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BrightTALK's Conversational Marketing Summit is still going on and there are very recognizable personalities in the presentation queue: Anil Dash of SixApart and Marcel LeBrun, CEO of Radian6 among them.
My presentation, Conversations Create Customers, went well I think. At least those who left ratings seemed to think so. Whoo-hoo!!
You can listen to the archived version by clicking here.
I've been given the opportunity to present at a two-day virtual summit on conversational media marketing sponsored by BrightTALK that starts today.
Here's the blurb...
The message for marketers is loud and clear: social media will change your business. Few years ago, social media was a nice addition to a marketing plan – nowadays it is an essential part of the marketing mix and it is likely to overtake traditional marketing channels very soon. According to a TWI study, conversational marketing will surpass traditional marketing by 2012.
To address the challenges and primarily the opportunities that come with conversational marketing and social media, BrightTALK is organizing an all-day online summit on conversational marketing on November 24. There is no charge for attendance.
The summit will be available live on November 24-25. This is where you can also find the most up-to-date schedule.
The following presenters will discuss the use of Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, social media, search marketing, corporate blogging, reaching out youth and much more.
My presentation take place tomorrow, November 25, from 10-11 a.m.
For those who'd like to learn more, here's a link to the press release. Visit the BrightTALK Web site to see the list of topics.
By now, anyone who has been paying attention to Twitter at all has heard about the that so infuriated moms it resulted in McNeil pulling it. (If not here are some links to the backstory.) Whether or not you feel sympathy for the offended moms, you have to admit this leave lots of egg on McNeil's face (parent company Johnson & Johnson too).
What's the aftermath?
The thousands of moms who will, for the short-term, probably boycott the use of both Motrin and Tylenol notwithstanding, here's one that's enough to give Motrin's marketing VP a migraine. It's the on the term "motrin."
In case it's not clear (and you can click the image to see full-size), just beneath the Motrin PPC ad which tops the returns is a news result that says, "Offended moms get tweet revenge over Motrin ad."
Just below that is the official Motrin Web site which contains this apology:
(Again, click image to see full-size)
This is like having a sign on the Motrin aisle that says, "Don't buy this product!" right next to one that says "Do buy..."
What's the remedy?
David Alston, VP of Marketing at social media monitoring service Radian6, says in his post Will Motrin officially join Twitter and bring their beat back?, "The real silver lining in the Motrin clouds comes from the opportunity now for the Motrin brand to join the conversation, starting with listening. There are other successful turnarounds that exist out there for them to follow."
True, but Motrin took yet another misstep by failing to secure their brand name as a Twitter handle. Instead, it's been squatted.
Let's think about this. If Motrin paid enough attention to Twitter to recognize their need to pull the ad, why didn't they understand the need to reserve their brand's name as a Twitter handle? Not that all is lost. As David suggests, they could choose something like @motrincares or @motrinlistens.
That's the same refrain I could sing over a number of major brands, including Microsoft, Circuit City, Best Buy and McDonalds. (Check Twitter for their brand name. They've all been hijacked.) It reminds me of earlier days on the Web when domain squatters were buying up big brand's dot com names. These companies should not be so slow on the uptake.
Of course, the Twitter phenomenon is still so new and surprising that most advertising and PR agencies have yet to pay attention. (I bet they're paying attention now.)
David is correct that now is the time for Motrin (and other big brands) to start listening, responding and engaging customers. Whether they will remains to be seen.
PS: For a little fun, take my which asks you to suggest an appropriate Twitter handle for Motrin. The gets, what else, a bottle of Motrin... and a copy of Gary Vaynerchuk's wines book. Tweet your suggestion to @pchaney.
Back in June, I was interviewed by MarketingSherpa reporter Natalie Myers for a report she was writing dealing with real estate online marketing strategies. The report is now available as the second of two-parts: Online Strategies from Real Estate Marketers – Try Blogs, SEO, Social Media
I regard MarketingSherpa with the same esteem as MarketingProfs. For years, CEO Anne Holland and her crew have been creating high-quality content to benefit marketing professionals and I'm honored to have the privilege of participating in this report.
I referenced a post by Marc Meyer in my most recent one. In it, he links to Peter Kim's list of companies, most of them large, which use social media in some form.
While I respect Peter and appreciate the connection I have to him, my heart beats for how small business can utilize this medium and I'd like to share a couple of thoughts. (Keep in mind, I'm still nurturing them.)
Massive network of small towns
In the last post I said the Internet was like a massive network of "small towns" (i.e. niches). I hold that there is credulity to that notion and, thus, marketing need not be a scaling of some great monolithic wall, but a penetration of unfilled or partially-filled niches that make it up. (That's a reference to Dr. Ralph Wilson's wailing wall illustration.) The tools of social media are well-suited to this.
Continue reading "Social media marketing: Making a case for small business" »
Some of my best posts come in the form of comments left on other blog posts. Yesterday, in reading the Direct Marketing Observations blog, I noticed these remarks made by its author, Marc Meyer...
A) Don’t trust a single article about marketing in a bad economy, unless the writer has concrete proof. and B) If someone writes an article about marketing in a bad economy using social media- read it and then run the other way.
Puff pieces notwithstanding. Unless the person is making up the rules as they muddle through these ridiculously bad economic times, there is no template on how to use social media marketing correctly to market a business, product or otherwise, right now.
While Marc later apologized for taking what he referred to as a "pessimistic" outlook, his remarks hit me right between the eyes. For quite some time I've been feeling that we really have to begin qualifying and quantifying what works and what doesn't in social media marketing and why, and I made an attempt at doing so via my comment.
If you're interested, keep reading to see my response.
Continue reading "Social media marketing: Making a case for what works" »
I confess. I love (LOVE) New York City. I was 50 years old before I ever visited and never imagined that I'd fall in love with it like I have. Since then, I've had the opportunity to visit another half dozen times, though none quite so pleasant as the most recent, for it was with my wife, Amie, for some R&R last week.
This was a first time visit for Amie and I must say she embraced it as much as I. Everything from dinner at Pietrasanta to honey vodka at Firebird, from an afternoon walk in Central Park to a dusk ride on the Staten Island Ferry, from surreal vistas high atop the Empire State to front row seats at Phantom of the Opera (on Amie's birthday no less)... we breathed deeply each and every experience.
There is really nothing like taking a few days away to reinvigorate mind, body and spirit, especially when it includes a trip to the Big Apple. Amie and I would move there in a minute.
Let me invite to share it with us. Here are a from the trip.
I was recently introduced by my good friend to real estate and business coach, author and speaker Terri Murphy. This lady has literally taken me under her wing and I could not be more grateful or appreciative.
To cite a brief litany of her generosity, Terri has introduced me to a number of influential people, included me (via video) on a panel she moderated at the National Association of Realtors convention, featured me as a guest in her weekly radio show, made me a member of the Advisory Board at Women's Wisdom Network, introduced me to an editor at AMACOM and is helping me get into coaching. On top of that, she has asked for little, if anything, in return!
Honestly, I don't know what to make of it except that God (yes, I believe in God) puts people in your life at the right time and at the right place when you least expect it, don't deserve it, and have not a clue as to why. But, I'm a believer in providence, so I know there is a reason and sooner or later I'll learn what it is. In the meantime, I learning to say "thank you" an awful lot.
Not that Terri is getting off that easily mind you. I'm helping her get acclimated to social media, going to help develop a strategy to drive membership to the Women's Wisdom Network, and serve as a social media resource as needed. (One of the things I'm helping her with is gaining an understanding of what Twitter is all about. If you don't mind, I'd greatly appreciate you there.)
Whatever resources or assistance I might provide pale in comparison to what she has already done for me. The only way I know how to thank her appropriately is by doing so here on my blog. So, let me introduce you to a truly generous person, Terri Murphy. May you be half as fortunate as I to find such a friend and mentor as she.
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