During SXSW Interactive this past week, I had the opportunity to attend several sessions. The one that impacted me the most was Social Media in the Underground World of B2B – a panel with representatives from Cisco, IBM, Nvidia and Xerox, moderated by Text 100. I’m involved in discussions and read articles on a daily basis that debate the merits of social media for a company in the B2B space. Many B2B companies don’t believe that their key audiences are using social media – when in fact they are.
There were several key points made during the panel that struck a chord and armed me with new data that I plan to highlight in future B2B social media conversations. All of these relate back to current offerings from WE. I’m inspired for my next discussion with clients and prospects; I’m always thinking about and looking for ways to take integrated influence to the next level.
Hang up the phone on anyone who asks you to define your Twitter or Facebook strategy
At least, that’s what Duane Schulz, VP of brand & social marketing at Xerox does! His advice: remember that social media is “just a tool” and that social media still needs to tie back to solving a business problem or achieving the business objective (“What is the problem you are trying to solve?” – a question frequently posed by WE president and founder Pam Edstrom). Make sure you are always listening across your markets and brands, and adjust your strategy in real time if it is not working to solve the business problem.
Employees are a company’s brand; help them be ambassadors
Who better to talk about a company than employees? Many are curious about social media, but intimidated. Companies should help their employees feel comfortable by offering education. One example of this discussed during the panel was that NVIDIA has installed screens in high traffic areas in the office (including near bathrooms!), streaming Twitter feeds on hashtags related to NVIDIA products. This has piqued curiosity and made NVIDIA employees want to know more, leading to education classes and future evangelists. It demonstrated to them that relevant discussion is already taking place online – whether they decide to participate or not.
WE offers social media 101 classes for clients. These classes are perfect for those companies who are just getting their toes wet with digital strategies and includes discussion around best practices for incorporating social media as part of a broader integrated influence program.
Clearly define your audience, then find them online
Everyone on the panel agreed that targeting before you begin your social media efforts is key:
- Cisco: Leverage your internal employees to help define the audience and shape the level of participation in social media. Scale the response as appropriate.
- NVIDIA: Conduct in-depth research on where your target audience “hangs out” online and focus your efforts there. “Shooting stuff into the ether without targeting isn’t effective.”
- Xerox: “Get your fingernails dirty.” Bring in subject matter experts, use market insights.
- IBM: Never stop listening. They have been evaluating the space since 2004 using internal proprietary software along with external tools.
Social media is a long-term relationship
This is a huge challenge for many companies – supporting social media on an ongoing basis vs. just during a major launch. One way to address this is by empowering employees with tools such as social media guidelines and content development recommendations. If employees have the tools to keep a conversation going and you have trained and educated an army, you’re much more likely to see content development and online engagement on an ongoing basis.
WE offers a content guerilla workshop specifically aimed at creating an army of social media advocates within a company. We’ve successfully implemented the workshop for several of our clients, both on a large, global scale and locally within business units.
Demonstrate ROI
There was some disagreement on the panel on best approaches to demonstrating ROI. Shanee Ben-Zur, social media strategist at NVIDIA, admitted that it’s hard to apply an objective number and that they try to look for affinity, which she admitted is “kind of like trying to measure love.” Jeanette Gibson, director of social media marketing at Cisco, mentioned that she looks at cost savings and time savings in reaching out to audiences. She gave the example of using a Facebook logon as an option for web users to register for and download white papers. Using Facebook enabled them to increase registrations by 20% while reducing costs by 40%.
Duane from Xerox mentioned that they “probably won’t even get to looking at social media ROI for two years.” He tends to look at business objectives (via a dashboard) to measure things like: how many people have social media in their job titles? Is the universe seeing a new Xerox via online conversation?
The WE Insights & Analytics team has many tools for benchmarking and analyzing the results of social media programs. Measurement is a key element of any successful program. For more information on any of the WE programs or tools mentioned in this blog, or to discuss B2B social further, please contact Suzanne Zurn, szurn@waggeneredstrom.com.
It’s that time of the year again when SXSW and its groups of film, music and tech junkies descend upon Austin to talk about the latest and greatest bands, films and tech that we can’t live without (or at least think we can’t live without).
But once you show up, how do you take advantage of all of the information that’s available to you? With three festivals, panels, parties, sessions and people to meet, it’s just overwhelming to even think of how to organize all of this information. But never fear we are here to show you the best apps that will make SXSW 2012 the best experience for you.
Getting Around SXSW
The best app by far to get around SXSW is the official SXSW app, SXSW GO. Available on iOS, Android and coming for Windows Phone 7, this is the app that gives you all of the official SXSW information you need. You can build out your schedule, check panel times and sync panels to your device. A solid feature if you’re stuck in a no-signal zone.
Location, Location, Location
What’s a tech festival without talking about location based apps and services. One of the staples in the location based services space, Foursquare is still the king of getting you checked-in to SXSW. But, with its newly launched Explore search engine, you can now use Foursquare to find the best bars, restaurants and more in Austin.
Also another great one is the Hot Spots app Waggener Edstrom debuted last year at SXSW Interactive. It is a mobile app for Windows Phone 7 and iOS that enables users to discover where the most popular hangouts are during SXSW.
Who’s Around You?
Beyond the parties, great food and amazing bands, SXSW is about meeting people that share your same interests and striking up a conversation. At SXSW 2012, you can expect to hear a lot about apps like Highlig.ht, Glancee, Ban.jo and Kismet not only will tell you what your friends are doing, but they will find people that have checked-in or have similar interests that are around you and let you introduce yourself to them. This is a great way to meet new people, network with people that have similar interests and maybe pick up a new friend or two for some late night karaoke!
Capture and Share
Whether you’re checking out one of the hundreds of bands or a great panel, SXSW lends all of its festivities to being captured through photography or video. There are ton of apps out there that do this for you, but below are some of my favorites.
Keeping it Fun at SXSW
Finally, SXSW is all about having fun. Waggener Edstrom partnered with tenfour, a Portland, Ore.-based creative agency, to bring Tweet-A-Beer to life. Tweet-A-Beer is a mobile Web app that helps people network and socialize by purchasing each other a beer over Twitter, perfect for fostering the face-to-face connections that are a natural part of the SXSW Interactive Festival or for those following through the Twittersphere.
So as you get prepped up for SXSW, make sure you take a look at the list of apps above. Not only will they help you keep organized at the show, but you might just find some new friends join you in the awesome experience of SXSW.
As the world’s tech nerds prepare for geek Spring Break, aka South by Southwest, I wanted to take a moment and share how I think somebody in the world of integrated communications can make the most of this experience.
All you need is a bit of love at SXSW.
For those of you who don’t know, #SXSW (aka “southby” for the really cool kids) is when 5,000 12,000 20,000 a lot of the world’s developers, social media gurus and marketing types invade Austin, Texas, for a week of insightful, thought provoking conference sessions parties. I’ve been to three of the last four, and I am equally thankful and remiss I won’t be there this year. I’m missing out on groundbreaking tech and emerging digital trends. But thankfully, I realize that I don’t need to be on the ground to make an impact.
Talking Story
The best part of SXSW is the people. Hands down. This is the “can’t miss” event of the tech world, and it’s an opportunity to see those Twitter friends who are usually nothing more than a scrolling avatar. In the Hawaiian culture, “talking story” is simply sitting with a good friend in the sunshine and talking for hours. And SXSW is no exception. Some of the best moments I’ve had have been while talking story or roaming the halls.
Telling Story
What’s a social media conference without the ability to create terabytes of photos, videos, podcasts, vlogs, blogs, tweets and text messages? SXSW is no different. The important thing here is to find somebody who has a story and help them tell it. Entrepreneurs, hackers, PR flacks, we all have a story to tell. Pull out the camera and help the next big thing tell its story.
The Human Story
I wrote a post in 2009 that was essentially about being human at SXSW. And the principles are the same. Just be a human. We all have a pitch. I’m a PR guy, the person next to me is the co-founder of a location-aware geo-tagging service that will add a social layer to RSS streams of daily deals. The point is, at the end of the day, we’re all human. Don’t be afraid to let your guard down and interact with the person next to you.
Your Brand’s Story
OK, we’re here to make money, right? Finding a new app to partner with or invest in; seeking a new reader base for your emerging blog even. It’s OK to pimp your brand at SXSW. Everybody expects to hear your pitch and get your business card, so have your brand’s story down. Have your twit-pitch down to a science and be ready for the comparisons — ”So, it’s like the MySpace of Groupons?”
At the end of the day, SXSW is an adventure, one you must prepare for and one you must be ready to conquer. But the best part about it is the stories you can tell before, during and after the event. Let’s hear your stories in the comments.
Thank you to @Krystyl from mylovetravels.com for the great photo from last year.
It’s easy to overlook the daily stories we tell and how they interconnect us with one another.
As a student of Gonzaga University’s online communication and leadership program, I recently spent a weekend in Spokane, Wash., discussing the principles of good storytelling. Unlike many of my classmates, I get to talk about storytelling and writing principles all the time. I wasn’t expecting to hear anything too revolutionary. But, silly me, I forgot about the power of community.
Our intimate group of 20 was made up of vastly different backgrounds and stories. We formed a community around our mutual interest in learning, and shared pieces of ourselves that we rarely share with others. For instance, our instructor asked us each to find a quote that spoke to our hearts, and read it aloud to the group. Each beautiful line gave us a peek inside one another’s personality: One man recited his wedding vows; another read hip-hop lyrics from The Roots. Some students chose quotes from their favorite books; others read poems from their childhood.
These snippets painted images of one another that conveyed our personal histories — one of many storytelling lessons I learned from my educational community and Prof. Kristina Morehouse that weekend:
- “Stop in time, and pay attention to the power of words.” What we say builds community — and sadly, sometimes breaks it down. We need to be mindful of the words we use because someone is always listening.
- “Concise messages are most important.” If you find the right word, you don’t need as many.
- “Show, don’t tell.” When telling a story, don’t leave out the details. Oftentimes, we’re writing for an online audience that reads fast and suffers from information overload, so we skimp on the background information — the interesting characteristics — and focus solely on the lead, aiming to quickly grab attention. But when the next newsworthy headline hits, your lead is long gone.
- “Everyone needs one really good editor.” Find someone you trust to read your work. Ask for constructive criticism, and grow from your mistakes.
- “You can’t write if you don’t read.” Even the best writers find inspiration in other people’s words, and they appreciate how others phrase their musings. We should all read to better learn about the basic rules of grammar, and to uncover the magic behind parallel structure and cadence.
I found myself nodding along to each suggestion, excited to share them with my broader community of writers, editors and storytellers. Even if we’ve heard them before, it’s always nice to reiterate their importance in our industry.
And as for my inspirational quote? Always the grammarian, I read a quote that demonstrates parallelism at its finest:
“To him she seemed so beautiful, so seductive, so different from ordinary people, that he could not understand why no one was as disturbed as he by the clicking of her heels on the paving stones, why no one else’s heart was wild with the breeze stirred by the sighs of her veils, why everyone did not go mad with the movements of her braid, the flight of her hands, the gold of her laughter. He had not missed a single one of her gestures, not one of the indications of her character, but he did not dare approach her for fear of destroying the spell.”
– Gabriel Garcia Marquez, “Love in the Time of Cholera”
Image by wallyg.
Sasquatch! Music Festival’s 10-year anniversary has come and gone, but positive reception for our contribution continues. Our 2011 website design has been recognized as a Merit Winner in the latest HOW Interactive Design Awards!
A team of design-industry veterans judged nearly 400 entries in 11 categories and selected winning projects that demonstrated an ideal mix of concept, strategy and execution. The judging panel included Patrick McNeil, content director for the HOW Interactive Design community, Tyson Damman, senior art director at Big Spaceship, and Teresa Payne, a Web designer and developer.
Entries were judged according to these criteria:
- How well does the entry communicate?
- How well does the entry achieve the client’s mission?
- How memorable or unique is the entry?
- How strong is the entry aesthetically?
All winning projects are prominently featured in the March 2012 issue of HOW magazine.
