Social media has been a real game changer for agency and customers alike. In fact, I like to call it the greatest game for playing marketing “chicken” ever.

You know the game “chicken” right?

It’s pretty simple…

You get two cars racing straight for each other seeing who swerves first. Not super smart, eh? Not only that, it’s scary too.

But when I’m in a social media pitch meeting, it’s how I feel some days.

Except in this game of “social media chicken”, the cars are going maybe 10 miles an hour, because neither the agency or the client knows for sure when to actually swerve. Each side – posturing to the other ” we got this”, we know what we’re doing…Why the games?

Because even though social media is a game changer - it’s also a game that is always changing.

Which means, it’s impossible for anyone to maintain true expert status in the field.And if you have any experience at all actually executing a campaign to gain “earned media” without a paid media budget to support you the you also know this…

Social media is NOT the BEST acquisition tool, contrary to popular belief.

With 20 years experience as a direct response expert, I know better. And as a person who led the marketing team for the largest customer loyalty card launch in the country for the national grocery chain, Kroger – I will tell you this…

Social media is an awesome customer loyalty vehicle.

(Note I didn’t say “tool”. It’s a platform or a channel, but it’s not a tool anymore than TV, radio or print is a “tool”. ) In fact, Jay Baer from Convince & Convert and I discuss this in more detail in our interview or download the entire transcript (here).

Social media is one of the best channels you can leverage to increase your lifetime customer value.

(If this sounds like french to you, please read this article at The Brand Builder by Olivier Blanchard, who also gives you an amazing info graphic to break down how to calculate lifetime value of a customer.)

And that’s the name of the social media game folks!

If your client thinks Social Media ROI is attached to a positive in the profit column for customer acquisition, then you have lost before you hit the gas pedal.

Think about it – any seasoned marketer would tell you if that’s the case – it really would be the holy grail!

Because very few, even the best, marketers make money when they “acquire” a new customer.

The truth is…

Money is made from customer retention which comes from outstanding value delivered by over the top customer service.

As this infographic shows, your real opportunity to impact the bottom-line using social media.

According to a study from American Express in May 2012, “Sharing of customer service stories is on the rise among the general population, with the typical American telling 15 people about positive interactions, vs. 9 just one year ago.”

Check it out – and please tell me if you’ve used social media well to reduce your cost of customer service or improve your level of customer service. Or both.

You tell me!

Please leave a comment here or at my Facebook page at [link] And if f you liked this post I’d really appreciate it if you would share it with at least one person who it could really help!

Social Media Manager Know Thyself

As with everything concerning social media the exact time when you should post an update to get the highest level of interaction differs widely depending on which social media professional you ask.

Some social media professionals will tell that early in the morning, before people go to work, is a great time to post because social media users are checking their network before they walk out the door, so they have something to talk with co-workers about. Other social media professionals will tell you that the best time to post is between the hours of 1pm and 3 pm, while people are on their lunch break, or just returning from their lunch break.

There is also a school of thought which says that posting around 4:45pm, just before people leave from work, is a good idea because many people log-on just before the ride home.

But here’s the truth: Only you know when the best is for you to post to your social network. If you don’t know when the best time is you are not managing your network properly. There are a host of analytics tools which can help you track clicks on the links you post, so you can easily tell which ones received the most attention. Your web traffic tool (Google analytics, or whatever tool you use to track visitors to your web site) likely will tell you where that track came from, and what time of day it came in.

With this information you can formulate a plan based on what has worked or what hasn’t worked; eliminate what hasn’t worked and emphasize what has worked.

Remember, when it comes to social media marketing, there are no hard and fast rules, just guidelines. Some of these guidelines might work for you, some may not. Don’t try to fit a square peg into a round hole. Find the hole which fits your peg precisely, and use it.

A study conducted by URL shortening service Bitly looked at the amount of clicks on links generated by its service that were posted on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr, and during which times of the day that these links saw the most activity.

They found that the optimum time for posting links on Twitter and Facebook was between the hours of 1pm and 3pm from Monday to Thursday. This can most likely be attributed to a lot of users checking their accounts during their lunch breaks.

However, when it comes to popular Tumblr posts, it was found that it is best to post in the evenings, with the majority of activity on Bitly links occurring between 7pm and 10pm, particularly on Friday evenings.

It was found that weekends were generally a poor time for social media posts, with the least activity occurring on these links over Saturday and Sunday.

Click here to read more about social media posting.

Marketing For Mom

If there has been one truism in social media it is this: More women than men use it every day and are more likely to interact, engage and share. Of those women using social media, in fact, most are moms. That means when it comes to social media marketing there is simply no better day to take advantage of its power and leverage with users than Mother’s Day.

Now before you rush out and start scheduling hourly promotional messages for all day Sunday stop and think. Remember, social media marketing is all about building relationships. Chances are, if you haven;’t already built strong relationships with moms through your social media network, you won’t be able to take advantage of the day the way some other campaigns cans. Also, your efforts to mass market during their ‘special day’ could easily work against you.

No. It is a much better idea to carefully consider how best you might strategically turn a message into a meaningful relationship with a key demographic. Regard Mother’s Day not as a promotional opportunity, but as a team building exercise; a day to expand your network into a growth area by force of “nice” not “will”.

There is a fine between social media marketing and spamming and not everyone understands which side they are supposed to be standing on. Holidays which have marketing opportunities are not supposed to be a free-for-all. They require a targeted response with specific goals in mind. If you start pushing, chances are you will get pushed back and the result will be the exact opposite of what you were hoping to achieve.

The ability of social media sites like Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube to promote ads with emotional elements tailored to consumers is generating increasing interest on Madison Avenue. That is particularly true at holidays, when marketers are seeking to freshen tried-and-true pitches — like, say, ads about buying flowers for your mother on Mother’s Day.

For instance, 1-800-Flowers is teaming up for the first time with Facebook for ads known as sponsored page posts, a kind of sponsored story, in Facebook parlance.

Celebrities who have endorsement deals with 1-800-Flowers are posting to their Facebook fan pages messages like: “For Mother’s Day, I teamed up with 1-800-Flowers to get you a special deal on flowers.” Those messages are transformed into sponsored page post ad units that appear on the Facebook pages of the celebrities’ fans.

Click here to read more about Mother’s Day and social media marketing.

We are women, hear us roar!

The meteoric rise of Pinterest as one of the top three most visited sites on the web is credited in no small part to its adoption, use and sharing by women. Regardless of age (although some specific female demographics seem to be more likely to use it than others) women have flocked to the visually inspired site.

The numbers don’t lie, and in the case, the numbers tell a very interesting story about women and the (social media) influence they wield.

Send Yourself To (Social media) Camp

Social Media Camp is the brainchild of Chris Burdge and Paul Holmes, two social media professionals who have made it their business to differentiate between good social media marketing advice and the other kind. They have so far been doing this with a series of “campy” videos mocking so-called social media experts whose advice is not always spot-on, and often downright incorrect.

The pair are aiming to promote their upcoming Social Media Camp event in Virginia early next month. They have invited digital media expert and noted author Chris Brogan to be the keynote speaker. The camp will also offer a series of “seminars and workshops with all the latest information and case studies for those new to the field and those looking for advanced social media techniques.”

It might seem like a a bad idea, to mock the very sort of professionals Burdge and Holmes (and Brogan) claim to be, but the fact is, as with any profession, no two are exactly alike. We all have a favorite dentist, and the dentist we simply will not visit. The same goes for mechanics, lawn care services–you name it and we pick the professional who does the best job for us and avoid the ones who don’t. Why should social media marketers be exempt from this type of critical analysis?

“Social Media Camp has grown to one of the top social media education events with a line up of respected speakers and industry specialists,” says co-founder, Chris Burdge. “We wanted to get the word out about Social Media Camp and also have a little campy fun with some of the bad social media advice that we have heard of.”

A whole new industry of social media consultants has emerged – some of whom are very knowledgeable and some of whom are not yet aware that Facebook has rules about promotions.” Burdge says, “Co-founder, Paul Holmes and I are passionate about educating people about social media. We are more than willing to get campy to get the word out about Social Media Camp.”

Click here to watch some of their “campy” videos.

Justice In The Balance

There is little doubt the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin cause has captured the hearts and minds of people across the country and around the world. Now the attorney for George Zimmerman, who faces a charge of second-degree murder for shooting Trayvon Martin, is using social media to defend his client against what he sees as biased public opinion brought about by social media campaigns handled by the victims family and an outpouring of celebrity interest in the case.

Last week it was revealed that Zimmerman had raised more than $200,000 through the use of a very limited online campaign which he managed. He defense attorney Mark O’Mara, said at the time he had no idea that much money had been raised and that he was surprised at the willingness of people to support his client monetarily. Just days after this information came to light, O’Mara said he was launching a full-fledged social media campaign in support of his client.

There is little doubt social media is a powerful weapon in the court of public opinion. And it does seem unfair that the victim’s family can have a social media campaign for their supporters, without there being equal social media support for the alleged aggressor. The justice system was designed to offer a balanced view for both sides in any dispute. Since social media can easily tilt the odds in favor of one side or the other, Zimmerman’s defense would be remiss in not offering their own presence.

But where does it stop? At one point does social media cease to be a tool and become instead a weapon, wielded to give one side or the other an advantage in what is supposed to be equal representation in the eyes of the law? And do we, or the courts, decide what is too much?

O’Mara has made it clear they will not discuss aspects of the case via social media, which would likely be cause for a mistrial, or even his client losing his defense case, but just spinning social media in his clients seems like tap-dancing just on the edge of reason. It is also difficult to know just what they might get with their social media campaign as the rules are different online where people come and go with their own intentions. When you consider what an explosive case this has become it seems easy to imagine some passionate folks, on either side, wielding their own social media prowess to accomplish some misdeed intended to sabotage their perceived opponent.

How this all plays out will no doubt be a lesson in social media marketing for the ages….

But others point out that the Martin family has benefited from immense social traction online, especially from celebrities who have trumpeted the case of the unarmed teenager.

Marcus Messner, assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Mass Communications and an expert on social media, told HLN Monday that O’Mara’s online strategy, although belated in comparison to that generated by the Martin family, is a smart one.

“In many people’s views, George Zimmerman is guilty, even without a trial. This of course has to do with the circumstances of this case, but also with his side’s communication strategy so far. It’s common practice for lawyers to make public statements in defense of their clients,” Messner said. “Moving them now to social media is a sign of the times. It allows the legal team to present its views without media filters. What has to be seen is how much public support they can gather through social media.”

Click here for more on this story from HLNtv.com.

Optimizing your minutes each day is mission critical to your personal happiness and the success of your business.

Yet the world of social media is getting bigger every day, so what’s a girl to do?

If you’re like me you already have accounts at a half dozen (or more) social networks and keeping track of all those log-ins and passwords securely isn’t easy.

You might not even think about it as you rush around from place to place!

Until you get hacked.

The truth is, being crafty with your passwords is a necessary evil and something you must take very seriously.

If you don’t manage that many different profiles or passwords you probably won’t need the new tool I want to introduce today from my friends at MySocialCloud.

Which is fine…

Unless you’re avoiding adding networks because you’re facing Social Media Burnout. 

If you are, don’t feel bad – it happens to the best of us.

Heck, I know early adopters who sat on the sidelines for Google + just for that very reason.  And now they’re playing catch up.

This is the exact problem MySocialCloud wants to address. They know that too much administration kills fascination – and let’s face it, once you stop being curious it’s pretty much over, right?

When you’re serious about optimizing the social media, you’re always on the lookout for fresh new views on topics and sources of content. Just blatantly ba-baaing your way around following all the usual suspects isn’t going to be enough to keep people interested in YOU for long.

You must find ways to add value, and to spice it up with your own secret sauce! At a minimum you want to at least be the guy (or gal) that brings new nuggets of information not already being shared at a rate of a 1000 tweets a minute.

In my experience, if you want to be successful online you must focus on value-add interaction with your network.

First you have to find someone who wants to hear what you have to say. Then, as any good direct marketer would tell you, HOW you tell the story is just as important as WHOM you tell it to.

For example…

If you’re selling to photographers you might choose to use more visual networks like Pinterest to impress and engage your audience.

If you’re a restaurant owner, review and recommendation sites like Yelp and Google Places are beneficial for lead generation.

If you sell products to web designers, you might need to find video sites like Vimeo (in addition to YouTube) or Pixsy to place videos that explain and demonstrate your product or service.
If you want to get writers, you might hang out at Helium.
And if you’re a super ninja online marketer, you know forums are the key to engagement for any niche, with the really good ones requiring passwords most of the time.

(Which gets crazy as you could be participating on 100’s of forums if you have multiple clients or products.)

No matter how you manage it, trying out new networks or apps to build your business can be overwhelming but it’s necessary if you’re serious about building a real business online.

Luckily the folks at MySocialCloud can help – and it’s super simple to get started.

All you have to do is log-in and create a password (fortunately, the only password you will soon need to remember). Then you just add your existing social networks to your dashboard.

From the main interface of MySocialCloud you can monitor your Facebook and Twitter streams, track interactions; search for friends, invite friends; generally make your social media management easier than it’s ever been before.

And if making it easier to manage your social media network and helping you keep track of your log-ins wasn’t enough…

You can easily collect new images and content using their handy little bookmarklet – you can save just about anything including photos and videos. This app makes it super simple to share your finds with your social media network.

You can even add new sites you visit most frequently to your list of stored log-ins.

Now all you have to do is log-in to MySocialCloud to instantly have access to your entire network and build it as you go!

MySocialCloud also helps you find and filter relevant content, so you’re not being bombarded with stuff you don’t want or don’t need. With this solution you can at least keep the noise down to a college roar.

If you’re looking for a complete online social media organizational tool, I definitely think MySocialCloud is worth a look. It’s still in beta-testing, but so far, from what I’ve seen, it looks good to go!

What do you think?

(Leave a comment and let me know what you think.)

What Role Does SMM Play For Your Brand?

Social media marketing is quick, inexpensive (compared to traditional marketing) and provides global coverage, but despite all these benefits it is cannot do the job of marketing your brand all by itself.

Are there niche products or groups which can benefit enough from just a social media marketing campaign? Probably. But that does not diminish the importance of having a comprehensive marketing campaign to tap all available markets and reach an even wider audience.

Most major brands who are having success with social media marketing are also leveraging the power of a broader marketing campaign, mixing traditional marketing techniques with digital techniques to provide the maximum amount of coverage. Successful strategies are not based on one single medium, or one single method, but cross platforms and reach audiences in every way possible.

You might call it the “Blanket Effect.” The idea is to position your brand in front of as many eye balls as possible in hopes of attracting new clients/customers, and retain existing ones. Social media marketing is a fantastic tool which offers an opportunity to reach more than one billion people (just using Facebook and Twitter alone) but it is not the be-all, end-all, of marketing.

If you want proof of this consider that print advertising and television advertising have been seeing gains even as social media marketing has been growing by leaps and bounds. Email marketers continue to reap benefits and SEO is alive and well. All major companies are using a combination of marketing tools to increase their presence and position their brand for maximum exposure. And if there is one lesson we have learned it is this: Imitation is not only the sincerest form of flattery, it also makes good business sense.

• Brands/Experts should approach the social media team for similar brands or media outlets and offer promotions, giveaways, interviews, and product announcements on those brands’ Facebook/Twitter pages.

• Instead of writing a column in a magazine, why not have your client ( brand or individual) spend a day on the media outlets Facebook or Twitter page answering reader questions? Having a celeb or client or brand spend a day tweeting for a brand can be so much more fun and engaging for the audience.

• Create savvy content & programs that engage consumers online and offline simultaneously, so that your presence is felt beyond social media.

Click here for more tips from Marni Salup.

Better Late Than Never

Craigslist has been around for almost 20 years, and the site still looks decidedly 20th century. The interface is streamlined and simple, perhaps too streamlined and simple for the more tech savvy 21st Century web surfer.

This week Craigslist started using Craigslist (what else?) to find someone who can help them spice up the site a little bit. Specifically, it appears they are looking to incorporate social media and mobile into the site some way, although exactly how is still anyone’s guess.

Craigslist is the most popular online classified ads site on the internet boasting more than 30 billion page views every month. No doubt they have a very sound business model, but as anyone who has ever visited the site before (and there are many of us) can tell you, it looks a little bit clunky. A little dressing up would go a long way toward cementing their status as one of the most popular and useful tools on the World Wide Web.

Specifically, they should be taking advantage of every the Social Web has to offer. For instance, it would be nice if there were “share” buttons for Facebook, Google+ and Twitter which allowed users to let their network know what they were looking at (or for) and let them plumb their network for answers to questions they might have. I realize you can share with a copy&paste option now, but a one-click solution would simplify the entire process.

Or perhaps Craigslist should consider uniting their billions of active users into its own social media network of buyers and sellers.

No one can accuse Craigslist of being obsessed with change just for the sake of change (I’m talking to YOU, Mark Zuckerberg) but after two decades it sure seems like Craigslist might be due for an upgrade.

A job posting from the company — posted to Craigslist, of course — seeks a candidate to “improve the user experience — faster, friendlier and easier” and “develop new products and features that will have CL users swooning.”

To see how little Craigslist has changed over the years, check out the Wayback Machine’s archive of Craigslist in November 2000, compared with the site of today. Aside from minor changes in formatting, the new event calendar and the addition of more categories, the site looks almost exactly the same.

There’s something to be said for Craigslist’s what-you-see-is-what-you-get home page, but it could use a fresh coat of paint and a proper mobile site for smart phones. (Mobile app design is one of the job’s recommended skills.) Some personalization features would also be helpful, like a built-in alert system or a customizable home page.

Click here to read more about potential changes at Craigslist.