REVISED marketechAND UPDATED TOOLS AND TRENDS IN MARKETING TECHNOLOGY i forward forward The MarkeTech Guide to Marketing Technology and Social Media Market- ing is an updated and upgraded version based on the successful e-book originally written for the American Marketing Association in 2008. Marketing used to be simpler. Fewer technologies, fewer channels, less di- rect consumer influence and frankly, lower risk – all of which made our jobs easier. That said, I personally can’t think of a time that marketing has been more fun. Our jobs have been transformed by technology To say that much has changed in 18 months is a bit of an understatement. For example, Twitter was on the scene but was far from being a marketing opportunity. In fact, as of Q4 2008, HubSpot estimated that 70% of all Twitter users signed up in 2008 , in spite of Twitter’s founding back in March of 2006. The effectiveness of the tools that we’ve used for decades has been called into question on the past few years. It’s interesting to note that consumer time spent watching vid- eo on the “best screen available” continues to rise quarter-to-quarter while their usage and consumption of CGM (consumer generated me- dia) content represents almost 20% of their time (surely there’s some Marketech www.marketingsavant.com ii forward overlap there!) but grabs a paltry 3% of the average marketing budget . Marketing technology goes well beyond and before the advent of social media. Surely, some of the tools we discuss in this e-book are social media tools. However, and more importantly, they are the state-of-the art vehicles that today’s marketers need to understand to grow their bottom line and keep pace with the ever-advancing customer base and marketplace. 10 Questions Marketers Want Answered About Digital & Social Media You’re not alone if you have more questions than answers when it comes to approaching social media marketing and market- ing technology. Michael A. Stelzner, author of the, “Social Me- dia Marketing Industry Report” , conducted a survey of 900 people regarding social media marketing. They received 700 open-ended responses and summarized the major questions marketing professionals wanted answered. I’ve included these questions because they so closely reflect the same questions that I’ve been receiving month after month while conducting the AMA’s two-day “TechnoMarketing” training course on marketing technology & social media. They include: 1. What are the best practices and tactics to use? 2. How do I measure the effectiveness of social media? 3. Where do I start? 4. How do I manage the social balance? 5. What are the best sites and tools out there? 6. How do I make the most of my available time? 7. How do I find and focus my efforts on my target audience? 8. How do I convert my social media marketing efforts into tangible results? 9. How do I cohesively tie different social media efforts together? 10. Does social media marketing work, and if so, how effective is it? One in three marketers surveyed indicated that identifying best practices, measuring results and knowing where to begin were their top questions with social media. The MarkeTech guide aims to address many of these top-of-mind questions in the following pages. 1. “State of the Twittersphere,” HubSpot. Q4 2008. http://cdnqa.hubteam.com/State_of_the_Twittersphere_by_HubSpot_Q4-2008.pdf 2. “A2/M2 Three Screen Report,” Nielsen/Netratings. Q1 2009. 3. “Media Trends: Time Spent on The Internet Continues to Grow,” Forrester Research. May 2009. 4. “Interactive Advertising Forecast (U.S.),” Forrester Research. April 2009. 5. “Social Media Marketing Industry Report: How Marketers Are Using Social Media to Grow Their Businesses,” Michael A. Stelzner. March 2009. Tools and Trends in Marketing Technology iii table of contents table of contents Social Media Mining, Buzz Monitoring, Customer Listening......1 Twitter, Microblogging & The Statusphere......7 Blogging.....12 Facebook.....17 LinkedIn.....25 Social Networking Environments.....30 Video Sharing.....34 Email.....38 Automated email (autoresponders).....42 Social Media Optimization.....44 Widgets and Gadgets.....49 Photo, Slideshow and Media Sharing Environments.....51 Honorable Mentions in Marketing Technology.....53 Appendix I: Marketing Technology Resources.....58 Glossary.....69 Marketech www.marketingsavant.com 1 social media mining, buzz monitoring, customer listening chapter 1 Social Media Mining, Buzz Monitoring, Customer Listening This guide is about what leading marketers are doing with marketing technology in 2010. There are op- portunities abound for the savvy marketer, but none is more important than listening to the customer by tuning into their frequency in newsgroups, blogs, podcasts, and social media sites. In fact, as the market- ing mix moved from a ‘monologue’ model to one of dialogue and conversation, success with marketing technology will be predicated on a successful buzz monitoring and customer listening strategy. What Is Social Media? Social media are primarily Internet- and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among humans. It most often refers to activities that integrate technology, telecommunications and social interaction, as well as the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. Social networking, on the other hand is nothing new. Hu- mans are all about everyday social interaction; social me- dia offer ways to exchange information through the use of a few clicks or uploads. What Is Buzz Monitoring? Marketers are known for talking, not listening. Sure, we lis- tened, but if advertising history is telling of anything it tells us that marketers love to produce “stuff” that they hope consumers will like. Social media listening and buzz moni- toring flips that mind-set; it’s a phrase used in online pub- lic relations and social media marketing to track relevant conversations on the Internet. It provides great opportunity Tools and Trends in Marketing Technology 2 social media mining, buzz monitoring, customer listening to learn at a grassroots level what people really think about your brand, products or services in the statusphere, the collection of all the online conversation in social networking areas such as Facebook, Twitter and others. By monitoring the online conversation happening in blogs, forums, social networks and other social media channels, Buzz monitoring can businesses can bring the voices of their customers directly into their be accomplished by marketing departments and cut down on the need for expensive paying for the market research tools such as focus groups and phone surveys. In fairness to the market and marketing researchers worldwide, social service through a media listening will never fully replace a scientifically developed major provider of panel, customer advisory board or survey that gives us statistically online conversation significant and valid data on which to base our marketing decisions. monitor methodol- ogy, or can be done Why Social Media Monitoring for 2009? in house through a While there are a good number of large organizations engaging a variety of free professional firm to understand the marketing conversation about services that are their business, products or services, there are countless other com- available to all panies – from small business to Fortune 1000 enterprises – that have yet to learn what the buzz is about. People are talking through blogs, marketers. social networks like Facebook and Twitter, wikis, etc. Knowing what they’re saying is crucial because their discussions influence consum- er attitudes and behaviors and show up prominently in search re- turns, all of which affect your business. It’s a huge change because businesses no longer own their own brand. For a growing number of companies, hiring a full-time social media marketer is the way they ensure they interact sufficiently with their customers via Facebook, Twitter and other online sources. Dell, for example, has more than 40 full-time employees charged solely with social media marketing on behalf of the brand. Wells Fargo has had a vice president of social media since 2005. Buzz monitoring can be accomplished by paying for the service through a major provider of online conversation monitor methodol- ogy, or can be done in house through a variety of free services that are available to all marketers. It All Starts With Social Media Monitoring In order to fully engage in a customer community, develop a wid- get, or produce a worthwhile video that goes viral; you need to be in touch with the buzz about your business. Consumers want to talk to consumers. They don’t trust marketers; they trust each other. Social media is a linkable, findable conversation medium and your cus- tomers are talking about you, right now, and you likely don’t know what they’re saying (Yet!). 1. “Coining the Statusphere: The Social Web’s Next Big Thing,” Brian Solis. March 2009. http://briansolis.tumblr.com/post/85090914/coining-the-statusphere- the-social-webs-next-big Marketech www.marketingsavant.com 3 social media mining, buzz monitoring, customer listening Social media or buzz monitoring can be done professionally. Firms like Radian6, Vocus, ScoutLabs, Cym- fony and dozens of other companies have sprung up to go beyond the blogs. They’re monitoring and tracking ALL mediums used by social media-enabled consumers. It’s more than just listening; it’s about applying benchmarks, heuristics and intelligence around social media, not just one-dimensional DIY tools. How Do Marketers Find Out Who’s Talking and What Do They Measure? There are different parts of the conversation - enterprise, mainstream media, and consumer generated content. Unless you’re monitoring the buzz, you won’t know what’s there. In every social media moni- toring program, there are a few fairly obvious things that every marketer should track. If you need more reasons to track social media, think of the new product ideas, keyword research for SEO, warnings of possible scandals and customer reactions that you’ll be able to amass.