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A Social Media Lesson from The Art of Marketing, in Vancouver
Autograph by Avinash Kaushik on my copy of Web Analytics 2.0, received at the Art of Marketing
Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve last blogged. Why, you ask? I am a perfectionist, and the thought of writing anything less than valuable to you, my dear reader, paralyzes me. Heaven knows that there’s a lot of noise out there, so if I’m to publish something, it’d better be great. Otherwise, what’s the point, right? Or so I think. As a result, I haven’t blogged lately, not considering all the generous comments that you have left in the past.
I have a couple of folks to thank for encouraging me to get back to the keyboard and develop content that is longer than 140 characters: Linda Bustos, the blogger behind GetElastic.com, and Tyrell Mara.
Linda spoke on the topic of blogging for profit and for fun at a Vancouver social media meetup that I’ve recently attended, and she’s imbued me with enough fire in my belly to blog again. Hopefully the flame won’t die… (By the way, Linda… great hair!)
The second person I’d like to thank is Tyrell. He’s recently completed his MBA, was new blood in said social media gathering, and suggested tonight, in a tweet accompanied by a “smiley face” and all, that I should blog about the Art of Marketing conference. And really. How could I resist a smiley face?
The Art of Marketing brought us some very high-caliber speakers:
- Mitch Joel, President of Twist Image, speaker and author of “Six Pixels of Separation”;
- Bill Taylor, Co-Founder of Fast Company and author of “Practically Radical”;
- Avinash Kaushik, one of the only men in the world for whom I’d cook dinner (the other ones being my Dad, my Beau and David Gray), author of “Web Analytics 2.0″ and “Web Analytics: An Hour a Day”; Digital Marketing Evangelist at Google and Co-Founder of Market Motive;
- Gary Vaynerchuk, author of “The Thank You Economy” and “Crush It!”
- Guy Kawasaki, a Canadian in a Hawaiian’s body, hockey aficionado, and co-founder of Alltop.com. Guy has been the chief evangelist of Apple and is the author of several books, the latest of which being “Enchantment”
There were several great takeaways from the event. I would require a very, very long post to assimilate all the great insight in one single entry, so I shall cover only one — it being the very first point that was brought to us, by no other than Ron Tite, the Master of Ceremonies at the conference. He’s the Vice President, Innovation Practice at Euro RSCG, and a speaker in his own right.
Ron reeled the crowd in with an anecdote about his experience with a “certain” air carrier that had lost his luggage. And boy, could I ever relate to this. “Said” carrier has lost my luggage not once, not twice, but thrice.
But I digress.
Ron’s suitcase was eventually returned to him, but days later than when he was promised, and not before he set up a Facebook Group petitioning the airline to return his belongings.
Here’s where it gets juicy (and Ron, if I’m not relating the story properly, please jump in and leave a comment): a luggage company heard about his trials and tribulations, and sent him a brand new suitcase which had some very… how shall I put this… special items inside:
Plastic handcuffs… Condoms… Wine… Clean underwear…
Accompanying the luggage there was a note along the lines of:
“We’ve heard about your experience and thought that we’d make things better by sending you a new suitcase, containing some items that we can just presume were inside it”.
At this point, conference attendees laughed, the ice was broken, and a great lesson was conveyed:
In social media, find someone’s trouble — a problem which you can fix.
Offer them a solution, even if the issue is not directly related to your product or service.
How could this relate, say, to a mechanic shop? Keep an eye on Facebook Groups and blogs around the area, and look for the poor soul who may be experiencing a gripe with another auto centre. For example, if someone received a less-than-stellar tune-up at a nearby establishment, offer to solve the problem for them, at no cost.
In the case of a cosmetics company, if it is brought to your attention that your competitor’s customers are having issues receiving mail orders, what can you do? Strategically select one of those people and send them products similar to what they had ordered.
Guy Kawasaki calls this providing assistance. Providing value.
I call it “building good business karma”. You know… the “what goes around comes around” type. The “you’ll receive it back a hundredfold” type.
People will remember you, and will talk about you. You’ll become memorable, for all the right reasons.
And here ends my blogging fast. No funny punch line — I’ll leave that to likes of Ron. But I ask you: do you have any stories to share about a business that has gone out of its way to solve your problem? Go ahead, don’t be shy, and share them in the comments!
PS: At 4,855 characters, I could say that I have finally broken my blogging fast, haven’t I?
A How-Not-To Guide to Promoting Facebook Pages
Spam. It can take many forms.
We’re all familiar with its more traditional incarnation – by e-mail. Then, there’s Twitter spam. You know the kind… you have barely started to follow someone, and BAM! There comes a “friendly” Direct Message, inviting you to visit their affiliate site. There’s also Twitter spam that arrives through “@ replies”: those that come from illegitimate Twitter accounts and contain a link to a titillating site where “ladies” (if you can call them that) await for you.
Worse, even, is when someone starts using his personal Twitter profile to retweet content from a client’s account.
Last but not least… there’s Facebook spam. Which is why I’m breaking my silence on this online marketing blog, after not having posted anything for a while and not following my own advice (that you should blog on a constant, frequent basis). This type of spam really, really annoys me. From what I recall, I’ve received messages from people in my Vancouver network inviting me to “like” the Page of a local company that I had never heard of; a charitable initiative in Alberta (whereas I’m based in British Columbia), and the Facebook Page for a tourism campaign, just to name a few. You can just tell that people are pimping their own projects. Have they no shame?
What’s even more deplorable is that these (hopefully well-intentioned) folks brand themselves as social media professionals! Little do they realize that they’re throwing their professionalism out the window!
Can they genuinely approach their client (or employer) with a clear conscience, and tell him that all those “likes” came from people who are genuinely interested in their brand?
There are many reasons why Facebook spam is just bad form. Here’s a few:
- Chances are that those friends, who were so nice to accept the Facebook Page suggestion, are not the target audience that will translate into conversions for the client. Yes, they have given their “thumbs up”, but by no means does that imply that they will pay attention to the updates posted on that Facebook Page.
- Those “likes” will probably disappear as quickly as they came. It’s always better to have a slow – yet steadily growing – number of supporters, than to have a windfall at first, followed by a high percentage of “unlikes” shortly after. I bet THAT won’t look too good on that monthly report to your client, will it?
- Facebook Insights (the metrics that Facebook provides about a Page’s performance) analyse the ratio of feedback that an update received (through comments, “likes”, etc) versus how many impressions the update generated. People who organically “like” a Facebook Page are more inclined to interact with that content, causing a higher feedback percentage per message. Now that’s something worth bragging about to a client in that monthly report.
- Last but not least… if you want to erode their professional respect for you, invite them to “like” a Facebook Page that you almost certainly know that they have absolutely no interest in.
There are other reasons why this practice should not be part of your online marketing arsenal, but I’ll stop here. Stop viewing your Facebook friends as commodity, and preserve that network that has taken you so long to grow.
The Crossroads Between Social Media and SEO: Upcoming Presentation at IIMA
A couple of weeks ago I was invited by the folks at the International Internet Marketing Association (IIMA) to speak on the same topic that I presented at IMC Vancouver 2010: “The Crossroads between Social Media & SEO”. The event will be at 6:00 pm on this coming Wednesday, October 13th, at the 4th floor of the YWCA Vancouver (535 Hornby Street).
To say that I’m excited is really an understatement. Having been to several talks at IIMA by respected professionals such as Darren Barefoot, Jason Billingsley, Warren Sukernek and Richard Goossen, I feel honoured that I’ve been chosen to join the roster of speakers at IIMA.
For those not familiar with IIMA, they’re an organization now in its twelfth year. Their goal is “to bring marketers, agencies and professionals together to discuss the capabilities and potential of Internet marketing”, and judging by past events I’ve attended, they have certainly been fulfilling this mandate.
Below is a sample of what you can expect to learn from the presentation:
- How a well-planned social media presence can increase your search engine visibility.
- The steps you’re probably already applying to search engine optimization, and which can be transplanted to your social media outreach for a stronger presence on Google and Bing.
- How strategic Twitter updates, blog posts, Facebook statuses and YouTube videos can help your search engine rankings.
- Facebook changes that affect search.
I owe a big thanks to Jose Uzcategui, John Hossack, Charity Robertson and all the folks at IIMA for promoting and making this event possible. I’m sure there are other names that I’m failing to mention.
If you’d like to join us, book your ticket online here. The cost for this IIMA is quite reasonable (CAD$38.25 for IIMA member, and CAD$45 for non-members)
I’m sure that many of us will get together at a pub nearby to continue to network and “talk shop” after the event, so feel free to join us there as well, and allocate some extra time for a pint!
“Does My Small Business Need a Web Site?”
Illustration credit: Luc Legay
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak at Freedom 55 Financial on how financial advisors can generate leads through social media and use social networks to grow their business. I couldn’t have asked for a better audience, especially at 8:00 am on a Friday! If you think that financial planners are nothing but stifled individuals with suits and ties, you only need to meet that bunch to change your mind. Laughs were had from both sides of the podium!
One thing that struck me almost immediately was that some financial advisors still don’t have a site. In fact, some of them even doubt the value of having one. What an eye-opener: here we are in the online marketing industry, presuming that every single business can take advantage of social media, when many don’t even have an online presence!
So, in true David Letterman style, The Online Strategy House presents you “The Top 10 Reasons Why You Need a Site”. Pretend you can hear Paul Shaffer in the background… and let’s go!
#10 – You prospects will very likely check you out online when deciding whether or not to become your newest client. A Web site is a perfect tool to build their confidence regarding your company.