By now we have all heard about the leadership failings of ousted J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson. There has been plenty of traditional marketing-driven Monday Morning Quarterbacking going on to explain what went wrong. In a nutshell, investors lost faith in Johnson’s plan to reinvent the brand’s sales approach, namely scraping discounts and introducing everyday low prices. It seems Johnson wanted to modernize J.C. Penney; make it appeal to a younger demographic; make it cool. What’s wrong with that you may ask? Nothing - unless the majority of your customers are the so-called old and uncool. And for the purposes of this blog, that’s the big social media takeaway. You don’t have to host tragically hip social campaigns to produce truly profitable results.
Recent polling suggests that teens and twenty-somethings are experiencing social fatigue. Facebook doesn't seem to hold the same sway with these age groups. On the flip-side, individuals in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and above are a growing social audience. Being that I am only 4 years from being a member of the 40 club, I am not prepared to label any of these demographics as dull. Still, more mature users have different reasons for establishing a social media... Read more
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A Lesson from J.C. Penney: Remember the Customers You “Socialize” With
Tags: Facebook, Instagram, online branding, online sales, online shopping, pinterest, social branding, Social Media
Posted in Opinions, Social Media | 2 Comments »
Leveraging LinkedIn Groups to Build Internal Social Cred and Morale
Many buttoned-up industries remain gun shy about releasing the social reins in their offices. Law firms and financial institutions immediately come to mind. There is a fear that allowing employees access to social media will pose compliance threats and undermine productivity. From the employee perspective, this screams of distrust and disinterest. Fortunately, companies in the aforementioned business sectors are starting to embrace, at minimum, LinkedIn understanding it is a vital spoke in the lead generation wheel. As for staff engagement, worries persist but these concerns can be alleviated in short order by leveraging a closed LinkedIn group for the organization. By making social part of your internal communication structure you can get to know your employees better, convey your corporate philosophy in a way that doesn't cure insomnia, and build credibility and morale.
Corporate Culture and Social Media
It’s great that the corporate world is getting social but it’s important that it doesn't let its sales agenda show. Blackballing your staff from accessing social media while you attempt to prosper off of it is alarmingly self-serving. Listen, you hired your employees for a reason. You must think they are capable of tactical and/or strategic thinking. Let them foster their ideas in a... Read more
Tags: LinkedIn, LinkedIn Groups, Social Media
Posted in Opinions, Social Media | 3 Comments »
Admit It, You Don't Read the Article Links You Share
You have a content sharing strategy in place. You love, love, love reviewing your monthly metrics to see who is sharing your awesome stuff, commenting on your social networks, and clicking on your links. Seeing the fruits of your labor can be a real kick in the head, especially when it's going according to your results-driving plan. But are you really, truly putting the work in? Fess up. How many of those links that you are tweeting, posting on Facebook or Google+, or sharing on LinkedIn have you actually bothered to read or watch? Sure, you can get away with the cliff notes version of a relationship building plan every now and then. We're all guilty of it. But if sharing links for the sake of sharing links is the whole of your approach, your approach has a ton of holes.
To be honest, this is the reason why so many people doubt the authenticity and overall importance of social media metrics for determining ROI. But folks who are addicted to blindly sharing links have no one to blame but themselves if they aren't experiencing their desired returns. They call it ROI for a reason. What exactly are you investing in... Read more
Tags: Facebook, Google Plus, LinkedIn, ROI, Social Media, social media metrics, twitter
Posted in Opinions, Social Media | 2 Comments »
Tis the Season for Bolstering Your Social Media Customer Service
The other night I was watching Miracle on 34th Street, the unfortunate color version, and it got me to thinking. No, not about my blog post from last year (shameless plug for interested readers) but about customer service in general. The importance of ongoing communication with your brand ambassadors in the social space is almost immeasurable. Done well and you can have customers for life. Done poorly and you’re looking at nothing but coal tucked in your stocking and thrown at your head. This is pretty much agreed upon across all industries. So then why do some industries spend so much time ducking and weaving and so little time conversing?
There are a variety of factors that contribute to being socially challenged. Take highly regulated industries like pharma, finance, and healthcare for instance. Maintaining compliant yet engaging language can be tough. What’s more, reaching out to followers after listening to their tweets and posts can be even trickier. Tricky but not impossible. Compliance driven brands can develop and sustain meaningful relationships with customers by doing something they are not entirely familiar with – sharing thoughts and updates that have nothing to do with them. Companies in these sectors, especially in recent... Read more
Tags: customer service, Facebook, holidays, social marketing, Social Media, social networking, twitter
Posted in Opinions, Social Media | 5 Comments »
4 Ways to Give Thanks for Your Clients on Social
The holiday season is officially upon us. This is a time for good food, wine, friends, and family. It all starts on Thanksgiving Day when turkey and football take center stage. There will be plenty of gobble-inspired social memes to go around, which is all well and great for your personal social network. But what about taking the time to express your gratitude and appreciation to your clients not only on Thanksgiving but throughout the year? On social, it’s never too late to say thank you in creative and potentially results-driving ways. Here are four strategies for giving thanks and perhaps getting something to be thankful for in return.
1 – Make Your Thanks Go Viral – Sure, you could have your social media community manager post a thank you card on your news feed or company page. Or you could create a thank you video that you share with specific clients, groups, or customers. Videos go viral when they connect with viewers on an emotional level. Make ‘em laugh. Make ‘em cry ugly tears. Either way, you’ll make a holiday memory that resonates for the long-term.
2 – Drive Social Goodness – It used to be that companies would give a blank... Read more
Tags: blogging, branding, corporate blogging, social good, Social Media
Posted in Opinions, Social Media, Video | 4 Comments »
