Archive for social content integration
Integration is New All Over Again and It’s Never Been Better
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Some time ago, advertising agencies were the pioneers into the unknown world of integration. Specifically, integrating PR into, and often in support of, advertising campaigns. The rationale offered to clients was typically centered around “a single message delivered by ads and publicity” that any communications pro knew was suspect because a promotional message is rarely, if ever, also a newsworthy one.
However, that was then and this is now when integration has assumed a new and powerful role in maximizing the benefits and values of social media campaigns with traditional marketing communications ones. As many of us know, this new role for integration has expanded far beyond messaging to now include how, when and what social media and traditional communications tools are used and their exact purpose in the campaign.
We all have much to learn about how best to creatively and strategically utilize (or not) integration and to then share our knowledge with our clients so they can reap every possible benefit from it.
Recently we met with a prospective client whose business is not a tech oriented one. Imagine our surprise and delight when he indicated his interest in our help to integrate the social media tools he was already using by weaving the fingers of his hands together — the sign language of integration!
Facebook Friday: Dealing with Trademark Issues
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Some companies new to the Facebook scene are finding that an overzealous employee or well-meaning fan has already established a Page for a brand or business. (Kind of like the mid-90s when the IT Department and others were claiming URLs well before the C-suite started to realize that a presence on the Wide World Web might be a good idea.)
Fortunately, Facebook has a process for dealing with that pesky issue of trademark infringement. If you – or your client – believe that Facebook is indeed catching on but discover that someone already established a Page, there’s somewhere you can turn to claim your rightfully trademarked name. Go to Facebook’s “Report an Infringing Username” section to “request removal of an unauthorized Page” and you should be on your way to claiming what’s rightfully yours.
Reminder: Twitter is ALWAYS a Conversation
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Oops, my bad.
I recently bumped into an acquaintance that I hadn’t seen in months who explained her absence by telling me how consumed she is with the ongoing woes of the company she has been with for nearly 15 years. The shining example of these woes is the dramatic drop in headcount since the first of the year.
Later that day I tweeted about this update using “local, one-time high profile, fast rising firm’”as the descriptor of her company. I hit “update,” never giving the tweet a second thought, other than it was more substantive than “…can’t wait for this day to end” sort of post.
In a flash, I received a DM (direct message) from @robterry26, associate editor/Web editor of the Baltimore Business Journal, asking me for details about that tweet, including the name of the company. Then, and only then, did the reminder light bulb go off in my head that Twitter and other social media tools are all about conversations!
Also, this tweet could have had serious consequences. However, the information was accurate, verifiable and caught the attention of a good reporter who knows the source of it as well as the value of the information he was handed.
In addition to being reminded that Twitter is all about the conversation, I hope this also serves as a an elbow in the ribs to think before I tweet and then think again before I hit “update.”
Social Media: Personal vs. Professional
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At a recent social media seminar covering the basics and featuring a panel of corporate users and SM “experts,” a fascinating and spontaneous discussion of personal vs. professional uses of social media resulted when one of the corporate panelists told of rescinding a job offer when photos of the candidate, deemed “inappropriate” by the CPA firm, were discovered on Facebook.
Surprisingly, one of the “expert” panelists was passionate about her insistence that the candidate had the “right to post photos of herself with a drink in her hand” on Facebook without any spillover to her professional standing! Further, this is the same counsel that she offers her clients: professional uses of social media tools are separate from those for personal uses and should not be connected.
She is indeed correct that she has the “right” to post anything about herself that she cares to on any social media tool she wishes. However, she is incorrect (and perhaps also naive) to expect the viewer/reader of this information to categorize it as exclusively personal with no correlation to her professional reputation.
The history of traditional mass media and now social media is replete with examples of people’s professional lives being played out in the public limelight – because they chose to or because they didn’t realize the line separating personal vs. professional is blurred at best.
I urge this panelist as well as those in the seminar audience to use the power of social media tools to their utmost advantage but to do so with the full and complete understanding that there is no “vs.” separating “personal” and “professional” in social or traditional media. Ever.
Bye-Bye, BlogPotomac
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Buzz had been stewing for the past week. Stewing that he lost both time and money, billable as well as oop. Stewing that he was an unwilling voyeur to a near day-long “insiders only” social media love fest. Stewing that, for the most part, he felt talked down to or talked around, dismissing or ignoring his own knowledge of and experience with social media.
So, what is the source of this week-long stew, you ask? Try the one-track June 12 BlogPotomac when at times, watching the flickering laptop screens was more interesting than listening to what was coming from the stage, with the exception of Shel Holtz and Ford’s Scott Monty who each offered valuable insights on their views, uses and thoughts on all things social media today as well as in the future. Thank you guys.
Overall the day for Buzz was relatively low energy, low interest and low value – yes, even at $95. An entire segment on personal branding? Come on. Others had a similar reaction, and it even carried over to the official Blog Potomac happy hour event.
As if to confirm this sentiment, event organizer Geoff Livingston announced that a third and final BlogPotomac will take place in October, and then five days later the Senior VP/Social Media at PR firm CRT/tanaka came out with this blog post with the headline: “Why a Final BlogPotomac: Social Media Really Is Dead.” Wow. Who knew?
Which got Buzz to thinking…as we see this shift to a new stage of social media with all the talk about ”rock stars” (yes, some actually say this!) and personal branding and how to handle this new-found ”fame,” why not develop and host a social media event that brings the conversation back to reality? Anyone out there want to join in?
Social Media a Key Part of Company Success Stories
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When three executives from some of the Baltimore region’s most successful companies got together this morning to share “good news” stories about profitability in the face of a recession, they also took the time to share thoughts about marketing.
And no, they didn’t talk trade shows, direct mail campaigns and press releases.
Try Facebook, Twitter and blogging strategies as the tools they’re focusing on, even if it’s to monitor what customers – and competitors – are doing, linking to, following and saying.
The Greater Baltimore Tech Council event, “Who’s Growing in 2009?” was emceed by Art Jacoby (in photo above, left) featuring Tim Lorello, SVP and chief marketing officer for Telecommunication Systems, Inc. (also known as TCS), Michele Perry, chief marketing officer of Sourcefire, and Todd Johnson, president of Salar, Inc. (right). All three companies are in a strong growth mode, and marketing plays an important role.
But a pleasant surprise of the morning – at least for me – came when they talked about their use of social media and its emerging importance to their businesses. This was no social media how-to workshop where you’d expect that kind of talk. This was a business event and these unsolicited comments about social media’s value came straight from execs in the trenches.
Perry called this a time for “lots of learning and tracking…and numbers to watch” when it comes to social media, with time spent listening to what’s being said about Sourcefire and the industry. She also shared a powerful anecdote of the firm’s success with media interviews as a result of prompt response to Tweets by reporters needing sources for stories. “It all happens within half an hour,” emphasized Perry.
Lorello also acknowledged its importance and talked of winning awards, which leads to news coverage, which leads to results on the search engines, still the most important player in online marketing. Meanwhile, Salar, Inc. has a Facebook page (including pix from a recent Paintball outing) and a Twitter account, but the most efficient use of Web 2.0 tools are the industry blogs that have “10 times more credibility” than other sources, according to Johnson.
“It’s a wonderfully cheap way to market directly to our audience,” he said.
Before the Q and A session got underway, Jacoby, a notable business consultant, proclaimed that “social media is the next giant.”
Amen, Art.
P.S. Check out the blog post about the event written by Baltimore Sun tech reporter Gus Sentementes. It’s on his new blog just launched this week, BaltTech.
Ford Understands Social Media
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If you don’t follow @ScottMonty (left) on Twitter, you should.
Whether you agree with the bailout plan or not (O.K., in Ford’s case, it’s “assurance we can get a line of credit if the economy worsens,” he will tell you on Twitter), Ford Motor Co.’s global digital and multimedia communications manager demonstrates how social media can work for an organization.
Seemingly at work all hours in recent weeks, Scott Monty answers questions about the plan, directs people to a Web site set up over the Thanksgiving weekend to address the topic, shares a link to the plan submitted to Congress, posts his boss’s testimony – plus he’ll add a bit of personal comment along the way (we learned Scott and his young family flew from Boston to Detroit last week as they completed their move from Greater Boston to Michigan; now they’re living among cardboard boxes).
The corporate press release, the Web site (12/13 update: excluding the video conversations featuring Ford execs), the talking points – even Ford CEO Alan Mulally’s testimony – are all scripted. Scott Monty’s comments are not, and he’s responding to just about anyone on Twitter who makes a comment about Ford or asks a question. Go ahead and try it and you’ll get a genuine response. And you’ll also see the occasional post such as this one: “I told Alan that if things turn nasty in DC, he should take the Mustang and do donuts on the Capital lawn. 
”
That’s the difference between stiff one-way traditional communications and social media. Sure, social media is riskier, but if executed properly it makes even the behemoth corporation feel more real and in touch with its customers.
Social Media Quickly Rising on the 'Must Do' List
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We recently met with a real estate client, owner of commercial and recreational properties throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, to begin 2009 planning. Imagine our delight when “social media” was at the top of the meeting’s agenda!
We were impressed when the communications manager began the discussion about social media with “we 
need you to help us get under way the right and best way possible; to get our executives comfortable with the brave new world of social media; and to integrate this campaign into the other communications activities.”
As we begin to devise the firm’s overall social media strategy, we’ve already provided the communications manager with these steps for getting the real estate firm’s executives up-to-speed and on board with social media so they’ll appreciate our recommendations even more:
#1 – Sign up for an RSS feed to receive updates from thought-leaders and others in the real estate industry. Just experiment, learn and explore. If you’re a newbie and that’s all you get out of this post, it’s enough for now. And it’s free. Here’s a great video clip from Common Craft on what “our friend, the RSS reader” is all about.
#2 – Read blogs relevant to your segment of the industry, using your new RSS reader. Ask others who they follow and when you find real estate bloggers you like, check out their blogrolls (a blogger’s list of their favorite blogs in the sidebar of their blog) to find out who they follow. Mix it up. When you get bored of some, find others and keep building and tweaking your list.
#2a – If this seems like enough for now, stop, enjoy your RSS and blog reading and return to this list later.
#3 – Become familiar and get involved with social networking sites. Begin with LinkedIn and Facebook (where you’ll be
surprised at all the relevant sub-groups worth joining and tracking). Sign up for accounts even if you don’t understand why you should join; a lot of these social media applications don’t make a lot of sense at the beginning and new applications and uses are always being added, so being part of the network now puts you at a much greater advantage.
#4 – Get involved with Twitter, first by simply setting up a personal account and listening to what others are saying about your company and industry. Once you get a feel for how Twitter works you can move from “lurker” to a participant in the conversations.
#5 – Finally, explore and learn even more by signing up for webinars, listening to podcasts, learning what a widget is, what a wiki is, how people are sharing and commenting on pictures with Flickr, how organizations are using YouTube channels, etc. This might sound confusing today, but tackle one new element at a time and pretty soon you’ll catch up.
We urge the company’s executives to take these five steps at their own pace, beginning with signing up for an RSS reader to begin their journey. It’s more about jumping in and participating than finding the ideal “how-to” book.
