Hearsay Social » Chief Marketing Officer Be social. Corporate to local. 2013-05-20T23:00:02Z http://hearsaysocial.com/feed/atom/ WordPress hearsay-social-cmohttp://feedburner.google.com Meagan Herfkens <![CDATA[Reestablishing trust via social media: Hearsay Social keynote panel at LinkedIn’s Global Financial Services Summit]]> http://hearsaysocial.com/?p=10052 2013-05-20T22:57:20Z 2013-05-10T22:21:19Z
The Hearsay Social team was delighted to join LinkedIn and executives from across the financial industry in New York last week to discuss how marketing and sales strategies are evolving due to the seismic shift in online behavior from social media.

The impressive lineup of industry experts discussed everything from the state of the economy to the future of regulation and compliance on social media to an audience of 300 senior marketing and business leaders from around the globe.

Our CEO Clara Shih, who blogs regularly about social enterprise topics on LinkedIn, spoke on a fascinating keynote panel alongside Sallie Krawcheck (@SallieKrawcheck), Past President of Merrill Lynch and Herb Greenberg (@herbgreenberg) of CNBC. In their discussion, moderated by Dan Roth (@danroth), Executive Editor at LinkedIn, they discussed the impact social content on LinkedIn has had on them and their businesses. With some examples from some of the financial services firms Hearsay Social works with, Clara highlighted how social content can help financial advisors become experts in their field. Here is the video recording:

Earlier in the day, Jill Schlesinger (@jillonmoney), Senior Business Analyst at CBS News, gave a talk on the state of the economy, and encouraged organizations to speak to consumers in ‘their’ language: “If you can’t figure out a way to communicate with people in a way that they can take that information in, its useless.” She also highlighted the importance of regulation to consumer protection:

Eileen Loustau, Global Director of Social Media at Blackrock/iShares, highlighted how social media can help organizations ‘humanize’ themselves. Saying, on social media, “try to be a person, not a company.”

A recurring theme throughout the day was how pervasive social media has become across financial services firms. Already, 1 out of every 3 professionals on the planet is on LinkedIn, according to David Hahn, Vice President of Product at LinkedIn. And those numbers are only growing.

Hearsay Social CEO Clara Shih and Jennifer Grazel, Global Head of Category Development – Financial Services, LinkedIn

See more from the event:

]]> 0 Meagan Herfkens <![CDATA[Highlights from Innovation Summit Toronto: Sales and Marketing in the Social Era]]> http://hearsaysocial.com/?p=10013 2013-05-20T22:57:51Z 2013-05-08T21:03:21Z Hearsay Social is in Canada!

In anticipation of the LIMRA LOMA Canada Annual Conference, we hosted the second event in our Innovation Summit thought leadership series in Toronto. The Innovation Summit yesterday brought together leaders and innovators from top Canadian financial services and insurance firms. Hearsay Social COO Michael Lock kicked off the event with a presentation about how firms must adapt to changing consumer behavior and build stronger relationships with customers by making the leap from social marketing to social sales.

The Honourable Kevin Lynch, Vice Chair of BMO Financial Group and former Clerk of the Privy Council, keynoted the event with a presentation entitled,”Disruptive Innovation and Us–From Banking to Baking, No Sector is Immune to Innovation.” Highlighting the importance of innovation, no matter the industry, Mr. Lynch focused specifically on financial services, where “innovation is the key to competitiveness.”

Part of the challenge he sees facing Canada is the limited focus on innovation and new ideas. Canada falls very low in rankings on productivity (72%) and innovation, ranking #20 in R&D. Banking is not at the forefront of technology, and Canadian companies may be even slower to move. There is opportunity, however. You just “can’t be a follower if you want to be a leader,” said the Honourable Mr. Lynch.

The changing financial services client

Following Mr. Lynch’s talk was a panel of industry leaders including Michelle Smyth, Director, Social Media, Sun Life Financial; Sulemaan Ahmed, Principal, Servo Annex; Jen Evans, CEO, Squeeze and Sequentia; and Silu Modi, VP, Associate Director, Digital Marketing, Macquarie; moderated by Brian Cook, Country Manager, Canada for Hearsay Social.

The panel conversation started with a discussion around how consumers have changed: 77% of consumers do research online and 45% do only online research according to one of the panelists. They discussed how some advisors have found success on social networks just watching who views their profiles; typically  before they have a meeting, not only are advisors doing their research on clients, but clients are doing due diligence on their advisors.

Jen highlighted another opportunity, pointing out that 13% of leads and new relationships are coming from social media, according to a Hubspot study. She has seen evidence that, in a lengthy buy cycle, social media can help move people from weaker ties into stronger advocates.

Sulemaan made a comparison between social technologies emerging today and the way some companies approached email in prior decades. Speaking to a CEO about compliance trying to block a social media pilot, he told them, “You sat on the other side of this table and told me we didn’t need email. We did, and we’re moving forward with social.” Later, Sulemaan added, “People don’t connect with brands. They connect with people. Unleash them.”

Addressing the issue of compliance, Michelle opined that employees are going to participate in social media whether their employers want them to or not. Highlighting the importance of identifying business objectives of a social media initiative, she also noted that it’s “not about spending hours, but being smart.”

In the final session of the day, we heard from Brian Church, Country Manager, Canada Head of Sales Solutions, North America, LinkedIn, and Sabrina Geremia, Managing Director, Integrated Solutions, Google Canada. Sabrina described how they have seen the consumer path to purchase for the financial services industry change dramatically over the past decade. Customers are spending more and more time researching financial services online, and up to 25% of these queries are coming from mobile devices, according to various sources.

Brian backed up Sabrina’s point, citing a study from CEB indicating that 57% of B2B decisions are happening before any engagement with sales. This is a result, he explained, of how much information is available before a buyer even reaches the salesperson. Social media is having a massive effect on consumer decisions, and people are looking to their network to decide what’s important.

]]> 0 Ronny Kerr <![CDATA[BMO, Scotiabank, Sun Life Financial LinkedIn, and Hearsay Social to kick off LIMRA LOMA Canada Conference with Innovation Summit]]> http://hearsaysocial.com/?p=9638 2013-05-03T13:39:24Z 2013-05-02T16:02:38Z Today we are thrilled to announce that on Tuesday, May 7, ahead of the LIMRA LOMA Canada Annual Conference in Toronto, Hearsay Social will be hosting an Innovation Summit for financial industry leaders to discuss the future of financial services and relationship management in the social era.

This will be the second Hearsay Social Innovation Summit, you can see a recap of the inaugural event here:

With a keynote from Kevin G. Lynch, Vice-Chair of BMO Financial Group, former Clerk of the Privy Council, executives from top insurance and financial services organizations (including BMO Financial Group, Scotiabank, and Sun Life Financial) will join Hearsay Social and LinkedIn at the Fairmont Royal York to to talk social sales and marketing.

The disruptive forces of social media are changing the way financial services and insurance companies do business. With the growing availability of social sales productivity tools, these organizations cannot afford to be behind the curve; by participating in this event, participants are committing to exploring the cutting edge of technology.

Speakers include:

  • Kevin G. Lynch, Vice-Chair of BMO Financial Group, former Clerk of the Privy Council
  • Paul Regan, Head of Digital, Scotiabank
  • Michelle Smyth, Director, Social Media, Sun Life Financial (@michelle_smyth)
  • Michael Lock, COO, Hearsay Social (@michaelhlock)

Following the Innovation Summit, Hearsay Social and its partners will be attending the LIMRA and LOMA Canada 2013 Annual Conference at the same location, connecting with corporate leaders across the industry.

Register for the Summit today.

We look forward to exchanging ideas with innovators from around the globe, helping some of the worlds largest organizations identify opportunities to leverage new technologies and build relationships in the social era

]]> 0 Emily Aradi <![CDATA[Join Forrester, AXA Equitable, Wells Fargo, and Hearsay Social for “Selling in the Social Era”]]> http://hearsaysocial.com/?p=9826 2013-05-20T22:59:18Z 2013-04-30T13:30:07Z

Every day, your customers and prospects go on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to share what’s happening in their lives. Your own network is full of valuable clues as to who needs to buy what and when, making it a treasure trove of leads.

Sales professionals, digital marketers, and others are welcome to join our webinar this Monday, May 6 at 11 AM PT: Selling in the Social Era.

In this webinar, our guest speaker, Forrester Research analyst Zachary Reiss-Davis (@ZacharyRD), will share key findings from a new Hearsay Social-commissioned study on the state of social selling. Also hear from Robert “Bucky” Wright, Senior Executive Director for AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company and Chairman of AXA Advisors, LLC, along with Cathy Price, VP of Digital Marketing at Wells Fargo, and Hearsay Social CEO Clara Shih (@ClaraShih), as they discuss best practices for sales and marketing leaders in this new era, including:

  • Strategies top sales leaders should consider to activate their social sales force
  • Understanding the customer lifecycle as individuals engage with social touch points
  • Top reasons sales people are successful on social platforms

If you can’t make it, register anyway and we’ll send you the study conducted by Forrester Consulting and the webcast after the event!

]]> 0 Gen Williams <![CDATA[How can you use social media to drive sales? Social business experts weigh in at FT Digital Media Conference in London]]> http://hearsaysocial.com/?p=9804 2013-05-01T17:17:34Z 2013-04-30T05:30:54Z Hearsay Social is proud to have participated in the Financial Times Digital Media Conference, the flagship annual event that brings leading individuals together to discuss technological disruption of new and established media. Speakers included Sir Martin Sorrell, Group Chief Executive of WPP; Marion King, President of MasterCard Worldwide, UK & Ireland Division; and Clara Shih, CEO and Founder of Hearsay Social.

“This event is very focused on what the FT does best,” explains Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, Media Editor, Financial Times, “exploring the business models that will determine success in different markets around the world, from the perspective of both senior leaders of global media groups and today’s most promising digital entrepreneurs.”

Joining Clara on the “Business of Social” panel were Richard Waters, West Coast Managing Editor of the Financial Times; Christian Hernandez Gallardo, Director of UK and Pan-Euro at Facebook; Gilles Storme, VP of Advertising Sales, EMEA at King.com; and Richard Moross, CEO & Founder of Moo.com.

From left to right: Richard Waters, West Coast Managing Editor of the Financial Times; Hearsay Social CEO and Founder Clara Shih; Richard Moross, CEO & Founder of Moo.com; Gilles Storme, VP of Advertising Sales, EMEA at King.com; and Christian Hernandez Gallardo, Director of UK and Pan-Euro at Facebook.

“One of the highest signals that you will likely want to have a mortgage or car loan is a life change,” said Christian. “If you got engaged or are expecting, I guarantee you’re going to have a lot of expenses coming up. You will probably need some advice from a helpful financial advisor. Those social signals feed into an econometric model, and then we help them go back and actually talk to the customer at the right time.”

In an age where mistrust of corporations has never been higher, many companies are seeing success by using social media to promote their employees as ambassadors of the corporate brand.

“The traditional big media world is much more affected by individuals,”  said Clara. “There is a blurring of lines across paid, earned and owned media. The same piece of content coming from a person versus a corporate brand performs better from an EdgeRank perspective and also ties back to individual curation. Consumers want to hear from human beings, oftentimes a friend or trusted advisor.”

More significantly, companies that effectively empower their employees on social media can activate an additional channel to connect with customers.

“Media is not just about paid, owned, and earned; there is also employed media. Your brand ambassadors can be extremely effective authentic channels for connecting with your customers and prospects,” Clara explained.

Watch a recording of the conversation on FT Live.

]]> 0 Gen Williams <![CDATA[Process and policy both necessary for social media success: Hearsay Social joins the Social Media Leadership Forum London]]> http://hearsaysocial.com/?p=9764 2013-04-25T16:30:59Z 2013-04-25T16:20:42Z The Social Media Leadership Forum convened in London this week to discuss social media for businesses. Over the course of the seminar, senior executives shared their views on the strategic role of social media for business, covering topics including the value of social media for B2B and B2C organisations, delivering cost savings, and how social media is evaluated at the board level. Social media also emerged as a valuable tool within the organisation, powering effectiveness and agility.

Clara Shih joined panelists Dennis Adekunle (Director, Social Media & Collaborative Services, GlaxoSmithKline), Eihab Mohamed (Customer Engagement Director, Telegraph Media Group) and moderator Justin Hunt (Founder of Social Media Leadership Forum & It’s Open) to emphasize the need for structure and training around social media to reap the full benefit.

“In this age of social media, where all your employees are now marketers, how do you maintain an authentic voice and consistent brand across all your relationship managers?” Clara asked the audience. “We’ve seen a combination of process and policy work best across our clients.”

]]> 0 Ronny Kerr <![CDATA[Financial services leaders from Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo to join Hearsay Social at LinkedIn FinanceConnect]]> http://hearsaysocial.com/?p=9713 2013-05-01T17:18:06Z 2013-04-23T13:30:05Z Content and conversations fuel the customer journey in the age of social media. Strategic content marketing drives deeper connections with your customers, which ultimately drives more business.

Next Thursday, May 2, at LinkedIn FinanceConnect, executives from the financial services industry, including Claire Huang (CMO, JPMorgan Chase), Lisa Shalett (Head of Brand Marketing and Digital Strategy, Goldman Sachs), and Rachel Perkel, (SVP, Head of Wealth Management Marketing, Wells Fargo Bank), will join Silicon Valley leaders LinkedIn and Hearsay Social to discuss how to use content to best leverage social sales and marketing.

Whether you’re seeking to understand how to balance social media rewards or risks, concerned about traversing the social media regulatory landscape, or just interested in the LinkedIn Influencers program, the LinkedIn Marketing Solutions team has prepared a stellar event.

If you’re attending, be sure to catch Hearsay Social on the following panels:

Compliance track: 2013 Regulatory Landscape  (3:15 – 4:00 PM)

  • Yasmin Zarabi, Senior Director of Legal, Hearsay Social
  • Joe Price, Senior Vice President, Corporate Financing/Advertising Regulation, FINRA
  • Iain Duke-Richardet, Director – Head of Technology & Licensing Compliance, RBC
  • Sean Shore, Manager, Business Conduct, National Bank Financial Wealth Management
  • Lisa Shalett, Head of Brand Marketing and Digital Strategy, Goldman Sachs

Navigating the social media regulatory landscape can be daunting, especially for global firms. In this session, we will discuss the current state of social media compliance and how innovative compliance organizations can evolve to stay ahead of future regulatory and technology changes.

LinkedIn Influencers Roundtable (4:00 – 4:45 PM)

Only four months old, the LinkedIn Influencer program delivers fresh and frequent content to our insight-hungry member base. Three of our most prolific influencers join us to discuss the impact that the combination of content, social, and the professional audience has had on their lives and businesses.

Compliance track: Path from Compliance to ROI (4:00 – 4:45 PM)

  • Michael Lock, COO, Hearsay Social
  • Knut Olson, Senior Vice President, Financial Network, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
  • Paul Johnston, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Many firms get started in social media in order to manage risk, but with the appropriate policies and processes in place, LinkedIn is a valuable asset to the field organization. How do successful firms make the transition from social media compliance to ROI?

]]> 0 Ronny Kerr <![CDATA[Forrester Wave: Hearsay Social cited for its sophisticated content sharing and seeding features and innovative product road map]]> http://hearsaysocial.com/?p=9653 2013-04-29T23:22:43Z 2013-04-16T22:11:00Z Forrester Research, a leading independent technology and market research company, today published The Forrester Wave™: Social Relationship Platforms, Q2 2013, a side-by-side comparison of the eight social relationship platforms “that matter most,” ranking Hearsay Social as a Strong Performer.

We’re proud to say that Forrester has named Hearsay Social a Strong Performer, based on its scores in strategy, current offering, and market presence. Thanks to the continued success of customers who share our vision, our relentless dedication to product quality, and the strategic perspective of our leadership team, we’ve received the highest evaluation bestowed on any of the platforms in these categories.

In the report, Forrester especially highlights that Hearsay Social drives social sales:

“Hearsay Social can help marketers manage corporate social profiles, but it comes into its own as a tool for empowering salespeople on social sites. It offers sophisticated content sharing and seeding features, and its permissioning and oversight tools are among the best we evaluated. Its strong management team has a clear vision for the value its clients are seeking and has developed an innovative product road map.”

Additionally, as evidenced by a graphic from the report, Forrester recognizes that Hearsay Social has the largest deployment at a single customer base, as measured by number of active users, more than doubling the next largest rollout.

Please contact us if you’d like to learn more about social sales and Hearsay Social.

]]> 0 Ronny Kerr <![CDATA[JFAM Forum: How to reach financial services clients in 2013]]> http://hearsaysocial.com/?p=9623 2013-04-12T20:46:58Z 2013-04-12T20:40:59Z

From left to right: Gina Ballenger, VP, Enterprise Social Media Marketing, Wells Fargo; Chad Smith, Global Social Content Dist. Manager, iShares/Blackrock; Matthew Dunn, Director Social Strategies, Franklin Templeton Investments; Clara Shih, Founder and CEO, Hearsay Social

Yet another successful JFAM Forum took place in San Francisco yesterday focused on one crucial question: What do financial marketers want from their marketing in 2013? Sponsored by Financial Times, Hearsay Social, The Street, and others, the forum brought together speakers and attendees to talk brand reputation and content marketing in financial services, and how new technology like social media affects these hot topics.

As a result of the financial crisis and other factors, firms have lost the trust of their customers. In the morning keynote, Hearsay Social CEO Clara Shih carefully explained that customers increasingly recognize and ignore mailers and impersonal campaigns created by “faceless organizations.”

So what are customers responding to? Personal notes from actual people.

The marketer’s job in 2013 and for years to come is to meet the customer where they actually are–on mobile and social–and engage with them in an authentic, personal manner. Marketers and reps that are good at what they do are rightfully focusing on quality of messages as opposed to quantity.

In the social media age, content is king. Financial firms are quickly learning that by sharing and engaging on social networks, and by leveraging the authenticity and humanness of their field, they can earn back their customers’ trust and business.

]]> 0 Ronny Kerr <![CDATA[“The Death of Marketing” at SXSW 2013]]> http://hearsaysocial.com/?p=9546 2013-04-04T18:03:57Z 2013-04-04T13:30:47Z Couldn’t make it to SXSW this year? Not to worry.

Set aside some time to listen to the above recording of a session led by Hearsay Social CEO Clara Shih (@ClaraShih) and Renee Brown (@ReneeDBrown), SVP/Director Social Media, Wells Fargo, on “The Death of Marketing.”

In the first portion, Clara talks about the shift of power from traditional brands and institutions to individuals, and what that means for marketing. Then Renee, who heads up social media for Wells Fargo, talks about the changing rules of marketing based on her extensive experience running social media for the major global bank. Finally, the session concludes with an informal conversation between Clara, Renee, session attendees, and virtual attendees on Twitter.

See our other SXSW 2013 coverage:

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