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advertising . exhibits . branding . social media

Help! A customer complaint on social media is going viral! #SocialMadness

04 29 13

A customer has voiced a legitimate complaint about Company A on social media, and the concern is going viral. How does Company A respond?

Again, this week, I join in with Brandon Uttley, social-media product manager for Sales Performance International; Laura Bell Greeno of WebScout Online Marketing; and Crystal Dempsey of From The Hip Communications to weigh in on the question.

Here’s my view:

Despite all of its glory and benefits, social media has obviously given new license to the world for expression. We can do it now like never before, with immediacy and virality.

Any time a company receives or catches wind of a complaint, it needs to be viewed the same as if someone walked into their crowded “store” and addressed them. Even as a small business, there’s a tendency to think you can dodge it or dismiss it, but you’ve got to be proactive and address it properly. Otherwise, you’re dealing with a potential avalanche.

Back in my media sales days, I used to hear a couple of flippant phrases tossed around the bullpen whenever the new ratings came out. They’re both true in their respective cases: “The masses are asses” and “One person represents 1,000.”

Truth is, these days, a happy customer tells five people, an unhappy customer tells 10, and a restituted customer tells 20.

While the customer isn’t always right, and you may have standards and policies that beckon you to stand your ground, all your customers really care about is their experience, getting a good product and the relative value of those.

If you engage in a timely, humble, compassionate and even funny way, offering a solution that supports the value they’re looking for, you’re likely to defuse the issue and win some additional fans in the process.

Come out defensive and swinging, and you’re screwed.

CLICK HERE to see what the rest of the crew says over on the Social Madness blog!

Category:

B2B, B2C, Business, Education, Marketing, Social Media

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Should businesses expect employees to play a role in social-media efforts?

04 22 13

Again, this week I share the #SocialMadness question of the week from The Charlotte Business Journal with local social media practitioners Laura Bell Greeno of WebScout Online Marketing, and my Marketing Squadcast comrade Brandon Uttley, social-media product manager for Sales Performance International, and Crystal Dempsey of From the Hip Communications.

“Should businesses expect employees to play a role in social-media efforts?”

CLICK HERE for our opinions.

Category:

B2B, B2C, Business, Education, Marketing, Social Media

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Should your CEO be tweeting? #socialmadness

04 01 13

The Charlotte Business Journal, reached out to some of us local social media practitioners for contribution to their Social Madness blog. Again, this week I share the panel question with with Laura Bell Greeno of WebScout Online Marketing, and my Marketing Squadcast comrade Brandon Uttley, social-media product manager for Sales Performance International.

CLICK HERE for our opinions.

American City Business Journal’s Social Madness is a one-of-a-kind competition that measures a company’s social media engagement.

Social Madness is a local and national challenge that will spotlight the best social media programs of companies in 43 cities. PLUS – this year, we have added a national At Large category, so any U.S.-based company can participate! The local challenge begins on June 3, 2013. The promotion will culminate in a national bracket challenge that will crown Social Madness champions in 3 categories based on the size of their collective social following at the start of the competition.

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B2B, B2C, Business, Marketing, Promotion, Social Media

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marketCHARLOTTE 2013 Presented by AAF, AIGA, CAMA, IABC and SMCLT #mktCLT

03 29 13

We’re pleased to be teaming up with marketCHARLOTTE again this year to moderate the discussion. Audience members can expect to walk away inspired with proven strategies to consider applying to their own organization’s growth.

The theme for 2013 is “Doing More with Less”. We’ve been in a post-recession mode since 2009, and some economists debate whether real recovery has begun. Either way, companies are tasked with doing more with less. So what is the plan for growth? Leading companies, doing business in Charlotte, will share their strategies. Come out to hear and interact with the city’s smartest thought leaders in marketing.

Don’t Miss Out on Early Registration – Ending April 1st! Price includes admission to the event, heavy hors d’oeuvres, free drink ticket at the cash bar, and extensive networking.

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B2B, B2C, Business, Event, Marketing

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Punk’d by The Black Hat

08 13 12

Black Hat Social Media

On a recent episode of THE MARKETING SQUAD podcast we talked about the rise of Black Hat Social Media. My co-host Brandon Uttley also presented the topic over on the Social Fresh blog as well. Black Hat techniques have been long associated with SEO but for the Social purists, it was that thing we don’t practice. We dare talk about it quietly in our little circles when we see or suspect it. We all know who does it and how. Like all media, there’s smoke and mirrors but by and large, it just has no place in the world of “engagement” and “authenticity”. If you want a true reading of your audience it has to be effective circulation not quantity.

One of the activities we talked about on the show is the art of jacking your follower numbers up. In the early stages of twitter people did it by manipulating the API, nowadays you can pay $5 bucks, or get in on a seed program and get thousands. Why would you? Simply put, because mass attracts. Everyone wants to hang with the popular kids whether you’re a brand or a public figure. Then you’ve got businesses doing it because departments have pressure from bosses to show numbers, clients want numbers to justify investments in time spent being social, and wannabe celebrities (Guru’s, Experts, Ninjas, Rockstars, etc.) in all industries, want to be seen as successful and influential.

So, I’ve noticed for some time now that certain members of my social media streams have been jockeying pretty hard for a better position on the public figure fame train. LinkedIn updates, posts, statuses, and project listings across the sphere have been more frequent and more polished in the way they were presented. I mean, don’t get me wrong – coming from the radio entertainment world and providing marketing strategies to businesses, I get it. We all have to package ourselves and find our brand tone and you can’t sell it if you don’t tell it. More power to ‘em.

One post from the short list membership caused me to click on his Twitter profile where I saw he had 12,000 followers, following only 99 people back. That seemed …odd. I mean, come on! I know he’s more connected that 99 people. Plus, he’s not THAT much of a celeb (but he’s trying), or prima donna to not follow anyone back. He hasn’t said anything, or written a book, given industry presentations, nor done anything on a mass scale that would’ve garnished THAT much attention either.

As I’ve done with other accounts where I thought the braggadocio and back patting weren’t in proportion with the stats, I ran a report through one of my social media management tools. Sure enough, there was a huge spike. Without calling this person out by name or avatar I posted the screenshots.

Despite my spell check deficient post – like Shark chum, it got a reaction and reposts from the purists; everything from disgust to suspicion of who it was. Even saw a rolling of the eyes on Facebook. Wonder if he was talking about me? He’s a bit vague.

I was pretty much off the grid over the weekend, but this morning when I logged into my Twitter account, I saw I had gotten PUNK’D. My follower number had jumped 28,000. I had to rub my eyes a bit to see it clearly, but even without Ashton Kutcher to be found, it was evident I’d been PUNK’D.

Someone decided to teach me a lesson and slap me with a horde of unqualified bots and tech companies from India to my account. As I said earlier, we talk about it in our little circles when we see it. We all know who does it and how.

By this afternoon, it had dropped by 11,000.

Attrition will continue to happen because of the quality of the followers, but I guess I’ve learned my lesson. Like FightClub…you don’t talk about Black Hat Social Media. But you can employ it if you need a little extra help to make you or your brand appear A LOT more interesting and credible. At least at first glance. Maybe for a little while.

Yeah, yeah. I get it. Don’t hate the playa, hate the game.

I’m off to crank up a little auto-unfollow for all the residue I’ve picked up so my account can go back to its natural “authentic” state.

Nicely played Mr. Black Hat. Nicely played.

Category:

Branding, Marketing, Social Media

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Presenting at CEN. Social Media Convergence: Band Promotion, Fan Engagement

04 11 12

I wrote a post back in 2009 titled “Don’t “get” Social Media? Think like a Musician” after seeing U2’s 360 Tour at Carter Finley Stadium.

I wrote that the beauty of musicians is their willingness to expose themselves to an audience. Their words are intimate, if only to them. They’re more so than not, authentic in their personality and not everyone gets them because of that – but that’s ok. They have a tribe of rabid fans who do get them and are willing to do anything to champion the success of their star.

Musicians are tied to community. They’re passionate about cause and the human condition as it often feeds their inspiration. When they write (just like a Twitter and Facebook status), their words reach out and relate to someone else who sees things as they do. It creates a connection and apparent conversation. It’s personal between the artist and listener.

On Wednesday, April 25, at 7pm at the Carolina Entertainment Network’s (CEN) monthly mixer we’ll be expanding on this topic.

I’ll be presenting Social Media Convergence: Band Promotion, Fan Engagement and leading the discussion along with some who’ve leveraged the new tools with the old and had success:

Dolphus Ramseur

Founder, Owner and President of Ramseur Records, LLC. Ramseur Records is an independent record label and music management company based in Concord, NC. Ramseur’s acts (The Avett Brothers, Bombadil, Samantha Crain, Frontier, Ruckus, Paleface), have won Grammy awards, performed live on the Grammy’s as well as on the Late Show with David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Ferguson, Grand Ole Opry and Austin City Limits. In addition to late night TV success Ramseur acts have been featured on NPR radio hit shows “Fresh Air with Terry Gross”, “A Prairie Home Companion”, “All Things Considered” and “Weekend Edition.”

Ramseur artists have gained much notoriety by headlining the largest music festivals in the United States including Bonnaroo, Coachella, Stagecoach, Newport Folk Festival, Austin City Limits Festival, New Orleans Jazz Fest, MerleFest and numerous others. Ramseur’s independent releases have charted four albums on the Billboard Top 200 Chart.

Chris Rigo: (Guitar/Vocals – Sugar Glyder) Studied Psychology at UNC Charlotte

Daniel Howie (Vocals/Keys/Guitar – Sugar Glyder) Studied Mass Media Communications at UNC Charlotte with a minor in Journalism

Sugar Glyder

Formed orginally in 2006 by Chris Rigo and Daniel Howie. They’ve released 2 full length albums and 2011′s Lovers at Lightspeed independently as well as 3 music videos. Their merchandising, website construction and social media hubs were also maintained in house by the band. Since 2009 they’ve booked and executed more than 400 shows across the USA. In 2011 they signed with Warner Brothers affiliate ORG Music and Outerloop Management (Washington, D.C.)

Patrick Sills

Digital Program Director at Clear Channel Media + Entertainment, where he’s helped lead the integration of digital media into a traditional media group. He has over 7 years experience in content creation, digital marketing, web metrics/analytics, database marketing, video production and social media.

He leads a digital team of designers, content creators and social media marketing over 5 web sites. These content sites consistently drive over 300K in unique visitors and millions of page views each month. Patrick also works closely with the sales team to generate new ideas that leverage digital assets for Clear Channel’s clients.

Patrick is constantly pushing the envelope by studying new marketing techniques and trying new digital products. In his free time, he enjoys reading, graphic design, and the occasional home improvement project. You can follow him on Twitter ( @patricksills ) but you’re more apt to see one of his posts coming from the brands that he represents.

If you haven’t gotten involved in The Carolina Entertainment Network (CEN), consider it. They’re dedicated to the development and promotion of music and entertainment in the Carolinas, while fostering a united and sustainable regional community of music and entertainment industry professionals. There aim is to build a supportive and united entertainment community through innovative programs, education, outreach and networking that will help empower the creative community.

I’m in. Are you?

Wednesday, April 25, at 7pm at Wet Willie’s Inside the NC Music Factory - 900 Seaboard Street in Uptown Charlotte.

Don’t wait – get your spot. It may get crowded. RSVP HERE

Category:

Branding, Event, Marketing, Music, Promotion, Social Media

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Moderating marketCHARLOTTE. Stories of Leadership, Challenges and Success. #mktCLT

04 11 12

#mktCLT

Every year Charlotte’s marketing organizations and communications professionals have gathered to get valuable insight on the latest trends and what’s to come for the new year. Last year’s Charlotte Marketing Forecast event at Mez at the EpiCentre had a host of challenges that left the audience wanting…and wondering.

This year, the same group of professional associations are involved, and as any great marketing crew should – asked a lot of questions and re-examined what was needed to make this gathering a worthy event. They’ve all worked tirelessly to evolve and earn back everyone’s respect.

I’m stoked to be joining hosting duties this year with The Charlotte Observer’s Eric Frazier on April 24th, starting at 5:00 p.m. for networking, and some incredible panel discussions from 6:00-8:30 p.m. at CenterStage@NoDa.

We’ve got an amazing line up sharing their marketing stories - CHECK OUT THESE SPEAKERS:

Doug Lebda – Chairman, CEO and Founder, LendingTree.com
Erinne Kovi Dyer – VP of Corporate Communications & Corporate Health and Wellness of Carolinas HealthCare System
Desiree Kane – co-founder of The PPL, a platform for active community engagement during the Democratic National Convention
John Bauersfeld – VP of Business Development, Roush Fenway Racing
Josh Oakhurst – Creative Director, Skookum Digital Works
Bruce Hensley – Charlotte Restaurant Week and President of Hensley Fontana Public Relations
Adam Holden-Bache – CEO/Managing Director, Mass Transmit

These fine folks will be highlighting their Challenge, Solution, Aftermath, and ultimately – a Lesson Learned on topics ranging from PR, Event Marketing and Branding, Lead Generation, Email Campaigns, Analytics and Social Media.

Eric and I will be challenging them and uncovering your questions via roving microphones and your twitter questions.

The event is open to the public as well as all Charlotte marketing and communications professionals.

You won’t want to miss this.

Register at marketcharlotte2012.eventbrite.com

Online registration: $35 for participating association members, $45 for nonmembers

*Price includes admission to event, hors d’oeuvres, two free drinks at the cash bar and extensive networking.

Category:

B2B, B2C, Branding, Business, Education, Event, Marketing, Promotion

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Hanging with the ASAC. LinkedIn: Rolodex on Steroids

04 11 12

My Grandfather used to have a wire bound notebook he carried around with him. He was member of the Masonic Lodge, so he had that network of people and the extension of everyone THEY knew to help him get whatever he needed done…his car worked on, his heating and AC, livestock for the farm.

My Father had a Rolodex on his corner of his desk at the office where he worked. It used to attract my attention as a child. It worked pretty well as a Ferris wheel with my imagination. He wasn’t amused when the cards were displaced.

Over the years in my career track, my cards ended up in a nice leather holder with transparent sleeves…then an electronic database. In all of these scenarios, names, cards and entries were grouped together according to their relationship, their expertise and the services they provided…and how connected they were to help get things done.

As a Account Executive in the 90’s on the streets selling media for one of the powerhouse radio stations in town, my job was to identify prospects and opportunities, reach out to them and connect…find common ground, find their pain and show them a solution.

Later in my Agency days, we had a more refined lead system that came from our advertising and promotion efforts combined with industry directories and SIC codes. Even then, this involved countless hours of calling, getting through the gatekeeper, leaving voicemails, dropping by unannounced at times and networking in organizations like American Subcontractors Association of the Carolinas to rub elbows and leave an impression with my elevator speech that I’d rehearsed a thousand times.

I still have a stack of business cards, and I even hand them out – because it’s still the standard for the face-to-face connection.

"But...ya see..."

But…ya’ see (in my best Barney Fife voice), there’s this thing called the “internets” and Social Media…

The Bottom Line is:

People don’t believe or buy the hyped messages of manufacturers and brands like they used to.
Marketing power has shifted to people sharing with other people their experiences and insights…that includes networking too.
Remnants of the old are still present, and the goals are the same; the channels for distribution and connection are different. People still buy from others they like or are similar to.
If your livelihood depends on connecting with other people then it is a must nowadays for you and your company to have a solid presence in Social Media. More importantly – a presence on LinkedIn.

Whether your focus is Business-to-Business or Consumer, local, regional, or across the globe, you’re looking for a job, a new employee or an investor, LinkedIn is your Rolodex on Steroids.

A QUICK LOOK AT LINKEDIN

LinkedIn’s members have reached 147million
The standard user of LinkedIn is male (57.9%) and aged between 25 and 54 years (67.7%)
North America and Europe represent 65.7% of users with about 96.6 million
Over 44% of LinkedIn’s users work in companies with more than 10,000 employees, in Asia the figure rises up to 57.3%
The industries with the highest concentration worldwide are HighTech (14.3%), Finance (12.4%) and Manufacturing (10.1%), Service (2.3%), Legal (1.9%) and Agriculture (0.5%)
The job functions with the highest concentration worldwide are Entrepreneurship (10.8%), Sales (9.5%), Operations (8.3%), Purchasing (0.7%), Product Management (0.7%) and Military and Protective Services (0.6%)
39% of the members is a Manager, Director, Owner, Chief Officer or Vice President

On April 17^th, I’ll be hanging with the fine folks at the ASAC to take a closer look at some important ways to utilize this social tool to tap into the decision makers and connect to the people you want to meet and influence.

Category:

B2B, B2C, Business, Event, Social Media

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A Daytona 500 First: Texting and Driving? Well, kinda – sorta. #NASCAR

02 28 12

Social Media and Athletes. Both professional and collegiate sports have wrestled, laid down the laws, and tweaked them a few times over in the past few years as to what players and even coaches can and can’t do with their phones during game time.

Last year I spoke on the topic with Chaz Bryant on the Carolina Sports Today TV show.

You have to appreciate how NASCAR has embraced and encouraged their drivers to participate and engage with the fans. You also have to see the irony in the Daytona 500 first that took place yesterday on the track. A driver…behind the wheel…during a race…texting.

NASCAR Driver Brad Keselowski posted messages on his Twitter account while he waited in his car for the race to resume. He wasn’t actually driving and texting, but the idea that he was physically in an active race at the time is pretty cool.

Brad’s level of engagement and the second screen user-generated content he was feeding during the halt was compelling and refreshing to the fans following the race on twitter. He apparently keeps his phone in his pocket when he drives on the track.

Of course, you had to have a few naysayers cry foul on the whole thing, as if it somehow gave him an advantage down on the track.

Kudos to NASCAR for coming to the rescue and standing behind Brad’s activity.

Here’s a look at all of the images Brad posted during the race via WSOC TV

Right time, right place. Over 14 million viewers tuned in to watch on TV. Images from Brad’s twitterfeed were used repeatedly as content as point of view reference.

Brad’s twitter following increased overnite by 130,000.

What do you think?

Would you like to see more of this in other sports?

What sports do you think should allow it without interfering with actual play or without revealing sensitive playbook strategies?

Category:

Social Media, Sports

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