Archive for the ‘ thoughts ’ Category
Thank you for sharing this – Via @servantofchaos
You want insights, here they are : awesome view & presentation with notes to be considered seriously
http://www.slideshare.net/padday/the-real-life-social-network-v2
Over the next two days I have two sessions at The Online Retailer conference in Sydney. Mike Karns over from the US from Zazzle is on a panel I am moderating.
I couldn’t make it to day one, but Mike was telling me ratings & reviews featured heavily. It was a subject I spoke about last year at the same conference.
Since the very early 90′s Amazon has deployed ratings & reviews as a way to drive sales. This is the social web in context of social commerce, that is delivered in the context of consumers views. Here are a few stats I grabbed from the Internet Statistics report published on e-consultancy.com
An interesting read and I will be talking more about this at the panel session tomorrow but also the second session I am speaking at Online Retailer on Thursday Facebook, Twitter YAWN – how to use social media to drive sales & loyalty
83% of consumer’s research online before purchasing
84% of consumers are looking for product reviews
81% of people use consumer reviews in their purchasing decisions
33% are dissuaded from buying a product after reading just 2 negative reviews
75% would be deterred from buying after 3 bad reviews
More than half of consumers said they spent 10 minutes or more reading reviews before deciding to purchase
Positive consumer generated reviews can have an impact on offline behaviour, with 24% using online reviews prior to paying for a service delivered offline
The thing is, this is not new. It is relatively simple to add this device to your web site.
However I think so many people have been so used to chucking up web pages, they forget basics, such as usability, SEO strategy prior to build / launch and social basics, such as user reviews and ratings.
If you don’t have ratings & reviews on your own site, they will live on blogs, community sites, forums and so on, where you are not welcome and the damage can bite into your bottom line.
So go to it, ask your customers if you are a 5* company or a 3* one ….
Then use the information to promote yourself and to inform yourself how to be better
I have always been a big advocate for getting a team of specialists and a great project manager to service digital business requirements. There is such a range of specialisms required to “get” a proper digital solution. In no particular order but, from usability, to creative, to search, to development, to strategy, to sales, to interface experience to and I could go on. Many of these examples are independent multi-billion dollar industries on their own account. Note: I haven’t mentioned social (as digital is social!) nor delved into the integration of mobile and how the many facets of that industry are playing out.
I have been on my soap box for many years, that to take advantage of digital business, is not a digital marketing agency nor an advertising agency model. The digital supplier model has to change. Digital is big business if you get it right.
I work with large corporates. In the last few months nearly all my clients have said “I need specialists, the agency model is dead” – without my prompt! 
Yay!
However, so many businesses are ingrained in a process for digital and don’t know to how to bring change about, or fit it into their own business models. They know it is important, REALLY important and I want to help them to get to some real smarts.
So now to crowd source a new digital services model. I collaborate with some greats in this industry and you know who you are!! Lets widen the net.
I want to develop a crowd sourcing full service digital services model for clients.
We need to develop a portfolio of our collaborative services
Creatives & developers across i-mobile on all devices
Web savvy development that can understand multi-device development
Social network & blog ambassadors who may truly love my clients to help them
Designers, smart thinkers, trainers and so on
I could go on – I want to bring smart people together who want to join a crowd-sourcing services model to service all and any clients.
Please get in touch, so we can finally deliver the coal face smarts of the digital industry to corporate Australia and I am sure many more businesses who will be interested.
Sign up on comment box if you agree, share your talents here, lets connect and service business as it should be serviced.
Two pieces hit me today from the Uk, which inspired this blog post.
First off: Is this social media or a competition using social media?
Monitoring the various newslines this one popped up from the UK : “Visa UK rolls first social media campaign”.
However, this is a competition that is run over a social network, it could run in print, on TV or anywhere. It is good that Visa are realising social channels are where their consumers are hanging out as much as traditional channels, as consumers are taking in media consumption in different methods. But this Visa UK stuff is not new, but the headline is yelling “look at us” we use social media with a traditional message – so what?
…begs the question about social media, digital and how marketing lines are muddied with real society & business change as a result of the widening lines of new ways we choose to socialise and connect.
As I also went about my daily business of scanning International newswires – seems to be the UK dominating my thoughts today as I also came across this article from The Guardian
What stood out for me was this paragraph “But this isn’t the last word in the copyfight – not even close. Because disconnection for downloaders will only serve to alienate entertainment industry customers (remember that the most avid downloaders are also the most avid buyers – “most avid” being the operative word here – the 20% of customers who account for 80% of sales, downloading, concert tickets, box-office revenue, DVDs, T-shirts, action figures, etc). And because those who download most avidly will simply change tactics.” By Cory Doctorow
This paragraph is where I struggle with the term being used about digital media and social media, whether about policies or marketing, it is all mixed up together such as social media, digital, marketing, with a feeling of “out of control” and a need for policy and so on.
The technology is not the conversation, nor is the marketing message, there has been enough research to state that marketing to consumers has to fundamentally change beyond the efforts of certainly Visa UK and similar cases pretending to be some great new marketing invention because of social media, it is like being a marketing charlaton. Consumers don’t believe you anymore.
What I like about Cory Doctorow’s analysis is that whole industries are not getting the shift in society’s behaviour. Cory demonstrates this in his example of the entertainment industry, as he talks to the downloader being the most valuable customer. He also states those downloaders “will simply change tactics” as a result of a Digital Economy Act that is trying to be imposed in the UK that will NOT work. Again, the term in organising the social digital economy is like herding bubbles (up a hill!) comes to my mind. It just doesn’t work.
What we have is a growing more informed population, that will find a way as a result of technology to connect, share opinions, interests and so on, regardless of boundaries, or organisations, or even governments.
That is why a Digital Economy Act in the UK and Filters Senator Conroy is trying to impose in Australia simply won’t work.
My 17 year old son thinks I am mad to be bothered by such legislation – “we will just get around it Mum” – and they will. It is like trying to introduce prohibition on porn, alcohol or drugs – look to history, it never works and it never will.
All in all, social media for want of a term, in fact …lets change that term to a definition …”The advent of a wider mass of people connected and consumed social channels has led to a way we have (not will, OR about to happen) we HAVE shifted as a society in the way we demand to communicate and get our information & thoughts out there. We demand that is taken into account.
A 20K competition from Visa through a social network does not change the fact we know that is what it is, a promotion for Visa, not a benefit for us.
Even a filter or government act won’t stop us all from doing what we want and saying what we want, sometimes, loudly.
It has gone too far, we as a mass public, are more connected, we are powerful as a result with our opinions, likes and dislikes and we know it. More so our younger generation, don’t even think about it – they absolutely know it and don’t give it a second thought, they actually don’t give a dam about it, they live it.
It sounds so silly to say this, but it is as basic as that. Whether you are a fat cat or SME, your business is about your customers.
Yet still we see companies spending a fortune without considering their customers.
I am a customer of Maccentric – a preferred supplier of MAC products. I pre-ordered my iPad ages ago with them, thinking I was on the money for getting an early version. Maccentric in Warringhah Mall is the only retailer that hasn’t received a batch of iPads. In fact when we asked them why, they huffed and puffed, told us to try JB Hi Fi and flung the phone down on us. Thanks! Real nice. I will never shop with you again. (They must be wondering why Apple didn’t send them a delivery – maybe because they are so rude!) #Maccentric TOTAL #FAIL
That is just a small example.
I had a phone call from a rather considerable organization in Australia, asking me to respond to RFP. They said they had realized that actually their consumers opinion matter.
Holy Moley! Your customers are your life blood … They pay you! They are your bottom line.
I had a chat with @paulwallbank today and noted his blog piece on Smart Company
http://www.smartcompany.com.au/business-tech-talk/20100608-every-business-is-a-people-business.html
I said to Paul, sometimes I stand up to speak, I feel I am talking to my kids about the basics and wonder why people are amazed that I talk about old fashioned values, manners, how to speak to your customers – they want good manners – this is really basic stuff. Yet this allude’s so many companies.
In the 1990’s I wrote a piece on dialogue not monologue. We are in the 2010’s and business still seems so far away from implementing some basic manners and respect for the people that are paying them.
Big Tip: Consumers want to be treated as a real person with a real concern. Corporate’s, Brand’s, whoever – big or small, need to realize this is not only a want but now we have places to DEMAND it.
Get with the program!
Fact is …I want to write something valuable – I struggle!
Social media is not NEW. Digital media has changed our world, but it was social in the late 80’s, this revolution started a while a go. At 44 I was there and witnessed it. This is not the domain of the young.
Social aspects of this tech revolution have clearly changed society and will continue to do so.
I refuse to write posts like everyone else does about being an “expert” – most were in nappies when I started. I only stand on my own background of the digital revolution since the late 80’s, I stand only on real (if you can call it that!) experience.
Things have changed. I am sorry to say – here are a few notes you may want to take on board:
- Your brand wheel or concept of your creative or media agency has gone. You are questioning their relevance & cost if you have “got it”.
- How do find someone to help – in a world of social media experts? It has become more exhausting!
- Your customers actually count now – they have a voice that demands to be taken into account – what are you doing about it? Do you really care?
- Choices on technology challenge you – its not web (lets face it that was bad enough!) its multi-channel – iPad, Kindle, Blackberry App World, iPhone Apps – it gets too much
Too much – or too little too late – Wake up – the next consumer revelation is and has already happen. Life, society is changing fast because of technology. The individual is in control.
This is a short post but very relevant to anyone in business.
I stumbled upon this post this evening
http://advice.cio.com/meridith_levinson/10470/how_to_be_charismatic?source=rss_Blogs_and_Discussion_All
It was quite ironic as I was out for dinner tonight with my friend Dan – www.dancass.com/blog
We were talking about the digital psychology, how social media isn’t about social media or technology, but more about how it has changed our behaviour. We then got on to one of Dan’s contacts who runs The Neuro Leadership group http://www.neuroleadership.org/
We actually ended up basing down our conversation to how simple things like when you dress differently you feel differentially… as a proven factor of “how you think you are” is how you are perceived.
Put all of this context and the post from Meridith Levinson makes sense.
Our enthusiasm and our passion is our sales tool. However to make it work, you really need to believe in what you say, not get paid for pretending to believe in what you say and then apply some simple rules:
1. Dress to make you feel great
2. Relax – you know your stuff
3. Don’t be afraid to be enthusiastic – enthusiasm makes us all feel good
4. You don’t need fancy power point slides to make your point :: your thoughts can be your point. Power point is the prompt
5. Lastly but not least, simple tools like this can change perceptions of you, your business and win you business
I often say in presentations I give to marketers, todays marketer is about being old fashioned, listen and say what you mean, not what you think your consumers need to hear. It is ironically, a bigger challenge than it seems.
What can you say about social media that already hasn’t been written about? Well how about the old-fashioned forums and discussion boards…and people like me, like people like me.
There are so many articles, theories and analysis of social media it is exhausting. Participating in social networks can also often feel exhausting as we all seem to, in one degree or another “feel pressure” to be virtually connected all of the time.
Social Media as a terminology is interesting as many people jump on the band- wagon and enjoy, specialise and use social technologies. However this technology from the advent of the Internet has always been social, from the basic discussion board since the 1990’s.
I find it fascinating to search using Google’s new tools and find that the majority of the passionate online conversation is still on forums and old style discussion boards. Not necessarily on the largest membership social networks, such as Facebook, You Tube or Twitter. These forums offer a granular focus to conversations that are specific and offer a lot more insight than the broader social networks.
However for all the analysis and written words, the forum and the old-fashioned discussion boards are often forgotten as people count tweets and fans of Facebook pages and so on, as a measure of consumer sentiment.
A while ago, I predicted the focus of digital media would go granular; the power of ground swell would emerge. The interest of a few would lead and influence the many. This has always been the case on the earliest of social media sites, from Amazon’s early ratings system to the good old-fashioned forum based on shared specific interests and recommendations.
Maybe it is coming to a time when we concentrate on what we are really interested in, that means we offer value, even if to a small few that share our interest, than try to be the loudest voice in what has become a mass channel of communication, such as Twitter, FB and so on. I believe this targeted view of less people who are really interested in a subject matter is more important to organisations than loud voices of opinion for the sake of opinion… on anything and attempting to attract a zillion followers on Twitter because they shout the loudest.
My colleague, Gavin Heaton pointed me to Dunbars rule on the 130-150 social connections we can really maintain in a meaningful way. It is an interesting view and even without Professor Dunbar’s cognitive insight, if you really look at your social networks, which you influence, and what your passion is and where you share it, it is probably in reality about 60-80 people.
It is how to engender an authentic pass on rate within the context of your and your social networks passion and how they then share it. The whole principle of “people like me, like people like me” is how the big red viral button gets pressed – in a relevant manner to the people that count to your organisation.
So consider the less IS more principle in your communications.
You may well find it is a winner.
Your audience may only be 1 to reach people like me who are like people like you who like people like me.
Imagine how much cheaper your ad spend will be with such an approach.
It works, look at the case studies on this site.
There is an amazing amount of people who seem to think Social Media is Twitter, Facebook & YouTube. These are social networks that can form some part, but in my view this is NOT Social Media. These networks are like the yellow pages – everyone is on them…but the clever part of social media requires a lot more thought and strategy. It is all about customers and their context …not the social networks.
I was horrified today when a client talked about “social media experts” “guru’s” etc. (I was pleased I was taken out of that framework) but they were not happy with what this social media world of experts or whoever sell themselves as, including large agencies.
I realised and recalled a piece of old research from that said “Marketing is perceived as least honest profession – except for car sales”…Source Gallup Survey 2002.
I realise all these chaps running around the web with good intentions is going to make for a very bad statistic on the social web if they don’t smarten up their game and act professionally.
What can we, Bendalls & Associates do as a business?
Keep our heads down, and do what we are good at. I call it the David Beckham theory : Live on your results, provide testimonials and results.
If you are a client ask for testimonials and case studies to make sure you ain’t getting some second hand car chappie.
