Are You Ready for Automated Social Media?

The future of Facebook was discussed in Harvard Business Review this week (Piskorski, Mikolaj. March 3, 2014.) "Today, we follow Facebook and update friends on our doings. In the not too distant future, predicts Mikolaj Piskorski, Facebook will follow us and call half the planet customers...Facebook [will become] a prospective medium--a dynamic, real-time driver that will automatically gather current and future information that wearable devices will automatically broadcast about us, match it with what our friends are auto-broadcasting, and then deliver recommendations on what we should do socially." This article projects what marketing must become, a useful tool, rather than an intrusive uninvited source of promotions."

You might also be interested in very recent statistics on the most commonly used social media programs and applications, posted on DMR Expanded Ramblings: (Smith, Craig. Feb. 16. 2014).

Social media "shares", whether online or in person are trusted sources for product information. Indeed Word of Mouth (WOM) marketing communications are a powerful force, since everyone who talks about your product, "likes" your Facebook page, connects with the organization through Twitter, etc. is essentially recommending the product.

People may not always say positive things about their experience, so it is up to the organization to track and manage Word of Mouth where possible, and it is very possible with online media, through such methods as Google analytics, Sprout Social, managing the opens and responses in Constant Contact and MailChimp, etc. Recency and relevancy matter in social media and online communications, so the organization needs to be sure their "positioning" message is current, and that the WoM communications include that along with the positives and negatives from "friends", "followers", visitors and buyers.

One competitive edge that all companies have nowadays is the capability to inexpensively maintain ongoing communications with markets and customers - the key to rapid response and cost-effective innovation, which actually results in products and services that are sought after. As I've said before, I believe in a dialogue model (through integrated and interactive messaging and conversations), facilitating customers and partners to discover their own reasons for using the company's products and services, and therefore owning the results. I focus on working with partners and customers to transform their concerns into shared goals. 

This means that the goal is to create a sort of Luke's Diner online --people want the guy behind the diner counter to be Luke, not a faceless corporation that they don't trust. Customers want personality, attention and fun.  

Social media and marketing, which are integral to my business as well as my classrooms, must be a strategic, planned, integrated process, for any successful business. For example, consider that Facebook and MySpace connect to other media and communication tools as integrated social media, including private messaging and public newsfeeds. Blogs (web-logs or articles) can be linked to almost any type of social media, and ideally are a tab or separate page on a website, where outside links take the visitor directly to the article.

The first step in marketing planning, as well as effective online marketing, is determining the objective - is it sales, market share, raising awareness? How will those be measured? Then, the process involves much research on the market environmental factors and market segments. Who is most likely to make a decision in favor of the marketing objective and why?

Only at the end of this process, when the research has been done to identify and forecast quantitatively what will happen in the market environment, and who and how many the target audience is, can the promotional message be developed, and the best channels and methods determined for communicating with that audience.   

Which companies that you do business with do you think are achieving the goal of marketing as a relationship building tool, rather than an intrusive messaging method? These are the ones who understand the future of marketing.

Piskorski, Mikolaj. March 3, 2014. HBR. Facebook's Future.

Smith, Craig. Feb. 16, 2014.  DMR. How Many People Use 378 of the Top Social Media
Youtube: Gilmore Girls TV Series (200-2007) Kirk's Town Tour - Luke's Diner

Marketing - A Conversation, Not a Monologue

I had a student ask this week, "What is the future of marketing?" That is definitely the $1 billion question for marketers. Marketing will continue to evolve into a social interaction that marketers have to be involved in, rather than pushing interruptive messaging out from the company. This means marketers have to incorporate audience opinion in their messaging — both negative and positive, and must provide a personal connection — not just information.

As Entrepreneur says in "Adding Value", "Instead of interrupting their day with ads or emails, advertisers must create something customers will choose to engage with...Imagine a local bank that teaches customers how to avoid fees." Like Southwest Airlines does on Twitter, or Reason Magazine does on Facebook. It is a conversation, not a monologue. It is NOT the "celebrity" posting that "I am brushing my teeth right now", but it IS about kristin_tweets at SWA telling someone on Twitter what the impacts of the weather will be for a certain flight, or that she will see them in row 14 on flight 27 if they want an extra drink coupon.

With the audience interactively in control of the messaging, everyone will need to pay attention to recency and relevancy in what the internet is showing about their "brand", whether they are a marketer for a corporation, or they are simply an individual who is out there. Marketers (and individuals) will only be able to control messaging that they themselves put out there, so the key will be to consistently be involved in the ongoing online conversation, post recent relevant information, and stay on top of what others are posting -- whether that is a "gotcha" photo on Facebook in which they have been tagged, or a press release in the local media with their name.

Chief Marketing Technologist says, in listing 5 great skills for marketers of the future, "...the real skill to have is the ability to look beyond the numbers to see the underlying patterns and trends — to coax out explanations and ideas from the endless sea of bits. This is data analysis, but as intuitive as it is analytical."

PR Squared gets it right in their recent blog..."In the future, the Web you know will be based on the Web that knows you...The reason Facebook and Google will be the long-term winners: it’s not just the fact that they have critical mass, but that that critical mass comes at a time when Social Networks are not justdestinations (a la the old AOL and MySpace), but are becoming integral to the holistic Web Experience."

What does "holistic Web experience" mean? This means that the entire internet exposure for anyone will be their "brand" — everything will be connected. Every individual, as well as every organization, will have to consider whether their total presence on the internet provides a consistent "brand" — how they are positioned in the minds of those people that search them out — friends, companies, recruiters, etc.

The product or service no longer matters — it is not features and benefits people want, but what it will do to enhance their living. Rick Robinson, an E Lab cofounder, says on FastCompany, "People use products to make meaning in their lives and make statements about who they are...Nearly all the tools of conventional marketing — focus groups, customer surveys, segmentation — are designed to measure what people think. But the secret to breakthrough innovation, E Lab believes, is understanding how people behave: what they do and how they live...don't ask people what they want, watch how they live. Let's go to the videotape!"

So, what does this mean for a marketer —get a Twitter or Facebook account for your company? The future of marketing is to create a sort of Luke's Diner online —people want the guy behind the diner counter to be Luke, not a faceless corporation that they don't trust.

Customers want personality, attention and fun. Your job as a marketer is to make your company accessible and, most of all, human.

Patients First Letter to Congress

December 17, 2009

Dear Representatives and Senators,

I urge you to oppose any legislation that imposes greater government control over my health care that would mean fewer choices for me and my family and even deny treatments to those in need. Congress must not let government get between my family and my doctor. Please protect patient freedom and expand our health care options with real reforms – focused on patients, not on politics.

The Congress is caught up in the steamrolling of initiatives that every citizen will pay for decades and lose what remains of our Bill of Rights. Every Democratic President since Roosevelt has had this agenda, and the repurcussions of this will be no different than all the social policies that are ruining us and making citizens helpless victims to government programs.

Sincerely,
Ms. Jackie E Barnett

Max Lucado - Just Like Jesus

A good friend gave me a Christmas card with the bottom paragraph of these excerpts from “Just Like Jesus” By Max Lucado. I think it is a great hope for all of us.

"God loves us. And not only does God love each of us exactly as we are, He wants us, little by little to become like Him. [We need to be reminded] just how far God will go to transform us into His likeness...

"Don’t be satisfied with angels. Don’t be content with stars in the sky. Seek him out as the shepherds did. Long for Him as Simeon did. Worship Him as the wise men did. Do as John and Andrew did: ask for His address. Do as Matthew did: invite Jesus into your house. Imitate Zacchaeus. Risk whatever it takes to see Christ.

"God rewards those who seek Him. Not those who seek doctrine or religion or systems or creeds. Many settle for these lesser passions, but the reward goes to those who settle for nothing less than Jesus Himself. And what is the reward? What awaits those who seek Jesus? Nothing short of the heart of Jesus. “And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 TLB)"

Price and the Strategic Competitive Advantage

The primary job of an organization is to bring in enough revenue not only to survive, but to grow. This is the case with non-profits as well as profits.

Generally, an organization grows best by serving their customer's interests. However, this isn't to say that the customer should drive all operational and strategic choices within the organization, but that the organization should serve their target group of customers best among competing alternatives (determined by the environmental analysis), and relative to whatever the organization's strategic competitive advantage is (as determined through the SWOT analysis).

Not all customers are interested primarily in the lowest price. Also, as anyone in marketing and sales understands, focusing on providing the lowest price is the most difficult way to maintain a competitive position over time. What most customers want is value, rather than low price, and often there are other needs or interests that are more important than price or value, such as image or safety.

Thus, the strategic marketing process. It is up to the marketing group to find out where the gaps are in met versus unmet needs in their target audience, search which environmental factors will impact their marketing, and understand the strategic options available to build the best marketing mix strategies and tactics.

Life Worth Living

Saw this on a physician client's desk today...

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bank accounts smaller, homes happier, the past forgotten and the future worth living."

It is the truth as I know it, looking backwards 30 years, and now seeing my children with babies...

Game-Changing Advances in Human Freedom

Last Fall, in the closing weeks of the election, Judy Shelton spoke prophetically in her article, "A Capitalist Manifesto" in the WSJ, Oct 13, 2008. Here we are, eight months down the road from her review of Nicolas Sarkozy's call for global reform, and her discussion of the principles that define honest capitalism - the values that define the character of individuals and should underpin the legitimacy of governments.

She quoted Sarkozy, speaking before Congress last November, "America did not tell the millions of men and women who came from every country in the world and who -- with their hands, their intelligence and their heart -- built the greatest nation in the world: 'Come, and everything will be given to you.' She said: 'Come, and the only limits to what you'll be able to achieve will be your own courage and your own talent.'"

Shelton drew a picture of our history in her warnings of the future...

"You know that America's founding economic philosophy is in deep trouble when candidates for our nation's highest office refer easily to "Wall Street greed" and "predatory lenders" to explain the global financial crisis. And those are the Republicans.

"Where are the champions of free-market capitalism? Someone needs to remind us all that two great works were published in 1776, both representing game-changing advances in human freedom: The Declaration of Independence, authored by future American president, Thomas Jefferson, and "The Wealth of Nations" by Scottish economist Adam Smith. Both embrace the social wisdom of individual liberty; both extol the importance of personal responsibility.

"...If we are to build a new foundation for global financial and monetary relations...we must summon the intellectual depth and political will that can only derive from a strong sense of moral purpose."

Finding Your Way

Heard on the radio, "It's easier to act your way into a new set of feelings than to feel your way into a new set of actions."

Entrepreneuring in a Recession

"Don't bunt. Aim out of the ballpark. Aim for the company of immortals." - David Ogilvy

"You're the only one who can make the difference. Whatever you dream, go for it." - Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

"Serving the needs of others is the only legitimate business today." - A.P. Giannini

I could go on. Or rather, Evan Carmichael did, in his site to provide inspiration and education for business leaders (scroll over the faces...new ones are added, so go back).

It takes at least a daily dose of inspiration for entrepreneurs to lead these days. Is it worth starting a business in this economic climate? Is it worth persevering in an enterprise you have started? My resources say that actually this is one of the best times. It is a boot-camp that sets the culture and the operations that provide for strong character and growth in a business.

"Everybody says this is a good time to start a business. Well, is it?" In Is this a good time to start a business? BNET Feb 12, 2009 , Steve Tobak weighs the pros and cons, as well as letting us know what the gurus at BusinessWeek, Wall Street Journal, and others have to say. "If you’ve got an idea, can get your business plan ducks in a row, can find capital, and have a long enough runway to survive until customers have money to spend, then it’s a good idea. If not, then it’s not. But that’s just me."

In the January 19, 2009 issue of BusinessWeek, Emily Thornton outlined for entrepreneurs a game plan "Managing Through a Crisis: The New Rules." "In times of turmoil, opportunities abound. But taking advantage of them will require fast reflexes, an aggressive attitude, and serious changes to the status quo."

Executive coach Marshall Goldsmith advises, "Judge less, help those who are down, focus on the future, and understand your own emotions."

What Happened to Performance?

This recession is the best thing that has happened to us in decades -- I mean it. Despite, or I'd say because of, the political and economic environment, top performers are rising out of the malaise of easy wealth, claiming their right to lead, getting beyond just surviving, and digging deep into their minds and souls to be all they can be again - innovate, develop, produce, perform.

"For the past few months you’ve had an excuse for when life didn’t go your way. . . You couldn’t pay your mortgage and your house was foreclosed on? Don’t worry, it wasn’t you, it was the recession. You lost your job and now you’re stuck at home cruising Twitter ‘looking for a new one’ all day? Don’t fret. It wasn’t you, it’s the recession. Can’t find new clients so you’re left bitterly blogging that clients suck and the frauds in the industry are stealing your dollars? Calm down, pretty, have a cookie and take a nap. It’s the recession. Actually, it’s probably not the recession. It’s probably you." I say, Right On, Lisa Barone!

In Why Your Marketing Isn't Effective (Geoffrey James) BNET Feb 5, 2009, and When Opportunity Knocks, It's Too Late (Steve Tobak) BNET Feb 3, 2009, the authors provoke readers to be proactive, tie compensation to performance, and "Sure, there other factors like technology and luck, but if you want to be successful in business, you need to take risks by acting on your own ideas and intuition. If you wait for opportunity to knock, it’ll likely be too late."

I'm looking forward to the book due out in August by Michael Beer and his HBR colleagues, High Commitment High Performance: How to Build A Resilient Organization for Sustained Advantage. "Starting with leaders who have the right values, Beer ... outlines what practitioners must do in HR, structure, systems, goals, culture, and strategy to create high-performance organizations."

Consider those words - "leaders who have the right values"...the mere fact that those words are being highly debated in this age is a huge plus for our society.