Zane Safrit

Using Social Media for Social Good

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I found this blog and this post from Becky McCray of SmallBiz Survival sharing in her Google Reader a blog post from Chris Brogan who linked to it. Social media....

Social Media: What's it measuring?

Generalizations are always dangerous. Never more so is this danger than with evangelists of social media, its uses and reach and power. I'm one of those evangelists. I can erupt online or not with poorly crafted turn-of-phrase regarding social media and its uses.

Having said all that I'm going where rational beings  fear to tread: a generalization, understated or hyperbolic,  shared online about ...social media. ( All I ask of you my colleagues and readers is a kind heart, be gentle in your replies. )

Social media magnifies the power of the masses. It amplifies our voices, our conversations, and their impact. For business, the point of that conversation and the raison d' etre for their/our support of social media is its cost-effective power in...generating referrals. 

What's been missing to-date with social media, and those who provide it, is a willingness and a means to connect those conversations within social media and the referrals they generate for new business to a company. The conversation is all about clicks and engagement and visits and...forward-to-a-friend. These are the metrics too many agencies measure, and promote, as signs of their work's success.

On a scale of corporate delight...Clicks are nice; calls are nicer; contracts are the nicest. A referral is just after a call and just before a contract in terms of generating delight in a client. Forward to a friend? If it doesn't result in a call...what's its point?   

Granted, the business model for social media doesn't connect the two. The agency incentives for a social media campaign too rarely include incentives for...referrals. Incentives for reducing customer churn? Unheard of. I'm sure some do. Some. That's the operative word.

I live in Iowa. But still, as much as I love social media, I'd counsel small business leaders to live in Missouri, the show me state. Or be Cuba Gooding in Jerry MacGuire and say Show me the money...Show me the money my business will save from reduced customer churn that results from a greater connection through a social media campaign. Show me the money. Show me the money I'll make from the increase number of customer referrals your social media campaign will generate.

And Yes, I'll work with you, agency, in a more open and transparent manner to make sure we're both successful. Because calls, referrals and contracts are metrics that matter to my company.

Why? They add c-a-s-h to my company. CASH. And that's the ULTIMATE metric I measure.

He stopped using email...!

It's possible. It's easy. It's fun and...you're a lot more productive. Here's one man's story of how he weaned himself off email and became more productive, more valuable for his company...and did so without adding hours to his workday.

EARLIER this year, I became tired of my usual morning ritual of spending hours catching up on e-mail. So I did something drastic to take back control of my productivity.

I stopped using e-mail most of the time.

By trying hard to stop the cycle, I cut the number of e-mails that I receive by 80 percent in a single week.

It’s not that I stopped communicating; I just communicated in different and more productive ways. -I Freed Myself From Email's Grip.

Notes from Interview with Andy Brudtkuhl

Here's some notes from Andy Brudtkuhl's conversation with me this morning on BlogTalk Radio. You can listen to our conversation at www.blogtalkradio.com/zane-safrit. 

Andy created IowaFlood.com to share with the masses the stories with the still ongoing Iowa floods.

Twitter. Twitter was the most important social media technology for Andy’s platform, IowaFlood.com.

Twitter was the meeting place for members in the Des Moines Iowa area to share their stories on the Iowa floods. It was these conversations that drove Andy to create IowaFlood.com.

His first goal was to centralize the coverage by all the traditional, mainstream media. And then share it with his community members on Twitter.

Then he saw a broader, more personal, real-time coverage with his members on Twitter and their use of Flickr and YouTube and blog posts.

He expanded his vision to instead share THEIR stories with the masses, along with the coverage from traditional, mainstream media.

2 hours. That’s how much time he needed to launch the site from idea inception to buying domains to going live.

Kudos to Andy for not waiting for perfection instead choosing to get something up that worked and be open to ideas and suggestions for the site from the community members.

Resource Used:

Domain names: GoDaddy.com

Blogging Platform: WordPress.

Hosting: Mosso.com ( Shouts to them for their proactive customer service call to help optimize his site.)

Social Media Firehose: Yahoo Pipes. This pulls in to one feed the  content from various feeds with various social media resources based on key words. (Upper right corner on his site. Embed code is there to share the feed on your blog or website.)

Photo-sharing. Flickr. It’s easy to find photos about the floods in Iowa with keyword tags.

Content-sharing: wufoo.com. It’s a template you can add to your site to allow users to submit content directly to you. (Right, Andy?)

Video-sharing: YouTube. (duh)

Site Power: Community Members. Andy says: They power the site.

3 Indispensable Resources:

* Twitter

* WordPress

* Community Members.

Shouts:  Des Moines Register for their help with content and feeds.  We both agreed it’s nice to see them embrace the social media community and resources. Their Twitter Id is: dmregister.

Template for future events.  Andy’s created a template for future platforms devoted to events: conventions, concerts, art fairs, emergencies, disasters.

Andy’s Contact:

* Business: 48 Web Consulting
* Blog: Get a New Browser

Prediction: Michigan football roars bak in 2009 with some Florida-like speed and creativity.  Looking forward to it.

Andy’s Takeaway: Get on Twitter and Embrace Your Community.

Shouts to Andy: Without getting all sappy, a lot of shouts go to Andy, and his community, for building the site. It shows a lot of technical savvy. And it shows a lot of heart for his community. Kudos, Andy.

Twitter Co-Founder Biz Stone Talks

I find myself fascinated by Twitter and its community of users, the content found there, how it's used, not used, who uses it for what...And at the same time, I sometimes have the impression it's where the cool kids hang out. There's an unspoken (untweeted?) etiquette for posting, grammar, frequency, even a  little bit of a pecking order for who can comment on what topics.

Having said all that, I find it indispensable, really for broadening my networks, clarifying my thinking in real-time, showing me new uses of social media from people way out in front with its power and who've chosen to share their expertise with the community.

Here's a Q&A with Twitter's Biz Stone from Jennifer Leggio.

Link from Chris Brogan at, where else, Twitter.

Notes from Conversation with Jackie Huba

Here's some notes from my BlogTalk Radio show with Jackie Huba from The Swom and Church of the Customer.

• Word-of-mouth vs word-of-mouth marketing.  Word-of-mouth is a strategy; word-of-mouth marketing is a tactic. The first is a mission; the 2nd is an after-thought.

• DNA. Word of mouth is generated from the DNA of a company, when they give a reason or inspire their customers to talk about them, to volunteer to be their loyal sales force.

• Kudos to the person asking it. That's what Jackie answered when I asked her what’s so important about the Net Promoter Score from the Ultimate Question Survey. Ok, now what. You've found out the customer will/won't recommend you. Now what?

Exactly. Kudos to the person daring to ask a customer their opinion. Neither one of us are being facetious. Jackie pointed out so  many companies are scared to even talk to their customers, so let’s give kudos to the person asking it. That’s such a huge step. And once taken, you can’t really go back to ignoring the customer.

• Badge of Courage. Employees at Enterprise Rental wear their Net Promoter Score as a badge at company events. That shows how important it is. It’s measured and celebrated and heroes are made from that score. Heroes and careers.

• Customer Service is pro-active now. Using examples from Salesforce.com and their use of Yahoo Pipes (link and link) and  comcastcares at Twitter and Dell’s Ideastorm and blog response team, she points out that companies (the smart ones) are pro-actively seeking customer experience opportunities by engaging the customers where the customers live on social media.

• 4400 Tweets. Frank Aliason at Comcast began using Twitter (comcastcares ) to reach out to their customers. In less than 3 months he’s posted about 4400 tweets to Comcast customers in response to their needs for service.  That’s roughly over 1500 per month direct responses. Happy customers tend to tell 3-5 people about their experience. Now, multiply that message spread rate by the power of Twitter. And multiply it again by proactively reaching out to solve their issues before they become a dell hell-like firestorm.

• We are not an airline with great customer service. We are a great customer service organization that happens to be in the airline businessWe’re a customer service organization who just happens to fly airlines. - Colleen Barrett, CEO of Southwest Airlines. Church of the Customer Link

• Social networks’ growth comes from niche-markets, niche or specialized communities. Ning has over 250,000 communities. The most popular are very niche-oriented: firefighters, Lisa Nova (youtube), alumna, scrapbook makers.

• Employee Engagement Comes First. Dell built an EmployeeStorm internal community site to enlist their employees in creating solutions and understanding the need to reach out to their customers with the Ideastorm site. Very smart. See 2nd point about corporate DNA and its role in creating word-of-mouth.

• TheSWOM. Their current project. 835 members, great conversations from the members, great solutions for generating word-of-mouth from the members. And these solutions are happening nearly every day. And it's free. And it's helpful. Get over there. Become a member.

Thanks, Jackie.

Transparency, inclusion, rebuilds bridges and communities

“We’re trying to be accessible here,” said Jon Chiglo, the project manager for the Transportation Department, which, as part of the bridge contract, is paying more than $500,000 to a public relations firm to promote the story of the new bridge with these tours and with open houses in local neighborhoods. Bridge Construction Draws Crowds in Minneapolis.

300 people or more gather every weekend to ask questions of the project manager for the $234 million bridge being built in Minneapolis. The bridge kept the city connected. It's failure this year created a rift not only for the city's drivers but in the hearts of its citizens. And rebuilding the bridge and sharing its story, allowing  the citizens to share that storyat every step of that rebuilding process, wlll heal more than a road.

I categorized this under social media. Sharing a story to rebuild a community or to re-connect a community, regardless of the media used in its telling, is social media.

Groundswell: Buy It

Ben and Jackie sent me a free copy of Groundswell last week. Ben and Jackie are Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba. They are the Grand Swomies behind The SWOM, The Society of Word of Mouth. And I’m a member of The SWOM, defined as one with aspirations of Swominess.

I was one of 5 members, aspirants, at The SWOM to receive a free copy of Groundswell.

I gotta confess right here. I hadn’t planned on buying Groundswell. I’d read about it. I’d read all the gushing praise for it; seen all the hype and buzz going on about it. All of it forming a veritable groundswell, if you will, of conversation about it.

Whatever. 

It’s the standard book of the moment, right? You know the kind? A fairly well-written book, better than I could write certainly, that articulates a hot trend that lasts a few fleeting moments, maybe 3-6 months and then disappears. And so does the book and its value.   

Academic at best. And after 6 months, I can’t say my life is better for having read it.

And the other thing, (baring my soul, now) is I’ve been blogging daily for 4 years now. I’ve done podcasts and YouTube. I get the part about customers controlling at least half of your brand. Word-of-mouth and great employees were the saving graces of the company where I was CEO. I’ve evangelized ‘em all. I GOT IT. My mission now is to get more companies using their resources, embracing their power, y’know?

And when I looked at the book's cover I thought…And you’re going to tell me…what?

That’s what I thought. (Ok, I tend to be judgmental and I can be quick to judge. And sometimes I’m wrong, sometimes REALLY wrong.)

I was REALLY wrong with Groundswell. Maybe, not 180 degrees wrong. But a good 165 degrees, definitely.

Groundswell…where to begin. It’s well-written. It’s pace is pleasing, satisfying. The authors clearly love their topic. Their writing shares their love of social media, and in a measured, intelligent way.  It's captivating, engaging. THough they're doing all the talking, somehow you're part of the conversation, contributing to it in someway as you read their words.

And they weave in data with stories or profiles of company’s experiences with the groundswell.

That I admire. It shows they’re masters of their area. It’s a labor of love, really, that, they can weave back and forth from data to specific stories or anecdotes and weave me into their story.

They’re not looking to grandstand on this thing called social media,  citizens media, grassroots media…ride the wave to a couple of speaking gigs and be gone. No, they’re adding usable intelligence and profiles and actionable suggestions. They’re adding value to this conversation about the conversation. And…and…not only that but they use those examples and data to then push the conversation further and eventually ending up with a plan whose basics any company of any size in any industry could implement. OMG. Yes. They not only describe the trend to you, they walk you through all the cool resources you've maybe never heard of, splashcast and buzzillions, but then shows you how you CAN use them to join, foster, ride this groundswell for fun and profit!

Sure, they’re going to reap the rewards from their book and their employers will be very happy, too.

But these rewards will be greater for offering insight and help for those companies still looking to understand what’s changed, what’s not changed (them, probably) and how to listen to their customers and employees and connect with them. And that’s a very, very good thing for them as companies and for their employees, for their customers, too. For all of us.

I hate being proved wrong. On the other hand, I love taking a position and learning what I overlooked and having that ‘aha’ moment when I see things more clearly, more broadly.

That’s what Groundswell did for me. And I’m thinking…it’ll do the same thing for you.

Thanks, to Ben and Jackie for the sending me one of 5 free copies of Groundswell. Thanks to Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff for your love of this topic and being so articulate in sharing it with us.  Now, go enjoy your just rewards!

(Written in the dark with no internet connection while a morning storm passes…)

Update:

Groundswell mini-site

Their blog

10 More Reasons Why Twitter's Going to Grow

Despite some pains of growth, Twitter's going to continue to grow. Here's Robin Bloor's post 10 Reasons Why Twitter Rocks. I'd have to agree.

10 Reasons He Won't Use Social Media

From John Mariotti's post at SmallBizTrends comes his 10 Reasons Why [He} Won't Use Social Media.

Chuckle.

The irony of using a social media tool, a blog, and a social media resource, the guest author post at SmallBizTrends, to decry all things social media is...interesting.

I read it a couple of times to detect irony or sarcasm, satire, or these are thoughts I've heard. I didn't detect any.

I see John's website has rss feeds. That's a powerful resource to maximize the reach of social media.

And he has a blog of his own, Telling It Like It Is. Cool. I like anyone that speaks directly. He does.

Here's my thoughts on his 10 reasons, each italicized from his words:

1) Identity theft risk. Yes. Somewhat. No more so than paying bills online or receiving credit card statements in the mail. That's the source of my identity theft in ...1998.

2) Drowning in a tidal wave of complexity. Yes. Somewhat. But it's of our choosing, really. No one's ever forced me online. Try as I might, I've never been able to do the same with others.

3) ...defunct or otherwise transitory Internet, email or proprietary Web systems. Yes. Change is swift out here.

But only if you want to.

And the choice in evolution and business is always change or die.

But, it's still a choice.

4) Someone always comes up with a newer, better, more cooler one. And yes, it can seem like a high-school 'cool' contest sometimes. No doubt. And like in high school, the genuine friends stay together whether in different colleges or in different social media sites.

5) Security is like passing your credit-card around at an open bar. Your credit card receipt at restaurants is an open invitation for misuse. There's really no difference. The best social media sites and communities are free and open like SmallBizTrends and Twitter and blogs.

6) There are other ways...I'm confused on this point. What are the other ways you can network without placing your identity in the hands of others? Wear a mask at chamber meetings and use business cards with anonymous drop-mail PO boxes?

7) Real business people realize that this social networking trend is superficial. This is my favorite. Yes, all those folks who've created an industry worth billions, with millions of members, who've helped businesses continue to reduce the cost of advertising and promotion, free mailboxes of unwanted direct mail, engage with their customers, drive improved cash-flows, reach markets and network with creatives and decision-makers they'd never reach, create jobs as a result and compete against corporate brands...oooo, we're just all so darn superficial. Yes.

Honey? I'm superficial. (Oh, darn. She already knew.)

8). The hassle of your computer...and the user-interfaces of social media is far too great. So, um, how'd you write and post and publish this list of 10 reasons why you hate to do what you just did?

And how'd you  find this site? See above point about change and the learning it requires.

9)  I want to choose who will be involved and know that their involvement is willing and enthusiastic. Um. Ok. What sites are you using where that's not happening?

And do you know everyone (that's a few hundred thousand strangers or close friends, which is it) that's reading this post or the posts on your blog or visiting your website?

You're not searching their identity using their IP addresses are you, John?

10) I am simply too busy....Ok. Lots of people are.

And I admire, though, that you've blogged weekly since 2004. That puts you in the very small percentage of social media users, sometimes known as bloggers, who maintain their blog for more than a few months. And starting with a blog in 2004 makes you an early-adoptor, I think. That you don't know their identity makes your blog and your readers no less a community than other social media sites that require a member login.

I liked the last paragraph of your first post on December 10, 2004

What must happen is for balance to be regained is for everyone in the "central chasm" to start taking a much more proactive role in ensuring the diversity, quantity and balance of information and perspectives needed to keep our country great. That means start generating good, insightful, interesting information and getting it widely disseminated.

I agree. There's no better way to do that than how you did it: blogging, adopting these new social media resources, sharing your insights with a resource that gets it widely disseminated like you've done here.

And the debate continues another round.

I do agree with John about the power of in-person, face-to-face, meetings. They do add a richness and depth and connection. Having said that, there are bloggers and others I've never met in person. And yet, my connection with them and our respective support for each other's goals, both personal and professional, is as deep and strong as those I've met in person. And vice versa, some people I've met in person are more superficial than any I've met online even if only through their fake IDs.

At the end of the day, social media's a tool. It's a resource. Sure, some make it a lifestyle. Cool. Their choice. Some make snapon tools a lifestyle, too. And like all tools, you use the one that best fits your goals and personalities and that shows you a positive ROI. Social media's not made for everyone. Neither are chamber of commerce meetings and rubber chicken as the entre'. Choose the one that best suits your needs, that brings you a network that supports and enriches your life and your theirs.

Disclaimer: I'm also a guest author at SmallBizTrends. And social media helped my former company generate growth and positive cash-flows while it competed against national brands. And while I disagree a bit with John's post, he writes some good stuff at his blog.