I love this piece on measuring consumer’s emotional levels in a retail shopping space or tracking their eye movements on a website. I don’t for a moment believe it’s about “making their experience better” do you? No really do you believe retailers will pay millions of dollars on research about consumer behavior to make your experience better?

No, it’s to make you buy more period. Now, I’m not opposed to companies understanding how to sell their wares, make themselves more attractive to consumers, I’m sensitive to the idea that this is in my best interest.

And this is the inherent conflict in between consumer and company. This relationship and conflict is highlighted by social media. It will play out in the coming year as Facebook pushes timelines and sponsored stories, more companies use social and gaming to occupy your mindspace and consumers constantly connect to the consuming process through mobile devices.

Will We Get This The Linked Economy?

In this scene from the Miracle on 34th Street, Macy’s employees send consumers to their competitor Gimbels if they have the product the customer wants. Far fetched? probably, but this is where consumers and their mobile devices are fighting the in-store technology. Pew Internet and American Life study shows 52% of consumers use mobile devices in store to consult a friend, compare prices, or consult reviews before making a purchase.

“Imagine that, Macy’s sending me to another store cause they ain’t got what I want! I don’t believe it.”

Marketers are a shrewd lot, some have customers in mind, but most have their own hides at the top of the food chain, then their company’s. This is not a criticism. This is the premise upon which the most successful and productive societies are built. Humans act in their own self interest, it’s OK no need for apologies.

This is why gift cards have expiration dates, fees are hidden, and introductory pricing are used as gateway drugs.

Marketers are certainly aware of the time pressures on “average” consumers and as such, we consume mostly with the “easy” button. When was the last time you read a “terms and conditions” agreement? Sign here, here, and here, and you’re done.

It is the same with privacy policies. Google’s new privacy policies that have met some criticism. As a consumer of online websites, we think about privacy policies in general as whether your email will be sold and, among the more sophisticated users of technology, will a cookie be placed on your computer that impedes the machine’s performance.

Today’s Google policy, similar to Facebook’s failed Beacon tracker, calls attention to a user’s every digital action and whether it will be shared in some way. The primary question to ask is whether your actions will be shared publicly. For example, if a consumer is looking for another job will their searches and website visits show up in their Google profile visible to their current employer. For now, most of the complaints are about collecting data and sharing it with advertisers, not with public exposure, but, the burden for privacy policies is on the consumer. It is getting more complicated and that’s what marketers understand and are taking advantage of, keep it simple, click here and don’t worry about the details. Today it is more evident that a consumer’s habits, their every digital and physical move (now that Google apps are used on mobile devices) are of interest to marketers and they will get it.

I read Todd Wasserman’s piece on Mashable about how 4 billion videos a day on consumed on YouTube, but the trend is YouTube viewers don’t hangout as much as TV viewers. Those couch potatoes stare at the original Tube for 4-5 hours per day. YouTube for me is a Godsend for laughs, real, belly-shaking, bend over with cramps, face-hurting from smiling, laughs.

I wonder, however, whether YouTube enhances the public’s experience of stand up comics or if the audience, having heard some of the popular bits online several times don’t respond as vocally to the familiar material. The other question is whether they contribute to the comics revenue either with DVD purchases or attending live shows. How does the comic make money in a profession that is brutally difficult. I don’t believe comic bits similar to songs. It is a different medium. Some of My favorite comic shticks are embed below. In my case, I have seen Steven Wright live. I may not have know about Mitch Hedberg or John Pinette if it was not for YouTube. I would definitely see Pinette in the future.

I’ve certainly shared links on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks to many comics I enjoy who have material on YouTube. In this case, social becomes faith and not easily measured. I suspect there is no way to track whether any of my links led to revenue for any comedians, but I engaged dozens of people specifically about these and other comics. For artists, it seems it’s really a bet on older revenue streams e.g. DVDs and live shows, and faith that the new medium is adding to, not stealing from that revenue channel.

What’s your take on whether new media is a benefit or harmful for stand up comics?

John Pinnete – Chinese Buffet

Here’s John Pinette’s tour schedule, he is flat out funny.

Hedberg died at age 37 Mitch Hedberg’s website is a creative insight into his sense of humor.

Steven Wright has an infrequently populated Twitter presence, but a neat Steven Wright website.

Time 18:38

It used to be back in the day, that all you needed do is be on social media and your non-profit cause was welcome with open arms. Ask Stacey Monk of Epic Change, the organization that launched Tweetsgiving and raised money to help build a school in Tanzania in 2008. Ah the good old days there was little competition on Twitter for non profits, but the early mover advantages are short and sweet. Today, Monk believes creativity, a focus on love, and fresh look at combining talents are what’s needed to get a non-profit’s message beyond the noise.

In this Marketing Edge podcast, I speak with Stacey Monk on how non profits can use social differently than in the early days of Twitter and Facebook. The heart and soul of Monk’s advice is for the non-profit to believe in and use the word love as a rationale for their work. Connecting to the emotional side is what attracts attention, drives satisfaction, and sparks the desire to give. Least we not forget, Monk reminds, that having a set of proof bullets, that this progress report on the Epic Change site helps the thinking side of the equation be comfortable with the gifting.

Here’s Stacey’s impassioned video about Epic Change and the need to be almost raw in the emotional connections between the non-profit and its beneficiaries. That’s the love portion of being a non-profit. Listen around the 8 – 10 minute mark and tell me if you are moved to do better.

Monk mentions that when it comes to fundraising, challenges are a good tactic to use, so let’s see how this goes. In the podcast I mention to Stacey that that Marketing Edge will give $100 to Epic Change if Marketing Edge listeners donate a total of $500 by January 31. Just include the #MktEdge in the note section when you donate to help with Epic Change’s ongoing supportof their mission in Tanzania for Shepards Junior primary school and in helping other non profits raise funds.

Time 16:24

Just like a 1960s father complaining about his teenage daughter being on the telephone constantly, social media is entering into its adolescent phase with some growing up to do. The novelty of receiving tweets has worn off, and Facebook posts are commonplace, so now comes the phase when the value of social will have to meet some higher standard. The Pew Internet and American Life Project reports more than 65% of online adults use a social network Ironically while the aggregate numbers may lead to the conclusion that social is mainstream, I believe it is still a core group of early adopters that drive “active social media usage”. The trend line of new users and unique visitors does, however, force companies to switch attention and dollars to social channels in 2012.

Social Media 2012 Adolescence

The novelty is worn off, the “that’s cool” reactions to new functions on the social web are not as frequent as the early days of Twitter et. al. We are now somewhere between what Gartner’s Technology Hype Cycle calls the Trough of Disillusionment and Slope of Enlightenment depending on where you sit.

In my work with and research of larger companies, 2012 will be a year to reassess the criteria by which they will judge the success of social media implementation. My suggestion to some enterprises is that social media’s major benefit will be with internal efficiencies and not the number of followers a brand secures.

Social Media Mainstream

This is not a question of dumping social media or the death of social media. I will however, point readers to a wonderful piece by Paul Wallbank on Business Insider commenting on social media’s business model. It is a question of how to make social media efficient in both discovery and content creation. This is similar to the challenge the web faced with search and one which Google seems to have solved to the satisfaction of many. The entire web is whittled down to the first page result on Google for any keyword. A bit simplistic for sure, but a dose of reality for those who never venture to page two of Google results. Is this the future of social commentary and creation? Are we looking at a day’s summary in a nice, neat one page set of bullets about our network and selected topics?

One can make the case we are almost there with apps such as Flipboard, Zite, and Boxcar –

Mainstream Real Life

The life of mainstream America is less centered on technology as it is facilitated by technology. Blaspheme to the geek in you, but please forgive me. The obligations one has to themselves, families, employers and friends is the focus of mainstream individual’s day. Technology companies, especially need to keep that in mind. To paraphrase James Carville, it’s the people stupid.

In this last of a three part episode with Laura Fitton, Inbound Marketing Evangelist for Hubspot, we discuss the time management aspects of building a social media brand, while being a parent and entrepreneur. It’s a great conversation if you are thinking social has gotten out of hand, too much selfless promotion and has diverged from its original course of facilitating the needs of a community. Part One, What Will Change Social Media in 2012 and Part Two Keys to Integrating Content That Motivates Audiences

New Year’s Resolution

Get better. Ok that’s a general resolution, but nonetheless a good start. If you want to be a better marketer in 2012, then start with Hubspot’s Marketing Grader – Similar to their website grader, it’s a free resource to benchmark your website against a criteria that measures content, readability and sharability – the ability for your content to be shared. (i kind of just made that word up )

Sometimes your own website gets stagnant, (guilty), so I’m using Market.grader.com to turn a new leaf for 2012. The report goes in depth, but it also has some great quick tips on actions to improve your site. Here’s an example for me.

Sure there are some boilerplate responses that are part of the report, for example a premise of the report is for the business to have a Facebook page. I concluded early on that I did not want a business Facebook page, for several reasons among them, time, producing new and different content, I already have a personal Facebook page, and it is a lot of “me tooism”. This is also one of the reasons I’m not big on solutions headlines, e.g. 5 ways to make great fried chicken, but they do work. Hubspot does give you food for thought with its Market Grader report as you implement your New Year’s Resolutions for 2012.

Happy New Year to all listeners of the Marketing Edge Podcast, thanks for listening.

Time 21:34

The second part of the three part conversation with Laura Fitton aka @pistachio from Hubspothttp://www.hubspot.com/pistachio/. Digital content is the ingredient for all types of digital marketing, online or off. For example, a video case study can be edited into separate clips that address a focused issue. This clip can be on YouTube, included in a sales presentation, or embeded in a blog post.

The conversation that Laura and I have centers on the best ways to integrate original content and curate content from other sources. Hubspot, a developer of marketing software platform, has a methodology to rate a company’s website on the criteria of whether its content will attract, interest, and convert readers to some action. The Marketing Grader tool provides excellent guidance on content, and its ability to be discovered and shared.

In many situations it’s a reminder to do the fundamental blocking and tackling to provide regular content that is useful to audiences with an easy way for them to share it with their networks. Your New Year’s resolution to be more disciplined is as good a reason as any to run a Marketing Grader report this month so you start 2012 off right.

Here are a couple of tactics that I found useful integrating information from a single video interview with a client’s customer customer

1) Video interview – used cover video to spice up sales presentations

2) Edited short segments from interviews that focused on single, narrow topics related to prospects’ interests. Sales used in individual emails to their contacts.

3) Used short comments on Twitter and linked back to longer video

4) Created blog posts with pull out quotes from video interview

5) Used soundbites in podcast during roundtable discussion with subject matter experts from software company.

6) Video used in waiting area in the company’s lobby

I’m not suggesting every company undertake every media and tactic, I am however, highlighting how a single event to capture content, e.g. the video interview with the customer, can be multi-purposed across a company each with a clear objective.

Below is an example of a video case study that can be repurposed for a number of objectives.

Time 13:22

The year-end blog posts about marketing ideas for 2012 are endless. The one constant included in the majority of them is the importance of content. Now now, everyone and their brother has a book out about the latest consultant buzz word “content marketing”. Stop it; this should almost insult your intelligence, if you are a thinking person, for consultants to raise the content flag as what’s new in marketing.

The irony here is that digital and social media have created an environment similar to advertising. Here’s what I mean, in the last 20 years every space is open to place a logo for payment, from sidewalks to mobile apps. That same environment applies to content of all types, from “how to” videos to tweets about your blog post. The challenge is how many ways can you essentially say the same thing and how will it convince those who receive the information.

We get into a conversation about content with long time social media advocate Laura Fitton aka @Pistachio. She is one of the early adopters in the social community, an entrepreneur founder of OneForty, co-author of Twitter for Dummies, and is now an inbound marketing evangelist for Hubspot. I have no affiliation with Hubspot. Hubspot was all about content and digital crumbs long before today’s latest push for content marketing.

In this Marketing Edge podcast episode Laura and I discuss the shift from seeking customers to customers seeking. A difference that requires a shift in how you approach your own company and it’s role in the world of information. People have written books about this topic, I sum it up in one messily blog post Newsroom PR saving you time and money : ) .

Hubspot has a new twist on the way they analyze website content. Give marketing.grader.com a try, it will give you a report on whether the content on your website is attractive to readers and can help generate inbound marketing inquiries.

Maruggi’s Trends for Social in 2012

Mobile will drive foot and digital traffic so be there

Bloggers and customers want more to do your marketing

Companies will demand more feedback from consumers in exchange for something you value

What’s wrong people? Don’t you want to be Re-Tweeted? Then make your tweets short enough to allow for a quick RT click and send.

I see this mistake all the time, and on a promoted Tweet it is particularly inexcusable. Come on Yahoo, you should know this!

Time 14:10

Regardless of any changes in Facebook to be rolled out this weekend, the challenge stays the same for business Facebook marketing, Attract, Teach, Drive behavior.

We discuss a real Facebook Marketing challenge with a client in the shipping business USA2Pilipinas. (now called USA2everywhere) This is a company that reduces international shipping costs by consolidating individual purchases in the larger shipping units, which are then unbundled upon arrival in Manila and delivered to the individual address.

This Marketing Edge podcast is a conversation with Christopher Baldock about increasing likes on your Facebook company page. The increased likes on the company Facebook page is only the beginning, the challenge is finding ways to engage those likes on Facebook or at the very least, maintain and increase views of that Facebook company page.

In this particular challenge the content about shipping was not valued, but content about consumer products and consumer product deals was the draw. Baldock grew Likes from several hundred to more than 36,000. The key elements of this Facebook marketing campaign were:

• Facebook ads to targeted consumers in Philippines and Filipino communities in the US.
• Understanding the unique cultural tradition observed by Filipinos living in the United States to send gifts in a special box back to the Philippines, it’s called a Balikbayan box
• Seek content that is valued over the content relevant to your company (you’ll have to convince the powers that be that indirect messaging is truly the Trojan Horse of marketing)

Facebook Changes

The changes being implemented may change the mix for companies. It seems easier to like a brand than to “subscribe” to it. This will also put a greater emphasis on experiences individuals have with the company as that information will be reflected in the Facebook Timeline.

Facebook should prompt a company to take stock of it’s ability to stimulate customers, fans, followers, to share their experience. It’s a good time to audit not only your own information, but the information valued by your audiences.

I’ll have more on this topic in a live Blog Talk Radio show Facebook Changes, What They Mean for Business on Wednesday, October 5 at 11 AM CDT. It’s an open discussion so join me, Francine Hardaway author of the article What the New Facebook Changes Mean for Business on the Fast Company blog, and other Blog Talk Radio listeners interested in discussing the impact of Facebook changes for business and marketers.

Albert’s Answers

I do a lot of presentations, as a result I get many questions. I have answers to most of them, when I don’t I’ll say so and point folks in the direction to find out more. I’ll post these questions and answers periodically on this blog. Some of these questions where submitted by email and so I’ll withhold specifics in the event there is competitive information. These short answers get to the heart of the matter, if you are curious about the details, just add a comment or ask a question in the comment section.

An owner of a retail shoe store in a rural part of the country asks:

What is the best way to put together an email list for a small business?

This woman happens to be very savvy, she purchased a business that she frequently patronized. She obtained coverage from the local newspaper when the store opened. Nice going. Let’s stay on that trend, first the newspaper may be the best source of emails or at the very least access to emails if they have a subscriber list. In small towns with newspapers I am big on supporting each business. That means reaching out to surrounding towns.

More ways to get emails:

• Point of Sale
• Business card bowl
• Contest, discounts, box
• Website (big sign up box, even tell them what they will get in exchange)
• Facebook Ads (Here’s a way to first determine within your geographic area how many people have Facebook profiles.) Then make the ad compelling enough to click through, on the landing page have an email sign up
• Any event you do, have a sign in or name drop box and be specific about what the person giving you their email will get in exchange for their email.
• Collaborate with other area businesses that are complimentary to your store
• Chambers of Commerce
• Email list brokers (less attractive to me, but know that with any purchased list sometimes as much as half can be wrong)
• Direct Mail (yes I know it’s old fashion, but retail stores are also tied to a geography and those physical addresses are easier to obtain. My two cents, do an annual or semi-annual “can’t miss” event. Use direct mail to drive as much interest in that as possible using time specific offers, then have a value proposition to obtain the email. That value proposition is not just financial, can’t use all your profits promoting the business. )

If you like these ideas let me know, have more post them below