In a world where introductions and ongoing contact is made through LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook and conferences are being held virtually to be more economical, handshakes and in-person meetings are becoming much less common. After spending four years in business school perfecting my “perfect handshake” with just the right amount of firmness to look self-assured and confident but not overbearing, and learning how to write professional memos and documents, I entered the “real world” expecting both of these to be used in the daily operation of corporate America.
At a networking event I attended this week hosted by SC Magazine, a discussion formed around how Gen Y is entering the workforce and relying on informal, virtual means like social networks to make professional connections. As a result, formal grammar and style of writing has gone by the wayside, along with the value of forming relationships prior to connecting on the web. One attyended argues that once a relationship is formed, it isn’t important how you get in contact with the person, but what does matter is how that initial relationship is formed. Social media is not an appropriate medium for building relationships, but is fine for maintaining them, this person said
This theme resonated yesterday when on a call with our client HCL Technologies. A demo of HCL’s “Employee First Initiative” outlined that it’s the Gen Y employees in their corporation that are most apt to participate in online surveys, provide feedback online and make their performance reviews public on their employee intranet. Although in some cases Gen Y’s active engagement in social media and other online mediums help further corporate objectives, it is important to remember that typed words can never replace personal conversations and looking a person in the eye while shaking their hand is still more lasting than an introduction on LinkedIn.

I tuned in to today’s HubSpot webcast on How to Use Social Media for Lead Generation. I fancy myself a bit of a HubSpot groupie – they do some really cool things (HubSpot TV, cartoons, etc) and manage to keep it “real” and have fun while doing them.

Well, let’s just say that webcasts clearly aren’t their strong-suit. Aside from major audio, video and slide issues, I was hoping for a good example of how a real company has managed the “social media led-gen funnel” from start to finish. Instead, I got 45 minutes of HubSpot commercials and maybe 15 minutes of valuable takeaways. I do want to give the presenter props – you could tell he was nervous and it can’t be easy reading your “critweets” while trying to present.

At any rate, once I got passed tech issues and zoned out the self-promotion, there were a couple good points on why social media can be an integral part of driving traffic to your site. Some points to ponder:

• In the “old days”, traffic was generated purely by search. Now, social media should be on the same par of search in terms of driving traffic to your site. But the same challenges exist. Sure, social media might drive traffic, but how to you make sure it’s the right kind of traffic?
• His advice on how to start? Listen (twitter/blog searches), follow the conversation, participate in the conversation, build a network, distribute your content and then hope it gets shared.
• Don’t be afraid to experiment. Blog, do podcasts, try video, publish photos – you can share all these things on social networks like facebook and twitter to help drive traffic back to your site (and increase search rankings).
• How do you convert a website visitor to a lead? With a good call to action and an effective landing page. He nailed it when he said, “Don’t write about your products; address the customers’ needs.”
• When it comes to measuring, don’t just track site traffic/referrals. Track the whole funnel PLUS conversion rates to know if the campaigns are truly successful.

Other pearls of wisdom (from HubSpot and twitterers):

• “Social Media – just like going 2 a cocktail party – meet people, balance info you share & want to learn from people, and build trust!”
• “Write about the needs of the target market not your product. If @zappos tweeted about shoes would we follow? Probably not.”
• “It’s not possible to succeed in social media without a continuous stream of relevant content.”

HubSpot made some interesting points about using social media as a traffic-generator and how to convert that traffic into leads. And I agree that most companies engaged in social media are putting too much “me” into it. Meaning, just because you have hundreds of followers, not a single one of them is going to care or listen to you unless what you’re saying is relevant to them and not overtly salesy.

Though not without issues, I think today’s webcast was actually a good example of the point HubSpot was trying to make. Certainly people tune into a webcast hoping to learn something (and not be “pitched” a product). That said, the whole idea is to get people talking and paying attention to your brand. The twittersphere may have been complaining and bashing the webcast throughout the entire session (#hubspot), but show me another webcast that’s generated 2500+ live views and so much conversation on twitter (it made it to #5 trending topic)! I bet today’s webcast increased HubSpot’s site traffic at least two-fold, and no doubt some of those will convert to leads, and ultimately sales. Which – after all – is the whole point, isn’t it folks?

What color is your social network? Anderson Analytics recently completed a social media survey for Ad Age which attempted to determine the correlation between your personality and your favorite social network. Among the highlights – 110 million Americans or 60 percent of the online population use social networks.  Sounds about right. But only 15 percent of respondents said they use them at work. I am not buying that one.

CNNinnundated – I broke my promise not to mention the Boston weather or Michael Jackson, but here’s my two cents on the former only as it relates to the media tidal wave on the subject. I recently made CNN my home page on my IE (don’t download Version and boy am I sorry. I cannot believe the attention this is getting. What if CNN (or any other news sites) existed when Gandhi or JFK died? What kind of play would their deaths have received – a week, a month? Sorry folks but their contributions far surpass the aforementioned pop star that seemingly everyone forgot about for the better part of the last decade and IMHO, with good reason. We are well into week two of the coverage of his death and funeral and the circus it became and there is no let up in sight. This is yet another example of the sorry state of media consumption or as Sports Illustrated would say another sign that “the Apocalypse is upon us.”

Media vs. Journalism – continuing the stream, I caught the tail end of some talk radio discussion on this morning’s drive debating “media vs. journalism” and what constitutes “news” in this day and age. This might be as simple as saying are you old school or new school? Do you want the early speculation (blogs, twitter feeds) or the finished product? Do you care if there are half truths, assumptions and unnamed sources behind what you are consuming and being fed by your friends and followers? What are your “standards” as a consumer of hard news and your expectations  of your favorite media outlets’ own standards? Jeff Jarvis’ Buzz Machine blog includes some of his interesting thoughts on in a recent post titled, Product v. process journalism: The myth of perfection v. beta culture with a graphic here that demonstrate the “revisionist history” allowed by blogs and web sites today in what he calls the “new news process.”

One last point on MJ– do you think Mark Stanford is grateful for the timing on Jackson and Farah Fawcett’s deaths? Talk about hijacking the news cycle!

Pandora’s Box Opened – Internet radio is saved. So Pandora is going to start to charge a nominal fee for its heaviest users. If you go over 40 hours a month (and only ten percent of folks do) you will pay 99 cents for the rest of the usage for that month. Not a bad deal. Is there a business model for twitter here?

Bookmarkable Blog of the Week - check out the Inbound Marketing blog developed by HubSpot and Drupal. It includes some great social media snacks, has an RSS feed, job listings, forums and a marketing wiki.

Bing’s the Thing – did I mention that I love bing? It is also getting some serious traction. Mashable reports it is the 13th most popular Web destination after just a month.

Congrats to our client WeeWorld on making it through the first selection round of The Europas, TechCrunch’s technology innovation awards for European tech companies! WeeWorld is included in the “Best Entertainment Application or Service” category.

Public voting is now open – if you are a fellow WeeWorld lover and want to show your support, you can vote here.

If you’d like to be one of the first to know if WeeWorld makes the cut as one of the five finalists, get your ticket to the The Europas Awards.

MarketingSherpa has just released its 2009-2010 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report. You can download the 9-page excerpt for free or purchase the entire 200+ page report for $447.

Though I’m not convinced the full report is worth its hefty price tag, there are a few good tidbits of information:

• The majority of B2B marketers are optimistic that the economy will recover in the remainder of the year
• B2B is ahead of B2C when it comes to adopting social media strategies and tools, including social networks and company blogging
• While B2B marketers plan on increasing investments in programs like webcasts, search, website improvements and social media, they are majorly decreasing spend in other areas, especially tradeshows/face-to-face events and traditional advertising
• There is still a noticeable breakdown in the marketing-to-sales process – the majority of B2B marketers do not have a process for nurturing leads that aren’t sales-ready, do not have closed-loop tracking from source to conversion, and do not have a process for handing leads back to marketing
• When it comes to a company’s website, B2B marketers struggle most with clear and compelling messaging, efficient/regular updates and optimizing the site for search

The full report contains more detailed info breakdown of marketing budgets by program, industry and company size; average leads generate by program investment; outsourcing key marketing functions; effectiveness of different email tactics; analysis of PR effectiveness; case studies; and more.

While some companies are still trying to figure out how to involve their brand or company in the social media landscape, others have a large amount of resources dedicated solely to this vehicle. One such company, Southwest Airlines, is using Twitter to alert travelers of flight delays and last minute availability on flights.

Not only are corporations using social media tools to promote their brand and events and stay top of mind, but many are also using it as a means of managing customer service. Companies such as Zappos, Comcast and HR Block cite scalability and ease of management as huge advantages for using this medium (http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/12/08/southwest-airlines-uses-twitter-alert-flyers-bad-weather). Using one porthole keeps customer complaints under control – they can be responded to quickly and directly, and companies can even mitigate complaints by communication with consumers proactively.

Companies that use social media platforms as part of their customer service efforts often don’t sit back and wait to be directly contacted. They use alerts to monitor conversations surrounding their brand, and often will respond to negative comments through customer service identities in an attempt to keep customers happy.  Some companies, such as Trip Advisor , do this by posting responses to negative customer reviews, while other companies are using services such as Dialogix to monitor social media conversation and sediment and aggregate the information to keep track of key influencers.

While many larger companies have seemed to “master” the use of social media, others are still left wondering how they can leverage this growing medium.  The recent Permission TV video seminar on “Building an Audience in the Digital Age” and Scott Kirsner’s recent book, “Fans, Friends & Followers” provide a few great tips to bear in mind:

• You don’t have to leverage every social media vehicle; find one that helps you best connect with your audience.
• Build a presence and use it to engage followers, customers, etc. with special promotions – and don’t forget to ask for feedback.
• Find the right voice for your social media efforts; a passionate employee is best in this role, not necessarily the most senior.
• Keep it up! Starting to use a social media site and then dropping the ball does nothing for brand image.

Good luck in your social media involvement and branding efforts, and until next time, keep tweeting!

It’s no secret that the economic climate of the past 10 months or so has wreaked havoc on some of the world’s most well-known brands. Car companies are filing for bankruptcy, banks are losing their minds, retailers are consolidating or downright closing shop, and restaurants are offering deal menus out the wazoo.

Here’s a look at how some brand marketers are, in one way or another, taking advantage of the recession to prove that less is more to stay afloat in these tough times. Some ads are funny, some are touching and some are outright ridiculous. So ridiculous I couldn’t event include them (i.e., a Victoria’s Secret ad about how less clothing is one good benefit from the down economy…come on!).

Allstate “Back to Basics”

Cap Gemini Ernst & Young “Depressed Economy”

Domino’s “Bailout”

Dunkin’ Donuts “Belt”

Etrade “The Economy”

GM “Reinvention”

iPhone Magic Wallet App

Target “Brand New Day”

Breaking down hot topics in social media, marketing and PR (and this week, sports) for your reading pleasure….

Man on Fire I. – St. Louis Cardinal Manager Tony LaRussa, once one of the most highly regarded – and winningest – skippers in the game, continues to lose my respect. LaRussa is suing twitter because someone created a fake account and in so doing, used his name to make fun of two of his former players who sadly, had died from alcohol and drug related issues in recent years. Teflon Tony said the fake web pages created caused him “undue stress” and damaged his reputation. No, turning a blind eye to steroid use on his teams and getting busted for his own DWI did plenty to hurt his once lofty perception. This is one that Tony will likely not win.

Social Media Mania - I spent a late afternoon at Barnes and Noble while in New York earlier this week to grab a Wi-Fi connection when my hotel web connection was down. B&N, and presumably every other bookstore chain, is loaded (maybe overloaded) with new books on social media – titles from Paul Gillin, David Meerman Scott, Joel Postman, Al Ries, etc. I am sure most have plenty of good insight and tips, but you’d need a month or at least a month of Sundays to get through them all. And, I have not even finished Groundswell yet. I think they all fall into the book “snacking” category – pick em up when you need a little boost.

Man on Fire II. - Speaking of MLB managers, New York Met head man Jerry Manuel (is he as clueless as he appears to be on TV?) needs media training and in a Big away. Manuel pre-announced the fact that set up man J.J. Putz was losing his spot in the pen in a New York Post story before he told his hurting reliever. His mind numbing quote was, “I’m going to have that conversation [today]. If I tell you now, then that’ll get me in trouble.” Manuel would be wise to take some cues from Terry Francona, the master at player and then media relations, in that order.

Social Media Yesterday- 60 percent of folks who sign up for twitter do not return after the first month, say Social Media Today and Nielsen.  Can it be they are lazy, have A.D.D? Are they onto the next thing?

Innovation Nation - This Innovation Blog on BusinesssWeek.com Rocks – http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/04/0415_how_to_innovate/index.htm

No Rest For the Weary Work For the Rested - When exactly did Americans become obsessed with “checking in with work from vacation?” Vineet Nayar, the highly respected CEO of HCL Technologies (BluePoint Client) told a crowd of customers, prospects, media and other influencers at an event earlier this week at New York’s Harvard Club that he just returned from a 15 day holiday and continued his standard practice of no calls from anyone – board members, share holders, customers and his 55,000 employees. That is the sign of a great manager who trusts his team. Oh, and he doesn’t do email while on holiday, either.

Tech Tales from the Big City – think texting is just for teens? I was having lunch when I noticed a group of five folks who were at least 50. All were lunching and texting, presumably to people outside their group. I thought ignoring your friends and families when you are out in public with them was just for kids. And oh by the way, EVERYONE walking around NYC had a Blackberry, iPhone, Windows Smart Phone or Sidekick Device. I need to open up a solar charging salon, replete with $6 lattes, CNBC on the tube, massage tables, cigar humidor and wine bar.

Scott Kirsner would make a heckuva marketer or PR person (or history teacher too but that is another matter) if he ever gives up his current gig as a freelance journalist and writer.  For the past several years – both before he relocated to California and upon his return to Boston – he has written blogged and spoken passionately about two things, among many others:

1)      the role the Boston area has played in serving as the “minor leagues” to Silicon Valley by cultivating and growing young talent as well as great small and medium sized technology and Internet companies only to see them get gobbled up by the Big Boys from Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, San Jose, etc.

2)      and the need for New England, Boston and more specifically, Route 128’s academic, technology and venture capital communities to dig deep to try to restore some of the luster we’ve lost to Silicon Valley and other tech hot spots over the years.

Scott’s latest big idea was offered up in his most recent Sunday Boston Globe Innovation Economy column in which he designates June as Innovation Month in New England.  He writes, “We can do a better job of connecting executives who’ve built big, influential businesses with entrepreneurs who are just starting out. We can do a better job helping shaky start-ups find the funding they need to succeed. We can do a better job ensuring that every student who comes to New England to earn a degree has at least some exposure to some of the innovative companies based here, whether through an internship, a company visit, or a classroom presentation from the founder.”

Scott is onto something and he is starting with some really attainable goals. He’s passionately encouraging people to start small – converse, connect, communicate and collaborate.  He’s pushing events, conferences and tweetups as the vehicles for driving more innovation, more idea sharing and more energy around innovation. He is also encouraging people to post their ideas (or links to innovation-related initiatives more people should know about) on the Innovation Economy blog at www.innoeco.com/neinno.

As Massachusetts entrepreneurs, business owners, investors, residents, etc. we all have a vested interest in fostering more innovation. Enough with the complacency fear and uncertainty that goes with the current down economy. As Scott and others quoted in that column, get out, get over the “depressions” and do your part to improve our chances at recovery.  Let’s just keep this party going into July, the rest of the summer and the rest of the year.

Breaking down hot topics in technology, media and marketing for your reading pleasure… in 60 seconds or less.

• File under, “Really?!”  A charity auction for an internship at the Huffington Post has collected bids as high as $13,000. What’s worse…college grads so desperate for a job that they’ll pay five figures for one, or media companies trying to make their margins by selling internships?
• Entrepreneurs, fear not! After meeting with more than a dozen Boston-area VCs, Tech Journal South reports that venture funds have available cash to invest, are actively looking for new deals and don’t expect the rest of the year to be as bad as the first quarter.  
• The Wall Street Journal issues “Social Media Rules of Conduct” for its staffers. Among the rules? Editor approval is required before “friending” sources in Facebook or twitter.  Check out the entire list here.
• What did you do by the time you were 25? Did you start a company that has generated 200 million users? Were you named one of the The World’s Most Influential People by Time Magazine? Were you ranked one of the richest people in America by Forbes, with a net worth of $1.5 billion? Had you made $240 million off of Microsoft? Well Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who turned 25 yesterday, has checked all those times of his list. I know, it hurts.