september 2008

I am concerned that I have become George Costanza. 

It is not so much my appearance, although my receding hairline and thinning chrome sure is disconcerting.  (Hey Propecia, thanks for nothing!)  Rather, it’s my network of Facebook friends that has my worlds colliding (http://www.stanthecaddy.com/worlds-collide-theory-theory-that-discuss.html).

Let’s start from the beginning.  I joined Facebook about a year ago when Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) created a fan page (http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Silver-Spring-MD/Strategic-Communications-Group/11060295377?ref=mf) for staffers and alumni of the agency.  It’s been a productive way to maintain a connection with former employees and to demonstrate to potential hires the importance we place on social media.

Facebook for me was a business application, comparable to my participation on LinkedIn, Gooruze, Sphinn, The Customer Collective and Brandweek’s At the Roundtable.

Then, a couple of high school buddies I have remained close with friended me which brought my profile to the attention of their contacts.  Next up were requests from high school classmates I haven’t seen in years, including two former girlfriends.  How could I say “no” to being their Facebook friend?

My current network of Facebook friends also includes fraternity brothers, family members, neighbors, business contacts, employees and even my wife.

This is all well and good right up to the point that I have now have to carefully monitor the comments friends post on my wall.  Do I really want my employees to know my fraternity pledge nickname?  Or how about revelations from a spring break trip to Cancun many years ago?

I’ve read much about recent college graduates who dampen their job prospects due to inappropriate material on their Facebook profile.  Chalk that up to inexperience.  Yet, I’m nearly 40.  I should have known this could have happened when I let my worlds collide online.

The real question is what can I do now?  Should I de-friend certain inappropriate contacts?  Create separate profiles?

I’m stressing…quick…where is my Propecia.

Jeremy Epstein is high energy. I like that in a speaker.

He was the headliner this past Wednesday at the Tech Council of Maryland’s sold out seminar titled “Growing Your Business Through Social Media." I settled in to my chair as Jeremy grabbed the microphone and -- despite a plea from the event organizer for presenters to remain at the podium -- proceeded to pace the front of the room. He led the 100 or so attendees through a 45 minute presentation loaded with animated gestures and witty remarks.

Here are his eight tips for success in marketing and social media:

1. Be remarkable for differentiation. Jeremy cited Rock Creek Restaurant and their “mindful dining” philosophy as an example.

2. Listen as a fundamental marketing practice. Dell’s Idea Storm initiative rates high with Jeremy.

3. Advocate as a practice. Comcast takes lots of knocks, yet it is making a concerted effort to advocate for customer service via its “Comcast Cares” program.

4. Find your raving fans. Even if their representation of your corporate brand isn’t perfect, empowering these passionate supporters will create a viral buzz for the business.

5. Be the connector of social networks.

6. Don’t abuse permission. Jeremy shared an anecdote of a short-time Facebook friend who used the network as a platform for spam.

7. Be open…don’t hide. Larry and I both subscribe to the view that is completely unacceptable to make anonymous comments on the Internet.

8. Participate…don’t control. Another great example from Larry – Tiger Woods “Walking on Water” video on YouTube.

The premise behind Larry’s comments is his view that we live in an “attention economy.” Marketers are taught to shout at their key audiences with the hope of grabbing a slice of mind share. Larry argues that companies should instead focus on their existing customers with the goal of inspiring them to spread the word.

This is where things break down for me. I’m all for loyal and passionate customers talking up a company. Yet, like-minded individuals tend to participate in the same communities (online and offline). Eventually, the referral model fails to drive growth. It happens every time.

This is why it’s critical for organizations to reach outside their defined sphere of influence. Help the sales team generate leads…support the acquisition of new customers…and then inspire their passion. That’s the job of marketing, social media and PR.

In no way was I an early adopter of social media.

At Strategic Communications Group (Strategic), we introduced content about executive blogging on our Web site a few years back, yet there was limited client interest.  And even more limited budgets allocated to fund social media-related programs.

That changed in the spring of 2007…big time!  Social media is by far the fastest growing segment of our business.  We are fortunate to be working with a set of innovative companies – such as British Telecom (BT), GovDelivery, Epok, TARP and Voxant -- to execute campaigns that include a social media component.      

We believe social media work will represent 70 percent of our business this time next year.  However, according to the findings of the recent Epsilon CMO survey we may need to be even more bullish in our projections.

Based on interviews with 175 senior marketing leaders in the US, the survey organizers reported that nearly two-thirds said their interactive/digital marketing budgets have increased in the past year.  The more popular interactive and digital channels that marketers said they are keen to start experimenting with are:

-social computing (42%), which includes word-of-mouth, social-networking sites and viral advertising

-blogs (35%)

-podcasting (31%)

-mobile devices (29%), which include phones and PDAs

The take-away for public relations professionals is clear:  by continuing to enhance our expertise in social media we can provide a greater return on a PR investment, as well as foster a deeper connection with the marketing organization.     

CMOs Up Digital, Cut Traditional

http://adage.com/cmostrategy/article?article_id=130790