MEGO: My Eyes Glaze Over

Books. Gifts. Goats

Sep 7, 2009 A Good Laugh, Consumer Brands, Retail Marketing

I don’t know if this is a new sign – or I am just noticing it for the first time. I thought it was “Indigo Music and Books” – but they have the right to change their tagline.

However, this is just weird.

Books – check (picked up Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julian Smith and Six Pixels by Mitch Joel).

Gifts – check (picked up a gift certificate for my sons teacher).

Kids -didn’t see any for sale there.  Couldn’t they just say “Toys”? Books and Gifts will cover any other children’s products they sell.

Popularity: 41% [?]

Tags: Books, children, indigo books, Retail Marketing, shopping

Social Networks and the Net Generation at Work

Mar 15, 2009 Blogs, Books, Customer Service, Digital Marketing & Metrics, Internet General, Marketing & Communication, Microblogging, Social Bookmarking, Social Media

When I joined the workforce e-mail was pretty standard as a method for communication and the Internet was commonly used for research purposes. But, in the early days of email many business owners and managers did not allow e-mail in the offices for fear that their employees would not get any work done, they were concerned over how to manage, store and capture e-mailed information, and of course they grappled with security issues surrounding e-mail. Today, business owners and managers have realized that e-mail has increased the speed of business communication, and concerns over data capture and management as well as security have largely been overcome.

Social Networks Stats and Facts

There is a new tool that has caused much consternation and hand-wringing for IT Managers and business owners – social networks and social media.  A new report by Nielson puts social networks ahead of e-mail in online activities according to a recent article in the Globe and Mail.  Neilson found that 1 in 11 minutes online is spent on a social network or blog site, bringing social networks and blogs to the fourth most popular activity following search, general interest portals and software manufacturers. More telling is the growth seen by social networks during the period of the study (Dec 2007-Dec 2008) which saw between 1.4 and 1.9% growth for the top three activities versus an incredible 5.4% for social networking.

There are 150 Million active Facebook users and a recent research study from Pew Inernet shows that 11% of online adults say they have used the social network Twitter. A Netpop report shows that 7 Million people in the U.S. are contributing to content online and that social networking sites have grown a whopping 93% since 2006!

Despite the growth in the use of social media and social networks specifically, many corporations have decided to bury their head in the sand and hope it goes away, much like they did when e-mail came on the scene. Instead of facing the issues these companies have decided to simply block employees access.

Blocking Access

The concerns for social media are similar to those in the 1990s when e-mail entered the workplace: productivity, data capture, privacy and security. The approach the same – block, refuse access, refer employees to old technology (oddly in the case of social media it is often e-mail!). But this is short-sighted, unrealistic and a passive approach that will eventually (if not already!) be seen as anti-productive.

Let’s look at the concerns companies have regarding social media:

Productivity: This has to be the most ridiculous of the reasons. 1) If employees want to be slack off all they need to do is go stand by someone else’s desk, go for a smoke break, chat at the water cooler, close their eyes and have a snooze. Let’s face it if you can’t trust your employees are doing their job…then you didn’t hire the right people or they are bored, unchallenged or unempowered. 2) If employees are allowed to use social media they can actually become more productive! (More on this in next post)

Data Capture/Management: Many social networks are easily followed, stored and saved. People have clearly moved beyond this issue with e-mail – and this can be accomplished with Social Networks. Ownership can be overcome by businesses as well by contracting space on sites for block of space that would be under control of the company as suggested by Salesforce.com precedent. Another alternative is to set up internal IM systems, social networks and Wikis for use with Internal Communication. While this does not help customer and vendor communication it can allow employees some use of tools that will help productivity while maintaining data security and capture.

Privacy and Security: This is a biggie, and closely related to data capture and management. Panic has ensued amongst business owners with regards to data privacy and corporate secrets. And, of course it can be an issue as more and more employees spend time on social networks discussing their lives (which includes work) with Facebook status changes, LinkedIn profiles, and of course the tweets on Twitter. Companies obviously want to limit and retain close control over sensitive company information, at the same time they also must find ways to engage and communicate directly with their customers (or risk losing them). As social media becomes increasingly interconnected and more customers EXPECT companies to be active on social networks it will become inadequate to simply block social media sites and use URL filtering. Instead companies can help alleviate the privacy and security (and avoid potential lawsuits) issues by creating policies and educating employees on safe data handling. (Note: There are also IT tools available on the market to help monitor, examine historic patterns of leaks and discover and eliminate malware that have in the past been issues with some Web 2.0 sites). Privacy and security is an issue whether your employees are using social media or not – but a easy to understand policy, and a central contact for questions related to privacy and security can help companies avoid future issues.

Net Generation at Work

Companies that decide to limit or block use of social media are not only unnecessarily limiting their communication with their customers through online methods, they are also forfeiting the chance to discover new tools for collaboration within the organization. By closing the company off from social media they are also driving away younger employees who are looking to work for companies whose culture fits their life and ideals.  Don Tapscott in his book Grown Up Digital says the “Net gener [age 18-32] arrives at work, eager to use his social networking tools to collaborate and create and contribute to the company. For starters he’s shocked to find that the company’s technological tools are more primitive than the ones he used in high school…And they are surprised, perhaps naively, to learn that corporations have antiquated ways of working.” These same Net Generation workers can, if given a chance, show companies how to collaborate in new ways more effectively and efficiently. But, these workers don’t stick around long according to Tapscott – they usually only last two years before moving on. Which is too bad since Tapscott’s research shows that those companies that embrace the Net Gen norms perform better than those that don’t..

This generation, of which I am a part of (well I missed it by a month…), view life and work different from other generations according to Tapscott – and that view is defined by 8 characteristics or norms: Freedom, Customization, Scrutiny, Openness, Fun/Entertainment in life and work, Collaboration, Speed, Innovation.

Tapscott definies these characteristics as they relate to work (summary):

Freedom: Net Geners expect to mix work and their personal lives, and this includes choosing when and where they work. They want flexible hours, the ability to telecommute, and other services that make their lives easier.

Customization: They want employers to treat them as individuals and this means giving them learning and development opportunities that are right for them. They want an adaptable work environment, job descriptions that are project based and customized, flexible benefits,  and more frequent discussions on their contribution to the organization.

Scrutiny: How we search for jobs has changed and how we research the company before we make a change has as well.  According to Grown Up Digital 60% of Net Geners check out a company before accepting a job offer. They want to work for companies that are transparent, share information, and have integrity. Tapscott says: “Young people respond well to management integrity…there is greater loyalty and lower turnover, and employees are more likely to do the right thing.” (For example more likely to get their job done even if they take a break to check Facebook, and more likely to hold company secrets sacred and follow company privacy policy).

Collaboration: Net Geners want to work with other people and collaboration is how they get stuff done. To them the workplace should be less about hierarchies and departmental silos and more about connecting with others to solve a problem. Using social networks, social bookmarking, Wikis, aps like LinkedIn Huddle Workpaces or Virtual worlds (Second Life) to meet, collaborate, plan, and execute.

Fun/Entertainment: Fun and work go hand in hand for this generation – they don’t need to be separate. Cultures that allow employees to have a little fun at work end up with more productive staff. We all need a break before diving back into another round of work – and if surfing on a social network is that little bit of fun – why block it?

Speed: This generation is used to speed and instant responses. Why not? We no longer have to wait for dial-up or snail mail! For Net Geners red tape is frustrating, feedback should be in real-time and bureaucracy can mean doom in the market. They use social media tools such as Wikis and IM to speed up communication within the workplace.

Innovation: This is a fascinating point Tapscott makes: “If video games taught this Net Generation anything, it’s that every problem has seemingly endless solutions” and so this generation is looking for new ways to their jobs, to be innovative in their workplace, to challenge status quo. Many of these young workers bring their knowledge of social media to the work place creating new communication channels, building collaborative work systems, and finding new ways to solve a business problem.

In the End

Social media such as instant messaging, blogging and social networks have gained ground as communication tools outside the workplace by leaps and bounds, and it is only a matter of time before they, like e-mail before them, become necessary and an acceptable part of the work place.  The concerns for productivity,  data management, and security and privacy are valid – however they can be overcome by education, corporate policy and new IT tools. Ultimately, if a company hires good people they will need less process and bureaucracy to police the space – as the employees in an open and empowered culture will be more likely to use social media tools wisely. Through using social media in the workplace employees will find new ways to harness collective knowledge, collaborate, and create ways to communication effectively internally and externally.

As always  – connect on Twitter and Google Friend Connet (right hand side). And, if you enjoyed this content – subscribe!

Images from Stocl.xchng (bigevil600, brokenarts, glennpeb)

Popularity: 100% [?]

Tags: facebook, Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World HC, linkedin, socia, Social Bookmarking, social media, social network, twitter, Work

Twittering Television

Mar 9, 2009 Digital Marketing & Metrics, Microblogging, Social Media, social networks, word of mouth

Last night on Twitter Mack Collier tweeted (rather retweeted @kathyoreilly)

It reminded me something that I had thought about a few times – TV is more fun with friends,  and therefore TV is more fun with Twitter! During the U.S election I watched the news, and twittered; after the bruhaha in Parliament Stephane Dion and Stephen Harper made speeches on Canadian television and I listened to the speeches while joining the conversation on Twitter. Beyond politics, I have twittered about Lost, Grey’s Anatomy and the Oscars. Last night I tweeted about my dislike of the Simpson’s (simply tired of it….):

I received a number of replies – only one admonishing my remark, the remainder agreeing and one suggesting that the Family Guy is far superior. But, I digress…

We already know that many people are using their computers while watching television – multi-tasking at its best. We are more engaged checking our email, chatting, surfing social networks, playing games and tweeting than we are with the television program.  Of course what we are doing on the Internet doesn’t usually have to do with what we are watching on TV. Except in the case of the social networks as we often IM, tweet and change our status reflecting what is going on with the television program at hand.

Some of my recent tweets for example were regarding a program Inside the McDonald’s Empire.

So, what better way then for the networks to engage with its audience again then through social networks like Twitter that are “real time”.

According to Mack Collier who immediately tweeted back to me in reply to my comment there are some Interactive uses in the US through Dish.

Here in Canada we can get “more info” on some Sat channels such as CBC and The Weather Network. The Weather Network for example allows you to choose your region. Occassionnally I have seen news casters refer to a Facebook group, and increasingly I have seen and heard Twitter mentioned (The View, Canada AM, The Hour, The Daily Show).

But while TV isn’t always a “social”, we do often end up in social situations talking about TV. So, why not bring those two things together? As, you saw from the first “tweet” – on Sunday night the 5 of the top 10 trending topics were TV programs, so what is the opportunity for networks? How can they get some excitement back into TV? Is there a possibility for new revenue streams?

What if our favourite shows advertised a Twitter hashtag in the corner for people to follow along? What kind of conversations would take place? Could there be trivia? Maybe polls? Analysis by crowd? A real-time forum to discuss the intricacies of our favourite dramas! Fact checking could be shared with others watching the same debate/interview/speech; programs could request real-time questions and requests from their audience; or perhaps during the Oscars they could share tidbits from live tweets on the best/worst dressed. There could be special access to clues or theories (for Lost!), or  a “backstage pass” as producers tweet behind the scenes (imagine the green room at Letterman….or MTV awards).  A live event such as concert, sporting event would become social even if you can’t make it to the event! Of course there could be shared links to pictures, video, or interviews with the stars or experts.

What else can you think of? Would you participate?

As always  – connect on Twitter and Google Friend Connet (right hand side). And, if you enjoyed this content – subscribe!

Popularity: 45% [?]

Tags: canada, Family Guy, mack collier, Politics, social network, stephen harper, television, twitter

Skittles: Flavour of the Week

Mar 4, 2009 Advertising, Branding, Consumer Brands, Digital Marketing & Metrics, Marketing & Communication, Social Media

The Internet and prevalent use of social media has certainly changed how brand messages are shared and created.  A search for a brand on Google may be more likely to bring up consumer-generated content then the corporate site. The company is no longer the sole communicator of brand messages through the traditional one-way methods such as print and television advertising. A marketer can talk about their high quality products all they want in their advertising, but if the product doesn’t hold up to those messages consumers will re-interpret and spread new brand messages to their peers and community.  You will often hear traditional marketers lament the lose of “control” over their brand messages. But are they required to give up control completely?  Does a marketer just throw up their hands and give the consumer the microphone? Certainly, a brand is not what you think it is, it is what your customer thinks it is. But while marketers can no longer easily control the brand messages,  as said well on Experience the Blog:

“Legal ownership provides certain benefits but imparts little control.
Managing a brand is like the proverbial herding of cats–it’s about
influence and not command. Particularly in the era of social media,
brands must strive to exert more influence with less control as the
voice of the consumer becomes a greater part of the marketing
environment.”

A company can still be involved in their brand messages by listening to and engaging with consumers, by understanding their consumers interpretation of the brand, and by ensuring that these consumers understand the company’s values – AND that the actions of the company reflect those values. If we didn’t have some opportunity to join the conversation – there wouldn’t be much point in a marketing or communication department would there?

I bring this issue of “control” over brand messages up as a jumping off point to discuss the recent change to Skittles.com. I know some of my readers don’t read the same blogs as I do so here is a quick summary:

A couple days ago Skittles.com got rid of their regular web site and essentially gave their site over to social media sites. They decided to let go, and let popular social sites tell you what Skittles are all about. Interesting concept, for sure.

This image was the “home page” – a link to Twitter Search for “skittles”. Click on Friends and it takes you to their Facebook page, click on Media and you get Flickr (anything tagged “Skittles”) and YouTube, click on particular Products and you get Wikipedia.

Takes a brave company to give their site over to the general public. And, I hazard to say – in this case – stupid. My opinion only.

Why?

1) Who is the primary demographic for Skittles? I would guess teenagers? Kids? Certainly not the over 18 crowd…but the site requires you to put in your age before you get access. So first mistake – forgetting your target demographic. Unless of course I am wrong and it is really a 18+ market…or they are trying to gather market share in that age group.

2) They underestimated the jokers and pranksters out there. Within 24 hours the Twitter stream using the word Skittles or #Skittles included people talking about drugs, racial slurs, religion and anything else you don’t want associated with your brand and certainly not on your home page! While I am all for transparency and not censoring – they could have created something to at least keep out the ridiculous  – and keep the it “clean” allowing for a more meaningful conversation. And, I am certainly not advocating removal of valid complaints or comments on Skittles – just the irrelevant stuff.

3) Lack of engagement. They have jumped in to point the site to various social networks- but what are they doing to close the loop? Are they conversing or is it still a bit one-way?

I had a conversation yesterday with friends Martin Waxman and Melanie Rockcliff when I met up with them yesterday about this interesting example of using social media. Melanie had a great point that perhaps Skittles just wasn’t the right brand for this type of experiment. I think she is bang on- imagine this kind of site for a product that is really edgy, or targeted to College/University crowds. Beer was one of the ideas we tossed around. Beer already requires a age requirement, and for those drinks targeted towards the younger College/University group – the bizarre and silly works well.

All said, Dave Fleet is correct that we don’t know the objectives for the Skittles campaign and perhaps this effort will accomplish what they set out to do. If they simply wanted to get some Google juice for their website (in which case – bravo objective accomplished – here is another link), or they wanted to get people talking about Skittles and build a little buzz – then they have succeeded . But, these are short term, and in my opinion won’t likely sell a boat load of Skittles.

Personally, unless they start selling bags with just red and purple….I am not buying. Yellow and green are simply icky. So I am not interested in “Tasting the Rainbow”.  Not my thing – coloured candy balls. Haven’t been into those since I walked to the corner store with my best friend with a quarter in my pocket.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Looking for Options: Avoiding Telemarketers and Net Throttlers

Feb 28, 2009 Consumer Brands, Customer Service, Internet General, Marketing & Communication

Prepare yourself for a rant.

For some time now we have been searching for a new Internet Service Provider (ISP), one that doesn’t throttle P2P sites (file sharing sites). Sadly, in Canada it seems this is difficult since while we aren’t forced to purchase our access from the operator (in Canada: Bell, Rogers and Shaw are the most dominant players)- the truth is most flow through their network anyhow.

Frustrated with this service and the fact that every month our bill seems to sneak up a few cents, we had also started to look into alternatives to our phone service.  We spend nearly $170 every month for Phone, Internet, and Television service from one provider. Despite calling to take advantage of new bundle packages (note: they didn’t automatically give me the bundle discount- I had to CALL!) our bill is still ridiculously expensive if you consider the fact that they throttle P2P sites on our Internet, the majority of our phone calls are from 000-0000 and 123-4567, and I can get what good TV shows exist, elsewhere – it really makes me question the money being spent!

Today, after dealing with more telemarketers calling (and, yes I signed the useless “Do Not Call list! Reminds me,  check out this hilarious video from This Hour has 22 Minutes) I decided to call and de-list our phone number, hoping that this might help. I really don’t need to have my phone number listed – any one who wants to get a hold of me can e-mail me if they don’t know my phone number! Guess what privacy costs at the phone company – $2 A MONTH. Are you *&^% me? Why should I pay an additional $2 a month to keep my phone number private? Don’t I already pay over $40 to have a land line? Interestingly, someone on Twitter told me that if I wanted to list my cell phone number I would HAVE TO PAY! I began thinking do I need an expensive land line? If I scan my Caller ID, there are only a handful of calls I actually want to take. My family talks to us on Skype, my friends talk to me on e-mail or Blackberry Messenger, or Gmail, Facebook, or Twitter.  So… to solve phone issue – I am going to get VOIP phone service – apparently some actually have a filter for telemarketers!

Finding an alternative for Internet is more difficult. Currently I have been unable to find any ISPs that don’t use the networks provided by the three big guys who currently are throttling certain sites, or throttling during peak hours. In fact, the CRTC will be reviewing this very issue in July.  So far CRTC has taken a “let’s do nothing” attitude. Go figure, they are the same brainiacs that created the Do Not Call Registry which was oh-so successful! The hearing in July will examine the principle of  “network neutrality” in Canada and whether ISPs will be able to continue to “manage” traffic as they have been for the past year. “Network neutrality” is a principle that obligates the companies that own the infrastructure to “refrain from blocking, degrading, or prioritizing certain content, services, or applications based on their source, ownership or destination” (SaveOurNet.ca).  SaveOurNet.ca has an interesting PDF that outlines the issue, the current laws, the facts vs. fiction.

A couple interesting bits and pieces on the issue from SaveOurNet.ca:

• Tiered, non-neutral networks limits customer choice, and determine which Internet businesses succeed by prioritizing or degrading specific content based on who is willing to pay for it. Large ISPs would use traffic management to charge content providers for speedy access for their web users – therefore smaller companies, start-ups (or blogs!) that couldn’t afford to pay would suffer. Interestingly, ISPs could slow down their own competitors. Bell for example throttles P2P sites, yet it is unlikely that they are slowing down downloads to their new Bell Video Store.
• The major ISPs insist that throttling is necessary in order to offer equal service during peak time to consumers. Yet, when asked to produce numbers it turns out that bandwidth us is actually down! So, if we aren’t short on bandwidth – then the only reason to throttle seems to be to make money, and turn web consumers into a commodity.
• A free and equal platform fosters innovation in Canada:  The Internet provides start-ups, and innovators with an incredible platform to reach their customers at a low price. But, if ISPs are allowed to pick and choose “which content gets to ride in the fast lane, future innovators will have to impress (or pay off) the ‘gate-keeper’ before gaining access to consumers” (SaveOurNet.ca). Which begs the question why you would choose to do business from Canadian soil…
• Many consumers are not aware that their ISPs are slowing their speed of access, and incorrectly assume that it is the content provider instead. Imagine you are watching a live-stream video of your favourite author reading and the picture and sound is splotchy and fragmented, how do you rate your experience? Isn’t your enjoyment of the Internet based on the speed at which you can find and do what you set out to do. Do you visit that site again?
• The ISPs built the infrastructure so it is their belief that they deserve to compensated for their investment. However, as SaveOurNet.ca points out – it would be ridiculous to imagine a hydro company charging a premium to particular customers for “enhanced service” – essentially double-dipping by charging us for access and then the content providers to give customers reliable access to content.
• The Internet is ours. I think this is an important distinction to make – the networks provide the access, but they “contribute very little to the resource” (SaveOurNet.ca) The value of the Internet, the information, the content, the social networks, the communication vehicles available -  those are not due to the work of the ISPs they are authored by other companies, supported by volunteers, or created as a collaborative effort of many.
• If net neutrality is not upheld by public policy we can be sure that the ISPs will manage traffic in a way that best satisfies their bottom line…not ours.

Until Monday the CRTC was accepting public input on the issue to review for the public hearing in July. SaveOurNet.ca sent over 5000 letters from web users as of midnight on the 23rd of February. However, we will have to wait until July to see what happens when the CRTC deliberates the issue. In the mean time, I guess I am stuck paying out money for less than adequate service.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Tags: bell, Bell Video Store, canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, crtc, internet law, Internet service provider, law, net neutrality, rogers, shaw, web

How Email Blasts Work

Feb 26, 2009 Advertising, Branding, Consumer Brands, Digital Marketing & Metrics, Marketing & Communication

I am in the need of some new clothes. After two kids,  I have gained and lost weight twice, seen my body change size and shape twice, and bought “fat” clothes twice after each birth. Now, 6 months after my final baby my fat clothes are too big but my pre-baby clothes are too small.

I have signed up for a number of e-mail newsletters, most I rarely read, and some I never read. This morning I got one with the following subject header:

One Day Only! 30% Off All Full-Priced Items

And, it was from Banana Republic where I had recently seen a lovely pair of pants but didn’t purchase because $140 on pants when you are on Maternity Leave (and, in this economy) seems a bit extravagant.  So, I opened this email.

Guess who is going shopping!!

I got to thinking about email newsletters or email blasts – whatever you want to call them. They aren’t a “silver bullet”  – but they can be an incredible direct marketing tool. You have permission to enter a customers Inbox, but just by following e-mail newsletter best practices won’t get you click-through.

If I am not already considering a clothing purchase (Banana Republic) or looking for a new book to read (Amazon) I might not open the email at all.  Similar to print and TV advertising – I am not going to pay much attention unless I am looking for that type of information, or have a current interest in the product or service.  I have received many deals via email for clothing companies – but when I am not looking for a new pair of pants that email gets deleted – no matter how good the subject of the email is!

Of course, the subject has to be the most important piece of the email newsletter. It can mean the difference between Trash and Click.  Amazon does an incredible job of creating great subject headings by offering me customized deals on books that fit my purchase behaviour.  While I didn’t purchase on this one, I did click and added the book to my Wish List:

Save 37% at Amazon.ca on “The Mobile Marketing Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Dynamic Mobile Marketing Campaigns” by Kim Dushinski

This was the message that came with this email:

amazon e-mail blast

Note there was nothing extraordinary about the design of the blast. It was simply well-targeted with a descriptive (if long…) subject heading that caught my attention. Obviously the emails can only be well targeted if the company has a decent amount of information on your purchasing behaviour. Let’s say I am not looking for a new pair of pants so I ignore the e-mail offering me 30% off at Banana Republic.  If on the other hand Banana Republic knew I loved their Martin Fit pants (they are the perfect fit for my body shape) and they send me an email blast that instead said “Save 30% on Martin Fit Pants” – even if I wasn’t looking for a pair of pants I might open that email because it reminds me how much I like those pants, and perhaps I need a pair of beige pants…and why not! At 30% off – what a deal!

I wonder, if more companies had Amazon’s ability to target email blasts, how that would effect their conversion rate? Of course Amazon has the benefit of being an online retailer – so data on it’s customers is easy to come by. A bricks and mortar shop like Banana Republic would have to request your personal information every time you shop – and most people are less willing to give that away at the front cash.  I know I dislike being asked for my phone number at retailers, and anytime someone asks for my mailing address I say no. Oddly, I gave all that information to Banana Republic ONLINE when I signed up for their newsletter. I wonder how they could join my purchase behaviour with my newsletter?  They could ask me to fill out a longer online form where I indicate my favourite BR clothes, or when I shop using a emailed coupon they could ask if they could add my shopping preferences to my account. I wouldn’t mind sharing my purchase behaviour with some stores in order to get more targeted email – how about you? Why is it that we are willing to share more online then in person at the shop? Will this change if we become more concerned about privacy online? Or is it just a matter of time before our online profile include a link to our favourite pants?

Popularity: 31% [?]

Tags: Amazon.com, Banana Republic, Conversion rate, Direct marketing, email marketing, marketing & communication, Online shopping, Retailing

blogs to get your teeth into

Feb 24, 2009 Digital Marketing & Metrics, Marketing & Communication

About a month ago I asked for suggestions on blogs to read since I have been able to keep my Google Reader pretty low on the unread items since my big reorganization.

Here are some of the suggestions I received:

Remarkablogger : Blog Consulting, Blog SEO, Blog Tools. Essentially all about Blogging. Looking forward to checking out his blog and learning more about essential blog tips and tricks.

Corporate Dollar: “Social Media for small non-profits” with lots of good stuff for bloggers.

MintBlogger: Blogging know-how from domain help to web tools.

Janet Fouts: Tools, tips, and thoughts on social media

hubbub: Some really interesting thoughts on advertising (then and now). In fact there is a very cool list of brands and their “character” - how many do you remember?

Socialized: Social media and PR. A thought provoking article on the demise of the newspaper and the implications for freedom and diversity of opinion and news

F.A.D.S. (Fight Against Destructive Spin) – PR and media.

Popularity: 23% [?]

Tags: Advertising, Blogs, great blogs, marketing & communication, reading

Social Media “Marketing”

Feb 22, 2009 Branding, Customer Service, Digital Marketing & Metrics, Marketing & Communication, PR, Social Media, social networks

Some time ago (before my sleepless night) Beth Harte had an interesting post “Is Social Media the Same as Marketing?” She questioned the term “Social Media Marketing” and said “the term social media marketing is not working for me: social media is about sharing and discussing information. It’s communications, not marketing.” What ensued in the comments section was not only a discussion of whether we could call social media – marketing or social media marketing; but a conversation examining the hierarchy and definition of Marketing itself. Now I am a little late jumping into the discussion – believe it or not this has been in the “drafts” for a long time!

Define Marketing…

Some comments on the post placed Communications squarely as part of marketing, others separated marketing and communications as though it were Church and State. The four Ps are mentioned, and then suggested they are an over simplification of marketing.  Marketing runs the show. Communications runs the show. One comment says PR, Sales, Marketing, and advertising are all different disciplines. Another says MarCom and PR are separate but collaborate more often. Still another commenter says that the P for Promotion stands for various communication techniques that would include PR, personal selling, advertising and publicity.

Dale Evans, the author of Social Media an Hour a Day said

“marketing is being defined more and more by what consumers experience and translate into shared content than it is by what a marketer has to say directly”

Walter Pike quotes Peter Drucker:

“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself”

As does Gabriel Rossi:

“Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two–and only two–basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business.”

And Laurie Broderick quotes the AMA

“Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.”

the original market

Ultimately, I don’t think it was necessarily the definition of marketing that was really in question, as all definitions brought up seem to recognize that the role of marketing is to have such solid understanding of their customer base that they strategically create, deliver, and appropriately price the products or services that this customer wants or needs. The original meaning came from literally going to the market to buy or sell goods. However,  I think confusion surrounding the definition comes when we assume that Marketing is just sales promotion.

From the variety of comments it may be that the trouble is not defining marketing, but defining the roles that fall in the umbrella of marketing. In particular, the role of Communication and Marketing Communication.  My understanding has always been that MarCom would fall into “Promotion” – one of the simplified 4P’s of Marketing. In, my working experience it has always been that MarCom and PR have reported into Marketing.  I realize that is not always the case.

Start with the Basics

I took a look at Marketing using the perhaps over simplified 4ps (from my school days, many years ago!):

The Marketing Mix:

Product: Create a product that fits the needs or wants of your customer. Specifications of the goods or services should meet those requirements.

Placement: Otherwise known as distribution and refers to the channel in which a product or service is sold.

Pricing: This is the process marketers use to set the price of a product for market.

Promotion: Textbook definition houses the following in this “P” – Advertising, Sales Promotion, Publicity, Personal Selling (Sales), Branding and other methods to promote product or service.

It is this final P that seems to be the conundrum. Many businesses house these promotional roles in a variety of silos, others have them report directly to Marketing, still others work in tandem with the Marketing group, and of course still others outsource some of these roles to (a variety of ) agencies. Some include only those aspects that would be considered Marketing Communications:

According to Wikipedia: “Marketing communication is concerned with the general behavior of an organization and the perceptions of the organization that are promoted to stakeholders through these touch points. The six areas usually associated in this representation are: Advertising, Public Relations, Promotions, Direct Marketing, Event Marketing, and New Media.”

Others see MarCom as those “selling” aspects of Communication and leave PR out of the mix – seeing it as a Communication role.

Needless to say it is all a bit of a mixed bag.

We also need to examine Marketing as potentially having three additional Ps  (often associated with Service but could just as well work when talking about products):

People: Any person coming into contact with customers can have an impact on overall satisfaction. In the customer’s eyes, the people are generally inseparable from the company and they can therefore highly affect the customer’s experience.

Process: This is the procedures involved in providing a service (or product) which can be crucial to customer satisfaction. Example I buy a new Humidifier at Sears for my baby’s room, take it home and discover it sounds like an airplane jetting off so I take it back – but have to wander the store (with stroller and baby in tow) find an elevator and return it to hardware (where there is no immediate staff member to help) – despite numerous “Service” desks on the main floor.

Physical evidence: To reduce the feeling of risk, thus improving success, it is often vital to offer potential customers the chance to see what a service (or product – especially key for online shopping) would be like. This is done by providing physical evidence, such as case studies, or testimonials. This could also refer, I suppose to the physical appearance of the product – the quality (or lack of) it promises.

Is it Marketing vs Communication?

After reading Beth’s post and the numerous comments I decided I would search about to figure out if there was a rule of thumb for the relationship between Marketing and Communication. It seems once again that there are two schools of thought. In fact- this leads to two possible hierarchies.

1) Marketing is the 1-way, the push, the sell. Communication is two-way. They are two different disciplines. Two different departments.

2) Communication is a piece of the marketing puzzle. It is the tactics used to market and to converse with the target market. Same discipline. Same department.

Hmmm. Doesn’t help does it? While I believe that Communication must work in an integrated manner with the Marketing department, it seems that there are just as many that see the two as very separate pieces of the corporate puzzle.  If separate how do we ensure that all communications are sending the same messages? And, where does Social Media fit in – Marketing or Communications? Both?

The Dreaded Social Media

Like Beth, I dislike the term Social Media Marketing.

Social Media is defined as “primarily Internet- and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings. The term most often refers to activities that integrate technology, telecommunications and social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio.” (Wikipedia). The words “sharing” and “discussing” being an important factor to differentiate the “media” from other one-way channels such as television.

The problems I see with the term “Social Media Marketing”:

It is a name that in a few years will be dated. The web is, and has been for years – social. What happens when every site has some sort of forum, profile sharing, comment field etc. Will we still call it “social”? Or will that be rather redundant?I wonder if the even the term “media” too closely relates it to Television and Print Media which are traditionally used in an interruption method which as of now is a method which has not worked for the web.

and Social Media cannot be seen as only a tool to send simple outgoing marketing messages, as it also allows for two-way communication which can help an organization do much more. Amber Naslund said it best in the comments to Beth Harte’s post:

“Social media doesn’t just need to fit into marketing or public relations or other disciplines that are used to communicate. It’s also about customer service, technology and user experience, client relationship management, product and service innovation. It’s an undercurrent of so many more business touchpoints than we’ve ever seen, and I think that’s causing some consternation. In a good way, but it’s still hard.”

Social Media is two-way, it is authentic conversation between customer and company – and in such should fall under Communication. However, look at it in another way it works to benefit marketing in a number of ways:

Let’s just look at a few examples:

Product Idea Generation and Product Innovation

Sites such as My Starbucks Idea and Dell Ideastorm allow customers to work along with the company to develop products and innovations. To work this must be a collaboration between Marketing and the customer. However, as always it must remain “on brand” and conversational – so Communication must also be at play.

Customer Support Forums

Software companies have for quite some time had self-service support forums, allowing customers help other customers. These types of forums allow customers help others trouble-shoot, personalize and understand the product or service. Examples could include Apple iPod Discussion Forum; or the more community oriented Ubuntu site. This type of support can have an effect on how the brand is perceived, and despite the fact these are not employees of the company, on overall satisfaction with the product or service.

Customer Support via Twitter

Many companies are using Twitter to promote products or services, or drive traffic to their website. More effective however, have been the companies such as JetBlue, Starbucks,  and others who have also offered Customer Support through their Twitter accounts.

Corporate Blogs

There are certainly corporate blogs that are using the blogging platform as a tool to promote only, either to solely offer information on products or to drive traffic to their corporate site by optimizing for search using the blog. However, these are generally not successful in engaging their customers.  Other blogs that offer more insight, helpful content, and increased depth of information such as Graco’s Corporate Blog or Fiskars Fisk-A-Teers Blog have helped to build loyalty amongst their target demographic while of course increasing brand awareness. But, once again is this genuwine communication – Marketing? or Communication?

There are an amazing number of examples of Consumer Generated Content (wikis, videos, blogs, even advertising), File Sharing (photos, videos), Fan Pages, Social Networks, desktop widgets, online widgets,  – Peter Kim has an amazing list of social media examples.

Clearly, it seems to me if we treat these social media examples as “marketing”  or a simple tactical tool to sell products or services we are missing out a vast amount of information, we are missing out on a authentic conversation with our stakeholders and customers.  On the other hand, if it lies in Communication – then Marketing can miss out on an incredible space for innovation and collaboration.

This brings us to my 3rd point on why I dislike the term Social Media Marketing

It cannot be a silo. social media needs to fit in the grand scheme of the brand strategy. It needs to be consistent with other communication channels and it needs to work with the 7 Ps of Marketing. Because of this -  hierarchies may need to change.  Perhaps an executive level that joins the discipline of Marketing and Communication, and Customer Service allowing an integrated approach to communicating and marketing to all stakeholders, to all customer touch points.

The problem that Beth Harte recognized is that if we place social media in this type of integrated approach is that “the mashup will allow for people [aka agencies] to offer services like Social Media Marketing or PR Communications or Marketing Relations or… (really, you don’t want me to go on right?) without having a firm grasp on any of the disciplines that they are trying to deliver or implement.”

This kind of approach means that any advertising agency, PR agency, boutique can claim the title of “social media” expert since they work in the realm of communication or marketing, or advertising. The onus is then on us (the “us” that work on client-side) to flesh out the agencies that “know” and those that “think they know” or “don’t know” social media. As Beth says ” the walls need to come down and the need for two-way communications is forcing a sledge hammer through the walls. But at what cost?”.

This comes down to my reason for blogging in the first place. As someone working on the client-side I believe I need to understand what the agencies I work with are trying to sell me. I understand my business best, but if I just take what the agency is telling me without actually comprehending it, and being involved myself then I am not doing my brand justice. So I am involved in social media – social networks, blogging, listening and contributing. We need to be accountable to our brands and unfortunately this will mean sorting out the agencies selling “snake-oil” and those that are true communication “experts”.

As always  – connect on Twitter and Google Friend Connet (right hand side). And, if you enjoyed this content – subscribe!

Images: stock.xchng

Popularity: 42% [?]

Tags: 4 p's, 7 p's, Advertising, amber nasland, Apple, beth harte, business, community, dell, fiskar, graco, Internet, jetblue, marketing & communication, Marketing communications, Marketing Mix, peter kim, Public relations, social media, social network, starbucks, ubuntu

Isn’t this so 1982? Shopping Old – School

Jan 15, 2009 A Good Laugh, Advertising, Consumer Brands, Digital Marketing & Metrics, Environment, Marketing & Communication, Retail Marketing

I was going to make this a Wordless Wednesday but I had to talk about this weight that arrived on the doorstep.

Things that make you go hmmmm….

To me this is on the WTF side of the spectrum. First of all, with the Internet available for an infinite number of product listings and information – doesn’t a catalog seem like a colossal waste of money and resources? This doorstop of a book has got to cost a fortune to produce, and while I am sure a selection of folks still peruse and buy via catalog – this number has likely diminished a lot since the 80s. So, it begs the question – what is the return on the investment? Even if a few people still enjoy the feeling of paper and glossy ink between their fingers, there are equally a few people who will be offended by the waste and environmental negligence on the part of Sears for distributing this beast to a vast number of homes who will dump this in the blue bin without even a thumb through. At the very least could they not give these out “by request”!

It is no wonder other retailers have decided to dump their glossy catalogues for greener pastures online. Is it possible that the cost of the printing (mailing, production, creation etc), and anger of some foolish environmentalists is outweighed by catalog sales? Perhaps I am wrong. If so, it will only be a matter of time before this catalog beast is extinct. Sears, be watchful – the time is approaching to get rid of this tomb tome ; )

Popularity: 42% [?]

Tags: catalog, Environment, green, internet shopping, online, Retail Marketing, sears, shopping

sNOw Fun

Jan 12, 2009 Consumer Brands, Family and Friends, Games and Toys, Short and Sweet

Yesterday we took to the hill for some sledding. It was Bear’s first time out on the “slopes” . This morning he asked – “can we go play sledding” – so I guess he enjoyed it.

Popularity: 24% [?]

Tags: family, fun, sledding, snow, winter