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The Marketing Edge, one of the longest running marketing and public relations podcasts.
Host Albert Maruggi weaves his 25 years of marketing and PR experience across business, technology and national public affairs in interviews with newsmakers, authors and business leaders.
Maruggi is a frequent speaker and conducts workshop sessions on new media. For more information or to discuss your business challenges and goals, e-mail him.
It’s nutty, plenty of companies are running around trying to figure out social media. The answer and examples are right under your nose. It dawned on me while watching Jeff Pulver go through his networking techniques at a recent social media breakfast in Minneapolis.
This conversation shows companies how to approach social media from a perspective that many sales people have practiced in their professional communities for decades, one relationship at a time. I use sales only to get the attention here of many marketers, sales people and decision makers because these days there is a premium on getting sales, but as my colleagues know, social media goes well beyond a sale.
Pulver, employs interesting networking techniques during his sessions that would do any Rotary member proud. I use the Rotary example because this is an organization tied to both a business networking group that also has a history of giving back to its local community, a critical concept of social media.
Using social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and others to promote his events, and tapping that group to invite others who are not using social media. Pulver creates a meeting of the digital and physical worlds.
Years ago Pulver wrote “the more digital we become the more need for face-to-face meetings.” His perspective is grounded in good old fashion interpersonal communications and you may say borrow from the work of sociologist Henri Tajfel who is noted for his work in social identity and minimal groups experiments.
It is the kind activity that is at the heart of every good salesperson, every productive chamber of commerce, and every professional association worth their salt to their members. It is about people and their willingness to participate with each other.
People who are neck deep in social media tend to get a little over the top about technology, and new applications, mashups etc, etc, etc, and can loose the essence of what all these tools are supposed to do, make it easier to meet other people, period. It is a foundation to share stories, pass on interesting information that will help people do something, like find the right product, get better healthcare, enjoy a new restaurant, improve their job performance, and the list is endless.
Pulver’s sessions are a must for both social media geek and the person that still carries around a Day Runner paper planner. Both have more in common than you might think.
Slowly retailers are understanding that in a world of Free Speech and Equal Access (via the Internet), consumers and employees are talking about them. Many retailers are reluctant to jump into the social media world for an assortment of fears, some real, most perceived.
Adam Cohen, author of the Thousand Cuts blog, a regular read of mine, led a study of retailers using Facebook pages. Cohen’s firm, Rosetta, monitored uses of Fan pages by major retailers overtime from May to September of 2008. A highlight from the piece;
“A September 2008 study by Rosetta (formerly Brulant) that focused on the top 100 online retailers in the US found that 59 had a fan page on Facebook, up from 30 in May 2008. Among the 29 who added Facebook pages since that time were Best Buy, Toys “R” Us, Kohl’s and Wal-Mart.” The report is available for a limited time on eMarketer.
Adam and I discuss in this Marketing Edge podcast how, in some cases, employees or customers may have already created a Fan page on Facebook without the permission of HQ or the Brand Manager. You’ll have to blame James Madison and Thomas Jefferson for their wacky free speech idea in part for this behavior. However, as you have seen with Barack Obama’s campaign the ultimate in retail, when consumers are energetic about your brand, it’s best to watch the energy and not shut the lights off.
For a little background on my perspective on retailers and how they can assemble a comprehensive online strategy, dial back into the archives of the Marketing Edge blog to January 3, 2008 and the potential social media play for REI.
The Classic Question?
Is it best to dip your toe in the social media pool with a more conservative approach with a bit more corporate style like Target (nice grouping of more than 100,000 Fans)
Or a bit less structure like this page produced by fans of Jeep Wrangler
What are your criteria for how retailers can participate in social media?
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The idea of a group of people sharing information can apply to hobbyists (like whitewater,try KayakMind, a product launch team, or a global force of loyal fans. One of my current favorites is Natasha Bedingfield Many companies struggle with whether such a beneficial collaboration is a technology question. There are plenty of platforms that exist for significant sharing of multimedia, and text along with other features like blogging, and forums.
Today we speak with Gina Bianchini, the co-founder and CEO of an exceptional platform for creating and growing social networks, Ning. Provident Partners has a private network for listeners of the Marketing Edge podcast and readers of this blog on the Ning platform. To receive an invitation just email marketingedge AT providentpartners.net and put Sandbox in the subject line.
Bianchini said the Ning Creators social network, a network of thousands of Ning users, is an excellent place to develop new feature ideas, get feedback from users, and a central place to praise and vent.
It’s all about the interaction, the information, and the journey that the group goes on together. Jump on.
Tiki Bar TV is one of the most popular vidcasts. This wonderful comedy short-form with colorful characters and a winning drink recipe at the end of every show is an excellent example of great work in this new genre — one in which marketers can access a community of fans. The show, available wherever podcasts are distributed, also has a delightful Web site with excellent tie-ins to merchandise, drink recipes and plenty social media uses, including MySpace badges, a forum and live chat elements.
Tosca Musk of Musk Entertainment is the producer of Tiki Bar TV. Tosca says as a business, this form of art, vidcasting, is still finding its way. Tiki Bar is creative from the business side as well by having excellent main characters and adding other interchangeable characters to keep the show fresh.
As a marketer I look at the show and Web site as a package, with plenty of places to support the art form (as a sponsor/underwriter), contribute valued information (drink recipes, good combos and bad, Tiki Bar food recipes), co-branded merchandise…well, you get it: There’s plenty for a creative mind to play with.
We didn’t discuss this in the podcast, but could there be product character appearances, such as a cameo from Captain Morgan? We do touch on how this kind of package will allow innovative advertisers and businesses to create information (I purposefully did not use the word advertising) that is less disruptive and more constructive.
In the podcast we chat with Jeff Macpherson, the director of Tiki Bar. He believes this genre is also outstanding for actors to create unprecedented relationships with their audience members. Because of the Web platform, these characters seem so much more approachable, and as Jeff says, “We are more approachable!” They even invited me over for a drink.
And yes, as a special treat we even get a couple of questions in with the good Dr. Tiki himself. So sit back, get a drink and enjoy this episode of the Marketing Edge.
And yes, as a special treat we even get a couple of questions in with the good Dr. Tiki himself. So sit back, get a drink and enjoy this episode of the Marketing Edge.
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