Tag: Six Pixels of Separation: Everyone Is Connected. Connect Your Business to Everyone.

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Your Sunday morning collection of profound stuff to think about all day long. The big buzz this week WAS Buzz and the ancillary issues it raises…

“I’m having a hard time deciding whom to follow on which network with duplicate shares everywhere. The problem is compounded further by folks who auto-share from one network to another. There is no value in following people who share the same thing on Reader, Buzz, Twitter, Facebook, and so on. Duplication simply amplifies noise and reduces signal.

This is a real problem with social media today. Everyone wants maximum likes, shares, retweets on each and every thing they share. Their hope, understandably, is that each morsel they throw into social media becomes a feast on which everyone will drool.

Well, count me out. If someone is auto-feeding the same thing on all networks, it doesn’t add any value to me to follow them on all networks. Especially if they are not engaging in conversation where their content is landing.” Source: Google Buzz + Reader + Twitter + Facebook = Noise by @ScepticGeek

On to Gina Trapani on adding social media to your already hectic life…

“When you’re active on the Web, keeping up with all your online accounts can feel like a full-time job. You want your high school friends to find you on Facebook, your co-workers to follow you on Twitter, and business associates to find you on LinkedIn. But there are only so many hours in the day, and too many Web sites to check in and update. The good news is that you don’t have to hire a personal assistant to update all your profiles. With the right strategy, you can manage multiple accounts with minimal effort. Here’s how.” Source: Work Smart: Mastering Your Social Media Life | Fast Company

You’ll have to go to the source to read Gina’s thoughts. If you’re still confused, contact me; imho, few people know more about seamlessly integrating social media into your already hectic life than I do… Continue reading “Ponder this 2/14/2010” →

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  1. Blogging = Critical Thinking. If everything else went away (the readers, the comments, the community, the feedback), Blogging was (and still is) an amazing place to think about an issue or news item and work through it. I liken myself as a Media Hacker. A Blog is a great place for anyone to be a Hacker of whatever it is that they love. If you don’t believe me, then just watch this: Blogging Still Matters… Now More Than Ever.
  2. Blogging = Ideation. In using your Blog as a platform for your critical thinking, you will quickly start uncovering new and interesting business models and ideas for how you can push your industry forward or how it can/should be thinking differently. Writing a Blog, reading the comments and feedbacking into them is the ultimate Petri dish for ideation and innovation.
  3. Blogging = Tinkering. The ideas and critical thinking are not always one hundred percent final. Blogging allows you to tinker with ideas. To work at them (like a complex mathematical formula). Slowly, over time, you start realizing how wrong you were, how visionary you were and how much further you still have to go.
  4. Blogging = Relationships. It’s not about sitting in the dark recesses of your basement as you tinker away with words and thoughts. It’s about using this platform to connect. It’s about real interactions with real human beings. Some of my best friends are people that I would not have otherwise met were it not for Six Pixels of Separation (the Blog, not the concept). If you Blog, step out into the physical world. Meet other Bloggers. Share, learn and collaborate with them.
  5. Blogging = Business. Make no mistake about it. This Blog started out as a means for Twist Image to tell the world how we think differently about Media, Marketing, Advertising and Communications. Over the years, this has attracted many world-class clients, speaking engagements, a book offer and many other amazing and interesting business opportunities. So, while this is not a place where Twist Image shills its wares, it is a place that is directly tied to our overall business objectives/strategy. It consistently delivers a very solid ROI to our bottom line (take that, you Social Media measurement naysayers!).
  6. Blogging = Sharing. As each day passes, I like Charlene Li‘s latest book, Open Leadership, more and more (her first book, Groundswell rocks as well). Many people think that Social Media is all about the conversation and engaging in the conversation. I believe what makes any media “social” is the ability to share it. To help you to open up. Not only can you share the concepts by telling your peers and friend about a Blog, but everybody shares in the insights as well (whether you work for my company or not). It has changed/evolved our corporate culture. A Blog makes you think more about how you can share your content, your thoughts and why others may want to work/connect to you.
  7. Blogging = Exhaust Valve. A great Blog is great because the Blogger actually cares and loves to create content. If it’s forced, if it’s your “job,” then the passion rarely comes through. The biggest lesson I have learned in my seven years of Blogging is that this Blog is my exhaust valve. After working a full day with clients and their many challenges, this Blog is my playground. It’s the place where I can let off some textual steam. Make your Blog your exhaust valve. Caution: be careful that you’re not Blogging simply to blow off angry steam. The steam and exhaust I am talking about is the pent up energy of passion that I have from doing what I love to do.

What does Blogging equal for you?

via twistimage.com

This is a longer quote than I usually grab, but only because Mitch Joel’s introspection on the 7th anniversary of his blog launch are so good…

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The answer is ‘both/and’

I’m always fond of saying that the answer is rarely either/or but both/and. Mitch Joel says the same thing here but in a slightly different way…

“Digital Marketing is not the silver bullet. Digital Marketing is not the only marketing a brand should be doing.

Branding works. Traditional mass media advertising words. Direct Marketing works. PR works. And every other niche of Marketing, Advertising and Communications still works too. It’s a matter of understanding the strategy of the brand, the marketplace of your consumer and then implementing a healthy strategy that will help you achieve your business goals and ROI. Yes, for some brands, that will mean a heavier focus on the Digital Marketing component, but it might also mean looking at your market from a different perspective. And yes, because of the growth of Internet usage and the multitude of new opportunities, Digital Marketing definitely deserves a seat at the adult table of a proper marketing mix.

Everything is “with” not “instead of.”

Some of the brands understand this so well. I’ve been in meetings where a CMO has shown me how their 30-second spot drives sales (and when they stop the TV advertising, the sales plummet) and how their Social Media activity keeps the interest and loyalty in-between and during campaigns. It’s that healthy balance that we all too often forget about. Just the other day (March 24th, 2010, to be exact), eMarketer had a news item titled, Combining the Strengths of Social and E-Mail, which stated:

“‘Even though people are spending more time using social media, they are not abandoning e-mail,’ said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, Maximizing the E-Mail/Social Media Connection. ‘The two channels can help each other, offering the opportunity for marketers to create deeper connections.’ More than four in 10 business executives surveyed by StrongMail said integrating e-mail and social was one of their most important initiatives for 2010, just after improving e-mail performance and targeting and growing opt-in lists.”” Source: Everything Is “With” Not “Instead Of” | Six Pixels of Separation – Marketing and Communications Blog – By Mitch Joel at Twist Image

When I spoke last week at the Ashwaubenon Business Association, I was chatting with a direct mail marketer afterward and I wanted to be sure that he understood — as I hope that you understand — that I don’t advocate stopping ANY traditional marketing methods that are working for you. Just add the social media ones that make sense!

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Ammunition for your social media arsenal

Here’s an interesting find from Mitch Joel…

“About a year ago, famed Marketing professor, Ken Wong, spoke at a private dinner event. During his talk, he pushed for Marketers to really take a serious look at the many Digital Marketing opportunities, but then cautioned the Digital Marketers in the audience that there won’t ever be any kind of true groundswell unless we provide the masses with real business case studies with defined metrics that truly demonstrate success. Essentially, most businesses will not be cutting edge or bleeding edge, and they probably won’t even be fast-followers. More than likely, they’re looking for those who have walked down the path before them and would like to read and better understand the process, the challenges and the final metrics.” Source: Proving Social Media Works | Six Pixels of Separation – Marketing and Communications Blog – By Mitch Joel at Twist Image

Joel continues…

“Tod Maffin is widely respected entrepreneur, radio guy (and Podcaster) who is always highly engaged in the Digital Marketing spheres (he’s also an author and speaker). He just launched his latest project, Case Studies Online – Proven Social Media Tactics For Assured ROI, and it’s pretty amazing. The database currently stores almost 300 Social Media – Digital Marketing case studies that can be searched and viewed by demographics, specific industries, types of organizations, regions and even specific tactics. So, you can look for Social Media case studies that involved moms for the automotive industry using a Facebook Fan Page, and voila! Pushing it further, you can even refine that search criteria more.” Source: Proving Social Media Works | Six Pixels of Separation – Marketing and Communications Blog – By Mitch Joel at Twist Image

Here’s a video that explains the concept…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea-stSxKySU&feature=player_embedded

Still not using social media because you’re not sure it works? You can find casestudiesonline here. You just lost your last excuse… ;-)

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Thoughts on ROI and social media

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A prospective client asked me this yesterday: “I read through it [referring to this post] and was looking for how it translates into measurable business benefits such as client satisfaction, increased inside sales, increased referrals, etc – can you point me to any of these indicators with regard to this AGCO initiative?”

As I ponder how to respond, I’m considering these words of wisdom from Mitch Joel on the topic of social media ROI…

“How do you measure success? If this were a high school cheer, it would probably end in: “R-O-I!”

Ahh, the elusive ROI is Social Media. If yesterday’s Blog post (Social Media Gurus – That Old Chestnut) didn’t provoke some thought and commentary, then trying to crack the elusive Social Media ROI will surely get your noodle boiling. Richard Binhammer (from Dell’s Social Media team) gave a private presentation yesterday and when one of the audience members asked about how Dell measures the ROI of their Social Media strategy, Binhammer responded that ROI was nothing more than an accounting term and probably has little to no place when it comes to measuring the success of any Social Media marketing initiative.

How would that make your clients, team members and supervisors feel?

Pushing Binhammer’s comments further, he also said that if you’re looking for the ROI in the campaign, you’ll probably spend too much time, budget and energy just trying to figure out what your definition of ROI is, and concluded by saying that he doesn’t think about ROI, rather he looks at the overall business objectives and if Social Media can help him meet those objectives, then that is what is ultimately the most important thing.

Let’s repeat: forget the ROI and look at the business objectives.

In looking at business through this prism, Dell has changed the way they do business and – in doing so – they have made lots of money by being engaged and using everything Social Media that is under the sun. In a more primal way, they’re focused on using Social Media to meet practical business objectives and not looking at the overall ROI. In thinking about Social Media and how it can help in overall business objectives, it does make things a lot easier to swallow.” Source: Killing ROI | Six Pixels of Separation – Marketing and Communications Blog – By Mitch Joel at Twist Image

Binnhammer’s perspective means alot as Dell is one of the few major brands that are thriving in a down economy. Coincidentally, they are ranked #2 for ‘deep brand engagement’ amongst the 100 most valuable brands as ranked by the ENGAGEMENTdb study which concludes that ‘deep brand engagement correlates with financial performance’…

Relative to AGCO, do I have data that shows that a customer purchased a new combine as a direct result of a video we posted to YouTube? Hardly. What we do see at AGCO is this: Stock has risen since the time AGCO actively engaged in social media…

“SmarTrend identified an Uptrend for AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) on October 27, 2009 at $29.61. In approximately 3 months, AGCO has returned 9.1% as of today’s recent price of $32.31.

AGCO is currently above its 50-day moving average of $31.71 and above its 200-day moving average of $29.11. Look for these moving averages to climb to confirm the company’s upward momentum.

SmarTrend will continue to scan these moving averages and a number of other proprietary indicators for any shifts in the trajectory of AGCO shares.” Source: AGCO Upward Momentum Looks to Continue (AGCO) – Comtex SmarTrend Alert

Is there any other more important measurement?

I don’t claim for one minute that AGCO’s momentum is due entirely to social media. I do claim that it has a lot to do with the social media ‘state of mind’. Snap! I went there, as my teenage son would say. What I mean is this. When business results start going south, someone within the organization will usually say ‘we need to return to the ‘blocking and tackling’ [or fundamentals or get back to basics] of our business. One of the fundamental disciplines of social media is listening to what the internet as a whole and customers in particular are saying — the most fundamental of all business fundamentals and the first thing that successful companies have historically stopped doing!

More to come…

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