In social media marketing, there isn’t a time when transparency isn’t a consideration. Companies are continually questioning, “How close is too close?”, or “What information should we disclose to our customers?”.

One such company that we can learn a lot from in the area of transparency is Chordiant, a developer of “customer experience” software for many global known brands in the areas of healthcare, banking, and insurance (to name a few).

In the writing of our upcoming book, I interviewed Greg Biggers, Chordiant’s Director of Product Strategy and one of the key players in the implementation of Chordiant Mesh Community, a wiki designed to increase collaboration between Chordiant and its customers.

Though our conversation spanned many topics and lasted over an hour, I’ve compiled some of the highlights of our conversation on the topic of transparency in the following (approx. 4 minute) podcast.

Lately I admit that I’ve been on a rampage covering and critiquing companies that have needed some work with their social media tactics. First Wal-Mart, then Delta. I admit- I’ve been a little out of control.

So I’m glad to say this Monday morning that I saw a social media execution and thought, “hmmm – good job”. So I’m giving one of my first ever “hmm good job” awards to GM Europe, who have employed the “GM Social Media Newsroom” (This award comes with the disclaimer that I can take it back for any reason at any time.)

To put it simply, the site is a new online resource blog for the company’s press releases and media resources that is further extended with the tools of social media. Let me break down a little of why I think this concept works:

1. It uses existing tools. Wal-mart, and now more recently Warner Brothers (which I may discuss at a later time), have tried to make social media from scratch, instead of using existing tools or networks. The result is a heavily branded mess. GM Europe instead opted to implement a low cost blog platform Serendipity. They used Flickr and YouTube to stream in pictures and videos for sharing, they made it possible to share news with any social bookmarking site possible. To enter social media, a company doesn’t have to completely reinvent the wheel, but become a part of the conversation through existing social media technologies.

2. It lets GM become a source. The tagline of the blog is “Product news and downloads for the online reporter” and the site clearly displays the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial license, which allows users to use, adapt and share any of the site’s content. The site does an amazing thing – it welcomes comments and conversation while allowing users to take any of it and republish. It clearly understands that the destination of the conversations will likely be covered elsewhere, and allows the tools to do so.

3. It crosses social media with traditional media. The newsroom is a tool that effectively crosses traditional media with social media. In an interview with Keith Childs, (the mind behind the social media newsroom) stated: “The lines between news producer and news consumer are blurring. One thing is very clear; our news is republished, commented on, shared, tagged and so on.” As a result of this, GM has made this site a resource that is as much for social media as it is for traditional. It is a successful example of how a company can bridge the old with the new.

4. It has potential. As Keith Childs stated in regards to the social media newsroom: “It’s definitely the first stage”. I couldn’t agree more. This is surely the first, safe step for GM, opening the door for for developments and perhaps a riskier execution. In fact the social media newsroom template by Shift Communication shows even further how this concept could be developed.

What do you think about this execution? Do you think this is something that will take off? Do you see any room for social media newsrooms to expand?

One of the questions I get asked the most – and it’s the right question – is “How do you get companies ready to roll out a social media campaign?” This question seems to come from people who have seen corporations either tarred by or scared of how social media has been “used against” them.

I was talking to someone just yesterday about this sort of thing, and he’d worked for two companies where bloggers in particular have beaten up on them hard. I thought his comment that, “Our PR firm had no clue what to do about it either” was telling on a lot of levels. (And another reason why you shouldn’t charge a PR firm with your social media planning, but that’s my bias…)

Here are a couple thoughts about how you get a company to roll out a social media campaign.

1. Expect resistance. For our upcoming book on social media marketing, we interviewed a company that is doing great stuff with customer collaboration, mostly through wikis. It’s shaved 65% of the time off their product development cycle! The guy in charge noted that getting permission for this new collaborative workflow was hard enough, but he was really surprised how often he had to resell the transparency idea. “Are we really going to say that?” people would ask. “Yes, we are,” he’d have to answer, over and over. Whether you go 100% transparent or not, social media marketing is often disruptive technology and, as such, it scares people. Prepare for it.
2. Analyze your climate. How much is your company ready for in terms of social media? If you read Naked Conversations (and you should) or Cluetrain Manifesto (and you should), they talk a lot about transparency and authenticity. And that’s absolutely the goal. But some corporations are so far from that ideal that it’s not realistic to expect them to suddenly have an epiphany and start taking down the walls. Perhaps getting them in the game is a good first start. I suspect that’s what’s happening at Delta with their blog. At this point, it’s not a great blog. But they’ve got their toe in the water. I would bet that getting them that far along wasn’t easy internally. (Right, Jacob?) If the folks working on this at Delta can navigate along for a couple months with no major turbulence (airplane metaphor!), perhaps they’ll be able to start saying interesting things. Sometimes getting started is a big win. Get started.
3. Consider the toolbox. One of the biggest mistakes I see is when people think that “social media marketing” means they’ve got to start a blog and start sharing all their foibles in public. You can do that. It can be a powerful and great thing. But social media is a much, much deeper toolbox. What can you do with customer support? What can you do in product development? What conversations are already taking place that you can simply go participate in? What branded applications can you introduce for download? This is why social media marketing is so different. It’s not advertising, it’s not PR, it’s not SEO. It’s a different skillset, and you have to look it at that way.
4. Be honest about your brand. The best social media marketing leverages your brand. It does not change your brand. In an earlier post, we talked about how Wal-Mart screwed up again with their Facebook app for back to school. Wal-Mart’s mistake was trying to use a Facebook app to convince people they should associate Wal-Mart with “style.” But Target owns “style.” Wal-Mart owns “price.” I suspect their ad agency or PR firm tried to use this new tool to drive a branding objective. That’s a mistake. The best social media campaigns further cement your brand position. They don’t create new brand positions for you. Use other tools to try to do that. (And good luck with it, by the way…)
5. Talk on your customers’ terms. In traditional marketing and advertising and PR, we are trained to think about what we want to say and the best, most creative way to say it. We then find the place to put that message and hope people accept it. Social media is different. Figure out what conversations are already occurring and where. Figure out what’s being said and what your organization can add to that conversation. If you sell shoes, maybe you can add value to a running conversation. If you sell ham, maybe you can add conversation to a “what’s for dinner” conversation. Either way, you’ll have the most success if you start with what the customer group you covet cares about and then add real value, not marketing fluff.

These are the first five steps I advise clients to consider as they look at a social media marketing campaign. There are others, but I start with these to make it clear that we’re not talking about an ad campaign or a PR campaign or an SEO campaign. We’re talking about something fundamentally different.

I then balance that scary “this is different” concept with two points:

• There are a lot of ways to get started in this space and in getting started, you will learn something and move your company forward.
• Choosing not to participate in social media won’t stop social media from engaging about your brand. If you know people are talking about you, wouldn’t you want to be part of the conversation?

In that vain, what steps would you add? Perhaps we can make this a dynamic list with your input. Leave your comments…

With competition in the healthcare industry ever increasing, more and more hospitals are responding by stepping up their marketing efforts. As a result, many of these hospitals undergo intensive re-branding processes and ad campaigns in order to differentiate themselves from competition and to overall increase market share.

When executed properly, the right campaign with the right media placement can yield results and place a hospital at top-of-mind. However, I can’t help but to think that the majority of these efforts get lost in the mix. Caring. Quality. Compassion. These are all great messages that many hospitals are conveying – but there is an obvious need for a stronger differentiator.

Because of this, I can’t help but to think that for hospitals willing to take the risk – social media could become this differentiator. After all, blogs, social networks, and other social media tools could provide new ways for hospitals to extend and grow relationships with their patients.

The Mayo Clinic is one such hospital willing to take the risk. By partnering with CarePages, they are attempting to tie their patients into this social network of patients struggling with long term illnesses. This opens a new space for patients to share their struggle, discuss it with others, and a place for friends and family to be updated or share encouraging words. But more than any of its applications, it’s an extension of the support the clinic currently gives, it is a reflection that the hospital cares about the physical and emotional healing of its patients.

If implemented correctly, social media applications such as this could impact a hospital in a big way. Patients could become more deeply rooted and deeply connected to each other and to the hospital. The advertising message of “Caring” or “Compassion” would be further reinforced.

Unfortunately, I realize that social media in most of the healthcare industry will face large barriers in implementation. Hospitals are typically slow-adopters. Laws like HIPAA surrounding the disclosure of information have made many hospitals reluctant to delve into uncharted territory.

So while it will be a long time coming for the rest, those who are willing to take the plunge first like the Mayo Clinic will surely reap the benefits of this implementation.

I can’t count on two hands how many times I’ve heard “What’s the point of Twitter?”. In fact, I can also remember a time when I’ve felt this way too. The primary questions are, “How is it different than instant messenger?, or in the words of one family member, “Why would anybody want to know when I’m cutting my grass?”.

So from the outside I completely understand why Twitter appears pointless. I understand that it is hard to believe why somebody would care about my 140 character postings through the day, inspired at random times about completely random things.

However, in the personal realm, I have seen how Twitter has the potential to grow relationships in a much different way than other social media. While blogs and social networks allow users to create neatly packaged profiles or eloquently written posts, Twitter is focused on created an ongoing broadcast of it’s users “day to day” or “minute by minute”. As a result, these seemingly insignificant posts can collectively form a user’s identity and strengthen a social network. For instance, by following a few of Jim’s “twitter’s” I can see he’s a professional who is clearly interested in social media, he went tubing on Falls Lake this weekend, and that he still pulls for Duke even when they lose. This translates in the marketing realm as a new way for businesses to integrate updates, news, promotions and events into a medium that is valuable and entertaining for its followers.

What further differentiates Twitter from instant messenger and what makes it particularly interesting in social media marketing is that it is entirely broadcast in nature. A thought is opened up for all who want to follow. Responses are entirely optional. Tweets are far-reaching and sometimes out of context. And as a result, the reach of topics is expanded and audiences can connect on a wide variety of levels. The result is a less-intrusive way for marketers to convey a message.

If you are still having trouble understanding the applications of Twitter – start by integrating it into your daily routine by installing Twitbin or Twitterific to keep updated. The more you use Twitter, the more the applications and uses will begin to emerge.

I have an odd sense of humor. I find tripping funny. If you take a spill in front of me, I will have to finish laughing before I help you up. Have a piece of toilet paper on your shoe? I might not be able to conjure the words to tell you.

Perhaps I’m easily amused (and a little too into social media) , but I started rolling when I saw Delta’s blog , the company’s formal attempt to “reach out to customers” and “start conversations”.

The comments are what really throw the whole thing over the edge for me. From the first post there are 29 responses, mostly which look like they are written from their own employees. Here’s a sampling of my favorite:

” What a great idea. It’s going to be nice to be able to communicate with the best domestic airline in the sky’s today! Hopefully, you’ll be able to have meat communications and not just use the blog as a marketing tool, but a true communications medium just like some of the most-read blogs out there do.”

“This is why I love working for this airline. I hope that our customers leave meaningful feedback. And please don’t hesitate to accentuate the positive. GO DELTA!”

Is this for real?! Who really says “best domestic airline?”, and why would someone encourage readers to not be afraid to “accentuate the positive?”.

Perhaps an airline that is slightly scared of social media.

After all, that is the only reason I can come up with for Delta writing a post that announces a Delta iMix on iTunes. I still can’t understand why anybody in their right mind would be excited about a boarding music playlist, and why there weren’t any responses that recommended Delta to get better music. And for the post “What’s up with JFK in a good way?! , I can’t be the only person who thinks that there is nothing elite about “JFK’s elite area”? (shown right)

Why is this? Perhaps because the site limits viewers to logging in with user names and passwords to post comments. I’m still waiting on my commenting access so I can tell them what’s on my mind. After this post, I’m not sure I’ll ever receive it.

However, as much as I take humor in this, the reality is that if the blog’s positive employee feedback is the only feedback, and the posts don’t really address real concerns, Delta will ultimately fall flat on its face. So here’s your Friday tip: If you are writing or starting a blog – don’t be scared of negative feedback to the point it limits your discussions. Instead, expect and anticipate this feedback. Write posts that may shake things up a bit. In the long run this will increase your company’s value and credibility.

In a post in July, I talked about how Second Life marketing and strategic marketing were not yet aligning. I originally thought that the early adopters hadn’t gotten it right yet and between more users and more savvy marketing techniques, perhaps it could improve.

The more I think about it now, however, the more firmly I believe that marketing in Second Life will never take off. Others are saying it more and more. Here’s why:

1. Second Life isn’t built to hold a mass audience in one place. (Only 75 people or so can fit in one place.)
2. Second Life doesn’t efficiently allow you to have a one-to-many conversation like most other social media tools, including social networking sites, blogs, wikis and podcasts, do.
3. Second Life users don’t like or welcome the marketing efforts going on so far.
4. The barriers to using Second Life (downloading the application, setting up an avatar, spending hours figuring out how to use it) will keep it from “tipping” into something the general public (as opposed to a core group of early adopters) will actually do. In other words, SL will not jump the huge chasm between early adopters and mainstream use in the technology adoption learning curve.
5. Second Life users “would like to be able to interact more with the brands represented,” but Second Life doesn’t offer very many opportunities to do this.
6. Most real products in Second Life are horribly dull as compared to a) fictional products created in SL, b) interacting with them in the real world and c) other fun things to do in SL.

Check out this Scion in Second Life video to see what I mean by that last point:

Most importantly, most of the brands setting up in Second Life are not engaging their customers. This is caused in part by the limitations of Second Life itself and in part by the false hope created by Second Life to marketers. What I mean is that the similarities to our real world made marketers think they could do similar things they were comfortable with, like billboards and product demos. See Coke, the NBA, Wired, CNET, Adidas, Coldwell Banker, Sears...

Social media marketing, however, is (or will be as it matures) about stepping off the pedestal and engaging with people on an even footing. Those trying to justify SL marketing, like Joseph Jaffe, say the right things: “This is not about reach anymore. This is about connecting. It’s about establishing meaningful, impactful conversations.” He’s right, that’s what social media marketing is all about.

Problem is, Second Life is not efficient at “establishing meaningful, impactful conversations” and never will be. I pity how lonely this poor sap helping out the Edwards campaign is going to be. Until a significant overhaul in usability, marketing in Second Life will never generate ROI to justify the expense.

There are lots of companies out there (Link1, Link2) who make money helping companies do this marketing. Heck, we’ll help you if you want to do it anyway. Just know what you’re getting into: an experiment unlikely to generate results that you’ll be proud to share.

Scivee.tv has been launched – an online social network where members of the scientific community can collaborate to generate and revise articles, create personal profiles, and publish their work online. It’s been billed as a YouTube for scientist, but SciVee is about the free and widespread dissemination and comprehension of science. In other words, Open Access – in BOAI terms, “…journal articles should be disseminated as widely as possible…”

Still in Alpha release, SciVee utilizes the common Web 2.0 features (tag cloud, embedded Flash video player, Dojo JavaScript). The unique feature is the PubCast, which is a combination of the scientific publication with an audio or video presentation. PubCast allows scientist to synchronize their presentation with display of text and figures from their paper.

SciVee is more than videos; it engages virtual discussions with authors, the creation of communities around specific articles and collaboration between scientists. All the presentations also include a link to the original published article and a list of the references and tags (keywords) based on NLM’s MeSH.

SciVee is a partnership between PLoS, NSF and SDSC. I’m looking forward to this partnership and seeing where their collaborative minds take the future of SciVee.tv

Social media marketing, like a lot of fairly new terms, is still not fully defined. The search engine optimizers were among the first to grab onto it, seeing social media sites as easy prey for high ranking backlinks. And they can be. But then you have those who equate social media marketing with getting links on the social bookmarking sites, like Digg. And there’s no question that Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Slashdot and the like can pay huge dividends in terms of traffic.

But the view that social media marketing is about backlinks or even about traffic is shortsighted. Lee Odden got it right when he bemoaned those who correlate SMM with “DiggBaiting”.

On the other hand, PR firms I know well are excited about social media because they can send their press releases out in new, high indexing, free sites, like OpenPress. That’s even less forward thinking.

To me, correlating social media marketing with SEO and search engine marketing is like correlating the public relations industry with media advisories, or correlating the advertising industry with a direct mail postcard. It’s one small part of a larger industry that needs to grow up and mature.

And to think you’re using it because you convert your press release into the social media press release format is even weaker.

Social media marketing is about much more. It’s about realizing that social media allows the customer to talk back. It’s about realizing that social media allows you to talk to the customer in real ways, for the first time in a long time.

That’s much harder than it sounds, so it’s going to take a while before corporations really get there. In the meantime, we can all use the tools, let’s just not define the toolbox incorrectly.

Just moving into a new townhome, I just went through the pains of visiting and searching place after place before finally finding one that matched my taste.

During the process, I had a daily routine of watching Craigslist for the latest posting and the struggle of determining from a few words and pictures whether it was worth a visit. I set up appointments, visited, and realized quickly that most places were a waste of time by the time I rolled up. For the most part- it was hit or miss.

However, in an article I crossed, this same frustration has inspired real estate agents to respond – offering YouTube as a solution.

By creating “virtual walk-through” videos to sell houses, real estate agents can serve clients faster and more efficiently by giving a real view of a property. Only the extremely interested will proceed further. Not only does this save time for people like me, but it can also help real estate agents close faster.While still in it’s infancy, I expect to see this to be a differentiator in the competitive retail environment, and a much needed development in real estate advertising.Perhaps as this develops further there will be a better integration with YouTube and Craigslist to facilitate the search. At least, that is for me to hope.