Archive for year 2011
A classic take on social media
Apr 8th
Note: This post was published in April, 2011 but became the target of controversy in July 2011 when I learned the person claiming to be the author was not the author. To get the full story, refer to this link: The Great Ghost Post Scandal. It will also help explain some of the comments in the comment section. At the urging of the blog community, I have amended this post to acknowledge the true author.
By William Harwood
Have you ever thought about how great writers of the past would be totally up a creek if they tried to publish today in their original style? Melville? Dostoyevsky? Joyce? They would starve. Imagine an editor in New York opening up an envelope and finding inside a story entitled Great Expectations from some guy named Chuck Dickens.
“To the recycling pile, please,” she would imperiously command after less than a paragraph, tossing the tome to the nearest intern. “This guy Chuckie could use online creative writing schools. I mean, who the heck names a protagonist ‘Pip’?”
But what about the greatest one of all? What if the Bard himself, William Shakespeare, suddenly manifested in the here and now as a wordsmith wanting work? Well, given the opportunities of the times, there’s a good chance he would wind up as a social marketer.
So how would he do it? How would Shakespeare give it to us? Well, in addition to lots of fine examples of iambic pentameter, as we like it: short and sweet. In fact, measure for measure, it might look something like this.
“All’s Sale That Ends Sale”
Dramatis Personae:
- IAGO, a boss
- Sir JOHN FALSTAFF, a salesman
- Prince HAMLET, an intern
- PUCK, a delivery fairy
ACT I SCENE I
Enter Iago in Falstaff’s cubicle where Sir John sits surfing dating sites.
IAGO: How now?! What’s this?! Thou seeketh the shanks of flaming youth while my wares remain unmoved?!
FALSTAFF: Oh, but I am forsworn! Please, Sir, I plead thy pardon. Perhaps one can desire too much of good thing.
IAGO: Hold thy tongue, thou warped rough-hewn maggot pie.
FALSTAFF: Yes, Sir.
IAGO: Thou doth not make love to thy employment and, when it’s thy turn to make the coffee, thou doth protest too much.
FALSTAFF: Sir, infirm of purpose, I know not how to market wares through this infernal social media.
IAGO: Then thou must learn, thou currish toad-spotted mammet! Or, if thou willst not, thou willst have no money in thy purse!
Exeunt
ACT I SCENE II
Falstaff stands by water cooler as Puck makes a delivery to the receptionist nearby.
FALSTAFF: [soliloquy] I am undone! My spotless reputation ruined. What know I of social marketing skills?
PUCK: [winking at the pretty receptionist and nodding toward Falstaff] Lord, what a fool that mortal be.
Enter Prince Hamlet, reading a hook.
HAMLET: Wow! This is it! Impactful messaging must be glance-aware by design!
FALSTAFF: Hamlet boy, thou saucy milk-livered dewberry, why for art thou speaking so strangely? And what art thou reading?
HAMLET: This stuff! Dude, like, it’s a total game changer.
FALSTAFF: How now?
HAMLET: Man, to market effectively through social media, it’s not just about keeping your words short and sweet and using lots and lots of headlines, but about the very design of the information on the screen!
FALSTAFF: [not understanding] Thou art a cur.
HAMLET: [not understanding what the word ‘cur' means] Huh? No, man, I’m just an intern. But, anyway, studies have shown that visitors to a web site will read information on a screen in the shape of a capital ‘F.’ That means that if you design your most important content in that physical shape, you’re message will be most effective.
FALSTAFF: ‘F’ as in Falstaff?
HAMLET: Yeah, that’s right. Eye-tracking studies in 232 subjects who viewed thousands of web pages determined that people’s reading habits are pretty consistent, regardless of the sites’ purpose or content. Again and again, the pattern of people’s attention as measured by where their eyes go resembles the shape of a capital ‘F.’
FALSTAFF: Clever knave.
HAMLET: So to ‘F’ or not to ‘F’, that is the question. The answer is, like, a no-brainer. Well, yeah!
FALSTAFF: [feeling old and obsolete] Oh, my bladder fills with gall. Were this water cooler filled with wine.
HAMLET: [ignoring Falstaff and thinking aloud] Man, so, like, the challenge is to figure out how we can present our social marketing information in that shape while keeping the power of story. [snaps fingers] Hey, I got it! We could present our products through a play, you know, personifying our merchandise in a tale full of twists and turns. Epic. Call it, like, I don’t know, All’s Sale That Ends Sale.
IAGO: [calling out] Hamlet! I harkened that! My boy, thy star waxes in this organization! Thou willst go far!
HAMLET: Thank you, Sir!
FALSTAFF: Wretch.
Exeunt all but Puck
PUCK: [to audience] And now our play is at end,
The time is over to pretend.
So back to work for all is well.
The time has come to raise your sells.
The End
William Harwood is a freelance writer in Nashville, Tennessee.
Small businesses still grappling with social media benefits
Apr 7th
Optimism about the economy and the use of social media pervade a new report called the Small Business Success Index, a survey sponsored by Network Solutions® and the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. A few highlights from this wide-ranging report:
Technology investments on the rise. One way that small businesses responded to improving sales last year was to return to investing in technology. The perceived importance of internet business solutions (IBS) such as websites grew in the past six months; 42 percent consider IBS as highly important to their success, compared to only 33 percent back in June of 2010, which was actually the lowest percentage in five years.
Over half of small businesses (56 percent) now have websites, up from 46 percent a year ago (still an opportunity!). Social media is now used by almost a third of small businesses (31 percent), up from 24 percent a year ago and 12 percent two years ago.
Searching for Search. 27 percent of small businesses have a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plan, up from 19 percent a year ago. The only internet business solution in the survey that dropped is the purchase of online advertising in directories, a category that may be affected by the ability to use SEO and social media to find customers without spending. However, many small businesses plan to add online directory ads in the future.
Small business continues to embrace social media. There is almost universal awareness among small business owners of Facebook and Twitter, while half are aware of LinkedIn. The most commonly used social media sites are Facebook (used by 27 percent of all small businesses) and LinkedIn (18 percent). The growth in social media is not cutting into investments in company websites, and is actually contributing to their expansion; 62 percent of social media users feel their use of this medium has no effect on their web investments, while 27 percent believe it will result in greater spending (only 9 percent would spend less or forgo their website).
…But are still confused about it. Small businesses are still grappling with how to get the most out of social media, not surprising because so many users are “newbies.” Owners more often feel that their use of social media has fallen short of expectations (36 percent) than exceeded their expectations (9 percent), and this gap has increased over past survey waves. The main accomplishments from using social media include:
- staying engaged with customers
- developing higher awareness of the company
- identifying and attracting new customers.
Mixed financial results. When asked about their experiences to date with this medium, 63 percent of owners feel it has helped make their customers more loyal, but 56 percent feel it has taken up more time than they expected. Summing up the bottom-line, 25 percent of small business owners estimate that their investment in social media has made a profit while 15 percent estimate they have lost money; the remainder (46 percent) feel they broke even.
Mobile is on the way, maybe. Owners are learning to deploy social media in a mobile context. Of those who use social media already, 47 percent use social media to send text messages to customers, while the same share (47 percent) use their mobile devices to respond to other people’s comments on social media sites.
Despite their use of mobile devices for routine interactions with social media, small businesses are skeptical that a broader use of mobile marketing can provide tangible value to their businesses right now. Most owners consider mobile marketing to be “ahead of its time” (24 percent) for small business or “cutting edge” (36 percent). Only 15 percent of small business owners believe that mobile marketing would be “extremely” or “very valuable” to their enterprise, and another 20 percent feel it would be “somewhat” valuable. This attitude is largely unchanged after owners hear more about detailed uses of mobile marketing.
And you? What are you seeing from small businesses out there? Does this research reflect your own experiences?
Four Easy Ideas to Humanize Your Brand on the Social Web
Apr 6th
By Sidneyeve Matrix, Contributing {grow} Columnist
We know that people prefer to connect with other people, not brands. Not too long ago, Mark wrote about how one of the biggest mistakes you can make in online branding is using a logo instead of a headshot photo in your Twitter profile. Coming out from behind your logo is a big step toward humanizing your brand, so too is using humor to engage, and giving your network a peek behind the curtain of your official brand message. Here’s a roundup of four other creative communication strategies you might try to increase the emotional and personal engagement factors in your online messaging.
1. Lifecasting. A new study from communications scholars at Elizabethtown College published in The Chronicle of Higher Education confirms what we already knew to be true — being human sets thought leaders apart. The study found that professors who post tweets about their personal lives earn higher credibility rankings in student teaching assessments of their professional capabilities. The researchers concluded that those tweeters who appear to “go beyond knowledge transfer” to include personal updates in their microblogging streams seem more caring and engaged. There’s no equation for us to use in determining the right mix of personal and professional updates, but try adding personal touches to your stream.
2. Storytelling. Whether in video, audio, text or snapshots—everyone seems to agree that great stories are what make brands (and people) more emotionally compelling and human. But if you’re like me, stories don’t just appear on cue when I most need them. A bit of help from books and podcasts and even filmmakers can inspire and provide a blueprint for structuring stories. Using carefully selected personal stories is an essential part of many entrepreneurial branding initiatives (think Ralph Lauren, Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart) and you’ll notice that celebrities follow a few classic storylines when narrating their life lessons, adventures, and accomplishments.
3. Video. A step up from still snapshots, video blogging adds personality faster than any multimedia format — pictures tell a thousand words, but moving pictures have an immediacy like none other. A Flip camcorder is an inexpensive way to take the video plunge. Up the ante on your videos with some relatively inexpensive editing software (I’m using Camtasia for Mac right now) and intro and outro music (take a listen at to royalty-free tracks at AudioJungle but be warned, there’s so much amazing sound there you might get caught up in endless sampling). YouTube is the obvious choice for uploads, but check out Vimeo too, where the vibe is a little more creative than commercial. Looking for ideas for videos that are not adverts? Profile your employees—testimonial videos are not just for recruitment pages. More ideas here.
4. Audio. Add your voice to your website and you’ll instantly become more personable. Podcasts don’t have to be elaborate productions, in fact experts agree that shorter is better-and it’s easier to be concise if you’re working from a script. Obviously in podcasting, top quality audio matters, so you might want to invest in a professional digital recorder. I use an Edirol R-09HR. For editing, Audacity is a free download that’s easy to use. Need inspiration for your podcasts? Check out the ever-expanding range of themes and formats on iTunes.
The recipe for a humanized online brand is composed of 1 part personality, 1 part emotionality, and a generous measure of creativity!
How are you humanizing your brand on the social web? What brands are doing a great job?
Sidneyeve Matrix is Assistant Professor of Media at Queen’s University, consults at MatrixMediaFX and blogs at CyberPop.
Illustration by kprogram
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You’re in marketing for one reason: Grow.
Grow your company, reputation, customers, impact, profits. Grow yourself. This is a community that will help. It will stretch your mind, connect you to fascinating people, and provide some fun along the way. I am so glad you’re here.
-Mark SchaeferFollow Mark
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The Five Surprising Impacts of Blog Comments
Apr 11th
121 comments
This week I received the 10,000th comment on my blog. That’s a big deal! And while this lucky commenter (who will be named at the end of the post), will receive a $500 prize package (for real!) I’d like to humbly explain why I have completely changed my mind about the importance of blog comments.
When I started blogging, I was disheartened by the unfulfilled expectation of blog comments. Where was the ballyhooed social media “conversation?” This felt more like a string of random observations by strangers.
But then a funny thing happened on the way to my forum … a community bloomed.
By most blog measures, {grow} receives a lot of comments. In 2011, the average is 53 comments per post (many of them mine of course!). Let’s look beyond the numbers to something fascinating and vital occurring with the comments on {grow}.
1) Comments can create REAL community.
Some things are happening that are making {grow} feel like a REAL community, not just a string of observations.
Caring. Creating. Collaborating. This is not just a string of comments — {grow} is creating powerful human interactions.
2) Comments create economic value.
Why comment on a blog? Do it for the money! {grow} has been an economic engine for people who care enough to become involved and contribute. People who get to know me and others through the blog comments have received employment, paid freelance assignments, hardware and software to help their careers, free advice on their business, sales leads, guest posts, brand awareness, donations to charitable causes, book contributions, help in research and more. New economic value has been created through blog comments.
3) Comments create strong ties that result in influence.
I haven’t seen any academic research on the topic yet, but there is certainly a lot of anecdotal evidence that the weak ties on Twitter do not necessarily lead to influence. However, I contend the strong ties that develop in blog communities absolutely lead to influence. A number of people have told me I have impacted their lives through the blog. That probably isn’t going to happen on 140 characters or a status update.
4) Comments are an incubator of new content.
Every month, dozens of people write entire blog posts based on their comments on {grow}. Similarly, about 25% of my blog posts are based on comments made by readers. Comment sections are content engines.
5) Comments drive intellectual growth.
I think I am most proud of the intellectual diversity and debate on {grow}.
An impromptu experiment confirmed that {grow} folks are not a bunch of sycophants. Awhile back Mitch Joel and I had wildly different views of whether you should be an elitist with your Twitter followers. We both wrote posts with opposite views in the same week. In a subsequent podcast, Mitch half-jokingly said, “Isn’t it funny that all of your readers agreed with you and all of my readers agreed with me?”
Could that be true? Are the readers of {grow} a bunch of sheep?
I went back and categorized the comments. The results from both blogs were almost identical: more than one-third were in disagreement with the author of the blog, about 15% were neutral and the rest agreed with the author. I think this represents a healthy swath of dissent and confirmed that there is meaningful debate on {grow}. But you probably already knew that.
This is powerful stuff.
I can only speak for my experience, but the comment section on my blog provides more psychological, economic, intellectual, and emotional benefits of any social media activity … by far.
Watch how this works. When I was nearing comment number 10,000, I sent out a tweet about it and asked folks what I should do. Elizabeth Bushey provided a list of suggestions, including a certificate from a favorite company, VistaPrint. Just so happens Jeff Esposito, Vistaprint’s Manager for PR & Social Media, is a regular around {grow} and I met him for the first time at SXSW. I asked him what he thought about helping us celebrate and he said, “SURE!”
And the winner is …
I’m happy to award a $500 VistaPrint credit to commenter number 10,000 – Davina Brewer of Three Hats Marketing. Davina has been an amazing contributor to {grow} for many months now, so this is quite fitting.
So now it’s time for the commenters to comment on commenting, How is it looking from your perspective?
Disclosure: I have no affiliation with Vistaprint other than my blog connection with Jeff. But since they have been so nice to help mark this milestone, I’d like to tell you a little about them: Vistaprint empowers more than 9 million small businesses and consumers annually with affordable, professional printed and web-based products that make an impression. With a unique business model supported by proprietary technologies, high-volume production facilities, and direct marketing expertise, Vistaprint offers a wide variety of products and services that fuel business growth. A global company, Vistaprint employs over 2,700 people, operates 24 localized websites,and ships to more than 120 countries around the world. Products include business cards, website design, postcards, banners and many other essential business communicaiton products.