HFTB Marketing Blog

The term “going corporate” has always bothered me. It’s often used as a catch-all term for selling out. Why? Mostly because whoever is being accused of it is likely making more money than their accusers.

But is it fair to level criticism against those that succeed… merely for succeeding?

Image by Tony the Misfit

David Meerman Scott’s blog, WebInkNow, has a post highlighting a video done by Engage | ORM comparing the punk rock movement to the social media movement (if it can be called a movement?).

The video is definitely worth taking a look at. It’s well done and points out some interesting parallels.

But the thing I find interesting about the comparison has more to do with a couple of the comments on the post. Specifically, the idea of corporate America’s inability to really get social media and its implications.

So how does this tie to the punk movement of the ’70s?

Those that are in at the beginning of a movement, no matter how counter-culture or against the grain it might be initially, will impose their own rules as to what defines that movement as it gains steam – or more accurately, becomes more popular. It happened with punk, and unfortunately, looks to be happening with social media.

While I consider myself a punk rock fan, one of the things I’ve always really disliked is the exclusion of great bands as soon as they sign their first big deal. Or in other words… go corporate.

There is a possessive tendency amongst most bands’ first fan bases. This is the “I knew about them when…” syndrome. And although some bands surely change with money and fame, there are many that don’t.

Social media suffers from some of this too. The idea that there is purity in certain types of content or techniques is dangerous because it necessarily excludes those that might innovate. And if anything, one aspect of social media, or more inclusively, new media, is a divergence from the norm (characterized by the mainstream media).

But as the boundaries to what is social media are drawn by those that are initially successful, we fall into the trap of discounting those that take a different position or that would innovate within a more inclusive medium.  And after all, what could be more inclusive than social media?  A medium seemingly designed to give everyone, including those nasty big corporations, an equal voice.

The analogy with punk is strong here. I know many former fans of some great bands that stopped listening when they hit MTV or appeared in a big budget Hollywood movie. Once again, why? The music was still the same. They just weren’t the only ones listening anymore.

Corporate America is getting social media as we speak. It is simply too powerful a force to remain relegated to a small group of enlightened souls.

Does this mean that it will be irreparably changed? Maybe. But not necessarily for the worse.

Just as bands like Rancid and Green Day continue to be punk rock to the core despite their mainstream success, so will social media continue to be an outlet for candid and frank expression – regardless of how “corporate” it gets.

There is a place for all sorts in the social media world.  Value is the true measure, and doesn’t discriminate.

So don’t tell me what is and what isn’t punk rock,… or social media.  Always good to throw in a horn section, reggae rhythm, or corporate blog for that matter.

Nothing like pissing off the purists.

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New Marketing, Social Media New Marketing, new media strategy, Online marketing, Social Media, social media marketing

taking a breather

I hear this from companies all the time. Usually goes something like this.

“Blogging just isn’t right for our company. We’d like to avoid some of the negativity out there. We like a little more control over our brand image.”

Control. Silly concept, really. Do companies think they have more control over their brand image if they don’t engage their customers on the negative aspects of their products or services? Seems a bit like ostrich syndrome to me… head planted firmly in the sand.

So let’s look at the alternative. Let’s assume the same company that initially rejected blogging (or social media in general for that matter) decided to put themselves out there. They start a blog, publicize it and make an effort to add relevant content over time.

What are the effects on their brand image?

Well, assuming the company has a recognizable brand and they spend the time and effort necessary to build a successful blog, they enter the discussion.

This is the key point. The discussion already exists. The difference is the company is now a participant. And as a participant, the negativity, which existed all along, can 1.) be addressed in the short term, and 2.) be acted upon and remedied in the long term.

Chris Brogan had a great post about his experience visiting Humana corporate headquarters. The post is about Humana’s unique efforts to combat the reactive vs. proactive health insurance model. And although the post is interesting for content alone, one of the comment strings is what really drew my attention – and ties into the above, by the way.

One commenter had less than positive things to say about Humana’s services. And she said it – in no uncertain terms. Now Brogan’s post was unequivocally positive, so the comment came in stark contrast to the rest of the commentary.

Here’s where we come back to the “losing control” topic.

This is a perfect example of a company putting itself out there (even though the post is from Brogan’s blog, the folks at Humana knew what they were doing by inviting Chris to their headquarters – his blog is after all in the top 100). And things were going great until the fourth comment on the piece.

Perfect definition of losing control. Humana can’t simply edit the comment out of the string, and I’d be surprised if Brogan would be receptive to a call from the VP of Marketing asking for its removal. So what to do?

Why not respond?

And that’s exactly what Humana did. Professionally. Quickly. And with a real answer. Wow, an insurance company with a face. Sounds like a differentiator to me.

And I will admit that in the future I am more likely to consider Humana as a result.

So what’s to gain from losing control?

Customers… profits… and enhanced brand image to start.

image by Pedronet

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New Marketing, Social Media blogging, customer relationships, Marketing, New Marketing, new media strategy, Online marketing, Social Media, social media marketing

I attended the Taking Your Brand Online Webinar through BrightTalk this morning. David Meerman Scott, Guy Kawasaki and Chris Brogan were the panelists and all had, as usual, interesting stuff to say.

image by Glenn.Batuyong

Of course there was the ubiquitous evangelism on the benefits of social media… blah, blah, blah.

But the really interesting portion of the webinar for me dealt with the question of whether or not all businesses should blog.

The unanimous answer, interestingly enough, was “no.”

To me, this is great stuff. Social media has a place. But there is always a tendency (or perhaps a law of physics) for the pendulum to swing too far in one direction. And with the rush to embrace social media for businesses, particularly small businesses, the question of whether or not a blog is needed is often not in the conversation. It is simply accepted.

Guy Kawasaki made the point that a home remodeler might not need to spend a portion of his day writing about his latest project when he is more concerned with making payroll in the next 30 days. I agree totally.

That’s not to say that the remodeler might not want to think about other ways to leverage social media (Twitter Search was Kawasaki’s recommendation). But at some point, business strategy needs to play a role in the conversation – hopefully, the starting point. Simply blogging because seemingly everyone else is doing it makes no sense.

So in sum, blogging is not a cure-all for what ails business marketing. It is most definitely a tool that can help – a great deal if done correctly. But tools should be used where they benefit strategic execution. And not simply because everyone else is using them.

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There’s been quite a bit of talk about the DiGiorno Flatbread Pizza product launch/social media campaign lately. DiGiorno, a Kraft brand, decided to deliver their new product to various Tweetups in major cities around the country.

The reaction from the online community has been interesting.

Some are hailing Kraft’s foray into social media as a harbinger of mainstream corporate acceptance of the value of some of the new marketing tools and tactics.

This reaction is a little odd to me.  After all, let’s think about what Kraft has really done.  They’ve found a way to dip a toe into the world of social media without actually taking part.

Trading pizza for influence doesn’t strike me as sound social media marketing strategy.  But perhaps this is only the first step in a larger Twitter presence.  Let’s hope… nowhere to go but up.

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New Marketing, Social Media New Marketing, new media strategy, Online marketing, Social Media, social media marketing

One of the true eternal questions of social media marketing – How do I convince my boss it’s worth the effort (read-in, “measurable financially”)?

Image by ArtemFinland

The folks at Hubspot and Chris Brogan got together this week to present some ideas on just that subject.  And while the answers to the above question where about as grainy as the webinar audio feed, Brogan did a great job of at least framing the subject.  He discusses the landscape of tools that are currently out there and some possibilities for business use of each.

Metrics for actual Return on Investment of social media marketing are conspicuous in their absence.  Which leads to the tried and true marketers axiom that the same can be said about definitive ROI for most marketing tactics.

Uhh,.. not sure where that leaves us exactly, but let’s press forward anyhow.

So what did I take from the presentation?

First, as noted above, Brogan references many great tools marketers can use for social media campaigns.  In my opinion, this alone is worth the price of admission… which is,  free… by the way.

But regardless, I’d recommend the webinar for this purpose alone.

Secondly, social media marketing is happening.  Instead of wringing your hands about metrics, the arguments to simply start participating are strong.  “Start participating” here is important because, to paraphrase Brogan, the conversations about your company are already taking place.  You can either choose to be an active part of those conversations – or not.

What is often missed by companies reticent to dive into social media marketing is that there is a wealth of consumer information about their products or services at their fingertips on a daily basis… and it’s relatively inexpensive (not free by any means, but all in all, inexpensive).

Many companies, including former and current clients of mine, spend large sums gathering this data by other means.  But when confronted with the idea of starting a blog, putting out an enewsletter or becoming a part of a social community, typically balk at the ideas because they are unsure of the payback.  Well, how about a decreased focus group budget to start with?

Take a look at the webinar and Brogan’s slide presentation here.  Brogan is well worth your time simply for his ideas on social media strategy and utilizing the tools that are out there to execute it.

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