Myopic Manager: “Hey, I need a video.”

Worker Wendy: (shocked) “About what, sir?”

Myopic Manager: “Something that will get us noticed.”

Worker Wendy: “For what, sir?”

Myopic Manager: “You know. Something catchy and, what’s the word? VIRAL!”

Worker Wendy: “Viral, sir?”

Myopic Manager: “Yeah! Put it on FaceTube! That’ll do it!”

***

There are so many things wrong with that conversation, I can’t begin to list them. But this was a summarized dialogue a friend of mine recently had with her employer. It seems as though, after 25 years in business, “said employer” finally purchased a ticket to the 21st century and realized he was wearing a suit made in 1989 – you know, padded shoulders, thin, cotton tie… the whole enchilada!

The inspiration for this time-traveling adventure came from a growing collection of customers asking why they couldn’t find their favorite “widget” on the Internet. They couldn’t find their website. They couldn’t “Like” their FaceBook page. Heck, if they didn’t get up off their butts and walk through the door, they couldn’t tell the company was actually still in business!

“So, where do you start?” she asked me. And that’s where my “Mr. Marketing and Branding” persona jumped out – somewhat abruptly…

“Are you kidding?” I shot back at her. “Your company is nowhere near ready for Facebook, YouTube or social media marketing. Why don’t reign in Michael J. Fox over there and start with basic TRUE Branding?”

I explained to her that TRUE Branding was the road-map to where her boss wanted to go. They needed to discover the truth about their company – the who, what, when, where and why of their brand and brand community (‘cause they obviously have one). Then they needed to do some deep research to find out what made their company / brand relevant to their brand community. After that they needed to focus on what made them unique in that community. If there was ten other “widget” makers in the vicinity, what were unique propositions to going to their shop? And finally the needed to figure out where that community spent it’s time engaging their brand. Obviously they needed a stronger Web presence, but were FaceBook and YouTube really going to be where the best engagement would take place?

I’m sure, by the end of our conversation, my face was red and the veins in my forehead resembled what that road-map may look like. But the takeaway was put perfectly when she called up her employer and said, “Sir, we really can’t skip steps when it comes to TRUE Branding and marketing. Let’s take a strategic look at what where we want to go and then my friend Andy can come by and work with us to get there”

*Sigh*

As Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and Elton John put it, “That’s What Friends Are For.”

I know this comes off as a bit of a rant, but there are a lot of companies out there that are still behind the curve when it comes to social media marketing. It isn’t so much using the tools of social media like Facebook YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn, but the brand and marketing strategy that powers these tools. And it’s going to take time and a lot of thought to get that road-map to the future figured out.

Contrary to what Michel J. Fox and Steven Spielberg told us in 1985, time travel is NOT possible; the flux capacitor hasn’t been built yet; Delorians won’t withstand the pressure of time travel; and Doc Brown is just another wild-eyed pedophile in an Einstein wig and lab coat.

But I digress.

Could I have taken my friend’s company (and their money) and thrown together a FaceBook page and a few videos for YouTube? Sure. But I wouldn’t have been doing my job as The Brand Chef if I did it without TRUE branding and a strategic road-map. And they wouldn’t have seen results from any of it – making us all look stupid.

Just to sum up…  You can’t jump from 1989 to 2010 with the simple activation of a Twitter account. Research, plan, integrate and engage with social media AFTER you’ve figured out where your brand should be going within the marketplace. Then make a commitment to staying up-to-date with your brand, your industry and your community.

Until Next Time (within the next 25 years)…

Keep Cooking (timely, relevant branding decisions.)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

There are a lot of positive signs that small businesses are starting to adopt social media marketing as an integrated component of their overall business plans.  One significant change, based on a February 2010 Small Business Success Index report, is the fact that social media usage among small business jumped from a meager 12% in 2008 to 24% in the following year (Yes, doubled).

Of those using social media, 69% post regular updates / articles of relevance to sites like FaceBook and LinkedIn. Two additional stats that made me smile were: 54% monitor positive / negative feedback via social networks, and almost 40% of the small businesses author a blog pertaining to their field of expertise.

OUTSTANDING!

But hold on, that’s still only 1-in-5 of those surveyed.

So, let’s address some of the restraints keeping small businesses form jumping on board?

According to the report, 50% of the users say it takes more time than they expected.

This is a surprise? Okay, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, but the reason they may have been caught off guard is a result of one or a combination of following:

1. Some “Social Media Expert” duped them with dollar signs and drummed up statistics, set up a Twitter account and a FaceBook page and then ran off with  little to no strategy or support.
2. They took it on by themselves with little to no understanding of building a social media community or marketing.
3. They underestimated how little they knew about their brand, the audience and the business.

Of course social media marketing takes time! Just like scheduling  time to check voice-mail or email, small business owners need to adapt to make time for a little proactive community engagement. It pays off in the end.

Then there’s the statistic that made me laugh the hardest.  17% expressed that social media gives people a chance to criticize their business on the Internet.

Do they actually think criticism won’t happen if they stay away?  Go ahead, try it.  Then, call me when the business folds.  I know Realtors that need the square footage.

***

Come on, folks, this should stand as a call to action for all small business owners (as well as those that market to/for them).  Social media is not going away any time soon.  And the quicker you figure out how to use it to your advantage, the better chances you’ll have for surviving the years to come.

Here are 10 starting questions I like to ask those looking into social media for marketing.

1. What will make you stand out among the others “yelling into the chasm?”
2. Who is your target audience?
3. Who are your direct competitors?
4. What could be some indirect inhibitors?
5. Do you have a marketing plan – written down with goals, strategies, tactics and a reasonable budget?
6. Is there a strategy or tactic within your marketing plan that social media could compliment / support (Public Relations, etc.)?
7. Do you have the manpower/ time for social media marketing?
8. (If not) Do you have the budget to outsource components of social media marketing?
9. Do you know how to carry on an engaging conversation?
10. Do you have patience?

As with any marketing tool, social media has a unique profile in each company’s marketing plan. While a blog is a great core component to a social media marketing strategy, Twitter, YouTube and FaceBook may not always apply. Heck, If your target audience isn’t active online, don’t be a fool and put your time into broad social media integration. Just make sure to do a little research before jumping in and you’ll know what’s right for you / your company.

Where does your small business stand when it comes to integrating social media into your marketing plan?  Is it an add-on that will eventually fade away?  Or do you have the plan and vision to make social media work for you?

If you’re a small business that hasn’t embraced social media as a marketing tool, then I have two things to say:

1. You’re losing out on a fantastic way to extend your marketing message as well as build brand equity.
2. You’re probably not reading this and I’m writing for my already savvy followers and this is pointless.

Food for thought.

Keep Cooking! (Purposeful, results-oriented decisions)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

Having worked in the restaurant industry through most of my adolescence and into my early 20’s, I was well aware of the old adage that went something like:

If a single upset customer tells 10 friends about an unsatisfactory experience, it’s conceivable those 10 friends could perpetuate that report to another 10… and so-on, and so-on… eventually damaging the restaurant’s brand bad enough to put it out of business.

Or, as Máma Brandcheffio said:

“Piss off one customer and you’ve lost 100…”

So, at a very young age, I was forced to learn two very important aspects to marketing.

1. Word-of-mouth marketing is very powerful.
2. The customer is always right.

WHAT? The customer is ALWAYS right?

Máma Brandcheffio used to tell me:

“Even if the customer is wrong, THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT.”

Even at 15, that concept incensed me.  Today it seems like a complete disregard to human civility (See last week’s post) and is entirely defeatist in nature.

Luckily, I came to my senses.

Chew on this:

Originally, one disgruntled customer could, with good effort, affect the opinions of 100 others with their own word-of-mouth marketing.  In 1983, that was a pretty big deal. With 100 potential customers talking about poor service or a fuzzy hamburger bun, over several days, maybe months, the reputation of the restaurant could be damaged enough to warrant inspections, improvements or to be ostracized out of business all together.

That was 1983 word-of-mouth. (Yawn)

Today, our “upset” customer can take a photo, text a gripe to their iPhone or Tweet it to thousands or tens of thousands before your gazpacho reaches room temperature! If “viral” enough, those thousands can make an instantaneous decision to re-tweet it to their lists reaching thousands more!

Word-of-mouth marketing has reached light speed!

Restaurants, from local and regional to major chains, are taking a “more than cautious” approach to social media marketing.  They want to make sure it’s not a “fad” before jumping in.

Have they lost their minds? Maybe in 1983 that’d be okay, but this is 2009!

Not only are social media tools like Twitter and Facebook the fastest growing user-based tools on the Web, they have moved the “Customer is always right” paradigm entirely into the customer’s control, forever altering the approach to marketing communication and public relations.

Restaurants may not want to get involved in a “marketing” sense, but can you imagine how fast they will have to scramble when the “Chris Brogan” of the restaurant industry sends a damaging Tweet or photos of one of their cooks, in uniform, picking their boxers out of their ass as they walk into the kitchen?

Mmmmm, appetizing…

To put it simply, social media WILL affect your restaurant. Ignoring it is not an option for today’s restaurants, no matter what size.

It’s better to use basic social media tools and participate in a brand management program.  Otherwise, you can watch your brand (and your future) carried away in the beak of that ubiquitous little blue Twitter icon.

Food for thought.

Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

Social media tools are easy to acquire…  Sure.  But just like a sharp knife, you may not want to hand it over to any shlub that walks into the kitchen.  If your company wants to start cooking up some social media marketing, you’d better be ready to do some serious planning.

If social media is like a big cocktail party, let’s think of social media MARKETING this way…

When gathering recipes for your next big shindig, you probably don’t want to mingle the sushi with the snow cones (only at my parties).  So, in the same spirit, why would companies insist on throwing anything and everything into their social media marketing mix?

Many companies are starting to really turn up the heat on their social media “marketing.”  They’ve set up Twitter accounts and launched Facebook pages and groups; but it looks like they haven’t thought of their brand, their target audience or, in some instances, even political correctness. Seriously?

Trust me, a meal consisting of three cups of unashamed self promotion, a tablespoon of ego, 1/4 cup of chaos and a pinch of nonsense will give your target audience nothing but a serious case of indigestion.

Create engagement and value with an integrated social media marketing strategy.

Here are three simple “Brandchef-a-fied” questions to ask yourself before that next tweetfest…

1. Are you working from a proven recipe?
   If you have a marketing plan with goals and targets, see how social media can be integrated into it.  Don’t throw the whole dish out just because there’s a new ingredient.

   Social media is so new that social media marketing is struggling to keep up with new developments, new policies, new technology, not to mention new users.  The right recipe – a proven crowd-pleaser – will help to solidify your position, extend your marketing message and your brand.  Just spice it up using the great tools social media has to offer!
   

2. Does your meal have any nutritional value?
   Empty promises or veiled attempts at engagement, just like empty calories, won’t add value.

   If you have a truly strategic marketing plan (with the customer in mind), your social media marketing efforts should reflect those same values and benefit your audience.  Superficial fluff, inane updates and ego-driven campaigns will only show your audience that you’re in it for yourself and soon they’ll walk away from the table – full, and dissatisfied.

3. How many dishes are in your sink?
   Máma BrandCheffio used to say, “If you have a sink full of dishes, you know you have a house full of happy kids.” The same goes for your social media marketing campaign.

   If you can measure results based on a working strategy, then you know what kind of appetite your audience has.  Set your goals, feed them the first course, and watch for the return. With those kinds of metrics you can make changes to your recipes on-the-fly – assuring an always full sink.

With any soiree, the planner has a lot of responsibilities.  As long as your strategy is truthful, transparent, relevant, unique and engaging, everyone at the party will have a great time,  and soon you will be the talk of the town.

Keep Cooking (tasty social media treats)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

I LOVE social media.  It’s the wild west in cyberspace. Not only can I post anything I want on this blog, my Facebook account, my Twitter account(s) or any number of other outlets (look to the right) I subscribe to; but I can search and monitor (virtually) anything anyone else is saying, tweeting, video-taping, etc. as well – and all while talking to others through the same venues about what I’m seeing, reading, experiencing…  (you get the idea).

Now, THAT’s truly social.

Seeing my adoration of social media, a friend of mine posted this article from The Eastern Echo on my Facebook wall.  I assume she did it to rib me a little for what looks like backlash against social media outlets like Facebook, MySpace and especially Twitter for not having more robust security options. But the writer of The Echo brings up some pretty solid points.

The Echo writes:

…like any responsible organization, Facebook finally updated its privacy settings a few years ago after users encountered plenty of embarrassing situations. You can now control which of your friends are able to see those great pictures of you passed out on the bathroom floor with genitals scrawled on your face.

But the truth is, Big Brother isn’t watching anymore, he’s tweeting.
Twitter, too, has security options that can allow users to select who can see their tweets. Unfortunately, people just don’t seem to know about them — or even worse, they don’t care.

They go on to say:

So should we all delete our Twitter accounts?

In my opinion, that would be the easy way out. …

But we can’t continue blaming every new social networking site for our blatant misuse of its technology. The answer isn’t to stop using the Internet, it’s to start using it more responsibly.

And parents? Don’t blame the Internet every time your kid is caught sending naked pictures of themselves to their friends. It’s not Twitter, it’s you.

Sweeeeeet!

So, here’s my take (as written on The Eastern Echo’s article post):

It’s not Facebook’s, MySpace’s, or Twitter’s fault that the “victims” of such horrible, depraved mismanagement of mental scruples are eventually caught.  Social media is exactly that…  SOCIAL.  If you stand up at your next cocktail party and announce that you’re getting breast implants… well…  it’s out there and the repercussions are yours to deal with.  Similarly, you can’t charge Twitter (et al) with keeping idiots form incriminating themselves or filtering content to our children.

It’s simply a matter of ethics. How long has it been since an Ethics 101 course was over-booked?  Can we blame parenting?  Sure, but don’t forget all of the lackadaisical marketing executives, most media outlets and virtually all of Hollywood.

The future of communication is going to be driven through social media. Heck, I even found this article through a friend of mine on Facebook.  So, technically, it’s my responsibility, as a marketer and as a role model for following generations to participate in social media with ethical, reasonable candor.  It’s my responsibility to educate and to foster those values.

Long lost are the days of plopping the kids in front of the boob-tube and call it babysitting.  Because the boob-tube has been replaced with YouTube and we KNOW what can be found there.

There are a lot of unethical, unreasonable people out there.  There always has been.  But we can’t expect the social media developers to protect us.  That’s our job.

Posted and disseminated…

Food for thought.

Keep Cooking (reasonably ethical conversations?)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef