Successful Blog

Connecting with Customers: Mack Collier SRO

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A SERIES in the quest to know more about the offline world

Part 3 in (what is now) a 4-Part Interview with Mack Collier

Last Wednesday we continued the a conversation with Mack Collier about connecting with new customers. The interview has been so popular that I’ve asked Mack to return for a few more questions and answers.

Hi Mack! Thanks for agreeing to talk some more!
Could you bring us back to a description of your typical client?

Right now it’s mainly small businesses. But have also noticed some corporations aren’t ready to put plans in action, but want to get some general Social Media 101 advice. Am also noticing that now most of the clients I come in contact with already have blogs and need help with them, instead of needing to know how to get started blogging.

Many people get a mindset that the Internet is one thing and offline is another. How do you fit social media into the whole of a marketing mix?

Here’s an example I use alot; if you sell anything online, then why wouldn’t you want to better connect with and communicate with your online customers? Social media can help you do that. Now if you run a auto repair shop, you might not even have a website. But if you do any business online, then you have customers online that you can better connect with via social media.

What is the most natural first small step for most companies to take? If you’re getting someone to ramp up slowly, what’s the first thing you suggest they do to learn the culture and why that?

I always advise clients to start monitoring the existing conversations. Figure out first what is being said online about your business. And I will show companies conversations that happened maybe last year, and ask them to think about how that exchange (especially if it was negative) could have been different if the company would have responded. When you know what is being said about your business online, then you can respond. Doing so makes you more comfortable with the space as a whole. Which makes it easier to start blogging and using other social sites/tools.

. . . More on Wednesday — We’ll talk tools, timelines, and clear results!

Thanks, Mack!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Connie Reece – The SOBCon Update

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Connie ReeceHave you ever heard of a “Plurkshop”? Well Connie Reece has been giving a series of them. Check out Every Dot Connects to “[get]… a glimpse into the minds of some of today’s social media practitioners and thought leaders, and give you a taste of what the plurkshops are like in case you want to join us for future events“.

PlurkshopOn Plurk, a newer microblogging/presence app, we have been having a series of “plurkshops,” an online DIY workshop where we start a topic and discuss it in real time, effectively turning Plurk into a chat room. This has been peer-to-peer knowledge sharing at its best. Some plurkshops have yielded over 600 comments in two hours, with the quality of the information shared being impressive. That’s a firehose of words, of course, so some of the participants have started writing recaps to summarize the discussion and put it into perspective.

In fact, the Plurkshop on Social Media Management is particularly insightful. Read about it all here [link].

Don’t forget to subscribe to the feed, you wouldn’t want to miss out on any updates would you? Click here to subscribe.

Connecting with Customers: More Talk with Mack Collier

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A SERIES in the quest to know more about the offline world

Part 2 in A 2-Part Interview with Mack Collier

Monday, I shared the beginning of a conversation with Mack Collier about connecting with new customers. This is part two of that interview with Mack.

What do you do when your potential client needs to sell him or her company on the idea of social media?

Make sure they understand how social media can improve their businesses. Many cos/organizations want the ‘monetization’ part built from the start. Social media is often viewed as a potential monetization channel, instead of being a communication channel. What I try to do is make sure the potential client understands that money can be made with social media, but that it comes as a byproduct of using the tools to facilitate connections with current and potential customers, and build those connections into relationships.

It’s very counterintuitive at first because many cos don’t want to enter into a space unless they can see direct monetary benefits. It takes time and much hand-holding in some cases to help businesses realize that successful social media initiatives are based on creating value for others. As you create more value, an INDIRECT benefit is that you can see sales increase, positive equity/awareness grow, etc.

What do most new clients ask for your help with? What misconceptions do they bring?

When the questions start to shift from ‘what do I get out of this?’ to ‘what do my readers/friends/customers get out of this?’ And I think that’s a normal progression for anyone that’s using social media, I was the same way with my blogging and Twittering at first. But after a while I began to understand that the more value I created for others, the more value came back to me. We need to remember that companies need time to learn these same lessons.

. . . It seems that we — you and I — have more questions, and I’ve confirmed that Mack has more answers. So Mack and I have agreed to extend the interview. Watch for parts three and four next week!

Thanks, Mack!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

The Beam Global Cultural Switch Interviews: Meet Rory Finlay

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A SERIES in the quest to know more about the offline world

An Interview with Beam Global’s Rory Finlay

After SOBCon08, I asked Jason Falls, Social Media Explorer, to check in with with Beam Global. The question was whether we might share their social media relationship with their customers. Could we show how it started and tell the story as it grows? I’m delighted to say that the idea got an immediate approval — this is one of those interviews.

Meet Rory Finlay. He is the senior vice president and global chief marketing officer of Beam Global Wine & Sprits, Inc. Rory is leading the charge in this cultural shift.

Hi Rory! The first question probably won’t surprise you. Corporations turn as slowly as aircraft carriers. Why did Beam Global invest in a Social Media Initiative?

Beam Global is committed to its Vision of “Building brands people want to talk about.” We pride ourselves in developing bold, innovative, creative and unique campaigns that engage our consumers in meaningful ways. With the evolution of social media, we’re finding that people are talking less around the water coolers at work and more through blogs and social media outlets such as Facebook.

As our consumers engage in conversations in the social media world, it seemed only natural that we should as well. Through social media tools, we are able to move beyond merely talking about our brands, but actually showing consumers what our brands stand for and how our consumers connect with those brands.

What worries, concerns, and hurdles did you have? How did you make them dissolve?

One issue we focused on solving was how to accurately measure “talkablity” and the tone of the conversations generated in the social media world. We worked with Jason Falls, social media explorer, who helped us implement metrics and tools to do just that. We are able to capture our consumers’ comments (good and bad) and use the feedback to improve our work in the social media arena and our brands’ place within those conversations.

We have also tasked our marketers with the goal of creating new and innovative ways to utilize social media. For example, Jim Beam® has turned conventional marketing on its head by linking the quality of what’s inside the bottle to the positive qualities and attributes of selected individuals and organizations that personify “The Stuff Inside.” As Jason mentioned to you earlier this month, Jim Beam is using 100% of its advertising budget to support individuals and organizations with “The Stuff Inside,” and help them reach the next level of success by amplifying the story of their true character to a broader audience. We have issued a social media release on this movement and developed a micro site (www.thestuffinside.com) that invites consumers to talk with each other about what “The Stuff Inside” means to them and provide real-life examples. The implementation of ideas and commitment to concepts like this is will continue to set Beam Global and its brands apart.

Rory, what did it take for your team to see what Jason meant when he says you have to “live social media”?

In order to understand social media, we truly had to engage in it. Merely talking about things like webcasts, Twittering and blogging really do not mean much until you actually connect with the medium. Marketing to consumers through social media allows us to experiment and test different ideas and concepts, which eventually helps us to evolve and adapt the presence of our brands in this arena. “Living” social media ultimately helps us “live” our Vision; getting people talking about our brands in social media is one of the key ways we strive to achieve “Building brands people want to talk about.”

What surprises did you hear of from JJ Betts (Jim Beam brand manager) and Scott Kolbe (relationship marketing manager) when they immersed themselves with social media bloggers at SOBcon?

JJ and Scott were able to speak with veteran bloggers about “The Stuff Inside” and showcase the movement for critique and feedback. My main takeaway from SOBcon was that the “The Stuff Inside” effort is among the first major social media efforts for the spirits industry. It validates Beam Global’s goal of executing bold ideas and actions that inspire conversations about our brands.

What are your hopes for “The Stuff Inside” (http:/www.thestuffinside.com/) and how can the bloggers who love you help?

Through “The Stuff Inside” we want to celebrate and support integrity and character. Superficial images inundate us all the time and when we came across individuals and organizations that personified quality and integrity, we want to do whatever we can to champion these anchors of genuineness. By supporting real-life subjects in non-traditional ways, Jim Beam is putting the brand’s timeless values into a context that makes them contemporary and relevant to today’s consumer. We ask not only bloggers, but all legal drinking age consumers to join in the conversation with us.

Thanks, Rory, and thanks, Beam!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
Get your best voice in the conversation!

You can read the other Beam Global Cultural Shift Interviews here:
The Beam Global Cultural Switch to Social Media: How It Began
The Beam Global Interview with Jason Falls Continues

Social-Networking Sites Are More Popular Than . . .

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Packed with Facts and Calls to Action

If you’ve been looking for the way to explain social networking and social media to someone who’s just getting interested. This should do the trick.

It’s a slideshare made by Marta Kagan, an online marketing, e-mail marketing, direct mail marketing — the list goes on — for this self-described “bonafide marketing genius.” This presentation is proof that she’s not just throwing out some title there.

Enjoy!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

When Kings Get Stuck in Their Own Kingly Story . . . MSM, Blogging, and Social Media

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Step Away from Your Thinking

The Living Web

In a conversation yesterday about the decline of print newspapers, my husband asked a simple question . . .

My Husband: They report the news. It’s their business. Why didn’t they see it?

ME: Some did. But mainstream media kings believed in the power of the monarchy.

When kings reign over a silent audience, they might believe they have the only voice. The sound of other voices could become unconceivable. It’s easy to see how they might get stuck in their own story.

Another Kingdom that Wasn’t Listening

Two hundred years ago, a king thought he had the only voice that mattered . . .

In 1775 relations were souring between England and the American colonies. Colonists felt overtaxed and treated unfairly. Still looking to save the union, the colonists extended an Olive Branch Petition to King George III.

We your Majesty’s faithful subjects of the colonies of New-hampshire, Massachusetts-bay, . . . in behalf of ourselves and the inhabitants of these colonies, who have deputed us to represent them in general Congress, entreat your Majesty’s gracious attention to this our humble petition.

The union between our Mother Country and these colonies, and the energy of mild and just government, produced benefits so remarkably important, and afforded such an assurance of their permanency and increase, that the wonder and envy of other Nations were excited, while they beheld Great Britain riseing to a power the most extraordinary the world had ever known.

George III refused it. He issued a Proclamation of Rebellion. He called them traitors

Whereas many of our subjects in divers parts of our Colonies and Plantations in North America, misled by dangerous and ill designing men, and forgetting the allegiance which they owe to the power that has protected and supported them; after various disorderly acts committed in disturbance of the publick peace, to the obstruction of lawful commerce, and to the oppression of our loyal subjects carrying on the same; have at length proceeded to open and avowed rebellion, by arraying themselves in a hostile manner, to withstand the execution of the law, and traitorously preparing, ordering and levying war against us: . . .

A year later the colonies signed, The Declaration of Independence.

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Each year on July 4, the United States of America celebrates the independence won in the war this document declared. Suppose George III had listened?

When Kings Get Stuck in Their Own Kingly Story

Kings, contrarians, politicians . . . celebrities, bloggers, CEOs . . . preachers, teachers, all of us . . . when we start believing our own kingly stories, we stop listening to the people around us.

We start sorting their voices as we would have them. We stop thinking. We stop remembering that we don’t get to pick how other folks will be.

When the MSM media might have listened, they were selling their own story. Citizen journalist became less than a compliment — it was term to spin their story. What if they’d put down their kingly story?

Now the MSM castle is undergoing expensive renovation.
No kingly group is immune from narrow vision.
Even the most wonderful story can’t control the conversation.

What sort of listening strategy will keep us from getting stuck in our own story?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!