The Next Latest and Greatest?

I haven't posted in a few weeks and the good news is it's because Simple is enjoying a mid-summer downpour of new clients. We'll be launching some exciting new client work soon and will keep you posted when things go live.

In the meantime, I had a great new client question last week that has been bouncing around in the back of my mind, writing itself as a blog post ever since. The client question ...

"Facebook is kind of old. What is the next latest and greatest social media thing?"

Now this is a great question for a few reasons:

Short Shelf Life Spurs Pioneers. The question is indicative of the one-day-lifespan-of-the-housefly type environment in which we marketers and business owners and customers now live. Facebook became a mass marketing tool only about three years ago, give or take a few months. Attention spans are waning, the economy is still a mess, and businesses of all sizes are pretty motivated (perhaps desperate) to find and implement the latest and great tool to win customers and make sales. Businesses are more willing than ever to try new approaches to marketing and customers eagerly looking for deals are open to trying new marketing tools, like Groupon and FourSqauare.

Awareness Into Innovation. The question also points to an expectation - a blind faith really - that there actually is another latest and greatest out there that will serve as the silver bullet that will achieve all marketing goals instantly and with wild success. While somewhat unrealistic, this is good because it means that even small business owners are becoming more aware of social media and smart phone apps and they want to experiment with new things. This demand is helping to spur innovation, both on the part of developers and business owners.

"Old" Doesn't Mean Stagnant. In the case of Facebook, just because it is one of the first and most used social media sites doesn't mean that it isn't constantly evolving. Just this week Facebook added Places, its new location based application designed to compete with FourSquare. At the same time Facebook added new tools for Notes. The week before this, they improved the way you browse Photo albums. Facebook is constantly evolving its functionality and all signs point to the fact that we can expect that to continue.

Before you discard the idea of Facebook as a social media marketing tool because it is "too old", here are a few pointers to make sure you're business page is taking advantage of all Facebook has to offer:

• Focus Your Strategy. Don't just have a business page to have a page. Make it strategic. Make sure the content, images, and voice all work toward reflecting your brand and achieving you marketing goals.
• Mix Your Media. Make your business page come alive with combination of text, video, and images.
• Use Tabs. Take the time to populate your Tabs with strategic, relevant content. Update your Tabs content frequently. Do a little research and create custom Tabs for your page.
• Talk With Friends. The whole point of social media is that it allows your customers to talk directly with you, the business owner. Give your Facebook friends reasons to communicate back with you via your Facebook page.
  
• Stay Current. Visit frequently or friend the Facebook page to get the official latest and greatest news and updates first.

Like I mentioned, this question has so many interesting aspects to consider.

And finally, you still may be asking your self, "Well, what really is the next latest and greatest social media has to offer?" Mashable has five suggestions in their recent piece, 5 Huge Trends in Social Media Right Now.

Enjoy!

Is your digital advertising alive?

One of the best things to happen to digital media in the past couple of years is how easy it has become to create multi-media content. From adding pictures, movies, or slide shows, the possibilities for creating dynamic content to your website or blog are endless.

And easy. Forget about needing to know how to program. In most cases, with just a flick of the "upload," "copy," and "paste," commands, your content is created, uploaded, and alive.

With all the ease of use, there is just one thing to remember: make it strategic!

Since multi-media content is so simple to use, like social media, it can be all to easy to approach it with a "I'll post it because I can" attitude.

And while it may be a nice decoration to your website or blog, if it is not working toward communicating your particular strategic marketing goals - getting more customers to visit, selling more of a particular product, etc. - it is not working as hard as it can be to bring your small business results.

For this post, I've included a little show that I created in PhotoPeach as an example.

It's Not Rocket Science on PhotoPeach

The Strategy

One of my strategic marketing goals is to get new clients and to do that I usually need to quickly show small business owners what Simple does and how we can be of value to their companies. To that end, the topic of the show I created is to breakdown exactly what Simple does in the most basic way.

The Creative

Content: For the content of the show I used familiar images that I've included on my website, blog, social media, and business identity materials. In this way I am providing viewers with a consistent look and feel that will help make Simple more familiar at a glance. The messaging is also consistent: we take something complicated like marketing and advertising and make it simple for our clients to use with great results. The copy is also simple; short, quick-to-scan sentences that users don't have too work hard to read.

Music: I used the free service of PhotoPeach, so the music is one of the free choices that they offer users. I looked for something light and soothing, but also a song that users are familiar to hearing related on funny content, such as cartoons. Peace of mind and humor are two things I like to bring to clients, so I felt the music worked well for this goal.

Call-to-action: The final slide has the look and feel of the Simple website and the URLs of our website and Facebook pages. In this way, we are inviting users in and giving them an easy way to interact with us further.

Now, Simple can use this content in several ways. We can post it here on the blog and then create a link on Facebook that invited our friends to come take a look and learn more. I can also use it as I'm out and about talking with potential clients. Just flip open the laptop, pull it up, and twenty seconds later I've provided a fun way to explain what Simple does.

Want to learn more about strategically adding multi-media to your advertising efforts? Shoot me an email at julianne@simplesbm.com.

Branding Expert Andrew Sabatier Comments on Yesterday's Post

Yesterday's post, "BP, Branding and ... You?" has generated some positive feedback. First, our Simple Facebook page has received several new friends, which is great and we welcome you.

Also, Andrew Sabatier, the author of the Layars magazine article that I cited in my post, took the time to leave a comment on the Simple blog in response to my post. He mentions a few factors that provide a bigger picture of his thoughts on BP and I wanted to make sure that everyone who read yesterday's post got a chance to read his comments as well:

Hi Julianne

You are correct in your assessment that I wrote the article before the oil disaster for which BP has taken responsibility. Had the accident happened before I wrote the article I would probably have caveated what I wrote more heavily. I would also have emphasised the fact that the leadership who committed themselves to the branding has since been replaced.

I stand by what I wrote. BP is still considered a break-away brand. Now, more than ever, BP's brand identity serves to remind us of the relationship of a company's image to its behaviour. At the risk of loosing all credibility BP now has to demonstrate a renewed commitment to their brand. The branding as it stands in all its apparent falsity will, in all likely-hood, become its saving grace.

I agree with Mr. Sabatier that BP is motivating people - everyday consumers - to think more about a company's image vs. its actual behavior, and that kind of awareness is a very good thing.

Mr. Sabatier's thoughts on BP changing their actual behavior to reflect their green branding also inspires hope; the current BP brand does provide them with a positive direction in which to move. If he is correct and BP can actually manage to put that brand into practice, whether they are sincerly helping out the environment or sincerly trying to save their business, the company actually executing more environmentally friendly business practices is a win for everyone.

Maybe more importantly for you, the small business owner, is whether or not BP can pull this off and illustrate the power of branding. Imagine, if they can go from the exact opposite of what they are today, what could you do with your branding?

One final thought for today: I want to point out that the BP rebranding was just one example in a very thought-provoking six-page article that Andrew Sabatier wrote for the May/June issue of Layers. The article as a whole is really insightful and a recommended read for anyone who wants to get a quick yet thorough overview of branding today.

bp, branding and ... you?

I was reading the latest issue of Adobe Layers magazine over the weekend, mainly because it had a good article on "strategies and realities of successful market branding." Apparently the article had been written pre-BP oil spill, because the first example that author Andrew Sabatier referenced was the BP branding make-over.

With no mention of the spill, Sabatier gamely explained how the BP brand embarked upon an image update in the late '90s. According to the article, BP wanted to shed its imperialist history, take on a more "green" personality, and distance itself from the "petroleum age at its worst."

As a result, BP began to change their outward image, including a fresh new lotus flower shaped logo.

Writes Sabatier of the makeover:

"To some degree, BP may be wearing a mask, but in time the features of the brand will take on the features of the mask. For die-hard eco-warriors, this kind of branding may appear as a superficial greenwash, a false mask, but in the realm of appropriatly mediated brand experiences, BP has now become a breakaway brand, leading by example. BP's transformed brand identify represents a set of ideas that drives an internal and external business culture that envisions a future (B)eyond (P)etroleum."

In light of the company's reality today, day 84 of the oil spill, amidst Presidential investigations and daily media allegations that BP's business practices were habitually unsafe, this trickle-down idea of "if we present ourselves as environmentally conscious company it will become true" would be laughable if it were not so frustrating and sad.

Which brings the subject of branding back to you, the small business owner. The BP example serves as perfect, dramatic example of what not to do in your own branding: don't portray yourself through branding to be something that you are not.

It's pretty simple: Be your brand; not just by what you say or how you look, but by everything that you do.

For example, if part of your branding is that your company is a proud member of your community, make sure you are actually involved in events, groups, and promotions that support the community.

Perhaps Sabatier hits the mark best when he writes "Simply put, a brand identity is a brand strategy made experiential."

For BP, despite their green brand make over, the current "experience" of their brand is the exact opposite of the one they outwardly portrayed.

join me in the small business challenge?

Not to brag, but today I came up with a really inspired marketing idea.

I was on the other side of town and needed some coffee. Really. Needed. Coffee. It had been one of those mad mornings and I hadn't had nearly enough before leaving the house. I thought over my options based on location and decided to skip the big chain cafe I usually visit and went to a local coffee shop called Bad Ass Cafe* instead.

While Bad Ass Cafe is a franchise, the one at the beach in Virginia Beach is the only one in Hampton Roads. It has a unique local, beachy feel. The staff were friendly and wearing whatever they wanted to wear. There was no obnoxious music playing. And my cafe au lait and breakfast wrap were delicious and reasonably priced. Best of all down at the beach - free parking.


So, there I was mid-sip of my delicious cafe au lait with Kona dark roast and it hit me - if I'm going to talk the small business talk, I want to do the walk, too.

And that is how I came up with the inspired idea of the the Small Business Challenge.

Want to join me? Here are the Small Business Challenge objectives:

1. Replace. Each week replace 5 big brand businesses that you use with local, privately owned small businesses.

2. Comment. On your blog, Twitter, Facebook, or whatever your social media marketing tool of choice, comment on your experiences. Tell which big brand shop you passed up and discuss the small business you chose instead.

3. Review. Share your experience at the small business via Yelp or any other reviewing site or tools. In this way, you can give the owner feedback while promoting their small business to other potential customers.

Now, when it comes to grocery shopping and items you can purchase at Target, using small businesses could be tricky and require some online searching on our part. Perhaps it will mean visiting more than one store to get what we need. And I'll admit it, one of my main concerns as a consumer is cost. Will it be more expensive to use local businesses?

I'm looking forward to finding out the answer to all of these questions and hope you are too.

After all, if you try it for a week or so, what do you have to lose? And, in the long run we're going to be supporting our local businesses and make our communities stronger.

So join me in the Small Business Challenge in your neighborhood and keep me updated with your experiences.

*Please note: Bad Ass Cafe is NOT a client. This is an honest review from an actual customer - me.

what makes a creative idea "good"?

Have you ever wondered why some creative ideas flourish while others fizzle? Being in the advertising business for a living, it's something I've given a lot of thought.

Over the years, I've seen ideas that were truly awful take off and I've seen really imaginative creative ideas die before even being presented. And then there are ideas that fall somewhere in the middle; ideas that are not all that great, but they get the job done by earning results, though not accolades or awards.

Working with clients on developing creative ideas for their advertising executions recently got me thinking about the question again - what really does make an idea for creative advertising "good"?

Simply put, here are some key factors:

Stratagy. The most important component of all. Having a passionate delivery of a new idea is good but when you can support that excitement and clearly articulate why the idea is strategic and will achieve your marketing objectives, you know that on some level the idea will be successful.

Nurtured. An idea needs to be nurtured carefully and allowed to take root and grow a bit before it is shared. Former Hallmark greeting card executive creative Gordon MacKenzie very eloquently discusses this point throughout his amazing book on corporate creativity, Orbiting the Giant Hairball.

Delivery. Sometimes it's all in how you deliver the idea. I've been in brainstorms where someone would blurt out the craziest, most absurd idea, but because they were excited and enthusiastic about the idea we listened, got excited, and got on board too.

Levels. Years ago a mentor explained this one to me. If the idea works on more than one level, such as in the abstract as well as the literal, or if it is culturally relevant, or if it has double meaning (or for some clients double entendre) it is more complex and will tend to engage people more deeply.

Buy-in. Often who supports your idea can be just as powerful as the idea itself. When people you respect or have sway in your industry like and back your idea, it not only supports the idea, it will give you the confidence to be fearless and execute the idea with passion.

Fearlessness. New ideas tend to make people uncomfortable. As a small business person, venturing your time or money on a creative advertising idea that has never been done by you or anyone in your industry is intimidating. If there is marketing strategy behind the idea, be fearless and let it loose.

Confidence. Just because you are not an advertising executive doesn't mean you aren't creative. You know your customers best. With a little coaching, research, and inventiveness you can gain the confidence you need to develop creative ideas that encompass all of these points.

do you have a mentor?

Sometimes owning and operating a small business seems like working in a vacuum. If you're a sole proprietor, you often don't have someone knowledgeable in your business to bounce ideas off and get reliable feedback. Or, you're so busy working on the day-to-day, you don't take time to look at the big picture. That's where the small business mentor can help.

When I was just starting Simple, I was lucky enough to stumble across SCORE, the Service Core of Retired Executives. I was even luckier when I was randomly assigned my mentor, an IT and marketing genius who pioneered early computers, opened trade agreements between the US and Asia, worked in the White House, and then founded a company that invented computer software that you've probably used at least once today.

I meet with my mentor each week. He's advised me on nuts and bolts tasks like developing my business plan and wading through cash flow spreadsheets. But the most valuable service he's provided is getting me to look at my business sideways, and upside down, and five years from now.

In the next week, I'll be rolling out some updates to Simple that have come out of our work together. None of my core services have changed, but the way I'm presenting them and pricing them have. Simpler and cheaper are the keywords, and those are two words that any small business owner likes to hear.

Find Your Mentor
If you don't have a mentor, here are some resources that can help you find one:

SCORE: A nationwide organization of retired C-level executives who provide free and confidential advice for entrepreneurs. 364 offices nationwide. Get started with the 60-Second Guide to Finding a Mentor, a quick tip sheet on how to find a mentor - online or face-to-face - that is right for you.

SCORE for Women Entrepreneurs: A part of SCORE run by retired female executives. Provides same SCORE expertise specifically for woman-owned small businesses.

Small Business Development Centers: A list of SBDC's compiled by the US Small Business Administration. SBDCs offer one-stop assistance to individuals and small businesses by providing a wide variety of information and guidance in central and easily accessible branch locations.

Office of Entrepreneurial Development: Also presented on the USBA website, the OED offers resources such as entrepreneurship education and the small business training network.

sneak peek

Here's a little teaser of the mini-makeover Simple is undergoing this week. It will be "launching" soon ... enjoy the weekend! 

do you talk back?

There's this blog I've been reading for several years now. It is a humorous blog and the author re-caps a Bravo TV show I like. The author always makes me laugh, really laugh, when I read it. I even read it when I lived overseas and couldn't watch the show just because I love his sense of humor. So, a night ago, after reading a particularly hilarious post, I left a comment thanking the author for his recaps.

Today he sent me an email back thanking me for being a reader.

I couldn't believe it. The writer of my favorite blog took the time to email me back just to say thanks.

Which brings me to this post's point: when you do social media it opens the door for two-way conversation. Which is really the whole point of getting it involved in social media in the first place. So when someone leaves you a comment or interacts with you - are you talking back?

When a person takes the time to interact with your social media, that is a pretty good indication that they are engaged with your messaging. Simply put: it means your marketing is working. And it opens the door for you to continue to build a relationship with that person. Meaning, although they may not be a purchaser at the moment - there is a strong opportunity that they will be soon.

So, how can you really listen to and communicate people who are talking with you on social media? Here are some ideas:

Thank Them. When people like your Facebook page, follow your blog, leave you a review on Yelp, follow your Twitter account, whatever the interaction may be, take the time to say thanks. Technically it's possible to set up auto-responding but, especially for small businesses, I recommend taking the small amount of time necessary to leave them a short personal note. For example, your note could say something like, "Hi Diane. Thanks for following me on Facebook. If there are any topics you'd like to know more about please let me know and I will do a posting soon." As you can see, this also gives you the opportunity to draw them into further conversation and participation.

Reward Them. In addition to a personal note consider giving people who interact with your social media unadvertised, exclusive rewards. Maybe you respond to them with a special offer or a drastically reduced price on something that you know they are interested in from their comments. Surprising people with a reward can go a long way in building customer loyalty and word of mouth.

Like Them Back. For example, when someone follows you on Twitter, take the time to check out their Twitter account and follow them. Same for those with Facebook pages or blogs. In this way, you're learning more about that person from their posting while also putting your link in front of their readers. Once you follow them, make a point of commenting on Tweets or writing postings that are related to your small business or things you are really interested in, furthering your communication with that person.

Make a Negative a Positive. What about the occasional negative commenter? At first glance, you might have the urge to delete the comment or ignore it, but a negative comment actually provides you with a great opportunity to turn things around. You probably wouldn't let an unhappy customer storm out of your shop or store without responding to them at all and the same is true on social media. Take the time to respond back and get more information on what their negative experience was. Then, determine how to fix the problem. Once it is fixed and the person is happy, you could even ask them to post again telling how the situation was resolved.

These are just a handful of ideas and you are sure to come up with more that suit your particular brand, business, and marketing strategy.

As a small business owner you are an expert in communicating with the people who come into your real-world business. By practicing the same communication style you have in the real world in your social media, you have a lot of new opportunities to grow customer loyalty, top-of-mind awareness and even generate sales.

why are you doing it?

"Why do companies like Toblerone and Pepperidge Farm bother having websites? As if people are going to say to themselves, "Gee, I wish I knew more about Milano cookies. I know! I'll go to their site!" Just a thought ... I succumbed ... Milano Cookies. Milano, our most popular Distinctive cookie, is a satisfying combination of rich, dark chocolate sandwiched between two exquisite cookies."

- Douglas Copeland, JPOD

I've mentioned before that the current craze for social media reminds me of the early days of the Internet. Remember? When everyone was throwing up websites left and right just to be online?

This week I experienced that familiar feeling again as I received a brief yet thoroughly excited announcement from a company I do business with telling me that they are Now On Facebook!!! The announcement didn't tell me why they were on Facebook, what I would get out of liking them on Facebook, or how their Facebook info would be different than their website, enewsletter or email blast content. And, since this is a business I pretty much must use on a quarterly basis, I'm satisfied with using, and have no interest in communicating with, I just deleted the announcement and went on with my day.

I suspect that this was the first of many, many invitations to join companies on social media that are coming our way. Simply put: the social media space is rapidly becoming a lot more crowded.

Which means as a small business owner, to take advantage of social media and see results from your effort, it won't be enough to be present on social media, you will need to use it strategically.

I say and write that word - strategically - a lot. So do other marketing and social media proponents. But what does it really mean? The simple answer: find your audience in the right place and give people an irresistible reason to spend time communicating with you in a way that benefits both them and you.

How? Here are some ideas:

What's in it for them? Are you giving discounts, deals, specials, freebies, exclusivity? From a chance at first looks at retail items to full-on giveaways, people love to get things. What can you give them that they want while promoting your brand?

Are you in the right place? Facebook and Twitter have become nearly synonymous with "social media," but they certainly are not the only opportunities out there. Reviewing sites like Yelp, group couponing at Groupon, and audio/visual media, like YouTube are also options. See what else is out there and take advantage of these free or low-cost options.

Have you looked at "apps"? Everyday new apps for use on the iPhone and iPad and other non-Apple hardware are going live. Foursquare is one such gaining popularity, as well as, Layar. Each of these help users find you online and entice them to visit you in real life. What else is out there that your particular business could use?

Social media is a fast-paced, ever-changing, and sometimes overwhelming form of marketing. But it is still just that - a form of marketing. Starting with a strategy, talking with your people, and finding the right social media for you marketing goals will help you get the most out of this exciting form of communication.

what are you really saying?

When you use social media (or any marketing communications) to talk with your customers, are you sure they are hearing what you are really saying? Or, more simply put, do you know your customers well enough to talk with them?

I ask because this week was Cinco de Mayo and with it came a collection of great articles - and some not so great examples - of communicating with or about a specific ethnicity, in this case, Hispanics.

One article is from AdAge's "How To Market to Hispanics Like Me" by Deena Montoya-Crowley, who makes some very good points about the need to dig deeper past cultural stereotypes to effectively communicate with - and effectly market to - specific audiences.

Another helpful article was USAToday's "Don't Hijack Cinco de Mayo" by Bill Gallegos and and Bernardo Rosa, in which the point was made that recently the food and beverage companies have co-opted "a day of ethnic pride [and it is] being used as a marketing prop to encourage drinking among Latino and Chicano youth."

And then there were the bad examples. Like the TV spot for a chain of local tanning salons that went so over the top with out-dated stereotypes my mouth actually fell open while I was watching it. I'm providing the link with some hesitation, as it is not my intention to offend (or endorse the company putting it out, for that matter), but do want to illustrate the point of how wrong communication can go with it. Super 5 Cent Cinco de Mayo Sale.

I am willing to bet that it was not the intention of the people who created this ad to offend, but rather that it is their lack of a deeper understanding of a culture that they were trying to celebrate that is responsible.

So, let's bring it back to you, the small business owner. Do you build marketing upon a specific holiday or heritage or cultural celebration? And if you do, are the things you're saying really saying that when they reach your customers and potential customers?

For example, let's take your online communication back to the real word. If you were at a business networking luncheon and met a Hispanic colleague, how would you converse with them? Chances are you would ask them questions about themselves and their business vs. pulling a Michael Scott and breaking out in a Mexican hat dance.

In the end, it really is simple: taking the time to really research a specific audience or cultural event can make or break your efforts, because it shows you are being real and taking the time to get to know your customers. As a result, you can either offend people or win customers over.

stay in your comfort zone

Recently, I talked with two companies that had decided not to do social media marketing at all because one specific aspect of social media was making them uncomfortable. So, as a social media marketing firm, do you think that I tried to talk them out of their concerns and get them to get into social media?

The simple answer? No. I listened to what is making them uncomfortable and helped them look at strategy, technology and policy that would avoid their concerns in the first place.

The first company is in a very competitive field in which a client list is kept confidential. Knowing that social media would allow their clients to follow them - while allowing competitors to see and communicate with their clients - they opted not to participate. Through our discussions, we developed strategies that would still allow them to take advantage of social media by better supporting their clients who use social media, rather than using it for themselves directly.

The second organization is a non-profit that does a lot of work with children. Their main concern was that they did not feel comfortable uploading pictures of the kids or allowing followers to upload pictures of the kids. As as result, we discussed how internal policy, privacy setting, and alternate imagery that showcased their attributes but didn't include the children's images could enable them to participate in social media.

What is most important to me in each case was that the clients did NOT leave their comfort zones just to use social media in their marketing plans.

For example, several articles I researched in the case of the confidential client list advised that competitors seeing your clients is just a side effect of doing social media. In our current eceonomy, where even one client lost can have a huge impact, that is not an acceptable answer. Same for the client who didn't want to put their kids' pictures online. It simply wasn't a way that they wanted to conduct business.

If it doesn't feel right to you, don't do it.

That doesn't mean that you have to eliminate social media from your marketing toolbox, it simply means you have to make it work for you within your comfort zone.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

Technology. Knowing what is and is not possible can be the first step in knowing how you will use social media rather than if you will use social media.

Policy. Before setting up even one social media project, determine in writing what your company's policy on social media is. Cover items like what types of media you will post, how you will document photo releases, if you will cover any sensitive topics such as religion or politics, how you will handle inappropriate comments, what permissions you will allow posters, etc.

Privacy. Determine the level of interaction you will allow participants and the extent to which you will share your organization. Document it, communicate it, share it, and stick to it internally. The whole point of social media is to allow communication between you and your customers, but you can achieve that within your comfort zone.

If you personally are uncomfortable with certain aspects of social media marketing - listen to that instinct and explore exactly what is making you pause. Write it down by bullet pointing areas of concern. By defining those issues you can then develop strategic social media marketing that keeps you within your comfort zone, while online and in the game.

you are relationship marketing

Have you heard of a recently new trend in marketing called "relationship marketing"? If you haven't, the simple definition is this: creating lasting, sustainable, and meaningful relationships with customers.

That sounds pretty familiar, doesn't it? As a small business owner, it's probably the main source of marketing that you have always done.

Here is another great example of where you have an advantage over large corporations, in that big companies are only recently realizing the value in creating relationships with customers and are figuring out how to do it.

Since big companies don't have the opportunity to meet their customers in person as you do, they are now realizing they can use social media to help create those relationships for them.

But let's take it back to you. As a small business owner, you or your sales staff already have the benefit of knowing customers by face or name, the types of services and products they prefer, and about how often they come in to your place of business. A lot of you have also taken it to the next level, getting to know your customers' better through small talk and to learn about their interests, why they use your business over others, tidbits about their families, and so on.

The benefit to the customer is that they feel comfortable coming to your business - you know their preferences and they feel welcomed there. The benefit to you is that these customers will come back regularly and recommend you to family and friends.

So how can you make those relationships even stronger? By incorporating them into your own social media marketing strategy. Explore ways to communicate online with your customers, meet their needs more quickly and efficiently, and most importantly, provide them with the mechanism to communicate directly back with you.

I'll close the post with a great client example of honest, real life relationship marketing. A customer who had purchased her wedding cake at my client's bakery remained a customer ever since and recently celebrated her daughter's quinceanera with a cake from the bakery. That's over 15 years of customer loyalty. Is that something large companies can achieve with their relationship marketing? Is it something that you can?

nestle wasn't the very best

In one of my earlier posts I mentioned that you, as a small business owner, have an advantage over big companies when it comes to social media marketing.

Why? Simply put, it is mainly because with huge companies, there is little or no actual interaction between the person doing the social marketing and the customers. Now, add to this fact those two horrible words, "corporate culture," and what should be a multi-way conversation with people often becomes just another platform from which the company talks about itself.

As a result, the way the company talks to people in its social media can come across as insincere, fake, and even rude. Consumer packaged goods giant Nestle provided an excellent example of this just a few weeks ago.

It all started when environmental activists on the Nestle Facebook page altered a Nestle product logo in an unflattering way and the Nestle Facebook writer posted a stern, threatening response. From there, it was a heated exchange between the Nestle writer, Nestle fans, and detractors. When the dust settled, the only sure thing was that the writer had lost their temper, been nasty to fans and detractors alike, and Nestle was branded as the first worst case scenario in corporate social media.

Now, think about your own business. We've all had hard to please, unpleasant customers. It's just human nature. But think about the ways that you communicate with them about their complaints when they are right in front of you. Chances are you treat them with respect and try to diffuse the situation, even when they are wrong.

How you handle a disgruntled customer or potential customer in the real world is exactly how you should handle them online. Respect and kindness, even when the unhappy customer is wrong, is often the most effective way to diffuse a situation because it has positive end results: the customer can leave satisfied and tell others about a negative that turned out well, or even say nothing at all, rather than telling others that your company stinks.

Maybe this is even more important online, because just as social media can get your marketing messages disseminated exponentially, it can also do the same for negative feedback.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when considering the "dark side" of social media:

Be prepared. There are always going to be negative people with negative things to say. Decide beforehand how you will handle negative comments, reviews and criticisms. Create a strategy and remain consistent. Don't respond when you are mad, take time to cool down and review your strategy.

Be upfront. Is there a controversial side to your business? It might benefit you to turn that negative into a positive by posting about how you're dealing with a negative issue. By bringing it up before others do helps communicate that you are honest and aware. Asking people for their ideas and feedback can create the conversation social media strives for.

Be respectful. As the Nestle writer found, it was hard to remain nice when posters were really slamming the company. As the writer probably also found, it's even harder to now have the distinction of being the worst case scenario example of social marketing. Being disrespectful of negative posters will only feed the fire and make you look bad. It's an old rule of the Internet: no one wins a flame war.

Now, nobody wants to be a doormat, and at some point in some cases, you have to tell the customer "no." But the way in which you do that, especially online, makes all the difference.

what about transparency?

There are all kinds of buzz words in social media and one of the most often buzzed about is transparency.

Transparency means all kinds of specific things, but in general, the simple definition is be honest.

As a small business owner, this is something you don't even make a conscious decision to do. Everyone knows that when a business misrepresents itself, promises something it can't deliver, uses bait and switch, or any other shady tactics then word gets out and business suffers. If customers can't trust you, they don't want to use you.

Here's a good general rule of thumb - what applies in the real world also applies online. The seeming anonymity of the online world is an illusion. Those who are less than honest are eventually found out and word gets out to your customers, often through social media.

So, those specific things I mentioned? Here are a few:

Be Yourself.Don't misrepresent the size, location, experience, or capabilities of your business or staff. Case in point, on the simple website, I use first person pronouns to identify my company. I don't say "we" because, at this point, simple is "I".

Review Honestly. Starting an account on a reviewing social media and then padding the page with fake reviews is not honest. Asking friends to write reviews for you is a gray area - are they truly objective customers? Inviting customers to review is ok, but using incentives or rewards to get them to review is shady.

Give Credit.If you use source material to write comments or blog posts, give credit where credit is due. Identify the writer and link the source.

As someone who helps small businesses market themselves online, transparency is my top priority. Ethically speaking, once my clients' social media is in place, aside form monitoring it, I don't interact with it at all. I'm a social media Joan Goodall, observing and recording.

Now, I'm going to go watch Kell On Earth, eat some popcorn and then floss. OK, maybe that is a little too much transparency.

what about twitter?

So what about Twitter? If social media is the ubiquitous topic of the day, Twitter is running a close second as the thing that everyone from marketers to mobile service providers to bloggers to well, marketers, are also talking about.

But what does Twitter mean to you as a small business owner? Will it work to build your business online?

The simple answer: Twitter is simply a marketing tool. And like any other marketing tool if you apply it properly, thoughtfully, and creatively to your marketing objectives, it will work for you.

It kind of drives me nuts to write that, by the way. Honestly, Twitter itself has kind of driven me a little nuts for the last two years. I was hoping to see it go the way of the Atari 2600, candy colored iMacs and ICQ. But, based on current stats, it doesn't look like Twitter's going away soon.

I'll be the first to admit it, although I joined on January 11, 2008, I've been a very slow adopter of Twitter. How slow? I've only written two tweets in two years. The first scintillating post? "I am reading a good book." Yes, I know. Brilliant stuff. The second, written just twenty four minutes later: "Emailing my friend X." Clearly, my heart was not into it.

Why was my heart not into it? As an English Literature major, copywriter, senior content developer, and career-long usability proponent, the often unintuitive 140 character tweets, peppered with #'s, cul8r's, @'s and bit.lys really irked me.

But I digress. Let's take this post back to you. How can Twitter help businesses online? Let's look at great example: New York City street vendors. Because they constantly have to move throughout the day, many NYC mobile food vendors were early adaptors who would tweet their current positions as they were forced to travel around neighborhoods. Almost overnight, they were able to solve the problem of telling hungry customers where to find them, while also telling them specials of the day, and coupons and deals. Three birds. One tweet.

Just remember, Twitter is just one tool in your marketing stockpile.

An interesting follow up to the food vendor success is found on the Midtown Lunch blog, where the writer advises street vendors that "While Twitter can be a monster marketing tool that can create instant crowds (and profits) it’s not usually the case. Like any business you have to pay your dues, and build up your customer base over time. It’s not going to be easy at the beginning, but the key (as it has always been with street vending) is consistency. Don’t be lured in by the freedoms that you think twitter affords you."

Now that's good advice all small businesses can benefit from.

As for me? Will I be incorporating Twitter into my social media marketing plan for simple? Probably. How? Well, I'll tweet you that once I decide the best way to make it work for my marketing goals.

this seems familiar ...

Why does Taco Bell have a "shrimp blogger"? Why did Tyra Banks need a "FierceBook" page to pick her latest pack of America's Next Top Model hopefuls? Why has the humble cell phone become more complex and do more things and run simultaneous apps?

From TV commercials to hardware and software development, from experts talking about "SM" on their blogs to those who are writing that if you claim you're an expert in social media you're not on their blogs, and just about everywhere else, social media is the ubiquitous topic du jour.

And it all seems awfully familiar ... (if this were TV, this is the part where wavy dream lines and mystical music would cue and the calendar on your iPhone would reset itself to 1998)...

OK, seriously. Having been in the interactive marketing industry since 1997, all the current hype surrounding social media does seem eerily reminiscent of those heady days somewhere in between the writing of the Cluetrain Manifesto and the spectacular Dot.Com bust of 2000. (I even found a blog post advising mistrusting those of a "certain age" who claim to understand social media. Bless her heart.)

And it would be easy to be cynical about the whole state of social media today (full disclosure, I was for some time). But I've come to realize that unlike the euphoria founded in the very newness of the dot.com era, social media excites people because of the nature of what it is at its core: a really immediate, personal way to communicate with other people.


So what does all this mean for you as a small business owner? The simple answer:

Social media has become the latest marketing trend because it is:

Accessible.Social media is instantly accessible to you. Unlike dot.com marketing vehicles, you don't need to know how to program, hire a developer, market your site online, or even buy hosting. You simply log-in to places that have already done these things for you and begin publishing.

Attended.Your audience is already online. Unlike the early internet days, where we had to sell the medium as well as the vehicle, the people you want to reach are already using social media in record numbers.

Participatory. While digital marketing initiated the conversation between companies and customers, social media enables customers to direct the conversation.

Sustainable. Because it is an ongoing conversation with your customers, it is a marketing medium with built in freshness. Social media enables your marketing to grow organically and constantly.

Evolving.Social media is simply the next evolution of Internet (often called web 2.0); a very free-flowing, instant, and personal version of the Internet with which we started. Because of this nature, it follows that social media will only continue this constant evolution, thus providing you with more opportunities to use it to achieve your marketing goals.

So, while social media won't replace traditional marketing, digital marketing, or find your lost dog (oh wait, that mobile service provider's TV ad claims it will - "Sarah! You're home!"), it is going to be around for a while. At least until the next iteration ...

how often?

You might have noticed that I haven't posted since last week. I've been busy working on two client projects, which is great, hurray business! But, as the little voice in my marketing head started to speak louder and louder, "go post on the blog already", I decided I better get on it and write about frequency.

If you do a Google search on the topic you'll get dozens of answers, many of them on, you guessed it, blogs. You'll also find a variety of opinions on how often a person should blog. And, ironically, when it comes to advice on the Internet, I always take it with a grain of salt.

So, to be effective, how often should a small business owner post to their blog? The simple answer: how often works for you?

Let me put it this way, if your time is best spent creating your product or out selling it or doing the books or any other task your core business needs you for, sitting down and writing a blog post probably won't be time best spent. I won't tell you that you need to write a post or two a day, because that isn't good for your business in the big picture. But, as you work throughout the day, you can be thinking about what you will write when you do write next. Maybe something will happen during your day that inspires a great entry. Really interesting, insightful, and useful posts are what appeal to your readers most, anyway.

So rather than giving a strict schedule of posting, here are some points to guide you:

On Message: Before you blog, think about your marketing objectives and make sure every posts helps work toward those goals.

Interesting: As I mentioned, if your posts are useful, insightful, funny, entertaining, or any combination of these, people will check your site for updates.

Brief: You don't have to write a novel each post. Streamline your copy, use bullets, short paragraphs, make the copy easy to scan.

Topical: Make sure your posts reflect what is going on right now. Print out a calendar and write down post topics that correspond ahead of time. Relate your posts to current events. Stay relevant.

Useful: Provide links to related information that you find helpful. Write a sentence or two about why you are providing the links and why you think your audience will get something out of them too.

Valuable: If it goes with your marketing strategy, use your blog to provide discounts, deals, and special offers.

Connected: Are you using other social media to support your blog? Frequent activity on a micro-blogging site or a quick one liner of Facebook can go along way to keep you in peoples' minds.

Conversational: Actively involve your audience in the conversation. Ask them questions, give them an opportunity to talk about themselves, their opinions and needs. Follow up with posts that involve their input to keep the conversation rolling.

Good luck and good writing. Now I have to get back to that client work!

Look for our next post: Gazelles and Lions (really this time, it's a good story.)

what's in a meme?

About four years ago I participated in a new business pitch for a Fortune 500 consumer packaged goods company that wanted to understand how they could use social media as a marketing tool. This was at the beginning of the social media emergence into the marketing work space. We were not even referring to it as social media.

I had been following and using the technology for years on a personal level. At the time, I was really hesitant how a massive company could take this extremely personal communication medium and manipulate it into a marketing tool. And honestly, at the time, I didn't really think it was such a great idea to encroach upon people's personal conversations with marketing.

So, in order to better understand how to harness the technology for marketing, I started delving more into the medium and culling out great examples that had gone viral - literally getting passed around and shared with people in exponential numbers. What I soon found was that each example had a "meme" that hooked users into watching and, most importantly, sharing the piece.

Simply put, memes are just little snippets of popular culture that, for whatever mystical reason, really resonate with people. They can relate to the meme, identify with the meme, and feel special for understanding or finding and sharing the meme. And it takes off. Memes have been around forever and are not limited to online media. For example, in the movie Forrest Gump it is slowly revealed that Forrest is responsible for inventing lots of cultural memes, such as the smiley face, the fad of jogging/running, the "--it happens" bumper sticker, and so on.

A more recent example is the Weezer video for "Pork and Beans," which features recent social media memes, like the T-shirt guy, Mentos ghysers and that crying Brittany Spears fan kid.

So, four years ago, my conclusion was that for a company to be successful using social media they would need a great big juicy meme idea that people would overlook as advertising and would identify with more as a cultural phenomena.

Turns out, I was wrong.

Why? Four reasons:

Social media is just like any other marketing tool. Sure, a big meme idea would be great to get attention, but without solid marketing strategy behind it, it won't achieve the marketing objectives it needs to achieve. As long as you are following that one simple concept your efforts will eventually be successful.

Social media doesn't need to reach a massive audience, it needs the right audience. Just like any other form of marketing, if you're not reaching the right people, what's the point? A meme piece might reach millions of people while a carefully crafted one might reach thousands of a specific niche audience. That is going to make all the difference because if the message resonates within that niche, they will share and act upon it.

They can't all be Super Bowl ads. Just like not all TV spots are awe-inspiring masterpieces of the medium (Apple's Mac spot during the 1984 Super Bowl comes to mind) not all social media campaigns are going to go crazy viral. But, because of its ease of use, low production costs, ease of frequency, a good social media marketing program can be the workhorse of your marketing efforts.

You're initiating an active conversation. Properly done, your social media will not just get people to talk about you, they will be talking with you.

So, what's in a meme? The answer is simple: A spectacular idea will always be shared, but a focused, targeted message will be acted upon by the appropriate people.

Look for our next post: Gazelles vs. Lions

how to say it?

As a small business owner you already know what to say - and how to say it - on social media.

Social media is a one-to-many conversation and every day in real life you have dozens of conversations with people about your business. From customers that walk into your shop to people you network with at industry events to your family and friends, you're practicing real world social media all the time.

Using social media as a marketing tool is simply having those conversations online.

It sounds easy and it is. But just like a real life conversation, the same rules of social etiquette need to be followed in order for you to be accepted, understood and successful.

For example, you've probably been to a work function, like a networking luncheon, with That Guy. You know, that guy that talks a little too loud, a little too long and a lot too much about himself and his own business. Like most people, you probably smile and listen for a short time and then excuse yourself, cross the room as fast as possible, and hope he's not seated at your table. You might even avoid him at the next function.

This is exactly what happens when you don't converse properly on social media. Even worse, on social media people don't even have to worry about smiling and being polite. They can just click you away.

So, how not to be That Guy on social media? Simple: Just remember that every time you sit down to post online, even though you are working to achieve specific marketing objectives you are also talking directly with your colleagues and clients - in your own voice. If something sounds great in your head, double check and ask yourself is this something I would really say to a client or potential customer? Does this read the way I really talk? If I met a person who reads this would my online persona reflect my real persona?

Also, did you notice that I just wrote "talking directly with your colleagues ..."? The word "with" is also a key point in in creating successful social media conversations. Even though it is your social media it's not all about you. Like a live conversation, the more you can involve those you are talking with the more engaged and receptive they will be to what you are discussing. Take it back to the lunchtime work function: if you sit at the table and only talk about yourself, you miss connections and opportunities to see how the people seated with you could work together. By using social media to provide an opportunity to communicate with you, you're making those same kind of connections online.

These two points are pretty much the basis for effective social media conversations. And I am going to follow my own advice here and ask you something: what specific questions do YOU have about communicating via social media? Use the comments tool below and I will answer your questions in an upcoming post.

Look for our next post: what's in a meme?

does it work?

Does social media really work for small businesses? I was going to write more about how to talk to your customers using social media (and will soon), but a few days ago found this article on eMarketer: Small Biz Doubles Social Media Adoption and wanted to share my thoughts on it - and this question - first.

After reading the article, I created the following breakdown:

The strengths: According to the survey cited in the article 61% of small businesses with social media marketing in place have found new customers. Most found customer acquisition and branding were the primary marketing goals they achieved. About half believe they will make money within the year using social media.

The weakness: Half the respondents said social media took more time they thought it would. Although one fifth found it profitable most say that, at this point, they are only breaking even with their current use of social media. The main social media used by the respondents was simply a company page on a social marketing website and posting updates to the page.

The threats: A full 75% of small business owners are already implementing initial social media marketing. Despite the mixed results, linked data in the reportrevealed that nearly seven in 10 small business owners will put more dollars toward social media in 2010.

The opportunity:

• The strengths reveal that more than half of small business social media users are already experiencing some success.
  
  
• The weaknesses show what isn't working for small businesses and provide a check list of things to address before implementing your social media marketing efforts. Being aware of the cost of your time spent away from your core business, it might make financial sense to outsource your social media marketing. Similarly, as we discussed the many types of social media in an earlier post, determining the most effective mix and getting the most out of the mix by frequent, targeted maintenance will yield better results. It also points to the fact that dabbling with one social media outlet is akin to running one TV spot on one evening once a month. It's luke warm, but could be more effective by simply upping frequency and message content.
  
  
• The threats help predict what's ahead for your competition. They've already adopted the technology and are planning investing more in the months ahead. What will be your move?
  

So, does social media really work for small businesses? The answer to that is simple. On a limited scale, it already is. And those small businesses that put the effort, dollars, and marketing strategy into the medium will see even better results. And those that stay ahead of the pack, aren't afraid to implement strategies, review results and continually maintain and tweak their social media strategies will see the best results.

If this sounds like too great a cost, just remember, social media is an international broadcast medium that literally costs a fraction of any other broadcast media, as tertiary costs such as production, media buying, and creative services are curtailed or simply not required.

what do you say?

This morning I called a client out of the blue and told him I had a case of the Mondays. A little while later a new customer came in and the first thing I told her was that I thought the closing ceremonies of the Olympics were weak. Then, I did a mass emailing of all my business contacts and told them the score of my lunchtime Bejeweled game. In each exchange, I concluded by saying, "Peace. Out."

OK. In all honesty I didn't do any of these things, but every day on social media across the web, these types of conversations are taking place.

Social media is simple to use. So simple, it's easy to forget that real people are on the receiving end of your messages. Before you post, it's important to remember who you are talking with and, most importantly, why you are talking to them.

It's also important to remember that the Internet is forever. You might delete a post, but it will never go away.

So what do you say? Just think back to your reason for initiating social media in the first place - your marketing objectives.

Are you trying to get more people into your shop? Talk about a reason for them to come in and visit - new merchandising, a new shipment, a special event. Are you trying to sell more of a specific item? Tell users you have them in stock and give a link to an article from a reputable source telling how amazing that item is. Want to get people to review your business, ask them and give them a direct link to Yelp.

It's also a good idea to really think about who you are talking with. Chances are, you approach conversations with customers and potential customers differently than you do your friends. Maintaining that same voice is critical to using social media successfully. (This is an important point, and I'll post more about it later this week.)

As long as you stay focused on what you want your social media to achieve for your small business, you will always know what to say.

Look for tomorrow's post: how do you say it?

social media options

With so many social media to choose from, how do you pick the ones that are right for your small business?

The answer is simple. First determine the marketing objectives you want to achieve. Then think about the people with whom you want to hold conversations - and what you want to talk with them about. Next, think about the information that you have to share. Is it text only? Do you have photos? Sound files? Video?

Once you know these things, you can select the most effective combination of social media by knowing the types that are available.

Here's a simple run down of social media types useful to small businesses:

Communities: Make friends and hold conversations with other people. These can be general or specific in topic and audience. Facebook and MySpace are general examples. LinkedIn and Mamasource are topic-specific.

Communication: You start the conversation by sharing information with others, who can then comment upon it. Popular examples are Blogspot and Typepad. Twitter is an example of micro-blogging, where posts are limited to 140 characters. YouTube is an example of multi-media communication.

Reviews: Users tell other users what they think about your business. Popular examples are Yelp and epinion.

Events: Users form groups online and hold live events based on shared interests and geographic location. Meetup is an example.

Commerce: Some might argue that these are not true social media, but do they allow self-publishing, communication, and selling of goods. Ebay is a general example and Etsy is a specific example.

Again, there are loads of social media out there. Once you know what you want to achieve and who you want to talk with, you can find the right mix of social media that will work to get the results you want.

Look for tomorrow's post: what should I say?

simple example

Betty's Bubbles is a small company that creates limited batch, custom created soaps based on seasonal ingredients. Betty wants to sell more bars of soap. She creates a Facebook fan page where she gathers fans whom she continually shows and tells about her new seasonal soaps. She also uses her Facebook fan page as a way to tell people about her upcoming art fair show dates and gather fan feedback on her products. Betty also keeps a blog (like this one) where she can tell her fans about how she gardens the ingredients she uses, her 100-year old soap making process, and other interesting posts that reinforce the fact that she is an expert soap maker. Betty also creates an account on Etsy where her fans and blog readers can instantly buy her soaps online after reading about them. She also posts a request on her blog and Facebook fan page for her customers to review her soaps on Yelp, so more people can find out about her and her boutique.

simple social media intro

If using social media is creating one-to-many conversations with customers and potential customers - and their friends - online, how do you hold those conversations? By using social media websites and technologies.

Social media all provide the ability to communicate in text, pictures and/or video via the Internet. Social media can reach people on their computers or their web enabled mobile phones. Social media allow instant online publishing of content without requiring design or programming knowledge. Social media can be used alone or combined.

The majority of social media are free to use.

From a marketing perspective, the most important characteristic of social media is that it allows you to push information to interested people, who can then easily comment upon that information, act upon the information and share the information with their friends.

For small businesses, the options of social media and which to use can be overwhelming. Just remember to keep it simple.

The social media you choose to use should be based on:

the type of business you own

the types of conversations you want to hold

the marketing objectives you want to achieve

Look for tomorrow's post: social media most useful to small businesses.

you already do it

Using social media is simple. It's inexpensive. It's something that, as a small business owner, you already do every day.

It's also something that the big companies are only just beginning to figure out, giving you an advantage.

Simply put, using social media is creating one-to-many conversations with customers and potential customers - and their friends - online.

With time those conversations grow into relationships, which grow into business advantages such as a greater awareness of your company, new customer referrals, and repeat sales to existing customers.

It's exciting because, lacking huge advertising budgets, that's the way small businesses have always had to work. On reputation, word of mouth, referral, and reviews.

Only now, social media enables you to have those conversations not only with just those customers who come into your shop, showroom, garage or factory, but with interested people - and their friends - from the other side of town. From the other side of the state. From across the country and even around the world.

So you get this incredible reach for literally a fraction of the cost of any other broadcast media. In fact, with a little guidance, most companies can even DIY their own social media.

After twelve years experience creating interactive marketing for clients such as P&G, General Mills, and the State of Michigan, my goal for simple is simple: Show small businesses what social media is, how it can help your business, why you already know how to do it, and most importantly, why it is not just for the big guys.

Look for tomorrow's post: the simple social media intro