The Other Side Group recently wrote a blog post about Keeping Social Media Social. She said that people can get to a state with social media where they subscribe to a large number of people, but filter out everyone but a select few to compensate for the information overload. Participation with the masses goes down, and results in one-way conversations that are no different from traditional marketing.

I think there are two benefits to social media that are different than traditional media. The first is listening – companies now have the ability to hear what people are saying in ways they never could before. Blogs, forums, Twitter search, and Facebook status updates all create a stream of searchable content that companies can use to get feedback and keep abreast of perception shifts. They can do this without creating accounts or participating.

The second benefit is engagement with customers. This can affect product cycles, help with PR and marketing, increase sales, help identify trends, decrease support costs and empower fans to help spread the word. Engagement also provides an answer to the question “Is anybody listening?”

A common perception of many of these social media outlets is that they will be a gigantic time drain on already strained resources. This can actually be true – truly listening and interacting with customers can and should take time. That is why it is really important to understand up front what a company’s goals are and what resources they have to commit to the process. Everybody hates finding out that companies aren’t truly involved; that they aren’t really interested in putting in the effort, but are merely checking a box. Lack of authenticity leads to outrage and abandonment. Sites become ghost towns.

Just listening to customers is a great first step. It helps companies to understand how and where they might engage in the future. However, it is important to let people know that you are gathering feedback and it also very important to have a plan to address that feedback, even if that doesn’t happen via social media channels. Customers will appreciate this and will be happy to know that someone is hearing them.

Cappy Popp will be speaking at a MITX event Wednesday, June 24, 2009 on a panel titled,  ’Web Marketing on a Shoestring – Being Scrappy in a Down Economy‘.

The second installment of the MITX Marketing Technology Series, an educational series designed to explore the platforms, systems and infrastructures that allow marketers to execute efficiently, will be held  at K&L Gates at the State Street Financial Center in Boston from 8-10AM.

The following industry experts will be joining Cappy:

• Jeff Cram, CSO / Co-Founder,  ISITE Design
• Mike Volpe, VP Marketing, HubSpot
• Greg Slama, Manager of Contextual Marketing, One to One Interactive

Click here for detailed information about the event, or here to register.

Click here for directions. (or via Google)

MITX – the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange – today is the leading industry association in the country, bringing together digital technology, marketing and media professionals, to engage in what is next for the web and how it impacts the marketing and business worlds. With 250 plus member companies representing over 7,000 digital professionals, it is a dynamic and growing community of thought leaders, collaborators, and individuals in search of insight, education and opportunity. Check them out – or even better - join!

Our publisher,  Addison-Wesley Professional, has graciously published ‘Rough Cuts’ -  that means they still need final edits – of the first five chapters of our upcoming book, Facebook Development: A Complete Guide to Smart Application Development for the Facebook Platform, on InformIT’s Safari Books Online. Rough Cuts allow readers to get access to the book before it’s published or purchase advance copies.

Here’s an excerpt:

Currently Facebook has over  250 million active users and offers well beyond 52,000 applications — and the rate at which new applications are launching is staggering. But there is a lack of up-to-date information about developing those applications effectively — particularly in the light of platform  modifications that have rendered many applications obsolete. This book provides instruction on using the latest Facebook platform features and  helps developers create and deploy successful Facebook apps, revealing what makes them successful, how to measure progress, and how to deploy changes that will maximize the application’s value…

Please give it a read and let us know if you have any thoughts, questions, or ideas about the book or the chapters.

Thought Labs’s Cappy Popp will be speaking on a panel titled, “Linked in – How to Increase Sales“ on Thursday, June 18, 2009 from 11:45A – 1:30P at the Clark University Graduate Management Center in Framingham, MA. This should be an interesting event; it will undoubtedly be covering a much broader range of topics related to developing a brand and increasing your presence using all forms of social media. Please attend and bring some of your most pressing questions.

The following industry experts will be joining him:

• Mike Langford, CEO of Tweetworks
• Jeff Cutler, writer, JeffCutler.com
• Eric Guerin, founder SmartMarket media

The panel is sponsored by the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce. Many thanks to Ed Nunes, Business Banker with TD Banknorth for organizing it.

Click here to register for the event.

Click here for directions.

Today I attended the TechTarget Online ROI Summit. Great seminar: most importantly one of the panels was focused on ‘Understanding the CIO’s Agenda and Making Sure you are on it.’ Interesting panel. Panelists included the following CIOs: Jay Leader (iRobot), Paul Neilsen (PlumChoice Online PC Services), and Stephen A. Morin (TAC Worldwide.) Interesting questions were asked and important points raised.

The biggest question asked was how to sell to a CIO. The simple answer: good luck, you’ll damn well need it.

Bottom line: you don’t get the opportunity to sell to the CIO, and if you do you better realize you’re damn lucky to do so. They are busy. REALLY busy. If you think for one second that you are going to sell them on the technical merits of your product or solution you’ve already lost. They have people waaaay down the hierarchy from them with the technical expertise will vet your solution or product before it ever – I mean EVER – hits their desks. They care about three things:

• Does it solve a BUSINESS problem I care about? What problem? SPECIFICALLY? You damn well better know that problem COLD ahead of time – I better not need to ask you. Can you prove it?
• Don’t sell me on technical details or superiority. I DON’T CARE. At my level, it’s all about business value. What and how will your solution affect my bottom line? Green tech? Great. Save the planet, just not on my dime. I’m a capitalist, first. Unless I use megawatts of electricity look elsewhere. You get the idea.
• You better KNOW my business,  KNOW my company and business model (cold), KNOW my products, KNOW my customers, KNOW my pain points. Biblically. If I know more about the tech your are offering you’ve lost. Get out. Now. You better not only know your tech COLD but be able to answer every one of my challenges to your arguments as to why you think your solution is better than what I have. Especially if what I have is free. Get ready to throw down if you think otherwise. And guess what? You’ll most likely lose.

Sounds harsh, but to be honest it’s totally and invigoratingly enlightening and starkly honest. Bottom line: CIOs have NO TIME for BS. They have powerful filters that ensure that whatever hits their desk is damn well important. And when it hits their desk you had better be seriously prepared to deal with the barrage of questions they are going to ask to prove the ROI your solution offers over what they currently have – if anything – and why they should spend the next 2 minutes listening to you. You think you’re going to get them on the phone using the standard pitch? Think again.

They have problems to solve, and those problems are BUSINESS problems, not technical ones. Make sure you’ve done your homework on not only your offerings but also their company. They don’t have time for BS. Make your case, make it quick, and make it compelling from a business value – NOT a technical superiority – perspective.

To sum up: CIOs don’t care about technical excellence. They have people to tell them what technical excellence means. They care about business value. Botttom lines. Solve my pain. Prove the ROI. Master these and you’ll win.

Gary Vaynerchuck just did a quick ustream talk in response to a comment he received via Twitter. The comment by @CreativeEmbassy said that companies are waiting for the tipping point before moving into Social Media. Gary’s response was that it will be too late then. The time to get in is now, so that you can practice, make mistakes and learn from them. That way, when the tipping point does come, your brand will be ready.

Gary Vaynerchuck’s post – You Down With ROI?…Yeah You Know Me – says that it isn’t the social media companies that will be affected by the current financial environment, it is the traditional media companies like radio, newspapers and magazines. Spending large amounts on print ads or radio ads will not produce the ROI it has in the past, as people move out of those media.

One alternative would be to create a company Twitter account to follow and interact with real customers. Hubspot ran a recent webinar about using Twitter and pointed out some great examples such as Zappos, Comcast, Amazon and Whole Foods. Comcast apparently watched for 2 months before interacting with their @comcastcares account and now offers support via Twitter. Amazon offers new deals with its @amazondeals account. Zappos shows off all employee tweets at What are Zappos employees doing right now? Whole Foods lets customers interact, check inventory, and discuss experiences via @wholefoods. This whole operation could be staffed with several interns or some full time employees and could totally change customers views and appreciation for your brand.

Instead of print advertising, companies could place ads on related blogs for rock bottom prices and track the actual results. Impossible with traditional media.

The market may be down, but the shift to online media continues to accelerate. Now is the time to get going with Social Media. Ask us how to get started.

Yesterday, I attended a conference put on by MassTLC called the Innovation unConference. It was probably the most interesting conference I have ever attended for a few reasons. First, the unConference format was very interesting. The day started with a brief overview of how the conference would work and then 5 mins of full attendee self-introductions. Then masses of people started announcing topics that they would present on, claiming times and rooms by placing cards on a big chart on the wall. If topic conflicts occurred, topics were moved or discarded. Soon the wall was full. There were 4 timeslots for sessions, 1 lunchtime networking session, a group exercise, and a post-event discussion.

The attendees were a mix of established entrepreneurs, new startups, Angel and VC investors, and other professionals. There were endless opportunities to learn from everyone around you about some aspect of being an entrepreneur. Access to all this knowledge in one spot is incredible uncommon.

The first session I attended was entitled – Mistakes Startups Make. They were:

1. Choosing the wrong business type. The experts said that the most common correct type would be c-corp, perhaps starting out as s-corp, because it is an easy vehicle for future VC funding. LLC’s may seem to be cheaper in the start, but there are tax implications in switching to a C-corp later on. There is also some standardization of operating agreements and other documents released by Paul Graham’s Y Combinator.
2. Having an Idea versus a company. There are lots of great ideas, but not all of them make a great company. Need to do the market research and think about why someone would want to put money into the company and how they would get it back. Need a business plan. Need to understand the sales channel.
3. Improper use of VC. The best time for getting investors is when you don’t need them. Startups need to research VC and Angel investors before pitching them. They will sit on the board and have a direct impact on the company. Each investor offers expertise as well as cash, so it is important to find the right match. Some recommended taking the biggest amount of funding in the first round as possible, because that is when you will have to give up the biggest share of the company. Also, picking the right investor is important, as big name investors can help attract big name talent.
4. Doing a startup first. It was recommended to work for someone else first to gain that knowledge and learn what works and doesn’t. Use this also as an opportunity to find people you can learn from and later on have as advisors or board members.
5. Not knowing why they are there. Understand your reasons for being in business. Know your strengths. Successful startups have at least 1 business guy, marketer, and technologist.
6. Not having advisors. Get others who have been successful to help. Often this will cost 1% equity, but will make a huge difference in the success of the company. Advisors and boards also provide accountability. Founder time is scarce, and advisors can help focus their efforts on the core business.

The next session was called “How Not to Get Free Publicity” and was put on by Scott Kirsner. Key points were basically doing the opposite of the slides. Here is what you should do:

1. If a competitor gets written up, don’t whine to the reporter about it. Instead, post a relevant comment describing your company in the articles online comment section.
2. On your website, make it easy for press to contact you. Have the name of a real person, along with a phone number and email address. Don’t hide behind a form.
3. Respond quickly to questions. This can make a huge difference in whether your information makes it into the article.
4. Show your location. This helps get local PR. If you have multiple locations, show them all.
5. Have full bios. Give real details, make them interesting, and show prior work. Sometimes, reporters are looking for experiences in prior companies for stories.
6. Be read in your responses. Don’t give canned answers. You can be combatitive if you can get away with it, like Scott McNeely, but this doesn’t work most of the time.
7. Talk off the record. If you are in a quiet period, you don’t have to divulge all the details, but you can talk about the industry and other background information.
8. Have interesting headshots. Use non-traditional photos in high-res. These are much more likely to be used.
9. Contact the press directly. You don’t always need your own PR firm to get to the press.
10. Blog. Have a lot of visible content to draw from and link to.
11. Give the big scoops to the big names. Don’t waste it on a little place when a large outlet could do more for you.
12. Press releases should have full contact info so that people can follow up with you.

There is a great set of interviews from the event by Lois Paul & Partners and a flickr set by thopcraft.

On June 28, 2008 Cappy Popp spoke at the Social Media Business School event in New York City hosted by socialmedia.com. He discussed marketing Facebook applications effectively and gave insights into the complex and ever-changing ecosystem of Facebook. Eddie Smith, VP of Marketing and Business Development for socialmedia.com, had this to say:

“Cappy did a fantastic job, providing insights into what works and doesn’t work to market apps based upon his actual experience, educating others on what it takes to implement “appvertising” campaigns. Cappy’s very knowledgeable about advertising within social networks and I look forward to having him participate in future socialmedia.com events.”

Marketing Sherpa had an interesting post recently on Facebook Pages. I wanted to comment on it since I think though relevant and timely it missed some really relevant points that our clients face as soon as they decide to get a Facebook presence. One specifically: that they are ‘free’. Here’s the post: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.html?id=30590.

As a social media company that has been providing custom Facebook Pages for a wide variety of clients since their launch I feel that this post – and the opinion on the Web in general – is that it’s really critical to understand with these Pages is that even though they are ‘free’ they also look free.

What do I mean?

All of them tend to look the same, have the same apps, and don’t do a great job of getting a brand out there with any degree of uniqueness. Go ahead. Try it out.

I’ll wait. They are ‘easy to build.’

Done?

How does it look?

Now search some other Facebook Pages. Compare it to the one you just created. How similar is it?

Thought so. Nearly identical, right?

I’m not trying to sell our services here; however, I have heard stories of a number of companies who believe that these pages are the Holy Grail of ‘Getting their Brand on Facebook.’

Remember this: Facebook Pages can host custom applications. This is what makes them different from Facebook Groups. But, more importantly, it’s what makes them even MORE complex than most custom Facebook applications to develop. The entire world of social media is about two things: engagement and influence. A plain Facebook Page offers none of the former or the latter. The same rules apply for all other social media ROI as I’ve said in this post. Depending upon your social media strategy you need to understand that to make your Facebook page look and more importantly feel branded you have to develop some custom applications to make it so. Perhaps several. And yes, this costs. It costs money, time, and thought to get it right for your brand or strategy. I have heard some major marketing media firms talk about the fact that a custom Facebook application is more complex than a Branded Facebook Page.

Quite simply put: they are completely and utterly wrong.

Some other critical points that people looking at Facebook Pages miss:

• Drop-off rates from users who are led to other sites OUTSIDE of Facebook from a Facebook Page are horrfically high. > 90% in most cases (our numbers). If you think you are going to slap a Facebook Page up and expect users to happily leave the walled garden of Facebook to visit your existing Web properties for monetization or content you have surprises in store for you. Big ones. That you won’t like.
• Fans of your Page WILL contain your competitors. Why? Because you can update every one of your fans at once once per day. Think about it. This is critical to starting a conversation and moving your brand or strategy forward. Don’t fear this; embrace it! Fan their pages, too. Remember, this whole thing is SOCIAL.
• One of the popular apps available for free from Facebook for Pages is a Forum widget. A lot of companies are still terrified of UGC (user-generated content). ‘What if someone says something negative about our brand/service/company/content?’ We hear this a lot. What happens is a conversation that you can turn into something more positive than you can possibly imagine. Remember the Digg effect: removing negative or controversial (to you) content can have HUGE negative consequences almost never worth experiencing. See the book Groundswell for more information. Do not fear this. Any conversation is an opportunity to grow your brand/service/company for the better.
• Someone representing your brand/service/company needs to be involved with the design of the Page from the beginning. It needs to reflect your B/S/C in a way that reflects what is important to YOU.
• Your Page must be ready to change. It is NOT a website. If you want viral spread, if you want more fans, if you want people to start and continue the conversation you need to make sure USERS COME BACK. Engagement, people! ENGAGEMENT.

Facebook Pages are a critical tool that can really help your social media strategy. But be aware they are not free if you are expecting real results from them.