Your website’s radical new role in the social web
Aug 27th
Graphic: Metro Denver’s website is built to shuttle people to meaningful content, wherever it might be.While every marketer seems to be immersed in Web 2.0 these days, let’s not overlook the changing role of the organization’s website in this marketing mix. If you’re not re-thinking the role of your traditional website, you should be!
Websites began as digital receptacles for traditional print content and slowly evolved to be more interactive and useful. The social web is changing all that … radically. Today, there are thousands of places to store and promote company content, and not all of it is going to be generated by friends. That’s why a new core strategy must be to populate the social web with as much accurate and useful content as possible. In my classes, I refer to this as an organization’s “information eco-system,” and it must be systematically maintained, monitored and nurtured.
Your website is no longer just a “destination.” In this environment, the company website becomes a content engine and quarterback, efficiently directing people throughout the eco-system to the news, information and applications they need to meet their needs, wherever it might be.
In research I’ve been conducting on the use of social media among economic development organizations, I came across a terrific case study in Metro Denver. Denver has methodically populated its information eco-system with rich and meaningful content, including a top-notch blog. Search the social web, and it will inevitably lead you to content that guides you back to the website, which is organized into user-friendly buckets of information. Need to go back out to the ecosystem? Links to social media connections are right on Denver’s landing page. This is a brilliant example of putting customer needs at the forefront of strategy, execution and design.
As you hurtle onto the social web, don’t leave your website behind or your social media presence will be sub-optimized!
How to avoid the second Internet Bust
Aug 25th
One of the reasons I’ve been such a blogging hard-ass over the issue of ROI, measurement, and social media is that I was smack in the middle of the 1990s Internet Bust and I don’t want to see responsible professionals (like you!) go through that all over again.
What caused that cataclysmic, wealth-destroying nuclear melt-down? Companies poured millions into Internet-based businesses and marketing efforts with no clear monetization plan, simply because they were afraid to be left behind. When the loan payments came due, they discovered the banks would not accept “page views” as collateral. : )
Does that sound familiar? Of course it does. That’s exactly what’s happening now.
What will keep you from falling into the next melt-down? Setting up practical, rational value measurements that are aligned with the objectives of the enterprise.
As my teacher and mentor Peter Drucker would tell us, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” The good news is, comparatively speaking, social media is easy to measure and exciting new developments are emerging almost daily.
No matter what social media frenzy is taking hold of your organization, as a leader, you must insist on meaningful measurement and accountability. This is a DIFFICULT challenge in an environment that is so over-hyped. I actually heard one consultant say that it was “good” that a company was not asking for data on social media initiatives because it gave them a license to do whatever they wanted (and pay him to do it!). That is simply irresponsible advice … and I told him so!
In the midst of hype like that, keep your eye on business fundamentals. Be prepared to stand up and demonstrate the value of your program to your stakeholders at any time. Your initial measurement systems don’t have to be expensive, complicated, or even 100% accurate as long as they are directionally-correct and aligned with the company’s over-arching goals.
And have the courage to change. If you find that your measurement process doesn’t work, or isn’t as relevant as you hoped, tear it up and do something better! I know how disappointing it is to abandon months of now-meaningless data and those gorgeous spreadsheets, but leaders have the strength to put their own ideas aside if better ones come along. Here is the worst thing you can do to a business — consistently execute a flawed strategy! So be flexible and adjust as needed, especially as the measurement technology improves.
If you’re struggling with measurement issues, here are a few posts that might help:
The biggest lie in social media marketing
Social media ROI shock treatment
Social media impact on brand equity
The most important question to ask in social media marketing
Social media measurement is like a bartender
Let me know how it’s going for you. What measurement/political dilemmas do you face?
Social media helps level the playing field for new college grads
Aug 21st
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My personal journey to the professional world is still a work in progress, but one thing that has had the most profound impact on me has been my transition to “professional social media.”
In college, Facebook and Twitter were fabulous tools for keeping up with friends and family, romances, life changes, and weekend plans. But one month after graduating, I started a new Twitter profile. It’s my “professional” Twitter account. Because my passion and career goals lie with PR measurement, I immediately began to follow the leaders that I knew. Not the leaders I knew of, but only the ones I knew personally. New profile, same mind-set — I was still on the friends and family plan!
Soon enough I realized that in this new wide professional Twitter world, you don’t have to know everyone you follow! My goals and mind-set shifted. I began to search for anyone who seemed to be adding value to the discussion about PR measurement or social media in general.
Before I knew it, I was Tweeting with the best of ‘em! I was reading the same articles and blogs, and I was expressing my opinion just like the pros. More than that, though, I began to engage with the pros. And even after a couple months, the giddiness from getting a reply from one of the best hasn’t faded.
“Professional social media” still provides a centralized meeting space, but these spaces are not based upon common relationships in the same way. Each space is defined by professional interests and information. Twitter is still used to set up fun outings (i.e. a Twarbeque), but social media used in a professional context is far more focused on value.
It’s not about me and my friends. It’s about what I can bring to the table, how I can contribute to the conversation and what I can learn.
Lessons learned from college social media use can still be applied in grown-up virtual liaisons. There is always such a thing as too much information. My friends don’t need to know everything I’ve had to eat today, and my professional followers don’t need to know everything I’m doing at work.
Another college lesson applicable to the professional world is that it’s essential to engage, to give back more than you get. No one would ever respond to “that guy” who always promoted his fraternity’s events and nothing else, and no one will respond to you if all you care about is self-promotion.
As I’ve transitioned to my professional Twitter account, I have gained a very different kind of value from social media. I have earned interviews and invitations to professional events. Most importantly, though, I have learned that there are people out there that are willing to help me so long as I’m adding value, too.
A successful transition from college to the professional world is never handed to you, but learning and networking through social media has made it a lot easier!
Social media advice for the small business
Aug 19th
I love lists. Here are my Six Strategies for Success:
1) It’s all about your audience: If you only remember one thing, remember this point. This is where social media is no different than traditional marketing. Ask yourself these questions: who are your customers, where are they living online, what communities do they participate in, what do they like to talk about there? Now go play in that field.
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-Mark SchaeferFollow Mark
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