The power of social networks - we want our voice heard

Many of you know I'm a big fan of social networking (specifically Twitter, Facebook, Ning, LinkedIn and some favorite vertical communities). While social networking has changed the face of marketing and communications as we know it, it has also changed how some societies are defying governments. Today's NY Times article Social Networks Spread Iranian Defiance Online shows the power of an open communications system.

While marketers are working on social networks, people all over the world are using social media to have their voice heard and gain their freedom.  

Social media expert – Anyone? Anyone?

We keep hearing the phrase, “I’m a social media expert” time and time again. But, it seems like everyone is a social media expert or, at least, feel that way. Does it make you a social media expert if you have a blog, Tweet a bit and know what the hell Ning is? IMHO, I don’t think so. Like any industry or market, social media marketing must come from experience. It’s a bit of a Catch 22.

So, how do you become a social media expert.

1-      Read/Research – ‘nuff said on this.

2-      Check out what the influencers in the space are doing.

3-      Join social media sites and starting “listening in” on the conversations. I find that while you learn something about the folks participating, it’s very similar to high school cliques, except all the popular kids aren’t jocks.

4-      Ask questions. Most social media influencers are willing to help.

So, how the hell are you supposed to know who to trust? Look for history, call references and then go with your gut. You can hire a major agency, but it’s gonna cost you. If you hire a small firm or a one-person shop, make sure you are looking at case histories; getting good references and that you like/trust the person. And, no matter what who you hire or how many people are at the company, bring your B.S.-O-meter.

Additional  reading…..

Is the Social Media Expert Going the Way of the Dodo?

15 Social Media Maxims for Marketers

Nobody’s an Expert in this Crazy ‘Social Media’ Thing

Who's a social media expert?

I can't say it better than my friend and former client, Greg Verdino, on his blog today. Read Social media expert? No. Whatever expert? Yes.

So, you're probably saying to yourself that I totally copped out of writing a post by just directing you to someone else's post. Yeah, maybe I did. But at the same time, I have folks who actually read my blog posts (scary and surprising as the same time). So, I'm looking at this as a way of giving them some good information - even if I'm not writing it. And, yes, Anne, Joe, Kristy ...I will write more often than I have.

2009 Predictions in Tech Marketing and Tech PR

  Happy 2009! It's a Bear market all around the world, but I don't think it will completely collapse the tech PR and marketing industry . . .  at least not for small and mid-sized firms. Here are my predictions for 2009:

1- Tech PR firms will have a resurgence this year. Specifically, the small and mid-sized firms will really do well. My rationale...companies are starting to get smarter about marketing during a recession. And, while some may hire a PR manager internally, I think the likelihood is that the head or marketing will hire an external resource as there is resistence within the organization.

2- There will be a huge number of Tech PR practitioners starting their own individual consulting business or their own firm (either by themselves or with a partner). And, many will NOT be virtual.

3- There will be massive turnover in the tech marketing space in Q3 and 4. If we hold to the "economy will start to come back by mid-year" theory, you'll have a lot of in-house marketers seeking new horizons.

4- With Obama coming in, increased regulations across all markets - financial, health, etc.- this is the year of the CFO and CIO. Companies will be pushing the CFO and CIO to superstar status and begin marketing them outside the company to assure/re-assure the public, Wall Street, and shareholders that the company has excellent people in place to ensure compliance.

5- Lastly, IT managers and CIOs have gotten smarter over the last couple of years about their public image. They realized that a healthy public profile, whether in IT magazines or on social networks, will boost their image value internally and externally. We'll see a lot more CIOs and their direct reports on social media and microblogging sites.

6- Tech magazines have been getting thinner and thinner. This year, many of the IT trades will be pulled off shelves and turn subscription-only for the print publication.

7- Trade shows are already fading, but this year, we'll see conference show management companies begin to explore virtual trade shows and events, which will have similar sponsorships, booths, etc. but will be entirely online.

8- Ironically, social media marketing hasn't been a big hit with tech marketers. I believe this struggle to understand social media will continue in '09.

9- There has been an explosion in blogging, but I believe that by the end of 2009 the majority of corporate tech blogs will be abandoned due to lack of time and mismanagement. The interest will still be there, but I've watched marketers struggle with how to work a blog.

10- Large PR will lose business to boutique tech PR firms due to client budget cuts. Or, maybe that's wishful thinking on my part.

Let's see how many of these predictions for Tech PR and Marketing is correct come this December.

Twitter for Tech PR

OK.  I’m completely obsessed with Twitter. So sue me.  If you’ve been on Twitter, you might be asking yourself, what the hell am I supposed to do with this?  So, I can blast out every move I make, where I am and read the same about other people’s lives.  But, who cares?  The question should be “what’s the practical use?”  I work with a lot of marketing/media clients and, for the most part, they get it. But for my tech PR clients, they haven’t quite made the leap yet.

Twitter is a utility to reach influencers, prospects and other important audiences.  Granted that at least 60% of the tweets are about getting coffee, venting and seemingly useless information, but when you look closely, is it really?  There are discussions on what people are interested in, what they are reading and industry debates.  The reason it’s important, the people are your target audience in some way shape or form.

Visibility is the key reason for why tech companies (or any company) should use Twitter – from the CEO to the head of sales to your marketing/PR department.  And, Twitter retains loyal little Tweeters as outlined in Gregor Hochmuth’s TechCrunch article - Why Twitter Hasn’t Failed: The Power of the Audience

1-      Get to know reporters and become part of their conversations.  Reporters are people too  and have lives, special interests, hobbies and viewpoints.  Follow your Tweets and becoming smarter about who they are.  More importantly, get into the conversation, share your viewpoints and show your expertise.  It’s a great way to become a resource to individual reporters and, potentially, to make it into their articles.

2-      Twitter is a great way to get to know your clients and to generate prospective leads, especially if you’re targeting the C-suite executive.  If you’re targeting CIOs or their direct reports, it’s nearly impossible to break the barrier using traditional marketing tactics.  The IT folks are so skeptical about marketing – even of their own internal marketing communications.  So, get on Twitter and start getting to know these folks.  Make sure you start a conversation with them on a topic they care about, not what you want to talk about.

      3-      Connect to influencers in your industry or even in vertical industries.  See what they are saying about trends, your competitors and your company. Industry analysts, pundits and prominent bloggers are (nearly) all on Twitter. You just can’t miss this opportunity.

4-      Keep an eye on your competition by seeing what they are tweet, tweet, tweeting about.  I’ll bet you lunch that they are keeping and eye on you….and, if not, their lost.

I admit I'm obsessed.  But Twitter is a great microblogging tool and it's served me well.  You won't be instantly gratified and you definitely need to spend some time building up your social media connections and participate in conversations, but when Twitter does "give back", it'll be worth it.

Why Blog?

I recently had three separate conversations about blogging and was surprised to find that people still think that blogging is social media marketing and that it’s a great strategy.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Blogging is not a strategy. It’s a tactic that should fit into an overarching strategy. 

So, why would you need a blog?

1-      To build a community and communicate with them effectively

2-      To target select communities – influencers, investors, customers, prospects, etc. If you’re a start-up, you can use your blog to communicate vision.

3-      Create a second online destination site for you company (the primary site being the company website).  A great example would be Approva’s blog.  Approva is a company  that deals with risk, compliance and operations and the official site is the usual corporate sell.  But the Approval blog has great information on the topics of risk, compliance and operations AND serves as a platform to launch campaigns, such as the singing CPA belting out Happy Birthday to Sarbanes-Oxley. That crazy online campaign spread quickly and really jacked up the eyeballs to the site.

4-      Get your groove on and become the expert you’re meant to be.  Just do it publicly.

5-      It helps with search engine optimization.  Big time.

6-      Great way to attract employees to your culture as blogs is less formal than website (usually).

7-      Get early feedback to your ideas or validate assumptions.

People have to stop thinking of blogs as just another marketing vehicle and treating it as such.  Everyone – I’m betting yourself included – is sick of advertising and marketing double-speak.  So, stop treating online tactics as traditional marketing vehicles that carry company-focused message and start thinking about them as a method to show your smarts.  Everything else around building a blog then becomes tactical to support the strategy.

The conversation about having a blog is similar to the one about having a public relations program.  You want it.  You know you need one.  But, you’re not sure why.  If you have defined goals and an overarching strategy to support those goals, you now have the answer to the question of why. 

Look for my upcoming topics on blogs as this is only just the beginning:

·         What the blog are you talking about?

·         If a blog falls in the forest, but no one is around to hear it….

·         One o’clock, two o’clock, three o’clock…blog.

·         Where in the world does my blog belong?

·         Blog-a-licoius; Twitter me Pink; Ning the Subject

How to Write a Tech PR Release

There have been a lot of pundits crying out that the "press release" is dead because no one pays attention (especially bloggers and reporters).  If that's the case, why do we see hundreds of releases on wire services every day?  Even better, why are reporters and bloggers reporting on press release content? Example, ManageSoft recently launched an Oracle compliance package and it's been widely covered by media outlets and bloggers.  Please don't mistaken this as having a press release and sending it out.  The press release is only the beginning.  There has to be a well thought out, targeted media and blogger list as well as follow-up with media.

The press release isn't dead.  It's just overused and abused.  Here's my take on how to write a better tech press release:

1- Leave the tech jargon at home.  Yes, you need some tech specs in the release, but  it's better to have a clear, concise message of the benefits your product or service brings to customers.  Remember that you're not only talking about prospective clients, but you may have additional audiences: reporters, bloggers, influencers, additional decisionmakers, investors or stakeholders, vendors, partners and the sales channels.  Besides, reporters HATE jargon.

2- Leave marketing-speak at home.  The key term in marketing today is "be genuine." Most marketers haven't gotten to this point yet.  You need to stop trying to put a spin on the release and state the facts.  Ask any reporter.  That's not to say your release needs to be dry and lifeless, but it can't read like an ad (most marketers will do this...why?  You got me).  I have this conversation with marketing executives all the time.

3- What's the %$#^#$^ news angle! I'm repeating myself, but I can't stress this enough. You have to ask yourself three questions: What problem does my product/service solve?  Is it unique?  What's the benefit (e.g. 30% savings, 55% efficiency, etc.).  And, puh-leeze, don't sit there and compare yourself with your competition.  :-)  And, yes, most of the time the announcement will not be a world-changing event, but you still need to ask those questions.  You may even be writing a client application story or case study release.

4- Less is more.  Releases should be no more than a page (maybe a page and a half with boilerplate and contact block).

5- But, honey, where do I put the tech specs?  Last paragraph.

6- Quotes.  Keep them short, sweet and try to actually have your executives say something.  Being "pleased" or "excited" might go over well in an intimate setting, but it's a wasted quote.  Of course, all you agency folks who have fought the battle and lost, don't feel bad.  At least you tried to give the right counsel.

7- Social media release.  If you have video, audio, images, blog, blog carnival or any other type of multimedia or social media that would enhance your announcement, use it.

Of course, I'm a believer that there are different reasons for using a release.  Not all press releases are equal, therefore, the strategy and tactics will be different on a case-by-case basis. The old rule of thumb is to have 2 or 3 releases in queue every month.  If your company has that much real news, I say WOW. But, the liklihood is that you may have something of substance to announce every month and that includes new client acquisitions. 

Palin Thought Africa was a Country, Not a Continent

Sarah Palin was obviously not prepared for many of her media interviews.  There are 2 PR lessons to be learned from the FOX news post-mortem of the internal rumblings in the Palin-McCain campaign:

1- Be prepared during public appearances, especially media interviews.  Don't stray from your area of expertise.  And, study what you need to know insteadn of winging it.

2- Remember that your internal audience - employees, vendors, etc. - are also part of your "public".  This post-mortem coverage of the Palin-McCain camp was contained during the campaign (barely), but the unflattering stories on Palin's lack of knowledge about the world outside Alaska will damage her reputation even further.  I'm thinking there is more to come.

Another point is how quickly news like this can spread on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, blogs and other social networks. People just love to send around humiliating video or audio (remember Alex Baldwin's voicemail to his daughter?). Nothing spreads faster.

Are You Suffering From Socialnetworkitis?

Max Kalehoff's repost of Are you Suffering from SocialNetworkitis? really captured the my mood this week.  Do we HAVE to know about who's getting coffee at Starbucks or if someone is in a meeting? 

What I love about social networking is the connection and the conversations (the meaty ones...not some guy or gal talking about their need to for coffee addiction). Yes, yes....I know.  There are a lot of marketing and PR benefits to social media, but I just felt like bitchin' for one second....OK?

My response to Max:

I'm definitely suffering from socialnetworkitis and juggling all the media. Your description of what you're working with and how mirrors mine. I think the only thing that's missing is the discussion on how we're always on. People just don't disconnect anymore and all the social networks have a mobile feature. I've learned to block out social media times during the day and refuse to spend more than a couple of hours during the weekend on any of the sites. It will surely be interesting to see where this is all going.

Originally posted as a comment by YinChang on AttentionMax using Disqus.

B2B Marketers Need to Change with the Times

Marketing as we know it is changing.  Forrester Analyst Laura Ramos identifies four factors driving the change.

1. Commoditization (I translate this as hyper-competition.)
2. Consumerism and the social groundswell (Forrester’s terminology for the fact that social media now empowers customers to spit back at marketers and share experiences with one another.)
3. Ad avoidance translates to sales call avoidance (Great point…sales calls are part of the larger genre of commercial messaging clutter, a phenomenon often and mistakenly limited to advertising.)
4. Globalization (This was a referral the sometimes more favorable economics of fulfilling many marketing services offshore, in other countries.)

AttentionMax, Oct 2008

So, what does this mean?  Get your groove on and start seeking out emerging marketing practices.  Don't just look at the tactics, but internalize it and understand that that topdown marketing is not the only factor anymore.  And, keep in mind, people are sick of hearing marketing-speak.  Keep it simple and keep your audience in mind.  Be authentic.