CK's Blog

SBMU: Two days, tons of topics, tips and takeaways

I'm so pleased to announce I'll be joining the knowledge-savvy, ultra-friendly group at the Small Business Marketing Unleashed ("SBMU") conference in Columbus, Ohio on September 22nd and 23rd.

SBMU is a conference that's BIG on teaching actionable strategies and tactics but intentionally keeping the format to no more than 100 attendees. The size ensures that everyone gets a lot of attention, as well as attendees getting to know one another.

What will we be covering? A TON. Search Engine Guide's Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Laycock and crew have developed a two-day event brimming with sessions, workshops and clinics covering everything small businesses want to know about online marketing--and needn't be afraid to ask. From site architecture to search advertising, building communities to blogging for business, site analytics to social media conversations, podcasting, videocasting, usability, creative networking events and, well, lots more. I better rest up, eh?

Where do I come in? I'll be presenting not one but TWO juicy topics packed with How's What's, Why's and lots of action points. Because I love action. And, rumor has it, because I'm passionate about marketing, too. (OK, so I started that rumor.) Here's information on my sessions:

BIG-Impact Branding

Why sell a humdrum hamburger when you can market a happy meal? A drop of chocolate when you can divine the Hershey's kiss? A gigantic database when users go ga-ga over Google? Make no mistake, brand matters--no matter the size of your business. After all, branding doesn't require a big budget...just BIG ideas.

Whether your company targets consumers or professionals, a strong brand is your single best shot of making sure your business stands out, stands apart, generates high sales and has staying power.

In this session, you'll be walked you through the What's, Why's and How's of creating and maintaining a compelling, unique brand--and how to develop brand programs that leverage old media and new.

Connecting the Dots...

As online conversations grow and spread, there's a good chance that people are "talking" about your brand using the tools of social media. But how can you find out what they're saying...and how should you be responding?

In this workshop, we'll be connecting the dots of (1) how to monitor what people are saying about your brand + (2) how to leverage their talk to grow relationships and revenues + (3) which techniques to use in responding to positive and negative feedback--as well as tips for engaging brand advocates.

If you're a small business looking to make a BIG impact, then SBMU is perfect for you--just go here for all the details. We'd love to have you join us!

This post is about Karaoke. Except not really.

This weekend I went to Karaoke with a few of my friends. One of them is a pitch-perfect singer, one is assuredly not.  The crowd was equally split between people who use Karaoke as way to get their singing fix and those who just want to be silly.

To be sure, I fall into the latter group as marketing, not music, is my expertise.

I've not done Karaoke a tremendous amount in my life; maybe three or four times all told. It's an absolute blast and I enjoy it, but it's never been an entertainment activity that I pursue on a regular basis like, say, film or theatre.

And while Karaoke was a brilliant invention, this post isn't about the activity or the technology. It's about the man (the host) who was facilitating this particular show. He was a Karaoke master.

Except not really.

While he had a perfect voice, quickly got many people up on stage (and then got them off the stage), had top-notch equipment and an affable disposition, his gift is the most natural form of marketing that I've seen in some time.

In fact, I enjoyed watching him as much as I did the vast--and varied!--range of characters crooning to hits spanning the 50s -90s.

Why was he so good? Because he helped everyone look better. Be it shaking the tambourine to complement their particular musical selection, chiming-in to provide them a real-time back-up chorus, ensuring that everyone got a chance to sing, helping them muster their courage when starting out a song...or helping them get back on track when they got lost between lyrics...his facilitation led to a more excited crowd (energy is crucial in Karaoke), a more relaxed group (thus, more participation--as Karaoke is not so fun when only 4 people do a zillion songs each) and a crowd that will come back for more of his shows...and refer him to more gigs.

Because when you stand out, people notice when your brand is missing--be it from supermarket shelves or other Karaoke venues with mediocre hosts (who only facilitate the efficacy of the tools, not the experience).

And while the Karoake equipment is his tool, his facilitation technique is his true product/brand...with his attention to detail and customers as his differentiators. Sure, anyone can buy equipment (Karaoke machines, microphones, an exhaustive library of songs, a set of top-notch speakers). But tools are just that and are easily replicated.

Those that are gifted, or are just natural marketers--no matter their profession--place their focus on their customers (instead of the tools). And thusly, those are the brands that win hearts, minds and market share. Because those are the brands for which there simply are no alternatives.

Amazing how many companies and professionals focus on tools, not craft, and focus on equipment instead of customer experiences. Perhaps they, too, need to attend this particular Karaoke show to see natural marketing in action.

Oh, my Karaoke selections included songs from Garth Brooks, The Beatles and Journey. I botched all of them equally. I'm sorry I didn't get any of these on video for you to enjoy; I truly wasn't thinking ;-).

Let's not be telling clients and companies that "WOM is free!" Why not? Because it's not true.

WOM (Word of Mouth) explained here.

This "WOM is free!" notion is simply not true. In fact it's altogether untrue. I've seen this written and heard this said lately by professionals and I just shake my head.

(I shake my head left to right as in "oh no!" rather than shaking it up and down as in "ah, yes!").

Encouraging WOM (aka "buzz") or word-of-mouth marketing is an investment of time or money. Or both. For example...

If you make a stellar product or service that yields buzz, you have invested both time and money into making that product or service so very stellar...and WOM is the result of the time and money you wisely spent in creating value for your audiences.

If you develop an amazing event or program that yields WOM, then you have invested time and money into conceiving, planning, producing and promoting the event or program that engendered the well-deserved WOM.

If your company joins a community to increase its profile and WOM--vis-a-vis a blog, a social network or a microblog like Twitter--your company's employees are spending time interacting with that community. My assumption of course is that you don't pay your employees for their time with magic beans.

The same goes for listening and monitoring conversations. You see, the practice of turning the freely given information into intelligence also requires an investment of time. Now, if you retain a company to do the monitoring for you then you are also spending money on this exercise...as my assumption is that you don't pay the monitoring company in magic beans, either.

If you're a consultant that publishes a blog or develops a groovy program for the community, then you are spending time on that program versus another groovy one. And, while your talents are your asset, time is your commodity.

Time well spent? Absolutely.

But time is money.

If you are a consultant, agency or firm that is retained by a company to "generate buzz for us!" then that company is investing money into the consultant, agency or firm. It's usually referred to as a retainer and paid in greenbacks (vs. magic beans).

Now, social media tools are quite cost-efficient. Especially when compared to, say, a glitzy primetime TV ad campaign or display ad in the Sunday edition of The New York Times.

But social media requires an investment of time. As well as some savvy professionals, or employees. And I think I've pretty well established that time = money. And that savvy professionals require more than magic beans.

Ergo, WOM is not free.

It's actually one of the best investments you make in your customers and prospects.

Fact is, I think it actually decreases its perceived value when we say WOM, or leveraging WOM's insights (as in monitoring conversations), is free. Getting attention from our audiences is not free, either. In fact it's some of the hardest work you'll ever do and you'll spend both time and money doing it.

And that's the truth.

Unlike "WOM is free!"

(which is an untruth)

PS: All that said, WOM by customers and consumers is "given" freely. They spend their time doing so because they love (or hate) your product, service, cause, book or idea just that much. The only time it's not given freely is when pesky organizations pay people to blog about products or services that they don't really care about, they just care about getting paid. And those companies are usually "outed" and that results in negative WOM...which, consequently, is VERY COSTLY to organizations.

PPS: I've nothing against magic beans ;-).

To my colleagues, clients and friends who ask if I still feel as optimistic about social media as I did two years ago: my answer is NO.

I have to answer "no" because I now feel more optimistic than two years ago. Or, perhaps my optimism has evolved into confidence.

Because social media is just a set of tools (or technologies).

My optimism stems from the trends that drive them--and the people (not computers) powering them.

And those trends--which, while not as fleeting as fads, still have an expiration date--are quickly moving into permanent shifts...which are, um, permanent.

Just like the real ROI--the skills, smarts, voice and relationships--that I've gained are permanent, too.

Well, permanent for as long as I continue to treat those relationships with respect, and continue to inspire their trust.

It's just like with off-line relationships.

(Funny how that works, I know.)

Am I scared that customers can now speak up?

Nah, I encourage them to speak out. Even if they say bad things.

Being that they have a voice it would be silly not to use it. And, being that so long as I'm treating customers with respect and inspiring their trust, then I've nothing to fear. And everything to learn.

Yup, my answer is NO. But please do keep asking, it signals that you're curious, confused or just plain skeptical. And that means it has your attention--and I know how valuable that is, because attention is so scarce. (As marketer, I fight for attention every single day).

And hey, I know this stuff is still very new and has far more credibility to earn.

But won't you answer me this: when humans have found new ways to connect with one another...identified new ways in which to express themselves...and been given greater levels of freedom and power, when have they ever given those options back?

It seems to me they never have. (Well, at least not willingly.)

Good on Sex for knowing its age

Manhattan's martini-soaked sitcom Sex and The City is coming to the Big Screen at month's end. I'll catch it with my best girlfriends and we'll giggle, and have a round (or two) of cosmos afterward.

But what I'm most happy with is the approach they're taking with the females. Because while those girls are still very sexy, they're now grown women.

Let's remember the series debuted 10 years ago when they were in their early 30s (and Samantha was in her early 40s). And those women have been off the air for four years. So, instead of picking up right where it left off, the show's writers are taking a still fun, but more mature approach with their characters.

According to Sarah Jessica Parker, "You cannot pretend we're 32, still running around New York drinking with liberty and looking for interesting sexual partnerships. It would have been vulgar. None of us wanted to do that." And so the film begins not where the series left off four years ago, but in the present.

Ahh, as it should be. And as such, a lesson to many marketers.

In an age where authenticity rules--and in an era when the youngest of the baby boomers are moving into their fifties--marketers need not only realize how their brands have aged, they should embrace it.

Keep your offerings relevant. Offer loads of value. But understand that just as your audiences age, your brands mature, too. If you're aching to to position your brand differently or skew younger? Don't give your brands a heaping dose of identity disorder (and a really tacky facelift), spin-off entirely new brands.

Because time waits for no (wo)man. And time needn't be your foe. Fact is, we trust brands that have stood the test of time (think IBM, GE or Coca-Cola). But we mock those that try to dress like 30 when they're 60 (think Xerox). Or try to act 25 when they're 15.

And we altogether ignore those brands that think throwing a sporty spokesperson in the mix will fool a younger demographic into buying their product.

Home from "Camp"...with Video Goodies!

What a wonderful set of days that I just spent in San Francisco at Sun's Startup Camp at The Moscone Center. Why was it wonderful?

'Twas wonderful because I was surrounded by 600 passionate people. Some were in the pre-launch phase, and some had just launched their new businesses. Some were BtoC focused, with others targeting the BtoB space.

Wonderful because it was demographically diverse. Some of the professionals were 20. Some were 50. And many in-between.

But it was most wonderful because they weren't focused so much on "what's profitable" as much as pushing the limits of "what's possible."

Yep, there's nothing like the limit-less thinking behind startups ;-).

While at camp I was off the blog and off twitter (sorry folks). For me, when I'm afforded the opportunity to be interfacing with so many smart, energetic professionals I'm focused on interfacing with people, vs. the tools that I use everyday to connect with them. In fact, I didn't even bring my laptop when I was on-site.

The panel that I was on covered the importance of branding, messaging and PR in launching a startup to success. I have to say this panel was so well orchestrated by S. Neil Vineberg/Vineberg Communications (his blog is here). On my panel I was in such good company with Matt Dickman/Fleishman-Hillard (and TechnoMarketer blog), Jyri Engeström/Google (also the founder of Jaiku) and Adam Metz/theMIX (his blog here).

Not only did Neil assemble a geographically diverse panel (hailing from New York, Finland, San Francisco and Cleveland), he compiled an experientially broad panel--we are marketers, PR specialists, social media professionals and technology entrepreneurs. So I got to teach some and learn a whole lot more.

And through these video segments of our panel that Neil created we can share our messages (and, yes, action points!) with many more that couldn't be in attendance. The first segment (running at 4:17) focuses on messaging and how startups really need to do their broad-based homework to hit on very quick, compelling and, hopefully, meaningful messages.

The second segment (running at a little over 5:40) focuses on branding and brand categories--and the importance of infusing personality into all your brand communications.  RSS and email subscribers, please click through to the blog to view the videos. I'll load the other video segments soon.
 

Bless his bike-lovin' heart ;-)

I wanted to take a post to inform those who might not yet know that Tim Jackson (aka "MasiGuy"), a beloved member of BOTH the online marketing community--and the online cycling community--had a very rough cycling accident this past Tuesday evening during a race.

While the prognosis is very good--and he should be home from the hospital soon--apparently he hit the boards in the 24th lap of a 25-lap race and sustained a concussion, broken ribs, a few of his neck bones are fractured, his thumb was badly torn and required surgery, and I'm not sure about his knee.

All told, he has quite a road to recovery...but a recovery he will make. And, knowing his bike-loving heart, the first chance he gets he'll be back on a bike (and yes, he always wears a helmet).

His friends have been nothing short of amazing in posting updates and creating a Get Well Fund that you can donate to: information is at this post right here. If you want to leave a comment for him, I guess the best place is at that blog, too.

Sending lots of love and prayers your way, Masiguy ;-).