After many years as a senior manager, consultant, and co-owner on the retail side of the automotive industry I have a unique “view” as I watch the typical automobile dealership management team wrestle with the idea of implementing social media into their organization.

It seems the manufacturers have done a great job of educating the owners of their franchise on the importance of getting on-board the social media wave. However, most, with little or no understanding of  Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, etc., are struggling with how to get it done.  It doesn’t seem that many years ago we were dealing with a similar issue.  At that time the Internet was the “buzz word” and the majority of us were trying to get an understanding of how to best utilize this new “tool”.  For most of us our new internet manager was someone we chose from our sales team who had an interest in the internet and enough knowledge to ensure us that we were making the right decision.  With the internet manager in place and our limited understanding of the subject we went back to the day to day challenges of running our stores. In hindsight, by hiring from within, it caused us to under-utilize the potential the Internet provided.

Now the “buzz” is social media and I am hearing managers say they could hire teenagers, relatives, college kids etc. (saving money) to run their social media campaigns.  How do you educate someone that does not yet understand the difference in having a personal Facebook profile versus a company running an effective campaign using Facebook, Twitter, etc. and integrating these with their other forms of advertising? Having the benefit of 30 years in the auto industry and a good understanding of the potential of social media, it is somewhat frustrating to witness the lack of understanding that managers have.  On the other hand, as discussed earlier I went through the internet learning curve just as confused as what I am witnessing today.

Complicating the issue, most dealerships are still reeling from the financial hits taken by their business during the last 18 months; so finding ways to stretch their dollars is a high priority.  Unfortunately their inability to see the potential results combined with their tight purse strings will cause many to miss the advantages associated with getting on board early and distancing themselves from the pack.

Like the adoption of the Internet, the only question is not “If” the dealer will join the social marketing wave but “When.”  Will they be an innovator or a laggard??

The dealer’s job is finding a consultant that can patiently walk them through their challenges and prove the value!

I am interested in hearing from auto dealers and marketing consultants on how they are adopting social media into their marketing mix. Are you using a staff member, a consultant, a friend or relative or a combination? What is working best for you? Please use the comment section below to leave us your thoughts.

Have you tried to explain to clients, colleagues, businesspeople or students:

• Why social media works?
• Why consumers feel they are not listened to?
• Why traditional advertising has lost much of its power and is not trusted?
• Why the Digital Media revolution is alive and growing?

I recently re-discovered this 2 minute video. It’s a very powerful demonstration of digital marketing and answers all of the questions above. Take 2 minutes and watch The Breakup.

As a viewer, you just experienced the five keys to Digital Marketing in a dinner dialogue between a man (the Advertiser) and a woman (the Consumer). The acting, the content and the gestures are exquisite as it shares the growing gap between traditional advertising and the consumer.

The five keys to a successful Digital Marketing Strategy are reflected in this video.

1. Listening – The Advertiser is a bit arrogant and not listening to the Consumer.
2. Engagement – The Advertiser is talking past the Consumer by shouting “non-genuine” messages. They are not engaging in conversations.
3. Relationship – There is no relationship between the Consumer and the Advertiser. There is NO trust therefore they don’t communicate or share in the dialogue. When she says “I want a divorce”, he won’t even listen!  She is done with traditional advertising!
4. Value – The Advertiser is sharing all the things he is doing for the Consumer but she says “you don’t know me”, as if saying “I find NO Value in what you are offering; I don’t receive any benefit.”
5. Access – The Consumer states that “they don’t hang out in the same places.” The consumer can’t access the advertiser’s messages because she doesn’t use the same media outlets.

At the conclusion the woman (Consumer) leaves the restaurant –“ I’m out of here” reflecting our current consumers turnoff with traditional media and their attraction for digital marketing with their use of social media.

Showing this 2 minute video has helped our clients understand the need for digital media and the new role of the consumer in the marketing mix. As a marketing professional, what other ways have you explained this shift in marketing to your clients?  As a consumer, was this video helpful in demonstrating the power of digital marketing?  Please leave your comments below.

Anyone with a bit of tech savvy can set up Facebook and Twitter accounts and begin posting updates. . But can they accomplish the needs of a business in this digital age?  Can a tech savvy youth create competitive advantage, the key for businesses in meeting their goals?

For most small businesses the answer is NO!   They will contribute to the plethora of un-optimized, under-utilized social media accounts. The result —many small businesses “try out social media” and contend “it doesn’t work!”

There is an alternative approach- Digital Marketing Optimization (DMO). DMO leverages the power of each media platform and integrates them to drive traffic to your online environment, while achieving your business goals.

DMO designs an online environment that easily connects to other social communities, expanding the reach and exposure of your site. It increases “socially referred traffic” as unique users can easily share comments through audio, video and text links.

Here are six keys to make Digital Media work for small businesses:

1. Design a Step-by-Step Digital Strategy
   • Begin where your company is—based on marketing efforts and staff expertise
   • Incorporate the company culture and values
   • Focus on customer engagement, not selling the company message
   • Review website for effectiveness
     • expand to Online Hub
     • add call to action
     • refine search engine optimization
     • link to social networking sites
2. Clarify your Brand and Value Proposition
   • Target your niche market
   • Differentiate your company position in the marketplace
3. Optimize Digital Media Platforms
   • Increase the reach and effectiveness of traditional media, PR, and online hub/environment by connecting and integrating content with social and digital media.
   • Develop the potential of each platform to increase site traffic, search engine rankings and sales revenue
     • use same keywords across all platforms
     • enhance the  user’s digital connection and participation with your online hub
     • build interactivity, conversations, relationships
     • incorporate engaging “calls to action”
     • implement Digital Asset Optimization to note all online content
4. Develop an Engaging, “Sharing” Content Strategy
   • Create rich content that promotes sharing easily with friends, colleagues
   • Encourage user to mix your content with here input (mashup)
   • Reward conversation and engagement
   • Include keywords in content updates
   • Produce consistent updates
     • Utilize staff resources through training
     • Outsource updates through regular client input
5. Expand your Database into Targeted Social Communities
   • Leverage current users by allowing them to sign-in with social network identities
   • Make it easy to share user content to other sites
6. Monitor, Measure and Benchmark Performance
   • Analyze user interactions to determine  “opportunities left on the table”
   • Track referral traffic
   • Relate performance to customer goals, satisfaction and results
   • Use expanded Return on Investment (ROI) for evaluation

Digital Marketing synergizes social media with other media channels to realize ROI. Many companies launch into social and mobile media without creating a strategy.

The old school marketers are transaction oriented. Their strategy is to buy more media eyeballs, potentially creating “buzz” and sales. The new media marketers are customer focused, generating interactivity and relationships.

The five phase Digital Marketing Strategy  is comprehensive, customer-centered, and focused on delivering ROI.

Five Phases

1. Assessment
2. Strategic Branding
3. Online Hub
4. Integrated Media Marketing
5. Monitoring/Evaluating

The Assessment Phase utilizes customer insights, touchpoint analysis and digital footprint to determine a company’s market position. Strategic Branding incorporates these findings into a strategy and a Brand. The third phase, Online Environment (website, blog, landing page), is the Hub of the Digital Marketing Strategy.  We select and integrate traditional and social media tools that drive clients to your Online Hub.  Each tool is targeted to different stages of the Integrated Digital Marketing Lifecycle.

Entwine has three new clients that are approaching Digital Marketing from a holistic perspective. David James Custom Homes is one of the largest custom home builders in Virginia. They have a strong reputation for building quality homes. They have been using traditional media (TV, radio, print, direct mail) to gain customer recognition in the market place. Management wants to determine which media channels are most effective at moving a customer through the touchpoint conversion lifecycle – from Awareness to Interest to to Action. They have focused on Assessment before embarking on a Integrated Digital Marketing Plan.

Nancy’s Candy Company, a wholesaler of homemade chocolate candies and confections, has recently opened a new retail store. They are looking at Social Media Marketing as a way to drive traffic into the new storefront. They decided to start with Facebook to test the social media waters.  When they came to Entwine they had a very basic business page with 30 fans/likes.  By using a digital optimization strategy including keyword optimization, custom welcome page, engaging updates and Facebook ads; Nancy’s Candy’s Facebook Page has grown to 240+ fans/likes. The next phase of the project will include a customized targeted Facebook Contest meeting the Facebook Promotion Guidelines. Here’s a sneak peak of the contest.

BMS Direct Inc is a B2B direct marketing solutions provider that upgraded their online environment to be social, interactive and content managed. Our Strategic Branding sessions revealed their need to expand their brand and offer comprehensive solutions. We designed and optimized a WordPress site for their Online Hub, with FTP and ecommerce functionality and a Facebook business page and Twitter account to build an integrated marketing platform.

Clients generally have unrealistic expectations of a integrated digital marketing strategy.  They expect results immediately or within the first 3-6 months. We prepare our clients for real expectations by reviewing a Digital Marketing Timeline.

An Integrated Digital Marketing strategy has five stages during a 27+ month period. (note: the timeline can be collapsed to 6+ months depending on the relevancy and the timeliness of the promotion) During each stage the number of touchpoints,  client marketing efforts that  touch the customer, are expanded. These touchpoints build on each other and grow exponentially.  As your network expands the media (traditional advertising, PR, online, social) begin to synergize with each other. In the future a successful strategy will be self generating and grow virally.  The goal is to convert your network of touchpoints to actions that support your strategic objectives. Here are the expectations projected for the five stages of the Digital Marketing Timeline Strategy.

SETUP   (0-3 months)

• assess touchpoints in relation to customer lifecycle
• build online environment
• establish baseline
• setup digital media infrastructure
• establish listings on search engines
• gain followers
• initiate relationships
• develop content strategy
• assess digital footprint
• increase member interactions
• begin gaining new referrals/leads
• initiate brand mentions

TRACTION   (4-9 mo)

• transform touchpoints to conversation points
• implement digital media optimization
• gain traction on social media sites
• integrate mobile with social media
• gain responses to call to action
• place on search engines
• gain new sales/members
• gain initial thought leadership interactions
• build member satisfaction/feedback
• increase customer service  

POSITIONING   (10-15 months)

• convert conversation interaction points to conversion points
• gain positions on search engines
• gain thought leadership interactions
• gain new sales revenue
• develop brand loyalty

EXPANSION   (16-27+ months)

• stabilize position on search engines
• establish some recognition as a thought leader
• gain brand  power
• gain consistent stream of revenue

VIRAL GROWTH (future)

• expand networks exponentially through fan/follower networks and social communities

To be successful at social media you need to have a plan.  As the publisher, you control the power to distribute your content through digital media platforms such as blogs, mobile, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.  Most businesspersons are overwhelmed with all the options and how to implement them.  These six steps provide a roadmap to use social media to achieve optimal results for your business.

Step 1 –Determine Social Media Value for Your Business

• Develop an understanding of social media and online communities – How can you gain traction for ideas and grow your network to benefit your company?
• Determine goals – What does your company want to accomplish with social media?
• Evaluate social media – Is it a good fit for your company/institution?

Step 2 – Identify Challenges Facing Your Business When Implementing Digital Marketing

• Determine organization’s changes – how will your company adopt social media?
• Demonstrate value added – how will you gain support for this new, often misunderstood initiative within your company?
• Determine your social media team – who will design and implement your social media strategy?
• Determine your audience – who do you want to reach?
• Determine competition’s social media activity

Step 3 – Select the Best Tools

• Choose social media communities – select the tools that will best support your goals.  Setup the Applications – Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, Twitter, Mobile, blogs
• Train your team on using the tools – optimizing profiles, frequency of use, portraying professional image
• Guide the team on Marketing the Tools – gaining followers, building your network and engaging your community
• Leverage Current Marketing – integrate digital media with your current marketing efforts

Step 4 – Develop Content

• Develop compelling content – content that your community wants to read, content that will benefit them and content they will share with their communities
• Remember SEO best practices – use keywords and key phrases
• Include trackable links – content with links to your hub or online environment, video or photos produce best results
• Post content frequently – consistency is key, good content with few hard sales
• Develop Action Responses – ask questions, opinions, advice; direct the user’s response for feedback, to engage in conversations

Step 5: Content Distribution

• Apply widgets to drive viral action – like buttons, share, and repost
• Syndicate your content – RSS feeds, NetworkedBlog, email
• Use applications and tools – simplify efforts, schedule in advance, tracking URL’s
• Integrated digital media strategy – design, implement and manage your social media and integrate it with traditional advertising, online solutions, business networking and integrate it with other social media networks

Step 6: Feedback

• Monitor company chatter – your team should use Google alerts, searches, free and paid tools
• Prepare for feedback – prepare for potential effects on your company, plan how your company will responds to positive and negative feedback
• Evaluation and reporting – through tracking and monitoring determine the effect of your social media strategies and what changes in the landscape have affected it
• Determine ROI – what is the return on your investment from your digital marketing strategy, identify the RGV (resources generating value)
• Adjustment – review your strategy and make the necessary changes and implement the next phase.

Healthcare professionals and marketing consultants converged in New York City this month to attend Social Communications & Healthcare; Case Studies and Roundtables, a conference hosted by Business Development Institute. Ira Kaufman, President of Entwine Inc, and I were honored to have been chosen to Moderate Roundtable discussions.

Hospitals, non-profits, pharmaceutical companies and medical professionals are searching for effective venues to engage patients. They are investigating the application of social media as they are confounded with compliance issues, newly proposed FDA regulations and conservative management. The conference featured case studies of healthcare companies and organizations that are using social media in different contexts.  Some of the companies included:

Center for Disease Control (CDC)

The CDC has been using social media for the past 3 1/2 – 4 years. They integrate health messages from campaigns and interventions using social media to help get the word out.  They use as many formats as possible to be where the people are. The CDC performs a yearly satisfaction survey and they found that visitors who use social media have a higher satisfaction rating (a full 5 points higher) and rate the CDC site as trustworthy.

Johnson & Johnson

J&J uses multiple platforms and integrates them to redefine relationships. They use blogging, video, Facebook and Twitter along with their main websites to engage and contribute to the conversations. J&J also has a successful social community for it’s Diabetes Institute.

Pfizer

Pfizer is very proud of its progress in adopting social media.  They have gone from crawling to walking. Their Twitter feed is one of the top feeds in NYC. They have an active Facebook page, and more importantly their employees can now access Facebook. YouTube is proving to be a big part of their social media strategy.  Pfizer has successfully used social media to do clinical trial recruitment, monitoring and brand protection, as well as drug counterfeiting education.

Our roundtable discussions were focused on Harnessing the Power of Social Media. We challenged participants to consider six new perspectives in using social media platforms in healthcare environments.

1. Twitter is more than a traditional broadcast tool. It is a powerful conversational initiator. Too many companies only push their brand on social media. Healthcare organizations need to change their mindset and create value to attract visitors.
2. Twitter and Facebook have very powerful search tools that allow users to gain a real time read on the comments and interest of other users and thought leaders in their targeted space.
3. Re-tweeting is a powerful distribution mechanism for your content and messages. Testing the effectiveness of different keywords in stimulating re-tweets produces results.
4. Careful keyword selection and inclusion in blog posts and articles realizes gains in search engine positioning. As each Tweet is a individual  page and optimized by the search engines, targeting your keywords will drive users to your content hub.
5. Social media has proven to be a very reliable sourcing venue for recruitment. Combining LinkedIn with Twitter and Facebook have produced great results for our team. Our results were recognized when Kissito Healthcare was listed as one of the top fifty employers recruiting with Twitter.
6. Monitoring your company brand and industry provides opportunities to engage patients and future clients. It serves as an immediate way to track conversations about your brand. Use 3rd party applications to deliver results immediately to your inbox.

Did you know…  Facebook’s value has more than doubled in the past 12 months to over $ 8 billion!

Did you know… Women aged 55 and up are the fastest growing Facebook demographic in America!

Did you know…  The average Facebook user has 130 friends.

Facebook stats are constantly being updated. Recently Mashable included a great graphic showing some little known Facebook stats that I found extremely interesting. They provided the code so we could embed the graphic on our site, so read on to find the most popular Facebook pages and other interesting statistics.

[Source: Online PhD Programs for MashableMashable.com]

Patient Touchpoint Strategy

Patient touchpoints or interactions with health care facility and professionals define patient centered care. They determine the total patient experience and satisfaction, affecting not only the clinical tasks but patient outcomes.  With the growth of online and social media, healthcare administrators have new tools to evaluate and effect patient centered care.

California HealthCare Foundation Study of Health 2.0 suggests,

“Innovative collaborations online among groups of patients, medical professionals, and other health care players are challenging the notion that health care happens only between a single patient and doctor in an exam room.”

In the growing Health 2.0 model, online and social media have dramatically increased touchpoints (34% of patients use social media, 46% health portals, 67% search engines).

Josh D. McGilliard, VP Marketing, Kissito Healthcare commented,

“Touchpoints or places where our brand constituents come in contact with our brand, are considered the underpinnings that hold the Kissito brand together. Whether they are external or internal before or after initial engagement, it is the only way to identify with the constituents on a consistent basis. Social media is becoming an important part of the mix.”

What are the touchpoints for today’s patient?  Now consumers research diseases, best practices, cures, pharmaceuticals on WebMD.  Medical information is shared by TV commercials, radio talk shows, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and brochures in doctor’s office.  Friends share stories and recommendations; patients join online support communities.  Interactions with medical/hospital staff are critical (admissions, billing, doctors, pharmacists, nurses. dietitians, CNAs, aides, social workers, therapists.) Patient discharge plans include regular interactions with case workers. The summation of these points is the Touchpoint Map.

The next step for healthcare professionals is to design a Touchpoint Optimization Strategy that will increase the quality of the total patient experience:

Step 1: Create a Patient Touchpoint Map

Interview a sample of patients to determine which touchpoints relate to their healthcare experience.

Step 2: Evaluate Patient Touchpoints Effectiveness

Determine which of these touchpoints each patient values at each stage of medical intervention (discovery, treatment, discharge, aftercare) referred as the patient life cycle. Then compare these touchpoints in generating conversations and patient relationships, increasing patient satisfaction and comfort level and effecting outcomes.

Step 3: Design Patient Touchpoint Optimization Strategy

Select a cost-effective mix of marketing tools that target your demographic and stage of intervention to increase touchpoints and conversations and improve the patient experience.

Step 4: Assess Patient Touchpoint Optimization Strategy

Evaluate the effect of the strategy in terms of increasing the quality and satisfaction of the total patient experience.

For example, a McKinsey Study of hypertensive patient’s habits for taking their medicines revealed that the adherence practices were related to six patient segments. They included skeptical patients, confident patients, concerned patients, confused patients, resigned patients, and proactive patients. By targeting a Touchpoint Strategy to these segments, the organization can greatly increase the effectiveness on their marketing efforts.

Entwine Inc was selected by the Adhesive and Sealant Council to educate industry leaders about social media and B2B marketing at the 2010 Adhesive and Sealant Spring Conference in Savannah, Georgia. Ira Kaufman and Patsy Stewart studied the industry and gathered examples of companies starting to embrace social media such as Lanxess, H.B. Fuller, Cytec, Hexion and Arizona Chemical. It really wasn’t a surprise, but  the adhesive and sealant industry has barely tapped into social media.

Social Media Revolution – Creating Value for Your B2B Business

Our presentation, Social Media Revolution – Creating Value for Your B2B Business, introduced industry leaders to the value of Social Media when used in an Integrated Media Marketing Strategy.  We divided it into three parts; the case, the integrated strategy and the social media marketing tactics.

Industry executives were quite interested but shared their skepticism.  Eva Ackerman, VP Research & Technology, Rectorseal Corporation, commented,

“Honestly, using social networking for more than social chatter was new to me. I was quite skeptical. Your workshop showed me the value and made me a believer. I see new opportunities to try social media for our company.”

They were challenged by a lack of understanding of the power of social media, how to apply it to their company and integrate it with current marketing efforts and how to measure the results. Larry Owen, Senior Vice President of Franklin Adhesives & Polymers said,

“I need to get involved in social media, our company needs to get involved. I have committed to our marketing department that I will research and learn more.”

Larry Owen, Ira Kaufman, Les Burch

The presentation demonstrated how B2B companies are embracing social media to generate results. An Integrated Media Marketing Strategy incorporates social media to increase customer touchpoints to engage with clients and build relationships. Social Media Marketing tools help to expand a B2B company’s digital footprint. Your online environment is your hub; this could be your blog, website or landing page. The spokes or social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn drive traffic back to the hub and create buzz.

Les Burch, President of Sashco shared,

“Your presentation helped me understand how the many pieces of social media fit together strategically and how they can develop communities that care about our products and create a buzz about them.”

To help us better understand the needs of the Adhesive and Sealant Industry we are conducting a survey of the attendees. We will compile the data and determine ways B2B can best benefit from the inclusion of social media in an integrated marketing strategy.

You can view our entire presentation on Slideshare.  Click here to view the slides.