The rise of corporate storytelling as a compelling USP tool

"It is my simple mission: to help everyone in our company understand the power of a single relationship and how to grow relationships to support our business. In almost every account we have ever lost, if we look back it is due to somewhere along the way we lost touch with the relationship."

These words were written by a social media coaching client of mine, Jane, She is a senior product manager with a major multi-national and her words resonate with the truth of experience both within internal corporate culture and with key customers. Jane is a warrior who loves to move into the trenches with her people and get up close and personal when helping them solve problems.

Jane is focused on the outcome she is seeking and builds relationships not because she is nice, kind, and compassionate. She actually is all of those things. She builds and nurtures relationships because she uses her brain. Jane is a pragmatic warrior who has been through countless battles with competitors, clients and upper management. Her philosophy of relationship building is based on what works. Her strategy will beat out more aggressive, brutish approaches over the long haul every time. But why does her strategy work?

She understands the value of networks, relationships and stories both in the online world and offline world. She knows that telling real human stories and embedding those with her stakeholders will win every time. And she is authentic, she uses story telling in a compelling real manner to boost the product she is responsible for into the mindset of her stakeholders. In short she allows them to participate in her story and that is what works. In this three part series we will explore the power of corporate story telling as a compelling tool and look at whose using it well.

But first let's look at the science of all of this, receent brain research suggests that the human brain is not so much a “thinking brain” but a relationship making brain. Dr. Gerald Huther, who leads the Dept. of Neurobiology at the Psychiatric Clinic of Gottingen, Germany, says “Until quite recently, it was held to be self-evident that human beings have a big brain to make it possible for them to think. However, the research results of the last years have made it clear that the structure and function of the human brain is especially optimized for building relationships. Our brain is thus much more a social organ than it is a thinking organ.”

Our brain has evolved over millions of years and our closest ancestors, the great apes, have much to teach us. Apes will fight and even kill members of other tribes who try to invade their territory. However, when scientists observe these animals in the wild they report that for the majority of time these animals spend much more time cooperating then fighting. Great apes have learned that building relationships increases the chance of success for all members of the community. By cooperating and specializing on essential tasks like food gathering, rearing the young and watching for dangerous invaders, they all benefit.

Jane is using her brain when she pays attention to building these interpersonal networks and she reminds her team that relationships take constant attention. She knows that especially in times of stress, building and strengthening relationships will win out over blame and arrogant behavior every time.

I'd like to give credit for much of this post,to a wonderful book which is well worth the read - The Elements of Persuasion Using Storytelling to Pitch Better. It's available on Amazon.

When was the last time you sat down with your troops and cascaded powerful stories of your USP related to your business into a warm human story? Have you integrated this into your business both offline and online, particularly social media?

Social Media - the basics, getting started

Companies including start-ups have shown that one can approach social media marketing in a diligent manner.

Be it for identifying the best skill set or reaping real benefits, such companies have set several benchmarks. The way such companies approach and handle social media marketing initiatives have ensured that social media has now taken its rightful place in the suite of marketing initiatives. Such campaigns can be evaluated using some traditional ROI metrics, plus there have been some new takes on what ROI means in the context of the social web.

Aligning a company’s social networking strategy with that of a company’s brand and then integrating social elements into the fabric of everything you do online:

I think, first and foremost, you have to understand your business goals and the metrics you are trying to influence, be it traffic, members, revenue. Next figure out which social networks your market uses the most and how best to promote your brand. A big challenge is justifying resources towards a social marketing strategy so you can manage, monitor, measure and integrate what you do. It’s better to concentrate on a couple of initiatives and not spread yourself too thin. This will also make it easier to take an integrated approach and allow you to effectively cross promote your initiatives.

How should you approach social media marketing as an ongoing initiative:

Once you’ve launched your initiative, you do have to invest time into monitoring how it’s going so you can feed the fire. Listen and respond to tweets or blog posts. If something isn’t working, be honest, change it fast and let people know, whether it’s a small bug, or an oversight (e.g. Google Buzz) with regards to their privacy settings. The community will let you know and it’s important to acknowledge and communicate fixes or progress to resolution. Listening to feedback is a valuable way to inform the product. Also, measure what you can on the likes of bit.ly or Google Analytics, and apply tracking codes to events, such as Facebook Connect, so you can make changes and track improvement.

What makes people contribute to a social site/ why do people get excited about using social media:

Why do people talk to each other? This is just another way of exchanging information and having a conversation. Whether it’s your friends on Facebook or a group of people who share a common interest, social networks facilitate the conversation. It’s immediate so you can give and receive feedback. A response can also spark ideas, suggestions or debate from other participants. This also makes it fun and engaging to those who are participating and those observing from the sidelines. There’s also fulfilling the basic desire of human nature of recognition, attention and reward. That holds true both personally and professionally.

Countering low social media perception:

Again, people talk and listen to their friends. Social networks just happen to make those conversations more public. As a company or a brand you have to tune in where you can, participate where it’s appropriate and respond. Again, use tools like Google Alerts to monitor blogs and Twitter to monitor what's being said. Let people know as you roll out new enhancements or features that help solve issues that have been raised. View social media as another vehicle for customer service.

What are the best ways to measure the ROI of advertising campaigns in a social media environment:

In making their investment, I think most marketers are more concerned with building a presence on social networking sites rather than paying for advertising. That being said, ad spending on Facebook is soaring and expected to grow 34 percent in the United States in 2010 (eMarketer). The best opportunity exists in tying paid media to earned media. This is unlikely to come from classic banner ads but more through engagements ads, which are more viral and encourage people to interact with the brand. The most popular metric to measure ROI from advertising is still traffic, although engagement and softer metrics like number of followers and fans are important to track.

Traditional online campaigns that are either CPM or CPC based, though familiar, not necessarily being the optimal marketing tactics to use in the social media world:

Yes. Most marketers are looking to invest in building a social presence and capitalise on earned media—what consumers are saying and sharing about your company and brand. This way you have trusted, influential third parties talking about your brand and getting your message out for you rather than relying on paid placement alone. For that to happen you need to at least provide tools and buttons to allow information to be shared, offer something people feel compelled to share such as good content, trips, deals and contests, and invest effort in reaching out to influential bloggers for reviews.

How should companies differentiate between revenue and tracking:

Again it comes down to what your objectives are, which are not going to be the same for everyone. There are at least three categories of social media metrics: exposure (your reach), engagement (interactions) and outcomes (revenue, cost per lead, profit). Although hard metrics are desirable, it’s important to track soft metrics too, such as followers and friends because this contributes to building trust and goodwill towards your brand.

Nearly 20% of Marketing Dollars Will Go to Social Marketing in 5 Years

Social media networks are a marketers dream. With over 500 million active users on Facebook today, there’s no doubt that Facebook is a social media powerhouse. And although Facebook is a social networking favorite, it’s not alone.

Marketers are actively taking note of many different social media opportunities and beginning to implement new strategic social initiatives at a higher rate than ever before. Here are 3 new studies that show social media is on the rise. As a business you cannot afford NOT to participate:

#1: Small Business Doubles Social Media Adoption

At least one positive result from the economic downturn is the rapid growth of social media marketing.

A recent study, “The State of Small Business Report,” sponsored by Network Solutions, LLC and the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, points to economic difficulties as the catalyst for social media’s rapid popularity.

The study results show that social media usage by small business owners increased from 12% to 24% in just the last year, and almost 1 out of 5 actively uses social media as part of his or her marketing strategy.

Here’s a breakdown of what the small businesses reported as the main uses of social media marketing:

* 75% have a company page on a social networking site
* 69% post status updates or articles of interest on social media sites
* 57% build a network through a site such as LinkedIn
* 54% monitor feedback about the business
* 39% maintain a blog
* 26% tweet about areas of expertise
* 16% use Twitter as a service channel

According to the study, different industries are adopting social media marketing at different rates, and while many industries have started using social media marketing in their efforts to reach more customers, many still have not positioned it as their top priority.

According to the survey, “Professional services firms, real estate businesses and entertainment/food/lodging businesses rely more on email marketing than other types of small businesses. Firms in the education/health/social services sector rely more on social media marketing and direct mail. Not surprisingly, retailers depend more on print and broadcast advertising.” Those slow to adopt to the new way of communicating via social media may remain in the backwoods for years and may simply be unable to catch up with their more aggressive and savvy competitors

The report also measured small businesses’ expectations of social media. While 58% feel that social media “met expectations,” 12% feel it has “exceeded expectations,” while 25% feel social media has “fallen short of expectations.”

Some of the reasons given for social media’s shortfalls were:

* 50% feel it has used up more time than expected
* 19% believe social media has lost them money
* 17% feel social media has allowed people to criticize their business

Overall, social media use by small business is a major growth area. The report says it best: “This dire environment has not stifled innovation. The most successful small businesses are competing by offering superior service and creativity and small businesses are rapidly embracing social media as a way for keeping engaged with customers and tapping knowledge resources.”

#2: Nearly 20% of Marketing Dollars Will Go to Social Marketing in 5 Years

In just the last 6 months, marketers have shifted their attitudes toward social media marketing spending. This was recently affirmed in the new study, “The CMO Survey”, from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and the American Marketing Association. A key finding: Social media marketing budgets continue to rise. According to the results, businesses currently allocate 6% of their marketing budgets to social media, an allotment they expect to increase to 10% during the next year and 18% over the next 5 years.

Back in August 2009, marketers had already planned on devoting more money to social media. However, in February 2010, marketers reported that they plan to allocate one-fifth of their marketing budgets to social media marketing in the next 5 years. This is a definite increase from the 2009 projections. The study features the following comparison from August 2009 to February 2010:

Current marketing budget spending on social media:

August 2009: 3.5%

February 2010: 5.6%

Marketing budget spending on social media in the next 12 months:

August 2009: 6.1%

February 2010: 9.9%

Marketing budget spending on social media in the next 5 years:

August 2009: 13.7%

February 2010: 17.7%

According to the director of the survey, Fuqua Professor Christine Moorman, “Even though many are still experimenting and learning how best to use social media tools, these results indicate that marketers think social media marketing is here to stay and will play an increasingly important role in their work in acquiring and retaining customers in the future.”

#3: Mastering Social Media: A Top Goal for Marketers

Anderson Analytics and Marketing Executives Networking Group recently released a report titled “Marketing Trends 2010” with some interesting insight into the minds of marketing executives.

Marketing executives were asked to choose the most important trends and buzzwords to pay attention to in 2010, marketing ROI (getting a good return on marketing efforts) was number one, with 58% saying it was the most important trend to keep an eye on. But what’s even more interesting is that social media made the top 10 list, with 42% choosing it as one of the top trends to watch. In addition, 72% said they work for companies that are planning social media initiatives in 2010.

The study also explored social media presence and reported interesting findings when comparing personal social media use among marketing executives and their company’s social media use.Individual executives are most likely to use networking tools like Facebook and LinkedIn, while companies are more likely to keep a blog than individual executives.

Equally interesting is the consensus on how to carry out the social media initiatives. Marketers turn to internal employees, social media consultants and interactive agencies for support and are less likely to use PR and ad agencies. The growth is certainly in social media marketing agencies.

When selecting a supplier for social media initiatives, marketing executives focus on the influence over a target market and the extent of a consultant’s network as major deciding factors.

These three surveys are great indicators that we will continue to see social media marketing rise and perhaps over time see less of the traditional marketing strategies. Social media is here to stay so for those still working within organisations where it is a low priority your challenge is to show how linear marketing is no longer the norm. Your customers hear about your products from many, many different sources.

Have you seen a major shift to social marketing initiatives in your company? Is there still a hesitancy to make a substantial leap to this new way of marketing or has the shift been an easy transition?

Tips for creating great Blog content

I often get asked how do we keep our blog interesting and topical. Often the solution is simly a matter of brainstorming with your team. You will be surprised by the stories that abound within your organsiation that will indeed interest your audiences, customers and add focus to your business. Here are some tips.


1. Industry News – whats happening this week, this month

2. Industry Trends – where is the industry going, what are the emerging hot segments

3. Customers Pain Points – Write posts that provide solutions for your customers
problems

4. Customers successes – Write up a case study about a clients successful project,
they will often let you publish their name

5. What not to do – highlighting where something hasn’t worked (the names shall
remain anonymous of course)

6. Create a video blog post by interviewing a successful client – this can a
powerful providing authentic evidence of authority and credibility for both you
and the client

7. Write articles for the different types of customers that are relevant for each
of your vertical markets

8. Brainstorm blog post topics with colleagues and management and create a list for
future reference and planning

9. Subscribe to the top industry blogs in your market, both company blogs and
personal blogs for ideas

10. Look through your latest news releases for ideas

11. Sign up other staff to write on topics in your industry or market that they are
passionate about

12. Develop a series of how to blog posts

13. Turn the “how to” blog posts into short videos

14. When you have a great idea, go straight to your “add new” button and write the
headline and save it as a draft or write it down before you forget it.

15. Include a great iconic image at the start of the blog that catches the eye

16. Case Studies are always popular to write about and not just your own

17. Place Powerpoint presentations on your blog by posting and then embedding links
from Slideshare

18. Run polls and surveys on your blog

19. Create great headlines that catch people attention and makes them want to read
the rest of the article

20. Add credbility banners such as how many subscribers, number of hits, blog grade
and any awards

21. Provide “share this” buttons to Facebook and Twitter as a minimum

22. Implement “subscribe” buttons via RSS and Email

23. Write in bite size chunks and use bullet points so readers can quickly and easy
consumption

24. Break up large blocks of text with iconic and interesting images

25. Take screen shots to place in your post using Software like Snagit to highlight
points .. a picture is worth a 1000 words

26. Be yourself even if it is a company blog.. be authentic.

27. Optimize your blog for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

28. Promote and distribute your posts on to other social media platforms such as
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

29. Make the blog easy to find on your company’s web page with a large bannner or
button

30. Finally, have fun, mix up the types of posts and add some humour occasionally

What makes your blog hum? Look forward to hearing your suggestions

Social Media Strategy - The Basics

Social Media Marketing has the presented the marketer with so many choices in the last few years.

* What platforms should I be using to promote my blog or company?
* How many channels will I select to achieve my goals?
* Should I stick with what I know or what should I push the boundaries and
test something new?
* What channels should I use to to communicate to my target markets?
* What are the messages I should send out?
* What listening tools should I use?
* What apps should I use to increase my effeciency?
* What analytics tools are the best for our situation?

So where do you start?

First: Define your audience – get very clear on who you are communicating to (eg Is it Gen Y, Gen X or Baby Boomers?)

Second: Set the goals (they don’t necessarily need to be all financial in nature) – Leads, brand awareness,quality of leads, increase in dollar value of the sale and number of sales

Third: Develop your social media marketing strategy

Fourth: Then the tactical level of selecting the different social media platforms that are appropriate for your audience .. where do they hang out? Facebook, YouTube or other channels? You then can calculate what resources you need such as financial, tools and people.

Fifth: Optimize and Integrate Your Social Media Channels such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn as well as Optimizing your website and blog for search and don’t forget the PR. Many companies are now cranking up their PR efforts as this skillset has probably a better understanding of social media than most.

Why Should Your Company Care About Social Marketing?

For anyone who's grown up in the world of traditional marketing, some of the terms getting tossed around these days, like social media, social networks, and online community, can be extremely confusing. Even more abstract is a concept that integrates all of these terms—social marketing. Whatever happened to easy-to-understand concepts like newspaper ads, direct mail, email marketing, ‘our website’ and search engine optimization? With these more traditional terms, all are discrete activities and their name tells us exactly what they mean.

As someone who's spent time in both marketing camps—traditional and online—I'm here to offer a little clarity. Let's start by explaining some of the terms mentioned above and why they are different before we drill down into social marketing:

•Social Media: The facilitating of conversation around any type of content—expert or consumer generated—using social tools like blogs, ratings and reviews, videos, and life-streaming services like Twitter.

•Social Networks: A collection of like-minded individuals focused more on "who you know" versus "what you know." Social networks like Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn are often heavy on user profiles with some light tool functionality mixed in. (This is quickly changing as public social networks realize that they need to do a better job getting their members to engage.)

•Online Community: Most experts have come to define "community" as a place where social tools like those mentioned above in the definition of "social media" meet online profiles like those mentioned in the definition of "social networks." To that end, online communities combine the concept of "who you know" with "what you know" and often rally around lifestyle topics or areas of practice (e.g. search engine marketing).

Now to social marketing, which is a blend of the tools and techniques listed above. Building upon the three other definitions, social marketing is the ability to drive measurable and meaningful results by creating expert and consumer-generated content with managed online communities to help improve things like customer loyalty, engagement, and advocacy.

Hopefully those definitions provide a little clarity around the concepts of "social" and "online community." So the bigger questions are, "Why should you as a marketer care?", and "What could you expect if you were to add social marketing programs to your existing arsenal of tools and techniques?"

For one, the current economy is forcing us to get more done with less. This means less money for acquisition vehicles like email, direct mail, and online advertising. If your budget is shrinking, now is the perfect time to focus on customer retention, cross-sell, and ultimately referrals.

One thing to keep in mind is that any of your marketing efforts—social or traditional—will work best when done in conjunction with one another. Just like you wouldn't choose to do online advertising instead of search engine marketing, you should think about how combining search engine optimization strategies, email marketing, direct mail, and social marketing will maximize the way your acquire and engage with your customers.