The all-American sports drink, Gatorade (owned by PepsiCo) indeed has built a “social media command center” that includes multiple large monitors and custom software in a designated room with comfy seats. I’m not gonna lie. Those photos of data visualizations displayed on big screens made me a bit weak in the knees, but my projects quickly snap me back to reality.

Mashable has done a terrific job of sprinkling glitter all over the term “social media.” Many large brands can afford to take that leap early and often, and getting featured on Mashable is like a shot of instant MiracleGro for their shiny new campaigns. But chances are, you’re in a position similar to mine. Your brand isn’t that huge, your product isn’t meant for everyone, and you don’t have celebrity athletes dripping sweat on your customers. All the talk and spotlight on whatever new awesome social thing the big brands are doing may not be helpful for what you’re trying to do for your company or client. In fact, it could be a turnoff to the more traditional executives, or it could make your smaller clients panic. What am I trying to say? If you’re trying to sell “social media” to your company internally or to prospective consulting clients, perhaps the latest darling on Mashable isn’t the best example to use. If you’re crafting a plan for your brand, perhaps it would be better to pass on Mashable’s cheer section and search for solid case studies instead.

My suggestions? Seek out people who are doing the work, hands on, everyday. Learn from them. Read their blogs, dig through their Slideshare accounts, stalk them on Google Reader to see what they’re sharing and commenting. A few of my favorites are: Kristy Bolsinger, Sean Moffitt, Tac Anderson, Eric Weaver, and Shannon Paul.

Looking around here, I’ve got an L shaped desk, a Dell PC, two 17″ monitors, a multi-line phone, and a big green coffee mug. What does your “social media command center” look like?

But today, it’s going to be more of a meow.

Funny how grief actually helps me focus on things. Whenever a stressful situation strikes, my first reaction is to step up and get things done. Life still has to go on, right? The to-do list doesn’t just magically disappear. In fact, I’m crossing things off like crazy today.

I also like to make sure people around me are taken care of when they’re sad. I would normally be the one who makes sure everyone eats and rests, and the little kids are entertained so the grownups can do what they have to do. Unfortunately, they’re all many many miles away from me.

TV ads like this one wants you to believe technology makes physical distance disappear, but you know what? Distance is still distance.

RIP, uncle Tom. I’m sorry I haven’t been there.

One big point of debate among LBS users (and haters) seems to be the practice of cross-posting. When LBS users check in, post notes or a photo, or earn achievements, they have the option of sharing the action across other social networks, mainly Facebook and Twitter, and it’s an option that many users happily exercise.

I’ve been wondering: what do these location announcements mean to the LBS users and their audience? As I was driving past Boeing Field and observing some interesting cloud formations the other day, it dawned on me: these LBS users are sending up virtual smoke signals.

Smoke signals have been used for centuries, and it is, in my opinion, the original location based service. It reveals the location of the signal sender to everyone, for a purpose. Smoke signals are meant to communicate very specific, and often urgent, messages to a wide audience. It’s supposed to trigger certain actions from the viewers/audience based on a pre-arranged or generally understood system.

So, when you cross-post your location check-ins and announce it to the world (especially if your Twitter profile is public), are you effectively sending up smoke signals? What do those signals mean to the recipients? Are they to act on the message? If you constantly cross-post your locations, does that become a bit of “crying wolf” and lose its impact after a while?

Which LBS do you use? Do you cross-post to other social networks? Why or why not?

My husband and I never celebrate Valentine’s Day. It’s not because it’s a so-called “Hallmark holiday.” We’re definitely not jaded about showing affection with flowers, chocolates, gifts, and cards, either. It’s just that we were too afraid to call each other on Valentine’s Day…

TJ and I bumped into each other in a Seattle chat room many years ago. I was taking a break from doing my school work online one afternoon. Remember when chat rooms were full PM windows asking your a/s/l? He never asked that. For about an hour, we chatted about school (he was also taking classes at the time), work, music, and books. Email addresses were exchanged before we signed off. Over the next several months, we occasionally emailed each other, talked about movies, food, family, and life experiences. It was a very nice and relaxed e-friendship. We did trade phone number but never called for one reason or another.

That changed one afternoon. I think it was about 4:30 p.m. I decided to call and ask if he wanted to meet for a drink after work, and he agreed. (Did he happen to be free, or did he skip class that night? I’m not sure.) The conversation went so well that we continued on to dinner. It was so easy to talk and laugh with him. Even though we only had one conversation online, everything we discussed over emails simply flowed right into our in-person interactions. A few hours later, before parting ways outside the restaurant, he asked me to wait while he retrieved something from his car. He had brought a card for me but kept it in the car, just in case things didn’t go so well. I must admit, that was pretty smart on his part. It was a very cute card and he got a hug in return.

On the way home, I saw that he was following me and started getting scared. About 3 blocks before my condo, he turned, but I was still paranoid. Over email later that night, we figured out we only lived a few minutes away from each other.

That was February 13. Knowing the next day was Valentine’s Day, we avoided calling each other, but promptly made plans for our second date on February 15. It snowed on our second date. We did doughnuts in the empty parking lot of our local grocery store, then got ice cream from Baskin-Robbins. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Over the years, we’ve told family and friends a few different stories about how we met. Well, you just got the real story, and the reason why we never acknowledge Valentine’s Day.

Happy first date anniversary, T! I’m glad we did that meeting-people-from-online thing when it was still pretty weird. I love you!

Q: What’s the one thing you want people to walk away knowing about your experience in listening to the customer?

You might be surprised by how surprised your (prospective and existing) customers are when they find out you’re proactively listening and searching. So far, the responses I’ve received have been very positive. So, the simple decision to put your ears out there is already a winning move, especially if you do it before your competition.

Q: How did you go about finding people to listen to?

I’m all about free tools. I have no budget, no resource other than my own time. I started by learning about the environment and culture of various social networks from a personal perspective before attempting to establish a brand presence. It turned out to be a very rewarding strategy, because I’ve made connections, earned trust, made friends who have been very supportive of my adventures as Ben Bridge Girl.  That is one of the reasons why I’m here tonight. I shared my story with Gwen over wine and appetizers one night, and she asked me to bring the story to you.

One of my first goals was to find other retail jewelers, industry professionals and organizations. I do keyword searches to find customers and service opportunities. I also make it a point to connect with related industries, such as fashion bloggers, wedding related vendors and planners, the hospitality industry, etc. There’s very little chatter about Ben Bridge out there, which is an issue that needs to be address, but also represents a huge opportunity. That is very exciting to me.

Q: You tout yourself as a listener.  Why is that important?  Does that make customers more likely to talk to you?

It’s so easy for customers to throw out a tweet when they’re upset about the goods or service they received. This is especially true when it comes to something as emotional as jewelry purchasing and gift giving. Most of the time, disenchanted customers vent on blogs or public forums without really expecting any result, and they simply take their business elsewhere. Many recipients of (less than desirable) jewelry gifts would just put the gifts away in their jewelry boxes and forget about them. Without active listening, we may never find out about these lost opportunities. Listen, respond when appropriate, and they’ll usually open up to tell me the rest of their story. The more information I get from the customer, the better I can help solve their problems.

Q: Why Facebook & Twitter?  Do you plan to extend?

FB because that’s where a lot of our target audience is, and I see several fun opportunities with existing games/apps on FB.  Twitter because it was like the wild wild west for jewelry retailers. As of today (1/21/2010), Blue Nile has 408 followers, Zales has 457 , Fred Meyer has 591, and Ben Bridge has 715. I’ve made it a point to reach out and interact with fellow retailers as well as manufacturers.

An extension, in my opinion, would mean a more official presence in the near future on popular sites such as The Knot, iVillage, etc. The important thing, I believe, is to go where the customers already are, not to funnel them into where the company wants them.

Q: What things are hard for you (e.g., watching TV shows to connect with your customer?)

I’ve had to watch TV shows such as Tool Academy, More To Love, the Bachelor, and various award shows. A glass of wine usually helps me through them. Haha! Theses aren’t programs that I normally choose to watch, but I think it’s important to at least see it once for myself. Turns out, it’s been fun to observe. Another big motivator: while watching award shows, I learn a lot from industry professionals such as Cindy Edelstein, Cheryl Kremkow, and Laura Parker, who have very sharp eyes for trend spotting and make it so much fun!

Q: Why did you decide to jump out and do it on your own? Would you do it again? Is it worth the pain? Has it helped you help your peers understand customer needs/wants better? Do you feel like you’re hanging out there in the wind?

I originally went out searching through social sites because I believe we needed more information to do better business analysis and projections. Would I go out and do it all over again? Absolutely! In fact, it’s a decision that I make every single day. I have learned more about existing and potential customers. In some ways, my interactions with them are not very different from what our sales associates already do very well, but they usually have to wait for customers to come in or call. I’m helping by strengthening existing relationships and building awareness. Yes, it’s frustrating at times, but one happy customer makes it all worthwhile. And if that happy customer comes with a great story, I’m over the moon!

Q: Did you learn from how your competition listened to or didn’t listen to the customer?

Most of Ben Bridge Jeweler’s competition were not listening very much last year. They’re listening more now. Independent jewelry stores are generally more advanced in their adoption of social media, and it makes sense. That has led me to think that perhaps every store in a chain should be empowered to act more like a boutique store and cater to the local culture, but that’s another discussion.

On Twitter, @BenBridgeGirl is all about listening and chatting. I very rarely push out sales messages. Most competitors do the exact opposite. Maybe they know something I don’t, but I believe my method of managing the @BenBridgeGirl Twitter account is appropriate for its (current) purpose. Every tweet is done by hand. I don’t use any tools to manage follower/following, and I don’t auto DM (direct message). When you talk to @BenBridgeGirl, you’re indeed talking to a person.

Q: Who did you emulate to get started?  Who are your mentors?

Elliott Pesut of Alaska Airlines. Brad Nelson of Starbucks Coffee. Michael Mschechter of Honora Pearls. Rod Brooks of PEMCO Insurance. They’ve all done a phenomenal job building “talkable brands,” hands on, everyday. More importantly, they’re always so great about sharing their experiences with others who are new to social media. One of the first welcoming tweet @BenBridgeGirl received was from @HonoraPearls, and I’ll never forget that.

I also prepared a brief handout for attendees, listing a few of my favorite free tools and resources for listening:

Google Alerts – I wake up to this every morning. So many possibilities here. Track to your heart’s content. Go crazy.

Twitter search – Set up a few basic searches, save them and revisit them throughout the day, or get them through RSS feed.

SocialMention – Real-time social media search and analysis; select 1 source or check them all. Provides some info on reach and sentiment.

HowSociable – Find out how a brand performs across the social web. It issues a “visibility score.” Good for comparing with competition.

Trendrr – Business intelligence for digital and social media; track 10 trends a month for free.

Addict-o-matic – Creates a custom page of the latest on any topic or brand

A wiki of social media monitoring solutions – A fantastic + growing list compiled by Ken Burbary, for whom I have tremendous respect.

I’ve attempted to bring the idea to a more personal level. Do I want to be 1% better than my peers in 100 ways, or 100% better in 1 way? This question lingered in my head for days, so I sent it out on Twitter to see what comes back. This reply stuck with me:

Practically speaking, it is quite taxing to keep track of 100 things/skills/abilities and try to “1% up” in all of them. My attention would be completely scattered. Would I feel a sense of pride or personal satisfaction by being only 1% better at something? I doubt it, but that’s just me. You know what’s even less appealing? Having to constantly keep an eye on the competition, just to make sure I’m still keeping that 1% distance. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

Back to business. Consumers have an over-abundance of choices, and attention span is shorter than ever. If a store is 1% better than its neighbor in 100 ways, would you notice? Take jewelry stores for example. There are so many of them in every shopping mall. And let’s be honest, they all look the same. What would make you choose to walk into one jewelry store over another?

Here’s what I think. Being 1% better in 100 ways is risky, because in the customer’s eyes, you’ll never get credit for all 100 ways you’ve worked on. Why? You only have the customer’s attention for so long. There’s not enough time to deliver the cumulative impact of your 1% times 100. Being only 1% better leaves so much to chance, including factors out of your control that could easily sway customers in the opposite direction.

But being 100% better in 1 way seems so narrowly focused,  you say. That 1 way isn’t going to appeal to everyone, you’re afraid. Ok, fine, how about 50% better in 2 ways? The universal truth is that you’ll never please everyone. You have to believe that what you have to offer isn’t for everyone, either, because it’s special, and hopefully, you’ve done your homework to know that your target customers will appreciate it. Your business has to lead with a wider margin, to truly differentiate yourself. What you want is to stand out in your customer’s eyes and make them say wow. What you want is to be remarkable.

I choose 100%, 1 way. How about you?

Thanks to Ray Page for the thought-provoking reply.

P.S. Also thanks to @dacort and his awesome app TweetStats for helping me locate Ray’s tweet for this post.

Last fall, I blogged about my social media adventure as “Ben Bridge Girl”, which began quietly in September 2008. Now, 1.5 years later, the topic of social media has made the front page of the company bulletin, and I’m really glad to see it. “Tiptoeing” is a good way to describe what’s been done so far. Marc is growing the company blog’s content and securing approval from the legal department. I’m getting more interactions on the Facebook fan page. It’s also nice to see a mention of the @BenBridgeGirl Twitter account in his article.

For many traditional organizations, adopting social media is challenging due to the existing corporate culture and structure, and Ben Bridge Jeweler is no exception. Before seeking returns from social media, there needs to be open and ongoing conversations about it in the company. During the weekly social media chat on Twitter today, Frank Eliason (@ComcastCares) said:

I couldn’t agree more. It has already been demonstrated that consumers and employees can speak louder and even take over a brand’s voice. (Remember Motrin Moms? Domino’s Pizza?) The smart thing to do is being upfront and proactive in talking about what your company is doing. Everyone in the company needs to be on the same page about this, from the CEO to the receptionist, from the controller to the sales associates. Yes, I understand and appreciate the concerns a company may have about engaging in social media; however, being vigilant and being human are not mutually exclusive. The jewelry retail business is perfectly suited for *being human.* After all, it exists and thrives because of the very human need to express emotions, be it joy, pride, love, or vanity. I would love to see Ben Bridge Jeweler take a leadership role in the industry’s adoption of social media, and that the tiptoeing turn into a nice stroll in the near future.

]]> http://www.veronicasopher.com/?feed=rss2&p=413 12 http://www.veronicasopher.com/?p=399 http://www.veronicasopher.com/?p=399#comments Tue, 29 Dec 2009 01:36:15 +0000 Veronica http://www.veronicasopher.com/?p=399 Today, over on Twittermaven, Warren Sukernek reminded the Hilton Anaheim that there’s more to Twitter than broadcasting ads. He also presented two fantastic examples of hotels that use Twitter very well: Hotel Max in Seattle, and the Roger Smith Hotel in New York. One quick look at the Twitter pages of all three hotels and you’ll see the distinct difference: Hotel Max and the Roger Smith both interact with their followers and related businesses. You don’t even need to go past the first page to see how much fun they’re having on Twitter! They also tweet helpful information for travelers, industry related articles, and give shout-outs to great snapshots taken by fans. They’re personable and lots of fun. Even though their twitter avatars are logos, their followers know there are real people behind the tweets, and the voices/personalities are consistent. When they do sprinkle in the occasional special offers and contests in tweets, there’s already such a great level of trust that their followers are happy to spread the word for them! Meanwhile, over on Hilton Anaheim’s Twitter page, every tweet is nothing more than a miniature billboard or small space ad.

Hotel Max has been a shining example of customer engagement through social media, and I’ve learned a lot by observing Jen’s work. When I started the @BenBridgeGirl Twitter account in January 2009, I began by searching for customers, acknowledging their visits or purchases, and providing service referrals when appropriate. I have not found lot of chatter about Ben Bridge Jeweler on Twitter (this is another topic/post about building a “talkable brand”), so I’ve spent more time focusing on connecting with the bridal industry, accessory retailers, the hospitality industry, fashion bloggers, and many jewelry industry professionals. And yes, I also reach out to competitors, because instinctively, I know it’s a positive move. We’re all in the same community, after all. During my observations, most major jewelry retailers started out by using Twitter like a shiny new blow horn, and it’s understandable. Today, I’m happy to see that both Zales @zalesdiamondgal and Blue Nile @bluenilediamond are starting to acknowledge customers for their purchases and mentions.

My goal for @BenBridgeGirl is to build brand recognition, and provide customer service when appropriate. Perhaps some time in the future, there will be a few offers or goodies thrown in, but sales is not a primary goal for @BenBridgeGirl. Jewelry purchases, after all, are high-touch experiences that are often emotional, and much of it can’t be done very well with 140 characters. With that said, I can also see a jewelry retailer maintaining a separate Twitter account for “outlet” type of sales, to cater to bargain hunters, but that’s another conversation.

For those who live outside of Washington State, I have a gem of an opportunity for you TODAY to help end hunger in America. My friend and mentor Michael Schechter and his company, Honora Pearls, is doing a great thing for Share Our Strength. It is an organization that aims to feed hungry children in America. If you donate $30 TODAY by following this hyperlink, Honora Pearls will send you a beautiful watch (retail value $100). The watch features black leather straps and mother-of-pearl dial. It is a win-win for you! You can help Share Our Strength, get a tax deduction, and get a wonderful gift! Honora has put a lot of thought into this, including working closely with UPS to make sure you get the watch by Christmas for gift-giving. Their goal is to give away 1,000 watches, and raise $30,000 for Share Our Strength. You can be a hero, twice, today.

I’m sharing this with you because ending hunger in America is a cause that’s really important to me. It’s been wonderful this month to get support and see actions from people I’ve connected with through social media. After reading my last post, Rod Brooks, CMO of PEMCO Insurance (also based in Seattle), left a fantastic comment AND donated $150 to Food Lifeline, too! Thank you, Rod!  These 3 brands (Intranet Connections, Honora and PEMCO) all have wonderful and generous *people* behind them, and that’s the real heart of businesses. I’m so grateful for their presence in my life.

On Friday, December 11, an irresistible tweet came from Rachel:

Her tweet couldn’t have come at a better time. We were running a Food & Fund Drive for Food Lifeline, my favorite local charity, during the same week. I responded to her right away. The following Monday, Rachel and Intranet Connections made my day:

Right then, Intranet Connections became much more than a software vendor to me. They helped me do more for a cause about which I’m passionate, and they made it so easy. No strings, no hoops.

With every dollar donated, Food Lifeline can feed a family of 4. Guess what? Intranet Connections just gave me the opportunity to feed 100 families with their $100 donation on my behalf! With just one single tweet, a thoughtful gesture expressed in 140 characters, Intranet Connections made me feel like a hero. It is the best Christmas gift!

What is your company doing for the holidays this year? What are you giving your customers?

What is the best holiday gift you’ve ever received from a company or a vendor?