Of Fish, Tweets and Newspapers

It’s already Thanksgiving and you know what I’m thankful for? My daily newspaper. Yeah, that’s right. You heard me. And why? Because unlike social media, traditional mediums like print actually have reach. And for marketers like me that means two things: efficiency and effectiveness.

Blasphemy you say? Well read on, because if you think newspapers are passé, try wrapping fish in the last tweet you posted. Even the great Guy Kawasaki is schooling the social media community on the importance of reach.

Check out a few stats from my local daily, The Arizona Republic:

• Daily circulation is over 1 million – meaning 1 in 3 read the publication every day.
• The Sunday edition alone reaches 1.2 million readers – 38% of the regional population.
• 1,864,200 adults 18+ (56%) in the Phoenix area have read the paper in the past seven days.
• Captures 42% “Family Life” and 34% “Mature Years” Prizm Lifestage Groups – critical psychographic and demographic profiles who – like it or not – still hold the majority of purchase power in the United States.

If you’re a marketing professional who has written off newsprint as a viable media mix, you’re in dangerous territory. In fact, newspaper readership has not dropped as much as the economy has taken a toll on the business of newspapers. And let’s also not forget the younger skew of the agency people making planning and media buying recommendations – it’s not exactly an older person’s business.

Tremendous opportunity exists in social media. Two-way conversations, customer listening campaigns, viral messaging, and consumers above brands are not the traits of traditional mediums. But beyond the heavy-weight tweeters, not everyone is listening as intently as us. Yet.

Quite possibly in the next 48 hours, you may come across an older person snoring in a chair clutching a newspaper. Not exactly a captive audience, but I’m pretty sure they won’t be nodding off from a post-holiday dinner food coma cuddled up to my blog post. Or your last Tweet. Nope. Most likely it will be a newspaper.

Author’s note: The Arizona Republic readership data was provided by a Scarborough study – August, 2008 through July, 2009.

Stranger Dangers: When Brands Are Lurking

I have a four-year-old daughter who is learning about “Stranger Dangers” in her pre-school class. Like every parent, I want my child to be safe, aware and in control. While I’m happy she’s learning a new skill, there is a part of me that wishes she didn’t have to.

She loves socializing and sharing new ideas with those around her and does so openly and honestly. It’s the purest, most creative form of communication – not entirely unlike the relationships many of us are forging online.

At the core of every social media interaction is the desire to obtain and share useful and relevant information on your terms. It’s a simple principle that explains why open platform communication has been wildly successful because it’s open, honest and real.

Earlier this week, I visited Draft FCB’s Web site, where I listened to their latest podcast – “Be Transparent: The Key to Online Tracking.” Draft’s research finds that while 68% of consumers object to being tracked on line, as many as 58% will welcome info relevant to them. These stats really hit home.

That very day I bailed on supporting a local nonprofit in nominating them in the Chase Community online award contest via Facebook. As a condition of completing my nomination, Chase asked me to fork over my personal Facebook information as well as the information of my friends. “Uh, oh,” I thought, “Stranger Danger.”

• If social media is about being honest, don’t we owe it to ourselves to go above and beyond the code of ethics? For a huge financial brand that’s part of an industry in need of a massive PR campaign, it seems only fitting that that those standards are exceeded in practice.
• It’s one thing for me to surrender my own information, but the information of 337 other people on Facebook? Think of it this way – if a telemarketer called, would you give them the phone numbers of all your friends and family members just so the charity of your choice stood a remote chance of receiving a donation? (Really, Chase? Come On! Really?)
• Nonprofits need all the help they can get. The recession has been hard on them and downright brutal on their beneficiaries. Making it difficult for me to help them, makes me like your brand even less.
• Hording the contact information of my friends (and the friends of everyone else on Facebook) in exchange for helping local nonprofits feels…well….greedy. If you’re only going to use my info to track votes and post comments, then why do you need my friends’ information? And my photos?

Here are some key takeaways:

• How you behave online speaks volumes about your brand. Your behavior is far more transparent online than in other places – like Wall Street, for instance.
• Don’t create conflict between what your customers want to do vs. what they are willing to do -- especially when the conflict involves the noble intentions of a customer’s favorite cause.
• Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Yes, Facebook is allowing Chase to do this. And yes, there are terms and conditions associated. But understanding and respecting people’s motives for engaging in social media are more important in the long run.
• If you’re business is genuine about helping others, there are better ways to capture the information you need without getting in the way of your desire to do some good.

The ultimate irony here is that Chase's intentions are to let you choose which charity you want to support – a way of putting you in the driver’s seat. But meanwhile, a brand is lurking.

Awareness, Twitter and Usage

I love good information, especially when it comes in the form of hard facts. Many of the brands I have worked for and with rely on standard Awareness, Trial and Usage (ATU) studies to help measure marketing and sales success.

For those of you unfamiliar, the ATU is a longitudinal study, often conducted quarterly or semi-annually, designed to help marketers get a grip on effective reach, relevant competitive sets, customer churn and sales. The research not only tracks performance, but is also effective in identifying problems before they happen.

Social media provides an opportunity to listen online more effectively and make adjustments to brand behavior in real time. Just as the ATU provides a snapshot of what your customers are doing, having an engaging presence lets them know your ear is low to the ground.

Consider the ways you can use this to your advantage to pool and funnel information into your longitudinal research and tracking practices. Even if you’re currently not conducting an ATU, observing and documenting conversation on the web can be an effective way to determine both the success and failure of your marketing efforts.

• Use Twitter Search – consider related-keyword terms that apply to your brand or industry. Develop a list of those terms to survey conversation online. Make note of the trends – if five people complain about something, it’s a big deal because you can bet there’s 95 other people who will simply vote with their feet.

• Use Twitter Lists – bucket passionate customers who talk about your brand’s products and/or services into lists to track conversation. Be sure to note the user behavior of your more out-spoken customers – are the comments real or does a certain person simply have an axe to grind?

• Track Twitter Posts – if you’re using Twitter, I hope you’re tracking your posts. If you’re not, then at least trending what your customers are reacting to is a step in the right direction. Plus this is also a great way to edit or expand upon your current ATU questionnaire.

• Deploy Surveys on Twitter – many ATU’s are either conducted via phone interview or via email online. Consider deploying your next brand survey via Twitter in addition to the more traditional methods. You may be able to discern audience trends while also gaining deeper insight into your brand’s Twitterverse.

For many companies, the ATU will continue to be the gold standard, but there are opportunities to begin understanding your customers better. Seize them now.

Leave Social Media to the Accountants

According to the Center for Media Research, six out of ten marketers plan to include social media as a component of next year’s planning. But there’s a huge gap between desire and action when it comes to social. Why?

I asked some marketing friends how they plan to integrate social next year. Here are some of the comments I received from both agency and client side folks:

“I’m fully integrating it as a tactic in plans where appropriate as either a PR or “interactive” function, depending on the preferences of the client. Considering it as an element of promotions, events, and one to one marketing. Tricky part is defining who will execute/manage it and how to get paid for it.”

“We are using it to increase awareness and perception. More PR strategy than marketing strategy.”

“Our goal is to develop social media strategies that mirror our marketing strategies, as well as our public involvement process.”

Social burst on to the scene with obvious implications for PR and Communications professionals, but it needs to be a shared organizational function to be anything less than ephemeral in the minds of companies. Imagine if we all relegated telephone access to accounting departments back in the day? Where would they be now?

Integrating social means bringing HR and Legal to the dance – as well as getting Customer Service and Sales to join in. That’s a big problem for marketers who rarely lead conversations regarding budget and staffing allocations in this brave new economy. So, where to begin?

• Start with department heads. There are plenty of reasons why a VP or C-level executive should be using social. The motivation begins with what their peers and competitors are doing in the space. Show them how using social can be asset by building the business case.
• Reach out to those hiring. Who wants to sift through 300+ resumes? Employers are quickly learning that social can be HR’s best friend in a market glutted with job seekers.
• Create a listening campaign for customer service. What are customers saying about your company online? If you’re in the B2B space and there’s no chatter, you have a golden opportunity to start the conversation.
• Identify social users from within. Conduct a survey to identify those using social networks. Earmark them to help spread the word when a long-term plan is in place.

With a little planning, marketers can have a solid presence in the space. They just need to bring everyone else along.

The Social Media Mix Tape

When I was in college, a friend of mine made the most incredible mix tapes. She had the ear (and the sense of humor) to put Tennessee Ernie Ford right up against The Misfits – and somehow it all worked. When I asked her what the secret was, she humbly revealed, “I do what works.” Now, years later, our group of friends is busy recreating her vintage playlists on both iTunes and LaLa.

To some of us, using social media as a marketing tool may sound like pure cacophony – an unfamiliar tune that has yet to “work” with those we are more accustomed to. What we need is a playlist – a planning tool to not only show how social media can blend into the wider media mix, but also demonstrate its effectiveness in a manner that can be tracked alongside and through other channels.


The next time you’re asked plan a promotion, consider creating the equivalent of your own marketing mix tape by blending social media efforts into the bigger picture. You can start by downloading the Dead Reckoning’s Social Media Promo Calendar Template, and customizing it to track day-by-day activity against your written strategy.


Take into consideration what the objective of your event/promotion/marketing activity IS. Think about organizing your assets by how they function vs. the medium they represent – e.g. outdoor boards and PPC are both forms of paid advertising. Consider using social media to tease your marketing efforts to start and then build and sustain the momentum of your efforts as you move through your calendar.


The result will be a 20,000 ft. view of your plan that factors social media efforts into the mix - making the equivalent of marketing harmony.

5 Ways Social Media Can Make Your Event Live On

Deeper customer engagement is becoming uber important to building a successful marketing strategy, so it’s never too late to identify opportunities to integrate social media with our old friend - the event.

Today’s marketers may look with skepticism on what I like to call experiential marketing, but the reality is a successful (and unfortunately, an unsuccessful) event will leave a strong impression on your customers, donors and/or B2B partners alike.

The trouble is getting the most bangs for your buck. After all, events cost money and manpower – two commodities everyone is short on these days. But if you have the resources to pull off a meaningful event, here’s five ways you can use social media to make your message and content live beyond the big day.

1. Generate Customer Created Content. If you have enough lead time, solicit ideas from your online community asking them what they would like to see at your event and who they would like to hear from in your organization. Ask for their comments or post a short survey to capture qualitative info. Share the results back with them and run with a few winning ideas. Be sure to give credit for the feedback online and again at the event.
   
2. Build Programming Content Interest. Plan on featuring a keynote speaker? Work with him/her to create a dynamic pre-event message addressing your target audience. Use video or podcasting to record your message and broadcast via your social networks, or, consider conducting a live interview on Twitter.
   
3. Capture Event Testimonials. There’s nothing like having customers engaged in your brand on camera and in person. Ask the faithful for some perspective on how they engage in your product, service or cause. What makes them a fan? How has your brand helped them? Record. Edit. And Post. Be sure to get their permission in advance.
   
4. Recycle, Reuse and Repurpose Event Content. Have a plan in place to re-edit and post critical content immediately following the event. Focus on content that addresses the primary objectives of your event. This may include audio, video and photos. Be certain to tag that content and link it back to your Web site.
   
5. Don’t Forget About Offline. Take inventory of all related offline marketing efforts – including news coverage, collateral, event footage and photography, advertising and promotions. These are assets which can easily be brought into an online environment to generate pre- and post-event interest.

Finally, thank them. You may have planned for your event for six months, but your audience took three or four hours to engage in your message. Respect that by giving them the courtesy they deserve for their valuable attention.

Why Nonprofits (Still) Aren’t Using Social Media to Fundraise

Last Spring I had the opportunity to sit on a social media panel at the Phoenix Business Journal’s Annual Non-Profit Business Summit. After a strong Q&A from peers in the industry who were either eager to begin or expand on their own .org’s social media efforts, Jaime Casap of Google, proceeded to tell the lunchtime crowd of over 800 business professionals that Twitter was a just a “fad.” With the average age in the room pushing 45-50 years of age, Casap’s message was exactly what this crowd was waiting to hear. I left knowing that Phoenix nonprofit leaders had been handed a takeaway: online community building should be met with a certain degree of skepticism.

So, when UMASS / Dartmouth Center’s nonprofit social media usage study was summarized on online last week, I was relieved to learn that the nation’s nonprofit leaders have, in fact, taken bold moves to collectively leverage social media. It’s not hard to see why 89% (up from 75% the previous year) of charities studied in 2008 make use of social media. After all, social media represents the well-established offline community outreach efforts so indicative of nonprofit organizations. But what really jumped out to me was the revelation that 45% claim social media is “very important” to their fundraising strategy – flat and slightly down from the 46% claim recorded in 2007.

With all the numbers heading north, why then is social media not more critical to the fundraising efforts of organizations?

• Nonprofits stifle themselves when it comes to changing their fundraising strategies. And why should they? Most organizations have been raising money the same way for decades, if not centuries. Simply posting a Facebook Cause page won’t replace the work of resource development (not to mention that Cause pages don’t work). Rather, nonprofits need to integrate social media into their current fundraising efforts – using the combined efforts of development, community outreach and marketing to open a two-way dialog with donors.
• Because nonprofit structure tends to favor both political and information silos, donor data can be disparate resulting in both substandard and redundant communications. Last year my wife and I donated to an organization that sent the exact same “thank you” letter to each of us individually no less than three times. This certainly made us wonder where our dollars were going. Wouldn’t it have be easier (and cheaper) to find us online?
• Nonprofits need to centralize their donor communications so they’re left in the hands of the professionals. IT and data management staff are not communicators, nor are they incentivized to communicate with donors. Today’s donors demand two-way dialog. No other medium is suited to do this more effectively than social media. Nonprofits should consider taking note of companies who are successfully utilizing social media as a customer service engagement tool – this recipe can work for them too.

One thing is for certain: this economy is re-writing the rules for everyone. Nonprofits are no exception. Social media is playing an increasingly larger role in how organizations do business - including maintaining and fostering new revenue streams. Charities would be wise to catch-up and take inventory of their fundraising strategy, operations, culture and communications to identify opportunities for social media to support their financial goals.

Up the Flagpole: Selling Social Media Internally

Organizations are inherently schizophrenic when it comes to defining social media strategy. Either they’re enamored by the tools of the trade or paralyzed with the fear of implementing social media practices, training and policy in a manner that properly serves their organizations. Still others have decided to simply leave the job up to entry-level employees who may or may not work independently of the key communication stakeholders throughout the organization, resulting in half-baked tactics that lack bigger thinking focus.
Meanwhile, management shoulders the brunt of this activity (or inactivity) by reeling in renegade employee posts, asking IT to blow open access to social networks and convincing the powers that be that an organized social media approach is, in fact, a necessity for your product or service. If you fall into any of these categories, here are a few tips to consider when making your internal pitch:

• Social Media is Community Outreach. Every organization has goodwill ambassadors. People willing to press the flesh, forge new relations and act as the face of the organization. Empower the ambassadors in your organization with the tools of the trade because they’re the people worth training. (Most likely, they’ll be the audience to your pitchman as well.)
  
• Social Media is One Form of Media. You know what I hate? A Holy Grail mentality. I’m certain that when the first TV ad was placed, someone yelped, “The Death of Print!” The reality is 1/3 of the world isn’t even on social media. TV still remains a huge driver of mass advertising. Get real and sell in social media as the smart partner to your broader media mix. Allow it to complement and strengthen your marketing activities rather than revolutionize your entire approach.
  
• Social Media is Growing Exponentially. Social media’s explosive growth cannot go unrecognized by any organization using marketing to generate awareness and/or drive sales. Demonstrate the necessary facts and figures to the skeptics in your organization who, otherwise, may be unwilling to commit the time and resources necessary to play in this arena.
  
• Social Media is Discipline. I’ve made posts that I’d rather forget about. It’s hard when you have the freedom, access and tools to share as much information as you want. But resist that urge and stay focused on the business goal in front of you by being a disciplined steward of your message. Organize your approach in a way that will show your boss a well thought-out plan behind your brand’s social media messaging as well as how this type of activity works side-by-side with wider marketing efforts.

Unless your organization’s decision makers have been living under a rock, they will see the value of the medium. Your job is to present it as a business tool and not a gimmick.