Brands are racing to create a social presence on Facebook, Twitter and the hottest social networks of the moment.  The initial goals, of course, are to increase brand awareness and build community. To do so however, takes a holistic approach that extends beyond the regiment of broadcasting messages to silent audiences. Now, brands must establish a social equilibrium whereby the 4C’s of community drive measurable and mutually beneficial activity and engagement through the thoughtful introduction of content curation and creation, conversation, context, and continuity. More importantly however, brands must now find creative means to recognize the role of a more informed and connected consumer and the varying influence they wield in the social ecosystem.

Recognition and empowerment represent the social sparks that can help businesses not only socialize their brands but now also activate consumer behavior. While editorial programming and meaningful engagement unlock the spirit of community, it ultimately sets the stage for not only conversations and connections, but also monetary transactions.

As social media matures, brands must introduce new social sparks that convert decisions and intentions into outcomes where and when attention is focused. Doing so introduces us to potentially viral opportunities that trigger a social effect propelled by a new “C” in the 4C’s of community… social commerce.

The Rise of the Social Consumer

Consider for a moment, the attention stream of the social consumer…

People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook

More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) are shared on Facebook each month

YouTube serves over 9B streams per month

More than 100 million Tweets fly across Twitter every day

The pervasiveness of social networks is transforming business as the attention of the consumer is increasingly focusing on their social streams. It’s where they learn, discover, and share. And as in anything, there are those who get it and those who don’t. Those who do however, are increasingly taking to social channels to seek advice and guide purchase decisions in their social networks. This changes everything, requiring businesses to augment strategies to reach both traditional and now also social consumers respectively.

The rise of the social consumer warrants much more than attention however, it requires an understanding of what motivates them to click, act, and share. These drivers are different than that of a traditional consumer. They are not motivated by the clever gimmicks nor are they inspired to seek out your presence within social networks. Attention is a precious commodity and these individuals require direct engagement that recognizes their stature in the social web and rewards them for it. And it is this stature, that introduces brands to a social consumer hierarchy where varying levels of influence are met with dedicated engagement and activation programs. Why? The social consumer is connected and their actions reverberate across social graphs to spark conversations and ultimately clicks to action. And, when motivated or inspired, the social consumer can exact change through the unification of conversation.

As we witnessed recently with the Gap, its new logo was met with a firestorm of controversy when the connected consumer responded en masse using their social soapboxes to express discontent and demand resolution. The lesson here is that any brand can benefit from engaging their community to convert consumers into stakeholders, allowing them to take part in the evolution of the company. This is how we earn relevance in the social Web as the touchpoints to reach consumers also in turn, reach us.

In the 2010 Social Media Report, ForeSee observed that 60% of online shoppers already use social media sites and networks regularly. And, 56% of those online shoppers friend or follow retailers, but they can only do so, if the retailer is actively engaging within those networks. The study found that only one-fourth of the top 100 e-tailers (e-retailers) has yet to create a Facebook page. If that information wasn’t enough to move you, consider comScore’s report that found Twitter and Facebook users to spend more than 1.5x more online than the average Internet user.

The Role of the Social Consumer

It is the responsibility of all businesses to embrace their social consumers. Earning their attention and partnership allows us to harness their reach and authority to impact the decisions of those around them.

Walmart recently introduced a new program that borrows from the Groupon model of social commerce, combining the benefits of group buying and social effect of the News Feed on Facebook. Like Groupon (pun intended), Crowd Saver leverages the power of group buying to reward consumers with exclusive deals. However, the difference here is that it integrates the social graph into the mix, requiring a fixed amount of people to “Like” the offer to unlock it. This does two things. First, it heightens the demand for the deal, much like Black Friday and Cyber Monday does every year following Thanksgiving in the United States. Most notably however, Crowd Saver acts as a social object. With each like, the potential offer is spread to the News Feeds of every corresponding social graph, thus increasing its reach, appeal, and the visibility of the brand overall. For example, in a recent experiment, Walmart required 5,000 Likes to unlock a deal on a plasma TV.

Why stop there? Walmart and any online e-tailer for that matter, can capture attention, trigger a response, and convert intention into commerce without ever leaving Facebook. The era of f-commerce is upon us enabling brands to host an online store within Facebook.

There are great advantages to capturing attention where and when it’s focused. For example, 1-800-Flowers.com hosts a shoplet within Facebook where consumers can browse through arrangements and order directly from the Facebook tab. Doing so, sparks a social effect that broadcasts the action to their social graph.

Integrating social commerce as the 5th C of Community unlocks much more than a new channel to sell, it surfaces the ability to shift social media from a cost center to a profit center. The more we experiment, the more we learn. Ultimately, the discussion of ROI becomes a matter of process as we’re able to measure investment and return as well as improve conversions to escalate ROI overall. By heightening value and delivering personal experiences, we empower and reward social consumers and as such, improve the online experiences for our community.

If we are not competing for tomorrow, today, we lose critical opportunities to capture attention now and in the future. It’s a matter of digital Darwinism, where if we are out of sight, we are indeed out of mind.

#EngageorDie

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We are now down to the second-to-last video where Chris Beck, founder of 26dottwo (@26dottwo) and I examine the state and future of social media.

In this segment, we outline the importance of connecting offline and online experiences. Brands must now introduce a connected series of touchpoints between traditional and new media programs to define paths and bring desired outcomes to life. However, to connect the brand strategy to the individual requires a personal approach that starts with the “First Mile” and connects in the “Last Mile.”

Social networking is deeply personal as individuals define and personalize their experiences. What they see, share, say and with whom they connect is different for everyone. As such, in order for new media to enliven connections and spark actions, they must speak to and resonate with people emotionally and contextually.

To connect with individuals, we must add behaviorgraphics to our the mix of strategies that examine demographics and psychographics.

Please also read, “Hybrid Theory Manifesto” – a three part series.

This series was filmed at the new video studio at KickLabs SF where I spend time as an entrepreneur in residence.

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Social Media is greater than the sum of its parts, but it is these parts that define the socialization of business. Today consumers are interacting with peers, brands, and influencers in social networks at varying levels across more industries than you might possibly believe. The answers of who, what, when, where, how, and to what extent are out there; we just need to spend a moment searching for the insights necessary to galvanize meaningful social media content, branding, and engagement programs.

Instead of creating holistic programs that embrace social consumers through the distinct business channels that affect their decisions and experiences, we rush to networks to create a presence, one that may not fortify or represent the brand as well as we might think.

Hurry! Get a profile on Twitter, set up a brand page on Facebook. Let’s go go go!

While it may seem commonsensical or more importantly logical to create a strategy for social networks based on research, data, and perception, a recent study shed light on some interesting facts.

A May 2010 study by Digital Brand Expressions found that 52% of social marketers are running social media programs without a defined “game plan.” This finding is in line with an April report by R2Integrated that documented one-half of marketers were reacting to social rather than leading it.

Visibility is not the same as presence. In social media, presence is felt.

The Ingredients of Social Media Communications Plans

The Digital Brand Expressions report found that those who are approaching social media with a plan find that needs, concerns, and outcomes outweigh the current scope of activities. The study found that logistics contributed to visibility, but insight was absent from investing in presence. Most notably, resource allocation guidelines, registration of branded usernames in social networks and competitive research were among the top ingredients of a social marketing plan. Other tactical elements include:

71% establish metrics to measure ROI, which is in direct contrast with a previous study by Mzinga that found that over 80% of companies were not measuring ROI.

52% plan for ongoing monitoring

45% develop social media protocols and policies

39% create and distribute guidelines for professional and personal social media use

At the bottom of the list, we see that only 29% of businesses are introducing protocols and policies for the usage of social media by specific departments. As this is the socialization of business, multiple divisions will embrace social media at any one moment, from sales to service to HR to sales and marketing and everything in between. Social media indeed reveals the true 360-degree opportunity. The social consumer is many things to brands now and over time. And, to expect one representative or facet of business to track and engage with influential individuals in active and expansive networks is narrowing.

The question as to who owns social media is universal. Ownership begins within the team where social media championship is concentrated. As experience matures, social media extends and in many cases, “socializes” each sector. At the moment however, a land grab is in full effect with marketing taking the lead as the area responsible for the creation and management of social media plans. In fact 71% of respondents stated such with communications representing 29% , the executive team accounting for 16% and sales and IT tied with 10%.

The Last Mile Begins with the First Mile

In a recent post, I discussed the concept of The Last Mile and how social media would force businesses to adapt current practices to open-up traditional top-down methodologies by expanding engagement and interactive communications and feedback loops.

As previously stated, “Everything begins with a shift in perspective from viewing stakeholders as a separate entity, ‘us vs. them,’ to a singular view of ‘us ‘ as this enlivens a new era of community-focused marketing and engagement.”

The need for a new approach is inspired by the disconnect that exists not only between brands and social consumers, but also between the brand, management, and brand representatives in these emerging channels.

The socialization of business is forged in the last mile, but it is the first mile where strategy, planning, and the internal evolution of management and processes that inspires relevance and ultimately resonance.

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Social Shopping is not new, but it is indeed gaining significant momentum. In fact, it represents the latest leaf in the new Conversation Prism infographic set to launch next week. Twitter too, is gaining velocity in a direction many skeptics didn’t think possible, the ability to monetize the stream. Twitter is set to introduce a new ad-powered program, @earlybird – a service that appears to emulate the daily deals powering services such as Groupon with the direct to consumer link proved by @DellOutlet.

About this time last year, I wrote a story that spotlighted Dell’s ability to literally bank $3 million in sales as a result from direct to consumer deals offered through Twitter. That number now appears to have approached $6.5 million. Of course, this revenue was generated without any financial obligation to Twitter.

Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees

Business plans and criticisms aside, what many don’t realize however, is that Twitter was already in the black heading into 2010 through its lucrative “firehose” deals with Google and Microsoft Bing. And, over the last several months, Twitter initiated monetization experiments with Promoted Tweets and Promoted Trends, two new advertising-based programs that tie earned context (tweets about related topics) and paid content (ads related to topics) to introduce a more targeted approach to marketing.

Starbucks, Virgin America, and Coca Cola each attest to the effectiveness of the new advertising vehicles and Twitter users, for the time being, are clicking through in droves. With each click, the community validates the program and encourages further experimentation.

Marshall Kirkpatrick at ReadWriteWeb uncovered the new @EarlyBird Twitter account, which was also verified by Carolyn Penner at Twitter. In a response to Kirkpatrick she indicated there is more information to follow, “There are interesting things in store for @earlybird. Keep waking up early and you might be the first to find out what they are.”

Without any direct knowledge of how Twitter will use the new account, it definitely appears to represent a fun and monetizable program for the fledgling company. Businesses can now pay to introduce unique specials to Twitter’s rabid community, gaining visibility, sparking earned media, generating revenue and also improving Twitter’s bottom line in the process.

If you can imaging the possibilities for @EarlyBird, it goes beyond just one-off deals and specials through a generic account, it can be themed into opt-in channels for almost any area of interest, food, music, entertainment, events, etc.

As I’ve always believed, money doesn’t grow on trees, but it does grow on Tweets.

UPDATE: Twitter publishes FAQ for @EarlyBird

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I’m working on developing ideas that originated when writing Engage. It didn’t make the deadline, but wanted to share them here with you for your review and also to seek your feedback…

Everything begins with a shift in perspective from viewing stakeholders as a separate entity, “us vs. them,” to a singular view of “us ” as this enlivens a new era of community-focused marketing and engagement.

Social media introduces a new problem of sorts, one where the answer is lost in the politics and corresponding burrows of debate as to who owns social media within the organization. As brands venture into social networks, many are unwittingly contributing to the dilution of their brand image, value proposition, and mission amongst a new genre of social customers and influencers. The mission and vision statements of old no longer convey authority or inspire conviction in an era where the audiences to which we are trying to connect now possess audiences of their very own. The ability to connect with someone and inspire them to take meaningful action is in direct competition with the actions of social customers who are intentionally or indirectly building communities around their views and interests.

In my work, I’ve uncovered what I call the Last Mile or Last Kilometer of Social Media, a challenge that will face every business in the attempts to engage with consumers and influencers and impede the cultivation of dedicated and flourishing online communities.

The last mile is a term associated with the cable and internet provider industries, representing the final leg of delivering connectivity from a provider to a customer. It is symbolic of the human connection required to take a service from the connection hub in any given neighborhood to the home of the new customer.

The Disconnect: Defining the Problem

At the moment, a disconnect exists between the brand, its representatives, and consumers in social media.

Personality Eclipse

Representatives on the front lines in social media are arguably unversed in the elements that define the brand persona, purpose, and value. It’s also highly plausible that many of these representatives are not immersed in the challenges and options that face the people to whom they’re trying to connect and recruit. As a result, their actions and words are diluted through the reinforcement of individual personality traits that don’t match, convey, or strengthen the characteristics or voice of the brand they represent. While their engagement is mostly transparent and authentic, they are not genuinely empathetic in acknowledging or addressing the needs of their communities because they have not lived a day in life of their consumers.

Simply said, the personalities of each representative eclipse that of the brand they represent and without realization, the two can work against each other over time.

The Brand Dilemma

The brand team along with executive management is either slow or reluctant to adapt what was once the brand story and mission in traditional media and communications and modernize and humanize it for an era of interactive and social relations. For example, if the brand were a person, whom would it resemble? What does it sound like? What are its mannerisms and stature? What are its convictions, beliefs, and passions? Essentially, what are the persona and characteristics of the brand and what does it represent today and tomorrow? More importantly, how do we align the personalities of our representatives with the character of the brand?

Companies are not intentionally adapting brand style guides for the social web and in turn, empowering their representatives through training and reward. Instead, they’re simply guided by social media guidelines and policies, if that.

The Consumer Quandary

Social media is, for the time being, viewed as a single entity, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. When we talk about a 360-degree approach with social media completing the rotation, we relegate participation and conversations to a means for intermittent engagement, but not as the complete solution for 360 business processes and mechanics. For example, companies are structuring social media around a function, but not necessarily as an extension of existing business practices. In some cases, customer service is at the forefront of listening and engagement; in other scenarios, marketing or communications is leading the engagement; and in alternative situations, advertising is controlling the creation and dissemination of the story.

Social media is not served by any one role however; it represents the opportunity and need to socialize the entire organization. As is, the consumer in the various roles they play in our ecosystem, are largely passed over as a result of an infrastructure that doesn’t recognize their social existence and the parts they play in the definition of our markets over time. I believe that any division of an organization affected by outside activity will require a socialized approach, whether it’s simply monitoring or more likely monitoring, engaging and adapting.

The Last Mile – The Socialization of Business

The Last Mile of Social Media is solved by “connecting the brand” and its purpose, value, intent, and voice with the consumers in and around the diverse roles they play in the business ecosystem. It supported by a methodology and framework that proactively and reactively connects representatives and value to people of interest in their “social” homes.

Ring of Representatives: The outer ring is orbited by brand representatives from various divisions.

The Last Mile: Representatives are connected to consumers based on needs, challenges, and opportunities unique to business processes and functions. The interaction is a seamless extension of the company purpose, value, voice, and bonded through genuine intent and engagement.

The Consumer Hub: A cushion between the “Last Mile” and the consumer is padded by a trust zone that is developed around each consumer and dictated by the experiences with your product/services and fortified by the communication and engagement of your brand team, those of your competitors as well as their peers. Their experiences lead to perceptions and impressions that are in turn expressed through their social networks.

The Last Mile creates human connections with the mixed roles of the social consumer, one that brings to life the brand persona, purpose, and understanding through person-to-person interaction outside of the brand’s domain. The socialization of business then creates a unique bond between people and a more humanized and approachable brand icon, reinforced through informed, purpose-driven engagement.

UPDATE: Please read Josh Hallet’s excellent thoughts on The Last Mile published this January.

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Social Media is often misconstrued as a medium for business-to-consumer or B2C engagement and discounted as a viable communications network for those companies focused on business-to-business transactions. However, B2B, as in any other field impacted by online activity, is faced with a prime opportunity to not only cultivate communities in social networks and other social channels, but also amplify awareness, increase lead generation, reduce sales cycles, and perhaps most importantly, learn and adapt to market dynamics in real-time.

Ignorance is Bliss Until It’s Not…

Customers and those that influence them, regardless of industry, are migrating to the social Web at varying paces. While social or digital strategies do not replace proven means that are in play today, they do however, require augmentation and shifts in resources commensurate with the distribution of attention, where it’s focused and to what extent.

In my research, programs measured in hindsight are not the only views that offer 20/20 vision. Unobstructed foresight is now attainable and in some cases, predictable, based on our investment in time, energy and creativity in how we analyze online behavior, interaction, and ultimately influence. And, our ability to study and put research to work is only limited by our process for learning and adapting to earn and increase resonance within our target markets.

Perhaps one of the most fascinating aspects of listening to focused online interaction, is the ability to breakdown the decision making process and how customers and influencers impact behavior. To say it blatantly, social media makes it possible to identify and segment the specific stages of decision making online and how to in turn, respond in ways that steer interest in your favor. The results of these interactions also lend to the importance of adaptation. As we learn more about the challenges, considerations, and sentiment of our potential stakeholders, we can introduce those insights into future designs, processes, and communication.

If we are not part of the decision making process, we are then absent from the decision.

Opportunity Clicks

To help make the case, Outsell recently published its “Annual Advertising and Marketing Study” and in the report, Outsell states that B2B advertising and marketing spending will increase by only .8% to $129 billion. Interactive spending, on the other hand, will escalate by 9.2% to $51.5 billion this year.

As Social Media becomes pervasive in workflow and influence, Outsell’s study shows that spending is following the trend. To that end, B2B marketers will increase spending in social networks by 43.3%. While it’s not necessarily as alluring as social, company websites are only receiving a boost of 7.5%.

When we study engagement in interactive media, we find that we captivate attention in a very dynamic environment, but we lose them with each click that we either intentionally or unintentionally introduce to lead their experience post engagement. Many times, the click path is aimed right at the company site, and if we were to analyze the design and effectiveness of B2B websites today, we might just find that a large number are stuck in time, representative of an era more aligned with Web 1.0 than Web 2.0.  Opportunity clicks, and without defining a rich and rewarding click path as well as an enriching experience, which most likely requires the renovation of the corporate website, all online activity associated with increased social spending, will bear the brunt of defining and capitalizing on attention, within social networks, the moment it’s captured.

As part of the study, Outsell surfaced preferences for business engagement and activity in social networks. When asked to rate the effectiveness of particular networks, more than one-half of respondents claimed that Facebook was either “extremely” or “somewhat” effective. LinkedIn ranked second with 45% surprisingly (and not so surprisingly) ahead of Twitter at 35%, which of course, ranked higher than MySpace at 25%.

As eMarketer noted, when HubSpot ran its B2B North America survey, it found that businesses ranked LinkedIn on top at 45% ahead of Facebook at 33% as most effective in lead generation.

B2B, or any business or organization, must evaluate and implement interactive strategies in order to earn relevance and hopefully resonance in order to compete for the present and the future.

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I spend a great deal of time working within the B2B sector, among other things, and social media is a growing and or pervasive program within a comprehensive, integrated communications and service strategy. In almost every scenario I’ve encountered, executives, marcom and service executives, and brand managers have generally assumed that social and interactive activities and programming were ideally best suited for consumer applications. However, as we recently explored, in Social Media, it’s not just business, it’s business-to-business.

Indeed, Social Media is not limited to B2C applications, its impact and effects are actively measured and felt in B2B as well as government, education, military, and other prominent verticals. As decision makers take to the social web, their research, activity, communication, and most importantly, their relationships only intensify over time.

If you’re working in B2B, perhaps this post will provide you with value. Or, at the very least, it will arm with you data necessary to convince, compel, and persuade those skeptical or uninspired colleagues, clients, and managers.

Business.com recently conducted a study that evaluated Social Media activities of those in B2B and B2C. In its report, “2009 B2B Social Media Benchmarking Study,” Business.com found that North American companies focused on B2B were much more rigorous in the world of social media than those in B2C. As you’ll see, B2B leads the fray across the entire regiment of campaigns and programs.

Social Media: B2B vs. B2C

Maintained company-related profiles on social networks:

B2B: 81%
B2C: 67%

Participate in Twitter:

B2B: 75%
B2C: 49%

Host blog/s:

B2B: 74%
B2C: 55%

Monitor brand mentions:

B2B: 73%
B2C: 55%

Engage in discussions:

B2B: 66%
B2C: 43%

Participate in Q&A sites such as Yahoo Answers, LinkedIn, forums:

B2B: 59%
B2C: 44%

Upload content (social objects) to Social Networks:

B2B: 50%
B2C: 32%

Manage a community dedicated to customers or prospects:

B2B: 49%
B2C: 51%

Monitor/support user ratings and reviews:

B2B: 49%
B2C: 51%

Produce Webinars or podcasts:

B2B: 46%
B2C: 22%

Advertise on social networks:

B2B: 42%
B2C: 54%

Utilize social bookmarking sites such as delicious and digg:

B2B: 38%
B2C: 21%

Employee recruiting:

B2B: 36%
B2C: 27%

As expected, those companies engaging in social media, whether B2B or B2C, focused efforts on creating social network profiles, microblogging, blogs, and brand monitoring, hitting a high of 81%. Most social activities however, maintained a level of participation with an average of around 50%. There is room for growth for brand engagement regardless of industry.

Business.com also evaluated where companies were focusing their attention and resources. The study surfaced that not only are a greater number of B2B companies experimenting with Social Media, they are also extending their presence across multiple networks. However, B2C businesses dominated engagement within Facebook and MySpace.

Notice the disparity between B2B and B2C adoption of Twitter. If these numbers truly reflect that of the greater community of businesses, B2B companies are at the forefront of this wildly scrutinized and popularized social property.

Facebook

B2B: 77%
B2C: 83%

Twitter

B2B: 73%
B2C: 45%

LinkedIn

B2B: 56%
B2C: 27%

YouTube

B2B: 43%
B2C: 30%

MySpace

B2B: 14%
B2C: 23%

FriendFeed

B2B: 9%
B2C: 2%

Plurk

B2B: 1%
B2C: 0%

Other

B2B: 4%
B2C: 8%

Also according to the Business.com study, 60% of B2B respondents leverage Twitter search to monitor brand or company mentions compared to just 35% of those in B2C. With Facebook slowly revising their privacy settings to open up real-time search capabilities within the 350 million strong network and MySpace recently announcing the availability of a real-time API, businesses will have the ability, and the responsibility, to search for relevant conversations outside of Twitter and Google.

Google search results, at least prior to the real-time search revolution, also proved valuable for mining and unearthing relevant content. 59% of B2B and 40% of B2C companies report using Google Alerts and 61% of B2C and 60% of B2B reported that they actively googled themselves.

With the rapid evolution of search, business monitoring will assuredly shift its focus from traditional to real-time. Just recently, Google announced both Social Search, the inclusion of content generated by your social graph in traditional search results, as well as real-time results from Twitter and other social networks. We already know that customers, regardless of industry, are actively taking to search engines to learn more about brands and products mentioned in their social stream.

A New Era of Influence

- 20% of tweets published are actually invitations for product information, answers or responses from peers or directly by brand representatives

- About half of Twitter users who were introduced to a brand on Twitter were compelled to search for additional information

- 8% of those who came into contact with a brand name on Twitter went on to search for additional information on search engines with 34% searching other social networks

Customers Take to the Social Web

- 44% admitted that they have recommended products in Social Media and 39% stated that they have discussed a product specifically on Twitter

- 46% of Facebook users talk about or recommending products on the 225 million strong social network

- Social Media already accounted for 18% of all information searching in early 2009

- 30% claim they wished to learn more

- 27% reported that they were receptive to receiving invitations for events, special offers or promotions

- 25% stated that they visited a site after learning about a product on their social network of preference

Engagement Has Its Rewards

In a recent Razorfish study, 40.1% of consumers reported friending a brand on Facebook or MySpace. Once a connection was established, the resulting activity was profoundly beneficial to the awareness and potential revenue of the brand.

Recommend the brand to others:

Always: 22.94%
Usually: 39.15%
Sometimes: 33.92%

Consider the brand when in the market for a similar product of service:

Always: 22.69%
Usually: 40.90%
Sometimes: 34.41%

Raise awareness of the brand:

Always: 21.45%
Usually: 38.65%
Sometimes: 36.66%

Purchase a product/service from the brand:

Always: 17.46%
Usually: 42.89
Sometimes: 36.66%

ROI: Return on Investment or Ignorance?

I recently wrote about the lacking of an industry-wide practice for measuring social media. According to one study, 85% of businesses engaged in interactive programs were not measuring the ROI.

Even though measurement was more pervasive in B2B over B2C, participating companies appeared to actively measure social media in this case – at least those surveyed anyway. B2C companies tended to focus on revenues to assess ROI (where the I represents investment and involvement). B2B companies typically evaluated Web traffic, brand awareness, and the quality and volume of lead generation. That being the case, B2B and B2C reported that Web traffic was considered the top metric.

It appears that an industry typically characterized as lethargic is in actuality, pioneering new forms of communications, service, sales and branding in the social realm.

Questions remain for me however, in order to better ascertain how and why businesses are using these new tools and to what extent. For example, I would ask those within B2B and B2C what their level of engagement and commitment to social media is across multiple departments within the organization. I firmly believe that every department affected by outside behavior or those that have the ability to affect it will ultimately benefit from socializing. Therefore, conducting a benchmark survey to capture the state of the industry as it corresponds specifically to service, sales, branding, communications, HR, etc., will help us better surface opportunities and potential strategies. In addition, I suggest introducing one more set of questions that focuses on what I refer to as the “ a ha” vs. the “uh oh” moment, when a company decides to embrace or experiment in Social Media. Are businesses jumping online because they realized the opportunity specific to a network or because they felt it necessary based on a negative discussion or series of negative and public instances.

The Attention Economy and Earned Relevance

Attention is increasingly thinning and as such, it is considered a precious commodity.

Whether it’s B2B or B2C, we are each in the end, consumers. And, as consumers, we seek information online in order to make more informed decisions based on research, the advice of friends, peers, and experts, and the recognition of our questions and commentary directly from brands. In order to make an impact on the bottom line through sales and the ongoing investment in engendering goodwill and earning loyalty, we must focus our time and resources on the attention dashboards of our prospects and customers, as well as those who also influence them. If we do not, we will quickly find ourselves outside of the parameters within every business decision-making process.

If it is one thing that we learn right here, right now, is that Social Media affects every part of the buying cycle. This is why a company-wide SRM program must be engineered and deployed in order to effectively monitor behavior and sentiment to effectively and genuinely shape perception, cultivate meaningful relations, and inspire action.

General Buying Cycle

1. Acknowledging the need

2. Awareness

3. Research

4. Consideration (the short list)

5. Evaluation

6. Purchase

7. Applications

8. The Experience

9. Reaction

10. Opportunity for advocacy

It should also not go unsaid, that while women rule the social web, the buying process in B2C is also influenced by women in a relationship setting. According to Marti Barletta, author of Marketing to Women and PrimeTime Women, when men and women buy as partners, women control at least four out of five stages of the purchasing process. While this isn’t representative of the bigger pitcure, it is still nonetheless interesting and worthy of consideration.

This is why in the world of B2C marketing, women are considered the Chief Household Officer as they’re actively driving and steering purchase decisions.

Five stages of the purchasing process:

1. Kick-off – women
2. Research – women
3. Purchase – men
4. Ownership – women
5. Word-of-mouth – women

It is how we engage at each step of this cycle that determines our place and stature within the inevitable path of attention, analysis, and action. Once we learn how and where to engage, we can then focus our efforts on earning affinity and advocacy. This is our time to garner relevance through the intelligent practice of poignant and relevant listening, understanding, and participation. In parallel, this is also our opportunity to establish authority and attention. Without it, it’s easy to vanish from the cycle of awareness and consideration. Out of sight, out of mind…

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Good friend Richard Binhammer of Dell (@richardatdell) reached out to let me know that the company is releasing the latest financial figures for its @DellOutlet account on Twitter tonight.

Last December, the company generated over $1 million in revenue through @delloutlet by posting special offers and also nurturing customer relationships on Twitter. Today Dell reported over $2 million in sales through its popular @delloutlet presence.  @delloutlet currently boasts close to 625,000 followers seeking exclusive deals available only on the micro community.

As Dell notes, “We’ve surpassed $2 million in revenue in terms of Dell Outlet sales, but we’re also seeing that it’s driving interest in new product as well. We’re seeing people come from @DellOutlet on Twitter into the Dell.com/outlet site, and then ultimately decide to purchase a new system from elsewhere on Dell.com. If we factor those new system purchases that come from @DellOutlet, we’re actually eclipsed $3 million in overall sales.”

@delloutlet has been active on Twitter since June of 2007, but as the chart visualizes, connection to Dell’s special pricing and the company’s vigilant focus on service and customer attention has helped attract over 500,000 followers in three months.

Current Dell involvement with Twitter focuses on listening, learning, and engaging in direct connections with customers. There are ~ 200 Dell employees using Twitter to interact with customers, including the product development team for Dell’s Mini line of fashionable and functional netbooks (@dell_mini).

In particular the Dell Mini team is leveraging Twitter to develop the next generation of netbooks. Other examples range from individuals in the CTO’s office to those who work on technology for education @edu4u and @paradigmshift, and of course the company’s largest business involving corporate data centers and servers (@dellservergeek, @brucerericatdell).

RichardatDell noted, “Like you say in your book Brian, this is about putting the public back in public relations where relationships are direct. The dedicated practice of connecting with customers generates real results on many levels. While this announcement focuses on revenue results and referrals to dell.com, they are also reinforced by the relationships and direct connections we have with customers everyday using the Web.”

Helpful Posts on PR 2.0:
- The State of Public Relations, Marketing and Communications: The Future is You
- Is Twitter a Broadcast or Conversation Platform (or Both)?
- Is Twitter Evolving from the Facebook to the Myspace of Microblogs
- Time Spent on Twitter Soars by Over 3,700%, Facebook 700%
- Gazing into The Twitterverse
- This is Not a Sponsored Post: Sponsored Conversations & the FTC
- Reviving the Traditional Press Release
- Twitter, Acquisition vs. Retention
- You Are Significant
- The Art and Science of Blogger Relations – Updated eBook
- In Social Media, The SEC Removes “Relations” from Investor Relations
- Twitter Flutters into Mainstream Culture: The New Competition for Attention Starts with You
- The Social OS, The Battle Between Facebook and Twitter is the New Mac vs. PC
- The Domino’s Effect
- Can The Statusphere Save Journalism
- The Conversation Index
- Social Media Influences Buying Decisions
- Is Social Media Recession Proof?
- The End of the Innocence
- The Social Effect and Disruption Theory
- Twitter and Social Networks Usher in a New Era of Social CRM
- Humanizing Social Networks, Revealing the People Powering Social Media
- I Like You The Emerging Culture of Micro Acts of Appreciation
- The Ties that Bind Us - Visualizing Relationships on Twitter and Social Networks
- Make Tweet Love – Top Tips for Building Twitter Relationships
- Are Blogs Losing Their Authority to the Statusphere
- Twitter Tools for Communication and Community Professionals
- Reinventing Crisis Communications for the Social Web

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Chris Anderson, Editor in Chief of Wired and also author of The Long Tail, is someone whom I deeply admire and respect. We’ve linked to each other in the past and for the most part, I agree with his views and observations.

Every now and then Anderson discusses the state of PR and when he does, it causes nothing less than a full-blown blogstorm that reverberates across the entire industry. But, what matters is that we all learn from it.

In his latest post, he makes a pretty powerful statement, “Sorry PR people, you’re blocked.”

If you don’t read anything else in my post, please just learn from what Chris says here, “So fair warning: I only want two kinds of email: those from people I know, and those from people who have taken the time to find out what I’m interested in and composed a note meant to appeal to that.”

Is that so hard?

Really?

What’s it going to take for PR to reflect that sentiment and honest plea for relevance?

It should be common sense. But it’s not. Common sense is all too uncommon in almost everything we do these days. I really wasn’t going to blog about this as there have been plenty of very astute, as well as unbelievably lame, commentary on the subject.

Taking a step back to observe the landscape, the cumulative response represents both sides of the spectrum and everything in between. The net result should be that we as PR people need to do things better.

So, where do I fit in?

As both a PR person and a blogger, and as a friend to many people currently discussing it online, I felt a bit like Al Pacino in Godfather Part III…every time I think I’m out, they draaaaaggg me back in!

First, let me say this, more for Chris, but to the benefit of everyone else as well, I agree and empathize with the inspiration behind your post.

No, really, I do.

Hell, I only get a small fraction of the press releases and pitches you receive, but it’s still enough to give me a taste of your frustration. I’m committed to helping rectify this problem for you and all other respectable and influential journalists and bloggers.

Let’s reach an accord shall we?

I promise to fix this problem among those with whom I work with and can reach. I will also work with others whose voices are trusted among PR practitioners and their peers within the communities in which they seek guidance. We will do everything we can to help teach those PR people who truly desire to learn and truly understand the ramifications of their actions, good and bad, and how to be successful while respecting the rules.

Everyone else, aka the lazy PR flacks, well, they’re are on their own.

What do I ask in return?

Remove the list of names from your blog. Keep them in your block list, but let’s not continue to publicly crush the hopes of those who really were only, at the end of the day, doing their job – no matter how poorly it was done.

Yes, I know and appreciate that you wouldn’t have drawn the same worldwide reaction had you not posted them. The deed is done and cheers to you for taking a stand.

I feel the lazy flacks have learned their lesson as they have all been alerted to the fact that they are the epitome of what’s wrong with PR; well, that, and the fact that your post scared the sh!t out of everyone else.

Yes, they represent the larger epidemic of what we the few, but proud PR folks who try to do things better, have to contend with day in and day out – the worldwide poor reputation of PR. Public Relations, when you think about it, really is the furthest thing from PR these days. I mean honestly, very few of us are out there building relationships with the public or people for that matter. Most of us don’t bother to spend the time to really learn about what we represent, why it matters, and how it’s different than everything else out there. And, without that understanding how could we possibly figure out the channels and context necessary for it to reach the people that would need to hear the story?

This is the reason why many PR people aren’t or will never be, ready to make the transition to Social Media. After all, if reporters and bloggers don’t want to talk to us, why would we bring the same foolish BS and spam tactics to our customers?

I dedicate this blog and almost everything that I do to try to change things for the better. But I am only one person. I join a growing group of people who really do want to change, build relationships, and be of service to you, our customers, as well as to the people who employ us.

But it’s not just PR. It’s the whole game of media. And, the game itself is broken.

The only reason anyone is paying attention now is because Social Media provides the ability for people to to reach other people on a global and immediate scale, and in this case it just may start to work itself from the right to the left on any market graph. People have voices now and they can now publicize and expose the very things we took for granted for far too long.

Let’s look at the game however, because PR is only one of many functions in the greater scheme of content distribution.

It is a job that many people perform everyday in order to earn a living. Like any business, there are shining stars and lazy flacks that ruin it for everyone else. But, it is still a job. and people are still just people. We all have a$$hole bosses or clients that push and push us in order to prove our value and earn our paychecks regardless of how much we push back. In many cases, like in everything else, most just grin and bear it. We also have coworkers that are just in this to collect a paycheck. Even though the timer is ticking until they leave the business, their contribution only damages the damaged PR reputation in the meantime.

Many of us are measured in volume, inbound links, traffic, sales, or by the stack of coverage, that all collectively determines our ability to keep our jobs. Don’t get me wrong. There are plenty of snake oil s
alesman in
this business, and in every business for that matter, but those who truly want to do things differently choose to separate themselves from the crowd.

There are those that are overly ambitious and just don’t know better. Then there are those who are trained by decades of outdated communications philosophies, formulas and bullsh!t metrics that send them out into the real world only to get baptized by fire for every mistake they make – while taking down the brand they represent in the process. And in the realm of Social Media, these lessons are the equivalent of public flogging in the town square, except this time, the world is watching.

There have been many responses to this subject, however, what every single one of them is missing is that sense of internalization that demonstrates that “we” get it. Maybe most don’t believe that some of us could get it, but boy, do we get it. Then again, how does everyone else know we really get it?

I can guarantee you that I will still get my scheduled call from Bacons aka MediaMap offering to renew my unbelievably expensive subscription to the “industry-leading” media database, that, as they SWEAR, provides me with every opt-in contact who wants to receive information associated with key topics, products and industries.

But, it’s the difference between building lists and building relationships.

Could we do our job better?

Hell yes.

Could we take the time to make sure that what we want to share is actually important to you?

Yes. Absolutely.

Should we spend more time reaching out to people individually than blasting matrices comprised of those who are simply grouped by “key words?”

Yeah. I mean, it should be obvious. But most PR people, veterans included, are just groomed to make the numbers. But, yes, yes we really need to adopt and live the “less is more” and “quality versus quantity” mantras we hear all the time. More importantly, we need to also push back and ensure that our clients and bosses understand what the collective group of fed-up journalists and bloggers are saying that they will no longer tolerate the status quo.

It’s all about humanizing not just the process of receiving information, but also the process of sending it.

Is PR representative of spam?

For the most part, yes.

This is business and every cog in the machine has its associated benefits and downsides. For every reporter and blogger that’s inundated with lame pitches and unsolicited press releases, I can show you two flacks that are equally spammed with requests for updates and the status of coverage from execs in order to prove their worth. The problem is so much deeper than PR spam. It goes back to the very reason why companies invest in PR in the first place, and in the process, they mostly miss the point of publicity all together. They all believe their news matters to everyone else and that you have nothing better to do than take our release and run with it.

Get me the Wall Street Journal!

Why aren’t we in the New York Times?

You do have these relationships right?

But, let’s put things in perspective. There’s more to the story.

Media is also a business and they are comprised of both editorial and advertising departments. Do you know how many phone calls and emails I get from sales or biz dev people from publications and blogs soliciting advertising “deals” and sponsorship opportunities for conferences? You’d be surprised and I’m not the only one.

In some cases, I’ll receive calls only moments after speaking with a reporter saying, “I hear so and so is considering running your company in the story on such and such. I think it would be smart to also take out an ad to strengthen your story and your brand.”

I’ve even had some reporters tell us off the record that they were advised not to cover us until certain contracts were signed.

Ahh yes, this is all a business. Most editors and reporters however, have the luxury of not seeing this side of things. It’s not hypocrisy. In most cases it really is just church and state, but just not equally on both sides of the playing field.

Do any of these sales people take the time to figure out that I’m merely in PR and not in sales?

For the most part, I’d wager that these ad sales people are more aggressive and relentless than PR could ever be.

While reporters complain of those PR people who follow up and ask, “Did you get my email?” There are also sales people who call daily to CONVINCE me that I’m making a terrible mistake by not running ads when my competitors are all participating.

Yes, it’s the difference between commission and fixed salary – it’s all related to the ability to sell a story vs. tell a story.

Like anything there are lines and they’re crossed all the time, across the board.

But for every crappy PR person and ad rep, there are also equally lazy writers.

Trust me when I say though, that there are plenty of reporters and bloggers who can’t get the story right, even if they’re briefed, which has legitimate business ramifications. There are lazy reporters who simply cut and paste and can’t be bothered to do more. There are writers who won’t cover a story because someone else did, even though their ad departments can “prove” that their demographics have little crossover with any of their competition. There are those who break embargoes for the sake of getting the extra eyeballs for that particular story. And then there are those who are better than everyone else. These actions too come at a price.

Would publicly outing these people make things better?

I don’t think so. Is PR constantly sending offers for penis enlargement miracles or the ability to meet lonely women in your area tonight?

No.

So, just opt out. It’s part of the business.

It’s the difference between spam and someone just doing their job – again, even though it’s a poor way of doing so.

It’s just as easy to reply to someone with either unsubscribe or “f#ck off” as it is to place them on a blog post where they, and their company can be ridiculed.

Block them and publish the companies like Gina Trapani did (whom I also greatly admire.)

We all choose who we ultimately work with and we earn the relationships we deserve. But at the end of the day, the onus is on PR leaders to do something about it – at least from our side any way.

Chris Anderson didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know. He only brought a bigger magnifying glass to class in order for us to more effectively see the ills of our business. We still have things we need to change and until we do, these public lists are only going to increase in frequency and volume.

Attention PR people, here are your lifehacks or PR hacks in order for you to do your job better and stop pissing people off ( and ruining it for the rest of us in the process).

1. Remember this is about people

2. What do you stand for? Answer that first before you try to convince people that are busier than you why they should take time to stop what they’re doing to pay you any attention.

3. It’s more than doing your homework. To some doing homework is building lists. Figure out what your are representing and why it matters. How does it compare to other things. What do people need? What are their pains?

4. Practice saying it aloud in one-to-two minutes or less to a friend or in front of a mirror. Seriously. It works. If you don’t get it no one else will.

5. Less is more. Find the right people, not just because you read their profile in a database, but because you read their work and understand their perspective.

6. Engage in conversations outside of when you need something.

7. Build relationships not lists.

8. Humanize the process and remember that this is about people

9. Stop whining and making excuses. You are responsible for your actions so arm yourself with what you need to be successful.

10. Isn’t weird that it’s always 10? Stop sending press releases without summarizing what the news is and why it is IMPORTANT to the individual person you’re sending it to.

11. Ah, thank you Spinal Tap. This one goes to 11. Remember the future of PR is on you. If you’re not in this to do your job better, then ask yourself why you’re here. If you’re not actively contributing to things improving then you’re part of the problem.

Other voices on the subject (all of whom I felt had something relevant to contribute to the discussion):

Pro
Plasticbag
Organgrinder
Jeremy Zawodny
Copywrite
Commercial Archive
PR. Differently
darrenbarefoot
Common Sense PR
PSFK
BoingBoing
AccMan
AR&D;
Bad Pitch Blog
Jeremy Pepper
Cartoon Barry Blog
JackieDanicki
Marketing Begins at Home

Observing
Galleycat
UNC
Murphy’s Law
Web Ink Now
The Flack
CrunchGear
C.C. Chapman

An Alternative Perspective
Shel Holtz
Joshua Schachter
Bokardo
SiliconValleyWatcher
Topaz Partners
How to Split an Atom
Mobhappy
IPDemocracy
Behind the Buzz
Ryan Block
Geoff Livingston

UPDATE: Chris Anderson follows up his original post by surveying the aftermath. He also had a few nice things to say in response to a comment about my post. Thank you Chris, I appreciate it. “Brian’s a smart guy and the bits I read seems spot on…”

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