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[traczsmith]

Marketing Glows turned 2 today!

[traczsmith]

10 posts!

[traczsmith]

You're Fired - Socially Speaking, It's Policy

No you are not in NYC and Donald Trump is not staring you down. You're Not in Kansas Anymore… Or really, you might be in Kansas - if you hear, "You're Fired for using social media incorrectly."

The Regents at Kansas University decided it was time to rewrite their social media policy to allow them to terminate any faculty member (ANY faculty member - somebody is snickering over that) "who uses social media and posts a comment that could incite violence, disclose confidential information, or otherwise damage the University."

But is this giving the University too much control?

It was absolutely correct of the University to declare a revised social media policy that holds employees accountable for their actions… even though the inciting incident to this revised policy seems to be an American speaking (albeit with poor taste of language) within his rights to freedom of speech about his second amendment rights... something else for which he is unequivocally guaranteed. But there seems to be an awful lot of room for interpretation in their new  declaration.

If you are an employee of Kansas University and post a comment that could incite violence - which doesn't mean it has to incite actual violence - you could get fired. In playing devil's advocate, anything other than hearts and flowers technically could incite violence and even then, I'm sure some of the most romantic flower-filled gestures went down in violent flames. What about tweeting dumb things during halftime? That's bound to have the potential of inciting some violence. So where are the guidelines?

"The social media policy makes it even harder to sell KU to top faculty candidates. A new faculty member can be disciplined, even terminated for a tweet," Kirk McClure, a professor in the Department of Urban Planning said. - Fox News Reported 21 May 2014

Bottom line seems to be that if the University doesn't like whatever social media post of the moment has been published (and they can argue their point with conviction, lawyers notwithstanding), then the owner of that post may only have posthumous hopes left to publish on...

After all, I've seen happy go lucky Disney pin collectors go down swinging just because an eager body breathed on a tiny piece of metal… So, I wonder what the melee will be like when academic department heads are swinging to defend their careers against the political games and department rank jostling, which this policy may just be set to incite out of its own carefully worded existence.

Full disclosure: This was written with the intention of inciting a chuckle or two, a barking guffaw, or perchance, even outright laughter. Of course, I don't work for Kansas University, so I suspect that I'm less likely to be called upon the carpet and sacked over it... so I will endure. Go Jayhawks! 

[traczsmith]

Buffer Rep Builds and Gets Buff

Wasn't too terribly long ago, I was introduced to Buffer and signed up for a free account. They didn't offer much, certainly wasn't as complex as HootSuite, and in comparison to other social management tools on the market, was considered a little limited… but it was clean in functionality and did what it said it would do.

To be honest, I didn't think much about it again until they were hacked and a notice arrived in my inbox describing the incident and asking me to change my password. I believe some weight-loss spam was sent around and made a tiny bit of spam mess for some of their users, but overall, I didn't personally sustain any inconvenience or damage of any kind. As time went on, I didn't change my opinion about them, I still just saw them as a small option for social media management. I even suggested it to a couple of my small business clients looking for a simple solution where they could get some value from using a tool without having to shell out for another expense.

Today, Buffer has reintroduced itself to me. It hasn't faded away and in fact, I am now learning about their new features since it appears they have built out this platform quite a bit. A few features include being able to add access from multiple social networks, a feed reading service, and curated content suggestions. In fact, I may be on the decision path to begin using this platform again just to see if I like it any better than my old friend, HootSuite. I believe Buffer has also added a level of more powerful social analytics and browser extensions, which will further buff up their feature portfolio… tempting me to give it a whirl… I'm always on the hunt to find a social media tool that will provide cleaner, crisper data…

Where did Buffer get the idea to do this? Why didn't they give up? The market was if not perfectly, then less perfectly, satisfied with some of the other tools. What did they have to prove?

Buffer listened to their own users and tracked their own data, which led them to the point where they identified some pretty telling gaps. So it seems it wasn't entirely about competition for them, which is generally considered to be a prime focus when conducting business. Read this to mean that they were more interested in providing a service to their customers - of some rather decent quality - instead of trying to amass a horde of money.

Buffer is different. They have made that clear. From their website, they seem to be focused on building a better experience by enriching and improving lives of real people. Sounds refreshing to me. Their company is also going through a growth spurt if hiring Driven Hackers and Happiness Heroes is any indication.

They are running their business under a new model. From their transparent business culture of publishing employee salaries to working with customers for feedback, which they in turn channel into product development, they seem to be integrating a newer, more evolved business model, which I believe will firmly establish more than a toe-hold in the contemporary market.

Way to go Team Buffer.

So if anyone is looking for some business social media management Awesomesauce… looks like Buffer might give you what you need.

[traczsmith]

Social Media, Time, and the Great Void

Social media came into existence the same way a lot of inventions did. Someone had an idea. An idea to make things faster, better, bolder… and more productive. Why then do we constantly have trouble managing our social media? If this smart new concept is supposed to be an added value to our lives, why does it seem to make our lives messier?

Here is how social media has made me more productive:

Yelp - I am assured by others that I really do want to outsource something, like my dry cleaning, with a 45% chance that they won't ruin it. Doesn't matter that 100% of those "others" are lunatics or entirely sane depending on the hour they reported the disaster/success. Nevertheless, I can find that information in 10 seconds or less.

So yes, in a sense, social media has certainly made my life more efficient. Then why has the number of hours in my day shrunk so steadily since its inception? Could it be something to do with quality and selective discretion?

At the click of a button, we can update our friends and family with instant status reports. Full letters and correspondence are whisked through the air to be delivered to the recipient thousands of miles away and there was no waiting or postage monster trying to stab your wallet. However, it is quite obvious that we are all struggling to deal with time. So what sense does that make? If you are Sean Carroll the Caltech Physicist and the premier authority on the new concept of time and why Marty McFly's time travel escapades would never work in the real world, you would say the answer is best explained by Entropy.

I recently read an article at Wired Magazine, written by Erin Biba and published over 4 years ago, where I believe it is best described as, "Entropy is just a measure of how disorderly things are. And it tends to grow. That’s the second law of thermodynamics: Entropy goes up with time, things become more disorderly."

Within our daily lives and even while using concepts of greater efficiency such as social media, the entropy moves in one direction just like the arrow of time and we find ourselves in a bit of a grander mess each day. For myself, I find this to be absolute truth. So while your letter landed on Aunt Marge's desk within 30 seconds, everyone is now sending letters to Aunt Marge, and let's face it, her desk just wasn't designed to hold that many letters and in that much nondiscretionary detail. Thus our overload and ultimately slipping over the emotional edge into the Great Void... all due to the invention of social media.

[traczsmith]

Stunts, Social Media, and the News

A hook is a thing designed to catch people's attention.

When you write a song, you start with a hook to pick up attention of the crowd and hold their attention a little while longer.

When you write a novel, you start with a hook to capture interest in the reader and get them to read a little farther.

When you write a social media post, you start with a hook to interrupt your audience and make them pay attention.

No matter your medium, a hook is an effective way to grab attention - whether it's listen, read, or engage. See, that was my hook… Now read a little farther…

Stunts have long been a part of the reported news around the world. Some of us that are over the age of 35 have seen the trends roll around several times. Fads and fashions come in and go out of style, regularly. Instead of 5 o'clock News, these days, social media has become the news. The majority of us find our news while reading email or checking in with our peeps on social sites. Does anyone really say 'peeps' anymore? I'll have to check social media to find out.

Lately, I have been reading about stunts that have been paid for by brands to create publicity for their products. In Michael Brito's book, Your Brand, one in particular sticks in my mind - Red Bull Gives You Wings and also helps Felix Baumgartner skydive from outer space as part of the Stratos project in 2012. Taking a human and helping them fly, effectively illustrates the Red Bull brand, but the actual skydiving is the hook that captures the audience and keeps them remembering the Red Bull slogan.

Another that is targeted towards teens is the polar plunge - where friends dare each other to dive into frigid and sometimes unsafe waters - and its all captured on social media. Here is a recent article on it - http://wapo.st/1o3MPsK

This is important because to the age groups participating, this is the news. Yes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and the latest Middle Eastern crisis is news, but it is not localized to the audience - as in, local and personal to the people participating.

So when looking at the story you want to tell and find a proper hook to capture that audience, a local and personal stunt, is certainly going to get more engagement than an impersonal, inconceivable incident on the other side of the globe. We are all human and understand things that affect our immediate world - when it is directly in front of us, but harder to understand if we cannot see it, feel it, and smell it... yes, I said smell it. So news is news if it affects our own personal world.

But it is not news that stunts get attention, hook the audience, and support an increase in social media engagement. Using a local stunt to introduce an impersonal incident or an unfamiliar brand works more often because humans are the ones we are trying to reach. So where's your hook?

[traczsmith]

Useful!

While researching for my Social Media Strategy final project, I came accros this infographic. I really like infographics - I have a board on pinterest with some of them.

Sometimes we are overwhelmed with all the social media platforms out there. This unique infographic shows the advantages and...

[traczsmith]

Very nice!

Recently I have been monitoring the techniques companies have been implementing on Twitter to attract users and create activity. I have seen Forbes, Blizzard, Red Bull, Best Buy, Uniqlo and more. Many had pretty unique techniques, others had no idea what they were doing, and some blew me away.

...

[traczsmith]

Here in America - There in Russia - Social is Not Social without Freedom of Speech

Here in America, I think our Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press makes us all very comfortable. And unless we really look around, we can overlook what is happening in other countries that affects our global social media outlook. Why do we care?

Social media is the framework for not just social brands, but social business and business is becoming more and more globally-focused. The Internet has made consumerism easier and granted it a wider reach. The larger corporations want to expand into more countries and open the door to a new market of consumers while exponentially increasing their bottom line. Smaller organizations want to offer their products to a wider market because they rely on the generated revenues to keep their businesses flourishing and more business, regardless of which country it comes from is always welcome. Why is this an issue?

Under the umbrella of "it's not good for the development industry", Russia's parliament passed legislation that could bar western tech firms from operating if they fail to store Russian data within the country. Which when translated probably means - store the data on our land so we have the judicial right to investigate it to ensure the safety of all our citizens from extremists such as punk rock bands, porn, and uncensored opinions. But what they are censoring seems to be of little danger. My opinion is that what the government is focusing on - censoring the opinion of people who are different from them. They say that it prohibits the existing government from carrying out their duties, which may be true, but I personally consider this form of censorship to be intellectual racism. And it certainly doesn't support social business excellence.

Since 2012 President Putin and Prime Minister Medvedev has increased Internet monitoring and censorship activities and it faces pressure from Western governments over claims of internal power struggles and political corruption - not least from opposition political groups that claim they are being oppressed by the federal government. This Internet Blacklist Law was implemented to censor the blacklisted sites rhetoric.

Over the last few days, Pavel Durov, founder of Russia's largest social network (www.VK.com) fled Russia with no plans to return - He claimed he was fired (reported by BBC News). He alleges Putin and his allies took control of the site with 100 million users after Durov refused to censor refused requests to censor posts on his site. He goes on to say that Russia is now incompatible with Internet business at the moment, according to a TechCrunch interview yesterday.

However, just over the Russian border, there is no legal right for data to be obtained by Russian authorities… hmm… mayhaps a small border town will be the next big hub for server farms supporting social media in Russia. Despite censorship and regulatory restrictions, I believe social media will continue to persist and there will be ways to support it for social business, but it may take a lot of strategizing to get it to last longer than VK's very popular reign.

Russia's lower parliament has also banned swearing in films, plays, concerts and shows, BBC News reports. This is unfortunate as Bruce Willis' famous line in Die Hard just wouldn't be the same without the swearing… "Yippie Ki Yay Motherfucker." Now THAT is something I would want to share on Russia's truncated social space.

[traczsmith]

US Airways Crashes and Burns - But Gains Publicity

They say that there is no such thing as bad publicity. Even in the face of poor social media governance system, the US Airways snafu of posting a sexually inappropriate image featuring one of their planes and a very unfortunate naked woman, they became the buzz of the day.

In fact, I seriously doubt that anyone hasn't heard the name US Airways within the last week. Despite the fact that the tongues wagging are commenting about how they failed at social media, I only found one article that mentioned any other sort of negative comment about their service, which stated that a flight was late... well that's just life... 

Is US Airways tweet the worst #fail ever? US Airways became an immediate trend and regardless of the negative feelings surrounding the incident, reinforced US Airways as an airline in the minds of the public. Personally, I haven't thought about US Airways in several years, since as a consumer, my mind drifts towards Southwest or American Airlines when I have to buy a ticket and troddle off on a trip.

US News reported that US Airways said the employee responsible would face no consequence for the accident. "It was a move that surprised many, but makes sense to those who work in social media marketing." So the takeaway from this is that US Airways stands behind their employees. Also, it should be noted that this is not the first company to make a social media mistake nor will it be the last.

This incident reminded me that US Airways still exist and if I'm a savvy shopper, I'm going to remember to check their prices before buying a ticket, simply because this negative publicity tells me that they are going to need to focus on tactics for increasing revenue which usually generates a substantial lowering of prices to drive traffic to their airline… effectively creating a bargain hunter's potential dream.

Just a reminder that there may be no such thing as bad publicity... just bad company image and those change regularly.

[traczsmith]

Engagement is Not a Mistake - Nor is it a Monkey

From one end of the internet to the other, there is discussion after discussion about best practices to increase engagement in social media. Conversations ensue to include how you generate engagement on social networks and what is the best tactic to start a conversation. And quite frankly everyone has an opinion… but that in itself is engagement. Social networks are much like socializing in real life - and engaging with people through opinion, rebuttal, and education, is key to doing this successfully.

According to Andrew Hutchinson at Social Media Today, when you talk to someone, you speak with them or give them a reason to speak with you. But when you desire engagement, you talk, you listen (and listen and listen)… then you respond. The ‘social’ part of ‘social media’ is just that, and you cannot ignore this aspect - The conversation goes both ways. There is also an implied justification to many of these discussions, as if the author is not only explaining, but also presenting a case to those still unconvinced that social media engagement is necessary.

Surprisingly enough not all companies have accepted social media as a primary engagement medium for running their business, getting new customers, and keeping the ones they have. This is a mistake because engagement, particularly in a freely spoken social setting, puts you in direct contact with your customers, potential customers, and witting or unwitting customer advocates. You are down in the mud, rolling around, hearing what they have to say (because the conversation goes both ways), learning how they feel, and are even able to point out something the customer didn't know before or perhaps previously overlooked about your brand. Most customers, once they become informed about something they didn't know before, they tell someone. I believe it is rather ingrained in our genetic makeup.

When we learned something in school, most times we went home and told someone about what we learned. Or like the first time we heard a swear word, we would then repeat it just to see how it sounded, and then we would use it over and over again to impress our friends. Customers work just like that. When they learned that vinegar wasn't just for pickling foods, but also for washing clothes for the first time so the bright colors wouldn't run and transfer, they passed it on in one form or another for generations until such time it became part of the fabric of their culture and now considered a household necessity.

So who was the first person to point this out? I suspect very strongly it was not the vinegar manufacturer - Although, what if it had been? Sharing information about your product or brand even if it isn't through its intended purpose builds the narrative and builds the customer's understanding of it. But listening has that affect on us, too. And the easiest way to listen to your customers is through social media engagement - because customers tend to feel free to be more open about their opinions in general through this medium when it comes to products and services - just ask the popularity of the Yelp review pages...

Information directly from customers is like gold to marketers because it is information that comes directly from the horse's mouth. It is reliable, to a certain extent - you must have an understanding of context - and it is usually the same information they will share with their friends and other potential customers.

As a marketer, I find this form of direct customer information acquired through social media engagement to make my job easier and also increase accuracy depending on how I interpret it and use it, so it has become very valuable to me. As such, my advice would be to:

Not monkey around with success rates - simply because your company isn't successful with social media doesn't mean it can't be. Let the numbers and information speak for themselves. If social engagement gives you insight into the mind of your customer, then it is that type of success your company can derive from the platforms it uses.

Not consider social media to be a monkey on your back - simply because you aren't comfortable with social media - or it may seem too large a cost for your budget - doesn't mean it isn't effective. I would not advise you to think of it as a temporary trend that needs to hurry up and go away. Trust me, it is not going away. Perhaps the best thing you can do is learn more about it and prove to yourself that it is not a problem but a valuable, useful, functional channel.

Feed the monkey - make social media a desirable part of your brand. Use it to attract not only new customers and increase devotion of existing customers, but to also ensure loyalty and improve your employee culture. Most times, the most effective employees believe in what they do, or in how much they like the brand. Do they believe in your brand? Do they like your brand?

Avoid throwing monkey wrenches - Just don't do it. Listen to the experts, build an understanding of how social media engagement can help your brand and just follow the plan, Stan - Don't try to reinvent the wheel. Follow and trust the process… and trust in idioms… they didn't get that way alone.

Enjoy the barrel of monkeys. If you have fun with it, it probably won't make a monkey out of you!

[traczsmith]

Keeping the Message Going & Going to the Gym

It seems that if we must sell things - a product, a service - we must also drive the 'buy' message to the customer, whether that customer is a business or a consumer. Since social media has ultimately changed how we are driving that message, we can believe that the message itself changes to suit the audience. This is Marketing 101… or 1A, so to speak.

According to Michael Brito's book entitled, Your Brand, the platforms our audience uses to access the message have become over populated and overwhelming. Persistent noise deflates the effectiveness of the message as it falls on deaf ears.  RELEVANCE is the key - Making your message relevant, applicable, or significant to each audience member out there. If we are successful in making the message relevant, it will be read… and if it is read, it has a higher rate of efficacy in keeping the message going from seller to buyer and customer to prospective customer.

But how do we do this? How can we be omnipotent in our understanding of what our audience wants to hear? As Brito points out, we can use some interesting and useful little tools to help us identify areas of interest, but that alone doesn't get the job done. In fact, there doesn't seem to be a single, clear method for every brand to use. We are, in fact, charged with the identification of multiple methods and content decision variables, so much so that it has been advised that the message itself most likely has to be altered in each and every platform in order to be heard.

In a multi-screen world, this altered message has become the standard and our benchmarks as Marketers have been raised as a result. CADD (Customer Attention Deficit Disorder) is the new evolution in audience behavior and short sharp bytes is the new communication mode. No longer are lengthy marketing emails useful and print advertising has practically gone the way of the Dodo, but from where I stand, this is not the end of the end. This is merely the application of newer and different perspectives to existing marketing techniques under a new visage of promotional spark.

Even so, the right message in the right format is what we have to craft in order to successfully capture the attention of the customer. It is only by aligning our product or service with the customer's wants, needs, and desires that we will be able to persuasively build on their understanding of our brand until they themselves become a Brand Ambassador... but fostering that level of loyalty isn't always easy.

Due to the nature of engagement in this electronic world, specifically consumers, constantly talk to each other about their prospective purchases. Think about Facebook and the last time you logged in… Could you count the number of opinions from all around the world that you scrolled through from your friends or friends of friends, or a company, community, or even celebrity? This method of global customer advocacy has reached the point where everyone has a cone of influence. So if you consider that if this is true, as Brito points out, everyone, in one respect or another, is an Influencer - and this can directly impact sales of your product or service. For good or evil, globally, the message is heard and customers respond accordingly.

So if success is what you seek in promoting your brand, it would stand to reason that if you can create consistent relevant messaging and your target market not only remembers your brand, but the story or message that accompanies that brand - and there isn't a friend of a friend who heard a story about your brand killing someone's treasured pet - you can build an increase in sales, create a sensation in the market, sell lots, make your boss feel important, and maybe get a raise as a result…

Of course, even with all this conquering the world business, we'd still have to go to the gym…