Archive for the ‘social media’ Category

Will social media increase users’ influence over product development?

Friday, February 12th, 2010

I was just reading Mashable’s post on Google Buzz.  What struck me most is the potential  social media has for empowering users to affect product development.

Google Buzz users “organize” to advocate for new features within days of product launch

Google announced Google Buzz earlier this week.  Today, Mashable reported that it had received “just shy of 500 responses” within several hours of  asking followers: “What features would you like to see in Google Buzz?”.

Just think about it.  This is an incredibly inexpensive way to capture market reaction and present supporting evidence to a vendor you’re trying to influence.  Let’s look at two alternatives.

Alternatives for capturing market response to a new product

Before social media, users desiring to influence product development may have chosen to conduct a survey by mail, email, or phone.  To  do so, they’d need to know who had experience with the product and how to reach them.  Of these alternatives, only email has the potential to promise rapid turnaround time.  Nevertheless,  it would be difficult to obtain a large enough list to get this high a response rate.  It also would have taken considerable time and effort to assemble the list and use it to get the message out.

Another alternative would have been to use some sort of broadcast media to get the message out.  This would have obviated the need to get names, but broadcast media–such as print, radio and TV advertising– is generally expensive for that very reason.  Even placements in highly targeted publications are rarely free.

Will blogs that can speak for many succeed in influencing product development?

Using a blog to find out what others want–and letting the world know seems an awfully effective way to influence product developers.  I know that developing a blog capable of attracting 500 responses isn’t free either.  It takes a lot of work to build a following large enough to draw that many responses.   Moreover, only a small percentage of readers of any post tend to actively contribute; and not every follower reads every post.

Still, using a blog to rally support for new features is a lot quicker and cheaper way to influence product developers than the alternatives–and pretty cool.

How do you think Google Buzz will respond?

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Social media: Insights from an in-house specialist

Monday, January 18th, 2010

Most B2B companies are just beginning to dip their toe in the social media marketing waters.  Consequently, I was delighted when Alan Belniak, the newly appointed Director of Social Media Marketing at Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC) agreed to an interview about how his company is approaching social media and why.

My questions appear in bold followed by his answers.  Here’s what he had to say:

Why did PTC create your position?

Twelve to eighteen months ago, the company’s senior marketing executives realized that conversations happen online whether or not PTC participates–and determined the company needed to take a more active role.  They considered various approaches but ultimately decided they needed a full-time resource.  For one thing, PTC is a large organization with almost $1 billion in revenues. For another, it was clear that social media was here to stay.

What does PTC hope you’ll achieve?

Better engagement with customers.  People that participate online tend to be more engaged than those that don’t.

Engagement is the name of the game.  Engagement equals a valuable brand.  Valuable brands attract more customers.

My job is helping PTC marketers determine where to spend time and how to spend it.  The key is figuring out how to create and promote good content.  If you pump out seven blogs in a week, you run the risk of overwhelming your audience.

How does your company view social media complementing other initiatives?

There are several ways.  For one, social media will augment other marketing activities.

Because of the nature of social media, perhaps it will reduce spend.  I use the word “perhaps” intentionally as it will only reduce costs if we can get more data for less money.

Social media can also help you get better qualified leads.  At a recent Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council meeting, Amy Black from Kadient said something along the lines of “A discussion through social media beats a cold call every day.”  If you do something that causes someone to take action–and let you know they’re interested–that’s better than pursuing them.

Today, the focus is on marketing.  In the future, my personal hope is that the entire corporation will incorporate social media into their operations.

What are your primary responsibilities as Director of Social Media Marketing?

My primary responsibility is to help the company leverage social media in its marketing efforts.  I consult with marketers about how they can integrate social media into campaigns they are planning, and how they can put more power behind existing programs.

I also monitor social communications, “separating the signal from the noise”, to identify opportunities for PTC to take a more active role.  For example, I look for mentions of PTC, our products, and keywords, such as “PLM software” (product lifecycle management) that relate to our business.

Because we’re a global company, I also determine what tools to use in other countries by reviewing third-party research, interviewing local marketing experts, and traveling to other countries to learn more about what people are using there. Different cultures consume information in different ways.  For example, some countries, such as Germany, place a different value on face-to-face conversations than others.  If online activity doesn’t influence the conversation, then it doesn’t make sense to invest heavily in social media in those places.

What listening tools are you using?

I’m glad you asked that, because listening is so important.  We use a number of free tools such as Twitter’s advanced search, BackTweets (which effectively reverses “the shorten URL process” to find terms that were in the original URL but are no longer visible), Social Mention, and OMGILI (an aggregator that displays results visually).  We also use BoardTracker to search discussion boards.

In addition, it’s important to search on sites that are specific to your industry–and look through the sites themselves.  For example, I bookmark PLM–and CAD-related websites and then enter my keywords in their search bars.

We listen to traffic on three large networks:  Facebook, Linked In and Twitter; because that’s where audiences have conversations about business–or blur the line between business and personal.  When it comes to Twitter, my main interest is the links that people share.

You need to use a suite of tools.  You can’t rely on a single tool, because none of them do everything. You also need to accept that, initially, you will get overwhelmed–but you need to get over it.  You can refine your process over time–and use aggregators like Social Mention.

You want to get a rough sense of where things are happening.  If you record all the mentions of your search terms, you’ll go batty.

You just want to understand where the conversation is happening, what people are saying about you:  the questions they have, the tips they offer others, how they feel about you) and the media they use (audio, visual, file exchanges), etc.  If we can answer those questions, then we know where to focus our time, what content we are seeking, and how to deliver it.

I also should add that not all the information we get is free.  Our PR agency uses a third-party tool to produce a thick report of all the times that our company gets mentioned and nice-looking graphs.

We pay for this service to leverage our time.  They search many sites (both relevant and less relevant); and we use this data to understand trends, such as where certain types of conversations are happening, and the general content of those conversations (such as the media they use, as mentioned previously).

Where are you focusing your initial efforts and why?

We are listening to hear where the conversations happen so we know where and how to engage: what channels to use, what content to create, who to follow, what media to use.  I’m also teaching the corporation how to engage with social media.

How will PTC know if you’re successful?

The first indication will be 1.0 metrics such as page views over time and unique visitors. Moving forward, though, you need to change what you measure, and measure what you change.

To bridge the gap to 2.0 metrics, we’ll look at better forms of engagement (such as the ratio of comments to posts to measure how deep the conversation is and average unique comment per post that tells you how many people you’ve engaged).

Then, there are intermediary measures.  For example, Facebook now allows users who won’t comment to just click to indicate that they “like” a particular post.

Initially, you’ll want to look at the aggregate, rather than the specific.  There are no widely agreed-upon metrics that I’ve found — but since everything is online, it’s still easier to measure the ROI of social media than the ROI of a billboard.

What’s been the biggest surprise in your new role?

Although there is a general awareness of social media, inside our company, it is very new to most people and initially, they weren’t clear as to how to apply it in their day-to-day marketing efforts. As I’ve dug into this role, I’ve learned that this is not uncommon amongst B2B companies.  Social media is so new that there is a lot of education needed inside a company to aid adoption.

Why do you think that is?

The adoption of online social networking was very rapid, likely attributable to Facebook (and others).  Since Facebook is primarily seen as a casual or truly social site (as in, non-professional), I think people associated it with kids and socializing.  They likely extended this thinking into other forms of online social networking.  However, Facebook is just one form of online social networking.

Other forms of social networking (online and offline) exist, too – for example, moving into a new neighborhood and asking for a good plumber – that’s an example of and ‘old fashioned’ offline social network.  But the social mores and rules are the same.

In addition, some people may have tried something small in one or two social arenas (for example, purchasing ads or trying a reach-out campaign), and may not have gotten the results they were seeking.  In doing so, they may ascribe their less-than-desirable results in one social arena to all social arenas.  For example, I thought that a recent article in the New York Times about how people often base their impressions on a single data point was a great take on this phenomenon.

What’s your largest unanswered question about social media at PTC?

How long until it “pays off”?  By that I mean, “When will I be able to make a stronger correlation between our marketing efforts to stimulate engagement, and its ultimate effect on sales, revenue, and profit?”.

Altimeter produced a report that shows that the more engaged a brand is with customers, the greater their annual revenues are.  Companies that do participate online are more engaged with their customers.

Customer engagement equals a valuable brand.  A valuable brand leads to increased sales.  It also goes without saying that this leads to happier customers.

We’ve covered a lot of ground about your perspectives on social media.  What else should we cover?

I’m glad that you asked about listening platforms earlier.  That’s where it starts.

One of the greatest challenges is getting people to listen before acting.  I wrote a fairly comprehensive strategy from scratch.  You need to figure out what you want to accomplish first. Else, the first time you fail, someone will ask, “Why did you do that?  It doesn’t make sense.”

My own research shows that people who want a social media strategy often want to jump into interaction.  If you don’t know what’s important to your customers, prospects, or users, or where the conversations are happening, how can you have an impact?

I liken this to a cocktail party…You don’t show up at someone’s house and say, “buy my stuff”.  You show up, survey the landscape, and maybe find someone you know.  You listen in on a few conversations before you add a comment or two.  As the evening progresses, in addition to adding comments into conversations, you strike up your own conversation.  Before the night is over, people are joining your conversations and looking to you for what you have to say.

Online social networking and the use of social media is similar.  Starting by listening and offering comments is a better bet than jumping into a sales pitch or a “go look at our stuff” mentality with respect to a web presence.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I love my job.  I appreciate that PTC gave me this opportunity and admire the company for being so forward thinking.

Also, I’d be remiss to talk about social media and not provide people additional ways to find me online.  My Twitter ID is abelniak (@abelniak ; http://www.twitter.com/abelniak), and my blog address is http://www.SubjectivelySpeaking.net

Hear more from Alan this Thursday morning when he’ll be speaking on Social Media: What’s In It For You? in Cambridge, MA at a NEDMA event.

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What are your marketing priorities for 2010?

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

A quick search on Google indicates that surveys about business-to-business (B2B) marketing priorities tend to concentrate on tactics–rather than strategy. They also tend to focus on investments in various types of promotional activities, rather than the greater marketing picture. As for strategy, at least one survey seems to indicate that in a tight economy, B2B companies rank demand generation first and then raising awareness.

What happened to the focus on the customer?

The irony is that gaining deeper insights into customer, or prospect needs, rarely shows up as a priority, let alone a high priority. Why not?

Is it because investments in gaining customer knowledge are not of interest to those doing the surveys? Or, do researchers assume that everyone knows all they need to know about customers?

Or, is the assumption that some form of marketing research, win/loss analysis, or customer data mining is an integral part of any marketing campaign–and therefore does not need singling out? Or, do researchers know from past experience, that while everyone realizes gaining customer insights is important, it’s not a primary focus or one in which companies invest heavily?

I don’t know the answer. I do know that while many companies do invest in learning more about their customers, others feel that they know enough–and/or cannot afford to learn more. The question is can any of us afford not to delve deeper into what matters most to those we depend on for revenues?

Isn’t customer knowledge power?

The devil is often in the details–and nuances in capabilities and/or messaging can make a tremendous difference. That’s why it’s not uncommon for consumer goods marketers, the messaging masters, to invest 10% of the anticipated cost of any marketing campaign in upfront marketing research.

Moreover, we all know of “first movers” that lost the race because they didn’t move down the learning curve. Instead, competitors pulled ahead by making slight, but significant modifications to the core offering or message.

Is everyone focused solely on lead gen?

From reading the marketing trade press, one gets the impression that a lot of companies do believe that deep customer insights drive sales.  These companies are investing in:

  • Data mining tools that will help them pinpoint their most promising prospects and understand exactly what helped win their business
  • Social communities that help assess the desirability of products and marketing messages before committing to their delivery
  • Usability testing to find and remove product design elements that get in customers’ way
  • Social media listening tools that enable marketers to determine where audiences turn for information–and what communications resonate most with them–before jumping in the fray
  • Marketing campaign software that includes the ability to monitor conversions and determine what worked–and what didn’t
  • Sales enablement solutions that make it easy to create and test responses to alternative lists, messages, and offers

Gaining deep customer insights doesn’t need to be expensive

Investments in increasing customer intimacy are not limited to large companies.  While many smaller companies may not have the financial or human resources to invest in the automated listening tools listed above, they have other options at their disposal.

Many of our clients gain deep insights by easy-to-administer programs such as:

  • Using free social media listening tools to monitor market trends, conversations about the need for the solutions their companies offer, and any mention of their name and/or their competition’s
  • Interviewing customers and prospects to learn about the steps these individuals took before making a recent purchase decision–and what triggered these actions
  • Developing case studies about the benefits that satisfied customers derived from their solutions
  • Following customers, and those who influence decisions about their products and services, on Twitter

The question, however, isn’t what others are doing, but what you’re doing. Will this be the year of the customer for your business?

Ready to start today? Test your customer IQ now!

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Posted in Buying process model, Internet marketing, Marketing communications programs, Marketing strategy, social media | 2 Comments »

Use of Social Media for Marketing Medical Devices

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

Last summer, Robert DeSimone of MediComm Consultants, Inc., a colleague from the Medical Development Group, mentioned that several of his clients had inquired about social media. Recognizing that medical device companies face special marketing challenges because they are regulated by the FDA, we decided to go right to the source. Here’s what we learned:

Is social media part of the medical device marketing mix?

Our primary objective was to learn whether and how medical device companies are using social media to communicate with prospects and customers, and the effect that FDA regulation or the lack thereof, is having on these activities.

Our methodology

We developed an online survey to learn more about what types of medical device companies are using social media, how they’re using it, what they hope to accomplish, and how they will measure success. We partnered with medical device trade associations and on-line social communities to distribute the survey and solicit participation.

Then, we conducted qualitative interviews with a subset of respondents to learn more about how their companies were using social media. This subset encompassed individuals working for an FDA-regulated concern that are using social media as a company.

The respondents

The sample was self-selected in that members of the groups that participated in the survey could opt whether or not to participate. The trade associations we partnered with are in California, Massachusetts, and Minnesota. We focused on these three areas due to the heavy representation of medical device companies within these geographies.

Most of the social communities were sponsored by LinkedIn and focus on the medical device industry. A couple of the groups are associated with the partner trade associations. We specifically excluded pharmaceutical concerns, as this segment, unlike the medical device industry, has traditionally been more aggressive in directly pursuing consumers.

251 people participated in the survey. Fifty-seven percent of the total respondents work for regulated medical device companies; and, of the regulated group, 67% work for companies with greater than 51 employees.

The individual participants work in a number of functions. Our report, however, focused on those whose jobs include communications with customers or prospects. Of these, only 11% work for companies that include social media in the marketing mix.

We conducted follow-up interviews with five survey respondents, all of whom work for FDA-regulated companies and use social media to communicate with customers and prospects.

How medical device professionals and medical device companies are using social media

Our analysis focused on respondents who work for FDA-regulated companies. Of these, 63% use social media for job-related activities, and only a subset, (16%), use social media to communicate with customers and prospects.

Of the FDA-regulated companies that use social media to communicate with customers and prospects, most have been using social media for less than six months. They are still in the early stages and are testing multiple social media venues.

In most of these companies, the Marketing Department initiated these communications. Only one company, among the 18 that use social media to communicate with customers or prospects, indicated that they have been able to quantify success. Nevertheless, all plan to continue funding at current levels or increase the funding for their social media programs.

Individual medical device marketers’ perspectives on social media

The responses to the follow-up qualitative interviews were relatively consistent with the quantitative findings. Everyone we interviewed had started using social media relatively recently and most were careful to limit posts to content previously approved for press releases, website, and/or print communications. All the respondents we interviewed said that Marketing had initiated the company’s foray into social media.

In one case, the marketing executive learned that their customers were active social media users from her customer advisory council. She decided to pursue social media marketing because she felt it was important that the company participate in the conversation.

In another case, the company’s agency recommended that they begin participating in social media. In the remaining cases, the companies began experimenting with social media because their competition was already actively involved. Most engaged the services of an agency to jump start the process.

Most of the respondents researched the market and the competition before jumping into social media. At least, one company also established social media guidelines. A couple reported the differences in participation levels they are seeing between consumers and clinicians; and even more interesting, that there are participation differences among clinicians in different roles and medical specialties.

The respondents told us they were listening as well as posting. The listening tools they use run the gamut from Google Alerts to one company’s decision to pay an agency to listen in their stead.

It was our sense, however, that the listening and the posting were somewhat independent, and not necessarily social conversations per se. That is, companies listened to learn what was important to their prospects and to determine where to post. Nevertheless, because they limited their posts to pre-approved content, outgoing communications were not necessarily in direct response to what others were saying.

As for measurement, most expressed the desire to do so, but didn’t believe they had a definitive approach. One pointed to retweets and the opportunity to discover, and congratulate a customer about a recent award as early indications of success. Perhaps due to their short social media tenure, and the restrictions they face as a regulated industry, most had relatively few followers.

Perhaps surprising, except in the case of one respondent, FDA restrictions were not the major concern about launching social media programs. It was our impression that these marketers had accepted the fact that medical devices are a regulated industry with a given set of constraints.

Instead, the respondents appeared more concerned about resource limitations. None had a dedicated social media resource, although several commented that their competitors did. One didn’t even have time to do much listening on a consistent basis.

Medical device companies believe they must participate in social media to remain competitive

The medical device companies that we interviewed are in the early stages of social media participation. Most are optimistic that social media will accelerate their marketing efforts, but few have enough data to measure success. Nevertheless, they feel they must participate to learn or risk being left behind. That said, medical device companies are likely to lag the competition, at least until the FDA clarifies the regulations governing the use of social media.

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Social Media Marketing for Job Search

Monday, November 9th, 2009

More often than not, when I’m invited to speak it’s about marketing strategies that businesses can use to attract and capture businesses from other businesses. Typical topics include “Getting into Your Buyers’ Mind”, “Developing Compelling Value Propositions”, “Systematically Creating Referrals”, “Online Marketing”, and lately “Social Media Marketing”.

This month, however, I had the pleasure of speaking with Tufts alumni on how to use social media marketing techniques to land their next position. I don’t know which was more exciting doing the actual presentation–or preparing for it.

Looking for a job is just another form of marketing

Now, I’ve spoken on searching for a job before, because it’s really just another form of marketing–only the job seeker is the “product”. The new wrinkle was figuring out when, where, and how to use social media to supplement conventional job search techniques.

I started by making a list of all the normal activities that one would do when looking for a job. Examples include researching the industry, conducting informational interviews to narrow the focus of the search, getting the word out that you’re looking, networking to identify promising companies and opportunities, and figuring out how to stand out from the competition.

Social media marketing accelerates the process

While making this list, I realized that getting a job is a very social activity–and that social media is ideally suited to accelerate the process. Where social media really excels is in quickly finding out what’s hot, showcasing your expertise to colleagues and strangers alike, and staying top of mind with those who may hear about job opportunities.

To help job seekers find out what’s hot, I recommended automated ongoing Twitter searches via Tweetdeck. For showcasing their expertise, I suggested using the status updates in Facebook, Linked In, and Twitter to raise awareness of their accomplishments and direct their network to information these individuals would find valuable.

I particularly recommended Twitter since it is searchable by everyone. Therefore, those that found their content helpful might choose to follow them and join the network of individuals that opt for direct communications.

First impressions count: but marketers say it takes 7 to make an impact

Marketers say that it takes 7 impressions to make an impact. When it comes to staying top of mind, nothing beats social media. That’s because it offers the opportunity to communicate regularly without being a pest.

Most people use social media to keep their finger on the pulse. Unlike email which they tend to use for mission-critical communications, people check social media when they want to know what’s going on in the work, in their industry, with their colleagues, and/or their friends. So, they expect to receive news that’s interesting but not necessarily essential. Of course, it’s incumbent on senders to deliver interesting content if they don’t want to risk being “unfollowed”, blocked, or worse yet, “unfriended”.

Using social media to research the presentation: The medium is the message

The topics I’ve covered thus far are the topics I anticipated discussing when I agreed to do the presentation. What made the preparation so interesting was some of the other things I learned on the way.

About a week before I set out to write the presentation, I created a Tweetdeck search on “job search”. Through that, I discovered that there was a hash tag for job search–so I altered my search.

Shortly thereafter, I stumbled upon some information sources that I never knew existed. Perhaps the most interesting was Glassdoor.com. This site provides the information everyone cares about most– what it will be like to actually work at the company with whom you’re interviewing. Visit it to view anonymous reviews about the pros and cons of working for various employers.

Finally, it came time to give the presentation. To my surprise, most of the people who came were fully-employed. Perhaps some were looking for their next opportunity, but most said they came to learn more about social media marketing. To see a copy of the presentation, please visit my LinkedIn profile and scroll down to the slideshow. Then, please let me know what you would add to improve upon this presentation.

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Social Media Breakfast (SMB15) serves up great insights and recommendations

Friday, August 7th, 2009

One of my clients, a membership organization, is facing a challenging problem. The Board would like to recruit younger members to ensure that the organization continues.

One of the issues our team has been trying to address is, “How do you attract and retain new community members—when these prospective members start out with little in common with current members?”

Luckily for me, I attended a social media breakfast in Boston(#15) this morning. There, Communispace CEO, Diane Hessan, was the last speaker at an event entitled “SMB15: The Power and Peril of Online Communities.

If anyone has deep insights into the power and perils of online communities, it’s Diane Hessan. Her team at Communispace has been building online communities for ten years.

Today, Communispace hosts vibrant communities for some of the biggest brands in the US—companies like GlaxoSmithKline, HP, and Hallmark. This morning, however, Diane told us that her company didn’t achieve success overnight.

As Diane began to speak about lessons learned, I quickly realized that my client could learn a lot from her experience. Yes, my client’s community is a conventional offline community. Yet, I believe many of the same principles that the SMB15 speakers presented will apply.

Online communities are like cocktail parties

One of the speakers likened an online community to a cocktail party. As with a cocktail party, the success of a community depends on a lot of effort on someone’s part.

This effort includes welcoming guests when they arrive, encouraging them to stay by introducing them to others, including them in the conversation, and giving them a great experience so that they come back again.

In short, as the first speaker, Bryan Person, Social Media Evangelist at LiveWorld pointed out, it takes a great host to throw a great party. He then remarked that in an online community, the host is the community manager.

Community managers play an important role in on-line communities

Up next, Rachel Happe, Principal at Community Roundtable, spoke about the important role the community manager plays in building a strong community. Both Rachel and Diane suggested hiring an event manager for this role.

Just as at a party, this person needs to set the tone. Online or offline, it’s important that this individual engage with other members of the community directly.

People are attracted by other people. Diane said that just as you’re asking community members to share their thoughts, ideas and/or experiences, it is important for community managers to also reveal a little bit about themselves.

Social glue binds on-line communities

Another related concept is “social glue”. Social glue is what holds communities together, and keeps participants coming back. Diane noted that the more involved people are in the community, the stronger the social glue.

The key to involvement over time, therefore, cannot fall to the community manager alone. Instead, community managers need to stimulate conversations between members.

For some communities, these conversations come about quite naturally. As an example, Diane referenced one airline’s frequent fliers. These road warriors spend all their time on planes–so the airline and the passengers’ travel experiences are top of mind.

It’s much harder to build a social community around brands that are central to peoples’ lives. Diane described the challenges a toothpaste company faced when trying to build the strong ties among their members.

Since most people spend relatively little time thinking about brushing their teeth, it was unlikely that they would bond over their brushing experiences. Hence, the community manager encouraged conversations by reaching out to a subgroup of young mothers.

The community manager then engaged these women in conversations about their family lives. As Diane explained, dividing a large disparate community into subgroups makes it easier to nurture the “social glue” it takes to hold a community together.

Building on-line communities takes patience and sustained efforts

One of the cautions that Rachel offered, and Diane reinforced, is that communities take a long time—and sustained effort–to build. In Rachel’s experience, it’s not uncommon to see relatively low flat participation for a long time.

Sometimes, there are spikes when a community manager initiates an effective campaign. Yet, the overall trend is still flat–until the community reaches a critical point. Then, if everything goes right, growth will accelerate.

Would be community builders, such as my client, therefore should prepare to make a sustained effort for a long period of time before things take off. My sense was that that time period can be a year or longer.

Listening is an underrated marketing strategy

The need to sustain one’s efforts throughout brings me to the next point. Diane quipped that “listening is an underrated marketing strategy”.

Communities are a great way to learn about what matters most to members. On the other hand, once you set the expectation that you care about what others think, it’s important to follow through. If you don’t sustain your efforts, and respond to their recommendations, you’ll just alienate your community.

When you do listen, however, it pays dividends. Diane told us about the first time one of Communispace’s early clients experienced a spike in traffic. The SWAT team–that Diane assigned to figure out what created such a high level of engagement—identified critical success factors and what Communispace and its client could do to achieve even better outcomes in the future.

Case Example: Millenials and Gen Xers

Toward the end of her presentation, Diane provided some specific case examples. My ears perked up when she began discussing the experiences that Charles Schwab had when it first tried to attract younger investors.

I began to listen very hard, when as an aside, she mentioned the difficulties that financial service companies, and for that matter health care providers, face in getting social media communications approved.

This was of particular interest to me because this is something my health care clients worry about a lot. It is also one of the questions that my colleague, Robert DeSimone, of Medicomm Inc., and I are currently querying medical device companies about in our survey about medical device companies’ use of social media–but I digress.

Diane quickly reviewed what Charles Schwab and Communispace learned when they set out to attract millenials and Gen Xers. For one thing, terms such as “retirement” and “no load funds”–which are part of the vernacular for baby boomers–mean little to the next generations. Retirement is far away. Since, as it turned out, most young people use checking accounts as their primary investment vehicle, “no load” was not a term with which they were familiar.

Different communities require different marketing tactics

Communispace and Schwab also learned that communicating with young people is fundamentally different. This population is “always on” from the very moment they awake in the morning. Moreover, the technology of choice is likely to be a mobile phone.

Once again, “listening” paid dividends. Schwab introduced a high-interest checking account that was a great success.

What does this all mean for would be community builders?

What does all of this mean for my client? It appears that if they want to attract individuals from a younger generation, they may have to do things differently—and it may take a lot of time.

On the other hand, if they are patient, invest in applying some of the best practices the SMB#15 speakers recommended, and sustain their efforts, they have the potential to attract and retain the prospective members they most want.

Social Media Breakfast: Go directly to the source

Thanks so much to Bob Collins, who hosts Social Media Breakfasts in the Boston area, event sponsors LiveWorld and Communispace, and the speakers that made this a fantastic event. This is just a taste of what they served at breakfast. You may want to check out hashtag #SMB15 on Twitter to get all the details

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I’ll Link In To That!

Thursday, June 11th, 2009


By Barbara Bix -

Last night, I presented “Personal Branding: The Social Media Way” at a local job seekers’ group. Here are my answers to questions posed in a follow up email from one of the participants.

Why didn’t I discuss the one-to-one connections one can make on Linked In?

The talk focused on branding–which is generally accomplished using one-to-many (broadcast) communications. Nevertheless, as the questioner correctly points out everything you say or do affects your brand. Therefore, one-to-one communications are also fair game.

What’s the best use of this feature?

The short answer is that the best use of this feature is to build a network that will meet your objectives. That said everyone’s goals differ.

Another answer is to use it in a way that fosters, rather than hinders, relationships. This is especially important when communicating with people with whom you don’t already have a strong relationship.

For example, when you invite someone to join your network, consider writing a short note–rather than sending the default invitation. In it, describe the existing connection between you and why you hope the two of you will connect. In addition to being more thoughtful and courteous, a warm note will also increase your chance of acceptance.

When you decide not to connect with someone, consider just not accepting their invitation. That way, it’s less likely to feel like a rejection. Also, try to avoid checking the box that says you don’t know the other person—especially if there’s any chance that he or she thinks the two of you do know each other.

Loose links sink ships

The third question asked about how I use this feature. In general, I try to connect only to people with whom I have—or want to have—a relationship. As for the rest, we can link up and discuss mutual interests using the Group function of Linked In. My reasons follow.

One of the primary ways that people use Linked In is to contact third parties through others in their network. I want to make sure that I’d feel comfortable contacting everyone in my network to ask that favor of them.

Familiarity becomes even more important when someone in my network wants me to connect them with someone in my network. That’s because I’m only comfortable connecting two people when I feel it is likely that both will derive value from the connection.

Another reason that I limit my connections is that I sometimes send messages to everyone in my network. Examples include requests for information or news about my business. In either case, my goal is to send messages only to those who will be receptive—and I suspect those who don’t know me well may not be receptive. We all get too much mail.

Some would argue that anyone who requests or accepts a connection is tacitly indicating that they want to help out others in your network and are receptive to your messages. All I can say is that I’m not sure that’s true. But then, that’s why there are many perspectives on this issue.

This leads to two follow up questions. The questions and answers follow.

Do I do as I say?

I haven’t always adhered to my own policies. First of all, in the beginning I had a different policy. I wanted to protect the privacy of my connections. Therefore, I only accepted invitations from others—I didn’t extend any invitations—and accepted invitations from anyone who invited me.

Now, I only extend invitations to people with whom I want to have a relationship. By the same token, I accept invitations from those with whom I would like to have a relationship.

That leaves the small number of people who I would not have invited to join my network. Of these, I accept about half the invitations I receive.

The primary reason for this incongruity is that I don’t like to reject people. So, I add those I know and have a positive feeling about. Nevertheless, I view the relationship differently and hope they will understand if I’m not comfortable connecting with them someone they’d like to meet.

Avoiding invitations you’d rather not accept

I don’t respond to the remaining invitations—rather than rejecting them outright. The primary reason that I don’t accept these invitations is that I want to avoid the discomfort that may arise later if and when they ask for an introduction.

These are my policies. I believe they may also pertain to job seekers–since not everyone in your network is looking for a job. Those that are not, may not be as receptive to connections and too frequent updates.

Do you agree or disagree?

Everyone networks differently–and for different reasons. How do you use Linked In and what’s your rationale?

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Who reads blogs anyway?

Saturday, March 21st, 2009

Google the title of this article and you’ll find lots of statistics on who reads blogs. That said you may not know anyone who reads blogs. I believe that blogs are worth writing—even if no one reads them right away.

The reason? When readers are ready, the blogs will still be there. And that’s the power of on-line content.

Blog statistics track traffic and level of interest

I know this from direct experience. According to the statistics my blog collects, a lot of visitors find my blog posts weeks or even months after I originally publish. Most of these latecomers find my site when searching for information on a particular subject. Many stick around long enough to read several other posts. A smaller, but significant, number subscribe so they can receive future posts.

Social media is word of mouth on steroids

Rich content attracts visitors. Visitors that like the content recommend it to others by clicking on social media widgets such as Digg, Delicious, Technorati, and StumbleUpon.

The social media widgets in turn link back to the posts that the readers found valuable. As the links accumulate, search engine rankings rise. Higher search engine rankings then attract even more readers and more links and so it goes.

New media distribution channels drive new business model for Public TV

The value of rich content was reinforced by Jonathan Abbott, WGBH CEO and President when he spoke at the Boston Club earlier this month. In response to a question about how new content distribution models were affecting public television’s business model, he shared the following observations.

According to Abbott, now that multiple channels are available, users prefer to receive content when and how it’s most convenient for them. Rather than viewing a TV show live, many will prefer to access it from a computer the following month—or even several years later. Others will prefer to download it to their IPOD so they can watch it anywhere, any time.

Abbott believes therefore that content is not only more valuable to viewers; it’s also more valuable to sponsors. When he visits sponsors, he reminds them that their messages will reach far greater audiences now that the station offers multiple formats—especially since these other formats will persist for years rather than just a few minutes.

Social media ROI

It is this quality that causes social media fans to argue that blogs, and other online content, promise a far greater return on investment than ephemeral marketing campaigns such as print advertising, direct postal mail, or even email newsletters that readers discard soon after they receive them. Conversely, the return on investment of rich online content accelerates over time as more and more viewers recommend it to others.

Marketing strategy still trumps tactics

Nevertheless, with as with all marketing, the strategy is more important than the tactics. Your blog can help you gain visibility and raise frequent visitors’ awareness of all you have to offer. But, if they’re not the right people—all your efforts may be for naught. On the other hand, your sales will soar–along with your search engine rankings—if you know who you need to reach and what they value most.

So, as with all marketing campaigns, start there.

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Social media works—more than 600 attend Boston health care conference

Sunday, March 1st, 2009


By Barbara Bix -

A lot of the work I do is at the intersection of health care and technology. Yet, I didn’t hear about last Thursday’s conference on Transforming Health Care until a few weeks ago. No else did either.

In fact, organizer Steve Wardell only began publicizing the event in the last 6-8 weeks. Yet, more than 600 people attended—including many local luminaries who not only follow, but make health care news in Boston.

So what attracted the crowd? I believe that in this case the medium was the message.

Strong offer is just the beginning

Certainly, the topic—Impact and Opportunity in the Obama Plan–was compelling. Yet, with the ink still wet on the Obama plan, no one really has enough information to assess the specific implications of the plan for health care providers, health care payers, or health care software developers. And, the speakers said as much.

The speakers were also remarkable. Two, Charlie Baker and James Roosevelt, lead major Boston-based health plans and have been influential in shaping state and national health care policy. John Glaser is the CIO at Partners Health Care, the largest health care provider in Massachusetts. Jonathan Bush is the CEO of a successful health care technology provider and a cousin of former President Bush. Moderator Scott Kirsner, known for his sharp wit and incisive observations writes about innovation for The Boston Globe and other leading news publications.

Nevertheless, I don’t think the speakers can account for the record-breaking crowd either. Despite the fact that all of them are important thought leaders, each works locally and there are other opportunities to hear their views. In my experience, none of these other occasions have drawn the crowds that flocked to Thursday’s event—even though many of these events had months of publicity.

Blogs, Linked in, Twitter–event organizers pull out all the stops

My theory is that most people came because of the savvy way in which event organizers leveraged social media. Event organizers and sponsors reached out to local bloggers, many of whom wrote about the event encouraging attendance. The volunteer coordinators suggested that volunteers use Linked In to let colleagues know that they were attending. And, both volunteers and bloggers were invited to extend discounts to their friends and colleagues. Finally, everyone was asked to tweet about the event before—and during the event—using Twitter.

Social marketing is more than social media

The social orientation, however, went far beyond promotion. When participants registered, they were invited to submit questions—and vote on others’ submissions. Perhaps, most important, everyone could see who else was planning to come—before they, themselves, registered.

And, it worked. It was amazing to watch. I logged into the registration page each day and watched registrations grow geometrically from one day to the next. Moreover, many of those that signed up for this after-work event were mid-level, and even senior managers.

Based on the registration pattern, it’s clear to me that most people came largely because they knew that others they respect planned to attend. This conclusion was borne out by the fact that most people arrived early to network—and a large number stayed late to do more of the same. In short, this event was a poster child for social media.

So what can we learn from this experience? How can social media increase your business’ success?

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