What it Takes to Get Somewhere

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October 14th, 2009

marble-boat-china

I go to the gym everyday (yes that’s right) but when I go I have a few options to get there.  I can walk, take a bus, flag down a cab, take a zip car, etc.  I always choose walking (around a mile) because that’s what works for me.  If I want to go to Italy I can either walk and then swim there, fly, or take a boat.  You can save money and walk/swim but it will take you quite a while and will probably kill you.

The same analogy applies for business.  You need to understand where you’re trying to take your company and what it’s going to take to get there.  In social media you can tinker around a few social media platforms for free, you can develop a full strategy, or you can incorporate everything and then add a measurement/ROI component beneath all of that.  If you really want to take your business to the next level with social media and accountability then it’s going to take time and it’s going to take money.

I can give you a few quick tips on how to use twitter or give you a list of best practices to follow on facebook but is that where you want to go with your company?  Really understanding and getting at social media ROI is not going to be an easy or an overnight task.  There are going to be several technology and business challenges which we are going to have to overcome and we are going to have to develop business and technology solutions to lay the ROI foundation.  Again, is this where you want to take your company?  If so, then we should be talking.

Be realistic with where you want to take your company and what it’s going to take to get there.

TAGS: social media accountability, social media expectations, social media roi, what it takes to get somewhere

David Letterman VS Bob Lutz (GM Vice Chairman)

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May 6th, 2009

letterman

On Wednesday night Letterman decided to make a few anti “Volt” remarks (GM’s new car) basically saying that the gas mileage isn’t great and that in general he isn’t fond of the car.  Bob Lutz, the GM Vice Chairman decided to respond to Letterman’s comments about the Volt via the GM Fastlane Blog.  Bob Lutz was visibly upset and for good reason, nobody wants to hear their company product get trashed on national television with millions of people watching.  Bob Lutz took a great approach to addressing Letterman though, he publicly invited him to come learn more about the “Volt,” and offered him a test car to borrow for a while, Bob also offered to appear on the Letterman show!

“I would like to personally invite Dave to come learn more about the Volt, including the hugely important but unmentioned-by-him fact that its range is 40 purely electric miles plus several hundred more miles thanks to its range-extender. Dave may drive more than 40 miles a day on his commute from the palatial Connecticut estate, but about 80 percent of Americans don’t. And those people could conceivably drive the Volt every day and never use a drop of gasoline.

I’d like Dave to drive a Volt test mule and see for himself. And I’d be happy to appear on his show, like Mr. Musk had the opportunity to do, and set the record straight on the Volt and its promise.”

As I mentioned above Bob took a great approach to addressing Letterman, here’s what I think he did right:

  • publicly stated that he disagreed with Letterman’s remarks and offered to help “educate” him
  • showed the GM community that GM is listening to what is being said about their cars
  • acknowledged that GM has other issues to worry about but is still concerned with brand reputation
  • acknowledged that if Letterman is misinformed then it’s partly due to GM not spreading the message properly
  • clearly stated that their (GM) goal is to correct any misunderstandings or lack of communication

Bob also ended his post with a great statement:

“So that’s why we’re taking a moment on a Friday to let you know we heard what was said, we don’t agree with it, and we’d like the opportunity to put things right. Simple as that.”

Very well played in my opinion, your thoughts?

TAGS: bob lutz, bob lutz vs david letterman, david letterman, gm, vice chairman, volt

Three Things to Think About Before Starting with Social Media

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February 9th, 2009

Something I don’t hear many people talking about is how branding, goals, and measurement are going to affect how you craft and execute your social media marketing strategy. Let’s take a simple example of the airline industry. I’m sure you can think of many different ways that airlines can use social media: purchase [...]

TAGS: Branding, goals, measurement, social media

How do You Maintain a Positive Online Presence?

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November 9th, 2008

This is a follow up post to yesterday’s “How do You Repair a Negative Online Presence?”  A lot of marketers think that achieving a positive online presence means that their job is done.  Not true, a positive online presence is only half the battle, you also have to make sure that your online presence STAYS [...]

TAGS: get positive online presence, how to get a positive online presence, keep users happy, maintain positive online presence, make customers happy

How do You Repair a Negative Online Presence?

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November 8th, 2008

Yesterday I talked about some of the free tools you could use to monitor your online brand/reputation.  Today I want to talk about what to do when you find out that someone is bashing you or your company.  Let’s say you’re using google alerts or serph and you find a blog post talking about how [...]

TAGS: fix negative online image, negative feedback, negative online presence, online presence, repair negative feedback, repair negative online presence

Do You Love Your Customers?

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June 5th, 2008

Near my apartment in San Francisco there is a small dry cleaning shop. It’s a family run business that has been around for a while. What makes this particular dry cleaning shop different is that they have a large sticker posted on their window that says “We ‘heart’ our customers.” I actually [...]

TAGS: love your customers


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