Social Media Marketing Institute

Historically (recent history anyway) disruptive technologies have made huge impacts on industries.

People buy and sell stocks online, taking stock brokers out of the equation. As little as 15 years ago, travel agents were  making the travel arrangements we make for ourselves today using sites like Orbitz, Hotwire, Hipmunk and others. An even better example of the transformative use of technology is Amazon, who changed the buying habits of the world, first through their online store and then through the distribution of the first mass market ebook reader (making the publication of eBooks a new profit center for themselves and publishers). Netflix challenged the movie rental and pay television industry first by delivery of DVDs to customers directly, and then by streaming a large library of high quality video for a low monthly fee.

The success of all of these models leads us to believe that every new technological business model will not only impact the industry it is aimed at, but potentially be one of those models that changes the industry deeply and profoundly. The truth, of course, is a different matter, and we are faced with determining how we can embrace change and new technology without creating unintended negative results in our business.

Here are four guideline businesses and professionals can use to maximize their potential for success while minimizing the impact of failure.

1. Keep Your Head on a swivel - Like a basketball player dribbling a ball in a fast moving high pressure game, spend more time watching what’s going on around you in the game than worrying about the moves you know you’re going to make with the ball you have in your hand. Don’t spend all your time focusing on the technology you’ve already adopted and put in place, make sure you know what new entries there are in the business, and what new tools are available for your consideration. Change is rapid and impactful, be ready to keep up the pace.
2. Every new thing isn’t necessarily the next great thing - Don’t let enthusiasm for a new concept or a new product run away with your common sense. You know how your business works (or you should) and you should look at all sides of a new idea to see where its week and where its strong. Be as analytical as possible  (while avoiding “paralysis by analysis”) in not only determining what technology to use, but how you are going to execute that technology. Great ideas with poor execution are sadly handicapped.
3. Don’t Just Follow the Crowd - In a world where there are over hundreds of millions of  people sharing their lives and decisions on Facebook , LinkedIn, Twitter and other social channels, the power of social proof – the “herd instinct” is huge. If everyone in your business is getting a Facebook business page, you want a Facebook business page. If everyone seems to be talking about using their Pinterest subscription for business, you want to use your the same way. If everyone else has a Google+ account then you need a Google+ account. After all if it works for them, it should work for you, right? Wrong! Don’t do anything that doesn’t have a clear business purpose for your business – and make sure that whatever you are doing, its sustainable and affordable – both in terms of financial cost, time and effort. 
   
4. Prepare for failure  - You should be trying lots of new things, but be prepared for some of them to fail. Its far worse to never try anything than it is to try a bunch of things and have some work better than others. Have a Plan “B” in case the product or service doesn’t do what you need. Adopting new software? Run your old software in tandem for a period of time to assure that the new system does everything you want it to. Trying a new site for your marketing efforts? Measure your results and be prepared to adjust your efforts, increasing or decreasing your other activities as you get a better understanding of how the new effort has impacted your overall success. Businesses are constantly evolving entities – don’t be afraid of the natural selection process. If you try something and it doesn’t work after a fair trial, don’t be afraid to let it go and try something new.

The future is waiting for all of us.If you are alert, flexible, bold and thoughtful,the future will become the key to your company’s growth and to your success, but its all in your hands.

How will you explore the future?

Usually our posts are written for small businesses and professionals, but the issue of teen cruelty and teen safety on the internet is one that deserves our attention. With the immersion of teen in the web every day, we as parents, family and friends need to understand the world they face.

According to the Pew Research Center, the adult perception of the internet is that most people (85%) are kind , the internet as it is experienced by teens is quite different, with one in five feeling that people are mostly unkind. As with any problem, the first step in fighting an issue is understanding it, and thanks to Column Five and Zone Alarm, I’m able to share with you today an infographic with some startling statistics and some actionable steps to take to help make this situation better. I hope you find it as worthwhile as I do.

As we begin a new year, the future is foremost in our minds. What new trends will the this year bring? How can we take advantage of , or prepare for the changes that time inevitably brings?  Those thoughts, natural as they are generally bring forth a slew of posts about what the coming year will bring. But by the end of the year, we see that most of the forecasts miss their mark. In an effort to avoid that problem , I have compiled the following list of 12 things that WILL be part of the technology and social media landscape in 2012

• Someone will write a blog post about the death of blogging
• Someone will write a post that proclaims that Blogging is the heart of social media
• Someone will write a post that proclaims that 2012 is the Year of Mobile
• Someone will write a post that proclaims that 2012 is the Year of Video
• Someone will write a post that proclaims that 2012 is the Year of Social Marketing
• Someone will write a post that proclaims that 2012 is the Year of Location Based Services
• Someone will write a post that proclaims Location Based Services are dangerous to use and serve no purpose.
• Someone will publish a study that shows that Klout is the worst thing since the invention of the Internet
• Someone will publish a study that shows that Klout is the greatest thing since  the invention of the Internet
• A celebrity will, with great fanfare,  leave Twitter because they said something stupid
• A celebrity will, with great fanfare,  leave Twitter because they believe someone else said something stupid
• Someone will claim to have solved the secret of social media, and will share that secret with you for a small fee

With those predictions out of the way, I hope that you can concentrate on the things that will make your year better.  Working on improving your marketable skills, your product and your service. Figure out who your market is and then find out what they want while becoming a member of their community, on their terms. Determine what you can offer them that they value, and then determine what tools will help you do that. Oh, and while your at it, do something good for someone less fortunate – whether it helps your business or not, you’ll feel better doing it, and you will have accomplished something positive in the universe.

Try to enjoy yourself while you’re doing all of this will you ? Best wishes from all of us at SMMI for the healthiest, Happiest and most productive year possible.

As various and assorted people scramble, scrounge and hustle to stay on top of digital platforms and tools with the hopes of selling you on themselves as cutting edge rainmakers, digital Mr. Miyagis or the smartest kids on the block whose opinion is the one worth hearing, chances are you’ll be made to feel behind the times, unable to build your community fast enough or get the sales/prospects you thought would be pouring in. Meanwhile, the dirty truth sits off in the corner, whispering to you: You don’t need any of it. None of this is essential and no one tool will solve your problems.

The simple fact is this: if you don’t think about what you’re doing and have some sort of high-level game plan, nothing’s going to help your business. I’m intentionally choosing to push past “social’s for social, not business” rhetoric and firmly plant us somewhere that may actually have value for you. Before you test out every shiny new digital toy or plant your flag in each brave new digital world, take a second to think about what it is you’re trying to achieve.

You’re about to gain access to a large community of people to listen to, engage with and eventually earn the loyalty of. In the end, what’s their takeaway? Is it a deeper understanding of what you do well and an excitement about your product/service? Is it the humanization of your brand, creating the opportunity for you to create a deeper connection with your consumer community? Is it outstanding support? Increased traffic leading to action? I can’t answer those questions for you, because I don’t work for you or with you. If YOU can’t answer them, then your problems definitely can’t be fixed by Hootsuite, Radian6 or whatever new tool makes Twitter and Facebook scalable for your company. Problems connecting with consumers in the social space are created and can be solved at the simplest macro level – start with a concrete understanding of where you are and then determine where you want to be, and how you’re going to get there.Once you figure THAT out, you’re free to worry about your tools.

Image via Wikipedia

In 1988 Nike introduced an ad campaign centered around iconic athletes and the phrase “Just Do It!” , exhorting people to play and  exercise - and of course use Nike products. Business people have adopted that attitude towards social media. With the growth of social media and its mainstream adoption by small businesses and prfoessionals, peopel seem more focused on “doing it” than they are in “doing it well”. And the resulting efforts may be more damaging than helpful.

It used to be that the blog was the primary victim of “ready, fire,aim” social media strategies.  People would attend a seminar or read an article and determine that blogging was the best way to reach consumers, engage them, and convert them to screaming raving fans of their business. They would run to Blogger, or WordPress.com or wordpress.org, pick a spiffy name, an attractive theme, set up their new blog ,write their first post and wait for the world to beat a path to their business. And then, while the crickets wait quietly in the weeds, the lack of immediate gratification and the need to create new content regularly slowly suffocates the blog, which waits quietly in cyberspace, gathering cyber dust.

Facebook pages become the next newest flavor of the month. As some businesses, large and small were able to engage with their existing communities or create new communities by generating interesting spaces for conversation or dissemination of information valuable to the participants, there was a huge land rush to create facebook pages. No more complicated themes. No need for scholarly posts or clever insights wrapped with attendant graphics. Now all I need to do is post a line or two once in a while and you and your customers will enter a new phase of your relationship which will catapult your business to a new level – after all, they “like” you , they really, really, “like” you!  But with less than 5% of “fans” ever returning to a page once they like it, most of these businesses were once again disappointed.

Twitter accounts? Its tough to even get started there. I can’t count the number of people I have met as I travel, speak, and teach who tell me ” I have a twitter account, I just can’t remember what my name is there…” as if they had all rehearsed that sentence. Really? You have an account and can’t remember your name ? Guess you’re not tearing up the twitter stream in your community, huh?

Online success for small business people and professionals has, at its core, the need for engagement with your desired community. And if you’re unsure exactly what engagement means in your social strategy, let’s substitute the word conversation. Dialogues, not monologues.  No matter where you are, or what venue you choose, this is the key to creating relationships with consumers that make them predisposed to trust you and the products and services you offer.  And though we could spend quite a bit of time discussing the how and why of that, let’s talk about what the unintended effects  of this lack of engagement might be.

Along with the positive impact of good social engagement online, there is a negative effect when you start and stop in different venues. If your last blog post is three years old, and there is no interaction on your Facebook page, or you have a Twitter account with only three posts, these things are part of your “permanent record, and anyone looking for you may well trip over your abandoned outposts. If you have tried to position yourself as someone who is connected with an active community online, your credibility can be damaged.

So what’s the answer? Do you avoid new things? Ignore the herd instinct that leads you to follow the paths that others have blazed online?  I don’t think you need to. What you do need to do is to assure yourself that  your online strategy is sustainable. In other words that the commitment to creating or curating relevant content for your community is something that you are not only able to do, but are willing to do. None of the channels we use, are in and of themselves, a game changer for your business. What you do with those channels may very well be a game changer for your business. 

The great part about engaging online is that there are so ways to engage. It doesn’t matter if you like to write, sing, video or take pictures. If you don’t like to create content, there are lots of great ways to curate and share content, and still be a valued source of information for the members of your online community. It really all depends on who you are, what your skills and talents are, and how much time you can devote (on a regular basis) to your online campaign. Its not about where you do things that matters. Its about what you do that matters most. I’m not suggesting you get caught in “analysis paralysis” just that you give simple consideration to four points.

So before you choose a channel, be sure that:

1. Your community is present and active in that channel
2. That you are capable of adding to the existing conversation
3. That you have a plan for enhancing the conversation
4. That you can sustain your part of the conversation as long as the community is interested.

If you can just follow those four simple points, there won’t be tumbleweeds rolling down the streets of your virtual world – there will be the vital give and take of conversation, with you as a valued participant. Because you didn’t “Just do it” you went out and took the trouble to do it well.