I recently hosted a discussion on the need to lessen, not eliminate, the emphasis we place on the social media case studies and “how to” posts that are now universal, as they won’t apply to the specific circumstances or context of our challenges, opportunities, and market dynamics. I believe that we should use them solely for inspiration, but not as templates for our work. The best advice that I or anyone for that matter, can offer, lies in our ability…
Think Outside of the Inbox
With the pervasiveness of social networks and the conversations that take place within each, many had hoped for either the reduction in volume of traditional email or the socialization of the inbox. Instead, email remains as the world’s largest untapped social network, with Gmail and Google Buzz offering a glimpse of the integration that looms on the horizon. While many are on the verge of filing email bankruptcy, innovation is focused on how to make email productive once again while…
5 Social Media Best Practices for Business
Social networks and blogs are changing how consumers find places and services, how and where they share their experiences, and eventually, where they will spend their time and money. Without an understanding of, and participation in, social networks, you can miss shaping and contributing to the decision-making process of those who define the success of your business. While social media cheat-sheets and short cuts are available almost everywhere you look, the truth is that we have some work ahead of…
The Social Media Style Guide: 8 Steps to Creating a Brand Persona
What follows is an edited excerpt from Engage! Anyone who has ever worked in corporate marketing, advertising, and branding is more than familiar with a brand style guide. It’s how we ensured that the brand was represented as intended through marketing aesthetics and messaging – including detailed usage instructions on font, style, color, language, placement, positioning, etc. It is our bible and adherence to its tenets and instructions is strictly enforced. However, with the unstructured proliferation of social media within…
Q&A: The Impact of Social Media in the Enterprise
In the spirit of sharing dialog that transpires outside of this domain, I would like to invite you to read a recent discussion with good friend Jacob Morgan, co-author of Twittfaced (I contributed the foreword). While the discussion centered on Engage!, as you’ll soon see, it expanded to analyze the effects of social media in the enterprise. #EngageorDie Why is sociology and anthropology so important to understand for social media? I believe that at the top level, all of social…
Lifestyles of the Rich and Social
In June 2008, I presented at a conference in Southern California where I debuted The Essential Guide to Social Media. While it seems like a lifetime ago, I remember this event distinctly because a couple of the questions at the end of conference addressed luxury brands specifically. And, they’re questions that many ask or have yet to ask today. What role do luxury brands take on the social web and what is the corresponding voice and personality associated with the…
21 Rules of Engagement in Social Media
What follows is a modified excerpt from Engage!, the complete guide for businesses to build, cultivate, and measure success in the new Web. Chapter 17 Social Media is reinventing marketing, communications, and the dissemination of information. For many businesses and organizations, social networks represent hallowed grounds, bringing together customers, prospects and the people who influence their decisions in a shared, balanced, and interactive medium. While businesses now have access to these rich channels, the true promise of social media however,…
SCRM and SRM: Potay-to, Potah-to When Done Right
This is Part Two of Two in a series exploring the promise and potential of Social CRM and SRM. In Part One, we reviewed the importance of sCRM as well as introduced the concepts of Social Relationship Management (SRM) to look beyond customers in Social Media. Originally intended for inclusion in Engage!, Paul Greenberg contributed his view of sCRM and SRM to continue the discussion… There is little doubt that customers are ruling the roost right now — to a…
Question of the Week: How Should Organizations Respond to Social Technologies?
This week, I’m participating in “The Question of the Week” series hosted by Nokia’s IdeasProject. Each week, Nokia partners with industry thinkers to spark productive conversations and generate promising ideas. On June 6th, this Sunday, Nokia and I will select the best response and as a way of saying thank you, Nokia will send a new phone to the winner. This conversation is important and one that faces almost every business today. And as a result, the answers that I…
Social CRM is Just the Beginning: Looking Beyond Customers
In Engage!, I review the important catalysts and methodologies defining the new era of Social CRM or sCRM. In the discussion, I also introduce the idea of SRM (social relationship management), a concept that may at first blush, seemingly appear to introduce yet another acronym or perhaps challenge the promise of sCRM. However, its only intention is to spur thinking beyond the literal frameworks of traditional customer relationship management, whether it’s social or one-way. Much of this chapter was cut…
