It’s barely been a day since the 2009 Business Smart Tools conference wrapped, but the event was a tremendous success! Thanks to everyone who attended, as well as all of our speakers AND the tireless team at Creative Concepts, who organized and managed the entire event. We covered a lot of ground at this year’s event — from “when your company is READY for social media” to “how you adapt to negative feedback,” and everything in-between.
Some key points from our speakers:
* John C. Havens highlighted the ways some companies have benefited from social media engagement — as well as the ways people who have negative experiences with your brand can potentially damage your company’s reputation. But instead of fearing that possibility, companies should embrace it as an opportunity to address concerns and improve flaws.
* Cindi Bigelow discussed the ups and downs associated with her handling of the Don Imus issue a few years ago, and how her interaction with supporters and detractors on all sides of the issue — including CNN — helped shape her appreciation of transparency in social media.
* Tom Guarriello, David Vinjamuri and Albert Maruggi suggested that the real issue companies should be addressing isn’t whether social media is right for their company — it’s whether or not the company’s mindset is ready for social media.
* Greg Kirk of Pitney Bowes explained that social media can change the public’s perception of a company, even without that company’s name or logo being front and center. (As Gregg says, “that’s kind of the point.”)
* Both Pepsi and Ford now consider themselves “media companies.” (Which, in other words, means EVERYONE is a media company — so think like one.)
* Ford’s Scott Monty debunked the corporate fear that a company’s own employees might “misuse” social media to damage their brand: “If you don’t trust your employees, why did you hire them in the first place?”
We videotaped most of the day’s sessions, and we’ll be uploading excerpts from those talks throughout the coming weeks. Plus, we’ll still be addressing any ongoing questions, concerns and opportunities surrounding social media + business. This year’s conference may be over, but the conversation is just beginning!
The speakers at this year’s BST conference will be sharing their insights into how social media works within business. To give you a glimpse of what you can expect at the live event (which happens on Tuesday, May 5), here are 3 questions with Ford’s head of social media, Scott Monty.
Q: Why is Ford investing their time and effort in social media?
A: We recognize that digital / social media communications are the future; no longer is it seen as a trend. Instead, it’s where a lot of our constituents are spending their time, and it’s up to us to be there to share information, have a two-way dialog, and to learn from them.
If we can start with a solid social media strategy and begin to execute both internally and externally, we’ll be in a position to humanize the company to the outside world. If the world at large could be made more aware of the stories we have to tell (and of the storytellers themselves), and if we give them the ability to share these stories with their own communities, we’ll begin to see perceptions changing, and ultimately, to see a rise in sales.
Q: What are some of the ways you’ve seen Ford benefit from using social media tools?
A: One of the areas I started on very early was the idea of opening up our media events – in-vehicle programs and forums with our subject matter experts – to bloggers at large. Historically, these have been open to traditional journalists and automotive bloggers. But my contention is that nearly everyone needs to buy a car, so if we can form relationships with mainstream bloggers, we can reach more mainstream customers – like the readers of these blogs, who trust the authors because they’ve been following them for so long. With that theory in place, I’ve been pushing to reach out to bloggers interested in technology, environmental issues, luxury/design, and parents, to name a few.
Aside from blogger relations, we have an immediate opportunity to help change the perception through my own participation on Twitter, blogs and forums. I do a lot of commenting on posts that may have some misinformation, and I share news and information from my unique position within the company. And I hope I do all of this in an authentic way, to give the company a little more of a human element.
Q: How difficult is it to keep up with emerging trends in social media?
A: You know, I used to worry about that more when I was a consultant. It seems like there’s a new site/service/network/tool out there every day. But joining a company like Ford has made me realize that we need to concentrate on where the mainstream is going. It helps in two ways: first, it keeps us from chasing after trends that are fool’s gold; and we can concentrate our efforts on the main sites that matter.
Thought leaders are way out ahead. I’ve seen people proclaiming the death of blogging for over a year, yet there’s still a good portion of the population that is just getting up to speed on that. And if I ever uttered the word “Plurk” in a meeting, I’d be laughed out of the room.
Now that’s not to say we shouldn’t try new things and see what works for us and our constituents. We’ll do that, and I’ll rely on my own trendspotting abilities and that of our partner agencies to help determine what’s worth trying.
Learn more from Scott Monty and the rest of our speakers at the 2009 Business Smart Tools Conference on May 5 — register here!
The speakers at this year’s BST conference will be sharing their insights into how social media works within business. To give you a glimpse of what you can expect at the live event (which happens on Tuesday, May 5), here are 3 questions with management consultant and Vloggerheads co-founder Dr. Tom Guarriello, who makes a living by connecting people.
Q: Why should companies be investing their time and effort in social media?
A: Companies should only invest time and effort in social media if they’re interested in what their customers and/or competitors are doing! If not, carry on with business as usual! Joking aside, there is a wealth of information to be gained by following social media conversations, and even more by engaging in them.
Q: What are some ways you have seen companies directly benefit from using social media?
A: Adroit companies are using social media to learn what customers really think about their products and services. This is not always pleasant, but invariably useful. The very best are asking questions, gaining valuable information and having ongoing conversations with customers, after convincing their social media-using followers that they’re seriously interested in listening and not just looking for another channel for broadcasting traditional marketing messages. Social media users can smell the difference and don’t react well if it looks like more of the same.
Q: Tell us about one emerging social media trend that you’re keeping an eye on, and why.
A: Multi-channel communication is the trend to watch. When a company understands the power of social media you see an eagerness to break out of the “is Facebook going to be the winner?” mentality. Instead, those companies look for as many places to engage their customers as there are places for those customers to congregate. In other words, be platform agnostic but communication-centric.
Learn more from Tom Guarriello and the rest of our speakers at the 2009 Business Smart Tools Conference on May 5 — register here!
Albert and Valorie take some time out for the Marketing Edge Podcast. Learn more about the Business Smart Tools Conference and join in the conversation that has begun here and will continue on May 5th. To register, go here.
Several weeks ago, a video that Creative Concepts (the organizers behind the Business Smart Tools conference) produced for their client, Bigelow Tea, generated some online buzz. But while most viewers enjoyed the personal touch of seeing Bigelow Tea president (and 2009 BST speaker) Cindi Bigelow talking about tea with strangers on the streets of New York City, others thought the video needed some “YouTube star power” to help it appeal to a wider audience.
While Bigelow Tea hasn’t crossed the bridge to YouTube stardom just yet, they do have a few recognizable faces among their fans — including LA Dodgers manager Joe Torre, Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona, and NFL sportscaster Phil Simms. In fact, they recently shot another quick video in which these gentlemen talk about health, fame, competition and (of course) tea:
These two videos have plenty in common — including being filmed on the same morning. They also have a similar theme: tea brings people together.
But while some viewers are inspired by the “everyman” vibe of the first video, others need a little more “star power” to keep their attention. However, the difference between YouTube celebrity and “real life” celebrity does raise some questions. For example:
* Torre, Simms and Francona actually drank Bigelow Tea even before they become spokesmen for Bigelow, which makes their endorsements authentic. But does that authenticity resonate with customers, or does everyone automatically presume a celebrity spokesperson is simply pitching a product, regardless of how the spokesperson really feels about it?
* How would the message change if Bigelow hired a YouTube celebrity who’d never even had a cup of tea in her life, just for the sake of reaching that person’s built-in audience?
* Even with the help of a YouTube spokesperson, would a Bigelow Tea video featuring that person gain any traction beyond that person’s existing YouTube fanbase? Or would it result in one traffic spike that wouldn’t translate to long-term interest in the Bigelow brand?
* Torre, Simms and Francona are near-household names (in sports-obsessed homes, anyway) but that doesn’t mean their fans are necessarily searching them out online. Meanwhile, a YouTube celebrity’s fans are ALREADY online, so while their niche may be narrower, their audience may be more active — and more inclined to listen to what their heroes have to say.
All of these (and more) are questions that any company should ask itself when considering the best way(s) to reach their target audience(s) — online and beyond.
The speakers at this year’s BST conference will be sharing their insights into how social media works within business. To give you a glimpse of what you can expect at the live event (which happens on Tuesday, May 5), here are 3 questions with PR veteran Albert Maruggi, who’s been tackling marketing issues for over 25 years.
Q: Why should companies be investing their time and effort in social media?
A: Every time you read about a newspaper cutting back or going under, think, “Who is going to cover my company?” Every time you see a decline in television viewing, wonder, “What are those former viewers doing?” Online and mobile devices are where people are going for entertainment, information, discovery, and networking.
Q: What are some ways you have seen companies directly benefit from using social media?
A: Small companies now get major national news coverage without writing a single pitch to the media, access to specific high level executives at major corporations, and leads directly from sources like Twitter and blogs.
Q: Tell us about one emerging social media trend that you’re keeping an eye on, and why.
A: The world of widgets — for me, that’s an exciting place. It’s a format where you can allow others to carry your information to places like their blog or Facebook, and this data can be aggregated across the web. It can also be used to pull data from a variety of places that have natural synergies. In fact, I’d like you to test one out: I use qcwidget on the Marketing Edge podcast.
Learn more from Albert Maruggi and the rest of our speakers at the 2009 Business Smart Tools Conference on May 5 — register here!
The speakers at this year’s BST conference will be sharing their insights into how social media works within business. To give you a glimpse of what you can expect at the live event (which happens on Tuesday, May 5), here are 3 questions with Tactical Transparency author and Director of Partnership Marketing & Integration at BlogTalkRadio, John C. Havens.
Q: Why should companies be investing their time and effort in social media?
A: Why shouldn’t they? This question in 2009 is, to me, the equivalent of asking, “Should your company have a website?” in 1995. Social media is simply too broad a spectrum, with too wide a variety of opportunities (many of which are free in cost if not minimal time) to ignore. Specifically, however:
SEO— The more content you create online with your brand’s messaging, the more opportunities Google has to raise your rankings. You cannot expect to have just your main website/portal and get the kind of presence on Google that you need. Utilizing your blog, Tweets, BlogTalkRadio shows or any other medium that lets you put in metadata including your company name/keywords is a MUST. Period.
Presence— As I talk about a lot in my book, if you don’t demonstrate that your brand is trying to have a presence online, people will wonder why you’re silent. (If they wonder about you at all.) More likely, they’ll be listening and interacting with your competitors, who have demonstrated that they care about what consumers think.
ROI— The ROI is substantial, and please stop thinking, “but I have to have X number of comments on my blog post,” or “a social media campaign is no better than a banner ad.” Let’s talk COA—if just one person comments on your company blog (even to complain) and you connect with them in a real manner, what did it cost you to do so? $150 for a series of postcard/direct mail campaigns? No—the time for one person at your company to respond and connect. Yes, you have to have a person in the company who does those things, and they have to know what they’re doing, but you get the point: stop wasting stamps, and utilize the free, permanently digital PR that you can get when you demonstrate that you will answer customers/employees with a real voice, where you hear their concerns and address them.
Q: Tell us about one emerging social media trend that you’re keeping an eye on, and why.
A: Twitter, like everyone else. But BlogTalkRadio uses it as a broadcast medium to help boost the live listenership of shows. We’ve increased live show participation by 12-15% by having all of our hosts who tweet do so 30, 15, 10, 5, minutes before a show and then during.
Q: What are some ways you have seen companies directly benefit from using social media?
A: Please download the case study for our recent Wal-Mart campaign for the movie Twilight. We were able to demonstrate actual lift in sales via social media, which is the holy grail for any social media campaign.
Learn more from John C. Havens and the rest of our speakers at the 2009 Business Smart Tools Conference on May 5 — register here!
We have a lot of smart, talented and insightful speakers coming to the next Business Smart Tools conference on May 5. But as well-versed as they are in the ways of social media, marketing, business growth and general communications, there’s one thing they DON’T know (yet):
What do YOU want to learn about at the BST conference?
Whether you’ll be there in person or you’re hoping to catch glimpses of the event online, let us know what topics and questions you’d like to ask Scott Monty, Cindi Bigelow, John C. Havens and the rest of our illustrious lineup. That way, our speakers will be able to tailor their talks toward the needs of the audience, and help you down the path toward the answers you’re after.
This past weekend, Chris Brogan started a great discussion on his blog about the latest video for Bigelow Tea (which was produced by Business Smart Tools’ parent company, Creative Concepts). The video features Cindi Bigelow talking tea with complete strangers in New York City — some of whom have never even heard of Bigelow before, despite it being one of the top-selling teas in the city.
The comments on Chris’s blog reinforced a lot of the reasons that Bigelow thought the video was a good idea in the first place:
* It provides the company with a public face and personality
* It lets Cindi share the history of her family-owned company
* It presents the “good” and “bad” of being recognized (or not)
But despite all the positives, some potential drawbacks were mentioned as well — particularly by fellow blogger Nalts, who points out the difficulties of:
* interesting casual viewers in a business-branded video
* promoting something without a YouTube “star” attached
* navigating the attention spans and entertainment needs of a casual audience
And guess what? All of these comments are what made producing the video worthwhile, because:
* Cindi was able to connect directly with people on the streets of New York
* The Bigelow brand developed newly-interested followers online
* The company received creative suggestions on what did (or didn’t) work for various viewers
But, most importantly, the video got people talking about tea (and Bigelow Tea in particular). And that’s the primary goal of any social media marketing: to generate new discussion about a brand. Because people can’t buy your product if they don’t know it exists.
You can hear more about Bigelow’s approach to social media when Cindi Bigelow speaks at the Business Smart Tools conference on May 5!
We’re not about to get political here, and tell you what you should think of any proposed federal bailout of the Big 3 American carmakers. Instead, we’d like to shed light on how one of those companies is using social media to spread the word about their POSITIVES — which is a side of the story that the mainstream media isn’t covering very much these days.
Scott Monty (a May 2009 Business Smart Tools speaker) is currently a one-man social media team employed by Ford. One of his biggest challenges is overcoming the wave of negativity directed at the auto industry during this time of economic uncertainty. So Scott has been striving to make sure you, the people, have access to some positive facts about Ford that are otherwise getting lost in the shuffle.
That’s because Scott believes it’s in the public’s best interest to know as many sides of the story as possible. If the mainstream media are tilting in one direction, Ford can utilize Scott to help share another perspective, and make sure the public has access to some balanced facts.
How could YOUR company use social media to help the world learn more about YOUR positives?
