social business Archives

4 Tips for Handling Social Care on Twitter

October 8, 2013/by Corey Padveen

Social Care on Twitter is becoming increasingly popular with brands of all sizes.

What exactly is Social Care on Twitter? Today, one-third of online adults prefer to engage with brands through new media – like Twitter or a live chat service – than through conventional forms of customer service – like the phone, or even email. People want their issues addressed right away. The practice of helping customers on these networks is called “Social Care”.

By providing Social Care on Twitter, for example, your brand is offering an added value that many competitors may not yet offer. This is still an emerging trend, and your brand can be among the first to reap the benefits!

Let’s go through 4 helpful tips when it comes to offering Social Care on Twitter.

Have a Plan in Place

The most important thing you are going to need to do is have a plan in place for dealing with customer service issues as they come up. Whether it is a technical issues (maybe you provide a software, or a physical product) or a dissatisfied customer, you need to have procedures in place to address these issues in real time.

Remember, everything you share on Twitter is public (with the exception of Direct Messages) so make sure that you know exactly what you want to share, how you want to share it and the image you would like to portray for your brand, because these conversations will be seen by a potentially large audience.

Address Issues Immediately

When it comes to customer service, surveys show that customers want their issues completely resolved within 60 minutes. They want their issues addressed by a brand within five minutes of bringing them up. Letting complaints, questions or comments sit in the socialsphere and gestate is worse than having the comment up there to begin with.

What kind of image is portrayed of your company when you let your customers’ issues go unaddressed, for the whole world to see what kind of service you offer? Make sure you are handling these issues in real time. After all, that’s why people are reaching out on these media.

Take Twitter Seriously

If you plan on offering Social Care on Twitter, you have to be prepared to take it seriously. The same way you would have a team in place to deal with customer service calls, you need to have a designated individual or team for handling Social Care on Twitter.

People expect the same service, if not better service on Twitter than they do from any conventional form of customer service. Just because it is Twitter, does not mean it is a free pass.

Take Advantage of Tools

The bigger the brand, the heavier the volume of customers reaching out. It can be overwhelming to watch a stream fill up with queries and complaints. You might find it hard to address every one. Take advantage of some of the tools that exist to help with organizing your Social Care on Twitter.

Look into ZenDesk, which works with HootSuite, or Salesforce Desk to help you manage your Social Care. You’ll find it a lot easier to work these into your Social Care strategy than to run the whole thing on Twitter alone. Remember the tip above, you need to take Social Care on Twitter seriously.

Implement these tips into your Social Care strategy and you’ll see that customers love a caring brand! Tell us how you use Social Care on Twitter in the comments below or on Twitter!

Feel free to reach out to t2 to find out how we can help you with your Social Care strategy!

5 Biggest Social Media Concerns for Executives

October 3, 2013/by Corey Padveen

There are five notable social media concerns that executives deal with when deciding whether or not adopting the concept of social business is the right move.

If you ask any marketer what hurdles they face when it comes to implementing social business strategies, many will tell you that there are social media concerns faced by management that are stopping them from executing efficient programs.

Below are five of the main concerns executives have when it comes to social media. Much of the information has been adapted from the MIT Sloan and Deloitte social business survey from 2013.

There is No Strategy

This is among the biggest concerns that executives are faced with. The burden of a carefully laid out strategy weighs heavily on any executive decision. Marketers need to be aware of this and need to have a clear strategy in place when presenting options to an executive committee.

For the marketer, there can be little success found with social media without a properly laid out, goal-oriented social business strategy. Keep that in mind and having something concrete put together before presenting the idea to an executive.

There is No Time

This is a big one. Efficiency is at the root of a successful business, and knowledge is at the heart of efficiency. For an executive that does not fully understand social business, they see it as more than a campaign or a program, but a learning curve that they will need to familiarize themselves with.

Focus on scheduling in order to appeal to this social media concern. If an executive sees that there in fact is time, they will be much more receptive to the idea of adopting a program.

There is No Proof

For anyone who is familiar with social business and has been following it for long enough, this one hurts. There is a ton of proof. And there are so many numbers that show it. Show up with examples of how a campaign similar to yours or in a similar industry has performed in order to ease this concern.

There is No Security

Whether it is the physical security of the networks that concerns executives or the security of brand integrity on social networks, security is going to be an issue seen often. Help reassure executives by showcasing how branding efforts are kept intact and that social networks can be highly secure when fully understood and configured.

There is No Room

There are a lot of priorities competing for the attention of your brand’s executives. Social media – a new venture – might not meet the criteria in the executive’s eyes. You need to make the case for why social business is a must and that there needs to be room. It needs to be conveyed that social is a top priority in any industry.

How do you deal with these social media concerns? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

Fun Facts from the 2014 B2B Content Marketing Report

October 2, 2013/by Corey Padveen

These facts and figures from the 2014 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends – North America Report showcase why content marketing is crucial – particularly when it comes to B2B.

For the fourth straight year, MarketingProfs and Content Marketing Institute have released this B2B content marketing report and the results are quite impressive.

Once again, the numbers have increased year-over-year and B2B content marketing is becoming both more widely used and more structured. Below are a few of the key findings when it comes to B2B content marketing and some analyses of these findings.

93% of B2B marketers are using content marketing

There’s not much to analyze when it comes to this stat. Long story short, if you are not engaged in content marketing in a B2B company, you should be.

66% of B2B marketers with a ‘Most Effective’ content marketing rating have a content strategy

A content strategy is going to be your best friend when it comes to content marketing. Every brand’s strategy may differ; you are going to need to test content across every channel to see what works best. At the end of the day, however, there needs to be a clear strategy in place in order to measure the effectiveness and success that your content marketing drives.

‘Less Effective’ marketers do not have a designated content marketing point person

86% of ‘Most Effective’ content marketing companies have one individual overseeing nothing by the brand’s content marketing initiatives. By contrast, only 46% of ‘Less Effective’ companies have a point person when it comes to this. This ties in closely with the need to have a strategy in place. If you are going to take your content marketing seriously, then do just that. Have a strategy and department (one or several people) devoted to making the program successful.

Social media is a key area of focus

To all those naysayers who speak out against the use of social media when it comes to B2B brands, the numbers are in and all signs point to the contrary. 87% of B2B content marketing programs use social media as a means of sharing content to broader audiences and driving results from a strategy. In fact, sharing content on social networks is the most widely used tactic when it comes to content marketing.

55% or more of B2B marketers are using five of the main social networks

91% use LinkedIn, 85% use Twitter, 81% use Facebook, 73% use YouTube and 55% use Google+. More importantly, LinkedIn is seen as the most important network with YouTube ranking second in terms of importance (not use).

‘Most Effective’ brands are using content marketing for revenue-generating goals

While Brand Awareness tops the charts (82%) for the most common goal among marketers, Lead Generation comes in second at 74% followed closely by Customer Acquisition at 71%.

Content marketing is not done growing

58% of B2B marketers plan on increasing their involvement and budgets for content marketing in the next twelve months. Compare that to only 1% of marketers who plan on decreasing their budgets.

There is a lot more where that came from in this year’s report, so take a look.

Let us know what you think is most significant finding! Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

What is a Social Business Audit?

October 1, 2013/by Corey Padveen

What is a social business audit and why is it crucial that any company have one?

Every day we hear about campaigns that incorporate social media taking off and driving new business for brands in all industries. Yet, so many companies still see their campaigns and initiatives fall flat when it comes to social media. In addition to knowing which networks are going to be best for your goals, it is important to take a step back and have a look at the program as a whole, completely objectively, to see what is going right, and where you might be going wrong. That’s what a social business audit is all about.

A social business audit evaluates every aspect of your social media strategy from top to bottom in order to get a clear picture of the working elements, the features that need tweaking and, most important, what aspects might be missing.

Below are five questions that should be among those asked when conducting an efficient social business audit.

Am I achieving my goals?

Before answering this question, take another step even further back; did you have a clear set of goals and objectives laid out when you decided to get started on social media? If not, you need to start from scratch. If so, are your efforts on social media working to achieve these goals? Find out how you are performing.

This may seem like a simple step, but a lot of brands tend to forget why they are active on social media to begin with. It is crucial that you keep your goals in mind from start to finish.

Is my business on the right networks?

Look at the activity your brand is generating on the networks where it is active. Are you in the right place? Not every brand needs to have a presence on every network. Some brands may benefit more from a Twitter campaign than one on Facebook, or maybe LinkedIn and YouTube should be included among your channels, among others.

There will be a unique mix that makes up a specific brand’s social business strategy. Take a step back and see if you might benefit from shutting down an account or two and maybe focusing your efforts elsewhere.

Am I sharing the right content?

Is you audience maintaining a conversation with your brand on social networks? Are you generating clicks through to landing pages and content from social? These are just a couple of the indicators you should be paying attention to when it comes to determining if you are sharing the right content to your networks. Again, every audience is going to react differently to different types of content. Find out what works best for you and modify your strategy accordingly.

Can I begin expanding my program?

To answer this question, you need to make sure that the three questions above have already been answered – positively. As your success grows – both in terms of your social media growth and your business growth – your social presence and activity will likely expand as well. Your profiles on social networks are extensions of your brand. They need to keep up appearances. As you begin achieving your goals, you need to start considering how you would like to expand into new markets and venture to achieve new goals.

Am I missing anything?

This is an ongoing question that can only be answered through education. You need to keep up-to-date with the changes and breakthroughs that are being announced every day in the world of social media. Social business is an ever-evolving landscape. You need to ensure that you are caught up on everything that is taking place in order to continue finding success with your social business and marketing efforts. Put aside 30 minutes or an hour each day to catch up on your favorite reference materials to find out what’s new and fresh.

Have you conducted a social business audit? You can always reach out to t2 to conduct a social business audit for you! Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

5 Steps to Make Your Company a Social Business

September 27, 2013/by Corey Padveen

There are a few key steps your brand needs to take in order to be considered a ‘Social Business’.

In the last segment of this week’s ‘Social Business’ theme, we thought we would focus on the steps a brand needs to take in order to make itself a ‘Social Business’.

Some of these steps may seem redundant or a little too simple, but the reality is that every one builds off of the last, and the transition of a business into the social era needs to follow a clear outline. Making your business social is not simply about registering your company on Facebook or LinkedIn (although that is among the five steps); there is much more to it.

Step 1: Determine Your Social Business Goals

What is it your brand wants to achieve by becoming social? Like any other business endeavour, you need to set goals for the social functions of your business.

Some goals are going to be obvious and fairly superficial; you might want to increase sales, or improve customer service by offering Social Care. The key is to focus on the business applications of going social.

Every one of the objectives you set for yourself when it comes to making your business social should have a focus on creating value (Social Equity) in both the short and long terms for your brand.

Step 2: Bring Your Brand to the Socialsphere

Figure out what networks are going to help you best achieve the goals you have set for yourself and create accounts for your business on these networks.

Not every network will be right for your brand. Pinterest is a great resource, but only for certain industries. Not everyone is going to derive benefits from Pinterest. Figure out where the audiences that you want to target are active, and share you content with them.

Step 3: Engage Your Growing Audience

Your content strategy is going to help you determine what generates engagement for your three key audiences on social media that we discussed earlier this week. Once you have put together a proper content strategy, you are going to want to start engaging with your audience in order to keep them coming back.

People have an inherently short attention span when it comes to the web. With the virtually endless amount of content out there, you need to give them a reason to keep coming back to you. Being an active brand in the conversation is going to be key when it comes to building a ‘Social Business’.

Step 4: Leverage Big Data

Everything you do on social channels – from blogging to tweeting – is going to provide you with extremely valuable data that you should be incorporating into your strategy.

Simply sharing content is only half of the process – and not the more important half. Study your data, learn about your audience, customers and business and use that data, maybe in the form of Responsive Branding, in order to grow and expand your business in existing markets that you have yet to cultivate.

Step 5: Go Beyond Marketing

Your marketing and advertising departments might be the driving force behind your social selling strategy, but they should not be the only departments active on social media.

People do not necessarily want to engage with a faceless brand. Your C-suite and other departments should be engaging on social platforms and growing their audiences as well. In order to become a truly ‘Social Business’, it is going to take a lot more than your brand being on social. Every department needs to embrace the opportunities social offers.

Follow these five steps and it won’t be long before your find that you are a part of a ‘Social Business’.

We hope you enjoyed this week’s special segment on Social Business! Be sure to let us know what you think. Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

How Can Data Mining and Responsive Branding Grow Business?

September 26, 2013/by Corey Padveen

Data mining and Responsive Branding can be among the greatest practices when it comes to making your business social.

We have discussed Responsive Branding and how it can add value to your business in the past. Essentially, Responsive Branding is the idea of modifying your branding strategy by leveraging the data you collect on tastes and preferences of your social audience.

So how do you get that data? Data mining.

What is data mining?

Princeton defines ‘data mining’ as, “Data processing using sophisticated data search capabilities and statistical algorithms to discover patterns and correlations in large preexisting databases; a way to discover new meaning in data.” It’s the second part of that definition that matters.

The social world is filled with data. You’ve probably heard the term ‘big data’. It’s the buzz word of that day and for good reason: it can do so much. But what exactly is ‘big data’?

‘Big data’ are large data sets derived from a number of new media – sometimes too large to analyze using conventional methods of analysis. The data that can be sourced from social media is virtually endless. Mining this data from these sources (Aha!) and determining correlations can be extremely beneficial when it comes to Responsive Branding.

Data Mining and Responsive Branding

So how can these two work in tandem?

Once you have mined your data, analyzed it and uncovered commonalities, correlations and other factors that you might find important, you can use those data to modify your marketing and business strategies. Why would you do this? These data tell truths about your audience that they haven’t told you themselves. You can leverage these truths in order to cater to their preferences and increase business.

There exist a number of untapped markets that would be perfect to market your product or service to. The only issue is that your business strategy never considered that market a viable target.

When mining data, you can find new opportunities that will help you achieve the goals and objectives you have set for yourself and your business.

Have you ever mined data and made modifications to your business strategy based on your findings? Tell us how it worked out for you in the comments below or on Twitter!

8 Questions to Determine if You Run a Social Business

September 25, 2013/by Corey Padveen

There are a few simple questions whose answers can tell you whether or not you are running a ‘Social Business’.

In keeping with the theme of the week, we decided we would create a short, simple survey that can help a brand determine whether or not it is a ‘Social Business’.

The 8 questions below are simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ questions and come with enough explanation to make answering them fairly easy. Go through the questions, answer all eight, and see if your score was high enough to qualify your brand as a ‘Social Business’!

1. Does your brand have a presence on social networks?

This refers mainly to the ‘Big 6’ (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+ and Pinterest) and others. Does your brand have a page, account or simply a presence on any channels that have been deemed social on the web?

2. Does your brand have a blog?

This can either be a standalone blog on your website, or a blog built on a blogging platform like Blogger, Tumblr, WordPress or something else. Essentially, does your brand have a platform on which visitors can see why your company is an industry leader?

3. Are you engaging with your audience?

This is meant purely as conversation. Think about whether your brand is participating in conversations in the socialsphere around your products/services, competition or your industry.

4. Are you leveraging your data?

Every action on social media is recorded and stored. Some brands choose to use it to better their programs and others do not. Which category do you fall into?

5. Do you employ ‘Responsive Branding’?

Responsive Branding is the idea of leveraging big data (question 4) and applying it to your overall marketing and business strategies in order to appeal to the tastes and preferences of your engaged audience.

6. Have you figured out where social media fits into your overall marketing strategy?

Social media is not here to replace your other business activities. It is a tool like any other. Make sure you have figured out where it fits in to your business and marketing strategies (maybe with ‘Responsive Branding’ – just a thought).

7. Are you testing content with your social audience?

Not everything you do is going to generate the kind of buzz generated by a new Apple release. You are going to need to figure out what people want based on content testing in order to find a content strategy that works for you.

8. Has social found a place in areas other than marketing?

Social media is not just about marketing your brand – it is a communications tool. It can be used for internal communication, customer service, research and development – you name it!

Have you gone through and answered all eight of these questions? OK – good.

Now look through your answers. If you answered ‘No’ to any of these eight questions, your business is not a ‘Social Business’ just yet. At least not entirely. You might have answered ‘Yes’ to several, placing you in the maturing stages of becoming social. That’s still far ahead of many brands out there and you should keep up the good work. You’re on the right track!

What is your definition of a ‘Social Business’ and which of these questions might you change/remove and what would you add? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

Social Business: What Does the Concept Mean, Really?

September 23, 2013/by Corey Padveen

We often hear of the concept of Social Business, but what does that really mean?

This week, the theme of each of our blog posts will be this idea of Social Business and trying to breakdown the concept in a way that any business can understand and apply it.

A lot of people see Social Business as meaning a number of different things. That’s understandable; this is a relatively new concept so there is a lot of flexibility in terms of what it is and how it applies.

Social Business: A Definition

A lot of people consider the term ‘Social Business’ to mean something that it isn’t.

On a very superficial level, there is the school of thought that thinks a social business is one that has a presence on social media. There are also those that feel as though a social business refers to a member of the tech world, maybe an app developer or a standalone social network. These are not ‘wrong’ per se, they are just incomplete.

According to Deloitte, a ‘social business’ is one that employs any of the following elements:

Consumer-based social media and networks
Technology-based, internally developed social networks
Social software for enterprise use
Data derived from social media and technologies

(Definition taken from the MIT Sloan Management Review Research Report 2013 in collaboration with Deloitte University Press, Social Business: Shifting Out of First Gear.)

I would recommend taking it a step further. There are millions of businesses that could technically, based on the criteria above, be considered ‘social’ in some form or another. Now, the study cited goes on to explain that there are three types of ‘social businesses’: those in the early, developing and maturing stages of becoming social. That said, I would still create an additional barrier to considering a business social.

What Is It, Really?

In order for a business to truly be considered ‘social’, at least two of the criteria above must exist within the business. Those two are that the business must be present on consumer-based social media and that data derived from social media activity needs to be incorporated into the execution of business initiatives.

The world is social. In order for a business to be considered social as well, it needs to be highly active on social media and using the data derived from these media in order to modify and (this is the important part) improve business operations. A few weeks ago, I wrote an article detailing the concept of Responsive Branding. For a business to be ‘social’, this has to be a factor in business operations.

Take the data collected on social – and there is a lot – and use it to your advantage. If you really want to be a ‘social business’ you need to be using social to run your business. Simply sharing content to Facebook does not a ‘social business’ make. Analyzing response, engagement, customer reception, conversion and any other data from your social networks and using that information to build your business makes your business social.

Now, one of the inherent (or, at least, more likely) results of taking social so seriously is going to be the use of internal tools, like Salesforce Chatter, in order to increase internal efficiency. But for a business to really be social, points one and four need to be there.

So ask yourself, is your business social, really? Tell us why or why not in the comments below or on Twitter!

Also, stay tuned for more articles this week on Social Business!

Social Equity: Social Media Measurability

September 20, 2013/by Corey Padveen

Social media measurability is one of the driving elements behind the value of social media.

There are few things that social marketers hate more than hearing the phrase, “You can’t measure social media.” Virtually every single aspect of your social media marketing initiatives is measurable, and it is this social media measurability that can add tremendous value to your business.

Consider other forms of marketing. Has there ever been an initiative or campaign as tangibly measurable as social media? It’s very hard to think of one. The Social Equity that this social media measurability offers can be considerable for quite a few reasons.

Justify Your Costs

When it comes to marketing and advertising, there are some initiatives that we simply have to trust blindly. With the exception of focus groups and questionnaires, it is hard to say whether a particular initiative worked.

When it comes to social media, you can easily justify the costs that it incurs. The ability to measure every single element on social and see exactly how your activity translates into Social Equity means that there is no longer a need to blindly trust an initiative. Justify every penny you spend, and showcase why a certain budget is required.

See Tangible Results

In keeping with the theme of the previous point, every single aspect can be measured in order to ensure that every single aspect is performing.

By incorporating the concept of Responsive Branding into the mix, you can make real-time modifications to your social media marketing initiatives in order to ensure that your program produces the highest possible returns.

Watch Your Business Grow

Another great feature that comes with social media measurability is the fact that you can see exactly how your business is growing online. Of course, Google Analytics provides insights into your activity online. But setting up your Google Analytics Social Dashboard and incorporating the performance monitored there with your other measurement criteria will mean watching how and where your audience is growing most rapidly.

The concept of Social Equity relates to using social media to build your business. As your social audience and results increase, so does the long-term value added to your company.

Everything on social is measurable. There is virtually no feature of a social media program that cannot be measured in some form or another.

What is your favorite measurement criteria on social media? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

5 Best Types of Blog Content

September 18, 2013/by Corey Padveen

There are certain types of blog content that are going to generate some much better results than others – for any blog.

It’s no secret that blogs are a great way to increase business, showcase your expertise and ramp up your search rankings, but there are just some types of blog content that perform better than others.

It’s simple: there are things people like to read, and others that they do not. In this list are the five best types of blog content to share, regardless of the industry you are writing for. (Some people may have different opinions of what the best types of blog content are, but these are almost certain to be right up there, at least in the average blogging expert’s top 10.)

‘Best Of’ Posts

When is the last time you looked up a ‘Worst Of’ list when trying to choose among your the options you had available? Probably never.

People love ‘Best Of’ lists because it provides insights that they might not have otherwise known about. When trying to choose the best platform on which to publish your blog, you are probably going to type ‘Best Blogging Platform’ into your search engine and choose among the top results.

This should apply when writing your articles as well; people are always interested in knowing what the best options are.

Oppositional Posts

When you read a headline that completely contradicts everything you’ve ever thought, aren’t you at least a little interested in reading more? Think about it.

If you saw an article pop up on your search results or on a Facebook or Twitter feed that read ‘Why blogging will lead to the end of your business’, don’t you think you might be inclined to read about it? People like to get every perspective they can on a subject. Even if they do not agree with you, they might still be inclined to see why you are making your argument.

Practical Advice

When you have no idea what to do, maybe an unbiased third party has the answer.

Write an article that shares some practical advice that relates to your subject matter. Helpful insights are always appreciated by blog readers regardless of the field in which the blog categorizes itself.

Reviews

Why do you think websites like Yelp! or TripAdvisor have become so incredibly popular? People like to read reviews. Rotten Tomatoes is an aggregator for several reviews – both professional and personal – and it has become huge!

Before diving into something that someone might not be very familiar with, reading an honest review might be helpful. If your blog shares some of those honest reviews, you can certainly expect to capture some readers’ attention.

Lists

You’re reading this article, aren’t you?

Some of the most popular content on blogs today are lists that name the ‘Top #’ or the ‘Worst #’. People are always interested in reading lists – much like the ‘Best Of’ but a little more broad – to learn more about a particular subject or field.

Write with some of the types of content in mind and it won’t be long before you start to see your blog posts grow in popularity. This is, of course, assuming you are promoting them correctly!

What types of blog posts do you think do the best job of grabbing an audience’s attention? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

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