BarnRaisers

A picture tells a 1000 words, and the chart below says social media is here to stay.  It’s from Google Trends and measures search volume for the term, social media.

Some more facts to reinforce social media staying power and show what’s now needed are:

• 74% of companies in 2011 say they have a social media program
• 54% are investing in social media as a customer service channel
• Only 14% of these programs measure return on investment
• #1 social media need for companies is a knowledgeable staff

(Sources: eMarketer, eConsultancy, Sherpa)

Where should a company go for this knowledge? PR? Advertising? Digital? Consultants? Maybe they should look to themselves. In our experience, the fastest adopters and the ones who experience the most success are  those who know their business and customers best.

I’m excited to be teaching a course called Social Media Marketing GPS with Toby Bloomberg to help companies learn and see results with social media through programs they execute for themselves.

Social Media Marketing GPS is a live, online 8-session course with instruction and ”hands-on” training to give any business a roadmap for social media success.  It occurs through a new, online learning platform, LiveMind, to deliver 1-on-1 “hands-on” training without you having to leave your office.

7 “hands-on” knowledge skills you’ll learn as you go from development of a strategy to a customized social media plan generating real results are how to:

1. Determine success, accountability and the right allocation of time and resources
2. Create social media initiatives that support branding, customer care or business development objectives and culturally align the enterprise
3. Use social network tools of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube to their maximum effectiveness and in line with best practices
4. Develop blogs that build business and customer relations
5. Determine what transparency and authenticity, two important social media values, means to your company
6. Understand content valuation
7. Measure and track social media return on investment (ROI)

Toby and I are partnering because we’ve helped companies large and small, B2C and B2B, profit and non-profit, achieve success with social media.

Toby, a former board member of the American Marketing Association, does workshop for the AMA all over the country.  Recognized by Forbes as one of the country’s foremost blogger, she is the author of the e-book, Social Media Marketing GPS.  The book, viewable below, is the genesis for the course and has been downloaded 10K+ time all over the world.

I teach as part of a Social Media MBA faculty at Rutgers University, one of the first universities in the country to offer a Social Media Mini-MBA.  I also do “hands-on” social media business training with the U.S. Small Business Administration and PRSA (Public Relations Society of America).

We begin online training on March 15 at 1 pm ET (Tuesday).  You can find the details here.

Know someone who might benefit?  Please pass this on. After all, it’s called social media for a reason.

Before starting BarnRaisers, I worked at well-known advertising agencies.  I was fortunate to have worked on major brands, some at times of profound change, and with very talented people.  It was a lot fun for a lot of years.

A former client, Brian Perkins, Vice President of Corporate Affairs at J&J, said at Cannes this year, ”holding companies for ad agencies should consider taking themselves private.  Advertising is a labor-intensive, not capital-intensive, business and it’s inevitable digital agencies are going to gravitate toward brand stewardship.”

You may or may not agree, but Brian’s comments indicate a shift is taking place.  To help explain why, here are 7 reasons social media agencies are like ad agencies and 8 reasons they’re not.

7 REASONS THEY ARE

1. Both have to demonstrate a deep understanding of consumer attitudes and buying behaviors
2. Both have to find insights into unmet consumer needs
3. Both have to know how to create and build brands
4. Both have to be able to take the brand idea and translate it across all media platforms
5. Both have to be on top of media usage and trends
6. Both have to find unique tactics and executions that accelerate sales and have people talking
7. Both are accountable for results, return on investment and sustainable sales growth

8 REASONS THEY’RE NOT

1. Ad agencies communicate through a monologue.  Social media agencies through a conversation
2. Ad agencies work with product benefits.  Social media agencies with shared interests
3. Ad agencies target heavy users of brands who they encourage to buy more.  Social media agencies find advocates who they encourage to spread the word
4. Only 14% of people trust advertising.  80% of people trust the recommendations of other people
5. Ad agencies use multiple mediums and are ”media neutral.”  Social media agencies work mostly on the internet where 90% of all purchase decisions begin.
6. Ad agencies are labor intensive.  Social media agencies are even more labor intensive because, once the campaign is launched, the work has just begun (e.g. content refreshment, community management, measurements and analytics).
7. Only 18% of ad campaigns ever generate a positive ROI.  While people kick the tires on the ROI of social media, brands, like Blendtec blenders, have proven an ROI of 500-to-1 with much less investment.
8. Ad agencies tend to be secretive about their “proprietary” and “trademarked” process for creating ads.  Social media agencies tend to share their work and publish for all in places like SlideShare.

I’ve found social media promotes a culture of givers, not takers.  People like Joe Sorge, Toby Bloomberg, Tom Anderson, David Berkowitz, Kelley Connors and Mike Rogers (to name just a few) have routinely offered to help or participate in speaking engagements, workshops and presentations with no mention of “where’s my cut” or “what are you getting.”  It something that’s a little different and a whole lot more fun.

Do you have an opinion on the difference between the two?

A frequent comment from businesses and people new to blogging is:  I have a website, so why do I need a blog?

Here are 5 reasons blogs pay off.

1. IMPROVED BRAND IMAGE: Positive perceptions of  a business or company increase +36% if there is a blog either on or linked to the website. That’s because consumers view you as accessible, transparent and willing to help (source: Nielsen) .
2. BETTER SEARCH RESULTS: A blog is a major asset for better search results, especially since you can link your blog to others (and visa-versa), a primary characteristic search engines use for determining relevance. For example, my name, Rob Petersen, is pretty common. In searching the name, this site, BarnRaisers, comes up 4th, ahead of a famous magazine publisher and a former running back for the Philadelphia Eagles (sorry, I’m not them).
3. STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS: 95% of people never read more than 5 pages or spend more than 5 minutes on a website (source: comScore). If your company or brand website has more than 5 pages, consumers are likely to get to know you better through your blog than the chance your website can beat these odds.
4. RETURN ON INVESTMENT: “Open source” blogging platforms are very good now and keep getting better.  To reveal a little about myself, seven months ago, I built this site with a little sweat equity and $7.50.  Given the platform capabilities, I also made it the company website and put 5 tabs on top to tell the story of our business (with great respect to comScore). Although it also took knocking on dozens of doors (well, dozens of dozens) to secure initial assignments and there was  time, travel and other business expenses, blogs played a critical role delivering the necessary ROI to  start and build a business.
5. SHARED OBJECTIVES:  Blogs and brand websites share (at least they should) the same business objectives; that is, to drive leads, provide useful information, be helpful, convert consumers, complete desired transactions (e.g. create inquiries, sign up subscriptions, make a purchase) and keep your audience coming back to build your brand. Can any business have too much of that?

I go to blogs, before websites, for inspiration, ideas and help.  Bloggers I admire keep me in the know and have graciously helped me, either directly and indirectly, be a better communicator, business person and blogger.  I also feel like I have a relationship with someone which is always preferable.  Just a  dozen of the many I turn to are:

1. http://www.chrisbrogan.com
2. http://sethgodin.typepad.com
3. http://mashable.com
4. http://www.marketingprofs.com
5. http://www.bloombergmarketing.blogs.com
6. http://www.tomhcanderson.com
7. http://www.marketersstudio.com
8. http://mackcollier.com
9. http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com
10. http://www.n2growth.com/blog
11. http://conversationagent.com
12. http://altitudebranding.com

A blog I also admire for its business acumen is http://www.singleservecoffee.com

The blog’s creator has smartly identified a topic that is also be a niche business in a big, crowded, competitive category.  The brand name/URL establishes category authority and comes up #1 on search engines for “single serve coffee” and “single serve coffee makers.”  The blog reviews products, has relevant ads (that generate revenue) and sells single serve coffee makers and accessories direct to consumers.  On the site, there is also social community on the subject.  The ROI must be extraordinary.

Does this help you see the value of blogs?

If you happen to be in the vicinity of Stamford CT Tuesday night (4/27) from 6pm to 9 pm, we’d welcome you to an “advanced” social media workshop at UCONN.  Here are the directions  http://www.stamford.uconn.edu/visitors.htm

When we were asked by US Small Business Administration to do an ”advanced” social media workshop, we thought:  What is “advanced” social media anyway?  Someone who has built up thousands of fans and followers on Facebook and Twitter? A brand with a You Tube video viewed by millions? A business using proprietary social networking technology, widgets and apps?

This didn’t do it.  We defined it as:  A business or brand that has used social media to the benefit of their bottom line; saw clear business growth, proved an ROI, communicated consistently with their customers and, as a result, has the know how, insights and understanding to do it again and again.

When we thought about in these terms, a lot of case studies came to mind.  Some from business owners who happened to be our friends, colleagues and clients.  We thought it would be more interesting for them to tell you what social media did for their brands.  Here’s the list of brands that will be discussed:

1. AJ Bombers – A  burger joint in Milwaukee WI
2. Vitamin Water – I guess you know this one
3. Forever Verdant – A services company for environmentally friendly living
4. Bloomberg Marketing/Diva Marketing – A top social media and marketing consultancy and top 20 blog according to Forbes
5. Real Women on Health – A health and wellness community for Baby Boomer women
6. HubSpot - An inbound marketing solutions company to grow traffic, leads and sales

For AJ Bombers and Diva Marketing, owners Joe Sorge and Toby Bloomberg will be live (courtesy of Skype) from Milwaukee WI and Atlanta GA.  After all, it’s called social media for a reason.

If it’s nearby for you, we’d love to have you.  There is a $25 fee; $35 for two.  It doesn’t go to us (or the presenters) but back to the US Small Business Administration.  We and they believe social media is a competitive advantage for small businesses who play a vital role in our economic recovery.  And we’d rather see our administration spend money on small businesses, not big banks.

It’s our 2nd of 2 workshops at UCONN this spring.  The 1st was a “beginners” workshop.  What is social media for “beginners?”  That’s a much easier question and that presentation is below.

[slideshare id=3777501&doc=socialmediaworkshopi-100419125312-phpapp01]