As an early adopter, I have always been one of the first to jump aboard new technology and new ideas. I’ve been using PC’s since the most basic units cost more than a used Toyota. I have been a High Definition TV zealot since I first saw it at a Las Vegas broadcaster convention 20 years ago and had one in my living when the only thing on TV in HD was the reel of 20 0r 30 nature videos played over and over on Public TV. I had one of the first devices that was called a Smart Phone so long ago that, when compared to today’s Droids and iPhones was about as smart as a turtle on a fence post. I was introduced to the Web in 1994 and have been involved in Web development since the only Web creation tool was notepad and an FTP program.
Although Social Media is now a mainstream phenomenon, I’ve been participating in the “Social” Web since the days when online communities were nothing but DOS text on a black screen over a 14.4 modem. While the land rush is now on to sign up for MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Foursquare profiles, I was among the first to participate in all of them.
So, you’re probably thinking if I’m such an early adopter, why did it take me so long to create my own blog?
I actually have been blogging since 1996. It just wasn’t called that. My monthly email newsletter for my company was called Websight Insight, and every issue had two or three articles on Web marketing best practices. After it was sent to the mailing list, the articles became a part of our Web site. Those have continued all along, and eventually became a part of the WordPress installation for news and articles in a new site we developed a few years ago.
But I still never had my very own blog, at my very own domain name… until now. You’ll find my new blog at triveraguy.com
Still not sure that floods of people will be here to read what I have to say. I have approximately 6,000 followers on Twitter who have clicked through 37,000 times on links I’ve promoted to other people’s blogs. So maybe I can drive some folks to my own stuff. While all of my content between 1997 and 2001 got lost due to several site redesigns and migrations, I’m confident that what is here will be of value to people trying to figure out how digital media fits into their business strategy…matter of fact as I’m going through the archives to add all my content to this blog, I’m thinking much of it is actually pretty darn good if I say so myself. Even the really old stuff.
So do with this thing what people in the Social Media world do…Delicious it, Digg It, Reddit it, StumbleUpon it, Bookmark it, Tweet it, Wave it, Buzz it, Fark it, Fave it, comment on it, snag the RSS feed, but most important, I hope you do with the information what some “fans” have been doing for 14 years: read it and use it help your business.
And let me know what else I can do for you or a topic I can cover.
People who follow me on Twitter know that a prominent component of the way I use that Social Networking tool is to post links to helpful articles. As the primary brand voice of Trivera, my goal is to help people learn both about me and FROM me. And so while just about any time of day, you’ll see me using Twitter to opine, engage, interact, and sometimes just be goofy, every weekday during business hours my Tweet-stream contains posts like: “5 reasons your Web site is losing money http://ow.ly/1wqy,” “19 Tips for Driving Traffic to Your Blog http://ow.ly/1vZCT“ and “10 signs your iPad has made you the most annoying person ever http://ow.ly/1vGUQ.”
Those articles come from blogs, email newsletters and forums and are specifically chosen to help you become better at what you do, and show up about once an hour between 9am and 5pm, Monday through Friday. Whether you’re a small business owner, Web developer, marketing professional, or just a student of the digital world, the articles I link to are specifically, and strategically selected to give you a few nuggets of helpful wisdom in a quick read (or scan).
Part of my daily regimen is an early morning check of my RSS feeds, industry newsletters and a few quirky and obscure Web sites to find informational resources for myself. Of the hundred or so articles I see, and the 20 or 30 I read, I pick the 7 or 8 that really represent the cream of the crop and share them with my Twitter followers. The common denominator is that they’re short, well written, accurate, organized, timely and helpful. I often re-write the headline if I think I can better communicate the benefit of the information and improve the likelihood that people will go read them. And I use Hootsuite to shorten the URL and schedule them to trickle out during the day rather than deluge everyone with a flood of information all at once.
Some critics have questioned why I do it, pointing out that they can get all of this in their own RSS feed. But I know from my own daily exercise that, because anyone can blog, much of what fills the blogosphere is poorly written, filled with errors, or both. I’ve earned the trust of my followers to be the filter that only allows the best of the best.
The evidence shows that I must be doing something right. In addition to shortening long URLS and allowing me to schedule my posts, Hootsuite allows me to measure metrics. Since I began doing this and keeping track a little over a year ago, over 31,000 people have clicked through to read what I’ve posted. And by even being able to see which articles are the most clicked on, it allows me to fine tune the choice of articles to make sure that I’m tweeting the types of content that people find most helpful.
The good news is that you don’t even have to be on Twitter to benefit from the articles. Bookmark this link and just my tweets with shortened links will show up in your browser. If you have an RSS reader, add this feed to it, and the articles will show up there.
Since we’ve been in business, it’s been my goal raise the level of the Web intelligence of the market. I don’t have the time to blog as often as I’d like, and even when I do, someone else has probably already blogged about my topic before. But the combination of these articles and my blogs (which also end up in these Tweets and feeds), seem to be doing a great job of educating the market. In addition to making followers smarter, it also establishes me as an authority without having to spend hours a week writing my own blogs, which is a tactic we also recommend to some of our clients.
The world of the Web is changing rapidly. Web 1.0 is giving way to Web 2.0. While many of my tips are focused on Social Media, I still link to articles on Search Engine Optimization, Email Marketing and making your site successful. But there’s no doubt where the market is headed, and by following my posts, you can be equipped with the information you need to ride the wave.
Oh, and just in case you were wondering, the most clicked through article ever is You’re doing Social Media. That’s good. But not Mobile? Uh-oh…
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Tom Snyder is Founder, President and CEO of Trivera Interactive, a Midwest New Media firm. Tom is a Web guy, wine snob, music junkie, Ex-Milwaukee Radio Guy, HDTV expert, and political wonk.
An amazing wave has swept this great city on a great lake.
Having spent all of my 56 years in Milwaukee, I’ve always been proud when I hear visitors gush about what residents know all too well: The people of Milwaukee are the nicest folks they’ve ever met. So it’s only natural that a platform that is comprised of interaction and communication would flourish in a town like ours.
Social Media…and more specifically, Twitter and now FourSquare have made significant marks on the landscape of Brew City, including:
As we commemorate the first anniversary of a Tweetup that the Tweetup Girls held at the Iron Horse Hotel that seemed to be a pivotal moment, some with whom I talk are convinced that this is unique to Milwaukee. When I go to Tweetups and other Social Media focused events and feel the Twitter-love, the sentimental part of me is prone to believe it. Other less parochial folks insist that, while it’s big here, this same thing is happening in cities all over the country…and the world. And my logic has to admit that this must be the case.
Your thoughts? Is the Social Media love fest we’re enjoying here in Milwaukee real and unique to us?
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Tom Snyder is Founder, President and CEO of Trivera Interactive, a Midwest New Media firm. Tom is a Web guy, wine snob, music junkie, Ex-Milwaukee Radio Guy, HDTV expert, and political wonk.
“…pants on the ground, pants on the ground, looking like a fool with your pants on the ground…”
Last week, I went to the Social Media Breakfast expecting to be an attendee. Due to a speaker cancellation, I ended up being on the panel. The topic was “Snake Oil Salesman or Social Media Expert.” With Trivera’s production of last summer’s Social Media University – Milwaukee putting us on the radar screen as local Social Media gurus (or Snake Oil Salesmen), I was a logical candidate.
The discussion moved to a point where the final answer was going to hinge on whether a Return on Investment could be demonstrated for a Social Media program. The issue became the difficulty of calculating an ROI down to a meaningful and accurate number.
Tallying the “R” is the easy part. Tools exist to allow you to measure hits, monitor click throughs, calculate conversions, and figure out the impact of Social Media sites on your top line revenue. Small and large companies alike are already trumpeting specific revenue success directly attributable to Social Media initiatives.
It’s calculating the “I” that’s the sticky wicket.
Social Media tools are often touted as being “free.” Creating a blog, a Twitter account, a Facebook fan page or a LinkedIn profile can cost nothing. You can hire a company to create and administer a more robust Social Media presence, build a Facebook application, use tools like Radian6 or SM2 to monitor your brand buzz or create and distribute press releases using Pitchengine. While that will cost money, that outlay comes with hard numbers you can add to your equation. The part of this that drifts into the haze is the value of the time and effort that it takes to create and develop the relationships that will make Social Media campaigns successful. How do you count the cost in dollars for a company’s CEO to write blog on a Saturday, a small business owner’s dozens of Tweets during and after business hours, a salesman’s participation in a LinkedIn discussion, a marketing director’s evaluation of the growth of numbers of fans and followers, or a Customer Service Representative’s ongoing discussions in a community site engaging with fans of their brand or defending it against detractors?
Without that hard number on the investment side, accurately calculating the ROI on Social Media is nearly impossible. So does that mean there IS no ROI? My friend Augie Ray responds to that that question with this great quote (one that he isn’t even sure where it came from): “I’m not sure what the ROI is for putting on pants in the morning, but I do know I can’t conduct business without them! “
So it is with Social Media. Many, maybe even most companies, can prove no real quantifiable ROI. But they do know that they’re doing more business with it than they would without it.
Unfortunately, a successful Social Media program takes more effort than just putting on your pants. A Twitter account that consists of a tweet a week with no real engagement is like doing business in your boxers. A blog that hasn’t been updated in months is like leaving your Levi’s in the dryer. A LinkedIn profile without interaction, participation, or status updates is akin to walking out the door without your Dockers. A Facebook fan page with no entries, no promotion and a dozen fans is the equivalent of leaving with your Haggars in a heap on the floor.
Is there ROI in Social Media? There can be. A well developed Social Media strategy with the proper tools, patience and consistency will always have a higher ROI than one without it. Can you calculate it? Not to a decimal place.
But begin a Social Media program without them, and you could find yourself looking like…
Tom Snyder is Founder, President and CEO of Trivera Interactive, a Midwest New Media firm. Tom is a Web guy, wine snob, music junkie, Ex-Milwaukee Radio Guy, HDTV expert, and political wonk.
by Chris Remington
Here are 12 things to think about as you take your interactive marketing to the next level in 2010:
Have a plan – Yes, there are many tentacles to the interactive marketing beast, but with a well-crafted strategic plan it can be tamed. Start small if you must, but the important thing is to have a plan, execute it, and refine it over time.
Analytics are your friend – WebTrends, Omniture or Google Analytics; no matter which one you use (you do have analytics on your site, don’t you?!) take time to mine for the nuggets of information they offer about your site, your customers and how they consume your interactive content. Use this to power your plan (see H above).
Pretend you are your customer – You are too close to your product(s) and your industry. Think like your customer would think. Knowing what they would call your product(s), how they would search for it on a search engine, and where they gather online to converse about it, will help you massage and finesse your web content so it speaks to them in their language.
Performance indicators are key – What are the top two or three goals of your website and interactive marketing strategy? Customer engagement? Brand awareness? eCommerce transactions? Lead generation? Pick your goals, ensure you can monitor and track them, tailor content to achieve them, and track the effectiveness of your actions.
You can do it – While others would argue the fact, interactive marketing is not rocket science. It is still about the 4 P’s from Marketing 101 – product, place, price and promotion. Smart online marketing is no different than smart offline marketing. Research, plan, execute, monitor, refine. Repeat. Know the limitations and aspirations of your internal team as they relate to your interactive marketing efforts. Empower them. Empower yourself. You and your team know your strategy best. Go for it. Hire outside help when (if) needed.
Not doing anything still has a cost – Yes, the website you built and paid for in 2003 still functions, but does it still work? A website with old or static content and a tired look sends a message that you are complacent, not innovative, and don’t care to engage your customers. Can you really afford to NOT spend money on your interactive strategy?
Embrace change – See N above. Research to see if your customers (and your internal team) have an appetite for consuming your web content in video form, on mobile devices or via Social Media. Don’t change for change sake, but if your customers and industry are ‘going there’ you should too. With a plan, of course (see H above).
Web-enable content – See E above. Your website can likely streamline workflows and improve customer service with only minor enhancements. Would product installation videos on your site reduce customer service calls? Would a password protected media room enable your customers, dealers or distributors to download their own sell sheets, logos or ad templates? If so, web-enable this content and free up your marketing support team to pursue more important projects.
YouTube? Twitter? Facebook? – Social Media is all the rage. Make sure you are ready to embrace it. If a goal of your Social Media presence is to drive traffic to your website, ensure the site is rock-solid first. If the answers are yes when you ask yourself if your website content is compelling, if it is up-to-date, if it is user-friendly, and if there is no doubt about the site’s call(s) to action, they you are ready to develop a Social Media strategy. Think of your website as the bull’s-eye of a target – only when the bull’s-eye is rock-solid should you venture to the next ring of Social Media.
Engage your audience – Your customers are talking about you online. How good of a job does your site do to encourage and facilitate that conversation? Do you know where else these conversations are occurring online? If not, learn. If so, what value are you bringing? Recognize and thank those who talk positively about you. Reach out to the naysayers and turn their lemons into lemonade. You will be viewed as someone who cares and ‘gets’ the new transparent world where your customers, not you, are in control of your brand.
Authority, Relevance, Popularity – These are three things that search engines consider when ranking your site. Look at your website content and interactive strategy through these lenses and if what you are doing shows search engines (and the consumers who use them) that you are an authority, your content is on the mark and others find it useful, you are on your way to better rankings and more traffic. If your interactive marketing efforts aren’t enhancing your authority, relevant, or positioning you as a popular player in your space, don’t do them.
ROI – The great thing about interactive marketing is it is quantifiable and measureable. Return on investment is easy to analyze. Assign action items to your interactive marketing strategy like obtaining more leads, increasing eCommerce transactions or reducing customer service calls. Measure, adjust and measure again. Repeat. The important thing is to have a plan, make the investment (see N above) and monitor the effectiveness.
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Chris Remington is an account executive for Trivera Interactive. Trivera specializes on Online Brand Management for companies and organization that understand and appreciate the power of the Internet and Social Media to re-inforce their brand. In addition to helping Trivera clients, Chris also speaks at local business events, and teaches at the University of Phoenix.
Posted by Tom Snyder
Don’t look now, but you’ve lost control of your brand.
Yeah, we could make all sorts of other movie title jokes about it. Like “Dude, Where’s My Message,” “Silence of the Brands” and “Raiders of the Lost Trademark.”
But it’s not a joking matter. Brand managers are scared. They should be. The simple fact is that Web2.0 takes control of your brand out of your hands and places it right in the hands of a vocal, viral and painfully honest public.
Back in the good old days of Web 1.0, companies still were able to maintain a great degree of control of their brand. The Web was just another platform that allowed them to control the message, the appearance, the terms of engagement and the public perception of their name, their message, their reputation and what they wanted the public to know or believe about their product or service. Happy customers told one person, unhappy customers told ten. Not a good ratio, but it was still manageable. And it was easy to drown out a couple thousand unhappy people with a big newspaper ad, pr campaign or TV Commercial.
Web2.0 has changed the game. A customer can still tell one or ten, but with Social Media elements like Blogs, Facebook, MySpace, online communities, sites like Epinions, YouTube, and Twitter, that customer can also tell 1,000, 10,000, 100,000… a million. And each of those can turn around and amplify that same message to hundreds of thousands of their friends, and their friends’ friends.
And you can’t stop it.
Most marketers…and hopefully you, too…know that your brand is not your logo. It’s also not your visual identity, print brochure, jingle or Web site. It’s the expectation of experience. And everything you do either re-enforces or erodes that brand. While you can control the use of officially sanctioned graphics and information in your own promotional materials, you no longer can control the expression of the opinions people have about the experience they’ve had with your company, product or service. Social Media takes the actual quality of that experience and makes it the amplified message, drowning out your mission statement, your spin, your talking points or your finely tuned ultimate selling proposition.
Web2.0 makes the masses your new ad agency and PR firm, uncontrolled and uncontrollable. And their only campaign is to take the unvarnished truth about what your company does, and how well it does it, and make that the public face of your brand.
Some believe they can choose not to participate in Web2.0. But the bad news is: you already are participating, whether you have chosen to or not. Ignoring it won’t make it go away… it actually makes it more likely that your company will be affected in a good or bad way. You may have a great-looking, perfectly search engine-optimized Web site, and think you’re safe. But, with a growing number of people preferring posted opinions, recommendations and Tweets over what they find in the search engines, your efforts could be for naught. And you won’t even know what hit you.
So what should you do?
First take a hard look at who’s in charge of your Web strategy. Know that not every Web developer understands brand. And our experience is that, at least locally, a shockingly low percentage of advertising agencies even know what constitutes best-practice Web1.0. As you’d expect, most Technology and IT firms are out of their element on either, as are a lot of internal “experts.” To do both right AND get Web2.0? It’s a tall order indeed.
Look for a firm that understands and specializes in Online Brand Management. They will first make sure that your Web1.0 program uses creativity, design and technology correctly to effectively, efficiently and transparently re-enforce your brand. Then they’ll help you understand the perils and power of Web 2.0 and leverage Social Media to your advantage. Finally, they’ll help you use the synergies that exist between Web1.0 and Web2.0 to craft the proper email and SEO strategies to execute a successful TOTAL online brand program for your company.
Web2.0 prevents you from ever having total control of your brand again. But if you understand it, embrace it and take advantage of it, you’ll at least be better equipped to compete, so your brand won’t be “Gone with the Web!”
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Tom Snyder is Founder, President and CEO of Trivera Interactive, a Midwest New Media firm. Tom is a Web guy, wine snob, music junkie, Ex-Milwaukee Radio Guy, HDTV expert, and political wonk. |
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