Promoting won't get you WOM - unless you're a coupon

While I am on the topic of Authenticity and how it is such a key component to success these days, I wanted to bring another topic into the conversation - how does it help you build "Word-of-Mouth" with your audience.  From a business perspective, this is the holy grail - "getting more of the right people talking more about you."

To start with, it is key to understand that Word-of-Mouth from a positive perspective only comes from someone that has a certain degree of trust with you.  If someone doesn't trust you, even in the slightest way, they won't talk positively about you and spread the word - won't happen.  So your first order of business is to create some level of trust with your audience.  The ideal of course is to have a great deal of trust and a relationship - this gives you massive word-of-mouth.  Also, it is important to remember the degree or intensity of their word-of-mouth is also proportional to the amount of trust you have earned - more trust = more passion in their word-of-mouth.

Another key ingredient is this issue of promotion.  Too many people today are using social media for "promotion" and somehow believe they will increase their word-of-mouth if they do more of it.  That is so "90s and doesn't work in today's connected world, unless you are a "coupon" that someone wants to share.  If you're not, then you need to step away from the microphone and let your customer or prospect or partner or employee have turn.  They need to talk to you so you can understand what they need from you.

Look at it this way.  If you were at a party and standing in a small group of people and all you were doing is promoting and talking about yourself, how long do you think it would be before everyone left the conversation - not long.  In an earlier post I talked about the concept of "It's all about Me" which talked  about our new world and audience.  The question to ask yourself is, "If you are always promoting, how does your audience get to know the real you and if they don't get to know the real you, why would you expect them to talk more about you in an authentic way and build more word-of-mouth?"  They can't and they won't.

You  can really create a desire in people to talk more about you and talk about you through the most powerful sales and marketing tool ever invented, "word-of-mouth".  Just stop promoting and start listening and engaging in an authentic way and as they get to know and appreciate the real you, they will be anxious to spread the word - which is what it's all about.

Authenticity is an "accelerator"

One of the wonderful aspects social media has brought to the forefront is the need to be authentic.  This was never a problem decades ago when everyone pretty much knew you and what you were about so it wasn't a big issue.  But as we have spread out around the world it has been much easier to "hide" and "pretend" to be something you're not - until social media arrived.

Now there are multiple ways, thanks to the tools of social media, for people to find out the "real you" - it is much more difficult to hide and pretend.  Those that get this and are naturally authentic individuals are leading the pack in using this to their advantage.  Those that are still trying to hide are being discovered and discarded.  Unless you are a "coupon" that is being sent out, you need to demonstrate authenticity to win your audience over.

The beauty of authenticity is that your audience actually wants to get to know you and learn more about you and see all your strengths and warts. This is what makes us human.  Regardless of whether it is personal or business, the sooner you get to authenticity, the sooner you will begin to build TRUST and as you continue to build trust, you are able to start building a RELATIONSHIP with that person or your audience.  But the core ingredient is authenticity.  The Relationship Management Institute gives you a much deeper look into what makes up authenticity in their post, "The Journey Towards Authenticity."

Social media simply allows you to do it much faster and more effectively than ever before.  There are many more ways people can see who you are and what you are about by what you say, write, comment, respond, etc.  Social media simply allows your audience to "peel back the onion" on you and begin to see who you really are by what you say, who you interact with, what you support, etc.  The good news - those who have nothing to hide can use these tools to really accelerate their relationships and build a solid following faster than ever before and more globally.  The pretenders or posers will eventually  be discovered and discarded.

Getting "It's all about ME" to work for you

There is absolutely, positively no doubt in the world today that the key mantra for people is "It's all about ME".  We see it in TV programming (approximately 70% of today's programming is "reality" TV), we see it in the traditional advertising and we really see it in social media.

In one of my earlier posts, every customer today has a microphone, I talked about how customers today not only have a microphone in their hand and can talk about you and your company, but with the introduction of social media, they also have the ability to self-publish.  This has changed the future of sales, marketing, customer service and all our communications going forward.

The way to have this working for you is to STOP TALKING ABOUT YOU and START TALKING ABOUT THEM.  Sounds simple, but if you are watching the content out on the airwaves it is apparently very hard to implement.  The majority of people using social media obviously either don't understand this rule or they can't get their arms around what it really means.  Your audience wants you to talk about them, pay attention to them, and cater to them.  What they don't want is for you to "broadcast" and "promote" you and your company.

If you can get your arms around this simple yet often misused principle, you will be able to build much stronger and lasting relationships, more trust, and ultimately more loyalty and advocacy.  So write about your customers, tell their stories, showcase their great achievements, and you will find some incredible feedback and achieve your own "word-of-mouth on steroids" that will help you grow your sales and advocacy.

Crap is still Crap...

OK, so this post is a bit out of character for me but it is something that comes up all the time so I wanted to at least address it and then move on.  As you read through my posts my focus is on keeping things positive and giving some ideas, solutions, and helpful insights into how you can create more positive relationships leading to Advocacy and positive Word-of-Mouth.  This post is different.

I can't tell you how many times I get asked this question after giving a speech on Social Media and Word-of-Mouth on Steroids, "My business is really struggling and I know we have the best product or service, how can I use social media to improve this situation and drive more sales?" Or at least some version of this type of question.

My approach is to tell people the way it is or the real, authentic, straight story - at least from my vantage point and perspective. So regardless of the audience, I always give an answer that has something like this included in it, "Crap is Crap and no amount of social media can fix a crappy product or service, it can only amplify its good or its bad. Authenticity rules in social media and people will talk about what it really is, not what you want it to be. Spend the time to get your product or service to not be so crappy and you will then be able to create viral word-of-mouth about it and drive more of the right people to you and that will drive sales".

Granted, that is NOT the answer they wanted to hear but it is the answer they should understand. Get your house in order and then the social airwaves will be your best friend and people will spread the right kind of word-of-mouth out there about you and your product/service. It reminds me of the well used phrase, "You can dress up the pig but it the end, it is still a pig". If you are trying to sell pigs, then this approach works. But most are trying to sell something else and in the end, everyone figures out it is a pig and not only leaves, but leaves spreading the wrong kind of word-of-mouth - negative.

Social Media and specifically Word-of-Mouth is an extremely powerful tool to have in your arsenal but it isn't the "silver bullet" some may lead you to believe.  It creates massive leverage when done well and correctly and can be the most cost effective and results oriented aspect of your sales and marketing program.  If you get the rest of your business "right", we can make social media put it on steroids - but it has to be right.

Social Media isn't about the Marketing Department

OK, I know there will be lots of people jumping on this one but someone had to say it. Social media in my world is helping companies get "more of the right people talking more about them - proactively" - this is true Word-of-Mouth. Social media takes this concept and puts it on steroids - makes it happen faster, at a deeper level (because you can interact and touch your audience much more often) and at a lower cost than most traditional marketing.

So why doesn't it fit marketing? Well, it does fit marketing, but not as good as other areas of your business. If you think about it, when was the last time you used word-of-mouth to tell someone about a great flyer you just received or what wonderful brochure this was or how great the direct mail piece is you just got in the mail - it isn't happening. Word-of-mouth happens from a marketing perspective when there is a coupon or offer that people want to share with others but it is short lived and needs constant repetition - it's expensive.

Contrast this with your Sales and Customer Service groups. These groups are designed to build relationships and solve problems with the customer so they can either help them to be loyal advocates or keep them engaged so they won't move to the competition. These groups focus on "relationship building" not campaigns and promotion. Social Media shines in the area of building stronger and deeper relationships. It helps people learn about you in ways they wouldn't normally be exposed to through traditional marketing.

Take Sales for example, they have processes and metrics about creating and building relationships - marketing doesn’t. They have a "sales process" designed to create a sale, then build the relationship deeper so they can get the customers loyalty and referrals. Their goal is sales, repeat sales, and leveraging the customer to create more sales. The good ones do this through building great relationships. Those that don't are either in a pure commodity business or they fail. Sales groups should be demanding social media be built into their process and demand to manage the process and not leave this to the marketing department.

Customer Service is similar to sales but not as direct in most cases. But, they have the same goals in mind to build loyalty through their interactions - creating stronger relationships. They aren't campaign based either, like sales, and they focus on the customer relationship and have the goal of maintaining loyalty and building advocacy. Once again, it is a stronger argument than marketing. So while marketing is relevant, it isn't the best "owner" of social media - Sales and Customer Service are much stronger.

Ready, Fire, Aim - why it works with social media

We have all heard that the only way to have things work right is Ready, Aim, and Fire and I have supported this for years whenever I do strategic planning for organizations. However, we are in a new and different world these days and for once I can say Ready, Fire, Aim is a worthwhile approach when you use social media.

The reason the new approach of Ready, Fire, Aim works is because of the "AIM" part of the equation. Social media is best when it is fresh, authentic, real, and customer focused. This means that today it is more important to have something in front of your audience quickly (and even first) rather than spend hours, days, and months "polishing" it up for release. Your audience wants expediency ahead of polish in the new world. Just ask yourself, would you rather know about something going on right now that is a little rough around the edges or hear about it when it is "old news" but have it all polished up? Pretty obvious if you ask me.

But there are issues with this approach…

• The internal process of most organizations has taken multiple steps for the past number of years to ensure they make decisions and release information in the Ready, Aim, Fire approach so now we are asking them to go against what they have perfected - not well received.
• Most people inside the organization have lost their "spontaneity" and are basically afraid of being fired or reprimanded if they put something out that isn't polished. This mentality in an organization causes people to miss the immediate opportunities and focus on the more stable, less controversial, and less fresh approach to sharing information.
• The groups inside your organization generally responsible for communicating this information are your marketing group, communications group, and PR group. By definition they have all been "trained" and have years of experience in "polishing" the message - "fresh" and "authentic" has not been part of their vocabulary.

These are just some of the issues that plague most organizations and why they are either stymied by social media or they are using it in the wrong way. Is there any question why most organizations are hung up on "promoting" and "telling" instead of "helping" and "sharing" in a real time mode? I don't think so - it just isn't in their DNA. If you want to be successful, find someone to help train your leaders how to integrate READY, FIRE, AIM into their vocabulary and the way they operate. This is one of the areas I spend a great deal of time helping leaders and organizations overcome but when they do, look out, it is very exciting!!

Elections will never be the same again...

This election today will be looked back on in history as one of the few remaining where traditional marketing approaches were used.  In the future, the amount of flyers that are sent out through the mail will drop dramatically.  Most I'm sure will be like me and take them from mailbox to recycle and never even pay them any attention.  The phone calls all go to voicemail and are deleted without anyone listening.

Next campaign, hopefully the up and coming candidates will realize that to reach your audience they need to be using the media that voters are reading - social media and the internet.  With the phenomenal growth of such engines as Twitter and Facebook where we can get the opinions of others we trust and know, why would we pay much attention to the mudslinging and rhetoric that is being mailed out?  We won't.

Word-of-Mouth is by far the most dominant way people learn about candidates and get more information.  Your friends and colleagues have their perspectives that they have probably picked up on the internet or heard from someone else and this is what they are sharing.  If you agree, you share.  This can go viral quick and will be the "weapon of choice" for candidates in the future.  Once again, word-of-mouth will triumph, only now with the tools and power of social media, it will just be a whole heck of a lot faster and less expensive for the candidates.

The days of the shiny flyers in the mailbox are gone.  Now, hopefully we can figure out a way to eliminate all those annoying street signs stuck in the ground?  Maybe next time...

Stop "Telling" and start "Helping"

If you are going to get the most value out of using social media, it is important to remember what is at the core of social media - building more trust and stronger relationships.  If you think about it, how many relationships have you personally built by not engaging in a dialog but by dominating the conversation.  Social Media isn't any different, if you spend your time "TELLING" instead of "HELPING" you will end up with the same result as you would with any other relationship - it won't happen.

Social Media is designed for engagement, interaction, and helping others along the way get what they need to do better in their business.  It is tough to help others when your time is spent promoting and pushing your agenda.  When in doubt, just ask yourself what part of the term "promotional campaign" is linked to helping and building trust in the relationship.  None.  Where marketing and traditional marketers get hung up is when the primary words in your vocabulary are "promotional campaign" it is hard to focus on the words "helping" and "trust".   

Social media gives individuals and organizations the leverage to help others and in the process build trust and relationships with you because you are helping them be successful.  The audience today doesn't want more stuff and noise pushed at them, they have learned to be very particular about the information they receive, because they can.  If you change your focus from the "telling" aspects to the "helping aspects, you will be amazed at the value others receive.  From this they will not only want to follow and engage in what you are doing, but spread it to their networks of friends and colleagues.  

This is what helps you get to zero cost marketing because your network is doing it for you.  By you helping them to be successful, they in turn are helping you be successful by sharing your information and stories to others you may never have reached otherwise.  That is the power of leveraging social media.

Viral or Word-of-Mouth - which is better?

I get asked quite often to distinguish between what is "viral marketing" and what is "word-of-mouth marketing" - apparently there is some confusion out there with these terms.  Let's see if we can't clear it up and give you some more details.  The good news is that both are very powerful and very necessary.

Let's start with Word-of-Mouth.  Simply put, it is when you get more people talking more about you.  It is unquestionably the most powerful way to spread the word about you or your business/organization.  But Word-of-Mouth doesn't just happen.  It is "set up" in a way so that it encourages people to want to talk about you.  And there is "short-term word-of-mouth" and "long-term word-of-mouth".

Where people often get confused between viral and word-of-mouth is when they are talking about the short-term version.  This is usually when there is an immediate promotion or something with a short time frame on it so it creates some "buzz" and thus starts to be spread via word-of-mouth.  The plus is that social media can really accelerate this type of word-of-mouth because it can happen quick and spread fast, thus the viral nature of it.  However, it usually doesn't last very long and generally there isn't much of a long tail or residual effect from short-term word-of-mouth.

Contrast this with long-term word-of-mouth.  This only happens when you have built a certain degree of "trust" and a "relationship" with the business/organization.  After all, you aren't willing to put your personal reputation on the line to recommend, talk about, or spread the word about something you personally don't feel good about - this is much too risky.  But the advantages are numerous when you capture the long-term word-of-mouth because it is more genuine, personal, and can last a very long time.  Creating this type of word-of-mouth is the holy grail for a business/organization and social media simply puts this "on steroids".

Viral on the other hand, like with short-term word-of-mouth, is much more about getting an idea or promotion to spread as rapidly as possible and into as many new "networks" as possible.  Most people can relate to the "hot deal" that just came out and they want to share it with their friends and colleagues.  Get the word out fast and to as many people as possible.  Social media now allows us to do this to far larger audiences and much faster at a much lower cost.

The ideal of course is to combine both viral and word-of-mouth.  Find some event, promotion, new idea, or other point of interest and get the word out fast to your audience.  Then, if you have laid the right foundation, your audience will continue to talk about it and the long tail of word-of-mouth will take over after the promotion is over.  The key to remember is that without building the trust and the relationship ahead of time, the best you can hope for is either a viral program or a short-term word-of-mouth program.  Neither will give you the long tail so put the plans in place to build more trust and stronger relationships with your audience and you will get the best of both viral and word-of-mouth.

Seth Godin - I DISAGREE on being "satisfied"...

On average, I agree with 90%+ of what Seth Godin talks about on his blog, writes in his books, or speaks about in his speeches.  However, today I have to disagree with Seth.

Seth wrote a blog post, "Dissatisfaction Guaranteed," where he closed with a line, "Satisfied means done, finished, I don't need any more."  I don't agree - satisfied is not the end state, not even close to it actually.

My brother, Gary, and I wrote a book a few years back, "Creating and Delivering a Totally Awesome Customer Experiences" where we addressed this elusive issue of customer satisfaction.  We are not strangers to this world of customer satisfaction and after our studies and consulting work, we have a different definition of "Customer Satisfaction."

We created a statement that people have used and enjoyed for years, "A 'satisfied' customer is a customer simply looking and waiting for the 'next best' DEAL".  What we found was that a satisfied customer was "satisfied" as long as there wasn't a better product, price, or terms available for them to choose from.  If there was a better "deal" that came along, the so called "satisfied" customer would "defect" and take advantage of the better deal.  The most valuable word we should be focusing on is "LOYALTY". 

For example, let's say you were buying a new barbecue grill (since it is close to the end of summer).  You usually buy it from your local hardware big box store.  Then, you see the same grill at another store for $50 less - exact same grill.  The majority of "satisfied" customers would "defect" and go to the other store to buy it for the $50 savings.  Why?  Because they were not "loyal" to your store and as soon as they see the next best deal they left.  Until you saw this deal, you were "satisfied" and would have continued buying from them.  It is only if you are "loyal" to the store and would pay extra that you are "finished and done" as Seth would say.

So when people talk about having "satisfied" customers, you can see why I cringe.  I want LOYAL customers who are also my ADVOCATES.  That is when you are "done and finished".  Actually, it's just the beginning as well - how to do ensure you retain them and get them proactively spreading the word about you.  That is the topic for another post...

Ogilvy gets it....Word-of-Mouth IS the answer

Brian Featherstonhaugh, CEO and Chairman of Ogilvy One Worldwide wrote a great blog post for iMedia yesterday that really hit home with what we have been focused on with organizations and executives for a long time - Word-of-Mouth RULES! In his blog post, "Did the Birth of Social Media Change Everything?", he wrote, "It wasn't just social media that entered the game. There is a new phenomenon in marketing, which is actually an old idea but with new tools. It's called word of mouth. It's faster and allows us to amplify the voice a million times more, instantly, and globally."

How profound. Brian really gets it and being part of the eighth largest ad agencies in the world gives him the horsepower to support these views. It is so refreshing to see someone in the advertising industry "get it" the way Brian does - most don't. Most are pushing control and the 4P's of traditional marketing - not willing to admit the world has changed forever. Brian had several great quotes in this article that I wanted to share because they were so accurate and really tell the story.

For example, he said, "Marketers shouldn’t try to control conversations. You can influence and participate in a healthy way, but a new form of leadership is necessary, a braver one, a more inventive one. It’s about seeing the whole picture and letting little things happen." If any leader isn't getting the message that "traditional marketing and communication" is dying off very rapidly, hopefully this will help you see it from another perspective.

He also said, "The deepest change that has occurred isn’t technological. It is that the consumer has taken control, all over the planet. Marketing no longer has the power to control or decide, it has to be where the consumer is and find a way to relate to him or her." This is where people get hung up - they thing this is a "technological revolution" with the advent of social media. Wrong again - this is about who is now in control of your message and how they can use it to help you or hurt you. It is finally coming back around that if your product sucks, marketing can't rescue you any longer.

Finally, Brian said, "We can’t control where the consumer is when they want to but things. We have to join him where he is and create relationships." To me, the true goal of social media is building "trusted relationships" because at the end of the day, these are the ones that will create the "word-of-mouth" you really want. You can't expect to get consistent and positive word-of-mouth from someone if they don't have a relationship with you - doesn't work. Focus on the relationship and building trust and let the new, "cool tools" of social media do the heavy lifting for you.

How to become a "Famous Blogger"

Knowing how much we support blogging and that we talk about it as the "Cornerstone" of Social Media, I thought it would be appropriate to give you the scientific formula for what it takes to become a "Famous Blogger", courtesy of Dave Walker.  Leave me a comment if you have any thoughts about improving upon this perfect model.  Enjoy!!

The Most Influential Person inside your Organization

Who do you think is the most powerful person in the organization today? Is it the CEO, President, COO, CMO, CSO, or someone else at the "C-level" in the organization? NO - it most likely isn't any one of these people. Not because they don't "run" the business or make sure it is operating at maximum efficiency, no because they generally are not the one that "engages" most effectively with the customer. So who is it?

It's the "STORYTELLER" - the one, regardless of position or title or clout in the organization that can tell stories that "engage" the customer, employee or partners. This is the person who has the unique ability (and I truly mean unique) to talk about what goes on inside the organization in a way that "reaches" and "bonds" them to the organization. They are the one that can communicate the message(s) of the organization in a way that is compelling, relevant, thoughtful, insightful, captivating, entertaining and most of all "engaging."

The reason I am focusing on this key word, "engagement" is because it says more about what and organization should be striving for in a Web 3.0 world than most other words. When someone is engaged, they are truly "connected" and are a "participant" rather than an outside casual observer. This is so very critical in the future because as the "social media noise level" increases, more and more of your customers, partners and even employees are going to be TURNING YOU OFF. If you don't believe me, just ask a handful of your associates and you will start to hear that they are becoming annoyed and overwhelmed with all the "chatter" and "noise" that has taken over the airwaves.

The "storyteller" is the one person (or multiple people) in the organization that has the ability to cut through this noise and capture the eye, mind and even heart of your most valued audience. This makes them, in my humble opinion, more important over time than any "C-level" executive in your organization.

My recommendation - FIND THEM and incorporate them into your social media strategy that embraces their ability to talk about your organization in ways that marketing and sales and customer support and others can't. They are truly the hidden gem inside the company - they just don't have the title - YET...

Our REAL Competition - not who you think...

The VERDICT is in - Social Media and Social Networking are here to stay!! In case you didn't already know.

Now, that may not be news to many of you or even most of you, but I just wanted to be clear on that one point before going forward. Being involved in the "social media" space for the past 4+ years (and beyond if I count my time spent in the customer experience space), it is interesting to see how this space has grown and evolved. I have to admit, it has grown faster than I would have ever predicted 3 years ago. That is a good thing overall but as with everything that grows fast, has its dangers as well.

One question I have been asked many times over this time that I thought would be interesting to answer is, "Who exactly is your biggest competition?" Great question and one where the answer has changed over the years. Let me start by saying it isn't who you think it is.

Most people think it is one of two types. The masses of marketing and ad agency people who are out on the loose and who understand the "Tools" such as facebook and twitter and myspace and… If you guessed this, you are dead wrong. Granted, these folks are certainly annoying and distracting and generally waste the time and money of unsuspecting companies but that is not our biggest competition. They don't understand "strategy" and that is their biggest downfall - but that is the topic for another day.

The second group most think are the ad agencies, PR firms or traditional marketing firms - wrong again. Yes, they are doing everything in their power to delay their clients to fully engaging in social media because they haven't figured out a way to replace the massive revenues they would lose if they actually recommended a true social media strategy. It's going to take them a few years to get there but they can keep their clients on the hook for quite a while since their clients are reluctant to change anyway. But they are not even the biggest threat out in the market.

Nope, our biggest competition is the "uninformed CEO or other executive" inside their very own organization. Why? Because they look at social media more as a "toy" or "something to explore" or "something to test out" or "some new and shiny technology" and as such it doesn't command the attention of the "executive suite". What ends up happening is they ask around and find the 28 year old (or someone they think is young enough to understand it) who happens to know how to use facebook or twitter or foursquare or any of the other 265 tools (approximate) in the marketplace and assign the responsibility to them. That is who we compete most against.

What they are now starting to find out is what they have done is entrusted their BRAND, and their IMAGE and their CUSTOMERS and their BUSINESS STRATEGY to someone who has no clue what these things are about or what they should be doing to enhance all of them to increase their market presence and revenues. Yet, over and over again it ends up in their hands and goes nowhere. The comment from the top then becomes, "See, I told you this new fangled media doesn't work". And you know what, in that situation, they are exactly right...

Chefs "Get" Social Media - they just didn't know it...

The key to making a culinary delight isn't that you know all the best ingredients, it's knowing how to put the ingredients together that makes a difference. It isn't any different with social media. Just having someone who knows the right "tools" doesn't make social media turn out the right way or work for you - they are just the ingredients. What makes social media work is act like a "great chef".

Great chef's start with a PLAN - what do they want the culinary delight to look like, taste like, and the overall experience they want to deliver. Then they decide which INGREDIENTS they feel need to deliver what they have envisioned and they go find the ones they need. Then they ASSEMBLE these ingredients in just the right "order" and in just the right "amount" and with just the right "timing" to make it turn out the way they planned in the beginning. Then they TEST IT with their customers - did it deliver what they originally "planned" or do they need to make changes the next time they make the dish.

What part of this DOES NOT sound familiar to the way a successful experience should play out with our customers/members/clients/partners/employees? NONE is the correct answer. These are all the steps we need to take to deliver what our audience wants. We PLAN, SELECT the appropriate TOOLS, ASSEMBLE the CONTENT, and finally EXECUTE the plan. After we have delivered the MESSAGE, - then we LISTEN for feedback and make the appropriate modifications to the original PLAN. This is illustrated graphically below for those that are more visual. 

This is the basis for creating and leveraging each of these aspects to create "WORD-of-MOUTH on STEROIDS.  We'll talk about what goes into each of these in subsequent posts, breaking down each element as it would be if you were creating your own culinary delight and how it can help you move into getting more of the right people talking more about you. ENJOY...

Who is REALLY in control...the answer might surprise you

This is an interesting question I get asked quite often from CEOs and business leaders when they are wondering what they should do about social media.  The question comes up as to which group could benefit the most and in larger organizations, who is in "control" of social media.  And especially for CEOs, who live their lives being in control, this is a very interesting and common question.

Let me first start with a basic thought for every group.  The term "own" is one that is very scary in the world of social media.  If you get right down to it, the company or organization doesn't "own" the customer any longer, the customer "owns" the company.  Think of it this way, with social media, EVERY CUSTOMER has a microphone today when they use social media.  That in and of itself is a scary thought.

When you think about it, it is really true and really important to understand this concept.  The social networks and social media tools make it incredibly easy for anyone with a computer, phone or simple internet connection to get their voice in the airwaves.  And people are listening...

When you see numbers like 14% of the audience believes advertising and 78% believes the opinion of others talking about you and your products/services, you realize you are no longer in control.  So what can you control?  First, lose the word "control" from your vocabulary of social media.  Replace it with the word "influence" or "advocacy" or "guide" instead of control and you will be closer to reality.  These words best describe what we are really experiencing with social media today.

My recommendation is to start thinking of conversations you can "start" and "contribute" to that relate to your customer experiences and you will be much closer to tapping the power of social media for your organization. If you want "word-of-mouth on steroids" then talk about, showcase, highlight these experiences and the customers engaged in them.  You will find significantly more opportunity for your message to go "viral" and spread through the social media airwaves.  But most of all, lose the idea you are in "control".

WOM drives Value - McKinsey agrees...

There is a "perfect storm" building out there and it is called Word-of-Mouth Marketing.  While most marketers shun the idea of Word-of-Mouth as a legitimate and measurable form of marketing, the advent of social media and the tools behind it are changing that world rapidly.

McKinsey and Company, an internationally recognized strategy and management consulting firm, talked about "word-of-mouth equity" in their article, "A New Way to Measure Word-of-Mouth Marketing", and how it is something companies should be taking more note of than they are today.  While we have been saying this for years, McKinsey is looking to put some more metrics around this so that it has more legitimacy in the market.  What I find very interesting is that it might just take the likes of a McKinsey to create enough "buzz" about word-of-mouth to actually get through to the top executives of most corporations.

Whether you are a small, middle-market or Fortune 100 company, Word-of-Mouth is still the most powerful form of marketing - it just isn't accepted as such - YET.  Today it is far easier to measure "clicks" from a traditional marketing campaign than to build the internal processes, systems, and measurements for word-of-mouth.  And the ad agencies haven't supported it because it could potentially cannibalize their revenue streams from traditional advertising.

Let me share a few quotes from the McKinsey article, just to illustrate some key points. 

• "Indeed, word of mouth¹ is the primary factor behind 20 to 50 percent of all purchasing decisions."
• "...what we call “word-of-mouth equity”—an index of a brand’s power to generate messages that influence the consumer’s decision to purchase."
• "This tectonic power shift toward consumers reflects the way people now make purchasing decisions."
• "It’s also the most disruptive factor. Word of mouth can prompt a consumer to consider a brand or product in a way that incremental advertising spending simply cannot."
• "The second critical driver is the identity of the person who sends a message: the word-of-mouth receiver must trust the sender and believe that he or she really knows the product or service in question."
• "While marketers have always known that the impact can be significant, they may be surprised to learn just how powerful it really is."
• "Marketers have always been aware of the effect of word of mouth, and there is clearly an art to effective word-of-mouth campaigning. Yet the science behind word-of-mouth equity helps reveal how to hone and deploy that art."

We couldn't agree more than with the last quote - there is an "art" and a "science" to creating effective Word-of-Mouth.  And there is even a greater art and science using social media to create "Word-of-Mouth on Steroids."  That is the real magic to Word-of-Mouth Marketing...

"Social Washing" - Are you guilty?

We all know people and companies who fit in the category of "wannabe's", "me-too's", "posers", and "lemmings".  They all have the same thing in common - wanting to follow the crowd and be recognized for their participation.  These terms have taken on extended meanings over the past several years and have been applied to a variety of areas and initiatives - the biggest of which is "being green" or "being a sustainable organization".

If you were considered to be "green", it was "cool" to say you were helping the environment.  It was also pretty good for trying to pump up sales or create some level of differentiation or increase your "hype factor".  But then things started to unravel.  People got educated - they actually started to understand more about what "being green" meant and started challenging organizations to prove it or demonstrate it beyond the "headline" or "slogan" they were using.  This caused them to either fish or cut bait - be green or stop saying they were green.

Welcome to Social Media in 2010 - the new "green washing" that is taking place. Companies and organizations everywhere are jumping on the "Social Washing" bandwagon.  They are putting up all the cool "shiny objects" called "Social Media Buttons" to make it appear they are using Social Media.  But when you click on them to see what they are saying or doing, this is where the air goes out of the balloon rapidly.

It reminds me when you visit the sets in Hollywood, where you can walk down the street and see all these great store fronts and buildings, only to find out they are just the front of the building and there isn't actually anything behind it.  This is the same as "Social Washing" today.

Ask yourself as an organization the key question, "Are we really using social media in a way that is designed to build interaction, engagement, dialog and advocacy or are we just putting up some "shiny objects" to make it appear we are using Social Media?"  Be honest with yourself and if the answer is NO, then pull them off your site until you are ready to use it the way it was intended.  Don't get caught "Social Washing" or you will end up in the same place as the "green washers" - embarrassed and eroding your brand value.

Win With Washington...WINS

Today Clay and I had the opportunity to speak to a packed house of women business owners and executives at the Win With Washington  monthly luncheon.  There were around 100 vivacious, energized and passionate women (and a few men) excited to hear our message of how Social Media and Word-of-Mouth Marketing could change their businesses.  What a great group of people...

We speak to thousands of CEOs, business owners and top executives every year - but no group has been more excited and full of energy than this one.  They soaked up our message about how important starting with a solid Social Media Strategy is to critical to the success of making it work for your business.  We talked about avoiding "shiny objects" (the tools) that most consultants steer people to and helped them understand that without a business strategy, their brand is at significant risk of erosion.  They got it...

But what was most enjoyable were there questions - lots of them - too many to answer in the hour we had to talk.  They asked about how to really use it attract the right audience, how to use or not use facebook, what twitter was all about, our recommendations for the best tools and approach to social media, how to turn this into truly viral marketing, etc., etc., etc.  Great questions - we applaud the group for their thoughtfulness on the topic.

I could go on and on about what a great group this is - but instead I would highly recommend any woman owned business or top executive join immediately.  Membership is free - yes I said free - and you get a ton of knowledge and networking and interaction with other great business owners.  To give you some idea of some of the people you would be associated with, here are just a few people we met at the event today.  There was Dr. Julie Miller of Business Writing That Counts; Kathy Clayton of Kathy Clayton Coaching; Karen Howlett of McSweeney Steel; Lisa Keeney of Keeney Office Supplies; Melinda Martirosian of Manson Construction Company; Janet McNaughton of Lasting Impressions; Heidi Miller of Midcom Recruiting; Bonnie Olson of Emerging Design Consulting; Laurie Simon of Ombrella; and Debora Webber of Key Bank.  Just to name a few...

My recommendation - JOIN NOW - you will be thoroughly energized by the group!

Creating Trusted Relationships using Social Media...

Why do people want to read what you write? Why do people focus in on some and not others? Why do people share something with others through word-of-mouth? Why are some people like magnets for their content while others are passed over? The answer……their “STORIES” are stronger.

The internet today is full of content – more than we could ever need in our lifetimes. There are facts and figures and charts and graphs and descriptions and “how-to’s” and just about everything we ever need to answer a question or solve a problem. And thanks to search engines like Google, Bing , Yahoo, and others, we can now find it more easily than ever. This is not “social media content” and is not the content the audience is drooling over today. We know the facts (or where to get them), but what about the “story” behind the facts.

The “content” the audience wants more of today is “stories.” Stories about experiences – yours and others that cause the rest of us to “emotionally connect” with the characters and situations in the story. People want to know what experience someone had while using this product or service, or what was an unusual story that would demonstrate whether I should engage or purchase or participate, etc. This is the content the world wants to see today and in the future – not more facts!

I’ll give you a secret about word-of-mouth. People don’t talk to others about all the facts and figures as a normal course of conversation, unless they are used to back up their story about whatever it is they are talking about. A simple example – If you went to a party and stood in the middle of the room, what do you think would draw a crowd faster? Standing there reciting all the facts and details about a product, service or event OR starting to tell a story about how this product, service or event helped change your life or your business?

This is how social media should be used and is how it will get spread through word-of-mouth and cause someone to check you out again and again and again – building a trusted relationship. So think “stories” not “facts” and social media will start to make a whole lot more sense to you as you build loyalty and advocacy with your audience.

True "Word-of-Mouth" - at an individual level

Thousands of people, millions of stories, and when you look at it from this perspective, it doesn’t really mean that much.  But when you look in the eyes of one person, as I did with Loa Griesbach, you see a different story and this one has a face, a beautiful face at that.

I met Loa at the Redmond Rousers Rotary meeting last night when she was telling her story and it hit me.  Not that she was a quadriplegic who had been in a terrible car accident.  Nor was it about how a great organization, Pushing Boundaries, was there to help her along the way with her exercise and health needs.  No, it was something else…

It was Word-of-Mouth.  Here was a beautiful young lady, a ballet dancer as a matter of fact, who had a life changing moment one day when she was in a car accident at age 17 and her spinal cord was injured.  Life was never going to be the same.  But even with being on a ventilator she told her story about hope and accomplishment.  She is confined to a wheel chair but still managed to finish high school – no wait, she finished college at Seattle Pacific University with a degree in history – no wait, she is thinking of applying to medical school – unbelievable!

Then I thought, “What could “I” do for her, after hearing her story?”  I could donate, I could empathize, I could even volunteer – but only as one person.  But wait, what business am I in again?  Oh, yea, social media and creating Word-of-Mouth on Steroids for companies.  So it hit me – why shouldn’t Loa get the same treatment?  What if we could spread the word “virally” to my networks of “followers” and they spread to their network and so on until tens of thousands of people know Loa’s story.  Bingo.

So rather than going out and campaigning and fundraising (although that would probably be appreciated by Pushing Boundaries since they are a non-profit), my goal was to just get people to say HELLO to Loa and give her some words of encouragement – virally and via social media.  Get the Word-of-Mouth working to just let her know someone thought about her today and said HI.  So if you are reading this, simply leave her a comment on this post and “MAKE HER DAY.”  Let’s do it…spend 1 minute and create a smile – that’s word-of-mouth on steroids.

How much is your "BRAND" worth?

I have to admit - I"M SHOCKED! This past week I was talking to a lady in charge of social media marketing for a software company about who they were using/hiring to be in charge of their social media strategy and planning.  With my background in corporate strategy, naive Blaine thought they were actually talking about "real strategy" instead of which social media "tools" they should be using.  Boy was I off base...

Turns out they are looking for $40/hour people - maybe an $80,000/year position to take the lead and develop a social media strategy and execution.  I just about fell out of my chair!  So my question was pretty simple, "I guess your Brand and reputation are worth less than $100k - at least you've put a price tag on it."  When you have someone at that level in charge of the messaging to your customers, prospects, partners, advisors, vendors, etc., is that who you feel understands your business well enough to entrust your Brand?

Your Brand is what you live and what you engage about with your audience - it's that simple.  It isn't slogans and signs, it is the dialog and the message that your audience receives.  Putting this message in the hands of someone who doesn't really understand your business nor the strategy or markets you are trying to reach is simply committing "marketing suicide".  We are just starting to see more cases of this hitting the air waves - and there will be more.

Just because someone understands the "Tools" of social media does not give them permission to "own your brand" through the messages that are being sent.  If you are the CEO or Owner or someone in charge, I would challenge you to ask some tough questions of your management team in this area.  Just because someone knows facebook or twitter or LinkedIn or a host of other tools doesn't mean the understand your business and your customers.  STOP risking your Brand - it is worth more than $40/hour.

Beware of the "Low Barrier to Entry" consultant

Over the past 9 months we have been seeing more and more so-called "Experts, Gurus, Ninjas, Mavens" and a host of other names pop up in the world of Social Media.  Is that a bad thing?

Not if you don't mind putting your BRAND in the hands of a recently laid off traditional marketing person, or a web developer that has lost most of his clients because no one wants to pay exhorbetant fees for websites any longer, or an ex-real estate agent that finally figured out the market was dead and they knew how to use facebook and twitter, or the ad agency guys that are trying to figure out how to salvage their "cash cows" of traditional media, or even long time traditional marketing person/firm that figured out marketing budgets at their clients have been cut in half, etc., etc.

BL Ochman, a true marketing expert, wrote a great piece called, "Self-proclaimed Social Media Gurus on Twitter multiplying like Rabbits", where she gave some incredible numbers of how fast this space is growing with so-called "experts" in the field of social media. When you have a low "Barrier to Entry" you have to expect a lot of people jumping in the pool - it goes with the territory, regardless of whether it is social media or anything else.  With Social Media, there is by default a low barrier to entry.  The "tools" are all free so the investment to start up and "hang a shingle" is easy - thus the problem.

Eric Weaver of Tribal DDB had a great slide in one of his recent presentations that I thought as a great graphical representation of what BL Ochman was talking about.  For example, the estimate is an increase of 4X in less than a year. 

The bottom line - before you decide to trust your brand, your company or your reputation with thousands of customers and potential customers who are checking you out through the internet, do your homework.  Don't get lured into the trap of the "Tool Experts" (more on that in a later post) - work with someone who understands business first and you can avoid a lot of "re-work" and "brand erosion".  Find someone who understands STRATEGY and your BUSINESS and your GOALS and your CUSTOMERS.  If they aren't willing to ask you these tough questions, your RISK just went up...

Would you hire "Buggy Whip" makers to design your CAR?

Forrester Research just released a report this month that will no doubt be somewhat controversial but needed to be discussed - who do you use to help lead you in the new "Revolution" of Social Media?  It isn't who you think...

Just like in the old days when the Buggy Whip manufacturers ruled the transportation industry, they were at the top of their game for a very long time and the envy of all businesses.  If only they, too, could be in the buggy whip business life would be grand.  You were probably among the elite if they took you to the big events in town like the town hall dance and the live entertainment in the saloons - life was grand. And they did everything in their power to persuade you NOT to go with this new thing called an automobile.  Sound familiar, they might be better known in the marketing world as AD AGENCIES...

Forrester's report, The Future of Agency Relationships, is a great analysis of how this new phenomonen of social media is not only going to change your life as a business leader but is going to significantly change the landscape for Ad Agencies going forward.  They said,

"In this era, mass media is no longer the foundation of marketing communication, forcing yet another change in the expectations of what marketing agencies can and should deliver."

 From our experience, the issue is simple.  You are asking an existing, traditional media based organization to cannibalize their solid, comfortable revenue stream for a much lower cost, more nimble alternative.  How many agencies do you think will be in line to sign up for that program?  You're right, none.  On the other side of the table, what Marketing Manager inside the organization (who is currently getting all the perks of free tickets, gifts and elite treatment) will want to give up their special treatment by these ad agencies to take up the cause for this new leading edge form or marketing called social media?  About as many as there were ad agencies - none.

So our question for you, and you can leave a comment on this post if you like, is who do you turn to when you are seeking help in "guiding" and "leading" you through the noise of social media.  I just hope you won't turn to your ad agency.  In some of my next posts I will give you some thoughts about who to turn to and who not to turn to besides the agencies.  For now, suffice it to say, beware of the "Buggy Whip" manufacturers and the wolves in sheep clothing...

To be BIG you have to think SMALL...

Want to build thousands of followers and have lots of people talking about about you?  Then start thinking small.

That's right, in the world today, if you want to build a tremendous following of the "right people" you must start by thinking small.  Social Media is most powerful when you start with a small group of "Advocates" and allow them to spread your message - true "Word-of-Mouth" marketing.   When we talk about "Word-of-Mouth on Steroids", many initially think we are asking them to "blast" their message out to thousands in the hope that someone will like it and talk about them.

That is OLD SCHOOL thinking and those that believe that are still clinging on to the last hopes of Traditional Media - it is either dead or dying very rapidly.  There was a great quote by the marketing guru himself, Seth Godin, when he said, "The Internet (Social Media) lets you take really good care of 100 people instead of harassing 2000."  We couldn't have said it better.  Find the 25, 50 or 100 people who are your Advocates and turn them loose with using social media to spread the word.  This will get you to the higher numbers of "real followers" faster than anything you have every used in traditional media.

Also, it is important to remember that people know other people like themselves.  If you go after the right group of people, those who you want as customers or donors or members, they will lead you directly to others just like themselves.  This is the closest thing to shooting fish in a barrel when you do it right.  People will spread the word about you to others just like themselves and they will then in turn start to follow you and hopefully become your advocate as well.

So the bottom line to getting thousands of followers is to start taking really good care of your loyal customers, turn them into your advocates.  This will pay off big time in your marketing efforts and is at the core of how social media really works.  STOP broadcasting and START building solid word-of-mouth.  This will get you to your goals a whole lot faster than harassing thousands.

BusinessWeek has it right...

I just read a great article in the latest edition of BusinessWeek called, "Social Media is Nothing New" by Steve McKee.  I love it when "traditional media" gets it right in the "social media" world and this time they nailed it!

What I am talking about is "Word-of-Mouth" marketing.  Their article talks about what we figured out a while back - word-of-mouth is at the core of how social media can benefit a business.  When you cut through all the noise and clutter of the latest "tools" and current "hot topics", it still comes back to one thing - being able to create far more word-of-mouth than ever before.

But the key is that it comes back to word-of-mouth.  As Steve so aptly put it in his BusinessWeek article, "If you're still wondering whether social media is for you, recognize that you've been participating in it all along. It may simply be that you need to add the digital component to your analog efforts."  Couldn't have said it any better - it has always been the "most valued" way of getting more customers, building loyalty with the ones you have and attracting the best employees - hands down.  Now we just moved it from "analog" to "digital" through the invention of social media tools.

Thank you...Lots of Downloads!!

Well it has been less than a week since we officially launched our new e-book, "Business Tools??? - Executives View of Social Media for Business", and we have already had hundreds of downloads - THANK YOU!!
We know we were trying something different when we announced the new e-book and offered it for FREE - as long as you were willing to share it with just 2 colleagues.  Why?  We have been "evangelists" for the past 18 months - trying to help educate CEOs, Business owners and other top executives on just how "game changing " this social media revolution will have on their business.  After over 75 speeches and 1500 people, we thought we would try to continue spreading the word "virally" through our e-book.  It looks like it is working...

John Hartman of CEOtoCEO offered a great quote we thought summed up many of the comments we have been hearing from those that have already read it.  He said,"Social Media authorities Blaine Millet & Clay Loges of WOM10 offer a CEO introduction to social media in their new e-Book, "Business Tools??? - an Executive View of Social Media".  It's a great executive overview of the driving forces behind this new form of marketing and communications for business. The book is short, to-the-point, and practical." 

So please take advantage of our SPECIAL OFFER and grab your FREE copy before our limited time offer expires.  We want everyone to know about social media and have their eyes wide open as they embark on the most revolutionary marketing and communications "mind shift" to take place in our lifetime.  Again, please download the e-book and share it with your colleagues - they will thank you later.  Enjoy - it's our gift to business people everywhere.

We have LIFTOFF...

As you may be able to tell, there is something new on the right side of our blog - YES, it is the cover of our new e-book, "Business Tools???  - Executives View of Social Media" - it has finally been released!!

We are so excited that it is finally here.  We actually got the chance to "pre-release" it Wednesday to the Bellevue Overlake Rotary when we were speaking at their luncheon meeting.  Great group of people. Thanks to Craig Rhyne for arranging to have us come and speak. 

Our e-book is designed for the CEO, Business Owner, or Top Executive since it focuses on what leaders need to know about social media and the tools to help it grow their business.  We talk about a number of topics, including:

• What exactly is social media?
• What tools are best for business?
• What are the key tools?
• What is the difference between "Push" and "Pull" marketing?
• What are these people called "followers" anyway - friend or foe?
• How can I make money using social media?
• Primer for how all the tools work
• 12 items you should know and can use to keep you on the right path

That should hopefully peak your interest to check it out.  So please check our our book and leave us a comment letting you know what you think about it?  Was it helpful?  Informative?  Interesting?  Well written? or anything else you want to tell us.  You can leave it as a comment to this post or others or simply send us an e-mail at comments@wom10.com.  ENJOY...

Nancy Truitt Pierce does it again...

Clay and I just had a great experience.  Nancy Truitt Pierce, owner of WoodsCreek Consulting, asked us to speak to her executive group of CIOs and CTOs today.  While we can't share the names of those in her super, private, top secret, locked down secure group, we can tell you it includes some of the key businesses in the Seattle area.  If I told you any more I would probably be shot.


But that's not what's important.  What was great about this opportunity for us to speak (we see all our speaking gigs as great opportunities because we get to meet such great people) was that it was to a group we haven't normally focused on in our 75+ speeches.  We always speak to CEOs, Business Owners, and other Top Executives, but never have we spoken to a group of only CIOs and CTOs.  This was great!

What made it great were their questions.  They were focused on how to use social media internal to their company to create more synergy, collaboration, etc.  Here are some of their questions - we wanted to share them with you since they were so interesting...

• Where is the line in regard to policies around social media use inside the organization?
• How do you avoid the huge "time suck" that comes with social media when employees use it?
• Is Yammer an effective tool internally?
• How important is this to your brand?
• How do you capture the "real time" advantage social media has to offer?
• How can this be used for collaboration internally?
• How do you tell the "winners" from the "losers" in regard to the tools?
• How can it help drive innovation?
• How do we embrace without losing control?

All excellent questions.  We will provide answers to these in future posts.  For now, thanks to Nancy for giving us the opportunity to meet and speak to such a great group of people.  Thanks Nancy...

Book is getting closer...

OK, I know we are teasing our readers a bit, but stay tuned - it is getting REALLY close to launch - maybe within the next week.  Actually, we are putting on the finishing touches, adding some more slides from our speeches and dressing it up a bit more.

I hope you continue to follow us on this - there will be some SPECIAL OFFERS available as well to those that read our blog so stay tuned.  This is going to be great...

Jack Zduriencik of Seattle Mariners speaks to CEOs...

What a great morning I just had listening to Jack "Z" Zduriencik the GM of the Seattle Mariners.  He was an inspiration and an incredibly great speaker.  What made him great?  It wasn't that he was the most polished and poised speaker I have ever seen.  No, he was genuine, authentic, passionate, knowledgeable and he told GREAT STORIES.

He also left me with a lot of great quotes and thoughts - too many to describe in just one posting.  He started his speech with some humor and then told everyone "you should be a person with integrity."  His system is "people" because at the end of the day it is because of the people you surround yourself with and their support for you that matters.  The Seattle Mariners are a group of "quality people."

He also made a great statement that everyone can incorporate into their businesses.  He said, "at the end of the day, bring credibility to your organization.  Look at your assets, have a plan but at the end of the day you need good people.  And you have to treat people like you want them to treat you."

This was a sold-out audience at the CEOtoCEO event that is run and put on by John Hartman.  What a great group of business leaders.  I had the opportunity to talk to many of them, including George Bartell from Bartell Drugs, Shelley Rotondo from NW Harvest and many others.  I'm in the picture Steve Camp from the Seattle Mariners - great guy, can get you into their suites.  It is a great place to have an informal chat with many of the key business leaders in Seattle.  If you haven't checked this event out, go to John Hartman's blog and get more details - it is well worth your time.