BarnRaisers

You can’t swing a cat these days without hitting someone talking about the Old Spice commercials featuring the dashing, shirtless former NFL wide receiver, Isiah Mustafa.  The commercial, “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like,” has been viewed on YouTube 15,535,845 times.  It proves the viewership potential for advertisers with social media and, most important, shows Old Spice’s connectedness and relevance to its target audience.

It also reminds me of the social media campaign for Blendtec blenders, featuring the cloaked CEO and everyman, Tom Dickson.  The commercials, “iPhone” and “iPad,” have been viewed roughly 8,000,000 times each.  Blendtec achieved a 500-to-1 ROI from this effort.

Developed so consumers watch and like so much they put on social networks for others to watch, these social media commercials are generating reach that rivals paid mass media.  You might think, based on this criteria, it’s better quality reach too.  If for some reason you’ve been living under a digital rock, you can view them at the bottom of this blog.

I don’t want to suggest rules or a formula to great creative but I can’t help but notice some similarities between these two campaigns.  Here are 5 best practices of social media commercials:

1. REINVENT THE RULES: Both begin as “talking head” commercials, the oldest and most basic commercial form, but then take this “tried and true” approach and turn it into something you’ve never seen before.
2. LIVE COMFORTABLY OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE:  Both presenters seem right at home and willing to take risks in situations that would cause much embarrassment to most of us.
3. GIVE A NOD TO TECHNOLOGY: Early Blendec commercials blended broom handles and golf balls.  But, when they started blending iPhone and iPads, viewership took off to the mega-millions.  For Old Spice, references to social networks and Tweets from Alyssa Milano have helped the interest and pass-along value spiral upward and upward.
4. CREATE LEGS TO THE IDEA, IMMEDIATELY:  Both benefit from multiple executions right off the bat making us appreciate the breath and commitment to the idea and looking forward to what comes next.
5. ENTERTAIN AS YOU SELL:   When consumers choose to look for you instead of you chasing them, there’s a new value exchange. 

I don’t know about you but I look forward to many more social media commercials.  I would think advertisers would too.  Do you see similarities between these efforts?  Can you think of other best practices?

According to Social Media Examiner (http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com), the top three social media questions people ask are:

1. How do I measure social media return on investment?
2. What are the social media marketing best practices?
3. How do I manage my time with social media?

Here’s a the roadmap: 2 hours/day X 60 days = social media ROI.

It’s my experience but, more importantly, a conclusion reached at an SAS and AMA webinar last week led by John Bastone and Chris Brogan (http://www.chrisbrogan.com).  John and Chris challenged the popular excuse there is no pure sense of ROI with social media saying:  If you put  in 2 hours/day for 60 days, you’ll see social media’s return on investment.

Here’s why:

• HIGHLY MEASURABLE:  With standard analytics, you can measure: 1) LEADS: Social media traffic to your web site and/or store and how many share your news with others 2) CONVERSION: What actions they take on on your site and/or at the store and 3) RETENTION/LOYALTY: If they come back and repeat their activity.  These are the standard metrics for benchmarking return on investment.
• SUCCESS COMES FROM LISTENING, CONNECTING AND PUBLISHING:  These spell out the dynamics, time commitments and activities that build a following, momentum and results.  But they don’t occur unless the activities are performed continuously.  In any 2 hour period, you should spend 30 minutes listening, 60 minutes connecting and 30 minutes publishing.  A common mistake companies make is to use social media as an outlet for press releases.  Bad idea.  This creates the impression your brand is impersonal and not listening or willing to connect.
• STARTS WITH PITCHING IN: Conversations are occurring about your brand and category as we speak.  Search them out on Google, Yahoo, Technorati, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and you will quickly see where most happen - blogs, online communities or social networks. Then, pitch in and join. You’ll quickly find where you get the most bang for your buck so you can spend time on what’s working and pull back on what’s not.
• MADE FOR ROI: If you’ve defined your business goals, (e.g. increase sales of X%, generate new subscriptions of Y%), there should be NO reason why you can’t now look at your business pre and post, relate it to activities, identify strong performers, apply measurements above and have an ROI – robust with as much data and analytics as you like.

With the learning, you can improve or “optimize” the process for even better results in the next 60 days.

One other piece of advice to help with connecting with your customers.  Talk about your customers’ interests before you talk about your product.  Content about customers always draws more customers than content about your product.  Pretty soon, they’ll start generating content for you to help you manage your time and investment.

2 hours and 60 days may seem like a little or a lot depending on your perspective.  I’m not aware of a marketing channel that does it more expediently or is more transparent.

I hope this gives you a helpful perspective and demystifies some often asked questions.  If it doesn’t, I hope you’ll let me know.

What are net promoters? Consumers who rate products on the internet?  Mommy Bloggers? People who Tweets about brands on Twitter? Fans on Facebook? Hold that thought.

For students of relationship marketing and CRM, net promoters are the driving force of Fred Reichheld’s book, The Ultimate Question. Fred studied and surveyed the customers of 100′s of companies and came to a singular conclusion: The most admired and profitable companies are the ones with the greatest percentage of net promoters – people who enthusiastically answer in the affirmative the question, ”How likely is it that you would recommend this company to a friend or colleague?”

Fred developed the Net Promoter Score (NPS).  The NPS is the percentage of people who are “promoters” of a company minus the   “passives” and “detractors” (NPS = P – D).  Reichheld’s work is known for its statistical significance and high correlation with business success.  In 2006, the companies with the highest NPS were:

• USAA (82%)
• HomeBanc (81%)
• Harley-Davidson (81%)
• Costco (79%)
• Amazon.com (73%)
• Chick-fil-A (72%)
• eBay (71%)

By 2008, Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, in Groundswell, delivered research showing 80% of people rate and review products favorably on the internet and their social networks. If companies with an NPS of 80% rank among the highest in Reichheld’s work, Li and Bernoff’s research is particularly good news for businesses and brands.

It means companies that use interactive ratings are reviews are likely to have a higher NPS, be more admired and have greater profitability. Li and Bernoff’s research also showed:

• 76% of customers use online reviews to make purchases
• 96% of sites that have them say they are an effective merchandising tactic
• Only 25% of e-commerce sites have them now

So, from Reichheld’s, Li’s and Bernoff’s viewpoints, we’re in the “net promoters era.”  If your company isn’t taking advantage of it, shouldn’t it be?

I’m seeing a business principle take shape in social media called the ”Goldilocks Rule.”

What happens is a business starts using a number of social networks (Twitter, Facebook, etc.). Maybe they use video or an app too. Pretty soon, one social networks starts working better than all the others. It’s the one that’s “just right” because it:

• Attracts more people (fans, followers, viewers)
• Increases sales most directly

While it’s not apparent at the outset what social network it will be, it is apparent, once it starts to happen, it’s the one that best reflects the uniqueness of the brand. Let’s look at a few examples.

1. BLENDTEC (BLENDERS):  On YouTube, the blending of an iPhone has been watched by 8,002,192 viewers. Videos of CEO Tom Dickson blending golf balls and hockey pucks have over 1,000,000 viewers each. By contrast, Blendtec has 17,145 fans on Facebook and 2,266 followers on Twitter. For a product whose benefit needs to be seen to be believed, videos and YouTube are the medium for the message.  For an investment of around $1,000, company sales increased +500%. And they still grow in direct proportion to YouTube viewership.

2. AJ BOMBERS (RESTAURANTS): Ask owner, Joe Sorge, what took his Milwaukee burger joint from $12,000/week to $17,000/week in sales and he’ll tell you Twitter, a video from Chris Brogan and great burgers. Numbers support this because the video on YouTube has 3,047 viewers and AJ Bomber’s Twitter page, which Joe uses like a virtual host, has 3,107 followers.  By contrast, AJ Bomber’s Facebook page has 1,028 fans.  Maybe that’s why Joe now has a book called #Twitterworks (http://twitterworks.tv) to go with the great food.

Both Tom and Joe’s videos are in previous blog.

3. COLGATE (CONSUMER GOODS):  We put social media into Colgate’s marketing mix by creating a social media app for their promotions and events so friends could share Colgate news with  friends. We put the app on their web site. It gives greater details on specific promotions and events and allows for sharing on over 20 social networks. We find 80% of response comes from Facebook. We also find the response rate is 4X industry norms and people spend 3X more time on the app than the web site. Since the average Facebook users has 130 friends, that’s a lot of people and involvement.

Facebook proved to be the best vehicles for conversations about Colgate brands. All of us like to talk about brands. Did you know we talk about brands on average a dozen times a day?  Now, social media makes it easier for those conversations to occur and for us to learn from them.

So that’s the “Goldilocks Rule.” We see it for brands we observe. Do you see in your industry or brand?

The U.S. Small Business Administration is giving social media workshops at UCONN campuses this March and April.

52% of people in the U.S. work at businesses with 20 people or less.  Small businesses have led the country out of every recession.  Many believe, including comScore, social media will be a big asset this time around.

Since I’m one of them, I’m grateful to contribute along with Mike Rogers of Brainloaf,  http://www.brainloaf.com and other small business owners (featured below) that have used social media successfully.  Here are 7 social media tips to build brands.

1. Strategy trumps technology: A business strategy and social media strategy are the same thing.  In using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, apps etc., ask yourself how these amplify the business strategy and increase customer engagement and trust in your brand?
2. Set measurements and expectations first: Don’t believe anyone who says you can’t measure social media.  You can know more about buying behaviors on the internet (e.g. where customers come from, how long they spend with you, what they do and where they go) than in your store.  Plus Google Analytics and bit.ly links are free.  If you’re not convinced, David Berkowitz has a great presentation on 100 measurements at: http://bit.ly/pmadb
3. Social media takes time: Small business owners, understandably, have lots of priorities.  Manage what you can handle.  Customers come first.  Social media is going to be around for a while.
4. Live with the ups and downs: What you want is a following and fans.  It doesn’t happen overnight.  It doesn’t happen the way you thought it would, but, stick with it, and it does happen.  Enjoy the journey.
5. Not all social networks are equal: In every case I’ve seen, some social networks do better than others depending on the unique nature of every business.  For AJ Bombers, a burger joint, it was Twitter, acting as a virtual host, and a video from Chris Brogan.  For a utilitarian product like Blendtec blenders, it was unconventional product demos from Founder/CEO, Tom Dickson.  You can learn from their experiences below and expect it will happen for you.
6. Have your online house in order: If you follow tips 1-5, you will experience increased traffic.  It will go to your web site, the most important asset in any social media program.  There’s an old saying:  Nothing kills a bad product faster than good advertising.  Today, nothing kills a good social media program faster than a bad web site.
7. Believe in your product: Joe Sorge, owner of AJ Bombers, who now has a book, #Twitterworks (http://twitterworks.tv),   spoke in a video call from Milwaukee.  Joe says his Twitter page, AJBombers, has increased weekly sales +25%.  What was most important to his success?  “If I didn’t believe AJ Bombers made the best cheeseburger on the planet, social media wouldn’t have accomplished a thing.”

If you’re in the area, the next workshop is April 27th at UCONN in Stamford from 6pm to 9 pm.  Details will be at:  http://bit.ly/bW22Ml

In November, Warren Buffet bought Texas-based Burlington Northern Santa Fe for $26.3 billion dollars.  His analysis shows in our lifetimes trains are going to be the most effective, fuel-efficient and green means available to transport cargo from point A to point B.  For anyone investing in railroads, trains are going to be a source of “steady and certain” growth.

“Steady and certain” is more than an economic valuation for trains.  Their familiar sound is one of purpose and flow.

I’ve always lived in towns where trains pass through.  In Croton-on-Hudson NY, where I once lived, their sound was particularly melodious.  Trains travelled right alongside the Hudson River and the hills on both sides brought out a deep, rich sound.

If you search YouTube for Croton-0n-Hudson, what appears is an entire page of videos devoted to trains.  Apparently, from the comments, I’m not the only one to find something comforting and reassuring in their sight and sound.  Here’s one of those videos.  See if it has the same effect on you it has for many of us.

Thank you Warren Buffet and YouTube for something steady and certain.

the view outside

We’re taking a pounding today in the Northeast from the snow.  It’s good weather for blog writing, especially on the topic - you don’t need a social media strategy; you need a business strategy.

AJ Bombers is a bar and grill in Milwaukee WI and a good example because:

1. BACKGROUND –  Everything you need to know is in YouTube video from Chris Brogan 2 blogs down
2. SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESS – 75% of their customers are from Twitter
3. BUSINESS STRATEGY – Social media comes out of the business strategy
4. RELEVANCE - The principles apply to all businesses and haven’t we all dreamed of owning a successful restaurant?

BRAND POSITION.  It starts here, a promise a brand makes with its customers distinguishing itself from the competition.  I’ve never been to AJ Bombers but I know enough to write their brand position.

AJ Bombers is a place with great atmosphere where you always feel welcome and never find better beer, burgers and bar fare at a better value, anywhere.

BUSINESS STRATEGY.  How to put that promise into practice and make a profit.  From studying their web site, videos, social networks and PR, AJ Bombers’ business strategy is:

1. Mi Casa es tu Casa.  Welcome customers encouraging them to write their name or Twitter addresses on the wall.  It adds to the atmosphere, shows we want to get to know you and keeps relationships alive.
2. Put money into the product, not the marketing. Serve single, double and triple patty burgers at very reasonable prices and sides like Gi-Normous Fries.  Need I say more.  By contrast, keep the web site very simple with 5 pages (a personal “best practice” of mine since 95% of people never read more than 5 pages) and the ability to order food and buy merchandise online.
3. Show care with exceptional e-manners. Thank, keep informed and fix a problem, if one occurs, through consistent e-outreach and quick responsiveness.  Twitter is a natural.  It’s interactive, fun and extends the great atmosphere in the restaurant online.

And the people at AJ’s don’t miss a beat.  I’ve tested them and they respond to every e-mail, Tweet, Facebook post and blog entry, almost instantly.  This is very important in the caring and social media department.

AJ Bombers’ owner, Joe Sorge, spends a lot of time on Twitter and has learned to play it like a fiddle.  But, first, he had a business strategy.  Now, if I could only figure out where the name came from.

This headline is not news but perhaps got your attention.  I tend to hear it related to our fees with the phrase, “but I thought…” before it.  But more about that in another blog. 

We’re proud to do work for a good cause.  Our latest is for Colgate and the Starlight Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving life for children with chronic or life-threatening medical conditions. 

Every year in February, with Black History Month, Colgate “Shows the Love” for the Starlight Foundation and encourages consumers to vote for their favorite children’s hospital to get a Nintendo Wii Fun Center.  Ads in major magazines promote the effort and one fun center gets given away each day.  This year, social media is letting people know too by sharing through social networks.

Voting and participation are key metrics; here are 7 valuable measurements social media gives Colgate and the Starlight Foundation:

1. ADVOCATES: The number of high value voters, the key influencers, who vote and then tell others   
2. ADVOCACY INFLUENCE: The effect their spreading the word has on friends who share with their networks and so on
3. REACH & IMPRESSIONS: Industry numbers now exist for average number of friends on Facebook, followers on Twitter, etc. so, multiplying the advocates and their friends who share by average social networks size gives media reach/impressions.  The numbers get quite sizable
4. DEPTH OF INVOLVEMENT: The time spent on our social media app and what activities (e.g. reviewing hospitals, sharing, checking winners) trigger the most interest and response
5. DEMOGRAPHICS:  User demographics by social network
6. TEXT ANALYSIS: Verbatims and feedback to assess this year’s effort with learning for next year
7. COST COMPARISON:  Social media versus traditional media promotion

More measurements are in the blog, “100 ways to measure social media,” in archives for November on the right.  If you want to ”Show the Love,” click on:   http://www.colgate.com/showthelove

If you have a business with a sweepstakes, event, offer, promotion or worthwhile affiliation, think about the value of social media.  Even though the planning, development, widgets, apps, and analytics do need some investment, the media is free, at least for now.

I started in marketing working on consumer packaged goods brands.  New products always had to prove themselves in mid-West test markets.  The logic was, if a new product demonstrated success in a place considered a typical American city, it would be a hit nationally.  But, first, it had to “play in Peoria.”

Companies went to great length and considerable expense to find these middle-ground markets and replicate the exact environment to occur for a national launch.

Now, the learning and formula for success is more expedient.  A restaurant in Milwaukee, WI,  used Twitter and now it accounts for 75% of business.   The restaurant is AJ Bombers and that’s a large percentage.  Its owner, Joe Sorge, says AJ Bombers wouldn’t be in business without Twitter.  Joe says it keeps relationships alive.  It gives him the ability to communicate with customers every day, thank them, and, if they ever have a bad experience, he has the chance, through Twitter, to make it right, right away.

Frankly, what Joe just described is good business strategy through any media channel.  But I have a feeling it’s one of many you’ll be hearing from social media.  Here’s Joe’s testimonial; one that ”plays in Peoria.”

This story tweeted by my friend, Steve Haweeli, whose company on the East end of Long Island, WordHampton PR, knows about PR, social media, restaurant marketing and good business strategy, like Joe’s.