The first night at the new homestead, we are introduced to one of our neighbors, let’s just call him Jed. Well Jed comes to the door and asks how the move was, blah blah blah, and then continues to ask us where we are from (yes, I know that is not proper English but, that was the question)…”where y’all from?” Uh, well we lived in North Carolina for 15 years, but originally from Pennsylvania. “oh, you are Yankees then huh?”…he mumbles with a disgusted look on his face. “well, sir I guess so”. He continued on about the civil war and how this is the south and a battle occurred right on this piece of property. “we are still proud of where we live and what we stand for”…ok, ok, we get it…your still living in the past. Hello, the north won…it’s over, accept it and move on!

“So, are you hunters?” he then asks. Me, a vegan, and my significant other, a vegetarian…hunters? Uh, nooooooo. “cause there is great hunting throughout these woods, lots of deer…”. So I have to ask, “sooooo if I am just taking the dogs for a walk in the woods, do I have to be afraid that I will be shot?”. He ponders this question…”well, probably not, but I would wear orange just to be sure!”. Great…great to know!

Congratulations, not only did I move from the beach, but I moved to a hunting compound stuck in the civil war era! Yee-haw. Welcome.

Yes, I know I should have a better attitude, and I know that I need to look at it as an opportunity…but to leave the beach, leave the morning coffee overlooking the water…it is tough to imagine Richmond being anything like the kind.

The packing is beginning, the boxes are arriving…oh help me!

So we get to the reason this is occurring, the reason my life is turning upside down…a job for my significant other. All this for $. Is it worth it? Is it really what life is about? Things that should have been discovered before the decision was made. It just didn’t seem real then. Now however it is super duper in-check all in your face reality!!! Oh my!

It seems as though many people do not understand the value of a 140 character “Tweet”  the first time they see Twitter.  They do not see the value in the immediacy of interaction and the wide reach of information available in terms of education and resources within and industry or subject.

An article by Eunju Lie, “When It Comes To Marketing, Twitter Destroys Facebook”, there are 165 million registered users and 100 million tweets sent a day.  Businesses see the value in:

So, back to my friend, I recommended she take another look to understand the potential of this tool.  And, what do you know, she has already tweeted twenty times today!

…for her future reference:

Out is the interruption-based model where marketers tried to intercept the customer and “catch” them with an attention-grabbing message.  The new model stresses the need for the engagement of the customer, created by forming long-term relationships and exchanging useful, meaningful information.

Paul Gillin speaks to many of these changes in his book “Secrets of Social Media Marketing”.

He advises marketers to “Ditch the Pitch”.  At first it is hard to think outside of this box, as this is the very essence of “old” marketing techniques.  It is what we have been taught and what we have been doing for years.  However, according to Gillin, customers are not only not listening to pitches anymore, but sneering at them.  Not a good way to increase your customer base, eh?

Another point that Gillin stresses is to optimize your social media efforts by using key terms that are relevant.  That seems easy enough, yes?  But, what really made me think is when he mentions that words such as “best-of-breed”, “market-leading”, and even, “breakthrough” are words that have little meaning to the customer.  What?  Does that mean these classic phrases that I have used a gazillion times in campaigns are not longer relevant?  The answer is a big “YES”.

I personally like this marketing shift as I have always believed that relationships were the key to success.  Now that the proper outlets are out there to form and strengthen these relationships, I say “bring on the conversations”.  I promise to “ditch the pitch!”

1. It explains that social media is not a fad, but a fundamental shift in the way we communicate.
2. It gives GREAT stats. (i.e. only 14 % of people trust advertisements, whereas 78% of people trust the recommendations of other consumers)
3. It is easy to read and comprehend.
4. It is fun to follow with short text blurbs and engaging page layouts.
5. It offers great quotes: “Content is the new democracy and we the people, are ensuring that are voices are heard.”
6. It has great graphics:(i.e. Man giving “the finger”….ha!)
7. It offers 5 simple steps: Listen, Participate, Relinquish control, and Engage, and Don’t F**k with people.

   Which brings me to the last point of what I love.

8. According to Kagan, part of the engagement is to “Make’em love you or hate you (just don’t leave them indifferent)”.  Taking his own advice, his presentation has the shock factor of using the altered “F-word” 6 times and “The finger” once.

Perhaps some would find this offensive and would hate this presentation.  I, however, LOVED it.  Either way, Kagan was successful!

This savvy method of offering niche products to the masses has taken control of not only the entertainment industry, but of a larger portion of the entire consumer retail market.

As several online retailers have realized the potential of catering to the non-mega brand market, more and more online stores are following suit.   By not having to use shelf space or carry large amounts of inventory, retailers have found that there are benefits to offering more than mass-market items. 

Financially, the company makes money by selling these niche products.  Also, the company gains customer loyalty by offering these products.  In many cases, the loyalty will be compounded by the “advertising” these customers will do on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter (an updated version of “and she told 2 friends, and she told 2 friends..and so on..and so on”).

The Long-Tail is here to stay…and with it stays increased diversity in our hopefully diminishing Wal-Mart world.

Krysty Petrucci’s blog post, “5 Reasons You Need A Social Media Manager” was pretty convincing.

Even if you don’t count the time involved in social media, the strategic planning and the social plan integration, you need a social media manager. And don’t even mention the constant change (we’re talking speed of light) in social tools used…you need a social media manager!

The advice is to focus on your expertise in your company and let social media professionals help you grow your business through proper strategy and planning.

The bottom line is Time=Money.

Centralized

Coordinated

Dandelion

or Honeycomb…?

Which framework does your company use for social networking and media?  Which one should you be using?

An article written by Jeremiah Owyang, “Framework and Matrix: The Five Ways Companies Organize for Social Business” looks at the positives and negatives of each of these networks.

How do you figure out which you are currently?…do an internal analysis.

First, determine which framework best describes the company now and then determine where you need to be.

Jerimiah hit the nail on the head by stating:  “Recognize this isn’t an org chart, it’s a cultural change. Executives and their employees must realize the social web is forcing companies to undergo a cultural change as customers connect directly to each other bypassing companies.”

Again, the changing dynamics of businesses and ways of doing business…2012 is going to be an interesting year!

At this very moment, companies are working on new tools that are :

• portable
• private
• pervasive
• platform layering and
• productive.

The article, Social Networking: The Future, by Mark Suster, touched upon an issue that hits close to home.

According to Suster:

“I don’t want either of these mixed with the business social network in which I want to maintain the appearance that I’m “all business” and certainly don’t want to see college pictures of me in Mexico floating around. I don’t want to mix my “public network” with my “private networks.” Facebook has jumbled these all together and then tried to bandage it by making groups available. I don’t think this really solves the problem.

How many times have you thought twice about posting something because of your “friends”.  There is a difference between acquaintances, business colleagues, good friends and family.  The author mentions the fact that younger Facebook users even use pseudonyms on the site for communication with their close friends, reserving their real name for the more prestigious (safe) networking.

New specialized networks are predicted to emerge and cater to the different audiences and subjects discussed.  Until then, just call me Sue Doe Nim.

I read an interesting case study in the Journal of Marketing Management

“Corporate Reputation in the Era of Web 2.0: the Case of Primark” by Brian Jones, John Temperley and Anderson Lima.  The article examines the way Primark used the social web to handle a potential public relations nightmare.  After a BBC broadcast aired about the company’s unethical labor practices, Primark bypassed the offer to respond via televisions and instead built a micro-website to address consumers directly enabling corporate transparency and stakeholder involvement.

Brilliant!