One of the biggest frustrations running a Social Business Agency, is the obsession with the wrong numbers.  We see it all the time.

We see our competitors talking about building a Twitter following.  We hear our prospects talking about getting more Facebook Likes.

But if we play all of that out to the end, what does that really get you?

But Jeff, what are the right numbers?

The right numbers are the number of leads, how many sales closed this month, how much money was saved by avoiding costly litigation by having the right policies and procedures in place.  Those are numbers that matter.

What gets lost in the talk about engagement metrics and network size, is the business value.

Do you want a bigger network?  Of course.  But more importantly, you want the right network.  It’s about having a content strategy that speaks to the right people, and gives them the right incentive to take action.

If your agency isn’t talking about things like this, you need a new agency.

How to change course?

Step 1 is to determine what it is you really want.  Determine the business value you are trying to create.  A Facebook Like has no business value until it has brought you something.

Step 2 is to build a plan to get there.

Step 3 is to aggressively execute that plan, while staying open, flexible and nimble to make changes and course corrections as needed.

That’s it.

What do you think?  Are we preaching to the choir or do you think we’re missing something?  Leave a comment below.

The post Pay attention to the right numbers appeared first on Social Media Philanthropy.

But don’t let the hype dissuade you from understanding why this form of marketing is so powerful.

Content Marketing is a broad category that has come to include all manner of approaches.  And while the value of paid, sponsored or promoted content marketing is debatable, that’s not today’s debate.  Instead, let’s just cover why one certain approach to content marketing is so much more effective than advertising.

A Barrage of Advertisements

Did you know that the average American living in a city sees an estimated 5,000 advertisements, logos and marketing messages per day?  I don’t know the stat for those living in the suburbs or more rural areas, but I’d imagine it’s less than 5,000 but likely more than 1,000.  Even still, that’s a lot of paid placements.

How many of those do we actually remember?  More importantly perhaps, how many of those are we influenced by?  Simply seeing a logo or ad is often only enough to raise awareness. But with so many of these messages per day, and not a single one being sought out, how likely are we to welcome the influence of these advertisements?

More so, any time an ad blocking or skipping technology emerges, it is embraced.  We don’t know what we’d do without our DVR, not because we’d miss our shows but because we’d have to watch them with commercials.

Content Marketing: A Welcomed Message

Content Marketing, in the context of this article, is narrowly defined.  We’re not discussing advertorials, or sponsored posts, or any other pay-to-play scenario.  What we mean by content marketing is this: the creation of content, that is made available for free, with the intention to provide valuable information, opinions, or entertainment to a targeted audience.

This content is often found via search engines or through social outposts that the company or individual uses.

As people browse their Home Streams and Newsfeeds, they see headlines, images or videos that catch their eye. They can then choose to click the link, which leads them to arrive on the company’s site, blog or other social outpost.  This is distinctly different from seeing an advertisement above a urinal at a stadium.

On other occasions people will be actively searching for information:”How do I fix a clogged drain?”  In those cases, all they want is the answer to their problem.  Creating content that answers your customer’s questions, is a fantastic way to begin earning their trust.

The truth is, that with all of the paid placements, the constant barrage of advertisements, and the overwhelming amount of noise “out there,” content marketing–when done properly–is one of the most effective ways to capture the attention and interest of you target customer/audience.   Few people on earth like to “be sold” but virtually everyone likes to find things that match their interests or that provides value at the point of need.

Long Term Value

Advertising stops once you stop paying, content lives on “forever…” or until it ceases to be relevant.

Let’s say you have an accounting firm.

You buy an ad for 3 months at Citizen’s Bank park.  You’re hoping that someone that needs accounting will be at Citizen’s Bank Park, actually pay attention enough to see your ad, write down or remember the name, contact you and become a client.  You have little idea how effective it is because ads like that are inherently untrackable.  At the end of 3 months, the ad stops.

By contrast, your accounting firm could put out 5 different blog posts dealing with 5 very specific tax and accounting issues that Philadelphia small businesses are struggling to manage.  In this scenario, you can track where people are coming from, and you know that if they arrive at the article that they have some interest in the topic.  Based on the structure of the page and the calls to action, you can even potentially get them to call you right after reading the article.  You’re providing a valuable solution for someone that needs it.

Which do you think is a better way to attract the right customer?

Think About It

Don’t take my word for it, but please try this on… What are YOU most influenced by?

What ad has caused you to buy, try or switch products or services?

Now try to think about a company that provided you with something valuable, and then think about how you felt about that company after they solved your problem?

Content Marketing builds trust, Advertisements typically do not. Refocus your budget around solving problems and earning attention, instead of buying visibility.

The post Why Content Marketing beats the pants off of advertising appeared first on Social Media Philanthropy.

I needed a Community Manager in my life a few nights ago. After rummaging through the kitchen and coming up short with viable dinner options, my girlfriend was nice enough to bring me something. She walked in with a burrito bowl from Q’doba Mexican Grill and I began to enjoy it’s deliciousness. It wasn’t until about halfway in that I encountered a problem.

A New Kind Of Spice?

Mixed within the rice, beans, and salsas, I found some kind of plastic. I didn’t find it before I took the fateful bite, unfortunately, rendering my meal spoiled.

 As you can see above, I took out my phone, snapped a photo of the item in question, then posted it to Twitter and Instagram.

Hey @qdobamexgrill … found this in my burrito bowl. Plastic something or other… instagram.com/p/YRDlO1NPm3/

— Jon Steiert (@jwsteiert) April 19, 2013

This all occurred around  quarter to nine – towards the end of Q’doba’s dinner hours and not a time when community managers are guaranteed to be replying to our first world dilemmas. So with that in mind, I sent out the message again the next day during lunch, hoping for a response…

@qdobamexgrill … found this in my burrito bowl last night. A plastic bit or tape instagram.com/p/YRDlO1NPm3/ what is it?

— Jon Steiert (@jwsteiert) April 19, 2013

…and got nothin’.

So What Gives?

I like Q’doba. I eat at their restaurants a fair amount…but this really has impacted my view on their product. Whenever folks use social media to voice their displeasure, ask a question, or even give a company a pat on the back, they do want acknowledgement. I’m no different in this case. I give people the benefit of the doubt but I also had a problem that brought me to ask for an explanation. Things happen and I understand…but give me, and the rest of your customers, the courtesy of giving it the old Starbucks try.

Vote With Your Wallet

There is no reason for me to think that at this point Q’doba will respond to my question. It’s been 5 days since the original message was sent out, which in the Twitterverse is like months ago. It’s a shame that they didn’t want to discuss the issues of my meal. I know that if one of their competitors had an issue they’d be right on top of it, addressing the situation.

@jwsteiert We’d try our best to help you. If we couldn’t, we would work with others to try to fix the issue. -Myra

— Chipotle (@ChipotleTweets) April 22, 2013

In the meantime, I’ll be getting buying where my concerns are valued…even when there wasn’t a real one.

@jwsteiert That was going to be my next question. If there’s ever an issue, always feel free to speak to our manager for a fast fix. -Myra

— Chipotle (@ChipotleTweets) April 22, 2013

The post Oh, Community Manager; There’s Plastic In My Burrito appeared first on Social Media Philanthropy.

What are we doing Foursquare?

You debuted in March of 2009.  You pioneered the “check-in.”  Sure there were others but much like Twitter won the microblogging war, you won the check-in.

But it’s been 4 years now and you just crossed the 20 million user mark.  That’s it?

Sure, some people still check in, but it’s primarily the same people that have been checking in from the beginning.  And I have to keep asking myself, as others are at this point: “why am I still even checking in?”

The badges are passé, the gamification has lost it’s luster, the points are meaningless and few businesses provide check-in rewards making the whole thing even more pointless.

You’ve tried your hand at being a discovery platform, but it’s just not as clean or useful as Yelp, and while your tips feature is great, not enough people use it.

Your API is popular amongst location based apps, but where’s the money in that, and how hard is it for Google Maps to beat you up on that one?

What are you doing with yourself?

While I’ve always been fond of you, I’ve always championed for you, I find myself sitting here questioning your very existence.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

The post Foursquare Day Should Be a Day of Reflection for Foursquare: #4sqDay appeared first on Social Media Philanthropy.

Stop selling the “what.”

People don’t connect with what you do, they can only connect with why you do it.

This is why storytelling is such powerful marketing.  Stories allow us to use our imagination, it allows us to identify with the characters, it allows us to take sides and pick who we want to win and lose.

There is more noise out there than ever.  There are more choices than ever.  Unless you find a way to build a bond with your customer and enroll them in an idea that they can identify with, you will forever be chasing new customers, forever competing in the noisy, crowded space.

If you want to differentiate yourself–for now–talk about why you do what you do.

What do you believe?

Is your mission statement on your website?  Is you philosophy or purpose?  Do you even know WHY you do what you do?

Step one is to identify why you do what you do.  And if the answer is “to create shareholder value,” you are already lost.

In a hyper-connected world, customers expect businesses to turn a profit, but they yearn for something deeper.  And sometime, at the beginning, before IPOs, analyst predictions and real time stock tickers, all companies started with an idea bigger than money.

Here’s why we do what we do

We believe that the world is changing.  

We see the world getting faster and more connected, and consequently smaller.

People are using technology more and more.

They find information from one another, rather than from traditional institutions.

These changes in behavior have far-reaching implications.

The world of business changing.  

There are more freelancers than ever.

A new hub-n-spokes model of business fueled by 10-99 subcontractors is quick, nimble, and able to undercut bigger, more centralized companies, while providing comparable–and in some cases superior–products and services.

Partnerships have made a resurgence  as cautious businesses realize that it is easier to travel with a “buddy” in this uncertain, rapidly changing environment.

Why we started our company.

We are as fascinated by the changes in human behavior as we are by the technology.

We don’t see a scary, uncertain future; we see a bright, new future fueled by all of us, sharing information and creating a decentralized repository of human experiences, perspectives, information and knowledge.

The internet has forever altered the human experience and our purpose is to help companies embrace these changes and benefit through understanding.

We want to help companies navigate the next decade, because it is nothing like the previous ones.  By changing the tools and cultures of businesses to be more open, transparent, collaborative, responsive, humble, and nimble, we change the world.

Why does your company do what it does?

The post It’s time to stop selling what you do and start selling why you do it. appeared first on Social Media Philanthropy.

Set that direction today.  Give up on the “what should we talk about today” plan.  Instead, set the categories of what you want to talk about.

Every piece of your blog that you set today makes it easier in the future.

It’s hard to start a blog…

it gets easier once you have a name and domain name for the blog…

it gets easier once you have it installed, setup and designed…

it gets easier when you know the 5 things you want to write about…

it gets even easier when you have a schedule for when you are going to write…

it gets even easier when you have 100 headlines for the posts you will write over the next 6 months…

it gets even easier when you have an outline with all of the headings inside of each blog post…

The more planning you do in advance, the easier it gets to execute when you sit down to write each post.

Start today by at least setting your categories, or sometime in December, you’ll be underwhelmed with your blog.

The post If you don’t set your categories now, you’ll hate yourself in December. appeared first on Social Media Philanthropy.

Helping others is a selfless act and it shows you’re in this for more than just money.  Do what you do because you love doing it, no matter what it is.  Find your company’s PURPOSE and communicate that as you help others.

I’m not saying this approach will make you wildly rich.

I’m not saying this approach will immediately sell more stuff.

But you will be a better marketer, because at least you’ll be creating something of value, to someone.

The post The one thing you need to do to be a better marketer appeared first on Social Media Philanthropy.

At True Voice Media, we tend to sit in the middle; we like to know about our competitors and what they do, but at the end of the day our focus is on doing good work.  We believe there is an abundance of opportunity in our industry and therefore if we do great work, word of mouth will spread and we’ll be fine regardless of what our competition does.

But regardless of where you sit on the spectrum, it’s important to know HOW to know what your competitors are doing and how people talk about them.  Here’s how…

Social Listening

The first, and most obvious, is to monitor the web.  This includes listening for branded mentions across Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Linkedin Signal and the blogosphere.  This also includes using Alert Systems, like Google Alerts, and monitoring specific domains where appropriate.

Start by creating an account on an RSS Aggregator like Netvibes, or Google Reader*.

*Note: I know Google Reader is shutting down on July 1, but until then you can use it and other services have promised that they will offer a smooth transition.

This will allow you to pull in and organize the RSS feeds from the following next steps.

Go to Social Mention (For Social results), Google Alerts or TalkWalker (For Web, News and Blog Results), BoardReader (for Forums search results) and enter the name of your competitor in the search field.  If the competitor has a name with multiple words, be sure to surround the name with quotes.  For example: “True Voice Media”

Each of the aforementioned services support RSS.  So once you enter your search, you can subscribe to any new results in your RSS aggregator/reader.

This will allow you to keep tabs on your competitor’s branded activity.  Simply scan the headlines regularly to keep up.

Additional Awesome Sauce

For additional awesome-sauce, try running a search in Google Alerts for specific domains.  For example, if you want to see if anyone has posted about your competitors on the Yelp, simply enter the following search string:

site:yelp.com “competitor name”

This search will only return results from yelp.com that include the competitor’s name.  You can do this for any site with public search results, huffingtonpost.com, Citysearch.com, or let’s say your competitor’s domain maybe?

Social Insider Sleuthing

Want to know the real dirt?  Listen inside your competitors walls.

Believe it or not, many of your competitors probably don’t have a Social Media Policy…there’s no telling what you can find out just from monitoring their employees.  One piece of data (an email address) can open up a world of insight.  Download Rapportive and simply enter the email address in Gmail to find out where someone is all across the web.

As most “successful” hackers know, the biggest vulnerability in any company is not the network, but the people using the network; it’s easier to trick someone into opening the front door than it is to break in with force.  Mind you, we’re not advocating anything unethical, duplicitous or illegal, we’re simply stating that the quickest way to see what’s happening on the inside is to talk to someone on the inside.  In many cases, they may just tell you.

One way to do that is to stalk notable employees.  You might be able to tell what they are up to by watching their Foursquare check-ins that get posted to Twitter, you may be able to glean unique insights into their sales strategy by joining a Linkedin Group they participate in, you may even know about upcoming product releases by attending a meetup and strike up a conversation with their Lead Engineer or Director of Marketing.

Public Records and More…

You can dig even deeper if you really want to but you may get lost down deep in the rabbit hole.  Start with the above steps and if that’s not enough competitive intelligence, it may be time to find a less competitive industry, or hire a full time competitive intelligence specialist.

For now, happy hunting.

If you have any more tips on watching the competition, please enter them in the comments.

The post How to know everything about your competitors appeared first on Social Media Philanthropy.

Everyone is looking to argue one side or the other.

Some people are doing everything they can to show that it doesn’t work at all, to prove it is all just a fad.   Others are spending countless hours trying to prove everything they do so that they can stop being called a “social media do***ebag.”

Everything in moderation

If it can be measured, measure it, if it can’t, either find a way to measure it or stop worrying so much.

Because for everything you can measure, there are plenty of things that just happen, without any rhyme or reason.

Sometimes, just being nice can lead to an opportunity. Does it really make sense to try and measure, systematize and over-analyze being nice?

A Linkedin Groups Warm Welcome

So today’s post is short and sweet…someone tell me how you measure this?

Should this person decide to do business with us, should I go back through my calendar and write down every single hour spent in a Linkedin Group and multiply it by my billable rate, then factor in the total value of this contract and calculate my ROI?

Or should I just go make a few more friends and stop worrying about scoring kindness?

The post What’s the ROI of being Social? appeared first on Social Media Philanthropy.

Everyone wants to talk about Twitter because tweets are different and fun to talk about.

Everyone wants to talk about Pinterest because it came out of left field to drive retail traffic.

Everyone wants to talk about Linkedin because it’s so widely used among business people.

Everyone wants to talk about YouTube because it’s the 2nd biggest search engine on the web, the king of online video and video is a hot topic right now.

Slideshare is the biggest missed opportunity in Social Media right now.

While everyone is talking about engagement and conversations, results are getting lost amongst the noise.  For all the time and effort companies are spending having someone manage their Facebook page or Twitter account, rarely do I hear about a company that is stocking those community managers with great content that converts.

I’m not saying there’s no value in conversations for the sake of conversations.  The loyalty and word of mouth that can be generated from a great comment thread should not be understated.  But let’s turn our attention for a moment to a site that presents several missed opportunities.

How come no one wants to talk about Slideshare?

How many meetings do you go to where the information is presented in 140 character bites instead of a Powerpoint?

How many times have you sent a prospect to your Facebook page instead of attaching a PDF or a slidedeck?

How many presentations do you go to where instead of a speaker and slides, they just put on a video?

The great and mighty Power Point

For as long as I can remember, Powerpoint has been a part of the business lexicon.  We ritualistically use and overuse slides as a means to communicate information.  When used correctly, a good slideshow presentation can convey information simply and effectively.  The format is conducive to communicating information visually and in small digestible chunks.

Slideshare is a place you can upload a complete Powerpoint, Keynote or PDF presentation, embed it on another site, share it socially (or via email), get the benefit of social discovery & search discovery and all for FREE!  Too many companies upload a PDF or Powerpoint to their website leaving out all of the serendipitous discovery and tracking that Slidedhare provides.

As easily as we embed and share YouTube videos, Slideshare allows the same for documents.

Fuel for your website, blog, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and more…

Don’t you wish you could have a salesperson working 24 hours per day, 7 days a week?  Enter Slideshare…

Start now!

Everyone is talking about content marketing this year, and there’s no better time to get started than RIGHT NOW!

You can follow me (Jeff Gibbard) here and True Voice Media here.

Are you on Slideshare?  Add your username and best slides or PDF in the comments.

The post Slideshare – The BIG Social Media opportunity you are missing. appeared first on Social Media Philanthropy.