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8 Step Social Media Strategy

April 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment

8 Step Social Media Strategy Inforgraphic

This post was originally published on Social Media Explorer

Although social media continues to thread its way into the fibre of more and more organizations, my experience is that many small to mid-sized companies are still lagging behind when it comes to the development and implementation of their social media strategy.

A recent study by the Altimeter Group might suggest otherwise, stating that “most companies feel they have fairly coherent social strategies”, but given the advanced nature of the sample i.e. social strategists, large organizations, etc. my sense is that the findings may not represent the experiences of the majority of companies that are using social media.

Aside: I tried to find some research to support my theory and came across a Mashable post referencing “new research finds that 72% of businesses that use social media do not have a clear set of goals or a clear strategy for their social media platforms”. Sadly, there was no link to the original study so the jury is still out.

As far as this infographic – It was inspired by Jay Baer’s “tool-agnostic” take on how to develop a social media strategy.

What are your thoughts about this strategic approach? Does your organization have a social media strategy in place? If so, how does it differ from the one represented in this infographic? The comments are yours.

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Social Media Transparency

February 4, 2013 By 1 Comment

social media transparency infographic

Originally posted on Social Media Explorer

The idea of business transparency is not a new one but social media dynamics may be forcing organizations to take another look at how openly they communicate with their audiences.

Mass adoption of social tools and technology have created an information democracy. Stakeholders are beginning to expect open access to relevant content and the ability to participate in dialogue that will help them satisfy their information needs. All this for the purpose of building trust in a product, service or organization.

Trust is the foundation of all relationships and relationships are what fuel business growth and long term success. Transparency across digital channels is a great way for organizations to start connecting with their audiences and slowly building trust.

This infographic contains a few ideas on how social media can be used to deliver on the promise of organizational transparency. Please feel free to share your experiences and ideas. The comments are yours.

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Social Media Workflow

January 3, 2013 By 7 Comments

Social Media Workflow Infographic

Originally posted on Social Media Explorer

News flash – there are costs associated with social media.

It’s well established that social media technologies – the applications, networks and platforms that drive tactical implementation – are not considered by most to be a cost barrier. The fact is that many tools are free or very affordable. But social media still has costs attached to it – a “different kind of expensive” as my friend Jay Baer likes to say.

The general consensus is that companies need to dedicate resources to social media (in the form of time and labor) in order to be successful. I would agree with this statement. But the question is, how much time exactly? Here is where things can get a little sketchy. For many organizations, social media hasn’t become part of the operation yet. As a result, a lot of work is still being done off the corner of people’s desk…or by interns.

This infographic is my take on the time investment required to develop an effective social media workflow. Major caveat – of course, every organization is different and any workflow that is designed and implemented needs to work towards the achievement of business goals. That being said, I feel the time scope represented here is far more realistic than the notion that organizations can get value from the social channel by investing “15 minutes a day”.

I’d love to get your thoughts. How much time does your company invest in managing their social media marketing and communication? Are there any tasks you would add to the workflow? The comments are yours.

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The Economics of Bad Influencer Outreach

November 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Economics of Bad Influencer Outreach

Originally posted on Social Media Explorer.

I received an email pitch recently that prompted me to question the economics of lazy outreach.

Is there risk to the bottom line for organization’s that cut corners in the way they reach out to prospects and influencers? My theory is that the practice of lackluster research, or worse, the lack of research altogether, combined with the use of form letters, spam and automated emails has the potential to erode business value.

Let’s look at the pitch that inspired this post and use it to help illustrate a business scenario:

We have heard some real good reviews about the content marketing services that you offer. We were wondering about your thoughts regarding inclusion of engaging infographics in your content marketing packages. [Company Name] can help you make your content marketing services more special and effective by creating visually appealing, viral infographics that would surely draw huge attention of the target audience.

Sadly, this is a pretty standard pitch. By investing 30 seconds and performing a Google search the person sending this email would have quickly been able to figure out that their pitch didn’t make any sense written as is. The fact that I already use infographics in my content marketing and that I wrote a book about infographics makes their pitch fall flat because it lacks relevancy. But more importantly, the lazy approach has some potential financial consequences in the following areas:

Lost Sales – Poor research blended with the lack of customized outreach can result in lost revenue opportunities. In this case, I didn’t object to the idea of being pitched but, rather, the pitch itself. Yes, I do create my own infographics but I also have a need to outsource infographic designs. If the pitch was written with that in mind it would have kept the door open with respect to future relationship management and business development.

Trust Erosion – A lack of care when it comes to outreach reflects the potential of a greater service problem. If the organization doesn’t cover off the basics when it comes to their outreach what possible gaps or flaws exist in their service delivery and support? This manifests itself in a couple of different ways: people sharing the outreach story with friends, colleagues or across the internet (see next point) or simply removing them from consideration when it comes to using or recommending their products and services.

Negative WOM – I chose not to call out the organization that contacted me in a public forum like SME. Not everyone shares the same view. There are many examples of organizations being used as case studies to highlight poor or misleading outreach practices. Haphazard outreach can definitely result in negative word of mouth that can erode the value of your brand.

OUTREACH TIPS

So how can you avoid some of these potential economic pitfalls when it comes to your outreach?

I like to think that common sense is your best guide – treat the people you are approaching in the same manner you would like to be treated. Be honest, do some research, don’t waste people’s time and offer a value proposition.

Here are a few of the things I like to do prior to reaching out to a prospect or influencer:

  • Blog Subscription – One of the first things I research is a prospects blog or website. I like to subscribe to RSS feeds using Google Reader and tend to skim through a number of posts going back as far as 6 months. My objective when it comes to referencing blog posts in any outreach is to be genuine – the best way to accomplish this is to actually dig into some the content and extract value from what you are reading. It’s very rare that you won’t find something interesting, thought provoking or debatable when you conduct this research. Remember, you don’t have to love or agree with everything someone says on their blog in order to genuinely engage them in dialogue. Sometimes offering a counter-point or different perspective is a great way to start a conversation during the outreach process. Also, I don’t like to pretend I’ve been a long time subscriber if that’s not the case. There’s nothing wrong with telling a prospect you just subscribed to their blog and have been catching up on old posts. Be transparent in any outreach you do.
  • Blog Comments – After reading a few posts and picking out the ones that really resonate with me I may submit a comment or two on some older posts. Normally I like to continue following a blog for a few weeks and comment when it’s appropriate. Remember to try to add value every time you submit a comment. Don’t simply placate or agree with what is written…try to offer an opinion or unique perspective.
  • Twitter Stream – In conjunction with blog research I like to follow prospects if they are on Twitter. I have a special column set up in HootSuite that filters content from people that I may be interested in connecting with down the road. There are a lot of smart people sharing great content on Twitter so I find pretty easy to find relevant, helpful posts to retweet or @mention. I also find you can gain some added insight though the links that prospects are sharing.

These are just a few of the things you can do when it comes to managing your prospect or influencer outreach. For more information check out this comprehensive Best Practice Guide to Blogger Outreach from the folks an inkybee (FREE, email required to download).

Personalized outreach is hard work that can take a lot of time but, in my opinion, it’s the only real effective way to nurture relationships that can add business value over time. What do you think? What other economic risks might be associated with poor outreach practices? The comments are yours.

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Social Business Design

October 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

social business design infographic

Originally posted on Social Media Explorer

I am fascinated by the evolving thought leadership around the subject of social business.

I believe in the idea that organizations adopting the use of social technology, flattening their organizational structure and making the shift towards less siloed communication and operational models will be in a better position to achieve their business objectives as the marketplace becomes more digitally connected.

As an idea or concept, social business is complex. The folks at Dachis Group offer this definition:

Social business draws on trends in technology (e.g., powerful mobile devices, widespread availability of high-speed Internet access, low cost of data storage), work (e.g., always-on culture, globalization), and society (e.g., propensity to share). Companies should care about social business because they can improve business outcomes (i.e., increase revenue or decrease costs). The core principles touch on all areas of a business, whether for business-to-customer engagement, employee-to-employee collaboration, or supply chain optimization. Making social business work requires focus on a company’s culture, connections, content exchanges, and measurement and analytics.

Unfortunately, as the term social business begins to move along the same popularity arc as “social media” it is getting overused and mis-defined to the point of clouding people’s ability to connect with its meaning and context. Recently this reached a boiling point for my esteemed colleague Jason Falls who proclaimed that the term “social business” is bullshit.

Semantics aside, social business presents a set of important ideas related to change theory that leaders are incumbent to discuss and understand. A post recently published by Dave Gray really helps crystallize the idea of social business design. In The Connected Company Gray uses a series of “city” metaphors to clearly explain how a social business is a “complex, adaptive system.”

His post inspired this information design. My goal here is to present a visual interpretation of these ideas aimed at building high level understanding and prompting discussion. Let me know your thoughts and ideas about social business. Does it make sense? The comments are yours.

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