I’ve just been revisiting The Cluetrain Manifesto as part of the book I’m writing on social media ROI.

Some of the original 95 theses are thus:

2. Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors;

3. Conversations among human beings sound human. They are conducted in a human voice;

4. Whether delivering information, opinions, perspectives, dissenting arguments or humorous asides, the human voice is typically open, natural, uncontrived;

5. People recognise each other as such from the sound of this voice;

32. Smart markets will find suppliers who speak their own language;

75. If you want us to talk to you, tell us something. Make it something interesting for a change.

It’s amazing how prescient those theses were.

Now that Facebook seemingly rules the online world, the need to engage with audiences in a human voice, not a corporate one, is more important than ever.

I get asked many times at the workshops and seminars I run how a business can build an audience. The answer is simple: be interesting and interested. It’s simple conversational etiquette: the more interested in others you are, the more they will come to see you as a friend not a foe. Find out about your audience’s fears, their frustrations, their failures, their successes, their dreams, their day-to-day experience.

The more you know the more you can tailor something to help them achieve more or solve their problems.

They’d be willing to pay you for that.

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Am I missing anything? What else should I write about in this report/book?

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Executive summary

The days of will Social Media (SM) work for us? How do we use it? and Who will do this for us? have gone. Today, any organisation that is client-centric, innovative and competitive considers social media as a part of core business strategy. Social media has become a business necessity. It being used to communicate, to generate business, to recruit, and to network; it’s now ingrained in organisations as a fundamental part of all strategic initiatives.

But how can you tell if it is really working? Sure you might have some people liking you on Facebook, or have a million people following you on Twitter, but are you tracking how effective each update is, or how far your tweets are reaching? What about mobile apps—they are easy to create but how does an organisation match the consumer use of apps to business objectives? And just who is responsible for managing social media ROI?

With a strategic focus, this report provides organisations at all stages of social media use with the tools needed to measure success in business terms, from the effective use of manpower/time, from benchmarking individual campaigns, through to performance metrics for each unique social media platform. The report will show that social media ROI is more than just saying, “We grew 1,000 fans this month”; it’s saying why it is important that we grew 1,000 fans, what the business outcome is of such growth.

Chapter One explores the essential background to social media and explains why measuring and analysing social media metrics is so important to the success of any social media programme.

Chapter Two helps the wise reader choose which business objectives of the organisation social media can help meet. Without understanding the importance of tying social media progress to real-world business objectives (financial and non-financial) any social media programme is destined to failure.

Chapter Three looks at social media strategy now that business objectives have been identified. In this chapter we look at how social media can help with customer service and digital brand management.

Chapter Four then operationalises the social media strategy and looks at which metrics should be tracked in order to determine the progress of the social media programme. The F.R.Y. (Frequency, Reach, and Yield) approach to business metrics analysis is explored and discussed.

Chapter Five takes a close look at social media dashboards—there are lots of options out there that organisations can use, but does ‘expensive’ necessarily mean ‘best’?

Chapter Six looks at reporting and how it’s not good enough to report a “Five per cent increase in Twitter followers.” There is a real need in today’s hyper-rushed business environment to ‘connect the dots’ for the report’s readers, but to do so quickly and efficiently. Ultimately, if data is not meaningful to the executives who read it, why include it in the report?

Chapter Seven considers the all-important issue of Change Management. Introducing a social media programme into an organisation will create change, and as we all know, change scares people, from the CEO down. Therefore, managing how the organisation and the executive approach social media, and managing their expectations of what a social media programme can deliver, is essential to the programme’s success.

Chapter Eight wraps up the report and offers suggestions as to where readers can go for further advice, guidance and knowledge.

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I’ve got a month to write it, with publication targetted for 1st July. Your help with ideas and suggestions very much appreciated.

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I recently signed another report/book contract with Ark Group Publishing, this time to write on Social Media ROI.

This is my third report/book with Ark; the first two were Social Media: The New Communication Landscape and Making Social Media Work for Your Business.

I’ll have my head buried in my computer for the next five weeks; except for possible occasional ‘must-blog-this’ moments I’ll next see you in June.

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News reaches me from the excellent blog AllFacebook that the US Republican Party has a yearly competition to see who uses social media the best.

Now in its third year, the first two contests were won by John Fleming of Louisiana.

How effective? In January 2009, only 30 percent of House Republicans were on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Today, more than 85 percent of House Republicans are using these platforms.

There’s rules for the competition, of course:

2. The three ways to score points are: Adding new Page Likes (Facebook), Profile Followers (Twitter), and Channel Subscribers (YouTube). Each new page Like, Subscriber, or Follower is valued as 1 point.

3. You must have **official** Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts to enter.

7. Members are encouraged to use email newsletters, blogs, office websites, and cross-promotion on social media.

8. Creativity and collaboration is encouraged, but violating any of the rules will result in a participant’s immediate disqualification

Organizers say the 2011 competition generated 300,000 new Facebook likes, Twitter followers, and YouTube views. Fleming increased his Facebook likes by 1,620 or 6.1 percent during the seven week contest.

Definitely one for our own pollies to look at…

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Five teenage girls from an Adelaide all-girls high school have done themselves a tremendous amount of ill-fortune by filming themselves offering sexual acts.

In an obvious spoof of the phenomenal KONY 2012 video the allegedly 14 year old girls created a GOBS 2012 video. I bet they didn’t expect, nor understand, why they suddenly got so much attention from their peers, the media and the police.

I was interviewed by Channel Seven’s Today Tonight program about their disastrous foray into social media. The video is from the Sydney program; the Adelaide version had me interviewed by the Adelaide host, Rosanna Mangiarelli (who is lovely and, it turns out, is an old Ignatian like me, and completed her degree at the same School of Communication where I’m currently completing my Doctorate).

If the Adelaide version of the interview appears I’ll pop it up here. In the meantime, here’s the Sydney version:

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Guest article by Ethan Simmons. 

While 2011 was the year when touchscreen tablet computers finally exploded onto the scene, 2012 will be the year when tablets and laptops go head to head for the hearts of consumers. Already, much talk and practice has been had with tablets as a business tool to replace laptops while the normal consumer like a student or a family may easily consider a tablet before a laptop.

The following tablets and laptops will be the models to watch in 2012 as they may be the final straw to tip the scales or at least offer users a good time trying it out.

Tablets to watch in 2012

Tablets have a bigger advantage over laptops in that the market is still not saturated enough for new innovations. Tablet users still have no clear idea as to what will be the defining factor for that make or break decision in buying a tablet, as such there are a whole lot more choices. Because of this the tablet list is significantly larger with a number of models still not out for consumer consumption just yet. This list includes the:

• Apple iPad3
• Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF201
• OLPC XO 3.0
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7
• Sony Tablet P

Apple’s iPad3 – Future Contender

While the iPad3 fall a little short of our expectations, it is still the benchmark model when it comes to tablets. The new retina display is absolutely stunning display lifelike photos and images with its 2048 x 1536 resolution. Design wise, the new iPad remained largely the same as the previous model except for some small negligible changes. 

The most notable new feature on the iPad3 is the quad-core A5 processor that makes multitasking and running apps a lot smoother and breezier than the previous model. Then there is the new 5MP camera that shoots 1080p videos. Connectivity wise, the device is not compatible with 4G LTE networks for high speed internet access.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF201 – Performance beast

This tablet is currently the one to beat as it not only comes with an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, it also features an 8MP camera with auto-focus and LED flash along with a Super IPS+ panel. Running on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF201 also transforms into laptop through its mobile dock, which also extends the battery life by up to 18 hours. In terms of features alone, this tablet beats out everything and anything currently on the tablet market, including the current market leader which is the Apple iPad2. What is notable here is that on top of offering much better 3D graphics and a quad-core processor capable of equalizing with a laptop, is the fact that Asus have also added in a fifth processor to handle background processes, enabling even better battery life. The specifications for the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF201 would include:

• an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor
• an 8MP camera with auto-focus and LED flash
• a Super IPS+ screen
• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS
• better 3D graphics
• fifth sub-processor (500MHz) for background processes

OLPC XO 3.0 – Tough and Cheap

While this touchscreen tablet from the UN sponsored One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program offers rather mediocre specifications with its Marvell Armada PXA618 guts, 512MB of RAM and 4GB internal storage, it is being offered for just $100. Unlike other tablets, the OLPC XO 3.0 is tough, with a textured, rubberized, waterproof back and a glass display. It should be able to handle rugged third world conditions better than its consumer level compatriots. Its rather bright neon-green color may make it less suitable for the all-black business user but it can handle a much wider range of DC power inputs so you can plug in a hand crank or solar charger if there isn’t a power socket handy. Connection-wise it offers the basics with a USB, microUSB, audio in/out and sensor input port and will run on either Android or OLPC’s own Sugar OS. The notable specifications for the OLPC XO 3.0 would be:

• a Marvel Armada PXA618 processor
• 512MB RAM
• 4GB flash memory storage
• $100 price tag
• Rubberized waterproof casing
• hand crank + solar panel charger

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 – Display Master

Smaller, slimmer and above all, packing in the brightest, most awesome 7.7” Super AMOLED Plus display around, this tablet will put all other tablet screens, laptops and some HDTVs to shame. Specification-wise it isn’t entirely a slouch either with a 1.4GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, up to 64GB of ROM and the option to expand 32GB further via microSD flash memory. It also does very well in terms of wireless connections, allowing for Wi-Fi twice as fast as the competition and dual band wireless connectivity. Specifications of note for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 would be:

• its 7.7” Super AMOLED Plus display
• a 1.4GHz dual-core processor
• 1GB RAM
• 64GB internal storage + up to 32GB microSD
• faster wi-fi

Sony Tablet P – Dual-screen form factor

This isn’t the first time someone has come up with a dual display touchscreen tablet (the Toshiba Libretto comes to mind) but it is from Sony, manufacturers that are known to be just as big perfectionists as Steve Jobs. As such, it is worth noting that a lot of work has been put into the design of the dual 5.5” LCD touchscreens. Sony has used its TruBlack LCD technology for blacker blacks and whiter whites while the 1GHz processor and 1GB worth of RAM is just enough to propel this tablet down the line. While it won’t beat out other performance tablets, it will turn heads with the dual-screen and since it is a Sony product it is rated usable with Sony’s playstation gaming platform. Specifications for the Sony Tablet P include:

• a 1GHz processor
• 1GB RAM
• two 5.5” TruBlack LCD screens
• Gaming compatibility

Laptops to watch in 2012

As the more mature market, the Laptop market is understandably saturated and has less innovation as  compared to the tablet market. As such the list of laptops to watch in 2012 is rather small. These include the:

• 15” MacBook Air
• Lenovo Yoga
• HP Envy Spectre 

15” MacBook Air – Ultimate ultrabook

While the new smaller screen MacBook Air has already been released, the 15” MacBook Air laptops are going to take over the Ultrabook laptop market. This is because, on top of being as slim as ever and packing in some powerful Intel Sandy Bridge processors, the 15” screen will offer more screen real estate without being too bulky. Like the other Apple product above, release dates point to the first quarter of 2012 with 17-inch models also being considered for the upcoming roll-out. Specifications-wise the 15” MacBook will probably feature:

• Intel 2nd Generation Core i5 and i7 processors
• Intel Thunderbolt technology
• SSD internal storage
• Multi-touch trackpad
• long-lasting battery life
• ultra-thin design

Lenovo Yoga – Bend Backwards Convertible

Convertible Laptops that convert into touch screen tablets are not new but what makes this laptop different is that it will bend over backwards to please. Previous convertibles have used a swivel hinge that have almost always broken off or got damaged very quickly. The Lenovo Yoga uses special hinges that allow you to flip the touchscreen over backwards. When in this mode the physical keyboard is automatically turned off, so you can lay this convertible down without worrying about pressing the keys. Since it is going to run on Windows 8 it isn’t available just yet, however, other possible specifications for the Lenovo Yoga include:

• 17mm thick
• 13.3” IPS panel touchscreen display
• Windows 8
• Intel Ivy Bridge processors
• Samsung SSD

HP Envy Spectre – Classy and Glassy

This 14” screen laptop may be on the edge in terms of Ultrabook size range with its 13.3” chassis but it brings to the table a design almost entirely devoted to glass. This includes an awesome ultra-thin design with tough, scratch-resistant glass used for both the casing, screen, bezels and trackpad. While this also means that it is also the ultimate smudge magnet, it offers looks that you won’t find on any other laptop in the market. It isn’t a slouch performance-wise either as it will pack in Intel 2nd Generation Core i5 and i7 ULV processors, up to 256GB SSD, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, USB 3.0 support and beats audio. Full specifications for the HP Envy Spectre include:

• 12.88"Wx8.7"Dx0.79"H
• under 4 lbs weight
• up to 9.5 hours battery life
• 14" diagonal HD+ Radiance LED backlit display
• 13.3" chassis
• 128GB or 256GB mSATA solid-state drive
• Intel Core i5 and i7 ULV Processors
• 4GB or 8GB of DDR3
• Mini DisplayPort
• 1 USB 3.0 port
• Beats Audio system (2 speakers and subwoofer)
• External jogger dial
• Integrated HP Wireless Audio

This article is brought to you by Ethan Simmons, a senior contributor at Honest-Laptop-Reviews.Com

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Dell’s Small-Medium Business arm has just released a fabulous toolkit for small-medium sized businesses who are looking to get into social media, or are looking to amp up what they are already doing.

Looking at every hot aspect of social media—including Pinterest and Google+—the toolkit comes with worksheets (separate download) to help you map out and win with your own social program for your business.

There’s even videos from some pretty cool people about what the next stage of social media for businesses is or might be.

Fabulous resource, go get it now!

Well done, Dell!

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Due to popular demand, I’m running a public workshop in Adelaide on one of today’s hot topics for business — how to be a social business.

Running for a mere three hours, you will learn about

• microblogging
• podcasting
• video
• blogging
• why Chaos Theory should NOT be how you approach social technologies
• the essentials of Moderation and Governance
• why you should NOT use social media jargon

Note: This workshop is most suitable for those already have some knowledge of social media. It is not an introductory workshop; I’m running one of those very soon.

I haven’t finalised the venue yet, but the all-important date and time info is:

Date: Tuesday 24th April 2012
Time: 9.30am – 12.30pm

Tickets are $299 each BUT there’s an EARLY BIRD special of just $225 before the close of business Tuesday 3rd April. Get in fast!

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The sublime and witty Laurel Papworth has a great post up at the moment, all about community managers and playing those ‘fill the gaps’ or ‘finish this sentence’ online faux pas.

Says Laurel,

There are a few pitfalls in social media and definitely one of them is to try and force conversations around “finish my sentence….” games. It never ends well – either ignored or turned vile. Here’s some tips and warnings for beginner online community managers.

She goes on to give examples from the recent #QantasLuxury, Coles and Safeway campaigns. We all saw the howlers that these companies generated.

Stopping briefly to let us know when NOT to run a ‘finish this sentence’ game, Laurel goes on to tell us how to do it properly and even gives an example or two.

A post well worth checking out, friends. Read it here.

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Those very nice folks over at Hubspot are giving away some excellent white papers.

Says Mike Crosson,

Here are 10 free White Papers that are really helpful.

1.) Pinterest – Learn how to increase traffic, leads and sales by reaching more than 11 million people
http://bit.ly/GGdZQe
The fastest-growing social media site ever has become a huge traffic referral (arguably, more powerful than Google+) for all businesses. An increasing number of companies are leveraging the platform to reach a new audience, increase visits to their websites, and generate leads or retail sales. And guess what? It’s working.

2.) Learning LinkedIn From the Experts: How to Build a Powerful Business Presence on LinkedIn
http://bit.ly/GElwgy
In Learning LinkedIn from the Experts, five LinkedIn specialists provide key insight into how you can use LinkedIn to successfully grow your network and business.

3.) How to Create Epic Facebook Ads
http://bit.ly/GExOvB
Placing ads on Facebook provides one of the most targeted advertising opportunities today. The social network knows the demographics and interests of more than 800 million people who are active online. Written by Andrea Vahl, co-author of Facebook Marketing All-in-One For Dummies, this ebook will walk you step-by-step through the nuances of Facebook ads.

4.) How to Use Google+ For Business
http://bit.ly/GFqmPU
Google+ is the new social network on the block. With more than 90 million users and a growing influence on search, Google+ has definitely emerged as a key player in online marketing.

5.) The Ultimate How-to Marketing Guide
http://bit.ly/GFAELr
How do you get a comprehensive view of the important ones and prioritize accordingly? To ensure your proficiency in Internet marketing, we’ve designed this multimedia ebook which, as David Meerman Scott says, "identifies nuggets of inspiration to drive success at your business."

6.) How to Execute & Measure Successful Email Marketing
http://bit.ly/GEycug
Email marketing is arguably the most powerful channel for lead generation. If you don’t have a strong email marketing foundation, you’d better start building that knowledge. Download our free ebook and use the best practices shared here as a roadmap to your email marketing success

7.) An Introduction to Lead Generation
http://bit.ly/GEyhOA
By now, many businesses understand that lead volume is based on a wide array of factors, ranging from social media presence, to blogging frequency, to online content. Learn how to effectively generate traffic and leads for your business through the basics of lead generation and techniques for optimizing your lead gen strategy.

8.) An Introduction to Business Blogging
http://bit.ly/GDnJj8
Nearly 40% of US companies use blogs for marketing purposes. •Companies that blog have 55% more website visitors. Marketing data clearly shows that blogging is a critical piece of the inbound marketing methodology and directly correlates to better business results. In this ebook, we walk you step-by-step through blogging fundamentals.

9.) An Introduction to Inbound Marketing Analytics
http://bit.ly/GBIOWY
Analytics programs can give marketers amazing insight into their marketing campaigns. Our free ebook highlights the essential inbound marketing metrics for data-driven decision making, along with advice for how to use that data to improve and optimize your marketing efforts.

10.) An introduction to Lead Nurturing
http://bit.ly/GFeZFh
50% of leads are qualified but not ready to buy. So if you are not nurturing them, you are simply burning money. Lead nurturing is all about understanding the nuances of your leads’ timing and needs. Learn how to leverage lead nurturing to increase high-quality conversions and reduce your cost of customer acquisition.

Yes, you have to fill in their form for each and every white paper (tedious), but Hubspot always have spot-on information, so it’s well worth it.

Enjoy!

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