Announcement
Hi, my apologies for not posting more often. I have been hampered by a broken shoulder which means typing with one hand when I’m awake, I have been working on a couple items for you so stay tuned. I hope to be back up to speed in a few days God willing.
I thank you for your patience and understanding.
Owen Greaves
Are The Words "Social Media" Missing From Your Business Vocabulary?
This question has been nagging at me these past few weeks like I was being pecked to death by a chicken, could it be that these words are not computing with local business owners? It’s like your smallest child learning how to read an can’t pronounce a word, they end up creating a new word because they can’t say what they are reading. No it’s not a learning disability, it’s an understanding of what those words actually mean and how to use it in this new age and environment of marketing. It’s changed, or has it? Anytime you have the word ” Social ” attached to a phrase or sentence, people think less formal, beach party, BBQ or relaxing on the deck with friends. Yes, that is a form of being social and it is somewhat related to the term in business circles as well. The problem isn’t the word, it’s the thinking that is attached to the words, and small business owners can’t seem to break how they feel or think about the word. It’s not that they can’t, they just don’t know how and it’s embarrassing enough that they won’t ask for help on the topic for fear of looking stupid. I mean come on, it’s the words ” Social Media ” how could I not know what that means! So rather than find out, they think, let’s not go there and or I’ll avoid the conversation all together. Worse yet, I’ll ask my kids. Small to medium business, all business for that matter needs to educate themselves on the tidal wave before them and how to ride that wave without being wiped out.
In my corner of the world here in Western Canada, a very small group of people participate in the formal sense of the words social media. This group is comprised of mostly people from chat rooms or FaceBook and the like, not a many are business owners trying to add this environment into their marketing mix or even their support systems. I say this because I’ve been coming up against this lack of understanding everyday and this uncomfortable feeling when you try to share with them, to help them understand what it is or could be for their business. It’s like the words Social Media aren’t even in their vocabulary or business language, it’s completely missing, and if it is there, it’s a picture of people standing around a water cooler. So in light of that, I am posting the Wiki definition of Social Media here for all the world to see.
Social Media Definition
Social media is online content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies. At its most basic sense, social media is a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. It’s a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologues (one to many) into dialogues (many to many) and is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into publishers. Social media has become extremely popular because it allows people to connect in the online world to form relationships for personal, political and business use.
Distinction from Industrial Media
Social media are distinct from industrial media, such as newspapers, television, and film. While social media are relatively inexpensive and accessible tools that enable anyone (even private individuals) to publish or access information, industrial media generally require significant resources to publish information. Examples of industrial media issues include a printing press or a government-granted spectrum license.
“Industrial media” are commonly referred to as “traditional”, “broadcast” or “mass” media.
One characteristic shared by both social media and industrial media is the capability to reach small or large audiences; for example, either a blog post or a television show may reach zero people or millions of people. The properties that help describe the differences between social media and industrial media depend on the study. Some of these properties are:
1. Reach – both industrial and social media technologies provide scale and enable anyone to reach a global audience.
2. Accessibility – the means of production for industrial media are typically owned privately or by government; social media tools are generally available to anyone at little or no cost.
3. Usability – industrial media production typically requires specialized skills and training. Most social media do not, or in some cases reinvent skills, so anyone can operate the means of production.
4. Recency – the time lag between communications produced by industrial media can be long (days, weeks, or even months) compared to social media (which can be capable of virtually instantaneous responses; only the participants determine any delay in response). As industrial media are currently adopting social media tools, this feature may well not be distinctive anymore in some time.
5. Permanence – industrial media, once created, cannot be altered (once a magazine article is printed and distributed changes cannot be made to that same article) whereas social media can be altered almost instantaneously by comments or editing.
Community media constitute an interesting hybrid of industrial and social media. Though community-owned, some community radios, TV and newspapers are run by professionals and some by amateurs. They use both social and industrial media frameworks.
Here is the link from the above: Social Media Definition
The real issue isn’t what the words mean, it’s how a consultant or media firm explains them, provides a case study that reflects that a business can derive an ROI from Social Media. Thus, giving the term value and a new way of marketing and communicating with their customers, by building a deeper, richer relationship that builds a new kind of loyalty. More importantly it provides a forum where you the business owners actually cares about what your clientele think about your products and services. A place where you can give them and even better experience of dealing with you.
Another challenge for these words and business owner’s; there are people out there claiming to be knowledgeable and understand social media that just plain don’t. These individuals land high positions in large organizations, they get the position and then scramble around to figure out how to do the job when they have no business being there in the first place. A great rant on this topic is from my friend Olivier Blanchard of The Brand Builder, his video entitled, “Is your Social Media Director qualified?”, it articulates far better than I Olivier’s frustration and concern with these individuals in one short video. Take the time to view it.
As you can tell there is alot of work to be done, an educational track that needs to be articulated in a way that business owners can connect the dots, connect the words to a real opportunity and value they have not considered before. Each business owner needs to bone up and learn that the term Social Media is a new marketing environment but also a relationship they have avoided in the past. You can no longer avoid it because it is the new word of mouth, it can be your best friend or your worst enemy. You have to decide which it will be.
Three Parts of a Social Media Marketer
Gary Vaynerchuck
I got all Twittery on the topic of Social Media Marketers this morning, there is a group of people that seem to be considered more popular, even an Elite, as Social Media Marketers. I know the definition is not clearly defined because personalities seem to play a large role in the who’s who of these networks anyway. I think there are three parts to being a Social Media Marketer. You might call these three parts the recipe for Weblebrity (new word coming to a dictionary near you) as someone coined a while back. I’m not trying to start a who’s better than the other war, but I am curious what these people have that appeals to you as your favorite SM Marketer.
Would you consider Gary Vaynerchuck a Social Media Marketer, Promoter or Ambassador? I would entertain that Gary is a motivational speaker, his enthusiasm carries him a long way. You probably know him as the Wine Guy from tv.winelibrary.com with his regular viral videos.
Gary Vaynerchuck has captured attention with his pioneering, multi-faceted approach to personal branding and business. After utilizing traditional advertising techniques to build his family’s local wine business into a national industry leader, Gary rapidly leveraged social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to promote Wine Library TV, his video blog about wine. As his viewership swelled to over 80,000 a day, doors opened to a book deal, several national TV appearances, and a flurry of speaking engagements around the world. Gary’s dual identity as both business guru and wine guy has made him the “Social Media Sommelier.” (taken from his site)
There is no doubt that Gary is a force to be reckoned with and he has made the most of his efforts to buy the New York Jets NFL Football Club, only time will tell. His focus is clear and makes no excuses as he is CRUSHING IT!
On Twitter I asked if Gary and Chris Brogan were a Marketers, Promoter or Ambassadors? Could they just be popular dynamic personalities.
Here’s a few responses:
Randy Haddock (a musician blogger) says of Gary Vaynerchuck, “Ambassador to both marketing and promotion and does it brilliantly, He’s very knowledgeable, personable, and approachable. He cares about every single viewer/reader he has and builds relationship”.
Chris Herbert of MI6 Agency, Would Chris Brogan be considered a Social Media Promoter, Marketer or Ambassador? Answer: Yes!
Lisa Hoffmann of New Media Lisa says, “Everything is a personality contest, Owen. Everything. Well, everything involving other human beings”.
There are many, many Social Media Marketers that you don’t hear of because they aren’t as high profile or don’t spend as much time in Social Networks as some do to be noticed. I’m not that popular but I spend considerable hours in a day on some Social Media Networks talking, asking questions, writing articles or ranting about Auto-DM’s in Twitter. I love to help people with Social Media Marketing and I love to talk about technology’s and how they will impact society. Does that make me a Social Media Marketer? Maybe, but that has yet to be determined 🙂
Chris Brogan
How about Chris Brogan, he has an incredible following and is loved by many, here is his BIO taken from his site. Chris is a long time Blogger and is all about community and social media. As president of New Marketing Labs, my role is to build and execute strategies for companies seeking to engage their community via the social web. We focus on four core areas: listening, content marketing, community management, and outreach programs. Acting as a hybrid social media PR/communications organization, New Marketing Labs extends your other channels into the new world of the web.
I also operate the Inbound Marketing Summit conferences, a series of events dedicated to educating businesses on the potential of Internet marketing and communications and featuring the brightest practitioners available. We run several single day Inbound Marketing Bootcamp events all over the US as well.
Scott Stratten
Then there is my Canadian favorite Scott Stratten, a sharp young man that seems to be addicted to Twitter. He is very witty and his work on Twitter is always interesting not to mention funny. Who is Scott Stratten? Well….Scott Stratten is the President of Un-Marketing, a firm that works with business owners to help them become customer magnets. He uses proven methods of successful marketing to increase awareness and sales both within a company’s current customer base and new ones. He recently appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Fast Company and his articles have been published all over the world.
Mack Collier
Mack Collier is another person who is very sharp in the marketing game and uses Twitter as if it was an extension of himself. Mack Collier is a social media consultant, trainer and speaker. He has been actively immersed in social media since 2005, he has helped advise, teach and consult businesses of all sizes on how they can better connect with their customers via these amazing tools and sites.
Kris Colvin
Kris Colvin doesn’t claim to be a marketing person, she describes herself as a designer. I just love her spirit, she is very engaging and enjoyable, she has alot of energy and frankly practices the law of attraction by being exactly who she was designed to be. Personally, I think she’s pretty sharp in the marketing sector too.
Kristi has been creating business communications since 1993 for leading software organizations and small-to-medium size start-up companies. A foundation in print design and retail visual merchandising, led to web site design, user interface design (gui design + information architecture + branding + usability) and she specializes in making product and brand experiences better for users and customers.
Olivier Blanchard
Olivier Blanchard, The Brand Builder – he’s not as flashy as Gary Vaynerchuck but is very engaging, he has a deep understanding of what Social Media is, he knows exactly what the metrics and indicators are and should be in this marketing environment. Plus he makes great non-threatening, personable videos made easy to understand. I follow Olivier because he relates to me and I truly enjoy his perspective. I think he even likes wine 🙂
He explains himself on his site as BrandBuilder Marketing’s principal and senior strategist, I help companies significantly increase their marketing ROI, foster both broader and deeper engagement with their customers, establish leadership in their markets and expand to new ones.
He also helps companies and their marketing partners establish effective social media programs and integrate them into every facet of their business, from Public Relations, reputation management and market research to Human Resources and Customer Support.
Each one of these great people have all three parts of being Social Media Marketer 1.) Marketing Knowledge 2.) They are Entertainer’s and possess 3.) A dynamic personality. Those three components add up to people that are, savvy, have brand and trust. Don’t take my word for it, follow them, watch, listen and learn.
I’ve had the privilege of listening to and engaging with some of these brilliant minds, bantering back and forth on the topic of Social Media Marketing and ROI (Return On Investment). I’m grateful for their time to share, they have allowed me to get to know them a little bit even if it’s just at 140 Characters at a time. I follow all them and highly recommend each one of them to you, be sure to follow them on Twitter.
Do you agree, do you know others not mentioned here, then please let me know by leaving a comment.
- Current
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- President at New Marketing Labs
- cofounder PodCamp at PodCamp.org
- Publisher, Speaker, and Trainer at [chrisbrogan.com]
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125 people have recommended Chris - Connections
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500+ connections - Industry
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Chris Brogan’s Summary
As president of New Marketing Labs, my role is to build and execute strategies for companies seeking to engage their community via the social web. We focus on four core areas: listening, content marketing, community management, and outreach programs. Acting as a hybrid social media PR/communications organization, New Marketing Labs extends your other channels into the new world of the web.
I also operate the Inbound Marketing Summit conferences, a series of events dedicated to educating businesses on the potential of Internet marketing and communications and featuring the brightest practitioners available. We run several single day Inbound Marketing Bootcamp events all over the US as well.
I.T. Decisions – Who Makes Them In Your Organization?
How are I.T. Decisions made in your business or organization? Who makes those decisions? One of the challenges with non-technical upper management decision makers getting involved is, it’s usually about them wanting a particular toy or functionality. I.T. decisions are based on one or a select group of people because they are the bosses and get what they want or it’s in the name of getting something done. I have found that making technology decisions in that fashion usually cripples your ability to shift gears down the road, you end up implementing the wrong solution and you spend two to three times the dollars fixing the problem later. What you do today matters, do all you can to prevent it and do the painful work of finding a more rational solution if you can. Oh ya, whenever possible avoid database conversions as it will add to the scope of the project(s).
On your journey to make things easier for you, collect and database all business processes in your organization and weight them for measurement, then consult all subject matter experts in the organization to ensure by-in before you go off finding a solution. Remember, it’s not who wants it or what kind of technology that’s the issue, what’s paramount is knowing what your organization needs. Which means you have a good understanding of the company you work for and it’s systems.
Another thing to consider, what is the perceived value your business or organization has on Information Technology and the Systems it uses to organize data. If your new prospect or management team doesn’t understand the value of technology, you now have an educational task on your hands.
Another challenge business owners have is discerning who they should trust, there are so many EXPERTS out there confusing and complicating the problem. There are key questions that can be asked to qualify the said consultant to assist you and your organization with technology strategies but that’s another article.
The point is, organizations handcuff themselves by allowing only non-technology people to make long term technology decisions. That’s not all bad but it’s not wise to have 100% of all I.T. decisions made by them in isolation. In most cases they will invest in something and then hand it off to the I.T. department with a note attached, ” Make this work with our systems”. They know what they want the system to do and or what they want to have happen. They don’t understand how existing systems work and what they will or won’t work with, at the core, non-technology people are unable to see and know where technology is going, what may solve problems in 3-5 years…don’t worry most of us don’t, but, technology people know how and where to find out. They understand the order in which you should proceed, they understand what you have and what you should look for in solutions.
If you have questions feel free to contact me at: owen@owengreaves.com
Ray Kurzweil on How Technology Will Transform Us
Ray Kurzweil
The man who spurred me to write my eBook called ” The New Technology – The End of Mankind? – The Beginning”. It wasn’t his brilliance that got me, it was how convincing he was on where we are headed and how rapidly technology was advancing. This video clip will give you and snippet of how he sees things progressing.
Ray Kurzweil is an engineer who has radically advanced the fields of speech, text, and audio technology. He’s also one of our finest thinkers, revered for his dizzying — yet convincing — writing on the advance of technology, the limits of biology, and the future of the human species.
Ray Kurzweil’s latest graphs show that technology’s breakneck advances will only accelerate — recession or not. He unveils his new project, Singularity University, to study oncoming tech and guide it to benefit humanity.