Respect Culture Within the Social Web

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Jul 16th, 2009 | Comments

In the offline world, respecting cultures is just common sense. Different ethnicities, different geographic locations, heritages, traditions, etc. are all around us.  People come from different backgrounds; in my opinion, cultural diversity is what makes the human race a beautiful thing.

Similarly, the online world is full of different cultures; however most assume online cultures consist of the same  factors that define culture offline. Sure social web users have diverse backgrounds that include religion, traditions, regional understandings, etc., but beyond these distinguishing elements lie cultures of each social network.

What does that mean?

People interact and consume information within a specific social network differently then they would others.  For example, if you are on Twitter and link your Facebook status to your Tweets, do you often get people within Facebook telling you to stop spamming their feed with all your status updates?  They might not even be involved with the same social networks as you and not understand that Twitter is about microblogging short posts.

In the case of Twitter and Facebook, these are two very different worlds. Facebook’s main landing page is a social stream of your network. Where folks can see photos, links, comments, events, etc from friends, family, and colleagues. This tends to be a more intimate interaction as posts are not limited to 140 characters like Twitter.

The point being, if one evolved within a given social network, they understand many social norms within that space that might not carry over to another space. If you tweet a lot, and carry that over to Facebook status updates, some might consider that spam. Or at the very least, see it as a social faux pas with that social space.

Social networks develop social norms within their space; be mindful and respect the given culture within that space.

Many large corporations hire anthropologists to understand the business etiquette of various nations in order to minimize the cultural gap.  Here at Activating Word of Mouth, consider us your cultural consultant to the online world.

There are many spaces that have different cultures. Make sure you don’t take that fact for granted.

Social Media Marketing Reality Check

Posted by Jennifer Kindred on Jul 8th, 2009 | Comments

By: Jennifer Kindred

For those interested in social media marketing…its here and growing fast.  However, a majority of society has not opted into online socialization, so it is understandably difficult for those people to get why social media marketing would be effective.  I often get questions about social media such as, “why would someone want to know what I am doing all day?” or “Twitter people are crazy status updaters…who cares?”  This blog entry will attempt to demonstrate some truths about social media and social media marketing.

What is it about blogging that makes people want to blog?  The writing aspect, putting your ideas out onto the web, or receiving responses from others who read your blog?  For me its a combination of all three (although not too much into the writing part), but what I really enjoy is getting responses and comments about my blog.  I suspect that most people get a happy, excited feeling when someone takes the time to read and comment on their writings…particularly if the comments are positive.

This is not a shameless shout out for people to read and comment on my blogs but an example of social web interaction.  As demonstrated above its not about just flinging information out onto the social web…people update their status, post information and content so that others will respond!

A survey last month, highlighted today in eMarketer and reported by Adam Ostrow at Mashable outlines the benefits that marketing executives cite as reasons to embrace the medium (see chart).  Customer engagement ranks highest at 85.4% of respondents citing it as a benefit of using social media marketing.   Social media engagement is a simple and effective way to engage with consumers and fans of  you or your product.  Activating WOM assists clients in developing strategies to maximize client’s social media presence and transmit social media momentum to offline marketing campaigns.  One of my recent blogs discusses creative ways that companies have maximized their social media marketing strategies offline.

So what does all of this mean?  What is the real world impact of social media marketing?  Is it really being used by companies and is this the time to start developing strategy?  Yes, yes, and yes!  Forrester Research just came out with their Interactive Marketing Forecast for the next five years, and estimates that social media marketing will grow at an annual rate of 34%.  This is faster than any other form of online marketing and double the average growth rate of 17% for all online mediums.  Forrester estimates that $716 million will be spent on the medium this year, growing to $3.1 billion in 2014. At that point, social media will be a bigger marketing channel than both email and mobile.

If you are a company interested in social media marketing but don’t see where in your budget it fits, here are a couple of ways to think about making a splash in the social media world:

1. What percentage of my marketing budget do I currently spend on online advertising?
2. How much of that budget am I willing to divert to a social media marketing campaign?
3. What kind of social media marketing campaign do I want to execute and for how long?
4. What consumer engagement goals do I want to achieve with my social media marketing campaign?

These questions may require that your company consult a firm, such as Activating WOM to aid in development and execution of a social media marketing strategy.  Your firm may already have an idea of what it would like to achieve through its social media marketing strategy but may not be knowledgeable enough on all of the tools to successfully achieve its goals.  Again, consulting firms such as Activating WOM is oftentimes necessary to realize the full potential  of social media; similar to engaging traditional media, social media is its own animal with hundreds of methods, tools, and communities to interact with and use.

If you are reading this blog and are thinking about how social media fits into you marketing campaigns, give us a call or leave a comment.  As I have written before, social media is here…communities are built…when are you going to decide to engage?

In Order to Succeed You Must Get Out of the Bubble

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Jul 7th, 2009 | Comments

Many businesses look to other businesses in their market and/or geographic area for ideas. In social media we find this is a double edged sword. We recently wrote about the Perils and Rewards of Being First in the market. This was in response to many conversations with prospective clients wanting to understand more about social media but not really wanting to make that dive into resourcing out part of their marketing budget toward Word of Mouth marketing on the social web.

We at ActivatingWOM have been traveling a lot. We are still amazed that geographic markets drive the decision to jump into the social web. When we are talking to clients in the Bay area, where social media applications, networks, etc are born every day, the dialogue is about new analytics and how to maximize new networks before the main stream takes advantage of these tools. In LA it is about how to define your social presence as it relates to fans of various talents and how engagement is measured. In DC it is about identifying policy trends in conversations and identify influencers of various policy discussions.

In Arizona, people are will watching and learning. Few companies are willing to jump out of their bubble and take the social media plunge. Even the various markets mentioned above are still in a bubble. They rarely look at how practices in these various markets can help with their web presence.

I come from an extensive political background. I saw the “bubble effect” often. In various campaigns you tend to surround yourself with like minded individuals who further strengthen your ideals but tend to disconnect you with others outside your bubble. I often challenged organizations and candidates to get out of their bubble. Washington tends to be so deep in the beltway bubble that they hire pollsters after pollsters to get the pulse of the American public.

On the social web, everything is available. Case study after case study is available. What relevance does it have to your industry? No one else in your industry is really resourcing out this work you say? It is time to get out of your bubble. In a previous post we demonstrated various companies’ success on the social web.

If you are a company that has never used Twitter or often laugh at discussions around social media, I have a test for you. Go to http://search.twitter.com and type in a few words related to your product and or services. I guarantee you that there are conversations happening around your services and or products. From Tea to Athletes we manage a wide range of clients who at one time thought the social web was not for them. This simple tests showcases that there are potential customers and/or fans out there. If they are already talking about you, why are you not engaging?

It is time to get out of the bubble, and make the jump. Don’t let bubble vision keep you from success.

China Mist Tea Tour TwitPics

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Jun 30th, 2009 | Comments

Last week one of our clients, China Mist Brands, wanted to thank all of their Twitter followers by hosting a “tweetup” tour of their factory. We had about a dozen “influencers” on Twitter show up. The reality is, these are all fans of the brand who showed up to gain more knowledge of the brand that they love!

Of course various types of user generated content was produced during the tour. We want to show you some of the TwitPics from their fans. This is authentic engagement, real honest marketing that yields the best results:

@azneville—Alex Neville
•    http://img291.yfrog.com/i/vdjn.jpg
•    http://img145.yfrog.com/i/8h0.jpg

@wesleytech—Wes Novak
•    http://twitpic.com/8foxm
•    http://twitpic.com/8fiif
•    http://twitpic.com/8fhll
•    http://twitpic.com/8fi1e

@chrislee—Chris Lee
•    http://img141.yfrog.com/i/kbo.jpg
•    http://img291.yfrog.com/i/58761960.jpg/
•    http://img261.yfrog.com/i/f9b.jpg/
•    http://img146.yfrog.com/i/5g3.jpg/
•    http://brightkite.com/objects/15ce703461ef11de93ca003048c10834

@wonet—Warren Owen
•    http://twitpic.com/8fc50

@ChefVern—Vern Gill
•    http://twitpic.com/8fk5k
•    http://twitpic.com/8fe1f

@jen2281—Jennifer Kindred
•    http://twitpic.com/8fgfj

Online Business Networking…Just an Extension of Offline Networking?

Posted by Jennifer Kindred on Jun 30th, 2009 | Comments

By: Jennifer Kindred

I am an Economist magazine junkie and have been for years. I may not always agree on the magazines opinions but the analysis and reporting is top notch. So imagine my surprise and excitement when I came across an article about Business Networking websites http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13900974. The article cleverly compares the influence of old fashioned networks like alumni associations, social cliques, and religious groups to online business networking sites such as LinkedIn, Xing (headquartered in Germany), and Viadeo (based in France).

These online networks are breaking down the “good ole boy” club barriers and creating a diverse pool of people who can post their credentials, resumes, and recommendations to the world. My LinkedIn profile is a wonderful online resource for employment opportunities, client vetting, and networking without leaving the comfort of my desk.

However, I must disagree with The Economist on one point, even though anyone can join LinkedIn and post their profiles, users must engage others either offline or online to grow their network. LinkedIn does not allow you to simply click on others and make them your “colleague” the other person must actively engage you through invitation and accept you as a member of their network. Savvy users will not just allow anyone access to their rolodexes.

So are social networks like LinkedIn just another way to create exclusive clubs, but online? Perhaps, but people who are fans of exclusivity will undoubtedly seek to exclude others in all environments, including online. However, The Economist is correct in its assessment that online networks create links that cross national borders and help people to exchange information about each other’s talents and businesses.

At a minimum you should create a LinkedIn profile for business purposes, it is a resource for you and others interested in you or your company. Business networking sites are another example of the benefits of authentic engagement and information collection.

Here at Activating WOM, our business cards not only have company information but our LinkedIn profiles links. We are living in the digital age; you and your business must get on board the social web to compete in the world of infinite information.

Online Social Networks are NOT Going Away

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Jun 5th, 2009 | Comments

By Jennifer Kindred

Our recent blogs have focused on the importance of authentic conversations when engaging folks on social networks.  We feel that we have driven this point home, if you haven’t gotten it by now…please read our last 4 blog posts.  This blog is about the type of business that can really benefit from social networking, mainly small businesses.
The New York Times recently published an article about small businesses utilizing social networks as a key part of their marketing plans.  According to the article over 260,000 North American businesses currently use social networking to promote their businesses; social networks are free and provide a large community of consumers.
The article points out businesses that have been successful at marketing through social networks.  These success stories all have similar themes consisting of companies seeking social community users interested in their product/cause and engaging them through conversations and online incentives.  These well thought out plans yielded great results for activist organizations and small businesses.  However, too often small businesses simply splash and spam online communities and do not execute sound strategies before introducing their business to social networks.
Unfortunately, these businesses do not find value in social networks and fail to continue utilizing them in their marketing strategies.  This is like having a bad experience with an automobile and then claiming that the whole idea of horseless carriages (aka cars) is bad and the disgruntled company invests in buggies.  Not only did the company lose money in buggies but would have been the laughing stock of the 20th century.
New technologies, communication methods, and marketing strategies should be embraced by small businesses.  For a small business to give up on social networking is like the company who have up on automobiles and bet on the buggy…the business will lose.  We encourage small businesses to jump into the social networking frenzy, but also to educate themselves on how to correctly engage in online communities.
Educate and initiate, don’t be afraid to take the next plunge into online communications.