7 Steps to Creating a Social Media Strategy

Lots of clients are now interested (finally) in getting their Social Media house in order. Fortunately, there is a ton of information on Social Media available…unfortunately; I haven’t seen anything that tells a Marketer what to do about it.

After spending a year and a half on this topic and working with clients, here's a quick “To Do” list based on the best and worst practices observed. The first 3 deal with the current state, the remaining 4 are future looking. At this point you should have the first three steps in place.

Current State – get this done TODAY

1. Educate – up, down and all around. This space is moving so fast that getting senior executives up to speed on the tools is critical for getting the right focus on the right topic the right way (more on that to come). Senior executives like simple visuals that tell a quick and easy story. I'd also recommend putting together a cross functional "task force" to focus on Social Media. Blend a mix of heavy users and novices it can be very effective for helping educate the organization. For example, in the "Dot.com" days, Merck assembled a cross functional team to work on Web 1.0 for about a year. Team members then went back into their respective regions/divisions/LOBs to spread the gospel and implement learnings...like it...like it alot.


2. DO NO HARM – it may take a while for the company to get a clear understanding of the upside of Social Media, but it could get the downside in a matter of seconds. One of the things that is fascinating, for better or worse, about social media is its speed and reach. A company HAS to clearly map out Risk and how to handle certain scenarios…which leads me to the next point.


3. Create standards/protocol/guidelines – after building a solid knowledge foundation of the tools and their functionality and mapping the risk, the organization is now ready to issue a set of guidelines for employees when it comes to using social media (see the IBM guidelines in my last post).

Future Vision – get this done by the end of the year

1. Decide on what you want Social Media to do – this IMO is the most important step that is being missed by most companies currently and the reason…see Step 1. Companies are experimenting (which I applaud) but based on my experience it has not been aligned against a clear objective/s. With budgets harder to get and/or retain you have to have clear vision as to what you are trying to impact/accomplish/achieve (see the video on the “Six Sweetspots”).
   
2. Map the Value – Another thing to remember about Social Media is that there really isn’t anything truly new. The tools just do something that already exists but faster, better or cheaper. In an article in Time magazine featuring Twitter, you’ll learn that Twitter’s 140 character limit was based on the first question asked on most phone conversations (What are you doing?). So think about those things that most impact your business – customer satisfaction and loyalty, new product innovation, etc. and find a role for these tools that either augments current efforts and/or may fill a gap (because of cost, reach, etc.).
   
3. Align against key Metrics – many companies are struggling with this one. They say that can’t fund experimentation because they can’t, or don’t know, how to measure the value or ROI. That’s right…because many of the tools, tactics, etc. aren’t measurable on their own. Again back to my point above…they do something better, faster or cheaper, so align them against the metrics already in place. For example, let’s say you’d like to do a customer survey and the goal is to get 200 completed surveys. Use Twitter to announce the survey and watch how fast you get to 200…it will knock off days, believe me. The goal is # of completed surveys, Twitter accelerated the process (and probably saved you some money on incentives)…that’s the value.
   
4. BUY, DO NOT BUILD – unfortunately many companies who have funds to invest have wasted them on building their own branded sites/tools, internal capabilities, etc. Here’s the thing, Web 2.0 as I’ve mentioned before is about “Consumers Selling to Consumers.” Get it…not “Companies Selling to Consumers”...we have plenty of that happening already.
   
   When companies overly commercialize and/or control Social Media tools they fail (e.g. no audience, interaction, etc.). That’s what makes this space so tricky…you (companies) aren’t in control…but you love trying to have it…can’t help yourself and that’s when things fail.

For example, it's better to video a customer testimonial on buying insurance and hang it in a site like eHow than to invest in a production studio and shooting a “How to buy life insurance” video for their channel. Plus, this space is moving so fast that you will probably invest in something that will have a shelf life of less than 12 months…remember when MySpace used to be hot. BTW - it's dying because it's in the lower right hand corner of the quadrant above.

The upside of the downturn is that you have to be frugal and that may turn out to be a really good thing. Get smart now, then act.

The New Online Paradigm

In 1962, Thomas Kuhn wrote The Structure of Scientific Revolution, and fathered, defined and popularized the concept of "paradigm shift." Kuhn argues that scientific advancement is not evolutionary, but rather is a "series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions", and in those revolutions "one conceptual world view is replaced by another".

So what if you spent half your time at work on Linked-In, Facebook or Twitter? Yes, the recession has slowed business significantly but I’m not talking about surfing the net because you have nothing better to do I’m talking doing this AS PART OF YOUR JOB.

In a recent survey by Michael Stelzner, on social media marketing almost 10% of the survey respondents spent 20+ hours a week on social media marketing. Ask senior executives in marketing in my age demographic (age 40-44) and they’ll tell you; “I don’t get it…” In the past, spending time online at work to do personal business has been viewed as a productivity waster.

In a 2006, INC reported the productivity loss to be as high as $544 billion dollars (just think about that, if we all stopped surfing the net at work we could fund the Federal bailout of the Banking, Insurance and Auto industries). As a result, companies took dramatic measures to block or monitor access to sites, tools like IM and other “distracting” technologies.

Now after years of being told that being online at work was a bad thing this new research and the appeal of Social Media sites makes the case that it’s not only safe, but in certain cases, necessary to be online. According to the Salary.com & AOL survey, the average 2 hours a day American workers wasted in 2006 surfing the net is now the average time needed to do social media marketing...my, my how times have changed.

And what might be most surprising is that may be “OK” with the boss - the most active users of sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are small business owners.

Other interest findings from the research:

• A New Day is Dawning - although 88% of marketers reported using social media for marketing, 72% have just started (less than 3 months).


• Once You Start…You can’t stop – the research points out a direct correlation between how long marketers have been using social media and their weekly commitment. For folks just starting, the mean is 2 hours a week, compare that with folks who have been at it for years…an average of 20+ hours.


• One Thing Leads to Another - the more time you log, the more tools/sites you’ll use. Similar to the old thinking that cigarettes and alcohol lead to the “harder” stuff, the same is true with Social Media usage. The “newbies” like to start with LinkedIn, while the hard core is most interested in social bookmarking sites, FriendFeed and StumbleUpon.
• Not the “Young'ins” – contrary to popular belief, it’s the 30 to 39 year old segment that logs in the most time, with 44.8% reporting spending 10+ hours a week.
  
• Small Business “Sweetspot” – small businesses love social media marketing because it has generated exposure for their business, leads and partnerships, and to close business.

So if you’re going to be logging some social media hours on the company dime you might want to follow a protocol to keep the lawyers happy. In an article entitled "Managing the Tweets" in the June 1, 2009 edition of Business Week the author lays out IBM’s social media guidelines.

As you may have noticed, I’ve been sitting on this report since March. At first I had a hard time believing some of the results…still do, but then it occurred to me that maybe I needed to shift my paradigm. Not sure that I’m ready to “replace my conceptual world view with another” but given current trends I guess we in the “post 30-39 generation” do need to be open to it.

Kuhn maintained that, scientist are, in essence, puzzle-solvers who aim to discover what they already know in advance - "The man who is striving to solve a problem defined by existing knowledge and technique is not just looking around. He knows what he wants to achieve, and he designs his instruments and directs his thoughts accordingly."

The upside is if I do “replace my world view” it should give me 20+ hours per week to spend on social media...it may even help me turn around a blog post in less than 3 months.

Digital Enablement - Part II

Digital Enablement in the Insurance Industry - part I

On May 7th, we hosted a live webinar entitled the Digital Enablement of the Agent Channel. The webcast shared the results of our recent research on how companies in the insurance industry are utilizing Web 2.0 tools to support agents.

In this two part video summary, I shared six key areas where digital may have a business impact. Our research concluded that the industry is experimenting with new tools, in particular Social Media, but those efforts seems to lack an alignment to driving business impact. In this brief informative video, viewers will learn where to “place their Digital bets.”

The Social Experiment

The answer to the question I asked in my last blog post is 3 hours and 48 minutes.

Tuesday’s blog post was an interesting experience/experiment in watching Social Media at work.

After posting the blog at 10:12 am and ending the post with this challenge; “Now, let’s see if they are as good as I think they are…how long before they pick this up and respond?” Richard Hammer (the author of the blogpost on Allstate & Twitter) posted a comment at 2:04 pm.

The question is how did they find out so fast? I asked our Director of Marketing the same question; “If someone wrote a story on MarketBridge how long would it take for us to pick it up?” He mentioned about a day, which sounded reasonable, but now it makes you think...is that too long?

After working with clients for years on improving their tracking, measuring and overall campaign and program effectiveness, Social Media suggests a whole new set of questions about how to track marketing efforts. We used to live in a world where we tracked programs over months/years, and campaigns over weeks/months. Now we’re dealing with hours or less …from “analog hours to digital minutes” as my colleague, Andy Hasselwander likes to say.

I still remember the impact of telling a client a few years ago that the effectiveness of an email campaign lasted less than 72 hours. Now we could be dealing with 72 minutes. It’s fascinating to watch and holds great potential, if understood. And if the social media platform providers can figure out how to monetize their models…e.g. right now Facebook is growing faster than their revenue model can support and how will Twitter make money?

This potential evolution/revolution poses some very interesting questions for marketers, such as:

• How long will “freeness” last?
• What platforms will be left and who will own them? Really, how many Microblogs do we need?
• How do I measure the impact of a “flash?"
• How do I control the “reach and direction” of my communication?
• Do I have to worry about privacy issues if everything is in the public domain?

So how did Modea find out that I blogged about them so fast? Google Alerts (free) as David mentions in his comment, most likely it was set to alert once a day, probably the reason why Michael thought it took them 8 hours to respond. How did I get comments from Modea bloggers, who I mentioned in the post, but not by name? Because the blog post was posted on Modea’s Facebook (free) page.

How did they know about the story so fast? Twitter (free) most likely from their Facebook posting. At least 6 people “tweeted” about story and linked to the post. How did I know? I searched Twitter (in the public domain) and Google Analytics (free).

How do I know they came from Facebook? The same way I know that there were 34 visits from 32 people from Blacksburg, VA to the post within the first 8 hours, Google Analytics (free).

Hope this helps answer the question about tracking Social Media. The bigger question is who will receive the value/benefit from “freeness” for now? My bet is Social Media/Digital agencies like Modea, who have grown incredibly fast over the last three years, because they understand how to use the “free platforms.”

How do I know…it’s in the public domain...just like all the information above. How long will it last...now that's a good question.

Social Media Agency uses Social Media to Promote Itself

How do you find Digital talent in an area of the country that is anything but a marketing hot spot? Don’t get me wrong Blacksburg, VA is a great college town, especially, if you’re a Hokies fan, but Digital Agency Mecca? Ah, no.

Where does a new fast growing Digital agency recruit that kind of talent? Well, being based in Virginia you go to the closest talent markets…Richmond, VA for creative folks (home of the Martin Agency…Gieco Caveman and Gecko, fame) and to Northern Virginia (NoVA) for Web Developers, Account Managers, etc.

But how do you get them interested in a small, relatively new agency in the middle of nowhere that specializes in social media? Simple, apply what you know… social media. Modea, a growing digital agency in southwest Virginia took a dose of its own medicine and pulled off a subtle but effective effort.

Recently and by accident, we picked up a couple of blog posts that made it into the mainstream media written by Modea employees. The first blog post, written by a recent grad, appeared in Ad Age on 4/13. The article, cleverly written, describes the author’s interview process/courting process with Modea and gave tips for other recent graduates looking for a job in this challenge environment…it also conveniently mentions the firm, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

It describes how she started her search on VCU’s BrandCenter Facebook page (recruiting Richmond talent). She points out that she had reservations about moving to Blacksburg. And, of course she subtlety gets in the plug for the agency…

"Modea is neither an agency nor a think tank. It is an idea-churning society."



Original? Not really, we found the exact quote in a photo of the Modea offices on their Facebook page. It was printed on a piece of paper and taped to conference room wall. Looks like she's "on brand."

The second ad/blog post was written by a Web Application Developer at Modea and appears on Handshake 2.0. This post is aimed at the NoVA crowd. Again, cleverly written as a blog post, it describes the experience of another recent hire that left Northern Virginia for the hills of Southwest Virginia.

He starts his story with the fact that he recently transplanted his family from NoVA to Blacksburg…”to take advantage of an amazing job opportunity.” Ah, there it is…the plug.

The author goes on to talk about his pipes bursting while he had the house on the market during a “bitter cold stretch.” He posted a Twitter status update that he was in "good hands with Allstate" and how quickly they responded to his post.

Through telling of his ordeal he also convenient slips in his initial skepticism about Twitter but now how it’s the greatest thing since Web 1.0.

"Here is a brand and a company that, in my opinion, gets it. Here is a visible, public social medium where people are sharing publicly their views and thoughts on anything and everything in their lives. Communities are sharing their experiences and current state of consciousness. Consumers are expressing opinions, both positive and negative, about the world around them and how they interact with it. It would be a missed opportunity for any brand to ignore this medium. Listening and being aware of what is being said about their brand, allows them to, in some cases, actually do something positive and nurturing about it”.

Now I'm not exactly sure what ol’ Mr. Web Application Developers job is at Modea but I’d be willing to bet it has something to do with helping clients with their Twitter strategy.

Anyway, with all this being said I have to take my digital hat off to these guys. Two things could explain this bloggin coincidence and both of them are good.

The first is that this is a well thought out Social Media campaign (which yes, happens to be one of the services that Modea offers). The second is it’s a case of passionate employees who are raging advocates applying their craft to spread the good word about a company they love (or perhaps there’s a big employee referral bonus). Either way…well done, Modea! You’re best in class either way.

Author’s note – I have no connection to Modea. I’m not being paid to endorse their services, I have no stake in the company, I’m not even a client…just a fan…or am I? Now, let’s see if they are as good as I think they are…how long before they pick this up and respond?

Digital Insurance Agents - The Future is Now

We just finished research on the independent agent channel in the insurance industry. Here are some interesting highlights:

• The independent agent channel is responsible for nearly 95% of small and middle market insurance, which contributes 72% of revenues to carriers, according to the Independent Agents of America 2008 Agent Universe Study.


• The average age of an insurance professional is 54, and 60% of insurance professionals are older than 45, according to the same study. With 60% of the industry’s professionals set to retire in the coming years, the profile of the insurance agent and his/her customer is about to change drastically.


• Will the industry and its traditional, stodgy image be able to attract the necessary talent it needs to replace its most productive agents? Unfortunately, as our research indicates, it typically takes 3 years for a new agent to become productive, and over 2/3 of new agents fail.
• This means that with roughly 160,000 independent agents in the market today, agencies would need to hire 30,000 new agents annually to account for the productivity lost by retiring agents.

This is industry is about to undergo a major shift in how it does business. The learn more see the following links.

• To read more on the topic download the Executive Brief on the research


• Register for the May 7th Webcast on the topic

Here's the funny part: after we completed the research and shared the Executive Brief with others in the firm they said the same trend is ocurring in other industries, for example, in Hi-Tech business partners (in particular, VAR's) are aging at a similar rate and at least half are looking to retire over the next 5-10 years. Stay tuned for more on the "greying" of the channel to come.