Sure, social media –1:1 marketing and communications–sounds glamorous.

It’s like the romance, the freedom, the adventure of the old West.  It’s just you and him (or her).

Long hours in the online saddle, what could be better?

Ask the folks who have been doing it for years – customer/tech support – it’s a lot like the EDS herding cats commercial –http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdwrYiNJc_E.

According to Digital Brand Expressions, less than 41 percent of companies have a cohesive, strategic social media plan.  Fewer yet have policies/protocols for handling/managing the activity.

So anyone who can swing onto the keyboard/touchpad saddle declares that he/she is a social media expert.

They’re not really a herd of cats.  They’re a collection of individual cats.

And as any cat lover knows (we’re not one of them), cats are independent thinkers/players. 

They can do what you want or they can turn on you in the flick of an eyelash; and gawd, are those claws sharp!

Social media is where people got together to:

• share advice/assistance with people of like interests
• talk to each other about their experiences in using products/services
• chat, carry on, whatever
• discuss common interests
• photography/scrapbooking
• playing games
• raising kids, family issues
• boss/employee problems/solutions

As PC/CE/communications products/services got more complex and converged, they became indispensible.

It has also become more difficult to separate fact from fiction, hype from reality, blind love/lust from true satisfaction.

For producers, providers, the challenge is to:

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Everyone seems to be using Linked in at the moment. If you’re going to be on any social networking site, Linked in seems to be it. But, how do you use it to its maximum potential and get business from it? 

1.   Write your profile
Make sure you’ve set up your profile on Linked in. You need a bit about your business and what you do; a bit about you and who you are; your qualifications, background and education and finally a bit about your interests and hobbies. Social networking is about getting to know the person behind the business, so don’t be afraid to let your personality come across. A picture of you wouldn’t go amiss here too. 

2.   Get connected
Invite all your current contacts to join you on Linked in. You’ll be given the option to invite your contacts from your email package when you first start on Linked in, but if you’re already on there, just go to Add Connections at the top. You can also email people directly here and ask them to connect with you. 

3.   Connect to other people
Once you’ve started adding connections, Linked in will suggest other people that it thinks you might want to connect with too. You can see this on the right hand side of your home page under People you may know. Search through these regularly and keep connecting with new people. 

4.   Start communicating
Now you’re connected to people, start communicating with them and building that relationship. Contact people directly to find out more about them. It’s only when you communicate with them that you’ll find out whether there is anything you want to take further. 

5.   Tell people what you’re up to
Post an update (you can see this on your home page) on a regular basis – by regular once or more a day is best.

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The simple answer is, it depends.One factor to consider is the purpose of the blog.Is it to communicate with:

• Staff
• Partners
• Prospects
• Clients
• Shareholders

If you are a public company CEO, you need to be very diligent as to what you write. You cannot comment on things that may move the stock.

Is it to build your personal brand?
Most public company CEO’s stick to some area of expertise like Jim Estill. With respect to Jim’s blog, he focuses on leadership and has quite a following. He is highly respected because he delivers value to his readership. This value word is key in social media. It can be challenging for him to blog about happenings at Nu Horizons all the time, because there may not be items of interest for his audience. Jim has chosen the personal brand route and that works for him.

Other considerations for blogging are time and desire
Many CEO’s don’t want or need one more thing on their to do list. They need to see the value of blogging in order to deliver value. So, trying to convince all CEO’s to blog is an uphill battle even after outlining all the clear benefits of:

• Brand building of the corporation
• Personal Brand building of the CEO
• Effective employee communication
• Positive effect on organic search for the corporate web site
• Free Public Relations
• Low Cost
• Direct communications with stakeholders
• Differentiate from your competition

Those CEO’s that are ready to blog, will. Some may use ghost writers which is OK as long as the content reflects their views.

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As a veteran PR counselor specializing in the creative marketing services space, I avidly track the evolution of media channels, especially the growing challenge that “social media” poses to “traditional media” for marketplace dominance. When working to develop leadership positions for emerging companies an understanding of which media will most profoundly impact one’s reputation and positively influence prospective clients, is key. So a radical shift in the media landscape poses new challenges to practitioners as they develop media relations campaigns designed to elevate clients’ to industry spokes-company status.

The Big PR Question
The big PR question of the day is how to design and target programs in such a challenging communications environment? Should one focus on social media first, or exclusively, stick with traditional media and its recognized “credibility” factor, or strive to balance the two?  In almost all cases, I would recommend a blend. According to new research by Ad-ology Research, small business owners say the benefits of social networking are lead generation, keeping up with the industry, and monitoring the online conversation about their business. “Social media optimization,” – how to maximize the impact of social networking sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube –in that rank order) is obviously a key communications/marketing concern.

Ad-ology’s study continues, reporting that SBOs get the social media message and hope to engage customers in new ways in 2010. 28% say they plan to spend more on online video in 2010, up 75% over last year; 25% say they will increase their social networking spend; 21% plan to commit more resources to mobile advertising. However, e-mail marketing continues to be the most popular online tool for small businesses, and why not since it reaches the targeted individual directly.

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I often hear my clients tell me “I only use Facebook for family stuff and LinkedIn for business”. For sure that was the original intention of those social platforms. However, did you ever wonder how you make decisions on what is a personal contact and what is a business contact? Maybe that depends on your definition of friendship.

In the world of social networking it seems the lines are blurring somewhat. For example, I have a personal Facebook site where (for the most part) I try to keep it for personal friends and family content. But, what eventually happens is that business or networking contacts end up being part of my network. Some of the same folks I in my network on LinkedIn are in fact also my “friends” on Facebook.

One of my Facebook friends sells cars and every so often he posts a deal on a car. I know when I am in the market for a car, he will be top of mind because he is now part of my online world.  Is it because he is a friend, or a automotive sales person? I guess in the end it really doesn’t matter. The point here is to think about your social networking world in a more macro sense. Relationships rule the planet and the more folks you know (that you want to know) the better.

The only caveat is to know that each relationship online needs to be nurtured from time to time. Yes, the lines are blurred, but that may be a good thing…

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Sending out emails to market and promote your business is picked up hugely in popularity over the last few years. For one, it’s free and for another, it’s very easy to measure. You can tell when someone has received your email, opened it and read it and how many have responded really quickly and easily.  

But, when should you use email marketing to promote your business and how do you make sure it’s effective for you? 

Email marketing is a fantastic tool to help you build a relationship with people. To make email marketing effective for your business requires a mind shift in itself. Gone are the days where you just send out a sales letter by email instead of by post. These days, email marketing is about building a relationship with your customers so that they can experience what you do without any commitment whatsoever. 

That’s why providing people with useful tips or information is far more effective than just simply a sales email. It’s much more likely to be read and people are far more likely to respond to your email. 

But even though you are providing people with something useful, you still have to know what action you want people to take as a result of your emails. If you’ve never contacted people before, you may want them to download a report from your website. Or if you’ve already started to build a relationship with people, you might want them to book onto a workshop, complete a survey or book a 1-2-1 chat with you. 

Whatever your aim, you’re going to need to send out a series of between 7-11 emails to people to get them to do what you want them to do. I know that probably sounds a lot, but your message is going to change on every email so people are not going to get bored reading the same thing. 

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We started enjoying the benefits of the Internet before it was the Internet. 

When the National Science Foundation awarded the first four contracts to connect engineers and scientists around the country into an on-line community, we started to work with the fledgling CERFnet that established the Western leg of the NSFnet. 

Up until the any-to-any communications network went commercial it was a badge of courage and honor to struggle with the unfriendly network of networks. 

It was an amazing means of communications!

With newer and more user-friendly interfaces as well as the introduction of the Web things got even better.   

Now they’re also worse than ever but…

Sending emails back and forth is faster and more reliable than sending letters through the USPS. 

It’s easier than using the telephone and playing phone tag for hours and days on end. 

It even enables you to tap into sites around the globe and research almost anything, anywhere, anytime.

We’re not big surfing fans but our son has no problem cruising from site to site gathering information on our solar system, string theory, tons of things he has a hard time explaining to us. 

The Data Rich Web
Recently we had to conduct some on-line research for a client.

We searched through more that 50 on-line press rooms.

We found news releases, white papers, literature, financial statements, product reviews and more. 

The Web delivered up a veritable gold mine of information. 

Almost everything you would want to know…except! 

Way too often, we couldn’t find an editorial contact. 

Tech support?  Sure. 

Sales?  No problem. 

Webmaster?  Buried but there. 

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Social media is information created to be disseminated through social interaction, created using accessible and scalable publishing techniques via the net.  Now there is a mouthfull.  It is an umbrella term that defines a wide range of activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words and pictures via the web.  That said, it is one of the most important ways to communicate and build relationships with people, including prospects, customers and those in a specific target market.

Social media is changing how we relate with one another, what we learn about each other and what we are comfortable sharing.  The upside of this is that more people are connecting, communicating and in touch than ever before.  The downside is more strangers know more about our personal lives and information.  For example, when someone Tweets that their family is off to Europe, it’s not just their friends that know that they’re not going to be home for awhile.  It’s often hard to remember that the information we post on the net is being viewed by people we don’t know.  It feels like a normal controlled conversation, which can lull people into a dangerous complacency.

Marketing-wise, social media is opening new worlds of possibilities.  Having run a public relations firm for over two decades, I’ve seen the greatest changes in marketing take pace in the past few years.  It has truly been a seismic change.  How we communicate and how we relate is shifting.  Marketers need to take note that (more than ever) a strong campaign comes down to effectively communicating and building relationships

One of the most interesting shifts is the melding of traditional public relations and social media.

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Social media, blogging and article marketing offer effective ways to generate interest establish a presence for your brand and your company and create a powerful inbound marketing funnel.  As with all forms of Internet marketing, online tracking and analytics help make this type of outreach accountable.  They keep you on track, letting you know if you’re utilizing the most effective approach.  Moreso than with other types of marketing, the key to success here is relevancy.  In this case you are truly shooting for quality, not quantity.

Relevancy comes down to creating and posting effective content that your readers and customer base are interested in.  Content is king when it comes to the net.  You can’t overestimate it.  Once that most important element is in place, there are various ways to package and deliver your content.  The more organic avenues include blogging, article marketing and social networks.  The more commercial-oriented avenues include Adwords, pay for clicks, placing ads on social media sites email marketing, etc.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the jury is still out on the success of ads on social media sites.  There are certain risks by association that advertisers are not comfortable with.  An ad on Facebook or Twitter could be placed next to some very controversial post or image.  It is a risk the advertiser takes.  The sites themselves are developing new revenue models that are not ad-oriented.  Some offer games on their platforms, others sell customized digital items to their members, and others such as LinkedIn offer premium services for a monthly fee.  Twitter will be charging for different analytical tools.   One thing that’s clear is that the revenue model for social media sites is not yet clear at all.

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Book signing tours use to be a regular part of the publishing industry.  Authors expected to sign a deal, get an advance and then prepare for a tour.  Some tours, those of the reigning literary superstars, had a glamorous side; for most they were a bit of a grind and a part of the road warrior aspect of trying to sell books. 

But book tours are going the way of the LP in the music industry.  They are still there, but they’re becoming scarcer.  It’s a shame, because book tours are more important than many realize.  They are about making connections with individual stores, store owners and managers.  Even those inevitable signings that end up with barely a handful of people in the audience can be beneficial, if a relationship is forged between the writer and a bookseller.  But now independents are falling by the wayside and the large chains are doing all that they can to simply survive.  As with the music industry, the Internet has set the publishing industry on its head.  Stores and chains are failing as more books are being bought and sold online.  As with all types of intellectual property, book sales are being hit hard.  The model that worked so well only a few years ago, is now broken.

The downside is that the days of generous advances, full-blown PR campaigns and multi-city book tours is pretty much a thing of the past, except for a very select few.   Still as the old model begins to falter, new  opportunities are surfacing.  For authors who take their careers and their works into their own hands there is a new world of opportunity out there.

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The Internet has impacted all of the arts, but no sector has been hit quite as hard as the music industry.  With CD sales fading and radio play shrinking, recording artists are finding less opportunities to get their music heard.  To survive, many musicians are becoming brands in the service of brands.  The industry is in such a free fall that advertising avenues are filling the shoes that music labels once did.  During most of rock’s history melding music in the service of a product was anathema.  But this is a very different world; in the past musicians and record labels could make a good living off of selling records and CDs.  An artist didn’t have to sell his or her music to an advertiser or TV show to turn a profit.  But with the advent of Napster and subsequent sites, the days of platinum and double platinum record sales are quickly fading. 

Now most bands make their money off of touring, merchandising and yes, melding their music with products.  Lady GaGa’s Bad Romance is a product placement wet dream come true.  The video is filled with brands galore.  But she’s not the only one going down that road; everyone from Iggy Pop to Velvet Revolver to Depeche Mode has cut deals with products and brands.   Although Steve Jobs helped to put some life back into music with iTunes as a way to generate revenue, it’s a far cry from where things stood in the ‘60s, ‘70s, or ‘80s.  As the industry shifts, artists have to rethink their approach and their career paths.

The downside is that labels are no longer there with the famed A&R reps grabbing bands off the streets and turning them into stars (not that it was ever that common an occurrence to begin with).

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Most companies develop action plans for what they consider the nuts-and-bolts part of their business, including production, sales, distribution, etc.  It’s surprising how few companies automatically throw marketing into that mix.   This is particularly true when it comes to small or mid-sized companies.  Many entrepreneurs and business owners think of marketing as an extra, an afterthought, something to focus on when there is extra money to spend on incidentals.    The truth is that for a company to be successful (first and foremost) marketing matters.  It is a business essential.  The question should never be if a company should market, but how.

The good news is that businesses now have more options than ever.  It used to be that direct marketing, traditional advertising and PR, were the holy trinity in marketing.  Along with some basic grassroots guerrilla approaches, those three were considered the only viable options.  The internet has changed everything.  The new marketing arsenal now includes social media, blogging, email marketing, article marketing, pay-per-click, video marketing, Adwords… the list goes on.

But this does not mean that there is now an either/or approach to marketing.  The correct question is not:  should a company launch a traditional public relations campaign or a social media campaign? Rather, how does a company effectively meld a PR campaign with a social media, blogging approach?

To launch an effective campaign, a business first needs to develop a clear message, create a strong brand and define its target market.  The next step is to develop a strong marketing approach and marketing plan.  The plan needs to be a living breathing, fluid approach that can shift and change as the market changes.  Each business has different needs.  But a plan is a necessity.

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Summary - If you have taken the plunge and opened a home based business, you are likely interested in learning how to make it a success. The most important skill to master when working at home is marketing.

How to Grow your Home Based Business
Marketing is the key to financial success for any home based business opportunity. When you work at home, you must learn how to leverage the power of the Internet to grow your annual revenues. No matter how knowledgeable you are about a particular product or service, if you don’t generate sales, you will go out of business. Follow the ideas outlined below to grow your work at home opportunity.

Article Marketing
Content is king on the Internet for generating website traffic for your home based business opportunity. When a potential customer types in a keyword or keyword phrase into a search engine, a list of relevant websites will come up for their review. And, when they click on a link provided, the business stands the chance to generate either a lead or a sale. So, for your work at home opportunity, leverage the power of article marketing to increase revenues. Articles of interest to your target lead can be placed onto your website or into article directories to increase your natural page rank over time.

Create a Blog
Blog marketing is also a popular online marketing technique for home based business owners. Blogs are more personal in nature than articles and can also be placed either on your company website or on an independent website with links back to your URL. Blogs should be written about informative topics that would appeal to the ideal lead for your business.

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Over the last year or so, lots and lots of new ways to promote your business have appeared. Some of these were there before, but they’ve now become mainstream and have opened the doors for smaller businesses to compete with larger businesses for the first time. And they all have to do with advances in technology. 

For the first time, you are able to market and promote your business to the masses without it costing you a penny and whatsmore, because some of these ideas are new and a bit different, it makes marketing fun! 

If you’d asked me about these things a year ago, I probably would have told you that it simply wasn’t possible, but now it is. So, let me give you a bit of an insight into some of the new ways to promote your business. All of these are completely free to do and some of them may appeal to your nature as a completely different and creative way to do business.  

1.   Social Networking I think most small businesses have now heard about Social Networking or the likes of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc, but many people haven’t yet experienced this form of marketing. It’s still incredibly new and a bit scaryfor people, but it’s a really fun way to get your message out and great for allowing people to experience the person behind the business.  

2.   Podcasts or audio recordings Audio recordings are gaining pace as a completley different way to learn. These are tips, opinions and information but on an audio recording rather than being written down. Once you’ve recorded your stuff, you can send a link to download the recording to your customers or provide the information on a CD. You can even record a few recordings and then submit them to Itunes for inclusion on their site. 

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The word ‘Autoresponders’ has been used more and more over the last few months and pretty much all of us have now experienced them even if you don’t yet realise it. 

But just what is an autoresponder and why should you think about using one in your business? 

Well, let me explain. 

The simplest form of an autoresponder is when you send a message to someone and you immediately receive an email back that tells you that person is out of office. This email will have been sent automatically (no human response was required) and it will have responded to you – hence the name autoresponder. 

You will have also probably seen an autoresponder if you’ve purchased products off of a website. Take Amazon for example or Ebay. If you’ve purchased something from Amazon or made a bid on Ebay, the chances are high that you will have immediately received an email from the company confirming your purchase or your bid.  

And you may have seen autoresponders at work if you’ve subscribed to a newsletter from a website. In most cases now, you will have immediately receive an email from the company concerned welcoming you to the website with a copy of the newsletter. 

Now, trust me when I say that a human is not sitting there at all times of the day or night responding to messages that come in from a website or order confirmations – these emails are sent automatically from you by a computer programme that has been specifically written for this purpose. 

But, why should you care? What has this got to do with your business? 

Now (hopefully) you’ve got your head around what an autoresponder is, I want you just to think for a minute about the power of autoresponders and how they can help your business. 

Imagine that while you’re on holiday, a potential customer visits your website.

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As a teen entrepreneur coach, I work with young entrepreneurs who are often bootstrapping when they start out. They are searching for simple ways to build a presence online to compliment whatever they are doing in the offline space. Even though they are often technologically savvy, when starting a business, marketing a business online can be information overload. So these are the simple steps I share with them so that they can get started. And they can use supplementary resources, advanced programs and tools and fee based 3rd party applications to build on this foundation as they acquire more knowledge, visibility and money.

1. Name It and Claim It. When you decide to build an online presence pick a topic that centers on a theme and try to make sure everything you set up from your social networking sites to your blog, somehow ties back to that theme. It helps to build greater brand awareness. The more niche or specialized the theme, the easier it will be for your target customer and the media to find you vs. you trying to find them. Express your unique voice as it will make you more memorable i.e. Relationship Marketing Expert, Mari Smith, always wears turquoise in her videos, online avatars and at conferences so she can be easily recognized….not to mention she is a 6′ blonde =) When creating a name for your blog or user name, try to think of an all encompassing term that someone might use to search for your site or blog.

2. Choose Your Platform. Think about the behaviors of your customers or do a survey (www.surveymonkey.com) to find out what online tools they are using. The places where your customer are spending their time are the places you need to be active. You don’t need to register for a lot of sites or the latest and the greatest. Register for one or two sites.

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Wordpress STD’s (Security Transgression Defilements) are a common occurrence. WordPress-powered websites are far from being immune to hackers, although the latest release/s address many earlier security issues. WordPress, like other content management systems and forums such as phpBB, vBulletin, is a major target for hackers and spammers. Basic prophylactic measures, or condoms for WordPress STDs, need not be complicated or expensive.

Those involved in hacking WordPress usually want to use the sites as concealed (cloaked) link farms. Its rare that actual damage is done to your site, and often the site owner remains blissfully unaware that there’s been any interference. Some of the link injection systems are extremely sophisticated! Testing for enemy action can be as simple as opening your site and choosing View / Source and reading through the content of the <Head> section down to, and including, the <BODY> tag. The link injections I’ve seen are usually immediately after <BODY>. Is there a long string of HTML code containing links to dozens of sites you know nothing about? If there is, you’ve been violated, and have a WordPress STD (Security Terminated Deficiency)!

This article is not about fixing security violations. Its about simple prophylactic measures most “non-technician” site owners take. This is not slick and professional security strategy, and there are some who will scoff at using  “security by obscurity” as a primary tactic. However, even on a tight budget, the following 12 zero-dollar steps can and should be taken to minimise the possibility of attack.

1 - Always Use the Current Version
Why anyone would persist with an older version is beyond me. Upgrading has always been easy enough, and recent versions reduce the pain to a button click!

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Have you ever longed for people to knock on your door wanting to do business with you? Um – doesn’t often happen does it?  

Actually that’s not quite true. There is a way to get people knocking at your door, but it doesn’t just happen by itself. You need to influence this. And how you do that is to build relationships with people so that they perceive you as an expert and know, like and trust your approach. 

That sounds so easy doesn’t it? Well, I know it’s not. One of the best ways to help people to perceive you in this way though is to write articles.  

Articles are great for loads of things. They’re great for building your reputation as an expert in your field and they have the added advantage that once you’ve written one article, you can then use it in tons of places.  

Some ideas of where you can use your articles include in your newsletter, in other people’s newsletter, post them on-line to build your presence on the internet and on social networks, send them to the press, include them in a book, put them on your blog, send them out to your clients and contacts as useful information or you could swap your article in exchange for people’s contact details on your website. 

Just in the last few months, articles that I’ve written have been included in three books (two are still being published, but one is on the bookshelves as we speak), got me several clients and I’ve also been ask to speak in several places too. How much free publicity is that? 

I’m not telling you this to boast – I’m telling you this so that you can realise that writing articles is a powerful marketing tool that can really help you pitch yourself as an expert in your field. After all, do you think your clients would rather work with an expert? Yes, of course they would! 

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Brands and marketers are rapidly leaving the orbit of “paid media” dominance and entering the gravitational pull of the age of “earned” and “social media.” But, first, a definition, compliments of Wikipedia:
Earned media (free media) refers to favorable publicity garnered via efforts other than advertising, as opposed to paid media, which refers to publicity gained through advertising. Earned media often refers specifically to publicity gained through editorial influence, whereas social media refers to publicity gained through grassroots action, particularly on the Internet.

Brands that want to generate “coverage” in a world where professional and consumer-generated media live side-by-side, they either must “earn” it (PR) or stimulate a conversation (social) based on action, in-action or mis-actions (mistakes). Traditionally, earned media coverage was largely facilitated through public relations campaigns - professional editors assigned stories to journalists who wrote about something “newsworthy.”

While that process is still at work in an ever-expanding media universe, today products and (customer) services that delight consumers by exceeding, or failing, to exceed their expectations earn voluminous word-of-mouth (social media) coverage from armies of bloggers, tweeters, and Facebookers, who magnify the brand message virally.

While earned media has been around since the first campfires, the Internet and social media networks make it much easier to earn media for a brand, product, or oneself. But earning digital media doesn’t mean it’s free. Instead of paying for media placements (advertising), marketers pay for the time and resources of people who will investigate what’s being said about your brand and then engage on your behalf. These can be employees, contractors, agencies, etc.

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“Hey, come take a look at this storm system. It’s enormous.” – Hideki, Japanese astronaut, The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

Lots of people missed the big news of the Beijing Olympics.  It wasn’t that Mark Phelps won 8 gold medals.  It wasn’t that the U.S. edged out China on the total number of medals.  It wasn’t the hundreds of personal tragedies and triumphs.  Some of the competitors undoubtedly felt like Laura Chapman … “I know you always thought I took the competition too seriously … you were right. It was all for nothing.”  The big news was that nothing happened.  Sure The Chinese government and China’s CCTV was afraid.  NBC was afraid.  AT&T was afraid.  BBC was afraid.  Microsoft was afraid (they had a lot riding on Silverlight’s success).  Limelight and Akamai were afraid.  Afraid the video pipes of the world would collapse. 

Didn’t happen!

The estimated 1.3 billion worldwide Internet users were more than four times the number of potential users that tried to access Mark Cuban’s broadcast.com “airing” of Victoria’s Secret show a decade ago. 

The Games Begin

This online video challenge streamed more than 2200 hours of live competition in 25 sports.  More than 112 video streams were often available at one time.  All told 336 streams could have been sent out simultaneously.  The content was available to 77 countries.  The great thing was online viewers around the globe didn’t have to watch NBC’s version of the Olympics.  Use your search engine, type in Beijing (or 2008) Olympics + country name and BAM!

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