Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts

Friday, January 17, 2014

Should you hire a social media community manager? By Chris Abraham













community-manager
- See more at: http://socialmedia.biz/2014/01/14/should-you-hire-a-social-media-community-manager/#sthash.8Vsdxqnl.dpuf
 community-manager






community-manager
- See more at: http://socialmedia.biz/2014/01/14/should-you-hire-a-social-media-community-manager/#sthash.8Vsdxqnl.dpuf









community-manager
- See more at: http://socialmedia.biz/2014/01/14/should-you-hire-a-social-media-community-manager/#sthash.8Vsdxqnl.dpuf







 Chris Abraham  Hiring someone to both speak and respond as you on social media is not cheating. Think of it as delegation: you can’t be everywhere, all the time. There’s just one you and there are upwards of 1.4 billion people who, at any moment, could engage you, your brand, company, product, or service — brands, companies, products, and services. Your slice of that humongous pie is surely fewer than the global membership of Facebook; however, even if your portion is modest, are you committed to not only producing content for online consumption (broadcasting) but listening, responding, and engaging, too?

We’re coming up on the 10-year anniversary of Facebook this February 4 and we’re still arguing about online authenticity. There’s still a core group of social media consultants who consider outsourcing your most personal social media properties as being somehow inauthentic. Sort of like cheating.

According to Boston.com, back in 2012 President Obama had “181 actors, musicians, authors, athletes, mayors, Congress members, and more that fit any and all demographic groups in the president’s target zone,” all stumping on his behalf, all over TV, radio, events, gatherings, fundraisers, and even small special gatherings in target cities.

Surrogacy has been part of public affairs and publicity since the beginning of civilization. Delegations represent the will of their home town, city, state, or country. Embassies and ambassadors reside in-country as a literal remote sovereign nations abroad, representing their home offices. Ministers are sent as officiants of their government with true power to make decisions and policy as well as to enforce decisions.

The idea of deputizing someone else to act on your behalf in an official capacity is a time-honored tradition. Why then, is it so controversial in social media? Maybe it’s as simple as stating, in the Twitter bio, “from the office of…” instead of suggesting that all the words hereby tweeted are his or her own.
Whoever you choose ultimately represents your brand

Even so, whether they’re your words or they’re an interpretation of who you are, what you believe, what your do, and how you think by someone who knows and works with you, they are still representative of your brand. Be it ghost-written autobiographies, the answering of fan mail, the mass-production of autographed photos or signed letters, the taking of dictation, support staff has always made things happen as authentically as possible without burdening the boss.

Unless you’re absolutely passionate about being engaged in social media, have everything else in your life delegated, have plenty of time, consider social media engagement to be essential and real, and are committed to keeping up the same level of engagement and commitment from now and forever, you really need to retain (and delegate to) an experienced community manager.

And, depending on how much time, interest, experience, patience, and passion you have, you’ll either use your social media community manager as someone who can simply add volume, coverage, and responsiveness to your already-engaged but spotty online engagement or they can take over your social media completely, managing your brand, your products, your online reputation, and even your own personal profile.





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Chris Abraham is a partner in Socialmedia.biz. Contact Chris via email, follow him on Twitter and Google Plus - See more at: http://socialmedia.biz/2014/01/14/should-you-hire-a-social-media-community-manager/#sthash.ECwTv7eM.dpuf



Chris Abraham
Blog: Chrisabraham.com
Twitter: @chrisabraham
LinkedIn: /in/chrisabraham
Facebook: chrisabraham
Profile
Chris Abraham is a leading expert in digital, including online reputation management (ORM), Internet privacy, social media marketing and digital PR with a focus on blogger outreach, blogger engagement and Internet crisis response.
A pioneer in online social networks and publishing, with a natural facility for anticipating the next big thing, Chris is an Internet analyst, Web strategy consultant and advisor to major brands. He specializes in Web 2.0 technologies, including content syndication, online collaboration, blogging, and consumer generated media. Chris Abraham was named a Top 50 Social Media Power Influencer by Forbes, #1 PR2.0 Influencer by Traackr and Top 10 social media influencers by Marketwire. For what it’s worth, Chris has a Klout of 77 the last time he looked.
Chris understands that the Internet is not just a different advertising medium, it is a different culture with unique customs and protocols. Knowing this culture allows us to translate your unique company message to relevant online communities. This approach drives business your way — our primary and sincere goal.
- See more at: http://socialmedia.biz/author/chrisabraham/#sthash.30TZokrP.dpuf




Chris Abraham
Blog: Chrisabraham.com
Twitter: @chrisabraham
LinkedIn: /in/chrisabraham
Facebook: chrisabraham
Profile
Chris Abraham is a leading expert in digital, including online reputation management (ORM), Internet privacy, social media marketing and digital PR with a focus on blogger outreach, blogger engagement and Internet crisis response.
A pioneer in online social networks and publishing, with a natural facility for anticipating the next big thing, Chris is an Internet analyst, Web strategy consultant and advisor to major brands. He specializes in Web 2.0 technologies, including content syndication, online collaboration, blogging, and consumer generated media. Chris Abraham was named a Top 50 Social Media Power Influencer by Forbes, #1 PR2.0 Influencer by Traackr and Top 10 social media influencers by Marketwire. For what it’s worth, Chris has a Klout of 77 the last time he looked.
Chris understands that the Internet is not just a different advertising medium, it is a different culture with unique customs and protocols. Knowing this culture allows us to translate your unique company message to relevant online communities. This approach drives business your way — our primary and sincere goal.
- See more at: http://socialmedia.biz/author/chrisabraham/#sthash.30TZokrP.dpuf





Chris Abraham
Blog: Chrisabraham.com
Twitter: @chrisabraham
LinkedIn: /in/chrisabraham
Facebook: chrisabraham
Profile
Chris Abraham is a leading expert in digital, including online reputation management (ORM), Internet privacy, social media marketing and digital PR with a focus on blogger outreach, blogger engagement and Internet crisis response.
A pioneer in online social networks and publishing, with a natural facility for anticipating the next big thing, Chris is an Internet analyst, Web strategy consultant and advisor to major brands. He specializes in Web 2.0 technologies, including content syndication, online collaboration, blogging, and consumer generated media. Chris Abraham was named a Top 50 Social Media Power Influencer by Forbes, #1 PR2.0 Influencer by Traackr and Top 10 social media influencers by Marketwire. For what it’s worth, Chris has a Klout of 77 the last time he looked.
Chris understands that the Internet is not just a different advertising medium, it is a different culture with unique customs and protocols. Knowing this culture allows us to translate your unique company message to relevant online communities. This approach drives business your way — our primary and sincere goal.
Offerings: We specialize in comprehensive Online Conversation Marketing campaigns. We integrate Online Publicity, Online Grassroots & New Media Marketing, Business Intelligence, Search Engine Services and Online Reputation Clean-up and Defense to ensure that our client’s message, the right message, is being portrayed in every corner of the digital space.
Speaking & press availability: Chris has taught blogging courses for the Writer's Center of Bethesda, has been a guest lecturer on public affairs blogging at Columbia University's SIPA school and the American University in Washington, DC, the Emergent Technologies Advisor to the Urban Institute's Communications Advisory Board, and a Renaissance Weekend participant since 2001. Additionally, he is the go-to expert on social media, citizen journalism, technology, and the Internet for BBC World Service, CNN Radio, and CNet's BNet.
- See more at: http://socialmedia.biz/author/chrisabraham/#sthash.IRJbAyKN.dpuf
Chris Abraham
Blog: Chrisabraham.com
Twitter: @chrisabraham
LinkedIn: /in/chrisabraham
Facebook: chrisabraham
Profile
Chris Abraham is a leading expert in digital, including online reputation management (ORM), Internet privacy, social media marketing and digital PR with a focus on blogger outreach, blogger engagement and Internet crisis response.
A pioneer in online social networks and publishing, with a natural facility for anticipating the next big thing, Chris is an Internet analyst, Web strategy consultant and advisor to major brands. He specializes in Web 2.0 technologies, including content syndication, online collaboration, blogging, and consumer generated media. Chris Abraham was named a Top 50 Social Media Power Influencer by Forbes, #1 PR2.0 Influencer by Traackr and Top 10 social media influencers by Marketwire. For what it’s worth, Chris has a Klout of 77 the last time he looked.
Chris understands that the Internet is not just a different advertising medium, it is a different culture with unique customs and protocols. Knowing this culture allows us to translate your unique company message to relevant online communities. This approach drives business your way — our primary and sincere goal.
- See more at: http://socialmedia.biz/author/chrisabraham/#sthash.30TZokrP.dpuf







Chris Abraham
Blog: Chrisabraham.com
Twitter: @chrisabraham
LinkedIn: /in/chrisabraham
Facebook: chrisabraham
Profile
Chris Abraham is a leading expert in digital, including online reputation management (ORM), Internet privacy, social media marketing and digital PR with a focus on blogger outreach, blogger engagement and Internet crisis response.
A pioneer in online social networks and publishing, with a natural facility for anticipating the next big thing, Chris is an Internet analyst, Web strategy consultant and advisor to major brands. He specializes in Web 2.0 technologies, including content syndication, online collaboration, blogging, and consumer generated media. Chris Abraham was named a Top 50 Social Media Power Influencer by Forbes, #1 PR2.0 Influencer by Traackr and Top 10 social media influencers by Marketwire. For what it’s worth, Chris has a Klout of 77 the last time he looked.
Chris understands that the Internet is not just a different advertising medium, it is a different culture with unique customs and protocols. Knowing this culture allows us to translate your unique company message to relevant online communities. This approach drives business your way — our primary and sincere goal.
Offerings: We specialize in comprehensive Online Conversation Marketing campaigns. We integrate Online Publicity, Online Grassroots & New Media Marketing, Business Intelligence, Search Engine Services and Online Reputation Clean-up and Defense to ensure that our client’s message, the right message, is being portrayed in every corner of the digital space.
Speaking & press availability: Chris has taught blogging courses for the Writer's Center of Bethesda, has been a guest lecturer on public affairs blogging at Columbia University's SIPA school and the American University in Washington, DC, the Emergent Technologies Advisor to the Urban Institute's Communications Advisory Board, and a Renaissance Weekend participant since 2001. Additionally, he is the go-to expert on social media, citizen journalism, technology, and the Internet for BBC World Service, CNN Radio, and CNet's BNet.
- See more at: http://socialmedia.biz/author/chrisabraham/#sthash.IRJbAyKN.dpuf





Chris Abraham
Blog: Chrisabraham.com
Twitter: @chrisabraham
LinkedIn: /in/chrisabraham
Facebook: chrisabraham
Profile
Chris Abraham is a leading expert in digital, including online reputation management (ORM), Internet privacy, social media marketing and digital PR with a focus on blogger outreach, blogger engagement and Internet crisis response.
A pioneer in online social networks and publishing, with a natural facility for anticipating the next big thing, Chris is an Internet analyst, Web strategy consultant and advisor to major brands. He specializes in Web 2.0 technologies, including content syndication, online collaboration, blogging, and consumer generated media. Chris Abraham was named a Top 50 Social Media Power Influencer by Forbes, #1 PR2.0 Influencer by Traackr and Top 10 social media influencers by Marketwire. For what it’s worth, Chris has a Klout of 77 the last time he looked.
Chris understands that the Internet is not just a different advertising medium, it is a different culture with unique customs and protocols. Knowing this culture allows us to translate your unique company message to relevant online communities. This approach drives business your way — our primary and sincere goal.
Offerings: We specialize in comprehensive Online Conversation Marketing campaigns. We integrate Online Publicity, Online Grassroots & New Media Marketing, Business Intelligence, Search Engine Services and Online Reputation Clean-up and Defense to ensure that our client’s message, the right message, is being portrayed in every corner of the digital space.
Speaking & press availability: Chris has taught blogging courses for the Writer's Center of Bethesda, has been a guest lecturer on public affairs blogging at Columbia University's SIPA school and the American University in Washington, DC, the Emergent Technologies Advisor to the Urban Institute's Communications Advisory Board, and a Renaissance Weekend participant since 2001. Additionally, he is the go-to expert on social media, citizen journalism, technology, and the Internet for BBC World Service, CNN Radio, and CNet's BNet.
- See more at: http://socialmedia.biz/author/chrisabraham/#sthash.IRJbAyKN.dpuf



Chris Abraham
Blog: Chrisabraham.com
Twitter: @chrisabraham
LinkedIn: /in/chrisabraham
Facebook: chrisabraham
Profile
Chris Abraham is a leading expert in digital, including online reputation management (ORM), Internet privacy, social media marketing and digital PR with a focus on blogger outreach, blogger engagement and Internet crisis response.
A pioneer in online social networks and publishing, with a natural facility for anticipating the next big thing, Chris is an Internet analyst, Web strategy consultant and advisor to major brands. He specializes in Web 2.0 technologies, including content syndication, online collaboration, blogging, and consumer generated media. Chris Abraham was named a Top 50 Social Media Power Influencer by Forbes, #1 PR2.0 Influencer by Traackr and Top 10 social media influencers by Marketwire. For what it’s worth, Chris has a Klout of 77 the last time he looked.
Chris understands that the Internet is not just a different advertising medium, it is a different culture with unique customs and protocols. Knowing this culture allows us to translate your unique company message to relevant online communities. This approach drives business your way — our primary and sincere goal.
- See more at: http://socialmedia.biz/author/chrisabraham/#sthash.30TZokrP.dpuf



Chris Abraham
Blog: Chrisabraham.com
Twitter: @chrisabraham
LinkedIn: /in/chrisabraham
Facebook: chrisabraham
Profile
Chris Abraham is a leading expert in digital, including online reputation management (ORM), Internet privacy, social media marketing and digital PR with a focus on blogger outreach, blogger engagement and Internet crisis response.
A pioneer in online social networks and publishing, with a natural facility for anticipating the next big thing, Chris is an Internet analyst, Web strategy consultant and advisor to major brands. He specializes in Web 2.0 technologies, including content syndication, online collaboration, blogging, and consumer generated media. Chris Abraham was named a Top 50 Social Media Power Influencer by Forbes, #1 PR2.0 Influencer by Traackr and Top 10 social media influencers by Marketwire. For what it’s worth, Chris has a Klout of 77 the last time he looked.
Chris understands that the Internet is not just a different advertising medium, it is a different culture with unique customs and protocols. Knowing this culture allows us to translate your unique company message to relevant online communities. This approach drives business your way — our primary and sincere goal.
- See more at: http://socialmedia.biz/author/chrisabraham/#sthash.30TZokrP.dpuf


Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Magic Article Rewrite Program

 


There's nothing better than seeing first-hand the profitable results of your article writing. And it’s a “dream strategy” for many other reasons, too. Increase web traffic – With article marketing, visitors can constantly come to your website. Achieve massive publicity. Build your list of targeted prospects that want to hear from you right now Boost your reputation, credibility, and name recognition. Gain link popularity & Improve Search Engine Optimization (SEO) rankings. Create affiliate relationships and JV partnerships with highly influential web publishers. 
However, one of the easiest, proven, most time-tested ways to attract new business and more traffic to your site is to become a sought after authority and gain expert status in your field.


Do You Want to Know How ???

Watch Video and See How Easy it Is!






Tuesday, November 19, 2013

5 Definitions for Great Marketing Every Business Must Know ~ by Phil Butler

by

Well, supposedly Seth said something like this, but the reality is closer to good marketing “winning” the contest for consumer attention. If you ask 100 people to define marketing, you’ll also get 100 different answers, two for each for discerning what PR is. This is problematic, obviously. How can you expect a business owner to trust you if you cannot accurately define what it is, and how you do something?

Peter DruckerTo bridge this gap of understanding a bit, we need to turn to Peter Drucker (at left) to simplify what marketing is. Drucker, for those who do not know, created the basic foundations of so-called management by objectives, or participative goal setting, strategic course of actions and the decision making process. If business is about first innovation, and then marketing it, then the latter is as much a “product” as the product or service itself. I believe “integral” fits here as one clearly defined “must” for marketing know how. Here are five fundamental rules for defining yourself as a marketer, just in case.

One: Marketing is about the “win-win”

Like it or not, the best marketers understand longevity and success are all about winning products or services going to customers who win out for having bought them. Value may be a cliche term, but if your product sucks, you won’t be in the game very long. Winning, they say, is everything. The first definition of marketing know how has to be then, knowing there are only two entities in the marketing equation – buyer and seller. Both have to win.

Two: A Marketer Understands People, Most of All

Figuring out what the customer wants. This is a big task, and we are not talking about “convincing” consumers to buy what “we” want them to buy. Anylizing trends, tabulating so-called Big Data, whatever metrics we throw at the problem of consumer wants, the best marketing guru out there realizes first, there’s a human being on the other end of his or her computing. Sometimes, no matter what the “data” says, marketing is also about “gut feelings”; “Would I ever, would my family ever, would anyone really want this product pitched this way?” The human side, this is the Holy Grail of marketing no matter what era you come from. You may have heard someone like Brian Solis (below) talk about the marketing funnel being broken, well the part that’s broken is the understanding of the people in the center of the funnel.

 

Knowing how people see you, your product, how they will react, this human side is all important
 
 
 



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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Be a Big Fish in the Blogger Outreach Pond

 
By Chris Abraham

Image representing TechCrunch as depicted in C...
Image via CrunchBase
It’s always a tough question: would you rather be the smallest fish in a big pond or the biggest fish in a small pond? Would you prefer to be the ugliest pretty person or the prettiest ugly person? Would you prefer to have the lowest IQ at MIT or the highest IQ at State?
This is all according to your preference, but when it comes to a blogger outreach campaign, the decision is never so zero-sum, not nearly so either/or. You can always do both, right? You can always secure hundreds of long-tail earned media mentions while you’re desperately working on securing coverage on Mashable and TechCrunch. You can lock in hundreds of posts short term while you’re wining and dining Pete Cashmore in Manhattan to make sure you become BFFs, so that you’ll have that inside track on getting column inches for your future newsworthy announcements.
However, in the meanwhile, getting those hundreds of posts on B-list-through-Z-list blogs insures that you start building your reputation as a player. Consider this your bush league experience. Like doing your time in the small clubs. Paying your dues. In fact, most journalists and A-list bloggers glean their story ideas from the blogs they reach, from their influencers, blogs and bloggers who may well be less popular but are still highly influential.
Do you have the sort of news, offerings, and quality of content that can compete with the big players? Do you have the kind of prior relationships with the top bloggers and journalists or do they not know you from Adam?
This is not only about blogger ego and their desire to be treated like demigods by multinational agencies and their billion dollar consumer electronics clients–though that doesn’t hurt–it also has to do with the prestige of the blog’s content as well as the aspiration of what the blog and the blogger wants to become.
Where do you fit on that? You need to be realistic. You need to judge fairly where you are in the competition. Do you have the time, the resources, the reputation, the newsworthiness, the novelty, or the prior relationship to make it into TechCrunch? If not, that’s OK. There is no reason to fight over the top 25 blogs of your industry or the top 100 blogs in general, because there may be over one billion blogs worldwide, which equates to one out of every six people in the world.
Realistically, unless you’re the quarterback of your high school football team, you’re being unrealistic if you limit your options for prom to just the captain of the cheerleaders. There are so many appealing dates for prom everywhere in school. If you’re only applying to Harvard and Yale, you had better also be not only at the top of your class but also a legacy, score a perfect score on your SAT, letter on a sport, and have a well-developed set of extra curricular activities.
Work toward Prom King and an incoming Freshman spot at Harvard College, but plan also on going to prom with someone and to college at all. Aim high but have a plan B and C. Remember, also, that being the best lover with the best prom date you get can always results in better dates in the future and being the best student in the college you are accepted to can always result in getting to Harvard as a transfer or in graduate school later.
Focus on being a big fish in a small pond. As you are working to succeed at that, you’ll naturally graduate to the A-list if you have the goods. But if you shoot for the A-list pond exclusively, and you don’t make the cut, you won’t have done anything to win with the B-list.
Start small and grow to make blogger outreach work for you.

SOURCE:


 




About the author
  • chrisabraham-photo
  • Chris Abraham
  • Chris Abraham is a leading expert in digital: social media marketing, Internet privacy, online reputation management (ORM), and digital PR with a focus on blogger outreach, blogger engagement, and Internet crisis response.
    A pioneer in online social networks and publishing, with a natural facility for anticipating the next big thing, Chris is an Internet analyst, web strategy consultant and advisor to the industries' leading firms. He specializes in Web 2.0 technologies, including content syndication, online collaboration, blogging, and consumer generated media. Chris Abraham was named a Top 50 Social Media Power Influencer by Forbes, #1 PR2.0 Influencer by Traackr, and top-10 social media influencers by Marketwire; and, for what it’s worth, Chris has a Klout of 77 the last time he looked.
    Chris is currently Director of Social Media at Unison agency, where he is expanding their social media offerings by starting a social media practice. Unison is an integrated brand agency combining strategic, creative, and technology services to help their clients build and strengthen their brands.
    Chris recently completed a five-month contract with Reputation.com as Team Lead, Special Projects, in sales for their "Whale Hunting" team. Chris was one of two whale hunters tasked with closing clients for their high-end Picasso Online Reputation Management (ORM) and Executive Privacy products, from $10,000-$100,000/month campaigns for high-net-worth and high-profile individuals and Fortune 500 companies.
    Prior to Reputation.com, Chris ran his own digital PR and marketing company, Abraham Harrison, LLC, from Washington, DC, Portland, Oregon, and Berlin, Germany, with clients including: Kimberly Clark, The Daily, Habitat for Humanity, Greenpeace, The Fresh Air Fund, International Medical Corps, Sharp, Pew, Alzheimer’s Association, and others. Previous to starting AH, Chris worked on the Interactive Team at Edelman Public Affairs in Washington, DC, consulting with clients such as Wal-Mart, Shell, and GE on blogger and social media strategy. Before Edelman, Chris was Technology Strategist for New Media Strategies, a pioneer in online brand promotion and protection with clients including Sci-Fi Channel, Buena Vista, TomTom, Paramount Pictures, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Disney, Reebok, EA, RCA, and NBC.
    In the early nineties, Chris joined The Meta Network, a seminal online virtual community based in Washington, and so began his career as an expert in online community development, social media, social networking, and online collaboration. Chris has had a web presence since 1993 and started blogging in 1999, focusing on community, connection, innovation, and brand extension. As a technologist, Chris has consulted T. Rowe Price, the US Department of Treasury CIO, Friendster, Deutsche Telekom, and others.
    Chris has taught blogging courses for the Writer's Center of Bethesda, has been a guest lecturer on public affairs blogging at Columbia University's SIPA school and the American University in Washington, DC, the Emergent Technologies Advisor to the Urban Institute's Communications Advisory Board, and a Renaissance Weekend participant since 2001. Additionally, he is the go-to expert on social media, citizen journalism, technology, and the Internet for BBC World Service, CNN Radio, and CNet's BNet.Chris received his BA in American Literature from The George Washington University, studied American Literature at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, studied French at the University of Hawaii, and studied German at both the Washington and Berlin Goethe-Instituts. In addition to the Huffington Post, Chris blogs for his own blog, ChrisAbraham.com, for Biznology.com, for Socialmedia.biz, and for MarketingConversation.com. Chris has written for AdAge’s DigitalNext and Global Idea Network blogs.Chris is indulging his mid-life crisis by buying a motorcycle and taking up the shooting sports including trap and target shooting with both rifle and pistol. Until he gets the novelty of gun ownership out of his system, you’ll find Chris in South Arlington, Virginia, right across the river from his beloved Washington, DC.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Dangerous Youtube Marketing, Sales Training and Tutorial for Men Only

 

by marketing on 01/25/2013
Media_httpwwwempireon_jkdma

You do what you do to put food on the table. To you, it’s second nature. You get a kid out of college- even a fancy ivy league college to try to do what you do and it will take him years of additional blood sweat and tears to do it well. Then another decade to do it as well as you do.
That’s because for you, what you do as a pro is autohabit.
For him, every little step and every little decision is a nerve racking stressor.
Media_httpmememachine_xaacn

So, now that you’ve decided that you’ve got to start producing you tube videos to promote your firm, products, and services, what have the most effective Youtube video marketing pros picked up along the way that drives the highest number of conversions and sales? If there was a Youtube marketing tutorial or a sales training video that could raise your sales by 5%, would you watch it?
The above tutorial will raise your sales by at least 25%. It’s for manly men only.
     

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Friday, February 1, 2013

Are you mistaking marketing tactics for strategy? ~ By Mike Moran

Diversification (marketing strategy)
Diversification (marketing strategy) (Photo credit: Wikipedia
One of the fun parts of my job is that I work with very smart people–my clients. One of them told me that they have no interest in figuring out their LinkedIn strategy. It’s not that he doesn’t care about LinkedIn–far from it–but he is voicing something that is critically important in marketing: understanding the difference between tactics and strategy. His point is that if you don’t understand your overall strategy, you’re not ready to think about LinkedIn.
 
If this seems somehow off to you, let me try it a different way. Suppose you just landed at a new company in charge of marketing and someone walks into your office the first day and says, “We need a strategy for billboards.”–what would you say?
Now, understand, depending on the company, you might really need a strategy for billboards–I don’t know. But that’s the point. First, you need to understand your overall market strategy, and how digital fits into it, and then you can start thinking about social and maybe LinkedIn. It makes no sense to dive into LinkedIn just because all the cool kids are doing it. Or because your competitors are doing it. Or because the boss asked for it.
Now that’s not to say that you can’t have a LinkedIn strategy or a social strategy or a search strategy. In fact, we even provide training that helps you set your digital strategy in any of these areas. But it’s important that you be thinking strategically. What do any of these approaches do for your business? Why are they important? How do they fit with other things you are doing? How will you know they are working.
That’s a lot more important than being able to tell the boss that you have a LinkedIn group.

READ MORE:

About the author
mikemoran-photo
Mike Moran Author of the acclaimed book on Internet marketing, Do It Wrong Quickly, on the heels of the best-selling Search Engine Marketing, Inc., Mike Moran led many initiatives on IBM's Web site for eight years, including IBM's original search marketing strategy. Mike holds an Advanced Certificate in Market Management Practice from the Royal UK Charter Institute of Marketing, is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, and regularly teaches at Rutgers, UC Irvine, and FDU.
  • In addition to his contributions to Biznology, Mike is a regular columnist for Search Engine Guide. He also frequently keynotes conferences worldwide on digital marketing for marketers, public relations specialists, market researchers, and technologists, and serves as Chief Strategist for Converseon, a leading digital media marketing agency. Prior to joining Converseon, Mike worked for IBM for 30 years, rising to the level of Distinguished Engineer. Mike can be reached through his Web site (mikemoran.com).


Friday, January 11, 2013

Is social media all the market research you need?~Andrea Goldberg

In Mike Moran’s recent post, he pointed out that digital marketing is more about understanding marketing than it is about being a technology expert. I could not agree more. One certainly needs to understand the basics of marketing to be successful in digital marketing. But, I would like to take this argument even further, understanding marketing is necessary but not sufficient. It is all about understanding customers and their wants, needs and values. Market research rocks!
In the fast-paced world we live in, carefully constructed research that focuses on identifying customer underlying needs and enables segmentation has largely fallen out of favor. In our service economy, it is very easy to create new offerings and use digital media to establish a brand, put out messages, create buzz, etc. The cost of entry is minimal and digital marketers have gotten good at using sophisticated tactics to reach their targets. But, I am concerned that we sometimes lose sight of why things fail. Even the most innovative products and the most sophisticated digital marketing campaigns will fall short if at the end of the day they do not satisfy some basic or perceived need or are out of tune with prevailing norms and values. Yes, we can tune in and listen to the chatter. But do we really understand what our clients need? And do we take the time to do post mortems and understand what went wrong when we do not succeed? Or, as I suspect, do we simply go on to the next new thing?
As we move further into a world where digital has replaced paper and online search terms have replaced 30 second TV ads, have we forgotten some of the basics? It we only listen to the on-line chatter might we miss the opportunity to fulfill desires that are not expressed? And, are we failing to get the kind of insights or feedback we need?
At the end of the day, I think it is about balance. I have seen companies eliminate brand tracking and customer loyalty studies because they believe they can find out what they need online. Web analytics are important tools, but they do not necessarily tell us why. Is a customer that reads your blog or clicks on your site necessarily a loyal customer? The digital world is full of metrics and on-line behavior tracking. What motivates that behavior is a little more difficult to discern.
So, while I am not advocating that everything be learned through one-way mirrors or phone-based surveys, I do propose that the right tools be employed to gain insights about current and potential clients. The best of all worlds might be to pair the two types of data so that one can understand how online behaviors correlate with attitudes, satisfaction and loyalty. In this way, one could, for example, understand the behavioral pattern of customers who are considering defection and develop a strategy to prevent them from departing. Too often, we act only after they have already gone when it is too late.
Insights can come from online tools and communities. But they can also come from analyzing data by segment or from simply asking why. And, while old-fashioned, surveys, ideation sessions and focus groups may actually turn out be good investments, “Build it and they will come” might work well in the movies, but it never was a great marketing concept!

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Saturday, January 5, 2013

Does your Internet marketing training make you feel dumb?~By Mike Moran

I have been hearing from a lot of people on my post from Wednesday on new ways to train your team in digital marketing. I’ve gotten great feedback, but there was one comment that struck a nerve, when someone asked if anything about marketing and sales is the same as it was back before the InterWebs. I understand why people ask that question and I feel compelled to give an answer that is not the normal one for a digital marketing trainer. Most things are not any different than they were before. Most of what you knew then is still true. Marketing is still marketing.
I know, I know. Heretic! Blasphemer! I know that I am supposed to be this brandy-new social media guy who can introduce you to the brave new world. I mean, the more new and the scarier it is, the more you need the training, right? If I can scare you until you wet yourself then you’ll just have to hire me. At least that is how the thinking seems to go.
There are a couple of problems with that approach. One is that it isn’t exactly true. The other is that it isn’t very helpful to someone trying to adapt to all the changes.
You see, the dirty little secret of Internet marketing trainers is that Internet marketing is way more about marketing than about the Internet. I’ll prove it to you. If I gave you a choice for your next digital marketing czar–you can pick either an expert on the Internet or an expert on marketing, who do you want? As an ex-IT guy, I mean this kindly, but DON’T TAKE THE TECHNOLOGY GEEK.
Internet marketing isn’t about the Internet any more than radio advertising needs someone who understands the gigahertz of the FM band. Or the intricacies of audio recording. I’m not saying that such knowledge is useless–what I know about how search engines work clearly helps me in search marketing–but it is less important than understanding why customers search and what they are looking for.
And marketers already know a lot of what they need, if people would only explain it better. For example, search keywords are market segments. Yes, I know that the traditional marketer might not see that right away, but when I spend some time explaining it, then suddenly they know a dozen things they can do–they can see which keywords have the most loyal customers or the highest conversion rate or the highest order size. The reason they can quickly do that is because they already know how to compare market segments, so once they know what keywords are, then they can apply what they already know.
I’ve trained direct marketers in digital marketing in about three days. These people walk into class thinking they are dinosaurs and walk out ready to run rings around people who might be really good at Facebook but they don’t really understand how to measure response to a marketing message and what to do about it.
Sales people tell me they don’t know how to use social media to sell. Then I show them that every time their customer asks a question, they have a blog post. They can communicate with customers on LinkedIn every day without being annoying. And they get it.
I hope there isn’t anyone out there feeling defeated and old because they just don’t get this Internet stuff. I’m telling you that if you know marketing that you can know Internet marketing. You just need it explained based on what you know already, instead of being the brave new world. It ain’t.


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Thursday, October 18, 2012

5 Things You Must Do Every Day to Build Your Business~By Joshua Black


If you are an entrepreneur there are a few critical tasks that you need to turn into a daily habit in order for your business to keep moving in a positive direction and to make you money. Read on to find out those key items and how you can add them to your daily routine.

Entrepreneurs have to wear many hats when a business is just starting. Many things need to be delegated to others in order for the business to run smoothly and there are a few things that you must do yourself. If you can create a habit of performing these 5 things every day, some for just a few minutes, then you will see your business grow right alongside your dreams:

1. Plan for the future a few minutes each day. Assume that your product has stopped selling all of a sudden. What direction will you take your company next? What new income stream can you add? This is a time for day dreaming and recording notes in preparation for the future. You don't necessarily have to take action on these items, but you need to think about them daily in order to bring out the golden ideas.

2. Work on your marketing in some aspect every day to get new customers. If your prospective customers don't know about you they won't buy from you. Work on getting your message out every day even if it is just for a few minutes.

3. Work on closing a sale every single day. whether you are doing this on-line, on the phone, through the mail, or face-to-face you need to be selling every day. Without the close of a sale there is no business. This is not something that you can delegate all the way. even if you have a sales force you need to be out there looking for deals.

4. Develop or strengthen your business network. You need to join or create a business network where you can help others and they can help you back. This is a great place to get free customers through referrals and an excellent mentoring opportunity using the mastermind principle.

5. Contact your current customers. Don't ever forget about the people that have already purchased from you. These are your best customers. They already like what you have to sell and they don't cost anything to acquire. Contact your current customers frequently, even if you are just saying hello. They need to know what you have to offer and they need to know you are still breathing. They won't seek you out. You must go to them.

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About the Author: Joshua Black is an on-line infopreneur, marketing consultant, small business owner and copywriter dedicated to helping the bootstrapping small business owner succeed. Visit his flagship resource site for entrepreneurs at http://www.UnderdogMillionaire.com for the free Underdog Millionaire Wealth Pack: including 5 FREE e-books and daily wealth building tips for the bootstrapping small business owner- in the areas of sales, marketing, motivation, product creation and more.

Monday, August 20, 2012

“Building a Business While Having a Life”

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Watch The Video In Marketing News
 

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Your Business vs. Cyber Bullies

Your Business vs. Cyber Bullies    By DYAN MACHAN
In the old days, if you were mad at a merchant, you could muster an angry mob and have him tarred and feathered and run out of town. These days all you have to do is write a nasty report on a complaint message board. But it s worse: The digital angry mob will be back to chase the victim out of town every single day.
I first encountered the phenomenon a few years ago when I was looking to hire a landscape designer. A friend recommended a local gardener, but when I searched for that person s name online, the first result that came up was a Web site that lambasted his performance in boldface type, accusing him of overcharging and shoddy workmanship. When I asked the gardener about it, he said the site had been put up by a disgruntled customer he didn’t t know much more about it, he explained, because he doesn’t t own a computer. The gardener said he had asked his lawyer what he could do. His answer: nothing.
Fortunately for him and other entrepreneurs, that’s not exactly true. Over the past few years, a brand-new industry has sprung up to help businesses protect their online corporate images. Small businesses and entrepreneurs are among the top customers of the firms that offer these Internet Write-Out skills, which combine public relations finesse and search engine technique.
When a large company gets a tongue-lashing online, the complaints often get shoved to the backwaters of a search result, because there s such a sea of other information available. But there s typically less information online on a small fry, which means a customer s diatribe on a complaint board can be sticky and devastating. That s where businesses like Reputation Defender, specialists in online sanitation, come in and offer their services. Of course, you don t have to turn to a white knight to fight your battles for you but it takes a lot of elbow grease to wipe away a concerted online smear.
Where the attack originates has a big impact on your odds of making it go away. If inaccurate or libelous information is posted on a blog, you have a chance of getting the blogger to take it down just by asking. Many bloggers would prefer to avoid a defamation-of-character lawsuit or at the very least, a pissing match, notes Kevin Spleid, a New York based computer consultant. And in many cases, the law prohibits individuals from making false or defamatory statements online. But there s a colossal exemption built into the Communications Decency Act that protects Internet service providers and any review site that allows other people not its employees to post comments. Ripoff Report, one online gripe net, says it has successfully defended itself against 20 lawsuits and is adamant in its refusal to take down reviews even when an author asks to retract one.
While you can sue an individual for posting malicious or false information, winning a lawsuit doesn’t t mean the offending content will go away. Digital material that’s archived or stored doesn’t t easily disappear. My gardener friend s problem was particularly tricky because it wasn t a matter of one bad review tucked inside some sprawling Web universe. In his case, the site that criticized him occupied its own, easily found Web planet.
Digital Reputation Management To solve problems like this, the larger reputation management firms generally ask for a retainer that can run up to $1,000 a month to take care of cleanup and monitoring. For this cash, would your online-meanie problem go away? Sort of. According to the whitewashers, the best you can do is bury the offensive material under an avalanche of more positive fare. As students of how search engines favor certain types of information, these firms know how to create content that pushes the nasty stuff away from the top of a search-results page. Reputation Hawk, for example, has created business-related sites where it posts its customers positive reviews. If successful, the technique makes an impact, because 90 percent of people don t look past the first results page after an online search.
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