I've been impatiently waiting for this book for months. I finally downloaded the Kindle version and started reading it this evening.
I'm not sure why Hoffman doesn't receive the attention and adulation of his Silicon Valley counterparts such as the late Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin.
But, what I respect most is his guiding, personal and professional philosophy to help others succeed. So many people choose to focus the power of social technologies on creating noise and interruption that centers on "look at me."
Meahwhile, Hoffman focuses on "how can I help you." This guiding philosophy is well-articulated in the following articles:
The following videos are my three (3) favorites plus two bonuses. These interviews showcase the genius, vision, and humility of Reid Hoffman. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do:
(Bonus) Time Video: LinkedIn Co-Founder On "The Start-Up of You"
(Bonus) CBS This Morning Video: LinkedIn Co-Founder, Social Web Still Very Young
Charlie Rose: A Conversation With Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn (March 2009)
YouTube: Reid Hoffman Entrepreneurs Will Create The Future Endeavor Entrpreneur Summit at Stanford University (July 2011)
I often share this content on Google+ or Twitter. But, the real-time speed of these information streams makes locating content an oftentimes fleeting exercise.
The Premise / Goal / Timing of This New Weekly Feature
Premise. If you like the content in this blog, you may like the type of content I regularly read and study on the Web.
Goal. On a weekly basis, I'm going to publish links to three (3) articles I find interesting. I'll include a brief summary with some bullet points explaining why I think the content is worth consuming.
Timing. I'll publish this content every Wednesday / Thursday.
Kirshbaum saw this publishing revolution coming (looks like around 2005).
Direct article quote from a successful author: "Publishers are selling drinks on The Titanic."
Article demonstrates how Jeff Bezos is cut from the same cloth as Steve Jobs as both a strategic visionary and an as a shark-like competitor.
2. (The New York Times) The Bookstore's Last Stand: The timing of this article's publication signals an ongoing public relations battle between Amazon and the New York City publishing dynasties. This piece positions Barnes & Noble as the last major ally the major publishing houses have against Amazon.
Publishers fear that Barnes & Noble store may become just cafes and digital connection points.
Barnes & Noble commands 27% of the eBook market. Amazon holds a commanding 60%.
A Telltale Sign: The company plans to eliminate the dedicated sections for music and DVDs within two (2) years.
3. (TechCrunch) Why Every Entrepreneur Should Self-Publish a Book: A great article by James Altucher. Altucher goes into great detail about the many lessons he's learned both as a self-publisher and as an author who's worked directly with the aforementioned publishing houses.
The entire thesis of his article is "to pick yourself." His how-to commentary covers a lot of ground:
Why self-publish than use a traditional publisher
Why entrepreneurs should self-publish
How does one go about self-publishing (the insights on createspace.com ROCK)
Your Feedback Please!
I'd like to experiment with this type of post for the next two to three months. Let me know what you think (especially if this idea sucks):
How can I improve the value of these weekly posts?
Is my initial timing choice for publication okay with you (e.g., middle of the week versus the end of it)? If not, please tell me.
What content are you reading?Please share your links with our community in the comments section!
2011 was an important year for this blog. A few months ago, I published my 100th post. And, each post represents an opportunity to learn, improve, and experiment.
Social Media ReInvention Blog's Most Popular 2011 Posts
And, She Weighed in at a Happy and Healthy 6 Pounds, 9 Ounces. From mid-August to early November 2012, I literally dropped out of sight from any new blog posts or social media participation (you may or may not have noticed). The birth of my daughter is the reason why. My wife and I also have another daughter who's seven (7) years old.
Our family grew. And, we are so blessed.
But, Little Blessings Can Be Mentally and Emotionally Consuming. Fatherhood with a newborn is both humbling and rewarding. You learn quickly how sleep deprivation makes it difficult to construct a coherent thought or sentence.
It took four (4) months / early November to start feeling normal, productive, and effective.
The Epiphany: Blogging Really Makes Me Happy
A Newborn Quickly Imposes Prioritization (Whether You Like It or Not). During that four-month time frame, I realized I couldn't maintain my past routines in working on this blog. And, that frustrated me a lot.
I Missed the Process. I felt something missing. And, I had to keep reminding myself this sacrifice and setback is temporary.
I missed everything about the writing and blogging process:
It's a great way to practice writing (which is important in my full-time work)
It's introduced me to interesting, smart, like-minded people
It's not to make money (because I make no revenue from blogging)
It makes me happy
Yes, It Makes Me Happy. And, I hope the time you spend reading my blog makes you happy (or makes youfeel like it's time well-spent). With each new post, I hope you feel the content is improving.
And, I hope you'll continue sharing the content with others. When something I write is shared on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook, I'm always surprised (and humbled).
Thank You. Thank you indulging me in sharing a memorable year. Thank you for subscribing to this blog and sharing its content with your social network connections. And, thank you for sticking with me when I temporarily dropped out of sight.
Here's to a safe, healthy, and happy 2012 for all of us.
Bottom Line: I highly recommend studying Newsjacking. It's informative, quick-to-read, and filled with insightful how-to-examples. In fact, both books are required reading for any marketing/PR executive, business owner, or brand manager who wants to capitalize on media opportunities generated by the real-time Web.
And, We All Can Do It! David defines "newsjacking" as publishing your personal angle, ideas, or perspective into a breaking news story / event to earn media coverage for your company, brand, or products / services.
Help Journalists Write Their Second Paragraphs. When hot news strikes, journalists scour the Internet via search engines (i.e., Google) and social media (i.e., Twitter, blogs, etc.). Why? They're seeking additional content (e.g., details, opinions, etc.) that can differentiate the point-of-view in their individual news stories.
That differentiating point-of-view or compelling content is the "second paragraph." Journalists seek second paragraph material that:
Delivers credible, authoritative, and valuable information / perspective
Describes "why" something happened
Interprets the event's impact and future implications
Credible Second Paragraphs Can Earn Massive Media Attention. Be fast, use targeted keywords, and provide valuable context in your Tweets and blog posts so journalists can find your contribution to a story with Google searches. Quickly writing an informative blog post and shrewdly publicizing it with Twitter may take an hour or less.
And, the impact can be huge:
"With a single hour's work many people manage to generate more media attention than a whole year's return on a substantial PR budget."
"I've been a marketer for two decades now, and I have never seen a technique as powerful as newsjacking."
2. Newsjacking Favors Faster, Smaller Players
Real-Time Speed is a Newsjacker's Bread and Butter. Speed, decisiveness, and execution drive successful newsjacking. And, you must respond within the hour of a breaking news story. That's why fast movers are great newsjackers.
David Can Trump Goliath. Plus, smaller firms can outplay their larger competitors. The Fortune 500 has the same opportunity to successfully newsjack as any other organization or individual. But, their corporate hierarchies and approval processes are handicaps.
Therefore, smaller firms can outplay their larger competitors:
"What's abundantly true is that newsjacking is easier for nimbler players than its is for the lumbering giants of the corporate world."
"To successfully newsjack or fend off a newsjack, you can't wait for approval. You just have to do it."
Newsjacking Lives and Dies by Speed. The graphic below describes the newsjacking process. Notice how speed drives the entire newsjacking process:
Tracking and staying on top of breaking news
Deciding quickly on your response
Publishing / Publicizing the response instantly
3. Chapter 6 - Ka-Ching: CEO Bags a Cool Million with a Single Blog Post
A Classic, Must-Read Newsjacking Blog Post. Joe Payne is the CEO of Eloqua, a company specializing in marketing-automation. When he learned and verified Oracle entered his industry space, he quickly wrote this blog post: Oracle Joins The Party.
There are multiple reasons why this blog post and the surroundingcircumstances make it a classic, newsjacking case study:
The post provides a valuable and quotable industry perspective
Payne crafted and posted this blog post quickly
The blog post contains verifiable details and statistics
He outflanked a larger competitor (e.g., Oracle) using new media tools
Payne's Blog Post Earned Major Media Attention, Credibility, and $1 Million. When industry analysts and journalists searched Google for news about Oracle, they found Payne's content-rich blog post. And, they quoted it verbatim.
In the following examples, I attached the hyperlink to the actual media coverage if the page still exists:
Business Week - Eloqua Guarantees Success for Market2Lead Clients Affected by Oracle
The aforementioned media coverage (and other coverage) increased Eloqua's credibility. In addition, Payne and his team combined the blog post's media coverage with immediate, next-morning business development follow-up. These combined activities brought Eloqua software deals worth $1 million in new revenue among six (6) new clients.
That's a great outcome especially without the luxury of a multiple phase PR campaign or massive advertising budget.
4. Chapter 7: Become the Go-To Gal (or Guy) in Your Industry
Blogs Are Powerful Newsjacking Assets. Long form content achieves four (4) things:
Provides keyword rich content for search engines to index
Increases the probability journalists will find your blog post when searching Google
Delivers context rich details (hard to do in Twitter and Facebook)
Positions newsjackers as reputable and credible reputable industry authorities
Here's a direct quote from David: "If a blog develops a reputation for serving up informed, insightful, authoritative, articulate, quotable and timely commentary on issues in your industry, journalists will learn to seek you out when issues arise."
Knowing Your Issues / Topics Cold Leads to Long Term Credibility. Newsjack the issues and topics in which you are well-informed. That knowledge will make your newsjacking perspective valuable, credible, and authoritative.
Long term credibility is vital in building an authoritative reputation and relationships with journalists. Even more importantly, that credibility and reputation dictates why journalists may or may not seek your input in future news stories.
Why Amdocs and Jeff Barak Are Telecommunications Billing and Customer Care Industry Authorities. In Chapter 7, David describes how Amdocs and Jeff Barak used their company blog to comment on regulatory changes in their industry. Barak wrote this blog post, No Need to Be Bill Shocked, while the FCC conducted meetings in late 2010 to discuss legislation about bill shock.
Journalists searched Google for the latest news about this FCC legislation and found Barak's blog post. His post earned coverage from industry publications (like this one from Penton Media's Connected Planet blog post -- Not Being Shocked by Bill Shock).
5. Learn from Newsjacking Mistakes: The Golden Rules
The Golden Rule Objective (Direct Quote)."When intervening in a news story you should add value - information or insight that contributes to the public's understanding of the situation."
The Four (4) Golden Rules. Kenneth Cole didn't have the benefit of David's advice before sending out that tweet. We now have that luxury:
* Be dignified and statesmanlike. See the Joe Payne / Eloqua Case Study Above (#3)
* Be positive and upbeat, never mean or vindictive. Again, see the Joe Payne / Eloqua Case Study Above (#3)
* Write articulate text in full sentences without chatty slang, industry jargon, corporate-speak (i.e., mission-critical or cutting-edge) or social media shorthand (e.g., IMHO)
* Don't get too cute or clever -- especially where human suffering is involved. See aforementioned Kenneth Cole tweet
6. Newsjackers Monitor News 24/7 Via RSS Feeds
RSS (Real Simple Syndication) Feeds Are a Newsjacker's BFF. David describes how setting up RSS feeds to your favorite news sources, analysts, industry publications, and blogs enables real-time news monitoring. And, staying abreast of leading news events gives you the competitive advantage to respond fast. David mentions these RSS services in his book:
Google Reader
Newsfire
Fast Responders Earn Attention. Here's a how-to video I made two years ago on using RSS (e.g., your iGoogle Home Pages) to monitor postings of your favorite blogs to increase your chances of being an early commenter on new posts. Why? Early commenters earn the author's attention (especially if you're the first commenter).
The same principle applies when monitoring news sources in real-time and responding quickly to capitalize on a newsjacking opportunity:
7. Learn How to Maximize Twitter's Real-Time Capabilities
A Newsjacker' Must-Have Weapon For Monitoring News Flow. Twitter's real-time capabilities make it the ultimate rapid response, news monitoring tool. You can find great second paragraph content and breaking news stories by:
Catching key phrases by creating columns in Tweetdeck and HootSuite
Using Twitter's search function
Setting up a "news" column in Tweetdeck or HootSuite (i.e., a dedicated news column focusing on all the news sources you follow)
A Powerful Fast Response Distribution Channel. When it comes to publicizing and "pushing out" newsjacking blog posts quickly, Twitter rules. Remember, journalists search Twitter to find differentiating second paragraph content.
Use Twitter Hashtags (#). Therfore, include hashtags (the pound key - #) in your tweets to mark them with the unique identifier about a particular subject (i.e., #Cairo). Remember, the hashtag, makes it easier for journalists to instantly locate in Twitter all references to a particular topic. Plus, tweets with hashtags are curated in reverse chronological order (i.e., most recent first).
Twitter Can Help You Directly Contact a Journalist. Most journalists provide or publish their Twitter ID (i.e.@firstnamelastname). Verify their Twitter ID with a quick Google search. Then, include his/her Twitter ID in your tweet so you can directly point him/her to your blog post.
I studied Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel from cover to cover. And, I loved every word. My one regret: I didn’t start reading / studying it sooner.
An Important and Valuable Book. Don’t make my mistake. Six Pixels of Separation belongs in the digital marketing and leadership library of any Fortune 500 executive, small business owner, or entrepreneur who is driven to forge an organization on the principles of trust and community.
This review focuses on seven (7) pearls of wisdom from the book. But, there are so many more.
I hope this review inspires you to:
Purchase the book and study it
Share it with your family, friends, and colleagues
A 3-Pronged Approach: Building, Differentiating, and Auditing Your Personal Brand. Chapter 7: You Are Media (pages 124 – 142) is the most important chapter of the book. It focuses on how individuals can create, promote, and differentiate their personal brands by publishing digital content.
Mitch provides detailed guidance on these key branding activities:
Build a 3D Personal Brand (pages 134 – 135)
Differentiate Your Personal Brand Via a 15-Point Personal Brand Questionnaire (page 129)
Audit Your Personal Brand in the Online World (pages 139 – 141)
In the following video (timestamp 1:53 to 3:10; note there's a short advertisement in the beginning), Mitch describes how organizational brands or individual brands can market themselves in online channels by:
Participating in online conversations
Providing valuable content
Helping other people connect and engage with others
You Are a Broadcast Network. Page 137 states why we are all individual media companies:
“Individuals are creating content; the individuals are the media. The media they are creating are also a form of advertising.”
“It made me wonder: why would Robert Scoble accept a “friends invitation” from people he does not know? Why do you want to be connected to people you don’t know and alert them to stuff you’re doing? And then it hit me! Robert Scoble is media. He’s building his own broadcast network. He understands that media is completely fragmented and, by participating in all these new social communication vehicles (blogging, Twitter, Pownce, Facebook), he’s aggregating readers and viewers, thereby increasing his penetration and his worth as media.”
2. We Are All Intrinsically Connected
Six Degrees of Separation Applies to Traditional Media. On page 4, Mitch explains that today's technology and digital channels enable people to know everyone because:
“We are all intrinsically connected through technology, the Internet, and our mobile devices.”
“We are all a click (or pixel) away from one another.”
“This means that building relationships and turning those relationships into an online community is more important than ever before.”
He describes the Six Pixels of Separation Concept in the following video (timestamp: 0:08 to 1:37; note there's a short advertisement in the beginning):
Geographical Boundaries No Longer Apply. Watch the following video. It describes the true story of how the rock band, Journey, found its new lead singer via YouTube. The new lead singer lived in the Philippines (and didn’t speak a word of English). The story starts around 40 seconds into the video:
3. Digital Marketing Is About Being Slow
In Praise of Slow. Pages 31 – 34 contain my favorite Six Pixels quotes. Why? All of the lessons reinforce a long-term approach / attitude in building a credible digital presence. The misconception about digital marketing versus traditional marketing is digital results could be achieved faster and cheaper:
“Yes, you can make fast decisions, see fast results, and optimize and change things on the fly, but real tangible results take time. You can’t quickly start a blog and get results right away. It takes time to build your content, find your voice, develop a community, and earn trust and respect.”
Time Invested Drives New Media Opportunities. On page 5, he describes how the time invested in building online communities and reputations determines success in online channels (not how much money is dumped in advertising and PR):
“The new online channels will work for you as long as your are working for them by adding value, your voice, and the ability for your consumers to connect, engage, and take part.”
Eight (8) Years of Blog Posts and Hundreds of Podcasts. Mitch started publishing the Six Pixels of Separation Blog in 2003. At the time of the book’s 2009 publication, the Twist Image Team published 200+ podcasts.
On pages 184 to 185, Mitch comments on the time and and work invested:
“None of this was easy to accomplish. It was (and is) hard work and very time consuming, but we have achieved great results from these efforts, and it has differentiated us and brought us out of the bloody red sea of interactive agencies and into a blue ocean (even though, on some days, it feels more lie a pond) of what the agency of the future should look like.”
Watch This Interview About In Praise of Slow (time stamp 2:30 to 5:00). Pay special attention to what Mitch says about In Praise of Slow along with his blog’s role in lead generation and client acquisition:
4. Influencers of Content Value: Time, Search Engines, Linking, and Sharing
Content’s Slow, Steady Process and the Link to Search Engines. Page 33 contains an important lesson on how content earns favorable search engine rankings:
“The older the content, the longer it has been online and searchable through the engines, the more people who have linked to it, shared, and tagged it, the more valuable it is. Content that ranks at the top of Google does not get there because of how new and fresh it it is. Content rises to the top of Google based on how long it has been available and how valuable it has been to the online community.”
“It’s a slow and steady process that makes content rise to the top of the search engines.”
Speed Is a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tactic. Page 33 discusses why speed is important in online publishing. Key points about speed include:
* Speed gets your content is indexed in search engines as fast as possible.
* The sooner your content is available through search, the sooner people will find it, and the sooner it will become valuable.
* Posting your content fast means you can gain the efficiencies of content’s slow, steady process faster.
5. Attention Does Not Equal Trust
They’re Not the Same. Think about celebrities, politicians, athletes, etc. who garner significant attention. Do you trust them? Probably not. Being the center of attention is not a sustainable long term strategy.
Digital Marketing Is Not a One-Night Stand (page 34). It’s about TRUST. It’s about building real, genuine relationships with both your current consumers and potential consumers.
“There’s no such thing as an overnight sensation. Everything you’ve seen in business as an overnight sensation was, in effect, decades in the making.”
“The digital social spaces are built on trust and trust alone.Trust is always built slowly over time.”
Earning Trust. Pages 167 to 169 discuss earning and sustaining trust once your online participation receives attention. Mitch writes “to use the Web in a human way.”
* Be Helpful. Helping others online is how you turn attention into trust. Remember, the Web is built on reciprocity.
* Be Sincere. Helping others without expecting anything in return is the right attitude. Helpful and sincere people are valuable community members – just like in the real world.
6. Traffic Does Not Equal Community
Be Wary of The Mass Media Complex. Driving more traffic is good. But, the ultimate goal is not solely about achieving large numbers.
In the following video, Mitch discusses the mass media complex (e.g., appealing to everyone or trying to attract millions). Pay attention to his explanation from time stamp 0:40 to 0:57 (especially about how Six Pixels of Separation targets the digital marketing and social media community):
Focus on Building Community. The thought here similarly applies to the one about attention does not equal trust. On page 166, Mitch writes:
“Keep in mind that many people who have lots of traffic really don’t have much community at all. In fact, hunting for the traffic can be a game of diminishing returns. To really evolve and maintain, focus on the five new community members (who will, we hope, become lifetime customers) versus the 55,000 who might float in and right out simply because of an orphan link that someone posted somewhere. Namely, they were interested in your content for about five seconds, but now they are gone.”
“The long-term game of sustainability in the online channels is one of quality versus quantity.”
7. The Golden Rule
Say Thank You. Pages 41 to 42 and 210 to 212, reinforce the importance of (1) monitoring mentions of your product / service AND (2) expressing thanks to the people sharing your content:
If someone mentions you, it is now your duty -- at the very least -- to leave a comment back on their blog (or email them directly), letting them know you are reading, paying attention, and most importantly, appreciative of their mentioning you.
As much as you physically can, respond and be thankful to everyone who takes the time to mention you.
Make this your golden rule, and make a commitment that you will never break it.
It Shows You're Human. Practicing The Golden Rule shows others you're listening, responsive, and appreciative. In all human interactions, isn't that the goal? Make it the norm not the exception in your digital interactions.
And, Mitch Joel is a Man of His Word. These acknowledgements from Mitch show how he practices The Golden Rule:
Members of the Social Media ReInvention Blog Community understand I'm an enthusiastic student and fan of David Meerman Scott. In numerous posts, I've referenced David and his latest book, Real Time Marketing & PR.
1. The New Competitive Advantage is Speed & Agility
Leverage and Respond to Real-Time News Events. Companies and individuals who leverage current news events to instantaneously communicate with customers (as these events unfold) hold a distinct competitive advantage over larger, bigger budget rivals. These larger rivals value size and scale (not speed). And, that distinction provides significant opportunity for competitive differentiation.
Real-Time Responsiveness Differentiates Important Service Capabilities. Applications of real-time competitive differentiation include:
Using direct and swift communications in customer service
Preparing for and moving quickly in crisis communications (aka disaster recovery situations)
Developing and testing new products / service offerings
Creating an organizational culture valuing speed and open communications
The Link to Important Business Objectives. All of the aforementioned capabilities achieve one or several of the following business objectives:
Acquiring new customers (e.g., enabiling additional lead generation)
Strengthening existing customer relationships
2. A Mindset of Real-Time Competitiveness
The Real-Time Mindset Means Thinking Differently. Here's my graphical interpretation of David's description of the real-time mindset (page 34):
Blink and You've Lost the Advantage. Gaining (or losing) the competitive advantage depends on WHENyou react/respond to breaking news events. Pages 29 thru 31 explain why ultra-fast, first movers win in real-time deployment:
The Real-Time Marketing & PR Power Law
The Real-Time Law of Law of Normal Distribution
3. Select Your Real-Time Platforms Carefully
Real-Time Differentiation and Capability Isn't Always Obvious - Just Ask Twitter Co-Founder Evan Williams. I conducted a back-of-the-envelope analysis of the real-time tools most often cited in Real-Time Marketing & PR. Hands-down, the real-time winner is Twitter.
"We didn't know what we were at first. I think it's pretty clear now that Twitter is a real-time information network (e.g., any previous confusion about Twitter being a social network or Facebook is now over)."
Throughout his book, David provides several examples describing how Twitter, TweetDeck and HootSuite are used for important real-time functions:
Monitoring conversations
Responding directly to current customers or new, potential customers
Directing Twitter audience members to long form channels (i.e., the company blog or YouTube) for more details
The New Media Life Cycle Helps in Evaluating the Right Real-Time Platforms (and Avoiding the Wrong Ones). Pages 131 to 135 highlight input and data from Andrew Davis, Chief Strategy Officer at Tippingpoint Labs. Davis explains the New Media Life Cycle as the adoption of any platform (blogging, microblogging, photo sharing, or live video streaming) or content distribution channel (YouTube.com, Slideshare.com, Flickr.com, or Twitter.com).
The New Media Life Cycle openly tracks and analyzes an online platform's current life cycle phase in seven (7) distinct phases:
Experiment
Adopt
Gestate
Escalate
Monetize
Consolidate
Maintain
Early Adopters / First Movers Win. Early adopters understand The New Media Life Cycle, and exploit it to their competitive advantage. They know participating early in an emerging social network matters. Page 134 expains the secret to becoming well known on a social media network is to participate in one that's growing quickly, but is still in the early stage. A perfect example is the fast-growing Empire Avenue - The Social Media Exchange.
Remember Second Life? They're not a Real-Time Player (but Twitter is). Tippingpoint Labs and Google Insights provide data driven examples showing why Second Life is already past its prime (page 134). But, Twitter continues growing and is an outstanding real-time platform (page 135).
4. Managing Crisis Communications Means Real-Time Speed
The Money Insights of Real-Time Marketing & PR. The insights shared on crisis communications and disaster recovery are worth the purchase price alone. Why? The situations described in the book can happen to all of us. No one is immune in a digital age.
In my opinion, these sections require careful study:
Chapter 7: Crisis Communications and the Media (pages 71-81)
Chapter 8: What are People Saying About You This Instant? (pages 92-94)
Build Your Media and Journalist Contacts NOW. David explains how too few organizations (particularly the larger ones) fail to build media and journalist relationships before they need them (i.e., contacts with analysts, editors, and reporters).
Credibility and Trust with Media Contacts Requires Time. A communications crisis requires speed and focus (so you have little to no time). In addition, you compound risk by introducing yourself to your media contacts for the first time.
Five Ways to Build Media and Journalist Relationships. Build your media and journalist relationships before you need them. David provides the following suggestions:
Follow the Publications and Its Journalists
Comment on Their Stories and Blog Posts
Introduce Yourself Via Email
Follow Journalists on Twitter and Engage Them in Conversation
Earn Their Respect by Providing Valuable Content and Information (e.g. No Spam)
When Disaster Strikes, Refer to the Real-Time Communications Checklist. David provides a 9-Point Crisis Communications Checklist. All of his suggestions should be implemented before the crisis hits:
Assigning a crisis communications team
Gathering and storing key contact information inside and outside your organization
Delegating who's the organization's lead communicator
Responding through multiple real-time, online channels (i.e., company blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
IMPORTANT: Respond in the same online medium spawning the crisis. If the event happened in YouTube, respond with your own YouTube video.
5. Real-Time Organizations Have Communication Guidelines
Developing Real-Time Communications Guidelines and Roles in Your Organization. Pages 171 -172 provide an 8-Step Checklist for creating and implementing guidelines. In addition on pages 175 - 176, David introduces his take on a new senior executive position: Chief Real Time Communications Officer. On page 176, he explains the job description in a 14-point bulleted list.
IBM, The U.S. Air Force, and Telstra Succeed as Real-Time Communicators. Pages 161 - 173 describe how each organization uses real-time communications, empowers their employees, and publicly shares their guidelines. IBM's guidelines are shared on pages 162 - 170.
Here are hyperlinks and titles of the communications guidelines for these organizations:
Fortune 500 Executives Please Read This Book. Real-Time Marketing & PR is essential and required reading for C-Level executives, communications, marketing, and public relations professionals. As stated earlier, the disaster recovery and crisis communications advice shared makes it a worthwhile investment (especially if you hold that responsibility for a Fortune 500 organization).
Leaders of Small or Medium-Sized Can Outflank the Fortune 500. David describes how small and medium-sized businesses are practicing real-time communications and ringing their respective cash registers. Their commitment to real-time marketing and PR is how they're outflanking their larger Fortune 500 competitors.
Have You Read This Important Book? If you haven't, you're at a key disadvantage relative to competitors. If you have, I'd love to read your comments. Please let me know what you learned (especially the points I failed to capture in this review -- there are so many)!
Part 6 of The Business Value Behind Social Media focuses on the use of social media in disaster recovery and crisis communications. Chris Brogan, Charlene Li, David Meerman Scott, and Martin Giles (moderator) discuss how organizations should:
* Respond quickly and use the same online channel in which the event occurs
* Learn from the Motrin Moms and how Johnson & Johnson responded
* Learn from Chris Brogan's personal experience with negative backlash
* Understand United Airlines' poor response to the United Breaks Guitars YouTube Video
The panel's discussion on this topic takes place from 51:04 to 55:32 of the embedded video. Where appropriate, I've also supplemented this post with entries from Open Leadership by Charlene Li and Real Time Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott.
Respond Quickly in the Same Medium Where the Crisis Takes Place
Online Crisis Management Requires Speed (51:25 - 51:47). David emphasizes responding as quickly as possible is crucial. Running your responses through various departments (aka Legal, HR, CFO, etc.) slows things down. The longer you take to respond, the more your organization looks guilty or non-human. Non-responsiveness is quickly interpreted as the typical, corporate "no comment" response.
Respond in the Same Social Media Channel (51:48 - 52:35). If the event occurs in YouTube, publish a YouTube video response to your detractor(s). Issuing a press release as the response is a mistake. If someone writes a blog post criticizing your organization, go directly to that blog and post a comment. Don't make the mistake of conducting a radio interview to tell your side of the story. The response medium counts just as much as your response time.
Chapter 8: What are People Saying About You This Instant
Chapter 9: Tap the Crowd for Quick Action
Learn from the Motrin Moms and How Johnson & Johnson Reponded
Upsetting a Vocal Population Segment (52:36 - 53:12). Chris explains that whether or not the circumstances were right/wrong is not the point. Johnson & Johnson took action because the advertisement garnered a lot of negative attention within the "mommy blogger" community.
Background on Motrin Moms Situation (from pages 231 to 233 of Open Leadership by Charlene Li). In the fall of 2008 McNeil Consumer Healthcare posted a commercial on its motrin.com web site. Charlene points out the advertisement appeared on the site for six weeks with hardly a comment. However, one consumer took offence.
And, that's when all hell broke loose ...
How Johnson & Johnson Responded. On pages 232 and 233 of Open Leadership, Charlene writes how Johnson & Johnson admitted its mistake and immediately took the advertisement from its website. It also responded in two social media channels during the event:
Channel #1: The JNJ Corporate Blog.Key marketing executives posted apologies and updates on The JNJBTW blog. Here are links to these posts:
Channel #2: Twitter.One of the marketing VPs reached out to key mommy bloggers on Twitter.
"Real-Time Means Moving in Matters of Minutes Rather Than Hours." This is a paraphrased quote from Marc Monseau, Director of Social Media for Johnson & Johnsonon page 233 of Open Leadership. It underscores the importance of response time and online monitoring. The following quote from Monseau also on page 233 of Open Leadership speaks volumes:
"There are more and more businesses taking a hard look at what they need to structure, to create a program, and at least beginning to listen to the conversation. The Motrin Moms situation really reinforced the importance of starting to really listen and to observe more carefully."
Learn From Chris Brogan's Personal Experience
Background on the Online Situation (53:14 - 53:43).On pages 230 to 232 of his book Trust Agents, Chris describes a social media campaign he participated in with Kmart. This campaign helped Kmart achieve some of its best results in years. However, Chris received significant criticism from the blogger community.
The Source of Criticism: A Sponsored Post Chris Wrote on Kmart's Behalf. On page 231, Julien Smith (Trust Agents co-author), writes: "All sponsored posts had always been disclosed before, but the dollar amounts involved had never been public. In readers' eyes, this somehow crossed the line between social and marketing norms." On page 232, Julien points out the key learning: "In this case, we discovered that there are agreements, often implicit, between people and that these social contracts need to be clear and understood at all times."
Understand United Airlines' Poor Response to "United Breaks Guitars"
In case you haven't seen the United Breaks Guitars Video, here it is:
A Non-Response Makes Your Organization Look Less than Human (53:44 - 54:17). David points out how a lack of responsiveness is perceived as the typical, corporate response of "No Comment." Approximately 10 million views (and counting) of this video occurred. What's worse is United's lack of responsiveness only reinforced the negative portrayal of treating its passengers and their belongings poorly.
United Had No Previous History of Posting Videos on YouTube (54:18 - 55:10). According to Charlene, this is the reason why United decided not to post its own video response. No previous relationship existed on this social media channel so United felt like "it couldn't just show up." However, David disagrees. In his opinion, United should have at least responsed by a blog post or some other social media channel.
Conclusion
When a negative, online event involves your organization, remember three (3) things:
Respond quickly
Publish the response in the SAME online medium where the event took place
At a minimum, execute #1 in at least one relevant social media channel
Is it fair, what happened to United Airlines? Not entirely. But, they executed none of the above. Fair or unfair, the court of public opinion has little sympathy for large corporations when they fail to respond:
COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION Lack of Response + Viral, Social Media Evidence = Guilty
Still, the negative PR impact of this event is inescapable. I can think of approximately 10 million reasons / YouTube views why.
What Do You Think? Thank you for reading this far (if you didn't fall asleep). Please tell me what you think. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Part 4 discusses how companies late to social media marketing can get started. Key starting points suggested by the panel include:
* The Importance of Linking Social Media Strategy to Corporate Strategy
* Before You Create Content, Listen and Participate
* Figure Out Where Relevant Customer Conversations are Taking Place
* Define the Business Goals or Results to Achieve with Social Media
This post focuses on the panel's key take-aways and discussion from 29:00 - 36:56 of the embedded video.
Link the Social Media Strategy to the Overall Corporate Strategy
Apply and Coordinate Individual Social Media Channels to Strategic Execution (32:57 - 33:18). Charlene explains that corporate strategy isn't just about what the company does operationally. It's about how the company coordinates the overall strategy with all the different functional strategies.
Link the Social media Strategy to the Overall Corporate Strategy (33:19 - 33:49). Having a Facebook strategy or social media channel strategy in itself is missing the point. The key is having a corporate strategy that the organization applies Facebook participation or social media channel tactics to.
Before You Create Content, Listen and Participate
We Can Learn a Lot by Listening (33:51 - 34:12). David Meerman Scott mentions two (2) things companies can do as they begin their social media participation:
* Watch what's already going on online and and understand who's doing what
* Learn who's talking about your brand, your company, your products, and your industry
Take Baby Steps and Use Other People's Real Estate (34:13 - 34:18). Deploy your social media initiatives gradually. There's nothing wrong with commenting on people's blogs and participating in forums first before creating your own channel-specific content.
A Common Mistake - Undefined Purpose (34:19 - 34:39). A common mistake David observes among companies -- jumping into social media and establishing a Twitter account, or a YouTube Channel, or a couple of blogs without defining each social media channel's purpose. This just ends up being an uncoordinated mess. That's why it's important to take your time to understand what your customers are doing online before undertaking larger the online initiatives (i.e., writing and managing a blog).
Where Are Your Customer Conversations Taking Place
Go Where Your Customers Are (28:23 - 29:29). Understanding where your customers converse in social media channels is key. Why? Charlene says this knowledge can help define a specific channel's overall purpose.
As an example, many B2B companies say they don't use Facebook in social media strategy because Facebook is a B2C medium. But, what if the company decided to use Facebook specifically for hiring.
Determine the Social Media Echo Chambers by Country (29:30 - 30:42). The panel notes that each geographic region has its own predominant social media channels:
United States: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube
Japan: Mixi.jp
Netherlands: Hyves.nl
David references the phenomenon that when it comes to a specific social media platform there's usually one dominant player. Therefore, invest your time building a presence on the dominant platforms:
Video = YouTube
Microblogging = Twitter
Social Networking (especially B2C) = Facebook
Define the Business Goal(s) You Want to Achieve With Social Media
Start with Specific Goals Targeted to Your Current Customers / Fans (34:54 - 35:20). Chris suggests defining goals focusing on either customer retention or new customer acquisition. As an example, Chris noted how the choice and purpose of using Facebook as a social media channel completely depends on the stated goal. If your objective is customer retention of current customers, maybe your purpose on this channel is massaging people. That tone of interaction is far different than the mood you'd be setting if the objective was new customer retention.
This is why it's so important to understand where your existing customers or new customers are conversing online. It makes no sense to invest time and resources in building a new channel / community if the target audience is already talking to each other in an established place.
Particpate in the Online Conversation Because the Phone's Ringing (35:20 - 35:39). The analogy Chris makes with social media is to think of each individual channel or community as a "ringing telephone." If you're still sitting on the sidelines by not participating in social media, you're essentially leaving the phone unanswered (and your its your existing customers or new potential customers who are on the other end of the phone line).
Sustainable, Long Term Success Requires a B-H-A-G
B-H-A-G Means Big, Hairy, Audacious, Goal (35:40 - 36:49). Charlene says this is the long term planning or vision part of your social media strategy. Without an understanding of the vision, your team may be setting up its social media initiatives incorrectly.
* Think thoughtfully about what this all could really be?
* What / How could social media transform my organization?
* What will our customer relationships look like?
* What's the overall impact on our business?
In other words, your company's individual B-H-A-G could be what inspires or provides the strategic foundation for the desired outcome.
If Corporate Fear Sets In, Always Envision What Could Happen If You Succeed.Charlene points to how the Best Buy TwelpForce initiative is transformational game changer. Many organizations would say an initiative like that is incredibly scary. BUT, the outcome is delivering an outstanding customer service experience that other retail competitors are not providing. This success did not occur overnight. It took Best Buy four (4) years to get where they are now.
The potential business outcome could be a powerful and inspirational rallying point which aligns all team members around what you want to achieve with social media.
Conclusion
Goal-setting and objectives are a common emphasized theme throughout The Business Value Behind Social Media series. Defining the business outcomes and results your company wants to achieve with social media should be determined and then prioritized.
Once you know what you want to achieve as a business outcome, it becomes clearer how to:
* Link the social media strategy to the overall corporate strategy
* Understand what you should be listening for in online customer conversations
* And once you know what to listen for in customer conversations, it can help you figure out where the online conversations are taking place.
For example, if you're a B2C company, you're probably being talked about in Facebook. If you're a B2b company, there's an increased likelihood conversations are taking place in LinkedIn Forums or LinkedIn Discussion Groups.
You may experience and achieve online visibility initially by just "jumping into social media. "But, if you want to be a relevant, long-term, online player, you better start figuring out your company's B-H-A-G to inspire the troops.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you will stop by next Saturday for Part 5: How to Measure Social Media's Impact on Your Business.
I love studying books on social media and digital marketing. They provide sources of inspiration for this blog, and constantly stimulate my creativity on the people and events driving marketing reinvention.
If you're looking for some last-minute Christmas gifts for a family member, friend, or colleague who loves learning about social media or digital marketing, here's a list of books I recommend.
Social Media and Digital Marketing Books I've Studied, Written Reviews On, or Cited in this Blog
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (Many don't consider this book a social media / digital marketing resource. I do because of the word-of-mouth insights Gladwell writes about particularly in the chapter on Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen)
Social Media and Digital Marketing Books I'm Studying Now
I hope you find these resources helpful, and if you've read some or all of these books please let me know your thoughts by submitting a comment.
Any books you'd recommend or suggest I add to this list? I'd love to hear your suggestions. Please let me know what you learned and enjoyed about that particular book(s).
Many thanks for being part of this community and may you and your families have a Safe and Merry Christmas!
I recently wrote a blog post titled: 3 Social Media Tips for Oogy -- The Dog Only a Family Could Love. I wrote this post because I wanted other people to discover this moving and inspiring book about a very special dog and the people who rescued him. The post was my small contribution to promote the book and hopefully increase its public awareness via social media. I have no personal or business relationship with the book's author and its publishers. I just love this book and its beautiful story.
After publishing this post on November 1st (late evening), I sent out this message via Twitter on November 3rd (mid-day):
I couldn't predict what happened next. In my opinion, I think the following events and findings are an example of the real-time power of trust and influence in online communities.
Thursday, November 4th (approximately 10:30 AM Central Time) My wife calls me at work and says my blog post is posted on Oogy's Facebook Page! Unbelievable! I was busy at work so I couldn't go to Facebook until later in the afternoon.
Thursday, November 4th (a little after 4 PM Central Time) I checked Oogy's Facebook Page and look what I find -- I was thrilled and honored! People even commented on the link posted by Mr. Levin (the author of the book and Oogy's owner). I left my own Facebook comment thanking Mr. Levin and Oogy for their kindness and generosity in linking to my blog, and I commented on how Oogy's book genuinely inspired and moved me.
That evening and over the next few days, I asked myself the following questions:
* What could be the potential impact on my blog post traffic due to Oogy's inbound link and personal referral to his growing legion of Facebook Fans (9,550+ and growing)?
* What type of real-time influence do Oogy and Mr. Levin have with their Facebook Fans online behaviors (i.e., positive / negative)?
* Is there a way to quickly measure the impact of this real-time influence?
Here's my analysis in addressing these questions using some of the basic features of Google Analytics.
Finding #1: Oogy's Facebook Fans Trusted His Referral to My Post
Why? Mr. Levin inserted the link to my blog post on his own. In my tweet, I made no solicitation or request for an inbound link. The purpose of my tweet was to bring the attention of Mr. Levin's book and my blog post to my Twitter Followers (and it's a modest 400+ following). Mr. Levin and Oogy's inbound link was confirmation that I wasn't some spammy website.
And maybe, they thought I had some worthwhile content to share ...
As a bonus, here are some of my favorite articles covering trust and online word-of-mouth (WOM):
Finding #2: If Readers Trust the Source, Positive Word Travels at Real-Time Speed
Here's some back-of-the envelope analysis with Google Analytics on how quickly Oogy's Facebook Fans clicked on Mr. Levin's inbound link to access my blog post. These fans were clearly positively influenced by Mr. Levin and Oogy's referral because they didn't take long in accessing my blog:
* Date/Time Inbound Link was Posted on Oogy's Facebook Page - November 4th, 8:31 AM Eastern Time (assumption because Mr. Levin lives in the Philadelphia, PA area)
* Date/Time of 1st Facebook Visitor's Click to My Blog Post - November 4th, 9:00 AM Eastern Time (my Google Analytics Time Settings are in Central Time so I did the conversion here)
* Real-Time Elapsed Between Inbound Link Post and 1st Visitor Visits - Less than 30 minutes. This 1st visit could have come even faster but I can only measure visitor traffic in Google Analytics on an hourly basis. I examined data from another web analytics tool, and that tool tells me the post was accessed six (6) times within the first 5 minutes of the Facebook inbound link's placement.
The swift reaction by Oogy's Facebook Fans to access my blog post emphasizes the real-time speed of the World Wide Web. David Meerman Scott has published a recent series of blog posts and a new eBook on the World Wide Web's power in real-time marketing and communications for individuals and organizations. You can access the links here:
Finding #3: Oogy's Fans Actually Read The Blog Post -- How Cool!
This made me feel really good. It looks like these new visitors took time to read the article, and I believe the referral from Mr. Levin and Oogy had a lot to do with that.
Conclusion
Oogy's Facebook Fans came to my blog and read my post because they trusted the referral from Oogy and Mr. Levin. These fans didn't come to my blog because they knew me, or because I'm a widely known blogger. I'm just starting out in blogging, and I'm trying to build a loyal following and positive reputation one blog post at a time.
It's telling how Oogy's Fans literally arrived at my site in 30 minutes or less after Mr. Levin posted his inbound link to my blog. The real-time power and influence of trust is truly a driving and powerful force in online communities.
The opinions blogged herein represent only those of Tony Faustino and do not reflect those of his employer, persons or companies mentioned herein, or anyone else. The posts on this blog are provided "as is" with no warranties and confer no rights.
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