date. Then market attention switches to the next DVD release.

“We wanted a campaign with a longer shelf life,” Walker told the attendees at the June 17 Social Media Marketing conference in London.

The idea: Create a petition to get the unknown band to play at Glastonbury, the annual summer concert in Glastonbury, England.

Next, the pair developed a triangle around that central idea. The three sides would incorporate social media, the mainstream media and real-world experiences.

The objectives:

1. Compare the value of broadcast marketing and “conversations.”
2. Establish relevant metrics.
3. Define best practices for Twitter marketing

They chose Twitter (and the handle @anvilmovie) because:

1. It allowed them to brand it with a message attached
2. It could create traction because of the two-way nature of communication
3. The more interaction, the more traction
4. Interaction would drive more unique people to see their message
5. The “self-selecting” social media model (only viable customers are engaged and participate) suggested that Twitter’s reach could be equivalent to premium ad slots in other media.

They created a “TOTS” standard: Twitter Opportunity To See. They would take the number of followers, multiply it by potential re-tweets, and then multiple it by the total individuals who might see the re-tweets.

It allowed for an estimate of “potential reach,” Walker said.

With the objectives set, the PR team was ready to promote the band, with the dreamed –of concert appearance six months away.

They tweeted announcements, trivia and “spottings.” They also followed their followers. They identified hashtags being used that referred to the movie. They direct-messaged the users of the hashtags.

“You want to identify and follow the key influencers in your sector,” Parker said. “If they re-tweet you, you’re golden!”

As the campaign to get the band to Glastonbury heated up on Twitter, the agency reached out to the mainstream media, pitching story ideas related to the group’s “tragic story” and the fan support online.

The campaign culminated with the agency delivering a real experience to the fans, in the form of concerts leading up to Glastonbury.

“In the end, DVD sales exceeded expectations,” Parker said. The band also signed major recording contracts.

Their Twitter dos and don’ts:

Do:

• Be honest. They would tell followers “I’m with the PR team” and not try to pass themselves as the band.
• Actively use hashtags, follow others and engage in conversations.
• Don’t overinvest in strategy. “Twitter is tactical, organic and short-term,” Parker said.
• Remember, you are creating a media “channel,” which is a long-term vehicle whose objective will evolve over time.
• If you get it right , expect 50% participation.

Don’ts:

• Twitter campaigns don’t always extend to Facebook and YouTube.
• Promotions involving prizes are less effective.
• You still may not get the mainstream media’s attention.
• You may not get the re-tweeting you expect.

The effort was an ultimate success, Parker said.

“We believe this got more traction than traditional advertising in terms of scale, reach and awareness,” he said.

The crowd was enthusiastic, the insights valuable and the accents a bit different but the 2010 Social Media Marketing event in London on June 17 offered unique insights into how UK professionals perceive digital media.

The day-long affair in Oxford Circus was organized by Luke Brynley-Jones, co-founder and director of Influence People, and featured a rapid-fire cascade of 15 topics and speakers.

The topics ranged from the emergence of “nicheworks” and understanding individual influences to case studies involving social media promotions, to concrete tips to be more effective on websites, Twitter, and YouTube.

A crowd of 200 at the Cavendish Conference Centre in London.

One of the first speakers was Richard Sedley, director of customer engagement for cScape, which engages customers through surveys.

He focused his remarks on the psychology of persuasion, not to manipulate people in an unethical manner but to better understand behaviors and influences.

The ideas could inspire a customer to comply with a request and then repeat the behavior.

The approach features three segments:

1. Objects
2. Kairos (timing)
3. Design

“Objects are the things you pass on to someone, why people connect,” he said. These can be physical objects or information or entertainment or a courtesy.

One of his perceptions is that people will only pass on an object if it makes them look good, he said.

The biggest social object now is the World Cup. “We’re interested in what others think,” he said.

The best object is storytelling. “There’s no defense for an opinion,” he said.

Anyone can tell a story. Show a photo from a band’s last concert and talk about it. Share an opinion on a first, a last, a best or a rarest. Describe a sequence of cause-and-effect, A leads to B. People tend to listen.

Marketing is storytelling. And the good elements to a story are a passion (why should your customers care), a hero, an antagonist who challenges the hero, awareness (when the hero learns how to overcome obstacles) and transformation, when the hero accomplishes his goal.

“The trick is to use other people’s stories for realism,” Sedley said.

Richard Sedley discusses the psychology of persuasion.

Kairos (timing) is everything.

He offered a couple of examples.

In one, the object is a bag of chips. If a person buys it from a street vendor and starts to nibble on the chips, it’s not a social object.

“But buy it in a pub, and open it outwards to the people around you, it becomes a social object, something to be shared,” he said.

He then showed a photo of an alley near a nursery. Passers-by were using it as a dump.

The nursery’s first sign asked people “please do not dump your rubbish here.” It didn’t work.

The second sign warned that litterers would be prosecuted. That didn’t work.

The third sign threatened emotional blackmail: “Please don’t dump your rubbish. Children play here.” It didn’t work either.

Finally, the nursery put up a sign with a map to the town’s dump. It worked.

“Social psychology reveals that there’s a key moment to influence behaviors,” he said. “Timing is everything.”

Persuasion works on individuals when they are in a good mood and when they can take action, he emphasized.

Last, Sedley urged marketers to design a process that encourages the behaviors you want.

“Facebook does this with its ‘Like’ and ‘Keep in touch’ buttons,” he said. Of course, the social network can use this information to help the user – and better define his or her profile to advertisers.

Sedley is not sold on Foursquare just yet; the location-based network uses “badges” to reward participants. In his opinion, these badges do not qualify as social objects.

How this all relates to social media is that individuals use networks like Facebook and Twitter for “mental shortcuts.”

“It’s social proof,” he said. “If you are given evidence that something is a good thing, it’s easy to pass on.”

For marketers, it is important to understand the idea of reciprocity: If you give something, you are likely to get something back.

But watch the context.

Sedley posed two scenarios: Fill something out and you get this white paper. Or, give the white paper and then ask for the individual’s contact information to provide future white papers.

“You are more likely to get someone to fill out the information through the latter,” he said.

The key thing is to design behaviors you wish to encourage.

“Effective communication is the exchange of a social object at a particular moment that can be predicted through behaviors,” Sedley concluded.

That was the message of Katie Van Domelen, social media manager for Off Madison Ave, a Tempe adverting firm, at the May 20 Online Marketing Summit in Phoenix.

“Most companies think their customers start at their website,” she said. “But brand interactions are messy.”

The traditional funnel looks like this: Awareness, Consideration, Purchase Intent, Purchase and Loyalty.

The 2010 funnel has this form: Engagement, Awareness, Discover Product, Search for Additional Information, and Purchase.

She noted the differences in understanding the campaigns of two automakers.

For one, a friend alerted her to a funny video: the Swagger Wagon featuring rapping parents.

Then she was watching TV and saw a Toyota commercial for the Siena minivan with the same parents. Intrigued, she went to the Toyota website and clicked to the Sienna. The key message was “Daddy Like,” the humorous close of the commercial.

The web page had a button with a link to a YouTube channel with more videos featuring the family and an interactive feature for Facebook – minivanimals. Nice, the social media expert thought.

She then saw a Ford commercial with “Dirty Jobs” star Mike Rowe. A fan, she went to the Ford “channel” on YouTube but … no Mike.

There were other videos but no links to other Mike Rowe videos, she noted. No links to a Facebook page or a website. She did go to the Ford page on Facebook but there was no mention of Mike Rowe.

“They employed Mike Rowe but it could have been much more,” Van Domelen said.

She eventually found a Ford microsite featuring “Super Duty” trucks with Rowe but it didn’t have a way to easily share the content with friends via Facebook or YouTube or Twitter.

“To me, this reflected that Ford had different people in different ‘silos,’” she said. “Different people were in charge of each segment of media.

She said a brand has many touchpoints.

“Companies see different segments,” she said. “The consumer sees it all together.”

Each touchpoint needs to be able to “stand alone, but stand together.”

She added that this “real life” includes mobile. If you’re going to have a website, you need to know how it works on a smart phone.

She recounted an experience during a recent visit to Dallas.

She and a friend wanted to go out for dinner. The concierge gave her the names of some nearby restaurants.

On her phone Van Domelen called up Yelp and found a review, which was positive. But she wanted to see a menu. The website wasn’t set up for mobile. It didn’t work.

She found a different restaurant on Yelp. At its website, she saw she was eligible for a special if she signed up for an email list. She did, she got an immediate email, which was easy to read on her phone, and got a free pita.

She also checked into the bistro with Foursquare and there’s a tip with a coupon, she said.

She urges companies to follow a two-step approach:

1. Map your customers’ usual journey
   

   Ask them through surveys how they found you and listen. Track them through web analytics to know where they came from. Test your approaches with site-specific discounts and special codes.

2. Shape your customers’ journey
   

   Organize links in order of importance. Cross-link your networks. Leverage promotions across all media and offline, in in-store promotions.

It’s also important to know your customers. If they are comfortable sharing photos or videos, you can engage them with a fun feature like the “Mad Hatter Yourself” tool on the “Alice in Wonderland” Facebook page.

If they like trivia, consider a game like the one Southwest Airlines introduced on Facebook to promote travel to California.

“Guess what?” Van Domelen said. “If you’re playing, you’re being marketed to.”

She said companies can take different approaches to web marketing: promoting the company, promoting a product or service, or promoting an individual or personality. She believes creating a “character” for a product or service through social media is the most effective.

The panel (from left): Brandie Feuer, Becky Armendariz, Morgan Durant, Jay Baer and hostess Carey Pena of Channel 3.

It was a full house Tuesday night at the Mission Palms in Tempe to hear the Arizona Interactive Marketing Association panel on the impact of social media in business.

Some highlights:

Jay Baer, President, Convince and Convert, one of the nation’s top bloggers on the subject: He cited the example of Vitamin Water (http://vitaminwater.com/), which is now directing customers to a fan page at Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/vitaminwater). The company used it to invite “fans” to suggest a new flavor, running a contest as “crowd-sourcing.” Baer encourages his clients to think before they act – what do they want to accomplish? How will it be social? He also believes that companies need to wrap social media into their marketing and sales departments, instead of treating it like a unicorn in the corner. Study your customers and see how they use social media and look for ways to connect with them. A tortilla company is boosting sales by sharing a daily password on Facebook and Twitter that gives customers $1 off if they say the word to the cashier. The “oral coupon” is a way for businesses to assess its return on investment for social media.

Rebecca (Becky) Armendariz, public relations specialist at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center: Banner also uses Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/BannerHealth), although there are some limitations to its use because of privacy concerns. But the hospital did use the page to alert employees and visitors to the tragic death of an ER physician on New Year’s Eve. Armendariz said it became a memorial to him, with a lot of interaction. It allows for “virtual town halls” with employees. She also emphasized the need to include social meeting planning in the marketing calendar.

Brandie Feuer, director of interactive marketing for Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas: One of the hotel’s success stories with social media was a “flash mob” that performed a spontaneous dance in the middle of the casino. The dance to a unique song (“PHamous”) has totaled more than 1 million views on YouTube. Feuer added that the music is now a ringtone and high schools have asked to use it at their dances. She said PH has had some quirky hooks for attention, like an employee pumpkin-carving contest and some photos with red cups. The difficulty in promotion is realizing that most of the celebrities or high rollers aren’t too excited about publicity.

Morgan Durant, senior manager of corporate communications for US Airways: In an industry facing serious profit challenges, airlines have not had a lot of additional manpower to delve into social media, said Durant, who flew in from Philadelphia just before the blizzard hit. He said airlines know that customers are having conversations about travel, but the decision is how and when to participate. He does follow some online forums and jumps in with his full name and title to address complaints or misinformation about US Air. The company’s first foray into the field was with Twitter (http://twitter.com/usairwaysnews). It announced the return to flying in October of Capt. Sullenberger, the pilot of the plan that crash-landed in the Hudson River in January 2009, and then reported on it in “real time” by using TwitPics with its tweets. Durant is exploring how to use Twitter more to provide information like flight statuses to customers.

AZIMA meets on the second Tuesday of each month at the Mission Palms. The topic for the March 9 meeting is “Is Social Media a Waste of Money?” with William Leake, CEO and Founder,
Apogee Search.