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/smm-uk-foursquare-study-with-jimmy-choo/ http://www.johnswolfe.com/socialmedia/smm-uk-foursquare-study-with-jimmy-choo/#comments Sun, 04 Jul 2010 20:00:08 +0000 admin http://www.johnswolfe.com/?p=318 This is another in a series of reports about the Social Media Marketing 2010 conference, held June 17 in London.

Can social media turn online “buzz” into offline sales?

That was the question on the mind of Matt Rhodes of FreshNetworks.com, a London social media agency, when the company was invited to create a campaign for Jimmy Choo training shoes in the UK.

Matt Rhodes of FreshNetworks explains the agency’s Foursquare campaign for Jimmy Choo.

It was the retailer’s first foray into social media and officials were a bit apprehensive.

The agency took about six months to build an online community for Jimmy Choo, and blogger engagement. (They also went on Mixi in Japan.)

“We figured we had 200,000 people in the UK engaging with us,” Rhodes said. “But we wanted to find a way to make people enter stores.”

They didn’t want a flash mob. They decided to give Foursquare a try. The geo-local application involves individuals “checking in” at local establishments, posting updates and earning theoretical badges or titles like mayor.

In April they launched “CatchAChoo” on Foursquare. They invited Jimmy Choo fans to participate in a “trainer hunt” by “following” trainers and visiting the stores they did. If they were able to decipher clues and then be the first one at a particular store to approach the trainer with “I’ve been following you!,” they would walk away in a pair of Jimmy Choos. (They also promoted the event through Facebook, Twitter and the website.)

At the store being used that day, shoppers were greeted with champagne.

By the third week of the contest, one out of every 17 people on Foursquare was following Jimmy Choo. (There are an estimated 10,000 Foursquare users in London.)

The agency noted 5,000 mentions on Twitter and, at a peak, a Jimmy Choo store had 35 people stop in.

But the big surge came through old media.

When the Evening Standard newspaper dedicated a half-page of content to the contest, shoe sales skyrocketed 33%, Rhodes said.

British Vogue, Yahoo News and Reuters then picked it up and the reach of “CatchAChoo” spread.

As for the promotion, Rhodes considers it a success.

“We got people to do stuff, go places and buy shoes,” he said.

His recommendation? Have a plan.

1. Identify who is saying what and where.
2. Work out how you will define success.
3. Experiment and work hard to get successful engagement.
4. Have a clear process for measurement.

When “CatchAChoo” concluded, the retailer held a cocktail party for participants. (A summary video of the campaign is on YouTube.)

Of course, they engaged attendees with a questionnaire – and created an email list for future promotions.

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.

Offer points or badges or mayorships to users when they frequent shops and restaurants. Provide on-the-spot coupons and specials. Have people “check in” when they arrive at the airport in a new city or at a conference. Look up on the app if a friend is nearby and is available for drinks.

Let folks know where you are – and know where your friends are.

Foursquare has a relationship with the Wall Street Journal in New York City.

Foursquare seems to be the perceived leader, with its gaming approach. It recently received notoriety because of its affiliation with the Wall Street Journal when the newspaper alerted “members” in Times Square of the May 1 terrorist threat as the situation unfolded.

Gowalla, Loopt and Where are also on the map. (Pardon the pun.)

But there are others, many others: Aka-Aki, Belysio, Bliin, Blumapia, Blummi, Brightkite, Buddy Beacon, Buddycloud, BuddyMob, BuddyWay, buzzd, Carticipate, Centrl, CitySense, ComeTogethr, Dodgeball, Dopplr, Duzine, EagleTweet, FindbyClick, FindMe, Flaik,Footprint History, Foyaje, Fraced, Friend Mapper, Friends around me, Friends on Fire, GeoMe, GeoSpot, GeoUpdater, Glympse, Google Latitude, gpsME, Grindr, Groovr, GyPSii,ICloseby, iPling, Ipoki, IRL, Jentro, Junaio, LightPole, Limbo, Locaccino, Locatik, Locatrix, Locr, Locle, Loki, MapMe, Map My Tracks, Match2Blue,MeetMoi, Meet Now Live, Microsoft Vine, Mizoon, Mobilaris, MobiLuck, Mologogo, Moximiti, My Adventures, MyGeoDiary, MyGeolog, Myrimis, myWingman, NAV2US, Now Here, Nulaz, Ovalpath, Plazes, Pocket Life, Pownce, Quiro, Qlique, Rally Up, Rummble, Shizzow, Skobbler, Skout, Sniff, Snikkr, Socialight, Sparrow, Spot Adventures, SpotJots, Stalqer, The Grid, Toai, Tonchidot, Toodalu, Tooio, TownKing TownQueen, Trackut, Trapster, Tripit, Troovy, Tweetsii, Twibble, Twinkle,Twittelator, Unype, VicinityMatch, Waze, weNear, Whereis Everyone , WhereYouGonnaBe, Whrrl, Zhiing, Zintin (Thanks http://bdnooz.com)

Twitter and Facebook also have location capabilities, and, of course, Google has to get involved, with its Google Latitude.

A screen shot of Google Latitude

For the user, there is the fun of another “connection,” the element of playing a game for points, and the potential for serendipity as one wanders through a city or neighborhood. They may also get a coupon for a free latte or an e-coupon.

If combined with user reviews, the application can help individuals make more informed decisions on the spot.

“Checking in” can also be an extension of Twitter and Facebook, answering “Where you at?”

To marketers, knowing customers’ preferences, patterns and enthusiasm can make or break a campaign.

With a small “carrot” – a symbolic badge, a 10-percent coupon or frequent-customer discounts – a business can accumulate an exponential amount of data on its clientele. It can then exploit that data through its own marketing or, to conspiracy theorists, re-sell it to one or two or 100 firms.

In any event, if the objective is to “know your customer,” geo-based marketing can provide instant information.

News organizations are also getting involved. Many are looking for ways to expand their reach, interact with sources and provide targeted news.

However, does this element of social media have legs?

Informal conversations with social media users (but who would not consider themselves “enthusiasts”) revealed skepticism about “publicizing” their GPS whereabouts.

The under-25 demographic looks at the idea as social networking run amok. Not really fans of Twitter, they see geo-based apps like these as an attempt by someone who is trying too hard. The gaming comes across as shallow and a distraction.

As for an “older” demographic – say, women in the 30s or 40s – one word immediately came to mind: “Stalker.”

This can’t be overstated. These women did not like the idea of someone knowing where they were, where they are or where they are going. (“Creep Central,” one could say.)

The issue of security also comes up with where users aren’t.

It doesn’t seem unthinkable for someone to target a home for burglary knowing that the owner is across town or in another city.

Second, the sample also pointed out that, if they want to have drinks with someone, they will call that person. “Checking in” and showing up in a bar could lead to meet-ups with people that the individuals might not want to see that night.

The potential savings through coupons or specials is a plus, but these individuals already know what the specials are for specific days or nights and thus they perhaps hold less appeal.

Yes, users can limit their profiles, turn on or turn off the app, pick their friends and share only information they choose.

But that could require a lot more thinking than users care to exert – and could make geo-based programs more of a fad than the next social-media “must.”

Groves, the founder and CEO of Social Marketing Conversations, explained that social media can’t – and shouldn’t – stand on its own in organizations.

It needs to be integrated into the entire marketing/pr strategy and, because it involves interaction with customers, deserves a more prominent spot at the table – media that is social.

He cited Dell’s and Pitney Bowes’ efforts, along with Tom Dickson’s Will It Blend? website for Blendtec.

Steven Groves

The first part of his talk looked at one aspect of customer behavior: the screen.

One screen is the movie screen. Movies were seen by 14 billion customers worldwide in 2009.

The second screen is the TV. Ninety-nine percent of U.S. homes have one. Gaming consoles and BluRay devices now allow you to access the Internet on the TV.

“You can have NetFlix now on your Wii,” he said. “It’s really the way to watch TV. I’m about ready to give up my Cox cable.”

The third screen is the computer.

The last screen is the mobile phone.

“Mobile will grow faster than the desktop,” Groves said. “There are some impressive devices, like the iPhone and the Droid.”

He mentioned a Morgan Stanley Mobile Internet Report from December that suggests that 20 percent of Internet traffic is coming from mobile devices and that that figure will continue to grow.

“We need to figure out how to connect to them,” he said.

The new iPad – or “sofa computer,” to Groves – has the potential to change the mix.

He added that marketers also need to look to the BRIC – Brazil, Russia, India and China – for growth.

“There is only 23 percent penetration of social media but they are huge markets,” he said.

The Bravo case study

Integrating brand content across the screens is one challenge.

The Bravo cable television network, a division of NBC Universal, gets it, Groves said. He credits Ellen Stone, Bravo’s senior vice-president for marketing, for exploring ways to bring everything together.

“They want to use social media around (the network’s) ‘forward-leaning’ approach,” he said. He explained that ‘forward-leaning’ means they want active viewers, not ones who lean back.

They put out content like “Real Housewives,” “Top Chef” and “America’s Next Top Model” on the second screen, the TV.

On the third screen, Bravo invites fans of its shows to learn more through its website, Facebook, and Twitter. Use of a show’s hashtag on a Tweet may win you a prize. Bravo “Talk Bubbles” allow viewers to share questions with hosts immediately after shows are aired. Shows are also available “on demand” through NetFlix.

Bravo also has gone mobile – with games, Bravo Guides (showing where its reality-show stars eat and shop), Foursquare check-ins, and ringtones.

But it doesn’t stop there. Groves noted that offline Bravo is selling cookbooks, wine and clothes, offering tours of the stars’ local haunts, and creating board games and magazines for the brand.

“They can have the actors wear certain clothes and then have 500 shirts for sale in the Bravo store,” he said. “They are extending the reach to expand the brand and message.”

What Bravo is doing is the “perfect” case study, he said.

“Give customers what they want, when they want and as much as they want,” Groves said.

New paradigm

Companies need to understand that the characteristics of commerce have changed.

“In the future you will own less of your brand,” Groves said. “It will be co-owned by your customers.”

Your brand will be determined by what others are saying, plus your own messaging. That puts the onus on the company to connect with customers in as transparent a way as possible.

“And it will be 7x24x365 and global,” he said. “And you will need to listen.”

Companies are hiring individuals who simply “listen” for complaints. They are using Twitter to provide quick responses.

Some are also engaging companies like Sentiment360 to monitor the tone of comments about a company and generate a monthly report on trends, Groves said.

A lot of companies fear losing control of their brand, getting a bad reputation or acknowledging product flaws, he said.

“But the real risk is not listening to your customers,” he said.

Once you launch a social media effort, you need to manage it, audit results and make adjustments.