Archive for the ‘Communication’ Category

Measurement. Measurement. Measurement.

Dec 21, 2011 | tags: , , , , ,

It has been said that you can’t improve what you can’t measure. An article from eMarketer emphasizes that statement. Debra Williamson, eMarketer principal analyst, states,

“Marketers often think of social media measurement as listening and monitoring. But that is only one part of a fragmented process, which has contributed to a lack of focus for both marketers and vendors. It has also created a culture of data overload, in which metrics that do not have much business value have more importance than those that contribute to the bottom line.”

Alterian has just released a report that says that 70 percent of all senior management reports have no social media reporting in them. And this is at a time when marketing and public relations departments are asking for more and more dollars to finance the growing social media presence.

The reason social media is absent from these reports is because everything should work backward from the reports. What do you want to see from social media and how should it be compared to the other marketing initiatives? Social media metrics need to line up with the corporate structure so that comparisons can be made.

Social media is not some strange animal that nobody knows how to measure. However, it is strange when there is no context to the reporting and when the reporting has no home in senior management monthly reports.

Click here for the entire eMarketer article. But just had to get my two cents in first.

By the way, happy holidays to everyone. Best to you, your family, your community and the wildlife that lives around you.

 

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

It Is Still Your Gut

Oct 27, 2011 | tags: , , , , , ,

 

 

Recently, while talking with executives about social media, I got three different messages from them:

1. I get it and we are building our social media presence. 

2. I don’t get it and until somebody shows me the money, I’m not gonna get it. 

3.  I know that we need to get on top of the social media thing, but I’m not sure if it will do us any good. 

 

Ok. Here is what social media data can do.

1. With the proper analysis, it  provides insight and justification for your major decisions.

2. It gives you the truth. And remember, every post, whether good or bad, has a good deal of truth to it.

And your “truth” and their ”truth” may be completely different. Not the same picture at all.

3. It gives real-time feedback on the performance of your products.

4. It provides trending information, which will be a leading contributor to upcoming sales forecasts.

 

Here are some things that data cannot do:

1. It can not make decisions for you.

2. It should not be  manipulated. If it is, it will be at great risk to your company and your career.

3. It cannot be your friend. When data says the momentum is good, it doesn’t care. When momentum is bad, it doesn’t care.

4. It cannot be ignored. Data is direct from are your customers, your life-blood. Ignore them and you ignore the performance reviews of your products. It is the beginning of the end for your company in the 21st century.

 

I say these things because recently there has been too much emphasis on both the power of social media and the weakness of social media. Both are true.

 

Social Media Reporting becomes a competitive weapon when you:

1. measure correctly

2. analyze

3. deliver the data in a way that senior managers can understand and compare to performance in other sectors of the enterprise.

And when data is delivered this way, it is still your gut, but with more ammunition.

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

The Cul-de-Sac

Oct 19, 2011 | tags: , , , ,

The Cul-de-Sac is a great metaphor for what happens in social media.

People (people online) steer into the cul-de-sac. Sometimes they are lost. Sometimes they are looking for an address. Sometimes they are just driving around.

Do they want anything from the owner of the house (Brand)? No. Not really. Maybe a little information.

Does the home owner (Brand)  want anything from them? Well, in this case, yes, they want them to become customers. But the online environment doesn’t lend itself to persuasive selling. So there is passive selling through content. Or contests or giveaways, which is way worse.

So, most of the time it’s two ships passing in the night.

If you are a Brand, most of your friends and followers on Twitter and Facebook are just that:

Drive-bys.

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

The Wrap-Up of #ORWinter

Feb 3, 2010 | tags: , , , , , , , ,

By Channel Signal Analysts James Mills, David Sweeney and Paul Kirwin

At the 2010 Outdoor Retailer Winter Market boosters of specialty products and services had a unique opportunity to participate in a conversation about the show, brands and events. Broadcast over the #ORWinter Twitter feed hosted and monitored by Channel Signal, even outdoor professionals who couldn’t attend the event were able to login and share the flow of information
“From my perspective, it was great to be able to participate with OR, without being there,” said William Roth (@williamroth), social network coordinator of the National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander, Wyoming. “I liked seeing twitpics with new/conceptual products. I was able to learn about #guerillapanel and build my outdoor industry base of twitter users. It also made me realize just how much I need to be attending OR in the summer.”
By simply including #ORWinter in their entries of 140 characters or less Twitter users shared photographs, videos and abbreviated links to blog web sites. Anyone on the planet with Internet access could see and follow the comment stream in real-time throughout the four-day event, including the on-snow demo. And on the show floor, exhibitors and key industry influencers were able to use the power of social media to generate excitement and drive traffic to their booths.

Those brands that hosted exciting industry events generated the most traffic. Teva’s live music party on the 2nd night of the show raised the conversation quotient among Tweeters with large followings, posting 29,250 social media impressions at the show. For each Tweeter who shared information about Teva, an equal number of their total followers got the word. Keen Footwear also had an impressive showing with 24,241 impressions during the show. In-booth promotions to benefit Haitian earthquake relief as well as several videos posted to YouTube were likely contributors to Keen’s success. The brand encouraged its fans to become engaged throughout OR and for a few days afterward
“We wanted to keep it simple and authentic so that people could have real-time interaction with our brand, “said Keen spokesman Chris Enlow. “ We wanted to come up with creative ways to reach our fans and not just the people at the show. If we just focused on ‘Orwinter’, the hash tag, we would have missed out on an opportunity to build our community.”

But it wasn’t just the big brands that did well in the social media rankings. The company Naturally Bamboo was ranked 4th with 18,754 impressions. Owner and exhibitor April Femrite aggressively used the #ORWinter channel to talk up her business and she enlisted the help of others. For example this message was posted by leading outdoor industry social media influencer Sara Lingafelter AKA @theclimbergirl: “Wardrobe change thanks to @naturallybamboo. This dress is so incredibly comfy, I feel like I’m running around naked. #orwinter”  Original messages like this one about @naturallybamboo were shared repeatedly across the Internet. It’s likely that a conversation about a naked @theclimbergirl was passed around peer to peer with more than a few chuckles. And with each re-tweet was also sent and received a message about the comfort of a dress made by Naturally Bamboo. “I hope this proves to be a social media success story,” said Femrite. “I don’t have a huge marketing budget. All I have is social media, Facebook and Twitter, to build buzz and bring my brand to the attention of my customers.”

Two of the most talked about exhibitors weren’t brands but non-profit organizations, 1% For The Planet and The Conservation Alliance. With the help of key influencers who support these groups the issues of wildlife conservation and environmental conservation became top-of-mind.

“Social media makes the connection between brands, causes and adventurers clearer than ever before,” said Emily Nuchols, an industry influencer and a principle at Under Solen Media. “It’s not about who gets the most action on Twitter, it’s about who uses their social media to take action on things that matter. We believe in the power of social media to make positive change, and we believe in people who are passionate about their causes — be they businesses, advocates or adventurers.”
Nuchols posted information about the groups bi-annual breakfast meeting and spread the word on several promotional fundraising events held on the Conservation Alliance’s behalf at the booths of many different exhibitors.

On the other side of the issue, Malcolm Daly, founder of the climbing equipment company Trango has been attending OR since the 70’s and is a self-described skeptic. “I have high hopes but low expectations for the #ORWinter channel,” he said in a blog post a week before the show. “It’s already inundated with 140 character versions of the 40 year old press release, posted (tweeted) up by people and companies who don’t get it. Why would I bother to take notice of those if I never even bothered to take notice of them before?”
To Daly’s point if users of social media employ traditional techniques of one-way communications to connect with their audience very little of the conversation will change. But those brands and individuals who actively engage in a dialog, sharing and responding to pertinent and compelling information, can indeed use networks like the #ORWinter feed to their benefit.

Many will likely ask: “Was the #ORWinter experiment a success?” That’s like asking if a conversation at a cocktail party was successful. The more pertinent questions are: Was the discussion lively and informative? Did you discover anything new? Did you come away with the knowledge that you were not only heard but also listened to? Would you engage in this kind of conversation in the future?
Social media neither succeeds nor fails, it simply is. In the free exchange of ideas one will only get out of a conversation as much as he or she is prepared to put into it. Those who created meaningful content, those who responded directly to the questions or comments of others and those who shared what they discovered with the conversation at large will inevitably be the most successful users of social media.

Below are the top tens in both Brands and Influencers.

Note: Possible impressions= the number of  mentions of that brand by unique users (X)  their followers. This number excludes retweets, ( people who were passing a tweet along).

Top Ten Brands                                                           Impressions

@TevaMeansNature (Teva)                                                        29,250

@keen_shoes ( Keen Footwear)                                               25,241

@conservationall (The Conservation Alliance)                   21, 252

@naturallybamboo (Naturally Bamboo)                               18,754

@DfaDogs (D-fa Dogs)                                                                9,981

@hardwear (Mountain Hardwear)                                           9,633

@1PercentFTP (1% For The Planet)                                         7,276

@haikubags (Haiku)                                                                    6,780

@montrail (Montrail)                                                                   4,917

@chacousa (Chaco)                                                                      4,045

Total generated by the Top Ten                                             118,375

Top Ten Influencers                   Mentions                           Followers

@theclimbergirl                                 15                                  3,370
@PembaServes                                   12                                  1,123
@Eliz_Castro                                      11                                  1,662
@undersolen                                       10                                     461
@wude72                                             10                                11,181
@saralingafelter                                 9                                      549
@canoelover                                        9                                       461
@RepGirl                                              8                                       215
@TheGearJunkie                               7                                    3,191
@highsteph                                         7                                    1,758

Total number of Followers                                                   23,971

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

When the Funnel Becomes the Bucket

Nov 20, 2009 | tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Recently I wrote that the distribution of information had always been a funnel but it had now turned right side up.  The mouth of the funnel is wide open and consumers are publishing because it is easy and they have opinions.  The good brands are building these funnels, advertising their communication portals (Facebook,etc) , attracting consumers, collecting opinions, engaging, finding their voices and constructively inviting/channeling consumers further down into the brand storyline. During this process the brands are quietly measuring their effectiveness, learning, and becoming much better communicators as consumers elect to engage more deeply.  They are collecting excellent data on Influencers, athletes and active consumers as the information travels down the funnel.

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In recent conversations I have been painfully reminded that many me-too brands in the Outdoor Industry are not building solid funnels but building buckets with holes and no bottom.

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How? Well, these companies crow that they have a Web Site, Facebook Page, are on Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr.

And consumers are initially engaging…entering the bucket. But they are not directed or invited to go anywhere.  They  just sit in the bucket, quickly draining to the bottom…without direction.

And then an analyst from Channel Signal investigates. We find that they had good sign-up for the Facebook page, a decent  following on Twitter, and that YouTube and Flickr had good traffic, but that it fell off quickly.

Why did the traffic fall off?  Because these companies did not allocate the resources to engage. Employees were not assigned to respond to consumers, and direct them to the next point of interest. Consumer questions and comments went unanswered. They were not invited to go to Facebook or the Website, or YouTube, or a User Group. And because there was no natural momentum of engagement, no funnel, consumers were stranded and then took the easy way out….quickly out the bottom of the bucket. They were invited to the conversation and then nobody talked to them.

So they didn’t stick around. And  they took all of their knowledge about the brand with them.

A study by the Chief Marketing Council shows that 38 percent of the 480 executives in the industries surveyed say their companies have no programs in place to track or propagate positive word of mouth among customers. And only 29 percent rate highly their ability to handle and resolve customer problems or complaints

All that money to make products that attract consumers. All that money to sell into retail. All that money for advertising to attract consumers. All that money to set up conversation channels.  And then the pay-off…consumers responding online by engaging in one of the channels. And…

And silence. All that wonderful potential data about consumers and what they like and don’t like about your brand and products…out the bottom of the bucket. And all those potential Influencers, gone.

Never to be captured again.

Say goodbye to measuring ROI.

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

The Funnel is Now Right-Side Up

Aug 5, 2009 | tags: , , , , , ,

In a recent conversation with Brad Werntz of Pemba Serves we were discussing the new business models that would develop due to new media.

For some reason my mind came up with a funnel and I started talking about it. By the time I was finished it made a lot of sense, which wasn’t surprising to Brad but a shock to me.

So the communication funnel has been upside down for a long time. Why?

Until recently all messaging by brands went into strict portals like magazines, radio, television, newspapers. Went into the top of the upside-down funnel. Media would receive the messaging, charge for it, place it in their formats, and then distribute.  Advertisers and the media told the brands that they could reach more people more cost-effectively then any other method.

And they were right.

So, all of this messaging went into the top of the funnel, got processed, and then was delivered to the target markets, and hopefully to a lot of people.

With new media this has all changed.

The funnel is now right-side up. Meaning that anyone can publish and can do it at no charge. The top of the funnel is open to the public. Opinions, product reviews, customer complaints, brand messaging, sales pitches, you name it…is flowing into the distribution systems.

Now, all of this information gets seen, and if good, it gets passed around. And if really good, it gains momentum and readership as it moves down the funnel. It also gets directed meaning that many people are involved and directing this information virally to the target markets that would be most interested. People like them.

So, with new media everyone can publish, everyone can express an opinion, everyone re-channels, and in the end the good information gains momentum and hits its proper target market.

So, why do brands still believe they control the message?

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

Impressions of the Outdoor Retailer Show

Jul 28, 2009 | tags: , , , , , , , ,

First, I thought ORSM09 was a very positive show. Two things continue to happen. The stock market continues to move upward, reaching 9000 just before the Show. Second, this staycation thing is the real deal. People are staying home, taking up new sports, planning local family vacations, and the outdoor industry is benefiting.

It’s all working and our industry, although listing to port a little, is not capsizing. 

And I like the general attitude. “Yeah, things could be better, but we are still making some money, running a tighter ship, and we will make it through.” 

New media is growing in the outdoor space. Tweet-ups, constant tweeting from the Show floor, and many of the major brands looking at or engaging in the blogosphere. Outdoor Retailer is embracing new media and supplying more portals on the Show floor. All good. 

I still strongly believe that the Show should open its doors to the public on the last day. It will happen someday. It is inevitable. 

Now, to the darker side. I heard from several very reliable sources that a certain large retailer threatened several large brands if those brand did business with online powerhouse Amazon.

Let’s start with this. After too many years in the marketing business I must emphasize again that retailers and brands can not fight the market forces. For example, I remember about ten years ago, medium sized specialty retailers were running around the Show telling the brands that they would drop any brand who sold online. Several brands sought my advice. I asked this question,” where is your growth?” And they replied, “Online.” And I asked why? And they said, “Because we think that is where a growing percentage of the consumers will be.” 

Right direction. Right thinking. 

YOU MUST FOLLOW THE CONSUMERS. YOU WILL NOT LEAD THEM. YOU CAN NOT BULLY THEM. THEY ARE TOO BIG. THEY ARE IN CONTROL. THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IN CONTROL. AMAZON IS GROWING FOR A REASON. 

So, to this large retailer, I say, you must stop this nonsense. Brands will follow the money. They will sell to retailers who bring them customers and offer growth. They have no choice. Their shareholders have put a bulls-eye out there and told management to hit it. Unless, you, large retailer, want to guarantee the returns necessary to keep these shareholders happy, then you must do it the old fashion way.

You must compete. You must continue to create a unique position in the marketplace, buy creatively, attract more consumers to your doors and online, offer great customer service and sponsor customer loyalty programs. You will sell more, and order more merchandise. And the brands will support you more. 

And speaking of support…how can you, large retailer, threaten brands when almost 50% of your floor space is now your own branded products? You, at times, drive consumers into your stores using other brands as the bait, and then you offer your branded products at a lower price while your salesforce whispers that your product has the same quality only it costs less.  

So you are partners with the brands, you compete with them in your own stores, and now you threaten them because they want to grow their businesses. No wonder brands are confused and, at times, angry.

You are a retailer. A damn good one. Probably, the best.  You have been solidly on the side of “good”. You have helped grow the outdoor business. Now, others with a different business model, want to do business and help grow the industry. Invite them in.  And sure compete with them, hard. But also talk with them. Educate them about expectations. Talk to them about the environment, sustainability and participation. Show them how to be a force for good in the business. Both of you will profit. Why? Because you are both capable of bringing millions more consumers into our business. And everyone will profit. 

So, be the leader that you are, and stop baring your teeth.

Peace. 

Out.

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

Best Buy Did It Right

Mar 18, 2009 | tags: , , , , ,

Patric Welch writes a blog called Noobie, an advice column for people wanting help with technology. Welch wrote a piece about how Best Buy broke his son’s heart on Valentine’s Day. Welch had ordered a Madagascar DVD on BestBuy.com and it wasn’t delivered with the promised “plush penguin” gift. His son was very disappointed. Here’s what he didn’t get. 

Here’s the reply and the course of action from Best Buy.

Dear Patric,

I’m Jason, Community Connector for Best Buy. We frequently review our customers’ blog and forum posts to gain insight into their experiences to identify areas of improvement.

Valentine’s Day is a special occasion for many individuals and I am sorry to hear you were unable to get your son a plush penguin. I realize it can be frustrating when you do not receive the service you expect and I am disappointed we did not meet your expectations. I would like to invite you to discuss this issue with us further by emailing me at jason.communities@bestbuy.com. Please reference issue number 57801142 and we will do our best to assist you.

Sincerely,
Agent Jason
Community Connector

Best Buy has a team of 10 community connectors that search the Internet for customer relations problems. So Jason went to work after a search pulled up Patric’s problem.  Several online discussions proved that Jason was having a tough time finding any penquins.  Suddenly Patric found two “plush penquins” in the mail; one for each of his sons. Patrick and his sons were ecstatic. Best Buy also credited the Welch’s account for the DVD. 

20 comments have come into the Noobie site, all expressing admiration for Jason the Community Connector and Best Buy. One has even said this story is turning around his impression of Best Buy. 

You cannot buy this. And this is New Media at its most powerful. Where real people from brands help customers by searching online for complaints, reaching out and solving the problems. Now Best Buy has a powerful ally. Do you think Patric will recommend Best Buy to his readers and customers when suggesting technology to solve their problems?

And how about the viral component. This story was emailed to me by a friend. Major media picked up on the story and ran with it. Other bloggers, like me, are picking up the story. And how many people will be talking about the “plush penguin” story in conversations. How many people will congratulate Best Buy? How many Best Buy employees will hear about this. And what kind of positive momentum will this little story sponsor across all distribution channels for Best Buy. 

How many unsatisfied customers do we have in the outdoor recreational space? How many hundreds or thousands of customers are out there talking and writing about certain brands due to incompetence from either online partners or brick and mortar retailers? How many products are stashed in closets, their customers disgusted with the fit, performance or both.   

Don’t have a program to uncover many of these problems? You should. 

Here’s a belated Happy Valentines Day, Best Buy. You earned it.

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

Skittles Uses New Media and Gets Torched

Mar 3, 2009 | tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Skittles, the candy company, is trying something different, again. When you login to the web site www.skittles.com up comes the Skittles Facebook page. 

Last night Skittles pulled the first idea, which was to have the viewer go to the Skittles Twitter Page when visiting the home page. Well, that lasted for about a day. At first, consumers inundated the site with solid and fun stories about Skittles. “My dog loves them.” ” I love the Skittles rabbit!. “I take them with me everywhere.” Stories that fueled the brand forward. 

Then the chatter turned negative. Pranksters got going on the site and it became unmanageable for the brand. Too much negative and not enough positive to shine a good light on the candy.

So, now you automatically go to the Skittle’s Facebook site. True, tighter security here and the community will police itself better.

But let’s look at what the company is really doing…going straight to the online conversation.  It’s like the company says, “you want to know something about Skittles? Here. Here’s everything being said about Skittles at this very moment. Join in.”

Interesting approach. Surpass all of the boring brand messaging about the company and just jump into the Skittle mosh-pile. Skittles put all of its brand messaging in control of the consumers.

And it backfired. How long can people talk about Skittles? It’s fresh now, but will the rapid-fire comments keep coming? I doubt it. And in a week or two when this is over and the conversation dies down, or worse turns negative, then where is the juice? 

The Twitter initiative really failed because it was not authentic. Certain consumers sniffed that out and they went on the attack. Others piled on.  In short, consumers will not play ball all day long if they think they are being used, and in my view that is what happened.  

Now if Skittles complements this new Facebook initiative with well placed, well timed authentic content, and that content fires up more conversation, well now we have something. 

What kind of content?  Producing more company sponsored YouTube videos, creating a contest in every state to find the most interesting character who loves Skittles, publishing new company green programs or sponsoring grass roots events.  And use many distribution channels; Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, etc. 

Pump content into the new media channels. Make it real. Make it fun. Make it interesting. And make it brand building. 

Consumers are still in control, but the brand is now a big authentic player in the conversation.

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

Content is the New Juice

Feb 11, 2009 | tags: , , , , , , ,

Time Magazine came out with a recent article about the continuing devaluation of content. In short, publishers are not getting paid as much for content because content has lost much of it’s value. Here’s the article. Time’s take on content.

 

So, if content has been devalued why is everyone in new media addressing the importance of content?Because there is a difference between packaged content to attract a mass audience and the major advertising dollars that go with it, and content that serves a much much narrower market. 

Traditional magazines and newspapers are broadcasting in a traditional media format. They write about Obama, recession, weather tradegies, wars, and the latest movies. Stuff that millions may be interested in. But it is general, and the information is pushed to the reader without the option of the reader responding. It is not dynamic, and the reader must pay for it in this traditional format. Ironically, the reader can go online and get much of this content for free. So, of course, they exercise this option. 

New media is narrowcasting…writing to a very specific audience, an audience that highly values the content. Let’s take weather, and more specifically tornadoes. Those interested in that topic, search, find the blogger experts, and opt in to read their stuff by email, rss feed, yahoo, etc.  And they can’t get enough of it. Because this writer is writing directly to them, and their tribe. And they respond with posts, and the author responds back, and a community begins to form about tornadoes: how they build, what precautions to take, tons of pictures, and most importantly, personal experiences. It is dynamic. 

Now, next time a tornado happens in the midwest, these passionate followers will be living it. Reading the tweets, getting hourly updates, seeing the latest photos…all well before traditional media can deliver it. 

That’s the new world. People find their hobbies online, find others with the same passion, and connect. Communities are built, and those in it…live it. 

People do want an overview, so broadcasting will stay with us, but it will migrate to being even more online. It will also shrink because consumers want the latest news and then they move on. Consequently large advertisers will only spend so much money with traditional media. Now the big money is searching for viable ways to connect with new media. 

And how about the outdoor recreational brands? What can be learned here? Consumers are in control. They know what they want, how to get to the information, and how to discover who writes it. The brands that learn to listen, post good content, engage with consumers, and build communities will reap the benefits. These brands will get massive help with product development, customer service and sales. 

How? It starts with finding the unique humanity in your brand. And once you’ve found that, you build a strategy, and begin to produce authentic content.

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal