Social Media Floundering

Business marketing is in a state of unrest. As Wall Street experiences a "tech bubble" in 2011 (i.e. fantastic valuations of unprofitable .coms), there is a parallel movement afoot in the field of social media and online business marketing. To top off the chaos, nobody seems to be able to predict what's coming next.

To imagine how different the internet world could be in 5 years, consider Google's latest effort to create a social networking platform. Google+ has the insurmountable task of dethroning Facebook (which boasts 520 million entrenched users). All the analysts proclaim a single, resounding question: "Why would anybody switch"?

The short answer is that Google+ will attempt to create a better user experience in terms of content control. Of course, Facebook has publicly acknowledged they will be making significant changes to their own platform in the years to come. Could it be that any successful elements created by Google+ will be quickly duplicated by Facebook? Or maybe at some point in the future the two networking platforms will peacefully co-exist with two separate user groups (e.g. tech and business users on Google+ with family& personal friends on Facebook).

Maybe you simply think that Google is stupid. That they're wasting time and money. I doubt it. I think they see that the game is far from over, which extends to the rest of the technology application and internet universe. We're just getting started. So, when you as a business owner hear the wild, raving claims of "social media consultants", don't be alarmed. Much like you, Google execs and many other ostensibly well-informed people... they're trying to figure it too.

A Scalable Method of Expanding Your Professional Network

(For those of you who're already pros, skip to "The System".)

More Referrals = Personal Brand

This blog is for professionals (lawyers, bankers, doctors, psychologists, asset managers, consultants etc.) who have limited time, yet need to expand their referral network. First, let's describe the respected individuals to whom you are willing to refer your own valued clients: Trusted, Established and Knowledgeable are probably adjectives that describe any successful professional. Are these terms your peers would use to describe you? If so, you have achieved a critical factor for success termed Personal Brand.

Scalable Networking

Of course, time is of essence. In this context, scalable is defined as: A "networking" method that allows you to spend fewer minutes for each incremental referral source you gain. It's possible with social media. I recently discussed social media with a professional. It occurred to me that most social media "systems" are designed to allow marketing departments to effectively push products and services. But what about social media for professionals?

The System

The three steps to scalable networking: 1) Build your personal brand within your industry and personal contacts. Facebook is primarily for friends a family while LinkedIn allows you direct control of your personal identity (as displayed in search engine rankings) and keeps you connected to business contacts and centers of influence. Your personal brand becomes obvious to the broader community as you develop a strong, expansive reputation. 2) Engage with your peers, customers and colleagues. Twitter allows rapid and convenient exchange of information. YouTube is also an option, but not one I highly recommend for professionals. Videos have the potential to "go viral" with millions of hits. So what? It won't sufficiently impress the referral network you are seeking. Create an informative blog instead. 3) Learn from industry experts. Need to exchange some thoughts with Donald Trump on transforming your real estate career? Again, Twitter is your best bet (you may want to re-think your choice of role model in this case). If you "follow" an expert on Twitter, you may want to subscribe to the same expert's blog.

Conclusion

Face-to-face will always have an important place. But how many times have you wasted time listening to a sales pitch from some know-it-all with minimal relationship potential? Spend less valuable time. Control the source and volume of inflowing information. Develop a scalable networking system, through consistent Personal Brand Building, Engaging and Learning.

The Role of the Web in Business Marketing Strategy

Introduction

The rapid advance in web technology challenges business managers to stay current, but most recognize that the internet is a critical element of marketing strategy. There is an overwhelming service offering within the three broad marketing categories of internet technology: websites, search engine optimization and social media. Poor understanding of web technology and difficulty selecting internet marketing strategies appropriate for the specific business objective, lead to mediocre return on investment and lost opportunity for revenue growth.

The Website

What are the critical elements of your corporate website? In many cases, the website is outdated and ineffective. Websites developed several years ago offered basic information, typically to existing customers or prospects familiar with the business. Today, prospective buyers utilize the internet as a primary method of researching the purchase decision. To quantify the critical elements of today’s website, a survey of 200 purchasing managers was conducted*. The goal was to rank the importance of website elements. The most important website elements, starting with the most important, were found to be: Service Description, Industries Served, Success Stories/Case Studies and Professional Web Site Design and Layout.

Search Engine Optimization

In the mid 1990s companies began developing website content with the purpose of being found by internet users. Since then, search engines began offering Pay Per Click (PPC) services, allowing business to buy key words and phrases commonly being searched by prospective customers. Although, PPC is still a proven method of driving web traffic, search engine optimization is increasingly more important. By creating content that your prospective customers want to read, you provide a valued service and drive traffic to your website free of charge.

Social Media

The least understood aspect of internet marketing strategy is social media. Even so, market research** indicates that since 2009 small businesses have started participating in social media, 65% have Facebook accounts, 64% have Twitter accounts and 19% have Wordpress (blogging platform) accounts. Facebook accounts are commonly set up incorrectly, causing the account to be deleted by Facebook. By following the required standards, companies can build a community of loyal customers and potentially tap into the Facebook user base, which numbers over 500 million. Blogs can draw web traffic to your company without paying search engines, such as Google, for clicks. Publishing content on the web is easier than ever before, as blogging platforms are free and easy to use. Twitter offers an easy way to monitor conversations about your company or issues you care about. In the same way, your company can send out 140 character messages that are relevant to your prospective customers.

Conclusion

Internet marketing offers significant opportunity to grow revenues. Although, appropriate technical resources should be hired to develop internet marketing campaigns, senior management involvement is critical. Effectively developing each category of internet marketing strategy requires: fundamental understanding of the business, an ear for stories and experiences that resonate with your customers and people skills to assemble a team that can effectively manage such a complex undertaking. Staying informed about changes in the dynamic area of internet marketing is critical. If senior management can’t do it, ensure that some responsible party is closely monitoring the company’s internet marketing, to recommend changes and identify better practices.

Social Media Advice for Executives

You're busy. You know there's something big happening in Social Media, but you wonder: Is Social Media for You? At the end of this blog, you will have current info. Then, I will leave you with two simple questions that will help you make this decision.

Overview

First, I want to bust common myths surrounding social media. Then, I will briefly describe the relationship social media growth has to a revolutionary management technique, which top-performing, world-class corporations across the globe have recently solidified into a sustainable competitive advantage; namely, that of Data Analytics (in a nutshell, data analytics relies on data to drive decision making, rather than intuition).


The Worst Case Scenario

The CEO of Best Buy was notified via panicked phone call at 4 AM that some 5,000 of his Twitter followers had received a strange tweet from his profile: “I’VE BEEN HAVING A LOT OF GREAT SEX LATELY, AND HERE’S WHY.” Read about Best Buy's response.


Is it Worth the Pain?

Obviously, the thought of this sort of "nightmare scenario" alone, could discourage business executives from participating in the social media realm (by the way, security breaches are an anomaly). Additional negative perceptions regarding social media include: consumption of valuable time, inevitable clash with corporate culture, difficulty with identification of desired outcome or the simple mindset that "it's all a fad". I want to impress the contrary upon you, that in fact, social media is customizable to your needs, highly-relevant to being informed, and even critical to long-term business success.


Who am I to Say?

I am particularly qualified to comment on this topic because I am both a professional in the banking industry, and a close affiliate of industry leaders in social media/marketing/web, I am increasingly familiar with people in their 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's effectively harnessing the power of social media to drive various business initiatives (e.g. sales leads, networking, market insight and hiring).


When Will Social Media Stop Changing Overnight?

The concept of social media itself is dynamic. Consider the absurd case of early internet pioneer Josh Harris, who used his new-found wealth to film every aspect of his daily life (for some reason this visionary executive thought society at large was soon to follow, missing the mark to put it lightly). Even in broader society today, the use of Facebook is going through a maturation stage. People don't use the ubiquitous social platform in the same way they did a couple years ago. For example, you don't accept everybody as a friend; or, you may be increasingly sharing more or less info online. This advice applies to everybody, especially corporate executives: Start slow, share information at a level YOU are comfortable with. It almost need not be said, but remember internet publications are virtually permanent.


Where are Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In (and the others) leading us?

This is a broad question; however, I am singularly focused on this context: The data relevant to driving your business initiative. In 2009, humans created (e.g. publishing social media) more data than in all of previous history combined. In the universe parallel to social media growth are management analysts at top-performing Fortune 500 companies refining enterprise scale information systems to allow data, rather than intuition, to prescribe future actions. The spectrum (from right to left) I need you to visualize is based on the amount of data available and the sophistication of the business need:

Far left - Example 1: A wedding planner looking for sales leads (on the left of the spectrum).

In the middle - Example 2: A middle-market business manager aggregating sales leads from a variety of channels to determine which marketing efforts are a waste of money and which are producing return on investment.

Far right - Example 3: A world-class, international corporation implements a work-in-process database to rigorously determine how the work production of individual employees affects each client, measured based on rates of: Sale conversion, Satisfaction with the value proposition and Retention.

Somewhere on this spectrum is your executive responsibility/business need. Social Media has relevance to examples #1 and #2, while example #3 describes a proprietary enterprise scale information system (beyond the scope of this topic). In the short-term, I recommend basic participation in social media. In the mid-term, you will need to understand your company's data strategy, with respect to your departmental responsibility.


Is Social Media for You?

#1 Is it important that you be the first to know when changes affect your industry or affect your customers, so that you can stay ahead of competition?

#2 Do you have any useful info for others in your industry or for your customers, which will foster a deeper relationship?

Perhaps, you're already convinced that Social Media is a growing force; if so, the next logical consideration is: Who's responsible? If anybody in the organization should be tuned in, it's executive level decision makers. To ignore this societal trend, would be akin to Henry Ford ignoring the advent of the Second Industrial Revolution and delegating "production" to junior management!

If you answered yes to either of question #1 or #2 above, social media will be a powerful venue to accomplish these objectives. I propose you start by following me on Twitter. Need more info on Twitter? Link to Jeremiah's article (he's an expert on disruptive technology this is timeless advice on Twitter for professionals.) Follow my blogs and my tweets; I will do my best to send you timely, concise industry updates that affect business managers -Thanks for reading!