On May 25th, I participated in the Social Media Plus Summit at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. The event included a series of lectures geared towards different business audiences (i.e. Sales, Marketing, Executive, Human Resources, etc) and exhibitors showcasing their products/services. A scan of the crowd showed a diverse audience made up of several hundred individuals hoping to learn more about social media. Below is a summary of the sessions that I attended and the lessons learned:
Lead, Follow, or Get out of the Web
This session was presented by Bill Lublin, CEO of the Social Media Marketing Institute, who has been recognized as a leader in education and technology in the real estate industry. The goal of the lecture was to provide tips on how to monitor, manage and measure your reputation across all of the social media channels. Some of the key takeaways were as follows:
- While social media is creating conversations between customers and businesses online, it will not replace the need for engaging individuals offline – online interactions are enhanced by face to face meetings.
- Before launching a social media campaign it is important to use the POST method to determine the right path. POST = People, Objectives, Strategy and Tools.
- Whether you actively participate in social media, you MUST monitor and listen to the conversations that are or in some cases not happening. A lack of conversations around your company when you are in the middle of a marketing blitz can be as damaging as it potential means that your campaign is missing the mark and is failing to generate buzz.
- In order to be successful in social media “be nice, be real, under-promise and over-deliver.”
Aligning Marketing & Sales in a 2.0 World
This session was led by Garth Moulton, VP Community and Co-Founder of Jigsaw, who is a seasoned sales professional. The presentation was designed to showcase some the Sales 2.0 tools and processes that have helped companies successfully transition into a new world in sales. Some of the key takeaways were as follows:
- The buying power has shifted from one individual controlling the budget and decision-making to a multi-layered hierarchy of control and a more complicated decision-making process.
- In order to achieve the best results in social media it is recommended to have the strategy and implementation carried out by the Marketing team and layering in the Sales team when the conversations become product specific.
Social Media for B2B Marketing Mix: Planning, Expanding, Executing & Measuring
This lecture was given by Beth Hate, Sr. Subject Matter Expert, Digital Marketing at Serengeti Communications, who has over 15 years of experience in integrated marketing communications. The goal of this presentation was to share how B2B marketers can add social media into their campaigns. Some of the key takeaways were as follows:
- There is a shift from looking at the traditional 4 P’s of Marketing to the 4 C’s (Customer, Cost, Convenience and Communication). Personally, I prefer looking at the 5 P’s of Marketing (People, Product, Price, Place and Promotion) which has been updated as marketers added “People” to the mix.
- A successful fully integrated marketing communications campaign incorporates the 5 R’s (Relevance, Receptivity, Response, Recognition and Relationships).
Measuring Social Media Effectiveness
This session was presented by Connie Bensen, Director of Social Media & Community Strategy at Alterian, who is also recognized by Forbes.com as having one of the top 20 best marketing and social media blogs by women. The purpose of this presentation was to show how businesses can effectively measure the results of their social media campaigns. Some of the key takeaways were as follows:
- The five steps for effectively measuring social media include 1) Listen using a comprehensive tool 2) Decide on objectives and plan strategy 3) Define metrics based on objectives 4) Benchmark and execute 5) Measure, report and refine.
- When listening to social media conversations marketers should consider the daily volume of conversations, the social networks being used, the locations of the communities online and offline and the sentiment and tone of the discussions.
The Art of Conversation: Engaging Fans, Friends and Foes Successfully
This discussion was by far my favorite and was led by Jason Falls, Principal at the Social Media Explorer. He was billed as being smart and witty and he delivered. The presentation focused on examples of how to get back to the core of good customer service and stewardship by effectively communicating to your fans, friends and foes with the goal of business success in mind. Some of the key takeaways were as follows:
- People inherently want to find like-minded people to have conversations with to share and receive recommendations. Marketers must gain trust in order to join these groups by providing value consistently over time.
- “Conversational marketing success occurs when our genuine participation (that not motivated by marketing goals) earns our audience’s permission to share information that is.” This can be achieved by: 1) Purposely avoiding pitching 2) Illustrating your expertise and not your catalog 3) Over share that of others 4) Designate a channel for buyers only 5) Offer to inform or help if they are interested 6) Be confident that you offer value 7) Make the conversation about them.
- If you find yourself in a situation where the conversation turns negative it is important to acknowledge their rights to complain, apologize or assert yourself if warranted, assess what will help them feel better, act accordingly and abdicate if necessary.
If you attended this social media summit, let us know what sessions you enjoyed and the lessons learned. If you did not attend, do you agree or disagree with these lessons and have you incorporated any of them into your campaigns?
Author: Brian Rice
