Small Business Social Media Part One V Draft

Customers don’t listen to advertising. (how do you get them?)

Customers are talking back. (how do you keep them happy?)

Customers know more. (how do you add value?)

Why do social media?

McKinsey says:

“ Their responses suggest why Web 2.0 remains of high interest: 69 percent of respondents report that their companies have gained measurable business benefits, including more innovative products and services, more effective marketing, better access to knowledge, lower cost of doing business, and higher revenues.”

McKinsey & Co June 2009 survey

Traditional media:

You pay, I talk, you listen

Interactive media:

You and I talk

Social media:

Everyone talk to each other while I get coffee

Identity

Who?

What?

Where?

Reputation

Any good?

Can I trust?

Who says?

You need to understand how both are changing… (and that’s what this is about)

Is This All There Is?

No.

Advertising, marketing, building awareness – all of those obviously matter. And there are social media hooks for doing each of these.

But there’s a hierarchy:

Get found

Don’t get trashed

Do more with whatever time and money you have left after doing these.

You used to own your identity.

(bought and paid for…)

Where is your identity today?

Shifting from:

Print Directories

Print Ads

Your Web Site

To

Online local directories (Google, Yahoo, Citysearch, Yelp…)

Search engine records in Google / Yahoo

You don’t own or control all of these.

But you still have to actively manage all of them…

(that’s the core takeaway of this presentation)

Today, identity is search. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. Most people try and manage their sites and their ads . But you are often found and presented in the context of systems other people own. Maybe – just maybe - you should be focused on managing your identity instead …

How do shoppers find you?

Search Engines (31%)

Print Yellow Pages or White Pages (30%)

Internet Yellow Pages Sites (19%)

Local Search Sites (11%)

Over 30% of the customers who find you don’t find your website or your ads…

Source: Oct 2008 study, TMP Directional Marketing

Do you need your own web site?

Could you get found perfectly well on Google, Yahoo, Yelp, Citysearch…?

Lots of reasons to have a site (just like the reasons to have an attractive storefront).

But is it for everybody?

Is it the be-all-end-all of your marketing?

No. The strongest identity you can afford is the be-all-end-all of your marketing efforts.

Reputation matters more.

It used to only matter f2f (that’s Face To Face)

… which meant building or changing it was slow.

… and because it was verbal, it did not persist.

… and relatively few people knew about it.

For better …

“… Yes, indeed, Frank, my new favorite locksmith, was here yesterday afternoon, just when the movers left. He worked on all the locks and got me new keys and reprogrammed the garage door opener. And told me where the best Mexican food is to be found locally (future review) and chatted with me about local events & all kinds of stuff. So happy to be your new neighbor, Frank! You did a magnificent job on my locks & general safety issues for an extremely reasonable price & I highly recommend you to anyone and everyone!”

- Hermosa Lock & Safe, reviewed on Yelp.com

… and worse.

“ Flam's is terrible! Five hundred dollars later, the door still doesn't lock and they won't come back to fix it without charging a minimum of another $160 and who knows how much more after that. (Who's ever heard of a lock that needs twice a year housecalls when the weather changes... does the weather even change in LA?)

They have bad customer service too, although honestly I don't care how unprofessional they are- all I wanted was a lock that works more than a few months.

Hire someone else! “

- Flam’s Key Service, reviewed on Yelp

What’s your reputation worth? - June 2005:

Blogger Jeff Jarvis (disclosure: friend of mine) buys a Dell computer, and has some problems.

Dell customer service is - unhelpful.

Dell stock is at 40.3 ; HP stock is at 22.68

November 2005:

Jeff’s blog post has been cited by Business Week, NY Times, PC World, the Guardian UK, Adweek, and other mainstream media.

Dell’s reaction? It shuts down its message boards and issues press releases .

The market’s reaction? Dell 29.24 , HP 28.79

Eventually, Dell lost ~ $36 Billion in market cap.

Why did Dell get in trouble?

Because they didn’t know what their customers thought of them

They talked ‘at’ their customers, they didn’t converse ‘with’ them.

© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. Blogs didn’t cause Dell’s problems. The problems were there and customers were mad – but unheard. No one at Dell – or outside Dell – listened to them. Once the media started talking about them – triggered in part by Jeff’s blog posts – then they had quite an impact.

Managing Your Reputation

What’s your strategy for dealing with people who say nice things?

Who say bad things?

… what if no one says anything at all?

Start By Observing

To find your reputation online, first check:

Google

Yahoo

Yelp.com

Citysearch.com

Superpages.com

Yellowpages.com

Reinforce the Positive

Find the people who say positive things, and reach out to them. Offer an appreciative comment, send a personal email, send them a coupon for $5 off the next time they come.

It’s not the economic value that matters; it’s the fact that you’re paying attention.

Embrace the Negative

Find the people who say negative things, and reach out to them too. Why they are unhappy? If you can – make it right. If you can’t, explain what you learned and what you will do differently. Send a personal email, send them a coupon for $5 off the next time they come.

Just like the positive comment - it’s not the economic value that matters; it’s the fact that you’re paying attention.

Why is that so great?

(other than because it’s funny)…

EA was paying attention – it was listening to what it’s customers were saying.

They didn’t make excuses, duck the issue, or stonewall.

They took something embarrassing and cleverly made an ad out of it. This video on Youtube has had 3.9 million views, and it’s basically an ad for the brand and the flawed game.

Ask So They’ll Tell

Approach all your customers and let them know that you want to know what they think; that you’re checking online.

Encourage them to tell others what they think of you. Hand out a card that tells them how to do it and where.

Just like the positive or negative comment - it’s the fact that you’re paying attention that matters.

Scaling. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. Major corporate sites get hundreds of thousands (or millions) of visits a day. Small business sites may get dozens of visits a day. A corporate blogger for Microsoft may get ten thousand visitors a day, and have thousands of followers on Twitter. Lots of conversations are inevitible. A small business blogger faces this problem…

First, Claim Your Identity

The major directory sites –

Google

Yahoo

Citysearch

Yelp

Yellowpages.com

All allow you to ‘claim’ your business entry.

You can add content, correct data, and describe your business. Do this now.

Next, some actions and tools

Here are three concrete tasks that will help you manage your identity and reputation online.

Every 6 months, make a plan.

Every day, check the Web.

As needed, engage.

Review the performance of what you have today – how much traffic, how many conversions.

Decide if you want your own website or if you will maintain identity with your entries on local search.

Hone the description of your identity on local search sites; optimize your own site if you have one. Do this every three or six months!

Set up keyword “agents” on Google and Yahoo for your business name and your key competitors’ business names, as well as industry terms.

Google search on news, blogs, discussion groups. Once in a while, check the results against another search engine (Ask, Yahoo). Search on local search sites.

Do this every day – set aside fifteen minutes and just do it .

Write up some ‘thank you’ messages to people who say nice things.

Come up with a checklist of questions for users who were unhappy – when, what went wrong, who did you talk to – and send a message and some questions to everyone who criticizes you.