Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on June 12, 2010 under Connecting Moments, social media | 
Yesterday on LinkedIn I found a question started by Pete Radke spurred on by an article he read. His question: Does Social Media Weaken Relationships?
The comments are interesting – some that agree and some that don’t. Here’s what I said:
I believe if we use social media as a way to connect – then yes, it can build wonderful relationships; with industry leaders as well as our customers/prospects. But if we use social media as a marketing tool and spend all our time selling – we run the real risk of damaging our brand.
The timing of this question is interesting. I wanted to write a blog post for my home based business blog and so went into my LinkedIn groups for home based business owners to see what current buzz I would find. In almost EVERY instance – the discussions weren’t conversations, they were links to articles, sales pitches for training sessions, products and webinars. All one way “look at me and buy from me” posts.
Not surprizing – there weren’t any comments. How is that a discussion? How does that build relationships?
I think if social media is used incorrectly, it in fact weakens not only relationships but our credibility and our brand positioning.
The question stayed with me and so I raised it at a business lunch. Here’s what the group had to say:
Some use social MEDIA as another way to push information out. They focus on the word “media” as an extension of their marketing/media campaign and ignore the word “social” altogether.
Perhaps a better way to think of social media is as a social NETWORKING tool. When we think of networking, we think of a give and take of information. Sharing information about our business and our perfect target prospect and in return, asking how we might help others connect with people who can help their business grow.
Someone else at the table offered this personal stat: I try to write eight status updates or blog posts about others for every one post that is a sales pitch for my business.
Interesting.
I have been harping that social media is a great way to connect with customers but if we are still unclear as to how to use this great and free tool as a relationship builder than doesn’t it just become more noise in an ever crowded marketing environment?
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on June 2, 2010 under Listening, Missed Moments, social media |
Just saw this link on a tweet The Biggest Shift Since the Industrial Revolution.
If your customer is between the ages of 18-35 – you need to learn to master the art of social media – or at the very least – be listening real close and often to what is being said. Of all of the stats in the article, here is the most valuable one:
“80% of Twitter users tweet using their mobile device.” The author goes on to say “Imagine what that means for bad customer experiences?”
Eighty percent of what, you ask? Maybe it isn’t that many people. Well, here’s another stat for you – “As of this year there are an average of 30 MILLION tweets a day.” And 75 MILLION users. That’s a big chunk of your customers.
So how do you listen on Twitter? Visit Search.Twitter. Click on the Advanced Search button. Enter your company name, your products, your industry key words and see what is being said. You’ll see that you can subscribe to the feed for those key words and be notified the next time someone mentions your company or products.
Take it a step further. Scroll down the Advance Search page and click the sad face and/or the “?” and see the negative reviews and questions being asked within Twitter.
You may not like it – but bottom line – social media, in some form or fashion, is here to stay and we need to jump in this afternoon and get connected.
For those of you in the NE Ohio region – I’ll be conducting a new series of hands-on workshops, once a week for four weeks on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Creating a Strategy starting next week.
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on March 26, 2010 under Connecting Moments, social media |
I was at the monthly Akron Blogger meeting yesterday and as always the conversation expands to more than just blogging. We all shared our thoughts about social media and what we were currently working on to increase our visibility and credibility on the Internet.
I view social media as the ultimate customer connnector but others in the group referred to it as a way to drive traffic and grow sales and increase profitability.
“And connect to customers,” I would add at the end of someone’s comment. It got to be a joke, but is it really that funny? Am I out in left field?
If the Internet and Web 2.0 represent the Global Conversation then doesn’t the word “conversation” denote a personal connection?
How do you view social media? Since building customer relationships and earning customer loyalty are my battle cry, I view the time I spend on the web as a chance to:
- Learn from the leaders in the industry – read their posts, tweets and answers on LinkedIn
- Connect with those leaders – responding to their comments, jumping into the conversation
- Ask for advice from those leaders and potential customers – what have you seen work? What would you like to see happen? How can we make it better?
- Listen carefully for someone talking about my business and ensuring that if they aren’t happy that I jump on the opportunity to make it right
- Share my thoughts and experiences
Does that drive sales? No. Not really. Is it a waste of my time. NEVER.
How do you use social media? Do you have a strategy or is it hit or miss? Do you have a goal? How do you know if you are being successful?
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on March 21, 2010 under Books, Communication, Connecting Moments, marketing, social media |
Once again Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton have corraled a couple hundred writers, marketers, and entrepreneurs and asked them to provide their valuable insights into connecting with the customer through social media. The book is currently at the publisher and is expected to hit the book stores (print and Kindle/iPad versions) in April! I’m humbled to be part of this wonderful collection for the second time.
In the Age of Conversation 3 Gavin and Drew asked authors to share their thoughts in one of ten areas:
At the Coalface
There is much to be said for good strategy, but what happens when the strategy is done? What happens when the time for talking is over? This section is about working at the coalface of social media. It’s about the real world lessons that come hard and fast. It’s about case studies and the stories and events that are much better in the re-telling than in the moment.
Conversational Branding
When we talk of brands, we generally understand what it means. But what happens when a brand ventures into online conversation. What does it mean to participate in these conversations? Is this earned media? Is it paid for? Or is there an in-between space? How important is brand in the social media space? How does the conversation shape or change the brand?
Influence
Much is made of influence, but what does “influence” mean in social media? Who has it, and who creates it? Does influence mean different things to different people? Is it hype or can it make the cash register ring? Is influence one of the new currencies?
Getting to work
They say that the best approach to social media is dive in. But getting to work with social media can be harder than it first appears. What have you done to quickly get to work? Or perhaps this section is about how you use social media to get to work — literally. Is it a viable tool for networking and job hunting? Or maybe this section is about how social media is changing the face of work. Does getting to work now mean sitting at the kitchen table in your bathrobe?
Corporate Conversations
There is plenty of coverage of social media when the focus is on marketing or advertising. But what is happening in other parts of your business? How is social media playing within your business and has it surprised you? Or…if you’re a consultant or agency, how do you introduce social media to the C-level at your client’s business? How do you make social media more than a fad or seem relevant to the bottom line?
Measurement
Can you measure social media? Many claim you can and many claim you can’t. But if you can measure social media, should you? And how do you measure it? And do you measure it in terms of ROI? Or influence? Or ability to do good? What are the metrics that matter and how do you get to them?
In the boardroom
Is social media a fad dreamed up by the marketing department to get the attention of the executives? What are the hard questions and firm answers that get thrown around the boardroom. And who, if anyone, is best placed to answer? What role should the C-level executives play in a company’s social media strategy? Do they just green light it? Should the CEO have a blog? Or…from a non-profit’s perspective, how does the board of directors play a role in the organization’s SM activities?
Pitching social media
The work has been done and the late nights are weighing heavily on your shoulders. But it’s time to buck up – to pull it all together and wow your client. What do you do to impress? Is there a new art to pitching social media? And is it important to eat your own dog food? Or, if you’re from the PR side of the table, how are you pitching your client’s stories to social media’s influentials? Or are you using a different tactic?
Innovation and Execution
People make great claims for social media. Is it the long dreamed of silver bullet? Can the tools and techniques be harnessed to drive innovation? How can you take an idea or a strategy and make it work for your brand or your business? How do you move from idea to actual execution? What task or tool has social media eliminated or replaced? What do you predict it will eliminate in the future?
Identities, friends and trusted strangers
Many people are now living much of their lives online. Who do you call friend? How do you set boundaries or decide who to let into your circle of influence? How do you know who to trust when you can’t look them in the eyes? How do you define your own identity? What tools, techniques and sites do you find most useful in creating your online brand? How do offline meetings or conferences influence your online identity?
A pretty powerful collection of ideas – wouldn’t you say? So who are the contributing authors? Check out this list of amazing people:
Keep checking back here for updates on when you can order your copies! By the way – the really cool cover was designed by none other than cover designer Chris Wilson.
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on February 2, 2010 under social media |
I’m preparing for a series of four classes I’ll be teaching on social media - especially how social media can be used to connect with your customers. So I thought I’d just jot down a few of my thoughts and maybe even start an Internet meme.
- Blogging – sharing my thoughts about customer service and learning from others about topics I’m interested in.
- The Global Conversation. Is it just me or do you find it cool that you can meet and develop a relationship with people anywhere in the world? Following Ian Usher who sold his life on Ebay. He lives in Australia but for 100 weeks he is accomplishing 100 goals. He was just in Easter Island – the one place on earth I really want to go to and we conversed via the comments section of his blog WHILE HE WAS ON EASTER ISLAND. It doesn’t get cooler than that.
- YouTube – let’s face it – when you need a break from work, there’s nothing like viewing the funny/stupid videos of the day. However, it is also a great way to communicate your message in a visual fashion.
- Twitter – I am amazed by the famous people I have had the opportunity to tweet with and the connections I’ve made in just 140 characters or less.
- The immediacy. Gone are the days of waiting for the daily paper to arrive on your doorstep. If you missed the recent episode of the Bachelor – you can find out right away who didn’t get a rose. Plus, you can listen to comments from your customers the instant they have something to say.
- Sharing of pics, videos and fun stuff. I love that I can upload a video of my daughter’s flute recital, photos from my trip to Italy or, an Animoto video of my customer service book and share with customers, friends and Tweeple.
- It’s just so simple to connect with customers!Jump in with both feet. Bite off a little or a lot, but really the applications are point-and-click easy.
So what are your favorite things about social media? I’d love to hear all your answers, but specifically I’d love to hear from Chris Brown, Ron McDaniel and Drew McLellan. Tag you are it!
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on April 27, 2009 under Connecting Moments, Internet Connections, social media |
“I just have a local business. How can social media help me? It looks like a big, confusing waste of time to me!”
Have you heard this? Do you say this? As a speaker of such topics as customer service and marketing for entrepreneurs, I often talk of the value of making the most of your online presence. I’m surprised by how many business owners still resist the Internet for their business. Some even lack a basic website.
Ramon DeLeon owns several Domino Pizza locations in Chicagoland and has effectively used social media to reach out to his customers and the community at large. I learned about Ramon thanks to Ben at Church of the Customer. Ben shares how the Lincoln Park Dominos used a video apology to connect with a specific customer, and in the process also sends a message to the blogosphere that shows how connected and commited they are to their customer’s satisfaction.
Beth Harte shares even more details into Ramon (owner of multiple Dominos in Chicago) and his use of social media.
You may not see the need to be connected to the social network, but I guarantee you; your customer is!
You’ve heard it said that a dissastified customer tells seven or ten or fifteen people. Those were the old days. Thanks to social media a dissatisfied customer can spread the word to the WORLD that you missed the boat. If you are actively involved on the web you can quickly respond to your customer and fix the situation.
How do you get started? The first place to start is monitoring the web for your company name. Sign up for Google Alerts to see when you or your company is mentioned. On Twitter, you can sign up for Monitter which will monitor Tweets to see when you or your company are mentioned. Jump into the conversation with both hands and connect with your customers.
How do you use social media to connect with your customers?
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on October 14, 2008 under Customer Moments |
I discovered a new blog today: Customers Rock! written by Becky Carroll. She’s written a two part posting offering suggestions for using social media to enhance your customer service offerings. Social media – great tools for your customer toolbox.
In part one of Using Social Media to Build Customer Loyalty Becky talks about using social media to keep customers informed and to strengthen relationships. The beauty of the new interactive qualities of Web 2.0 is the ability for customers and prospects to respond back; offering opinions, questions and comments. If we are OPEN to the conversation- this two-way relationship will only make us a stronger more customer-focused business.
Yesterday on Twitter Guy Kawasaki – a professed Obama supporter – left a tweet stating that he planned on flooding Twitter with value based tweets just to frustrate those McCain supporters who took offense to the fact that he’d changed his Avitar to the Obama logo. He reached out with both hands to his followers and said “This is who I am, this is who I support and hopefully you can look past that to the value that am about to bring to the conversation.” (actually he didn’t SAY that – I’m reading between the lines.) What transpired was more than an hour of tweets from Guy pointing followers to video, blogs, articles and more. His followers began to weigh in – commenting on people who had stopped following him because of his political beliefs. They commented on the great stuff he was sharing and one follower said “I don’t care who you vote for; value is value and I’m enjoying what you have to say.”
Social media allows us to have on-going, honest exchange with our audience, our customers. Connecting around the world with kindred spirits. Are you using social media to reach out to your target prospects, customers and peers?
In part two of using Social Media to build Customer Loyalty, Becky shares the story of how Zappos is using Twitter to connect with customers:
The culture at Zappos.com is very people-focused and empowers employees. Zappos.com has many of their employees Twittering; 448 to be exact! You can track their tweets via this microsite, where you can also track mentions of Zappos.com and some of the brands they carry. Using Twitter is encouraged as a great way to stay transparent and authentic with customers. Tony is their CEO, and he leads the way by tweeting about his travels, tours he gives of the Zappos.com headquarters, requests for feedback from customers, and contests he runs. Customers even make suggestions via Twitter, the most recent of which was to list a short url on each product page that can be easily cut and pasted into blogs, email, Twitter, etc. so they can be shared with others (it is called zapp.me). Tony has over 13,000 people following his Tweets to get this kind of information.
Customers Rock! take on Zappos.com and Twitter: Zappos customers are extremely loyal to the company for several reasons: great customer service, an easy return policy (free shipping on returns!), and employees that care. Social Media at Zappos.com, including Twitter and their blogs, has been a great way to put a face on the company, make them feel approachable, get instant customer feedback, and create a two-way dialog that builds customer relationships. Zappos is truly a Customers Rock! company.
Yesterday, John Jantsch announced the upcoming conference in San Jose that will feature how Big Companies are using Social Media to grow their business. If you aren’t actively using social media to reach your customers – what’s stopping you?
Time?
Knowledge?
Desire?
