Cocoa Krispies will help your child’s “IMMUNITY.” Really Kelloggs?
So now I’ve heard everything.
Kellogg’s product box copy and the timing of the release implies that eating Cocoa Krispies makes children immune to swine flu*.
No wonder businesses are cringing when it comes to social media and online business strategies. If an institution like Kelloggs feels they can stretch the truth this far…
What about blatant Social Media impostering? How do you find the real performers in the Social Media game? Is “too good to be true” keeping you on the sidelines? Don’t let it.
Inflated claims can be countered with common sense and validation of substance.
Last weekend was Halloween trick or treating, where a residence had re-wrapped generic giveaway treats with “exotic brand” foil. The anticipation and expectation was high, the stuff tasted terrible.
What are your expectations and are they being met?
What is the level of your businesses common sense?
Do you have the expertise and the capacity to tell the posers in costumes from the proven performers in Social Media?
Given all the layoffs in the world, we shouldn’t be surprised that there is a layer of work-from-home-out-of -job sector that has decided to become web experts. The ethic of “make outrageous claims and they will become real” seems to be standard practice for many hopeful participants.
People hawking tools and gadgets are all over the place. No work required, get rich quick with Twitter claims aren’t helping.
You don’ t have to subject your company to this churn or risk.
You can conduct your due diligence and find a reputable and proven results resource to help you navigate the new world paradigm of social media.
Look for proven history. Depth and breadth results. Consistency.
Social media is simply the new environment in which to use these age old survival tools. The Social Media Environment is geometric and very fast – however it CAN be successfully navigated with a bit of training.
No one hit wonders. No snake oil texture or fishy smells.
Is this Karma for centuries of dubious marketing claims? Last week Kellogg’s got called on the carpet for their ludicrous product box statement that ”Cocoa Krispies will help your child’s “IMMUNITY.”
My household instantly became immune to purchasing anything from Kelloggs, if only for ethical reasons. Would you really trust ingesting a product from that kind of food company? Perhaps Kellogg marketing really would try and coattail a pandemic, or perhaps they created the situation to get negative PR .
I’m actually very surprised that POST or General Mills didn’t jump all over this online. Kellogg just handed over market share to the astute competitor. The fact that this story is all over the web is proof that Social Media impacts all aspects of a corporation. CEO’s – can you hear us now?
Social Media is about transparency and TRUST.
How many of you are familiar with the name Victor Lustig? He’s known as the man who sold the Eiffel Tower back in 1925 to an unwitting scrap metal dealer who believed the story that the city could no longer afford upkeep on the tower and was dismantling it. Lustig simply posed as an authority figure claiming expertise and inside knowledge.
Sound familiar? Is this how you feel about your agency and the expectations when compared with dubious ROI schemes and glowing performance reports? You are not alone.
Defend yourself. In fact, we frequently are hired for online business audits – reviewing digital strategies and touchpoints across all executive and functional diciplines. Much of our time is spent using factual data to build legitimate cases for business use of digital strategies and social media. We go to great lengths to validate, and counter validate the numbers before presenting them. We understand the new math of social media and how it’s applied. Our team is part geometric forensics, and part new paradigm creatives. We help companies navigate the social media frontier.
Do your “experts use up to 200 analytic tools and sources to justify where you should spend your hard earned money and measure results? Don’t you deserve this level of confidence?
Accuracy is much more important than an inflated “pronouncement” – whether good or bad. Or are you happy with your GPS reporting with 100% confidence that you are on the planet “somewhere” so therefore “not lost” is a grand success? How about if you actually paid for the satellites too? Yeah, we though so. Yet this is what many of you are experiencing today at the hands of Billy the amusement park greeter.
What you really need and deserve is a guide team of Bear Grylls, Magellan, and McGyver. Someone to get you where you want to go despite the unknowns, while both maximizing both your experience and the protection of your interests.
Back to the scalliwag Lustig.
Lustig’s first con involved a “money-printing machine”. He would demonstrate the capability of the small box to clients, all the while lamenting that it took the device six hours to copy a $100 bill. The client, convinced of huge profits, would buy the machines for a high price, usually over $30,000 <1925 valuation>. Over the next twelve hours, the machine would produce two more $100 bills. After that, it produced only blank paper, as its supply of $100 bills became exhausted. By the time the clients realized that they had been scammed, Lustig was long gone.
Does the business model sound familiar?
The agencies who “have it covered” or the “expert” web team who promised you first page Google results for your brand produced success for the first month or two… Then what happened?
Did you actually get what you thought you paid for?
How are you doing as of right now? Do you ewven know? Were your vendors and staff able to produce the same levels of validation data despite the economic downturn? WHY NOT?
Unfortunately there are charlatans claiming to be experts, or worse yet – simply wrapping free tools like Google analytics as if they were proprietary intelligence platforms. Thankfully, as they say – the cream always rises to the top.
So, how do you weed out those who claim from those who produce?
First, do your homework. If someone claims social media expertise, their persona and profile should be all over the web, on multiple platforms and in a variety of formats. There should be plenty of public documentation over a significant period of time to back up their claims. Either that – or they need to be under mentorship by someone who can meet this criteria.
We are not talking about Joe Intern who has 6 months experience using a web browser either. We are talking about senior people with 10-20 years of relevent skillsets, and deep backgrounds in the technologies and the uses of online mediums for generating business success. Senior consultants are available in this market- demand they be used on your account.
Client relations are about setting expectations and then exceeding the expectations. Look for teams with a history of delivering performance levels “Beyond the Brief”. Review their blogs, and ask if they are contributing to online dialogues under a pseudonym or secondary identity.
Ask them to explain the methodology behind the analytics and listen for multiple layering and many validation passes. They won’t give away secret sauce – but you should be able to tell whether they are repackaging and misrepresenting a generic solution. Ask them, ask numerous times and note inconsistencies. (We have a service to help you do screening and vetting, an outgrowth of our work for venture capitalists and investors. Call us to arrange a private webinar.)
Forget titles and labels like “Chief Blogger”. Even an agency intern can publish. Look closely at the numbers – if the claims don’t map up to the results – walk away. Even if there is a large brand name attached. Most agencies haven’t figured out how to re-invent themselves in order to avoid becoming obsolete. BTW- the more an incumbent fights, the deeper the audit should be. They may have been milking a cash cow (yours) for years.
For every claim, there should be supportive data. Use common sense. While the explanation might be a bit out of the ordinary, in this economy teams are created from all sorts of previously unavailable talents – ours all have substantial pedigrees. We know what we are doing with regard to online and digital strategies - our analysts use NSA level training and data methods. (The joke here is that they not only know what they are doing but probably what everyone else is doing as well…and no, it’s just a joke.)
Because we go to great lengths to understand the opportunities and risks of our clients, we are uniquely qualified to assist you with your social media success. We will deliver results. A few hints:
Create a scorecard using prioritized criteria. We can help.
Find an expert to generate objective, deep data and insights.
Always validate data using multiple methods and sources.
Make your vendors and agencies accountable.
Google is not enough – and has it’s own bias.
Do a social media audit quarterly.
Use performance incentives.
Ask the hard questions.
Question motivations.
Call the agency’s bluff.
Use our calculations.
Review insights.
Trust quality.
Celebrate.
Repeat.
* Kellogg Cocoa Krispies do not cure swine flu, and Cap’n Crunch is not a real captain – no matter what their marketing people claim. Common sense. citation is USA TODAY – Oct 1, 2009
Afraid of Social Media? Take smaller steps and scale up.
Get moving. Evolve or get run over.
Marketing Sherpa reports that close to 50% of business executives reported that the lack of knowledgeable staff was the biggest barrier to adopting social media for business purposes. With so much information at your fingertips, there is no excuse. The new frontier requires knowledgable navigation – so Hire a Guide. What are you afraid of?
Even though the idea and practice of online social media has been around since well before the beginning of the internet in the form of electronic billboards (remember BBS?) and forums, new technologies, platforms and rules of Word of Mouth social engagement have companies and marketers confused. Look, the paradigm has shifted, so put on your adaptation armor and dive right in. Its not changing back, and those who embrace are less likely to receive a Darwin Award. Get help, move forward and get out of the herd of bleating, scared and perplexed sheep.
As for ROI not being measureable? That’s an excuse used by the sheep. Social Media is not only measurable, there are MORE relevent metrics and data sources available now than in the entire history of our planet.
Fundamentally, the new paradigm requires new math, old measurements and linear thinking do not apply to a geometric environment. Social Media is definately and amazingly measureable. You just have to use geometric thinking.
Know where you are today.
If you dont have a grasp of where you are at this moment and what environmental factors you need to consider – go back two squares. Seriously, even a GPS is smarter than that. The first thing it does when you turn it on is say YOU ARE HERE. You cant figure out where you are going unless you know all the details about where you are today, and what touchpoints exist. Go hire an expert to get a Social Media Assessment or audit, conduct a competitive intelligence sweep. If any of your so called “advisors” miss this step – fire them immediately and find another.
Know what Social Media is, and what it isnt.
Social Media refers to an online environment, not a strategy or a tool. If your advisors claim that it is either – then they dont understand the new paradigm and you are better off finding someone who understands the new frontier. A Digital Strategy can contain a Social Media Strategy- which is a set of methods with which to engage and interact with the environment. A Digital strategy is simply a planning process to help companies design strategies and create a roadmap for meeting tactical objectives. A common mistake many companies make is to think Social Media is a separate channel. A Social Media policy and strategy is a component of each and every functional or operational component of a business. Social Media affects ALL aspects of a business. This needs to be understood at all levels of an organization, and across all silos.
The Social Media environment and the effects on a company are NOT just marketing/marcom, PR or sales issues.
If you need some examples – go to www.clearwiresucks.com, www.glenntilton.com, read how Dominos was impacted by a YouTube video, and PAY ATTENTION. Ignorance has cost these companies MILLIONS of dollars and lost goodwill.
The perception of your company online IS reality.
Define your objective. Define how you will measure success.
Many companies spend countless wasted dollars by not knowing what it is that they are trying to accomplish. Because of this, naysayers will tell you that Social Media ROI is not measureable. If you dont know what you are trying to do and what represents success, how can you possible apply measurement metrics?
There are many possible objectives – usually stated at a functional level. These may include:
Increase brand awareness
Reputation management- Improve trust and brand perception
Improve customer service
Sell products or services
Obtain market trending and competitive intelligence
Identify new markets and addressable niches, and quantify the opportunity
Defend against encroachment by competitors
Improve investor confidence
Generate dialogue and feedback for product development
Improve inter-company communications and collaboration
Improve communications and collaboration with supply chain partners
Recruit new employees
Defend against legal liabilities
Improve operational management
Stack rank your objectives by their probable contribution to Increased revenues/margins, decreased costs or improved brand. Don’t try this all at once. Start with the top 3 and work your way down the list. Scale up as you become more proficient. Hire proxies where necessary. What you may find is that your idea of prioritization and the marketplaces ideas of what they want from your company are radically different. Be flexible and adaptable. Cost savings in one area can be used to fund others.
Develop an Online Strategy.
<If you dont know the difference between a digital strategy and an online strategy (they are not interchangeable) please contact us.>
What conversations do you want to have? With whom? Why those? On what platforms? Why those platforms? Are you wanting to be on Facebook because of the hype, or do you have a measureable objective? What are you going to give in return for the dialogue- what are your contributions? What will those conversations do for your defined objectives? Who are the most influential people in those conversation areas? How will you approach those people and develop trust? Enter into a relationship for a reason.
Listen to what people are saying about you.
Conversations are happening right now about your company, your products, and your brand. Not all of them are positive. Make sure you fully understand the subjects being discussed and the tone of the conversations. If you enter into the conversation, do so for the purpose of answering questions and providing clarity. There are good free tools, but the best ones require subscriptions – often expensive.
Learn the tools and use them.
There are thousands of resources available online. Just search for Social Media tools or go to Mashable.com. Dont be fooled, not all tools are useful, and not all of them do what they claim to do. Case in point is Visible Technologies and their claim of “semantic” monitoring. The fact is that there is no way to absolutely tell of semantics or tone from counting keywords, locations and phrases, and Google and Microsoft have spent billions of dollars on R&D without success- and they own the search engines. Beware the “freebies” such as Millions of Twitter Folloers for $29.95. These are automated, and usually trigger a blackballing from the Social Network administrators.
Find experts.
Dont be fooled by the gadget sellers or tools vendors with “cures for whatever ails” Social Media is about approaching a problem with a solution, not trying to force a tool to be a solution that defines a business problem. If someone tries to sell you a tool first- run away. Find experts who do their homework and analysis first. “If you were trying to build a house and your “architect” told you you didnt need a blueprint, just buy a chainsaw and start building – what sort of house do you think you would get?” If YOU are accountable for results, find experts who can objectively analyze your marketing spends and validate your metrics and assumptions. Make sure that they use MULTIPLE methods of validation, not just Google Analytics. (Whose interest is it in for Google to sell you the message that only their analytics are necessary? How do you think they got so big?) Check your experts out – do they walk the talk? Are they present on various mediums? Or is this a case of synthetic fame on twitter through use of automated “followers”. Just because they have followers does not make them credible. Be smart.
This is NOT push marketing.
You will alienate entire groups of potential customers if you try to use those transparently self serving message and advertising techniques in the new world. You are but a heartbeat from a delete key. Social Media interaction is about contributing, not taking. You will receive back to the extent that you put in. If your campaigns are old school, they are already obsolete. If you think you are going to broadcast ads on twitter and get responses, think again. Let your competitors fall into this trap and damage their own efforts and waste money, but don’t do it yourself.
The people and firms that abuse Social Media are destined to be punished by the same, not only be ignored but actually ostracized. Word of Mouth is VERY powerful and the lashbacks can be severe.
Allocate resources to do it right.
Engaging with people in conversations doesn’t have to be a full time job, and can be shared among many people. The workload is proportional to the objective, so don’t short change yourself. Staff up accordingly, and delegate. Some “authorities” will tell you that to be successful at least one person should spend 40 hours per week. That’s bunk. The resources required depends entirely on the scope of the job. You should however try to source the role with someone who has experience. And just because they can blog, doesn’t mean they know how to set a digital strategy or function in social media. It simply means that they can create and hold appropriate conversations. There are many expert resources that can provide these interim resources for you. CLS Global can, so ask us.
Create GOOD, FRESH content.Create content that is thought provoking and stimulates online discussion or conversation, and not just volume. Repurpose content you already have invested in, as long as it isnt too dated. Create a plan to develop the content and let people know when and where it will be available. Dont hide it behind myriads of signins or questionnaires either. You have about 5 seconds when they decide whether to click or leave. Once you have optimized searches to get them to your content – dont blow it. Seek out conversion experts.
Content is King. Content is critical to add value to the community being engaged. And by add value, we mean real true transparent contribution. If you lie online and are caught, it cannot be reversed. Your content should be truthful, transparent, and represent your values and ideals.
Find expert content managers.
They will be able to help you ascertain the right size, positioning, and relevant content strategies so that you can be sure your content maximizes your positive messages and encourages sharing. If you need resources or need to know how to identify these people, tweet us or send us a mail. Many of the CLS Global staff members were online content managers or directors of content management teams at some point in their career.
The good news is that content does not need to be an expensive proposition. User generated content is free. Blog posts do not cost much. Even online video can be had for significantly less than broadcast. Because the stakes are not nearly as high as content developed for traditional media, you can create a lot more of it, for the same money or much less. Frequency is one of the most important aspects of social media so make sure you are loaded with content on an ongoing basis.
CRITICAL : Establish your policies and procedures.
From C level on down to the lowest on the totem pole, and across all departments in your organization. This is brain dead basic business 101. The environment and ecosystem you are in has radically changed, and you need to change with it. Determine who is being represented when an employee blogs on their personal time, set rules and create disclaimers if necessary.
While some companies will literally recoil from perceived risk and not allow employees to access this amazing wealth of interaction and information from work – DEMAND that the authorities allow you to do so. An isolationist strategy is just that. It spells a death knell for a company. Fear is not a corporate strategy, its an absolute GUARANTEE that investors will quickly seek other vehicles and potential customers will deem you obsolete.
Select your most diplomatic and conversant people to be your interface with this new world, calm composed and quality ombudsmen/women. Engaging with customers should not put you off from doing so. You may find the one customer created nugget that saves your bacon in a recession, or opens up opportunities that you never would have thought of in house. If you are asking questions like – What if people say bad things about us? How do I make sure employees don’t share proprietary information? Won’t competitors check us out and steal our ideas and thinking? ….you really need help to get over this phobia. Hire an expert like CLSGlobal to show you how to set policies and remove these blocks from growth. After all – the entire world is in on this – you should be too.
Bottom line here is to force your company to EVOLVE. If you don’t, the market will decide on your identoty and do it for you. You may not like the direction.
If you don’t have the knowledge, hire trainers. (yes, we do that too.)
Those of us who have evolved and embraced the global change will simply look to do businesses with companies who have, and the companies that dont will become chagrined owners of a Darwin Award. The speed of the internet and Social Media means rapid change, so paying attention DAILY and evolving with the trends is critical for corporate success and survival.
Are business jets valuable? Arnold Palmer
As one of our group focuses is business aviation, we found it interesting that the new advertising campaign by the NBAA and GAMA features Arnold Palmer as spokesperson. Professional golfers have been using private aircraft for decades, so it is no surprise that such a venerable statesman of the sport, as well as long time successful businessman in his own right was asked to lend his stature to the campaign. In short however, this is the first time that Arnie has used social media to reach out, and I’m sure there are more than a few of Arnies Army of fans that also believe in the economic value of proivate business aircraft – whether charter, leased, or owned.
Picture taken at the NBAA conference yesterday by CLS staff. 
American Legend Arnold Palmer Lends His Voice to No Plane No Gain Campaign
National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA)
Orlando, FL, October 20, 2009 – Golf legend and accomplished businessman Arnold Palmer is lending his voice to support the value of business aviation to citizens, companies and communities in a new video and print advertising campaign for No Plane No Gain, the advocacy program jointly sponsored by the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA).
“Arnold Palmer has always been an advocate for business aviation, because he has a first-hand understanding of its essential role in serving towns and communities across the country,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “For his entire career, business aviation has made it possible for him to succeed in golf and business – all from his hometown of Latrobe, PA, which doesn’t have airline service.”
GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce added: “Through these new ads, we will be able to draw even more attention to the messages No Plane No Gain has been communicating: that business aviation supports over a million jobs, represents a lifeline for small- and medium-sized U.S. towns, enables companies to compete and succeed, and helps provide relief to people and communities in times of crisis.”
The new advertising, rolled out during the Opening General Session of NBAA’s 62nd Annual Meeting & Convention, includes three print ads and three 30-second video ads. The print and video ads complement one another, and build upon the efforts already undertaken through the No Plane No Gain program to educate policymakers and opinion leaders about the value of business aviation to citizens, companies and communities across the U.S.
With a simple, yet powerful delivery, Palmer speaks to the benefits of business aviation in the ads and responds to those who would devalue the use of an airplane for business. For example, in one print ad, Palmer states: “People who build business airplanes make things fly. People who use them make things happen. A few others make things up.” In one of the video spots, Palmer states plainly: “For more than 50 years, using business airplanes is the single most productive thing I have done.”
Addressing the large crowd gathered at the Opening General Session, Palmer explained why he felt compelled to lend his voice to the No Plane No Gain program. “I know the value of business airplanes,” Palmer said. “I know what they have done for me and my companies. I know how important they are to my hometown. And I know how important they are to this country. So I wanted to speak out and help set the record straight.”
To view the video ads, visit the No Plane No Gain web site: www.noplanenogain.org/Video_Advertisements.htm?m=47&s=385
Welcome to the new CLS Global Site
We really do walk the talk of social media. However, much like your business, our customers always come first.
So, we finally slotted the work in between client meetings and decided to get the WordPress site launched.
Welcome!
