Join us to hear David Murray discuss “De-Mystifying Social Media and How to Make Social Media work for Your Business.”
Date: Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Time: 7:30 AM — 9:00 AM
Ravinia Club
2 Ravinia Club Drive
Suite #100
Atlanta, GA 30346
David Murray (@DaveMurr) is the Social Web Communications Director for re:group (www.regroup.us), a fully integrated marketing and communications firm in Ann Arbor, MI and member of SEFF.
David has created fully integrated digital and social media campaigns in the health care, franchise, nonprofit, and both B2B and B2C sectors. David is a national speaker on digital communications and social media best practices. He is a published author on the subject.
Come, learn, and share your ideas with the group.
Bring your questions, too!
Advanced Reservations Are Required***
Deadline for Reservations is Friday, August 5th at 3 PM. Non-Members of SEFF and Guests Pay $15 per Breakfast Meeting.
May 24 – 26, 2011 – re:group will be heading to New York for Blog World and the Social Media Business Summit the world’s largest and most comprehensive new media and social media conference. re:group’s social media director, David Murray, will be speaking to business owners on building their content bubble. We have just been notified that our session is ranked in the top 50 sessions of this 250 session conference. This three day event is one of the biggest and best social media conferences happening to date. Follow #BWENY on Twitter. re:group will also be covering the event and posting updates to our website.
As expected, #unGeeked was a great experience, and the new friends and knowledge we took from that conference was well worth the trip. There’s already a great recap of what made #unGeeked so special, but we thought we’d share some of our takeaways. We didn’t catch everything, so I apologize if I missed someone or a particular topic.
Sam Fiorella: Enterprise Internal and External Communities Sam started #unGeeked by saying, “Too many businesses focus too much on the “online” and not enough on the “offline” components.” True words. Sam’s discussion went on to point out that both marketing and communication now lie within all the individuals who make up your business.
This is something we at re:group have had to recognize, that there are multiple touch points of communication. We now live, as Sam Fiorella puts it, in a “many to many” marketing age.
“Finding the meaning in what you do and why you do it is what will drive the success of your business, i.e. make money.”
Amanda had a great message in that social media, though good for businesses, doesn’t necessarily have to be all about business. That there is something bigger that a company’s social media effort can be a part of. Social media can be about enhancing lives while building projects with meaning. It shouldn’t just be about followers.
Troy talked about building and transferring the culture of a traditional company into the world of social. Few industries are as conservative as insurances, but Troy positioned the internal brand evangelists into the driving force of change. And in the field of Insurance, you have to make up the play if you are playing in a field where nothing exists.
Every employee has a role when it comes to social media – and if they are not provided a role, they will find a role. Regulations are important, but they can work within social. The key is internal communications.
Curt Hanke:From Blanding to Branding Thanks to Curt’s presentation I discovered that there is no such thing as a rational purchase, or rational marketing. We live in an emotional world that dictates our buying and marketing decisions.
This plays big in the agency side. Successful firms teach people about their business, not application. They start with business objectives and sell their clients on the squishy or scary points – things that are not 100% solid, but that the agency believes will work for the client, because they understand their business.
Diane Matigian: When is a Tweet, Comment or Update Slander or Libel? The Legal Implications of Transparency and Digital Tools
Defamation is a big issue thanks to social. Slander and libel still plays – traditional laws exist through the content and publishing of the social web. So, the original laws still apply. For those who argue freedom of speech, just know this is limited. You can say whatever you want, but you better be prepared to back it up.
When it comes to social media, there is a very fuzzy line between an opinion and slander. The most frustrating thing about social media and the law is there are no 100% correct answers. This space is still being sorted out.
Did you know that 93% of word of mouth happens OFFLINE? Did you also know that 76% of people still feel companies lie in their ads? This number drops from 58% to 38% when people are asked if companies will do the right thing.
The biggest challenge for marketers right now is marrying word of mouth and credibility. Mr. Jones even had the nerve to state that social media creates weak ties. We agree. Social media is great for networks, not networking. Building and participating in communities that exist solely on online social networks doesn’t work. Businesses need to combine the online with the offline interaction to succeed.
Jason Falls: Channeling Mayberry: What Small Towns Can Teach Us About Social Media
Not many would call Ann Arbor small, but there is definitely a small town feel here. Jason’s presentation on how small towns and social media work hand in hand really hit home. Some of his takeaways included:
Communities are Networks of trust.
Facebook is built on an intentional openness. Small towns are built on unintentional openness.
Loyalty is huge in small towns.
Being loyal to the community – no one person is more important than the other.
Communities celebrate and mourn together.
Hospitality and honesty – big in small towns.
Local search is the big thing right now in social media, because it has to do with relevancy.
All of what makes small towns what they are can easily be translated to social media best practices.
Can one separate their personal Working on the personal brand? That was the question asked by Sima. Employees need to ask themselves: Who you are, why you do what you do, what makes you special, and how can you take the special and make it work for a company.
To be successful at anything we have to own what you want to do. The brand, personal or corporate, helps with the buy in – access.
From MediaPost, some new insights into social media usage.
According to a new study by Social Media Examiner, prepared by Michael A. Stelzner, social media has gone mainstream. And for businesses it represents an unprecedented marketing opportunity that transcends traditional middlemen and connects companies directly with customers. Two years ago, businesses were uncertain about social media. Now it’s here to stay and companies are rapidly responding to new social media opportunities.
Major findings from this report contain insight into how marketers are currently using social media and their future plans:
90% of marketers indicate that social media is important for their business. One third of all social media marketers want to know how to monitor and measure the return on investment (ROI) of social media and integrate their social media activities. 58% of marketers are using social media for 6 hours or more each week, and more than a third invest 11 or more hours weekly.
77% of marketers plan on increasing their use of YouTube and video marketing, making it the top area marketers will invest in for 2011.
70% of marketers want to learn more about Facebook and 69% want to learn more about blogging.
The number-one advantage of social media marketing is generating more business exposure, as indicated by 88% of marketers. Increased traffic (72%) and improved search rankings (62%) were also major advantages.
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs were the top four social media tools used by marketers, in that order. Facebook has eclipsed Twitter to take the top spot since the 2010 study.
Only 28% of businesses are outsourcing some portion of their social media marketing.
The overwhelming majority (93%) of respondents indicated they were employing social media for marketing purposes, and a significant 90% of marketers said that social media was important.
The self-employed (67%) and small business owners with 2 or more employees (66%) were more likely to strongly agree.
More B2B companies have been using social media longer than a year (52.6% reported 1 year or more) than their B2C counterparts (46.2% indicated 1 year or longer). In 2010, only 31% of marketers were using social media for 1 or more years. Now that number has grown to 50%.
58% of marketers are using social media for 6 hours or more each week and 34% for 11 or more hours weekly. 15% of marketers spend more than 20 hours each week on social media.
Those with more years of social media experience spend more time each week conducting social media activities. For example, 63% of people with 3 or more years of experience spend more than 10 hours a week doing social media activities. Only 41% of those with 1 to 3 years experience spend that much time.
Time Commitment For Social Media Marketing
There’s a direct relationship between how long marketers have been using social media and their weekly time commitment. For people just beginning with social media, 59% spend 1 to 5 hours per week. However, for those who have been doing this for a few months or longer, most spend 6 hours or more per week on social media activities.
A significant 47% of marketers who have more than 3 years experience spend at least 16 hours per week focused on social media activities.
There’s a direct relationship between age and time spent on social media. The younger the marketer, the more time he or she spends on social media. People aged 20 to 29 years spend more time than other age groups using social media marketing (with 41% spending 11+ hours weekly), followed by 30- to 39-year-olds (37% spending 11+ hours per week). This is an increase over the 2010 study.
The number-one benefit of social media marketing is standing out in an increasingly noisy world. 88% of all marketers indicated that their social media efforts have generated more exposure for their businesses. Improving traffic and subscribers was the second major benefit, with 72% reporting positive results.
Nearly two-thirds of marketers indicated a rise in search engine rankings was a benefit of social media marketing.
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs were the top four social media tools used by marketers, with Facebook leading the pack. In 2010, Twitter was in first place with 88% and Facebook was close behind with 87%. Since 2010, Twitter lost 4%, LinkedIn lost 7% and Facebook gained 5%. In the 2009 study, only 77% of businesses were using Facebook.
The self-employed (80%) and owners of small businesses (78%) were more likely to use LinkedIn. Larger businesses were more likely to use YouTube or other video and less likely to use blogs (68%+).
At least 73% of marketers plan on increasing their use of YouTube/video, blogs, Facebook and Twitter. A significant 86% said they have no plans to utilize MySpace or will reduce their efforts.
All of us here in the office are avid Linkedin users.
We comb our groups looking for conversations and new connections to make. Once in awhile we’ll plug something of our own, but our main objective is to answer other people’s questions and learn while we teach.
Not to brag, but combined, our office Linkedin network could probably populate a small city. We like to connect. It is what makes us good at what we do.
So it was a bit odd when this morning I looked at my profile and under “People You May Know” I saw Albert Einstein.
What?
Yeah, Albert Einstein. Suspicious I clicked to view the profile. Check out what I got:
Clever, no? Curious I refreshed the screen to find that more famous names would appear including J.R.R. Tolkien, Robin Hood, and Sherlock Holmes. Figuring this was a joke, I Googled “April Fools + Linkedin”. Sure enough an article from Huffington Post popped up explaining the gag.
I’m curious how many people will notice this. Sadly, it doesn’t look like anyone recommended Albert Einstein, but I’m hopeful he’ll write a recommendation for me.
We’ve stated this before many times, and it something we firmly believe. Social Media is not about media. It is about communication. How are you as a business or organization going to communicate to your audience? Notice we didn’t say market?
This is what social media is all about. QR codes are great. Facebook will eventually rule the planet, but we will always need to communicate, and communicate well with those we want to pay attention.
This is a reason my title is Director of Social Web Communications. We want to emphasize that we help and teach our clients to communicate in the digital landscape. And as a communications firm we are discovering that many industries are still tripping over the social media road bump. They still don’t understand what social media is and how social works.
The reality is that many organizations have to learn, or re-learn how to be social. This can’t be taught by simply setting up Twitter account or a blog for the client, and then walking away. Education is key.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words B2B and social media?
Is it LinkedIn? What about Facebook? We could can even throw in SalesForce in there too I bet.
Tools are usually top of mind when it comes to social media. However, there is a lot more to this space than just tools and tactics. Especially when it comes to B2B communications. Notice we didn’t say marketing?
B2B businesses can take full advantage of the social web, and can do so just as well as any B2C organization.
True the customer base may be smaller, but that doesn’t mean you can’t focus on brand loyalty. Yes Mr. B2B, company you have a brand, and loyalty is something social media can help you obtain and maintain. It really comes down to who you are connected with, and by connected we don’t mean through Linkedin or Twitter. Ask any good business person what the foundation of good business is, and they will say relationships. How many solid relationships have you built offline. What about online?
This is where social media rocks.
Social media is not a tool. It is a relationship builder. Jason Falls says it best, “B2B social media is still P2P social media. The P stands for people folks!”
Trust me, we understand the need to make a buck. That’s what we are in business for, right? Or is it? Perhaps the ROI we experience through our traditional and digital communications isn’t so connected to the dollar, but through the personal connections we make. I mean, without them, we wouldn’t be making money, period.
Referrals, word of mouth, value, good products and good business all came way before social media showed up.
So don’t get so caught up in what you should do in social media. Instead, focus on:
How you are going to communicate
How you are going to show people what you do
How you will build relationships, not just leads
How you will maintain customer loyalty to your products and services
How you are going to get people to find you
How you are going to identify your marketing objectives
How you are going to be social
If you are in the Ann Arbor area this week, AnnArbor.com is hosting a FREE B2B expo this Thursday, March 10th at Washtenaw Community College.
This is a one day event focused on B2B success, economic development and entrepreneurship in Washtenaw County. A great program has been organized including presentations by Keystone Media, NEW, Power Marketing and Research, and more. You can view the entire schedule here: http://b2bexpo.annarbor.com/schedule.html.
We will also be participating on the panel discussion, Social Media: You Are Doing It, Now What?
Franchise owners are, by definition, local business people. They pride themselves on having a local presence, on being locally owned and operated. But when it comes to appearing to be local, well, that’s a different story.
Even though we know that local marketing, local listings and social media play a huge role in bringing in franchisee business, corporate marketing departments are often slow to adopt social media programs. There seem to be so many barriers for them, like who will run it, who will “approve” the content, do we have enough staff to take this on, what guidelines need to be put in place in terms of content, what about legal issues, and so on. And so on.
There has long been an argument about who owns the brand and who is responsible for social and digital communications. Is it the franchisor or the franchisee? Should franchisors have full autonomy over messaging? Or should individual franchises be in charge of their communication as it relates to the communities they serve? This is a heated ongoing discussion, and it appears there isn’t a clear cut answer. One thing is for sure, though. When corporate marketing stops caring about what their franchisees have to say about their local markets, franchisees stop caring about compliance.
One way to keep both happy is to communicate a central brand message through multiple digital media, while allowing individual franchisees the latitude to build their own social networks. Through templates for local websites, facebook pages, blogs, twitter and other vehicles, zees can engage their customers on a local level, and truly appear local instead of corporate.
Of course, both corporate and system want these outlets to appear professional – that’s why it’s good to invest in some upfront training. Seminars or webinars on how best to use social media, what works best in the digitial marketplace and how to keep a handle on it. If done well, these training sessions provide a great way to increase visibility and connect with customers.
MIT’s magazine, Technology Review, recently published an infographic that breaks down the global usage of Facebook. Every country with a Facebook audience is represented – over 80 countries total. The study shows Facebook still has a larger audience to find. Many countries still prefer their home grown social networks over Mark Zuckerberg’s creation, however, Facebook’s global penetration seems certain as it’s growth rate continues to advance.
Some of the interesting findings include:
Iceland’s market saturation at over 55% of the country’s population.
Norway also leading the pack at over 50% saturation with over 2 million users
The sparse usage in the South American countries
The explosive user growth in South Korea and Eastern Europe
The potential popularity Facebook could receive in China if it wasn’t illegal
Credit has to be given to my Dad, who subscribes to the magazine, and found this article. You can download the complete infographic here. Also, be sure to check out Technology Review. It’s a pretty solid resource for all technological developments in web, communication, science, and more.
Depending on who you ask, the internet may have born over 40 years ago when two computers were simply connected together. Since that time, people have been using every available tool to build stronger connections with each other. It should be no surprise that the internet eventually became the social web.
Many look at 2010 as the year of social media adoption. This is a fair statement, however, the reality is there is still a large sector of businesses and organizations with little knowledge of this space. More so is the need to align internal cultural changes in order to accommodate best practices that the social web requires.
If 2010 was really the year of adoption, then 2011 needs to be the year of education and best practices.
Firms and marketing professionals need to cement their own internal communication plans, and be able to deliverable measurable results for their clients where appropriate. They also need to ensure that their clients not only know how to use the available tools, but more importantly, why they would need to use them. Best practices can only be achieved through education and guidance that a firm must also practice. Leading by example will be the winning formula.
Social media has proved itself to be a legitimate communicate channel, and a disruptive force when it comes to marketing. I say disruptive because our industry went through dramatic changes in 2010. Agencies had to rethink not only what they can offer their clients, but also how they themselves communicate through the digital landscape.
So, what is in store for 2011?
That could be anyone’s guess. Again, I think we are going to see the need for best practices in both companies, and the agencies that serve their communication needs. Measurable results should be a high priority. The endless debate measurable ROI could be put to rest. In fact, Jay Baer and Amber Naslund have a book coming out that addresses this very topic.
We will continue to see the need for new and unique case studies, especially in the B2B sector. Klout, which entered the ring last year, may need to prove itself as a reliable measure of true influence. The terms influence and personal brand may also have to step up and defend their existence. And now we have Quora, the newest social media sensation to enter the ring.
Communication has always hinged on sociological and cultural tempos. With immediate access comes immediate expectations for communication to be heard, received, and responded to. It should be no surprise that the companies and agencies that communicate the best, will win.
Franchise owners are, by definition, local business people. They pride themselves on having a local presence, on being locally owned and operated. But when it comes to appearing to be local, well, that’s a different story.
