By
May 31, 2012
New media can learn a lot from old media…
I spent 15 years behind a mic in radio and I’m amazed by the similarities between radio and social media – be it Twitter, Facebook or Email.
It may surprise you that social media shares some qualities with the more traditional medium of radio. Obviously the technology is very different, but there is a good deal which social channels and those who employ them can learn from radio done well.
Here are five key things social media can learn from radio:
One-to-One communication
Good radio is a one-to-one communication. That is to say that any host who knows their stuff is going to stay away from referring to listeners as a mass audience. You focus on making it a casual conversation between two friends and you talk directly to that one person. Mmm!…
By
May 15, 2012
Social media marketing gives new options for segmentation
Since the 1950s, when the practice of market segmentation began, it has been the cornerstone of any marketing strategy.
Accurately define your market segments and then the follow on activities of targeting and positioning are much more effective.
With the advent of social media marketing, many are asking whether social networks, and their ability to engage with individuals interactively and in real-time, made the practice of categorising people into groups redundant?
The answer has to be a resounding “No!”, but the way brands categorise consumers is changing.
Towards ‘socialgraphics’
Consumers are considerably more socially mobile and transient than when demographic segmentation was first adopted by marketers. Also, as a result of the web and social media, consumers are much more informed and influenced, think 'Tripadvisor'. They have access to greater choice and their smartphones are…
By
May 2, 2012
The UK is 2 years behind with social media!
Having spent two days at the UK Social Media World Forum recently it seems to me that UK industry remains roughly two years behind North America and many countries in the Far East. Companies in South America also seem to be developing at a faster rate.
While the conference was about social media, I felt it had a very narrow focus, a focus on how to use social media for marketing campaigns. This is fine, marketers want to know this! But there are bigger strategy questions to ask. In my view, social media is not as effective for short term tactical campaigns without a wider content and engagement strategy. It works best when integrated across the business as this recent report by McKinsey suggested.
Don't get me wrong, there were many useful…
Explaining the value and relevance of colleagues to social media
Value: [rating=4]
Recommended link: McKinsey Quarterly - free report - no registration required
The report presents a clear framework, based on expert interviews for four areas needed to manage social media marketing:
Explaining the value of social media is a challenge for many working in marketing today, whether to yourself, colleagues or clients, so we’re alerting you to this report since it may help you clarify the benefits and approaches to managing social media in a business.
The advice has the gravitas of McKinsey who have been contributing thoughtful advice on online marketing strategy approaches since 1995. Well known social media commentator David Edelman is one of the main authors.
The four areas are:
1. Monitor. Repeating the advice often given…
How to answer common objections about the value of social campaigns
I was working with a business a few weeks ago that wanted some help with its social campaigns.
Its latest campaign produced disappointing interaction levels.
And, because of the campaign’s failure to attract a significant following, the business was tempted to pull out of social media altogether and focus on other areas - at least until people in their vertical market sector were deemed to be 'ready for social'.
Disappointing social campaign results can prompt good questions
The failure of the campaign prompted some interesting questions, such as;
“Did the business’s potential clients (people working in hospitals / health care) have the ability and inclination to access social networks.“
“Was it feasible to be 'friends' with businesses? Was it possible that customers didn't want to form this kind of relationship with a business entity?”
Finally, the business outlined…
Are you dormant, testing, co-ordinating, optimizing or empowering?
On Smart Insights, Paul Fennemore recently recommended his social media adoption framework which was popular, so I thought I'd alert you to a new approach to review social media maturity. Forrester have released a report that offers a social maturity model to help illustrate the common stages of change that occur as marketers optimize their social activities from dormant to empowered workforce.
Where are you on the 5 stages of social maturity?
Customers and employees are becoming increasingly empowered by social technologies, dramatically changing the way they communicate and collaborate. We know now this isn't a fad - it's a fundamental shift. To succeed in this new world, companies must make fundamental changes to resources, skills, tools, processes, and culture. Forrester calls this process of change 'social maturity', and it consists of five stages:
Dormant
Testing
Coordinating
Scaling and optimising
Empowering the workforce
…
There's more to social-email integration than share buttons
We know from what happens in 60 seconds in social media that we love to share on social networks. This amplification is what makes social media so powerful. We also know that with so many social updates, getting cut-through with social media can be difficult. Step forward email marketing which still offers reach and engagement. The obvious question; how can we integrate them - can they be "better together"? This was the topic for a recent presentation I gave at the eCircle Connect Europe 2012 event. The full presentation is available at the end of this post, but I thought I'd share some of the great examples of companies integrating social media into their email marketing. Thanks to Tim Watson for sharing some of these with me.
Start with who shares what?
Creating shareable content isn't quick, cheap or easy, you need to…
Case study: KLM's 'Meet & Seat' initiative
In the latter part of 2011, international airline KLM Royal Dutch Airlines announced its new 'Meet & Seat' programme. Participating passengers could view each other’s Facebook or LinkedIn profiles and use this information to choose who to sit next to during a flight. I always find it interesting to review how KLM are using social media since they're definitely an innovator rather than a laggard. These often aren't just campaigns, but integrate with KLM services.
Source: Wikipedia
This idea might be good for KLM's PR, but can it succeed? And what lessons can you take back to your business?
KLM's previous use of social media to personalise service
KLM is no stranger to social media. In November 2010 it launched 'KLM Surprise'. This test involved flight attendants searching passengers' social media profiles and meeting…
By
March 1, 2012
A new adoption framework for social media strategy
There are now enough examples and evidence to know which social media marketing strategies and tactics work and which don’t. Enough for organisations to move beyond the baby steps of adoption that typify where about two thirds of the UK remain today.
The board of directors is usually culpable
The key issue in most organisations, particularly at board level, is they are still being held back by their failure to gain a fundamental understanding of the medium. Neither, perhaps as a result of this failure in understanding, are they recruiting the right calibre of skills into digital and new media roles.
I have interviewed and worked with scores of organisations concerning their plans for social media. Many say they now want to make social media strategic.
However, they put their hands up and say the issue is they don’t know what ‘strategic’ means when it comes to…
Presentation downloads
The talks explain 7 Steps for creating an integrated social media strategy based around the Smart Insights Ebook of the same name.
You can also download the free social plan summary ebook featured in the talks.
7 Steps for creating an integrated social media strategy
(TFMA 2012 Keynote London and Manchester)
This talk features several examples from Smart Insights Expert commentators I'd like to thank and list here - a bit of a joint effort!
Dan Barker shows the importance of Google Plus
Pritesh Patel shows how to use Google Analytics to attribute value to social media
Marie Page explains how Vets Now use Facebook to engage prospects
Dan Bosomworth introduces the RACE content marketing approach
Paul Fennemore on the McDonalds Twitter promotion gaff
Dave Chaffey summarises the CIM social media benchmark research
Tim Watson on the secret weapon that social media experts never mention
Here is the presentation,…
