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Web 2.0 Rule #8: Social media gives people more control over brand messages... but marketers (still!) ultimately influence what those messages will be.

Note: This post is part of a current series for both B2Bs and B2Cs that explores 10 (Essential!) Rules That No Marketer Should Pass The "Web 2.0 Go" Without. All posts in the series are archived here. In this post we illuminate: 

Web 2.0 Rule #8: Social media gives people more control over brand messages... but marketers (still!) ultimately influence what those messages will be.

The tools of social media are empowering because they give everyone with access to the Web a voice. From corporate professionals to college students, seniors to teens and everyone in-between, people are flocking online and using these new tools to voice their passions, ideas, opinions and, yes, brand experiences.

All of these conversations equate to millions of brand-centric messages--both favorable and unfavorable--circulating across the Web every single day. And these messages are not just shared between two persons, but are amplified across entire communities that have hundreds, thousands or millions of members. Moreover, these messages "live on" since they are permanently indexed by search engines for still more people to view when researching brands. Thus, these messages serve to greatly influence brand perceptions... and while positive buzz can bolster brand awareness and profit, negative word-of-mouth can hurt brand reputations and revenues.

As a result, the level of control that Web 2.0 has transferred to the public at large has rocked marketers' foundations. This shell shock is understandable given that marketers have historically controlled what the message is, who it's heard by and where it's placed. Enter social media and that control is now (poof!) history. 

So it's no surprise that we hear grave concern from marketers over "losing control!" of their brand's message. What is surprising, however, is how few marketers realize the tremendous level of power that they still have.

Marketers, you still hold the greatest level of influence over the messages that the public creates and spreads about your brands. Yes, YOU. The nature of these messages, be they positive or negative, is far more within your control than out of it. Why? Because your company is wholly and fully in control of the quality of its brands, customer care efforts and marketing programs.

Social Media Marketing Training: 5 Tips for Breaking Through The Knowledge Barrier.

Knowledge is powerful. But when it comes to companies moving into social media, lack of knowledge is absolutely paralyzing.

While social media adoption rates are exploding among consumer and professional audiences alike--and companies are attributing far more attention and budget to social media efforts--education remains one of the biggest barriers to social media adoption.

More to the point, lack of know-how is one of the biggest reasons that so many social media programs fail to perform. Take these recent findings on the knowledge barrier:

• According to a recent study by Russell Herder and Ethos Business Law, the marketing and HR executives surveyed who are not using social media on a corporate basis say non-implementation is primarily due to concern about confidentiality or security issues (40%), employee  productivity (37%) or simply not knowing enough about it (51%).

• As the "2009 Marketing Industry Trends Report by Equation Research illuminated, the leading barriers to corporate social media adoption are knowledge, measurement, and funding/time-resources.

Since one of my practice areas is social media marketing training, I wanted to share 5 key training tips on how best to educate, prepare and guide companies to succeed in the Social Web:

Web 2.0 Rule #7: Social media programs are a choice, social media monitoring is NOT.

Note: This post is part of a current series for both B2Bs and B2Cs that explores 10 (Essential!) Rules That No Marketer Should Pass The "Web 2.0 Go" Without. All posts in the series are archived here. In this post we illuminate: 

Web 2.0 Rule #7: Social media programs are a choice, social media monitoring is NOT.

This may not be the sexiest rule in my series or the most exciting practice (though I certainly find the benefits of this practice exciting). But of all the social media practices, this one rules supreme: because this rule involves listening... to your CUSTOMERS... and to your POTENTIAL customers. While the set of social media programs and tools that companies will use to connect with their audiences will be unique to each company's specific goals, strategies and markets; monitoring the Social Web is a practice that ALL companies must implement. No matter the company's size, sector, set of offerings or target audiences.

I'm not talking about listening to a focus group of paid participants that match the "profile" of your target customer. Those individuals can only tell you what they think about a certain product or what they think they would do regarding a certain promotion. And they'll tell you that for a going rate of $50-$100 each. I'm talking about listening to actual customers on what they actually think and what they actually do, and are actually saying in public. For free.

You see, a key value proposition of social media is that the tools not only give people a way to express, share and connect around ideas, but the tools also give companies the ability to identify new markets, new opportunities, potential risks and needed improvements. But the Social Web can't give companies any of these benefits, or decrease their risk potential, if they're not listening.

Social Media Risk vs. Reward: Your Market Is Not Waiting For You To Be Relevant (psst: neither are your competitors).

At the conference I spoke at last week, I cited relevance (and risk!) in my presentation, as well as in several other workshops when I addressed how best to transition companies to social media environments. I explained that risk is UBER important to assess, as a company has a responsibility to its customers, employees, shareholders and other stakeholders. But even though social media means that your brand's reputation and message is far less within your control, companies can take steps to dramatically manage risk. How?

Companies can manage risk through establishing a social media policy, identifying a handful of employees to be the brand's spokespersons on social media platforms and provide social media training for their employees so that they're not flying blind in this thriving, dynamic new region that is The Social Web. Plus, companies can start out through small steps and, once they gain a comfort level, they can broaden the volume of initiatives they implement and the resources and budget they attribute to them.

And the best way for companies to manage risk? Ensure that their company, and all of its departments, are delivering upon their brand's promise, value proposition and customer expectations (which are expectations that the company has set through its marketing, sales and communications, so the company should be consistently delivering upon them).

But when it comes to relevance? Folks, once you've lost relevance with current and prospective buying audiences, then it's--poof!--gone. And at that point you'll need to build it back inch by inch, while your competitors are already miles ahead of you. They're gaining market share while you're working to gain ground. Where's the innovation in that strategy?

Remember, just because your company is not actively participating in these media does not mean that the conversation waits for you. Conversely, the conversation just flows on without you. I'll repeat that last part as it's pivotal to understand... it flows on withOUT you.

In fact it's flowing on without you right now.

What's worse? Your competitors aren't awaiting your participation, either. Nope. They're enjoying first-mover advantages, as they already conducted the risk vs. reward assessment. So you can imagine my delight when I ran across this article citing feedback from companies on this very point. According to the piece:

"Last week, executives from companies as varied as Wal-Mart, McDonalds, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Mayo Clinic gathered at General Mills’ headquarters in Minnetonka to discuss the opportunities and concerns presented by social media. And one thing became clear: For now, companies seem more fearful of being left behind than they do of losing control."

While relevance isn't necessarily calculated as a "hard" performance benchmark like, say, revenues, much like trust (and ergo, credibility), once relevance is lost, it's amazing just how important "Getting it back!" becomes. So make sure that the social media conversation that you hold inside your organization about the social media conversations you wish to hold outside your company does not only focus on the concern of how to manage risk--and the fear of losing control-- but also on the very real threat of losing relevance.

Because losing relevance is the biggest risk of all, no?

Social Media Tips • Social Media *Extras* • Social Media Training • Contact CK

B2B Social Media: Top 10 Reasons Why The World Is Your Web 2.0 Oyster.

In a Web 2.0 World brimming with MySpace teens, Facebook fans, Celebrity Twitterers and blogs about cute kittens, it's no wonder so many B2B companies view social media, and the Social Web, as strictly a "consumer play."

That mindset, however, is costing B2B companies potential revenues, new customer relationships, unparalleled reach and, quite frankly, their relevance. Even worse when B2B companies realize that this opportunity loss isn't something that's being done to them... but due to something that they're simply not doing.

While I'm pleased to see quite a bit more Web 2.0 movement and participation from B2B players, I frequently find myself building the "B2B Social Media Business Case" when walking professionals through the multitude of programs, tools and strategies now afforded to them. I'm happy to have these discussions as, aside from it being part of my role to transition companies to these new media and new practices, it's rewarding to see the looks on executives' faces when they connect the dots and ... poof!... social media becomes (really) relevant to them.

Yet along with explaining the world of social media opportunities now available to B2B companies, I also need to illuminate that the world is not awaiting their involvement. Nope. Because unlike all other media, customers now have the very same tools of creation, communication and sharing that companies do and thus, customers are moving forward at unprecedented rates and quite potentially moving onto other companies that are actively using social media to build relationships with them. 

Moreover, their competitors aren't waiting on them, either. Hardly. Those smart companies are rightfully enjoying first-mover advantages in their respective sectors due to so many companies sitting on the social media sidelines waiting for others to move first. But what is innovative about waiting for those you compete with to make the first move into qualified markets? You guessed it, not a single thing.

So, in the case that you, too, are working to nudge more B2B companies into Web 2.0, here are 10 key points to help you build the B2B Business Case for using Social Media:

Marketers, Social Media Makes YOU An Influencer, Too.

If there's one thing in social media that the marketing community analyzes like crazy--and marketers target like heat-seeking missiles--it's online influencers. In building relationships and respect with online influencers, marketers work to gain entry to the communities of prospective customers within which these individuals hold influence so as to increase brand awareness and brand sales. So it's a strategy with much merit.

But as I often tell my clients, it's FAR from the whole story of “social media influence.” While the trusted, popular people that have amassed large followings are no doubt important, they are not the only influencers wrought through social media participation. Nor do they wield the only type of influence that aids marketers in their efforts, and impacts their company’s success.

Web 2.0 Rule #6: To win at Web 2.0 (and win over Web 2.0 audiences), don't think technology--think PEOPLE.

Note: This post is part of a current series for both B2Bs and B2Cs that explores 10 (Essential!) Rules That No Marketer Should Pass The "Web 2.0 Go" Without. All posts in the series are archived here. In this post we illuminate:  

Web 2.0 Rule #6: To win at Web 2.0 (and win over Web 2.0 audiences), don't think technology--think PEOPLE.

The suite of Web 2.0 (or “social media”) tools are actually quite simple. If they weren’t, the adoption rates wouldn’t be as high across mainstream audiences. People can set up a Twitter account in ten minutes or create an entire blog within a handful of hours. The tools are simple--it's the transition that's tough for marketers. 

Why so tough? Because given these two-way tools and their “human” implications, marketers need to learn entirely new ways of talking, interacting and building relationships with their markets. You see, while the tools are steeped in technological innovation, it’s a very personal medium--or as I like to say a very “human set of media." After all, these media enable people to connect across countries and continents to form dynamic communities within which members engage and further grow their communities, as well as give rise to entirely new communities.

When I’m speaking to audiences on social media or training clients on the transition to social media, I often say, "I’m not really here to teach you about technology but how your brand can become more human, it's just that technology facilitates the process." That one usually gets a few chuckles. Especially since I’m throwing around terms--like blogs, microblogs, wikis and widgets--that sound far less human (and much more alien).

But I explain that, even in this high-tech era, companies are still marketing to people... it’s just that they’re using new technologies to connect, communicate and build relationships with them. Thus, ironic as it is, these breakthrough technologies push marketers to become more “human” (and far less “techie”) than ever before. So, in order to win over Web 2.0 audiences, they'll need to score highly on the human angle, not the technology front.

Slaying The Social Media "Fear Demons" At Social South (Aug 21-22)

If you're located in the south, or need a nudge to get down south, consider this your red-carpet invitation. I am honored to be speaking among such stellar company at Social South and I'm really excited to address an important aspect of social media.

Which is to say, I'm going down south to slay me some demons.

Why "fear demons"? Because in order to tap the tremendous opportunity of Web 2.0 and The Social Web, many companies must first get past their fears of the tools and, moreover, the environment.

Hey, I get it; change is scary and fraught with ways to fumble (and potentially fail). And now that customers can speak up at the click of a mouse and have their message amplified across countries and entire continents... they could say bad things.

Or your content programs could sink instead of soar.

And before you've even used all these funny new tools with funny new names, you're already feeling overwhelmed by them.

Lions... and Twitter... and BLOGS, oh my!

Worry not, I've yet to meet a demon that's gotten the best of me. And I'm not about to let fear be the thing that holds you back from ensuring your company's relevance, bringing your bottom-line more revenue and opening your business to new relationships. Nope, not on my watch.

So I'll show those pesky demons the door and arm you with a plan--and in true CK fashion, give you a ton of action points!--so that you, too, can get past your fears and can get into growing your business through these amazing media.

Community-Developed Social Media Survey: Results Are In, Marketers!

Back in May, in my column over at MarketingProfs Daily Fix Blog, I asked, “Wouldn’t it be grand if we could tap our collective intelligence and create our own marketing survey... with someone else taking care of the expense and legwork? A research project that that was truly “for marketers, by marketers”?

Well, we did just that and Equation Research delivered--in spades. To our knowledge, this is the first marketing survey that was directed by the community, yet facilitated by a third-party research company. 

And just as promised, we’re getting first access to the report, before it’s promoted anywhere else: and you can get your copy over at my column here.

The 40-page report is jam-packed with overall findings and implications, results for each of the 10 questions that were selected from the community’s contributions, scores of relevant charts and graphs illustrating the key points, replete with breakdowns by audience designations. It’s enough to make a data wonk out of you, too.

While we'll learn through the report’s findings, I do want to point out the key lesson that I’ll be sharing with my clients and colleagues—because ironically, it doesn't stem from data found inside the report, but from the core idea of the report itself. That is to say, creating a piece that was both for the community and directed by its members.

Given social media’s growth tear, I hope businesses will leverage these tools in ways that engage audiences by providing new and creative types of value to their communities... rather than using these media as just another vehicle for broadcasting their marketing messages. This program--via crowdsourcing the questions and preparing data that will help us in our work and learning curves--serves as an example of that practice. And I hope to see plenty more.

Go on and get your copy of the report at this column here!

Social Media Tips • Social Media *Extras* • Social Media Training • Contact CK