How Smart Marketing Book Authors Use Twitter

For example, Mark Schaefer of Schaefer Marketing Solutions is the author of the book The Tao of Twitter: Changing Your Life and Business 140 Characters at a Time. He and his firm provide affordable outsourced marketing support to address both short-term sales opportunities and long-term strategic renewal.

Mark uses Twitter to help deliver on that promise for a number of his blue-chip clients, including Nestle, AARP, Anheuser-Busch, Coldwell Banker, Scripps Networks, Keystone Foods, and the U.K. government. He also very effectively promotes himself and his book on Twitter as part of his own marketing, branding, and relationship-development strategy.

“I’ve literally built my business from networking on Twitter and connections from my blog,” Mark said. “That’s what most people miss. Twitter can be a powerful business networking platform. It’s so much more than ‘what you had for breakfast!’ ” @MarkWSchaefer was SPECIAL guest on #MMchat and topic was The True Business Benefits of Twitter! Here’s the transcript http://bit.ly/MarkSchaefer

Hollis Thomases is the CEO of Web Ad.vantage. She is also the author of Twitter Marketing: An Hour a Day, a book that offers marketers, advertisers, brand managers, PR professionals, and business owners an in-depth guide to designing, implementing, and measuring the impact of using a complete Twitter strategy.

Hollis uses Twitter to generate qualified website traffic that gets converted into actions, leads, and sales for her clients, most of which are challenger brands or large non-profit organizations.

Much like Mark, Hollis’ strategy includes using Twitter as an effective promotional tool for her book and firm. She also leverages Twitter to expand her speaking engagement schedule, which features topics such as “Social Media 101,” “Twitter Automation,” and “Social Media Etiquette.”

And finally, Laura Fitton, co-author of Twitter for Dummies and founder/CEO of oneforty, has been an active Twitter user for some time. She has amassed approximately 80,000 followers and engages with them daily.

Laura’s firm helps people get started with Twitter, organize the chaos of their daily social media routines, and connect their social media efforts to their core business to drive ROI.

“The single most important thing is to make yourself useful, which you can do by curating great content, answering questions, shining a spotlight on others, and trying to turn everything inside-out to make it more about your readers,” noted Laura. “I tell people to ‘Listen. Learn. Care. Serve.’ (in that order), and then keep cycling through that process.” Laura Fitton @Pistachio of Twitter for Dummies #MMchat made her 1st stop on Virtual Book Tour on #MMchat http://bit.ly/Laura_Fitton

Twitter’s Impact on How Journalists Search for SMEs

In an environment where fewer and fewer journalists are covering more and more stories than ever before, media members are increasingly taking a “don’t call us, we’ll call you” approach to finding sources and stories to cover. Rather than waiting around to be pitched by traditional PR reps, many media members are looking for their own sources—not only Google and HARO, but Twitter as well—to search for and connect with subject matter experts (SMEs). Book authors and other experts who have built digital platforms that showcase their credentials and provide valuable information on their topics have widened their nets to catch such queries on Twitter.

Beth Gwazdosky is the Vice President of Digital Marketing at Shelton Interactive, an Austin-based firm that works with its author clients to create social media and interactive marketing/PR strategies and platforms that generate attention—online and off. “We help our authors understand how best to use Twitter and other social media channels to stand out in this new environment,” said Beth. “Creating strategies to organically pull media hits, speaking opportunities, and client relationships has proven to be much more efficient than trying to pitch our way onto the air.”

So if you’re interested in promoting yourself, your book, your organization, or your clients, why not use Twitter to your advantage? But don’t jump in without a well-thought-out strategy. Pay attention to the real Twitter pros who are actually practicing what they preach, and then emulate their approach.

Kent Huffman

Kent Huffman is Chief Marketing Officer at BearCom Wireless and Co-Publisher of Social Media Marketing Magazine

I attended the CMO Club’s semiannual CMO Summit in San Francisco last week. Again this year, it was an excellent event and was well attended by a nice cross-section of B2C and B2B Chief Marketing Officers from around the country, representing all different types and sizes of companies and organizations. On the last day of the Summit, I was part of a panel who discussed the business impact of social media and community building, including the most effective social media marketing tools. But surprisingly, I discovered that out of the 80-plus heads of marketing in attendance at the Summit, only 16 who carry the official title of CMO for their organizations are currently active on Twitter:

B2C Chief Marketing Officers:

• Tony Wells, CMO at 24 Hour Fitness
• Larry Friedberg CMO at Crystal Deodorants
• Evan Greene, CMO at The Recording Academy
• Jennifer Joyce, CMO at Everest Poker
• Dan Marks, CMO at First Tennessee Bank
• Alex Romanovich, CMO at EuroSpaClub International

B2B Chief Marketing Officers:

• John Dragoon, CMO at Novell
• Hope Frank, CMO at Webtrends
• Heidi Lorenzen, CMO at GlobalEnglish
• Brian Reed, CMO at BoxTone
• Dwight Griesman, CMO at Forrester Research
• Margaret Molloy, CMO at Velocidi
• Brian Kardon, CMO at Eloqua
• Me, CMO at BearCom Wireless

B2C/B2B Chief Marketing Officers:

• Ted Rubin, CSMO at OpenSky
• Sheryl Roth Rogers, CMO at Mom Central Consulting

This is obviously not a scientific study, but two things struck me when reviewing this list: 1) even though there were more B2C CMOs at the Summit than B2B, more B2B CMOs are active on Twitter than their B2C counterparts, and 2) very few “big brands” in either the B2C or B2B world are represented by their CMOs on Twitter. It’s also interesting to note that you can make the same basic observations when reviewing the list of the top CMOs on Twitter that I curate as Co-Publisher for Social Media Marketing Magazine.

So why is that the case? Do most CMOs not understand the value of Twitter and other social media tools? Or do they just not consider them a priority for their careers or their companies?

“Most CMOs barely understand the value of building relationships with customers and giving them a voice, let alone how to navigate and make use of the world of Twitter. Social media marketing to most in the C-suite is still something campaign based, but social media marketing needs to be woven into fabric of all marketing channels, strategically managed from a 360-degree perspective,” said Ted Rubin, Chief Social Marketing Officer at OpenSky and the most-followed CMO on Twitter. “The key here is to convince CMOs to get personally involved in social media by having someone with hands-on knowledge mentor them, so they get first-hand knowledge, build their own personal following, and learn from the ground up. That way, they can properly guide and manage the integration process,” Ted added.

John Dragoon, the Chief Marketing Officer at Novell, noted, “All markets are conversations, and good marketers are embracing new tools to have these conversations. The beauty of social media tools is they allow you to experiment quickly and learn even faster. Active participation is the key to success. And make no mistake—your customers are listening.”

Kent Huffman

The primary differences between B2C and B2B marketing are derived from the emotional perspectives of the buyers. Often, the consumer is focused on quality, comfort, and price, while the business buyer is concerned with increasing profits for his/her company.

“As a general rule, B2B marketing relies more heavily on rational–rather than emotional–product or service benefits,” said Kim Hennig, a B2C marketing veteran and principal of Kim Hennig Marketing, who has delivered record sales, award-winning advertising, and profitable marketing plans for some of the nation’s best-known brands, including McDonald’s, 1-800-Flowers, and Subway. “This is certainly not to say that the business buyer doesn’t have emotional connections to the brands he or she purchases, but there is a far greater need to justify how the features or benefits of a product will have a demonstrable impact on the company’s bottom line.”

B2C marketing typically:

• Involves targeting a large audience of individuals
• Focuses on products, services, and transactions
• Creates brand awareness and loyalty through imagery and repetition
• Drives single-step purchasing decisions using emotional decisions based on status, impulse, or price
• Relies on merchandising and point-of-purchase activities
• Requires cash, checks, or credit card payments

B2B marketing typically:

• Involves targeting a small audience of groups or committees
• Focuses on relationships
• Creates brand awareness and loyalty through personal relationships
• Drives lengthy, multi-step buying cycles using rational decisions based on bottom-line business value
• Relies on educational and awareness-building activities
• Requires credit lines or open orders paid each month

“One of the fundamental differences I see between B2C and B2B is the role that the sales professional plays in generating business,” said fellow The Social CMO Crew member Chris Herbert, the founder and CMO of mi6, a B2B marketing agency. “It seems that in B2C, the marketing organization leads, and the sales organization follows in terms of budget and priority. But in B2B marketing, the sales organization often leads, and marketing ends up being a support service. In B2B, the risk business owners take is that the sales reps start defining the brand based on what they say and end up just focusing on the things they want/can sell. The owner needs to use marketing strategically to ensure customers know why they buy from the company and not just the rep.”

“In my experience, targeting also differs between B2C and B2B,” added Herbert. “Consumers tend to be marketed to similarly based on geography, demographics, and in some cases, psychographics. The sale tends to be more emotional and focused on gratification. You’re targeting an individual, a couple, or a family. In B2B, your market can revolve around a problem you solve for a specific function, department, or industry. The targets within that market tend to be corporations, functional departments, and specific roles. Marketing to these people is about solving problems, improving their businesses, and reducing risk.”

But is the gap between B2C and B2B marketing narrowing or widening? “While much has been written about how today’s consumer is becoming more businesslike in his/her purchasing habits (the ‘new frugality’ trend, for instance), the fact is the consumer still responds powerfully to marketing messages that deliver promises of happiness, comfort, escape, and self-reward,” noted Hennig. “Recent upticks in dining out and luxury goods sales are great examples of how emotional messaging to consumers is still highly effective.”

Through tracking such differences and similarities, as well as the ongoing impact of social media evolution on both B2C and B2B marketing, potential specific approaches and methods can be identified for reciprocal crossover improvements as well as the identification and advancement of best practices.

I’ve been in the marketing game for a long time, and the whole sales and marketing alignment thing is near and dear to my heart. Without exception, the issue of alignment has reared its head in one form or another at every company for which I have worked. As a marketing generalist, I don’t claim to be an alignment expert, but I can tell you that the effort you put forth in that area can pay huge dividends.

One of the preeminent experts in the field of sales and marketing alignment is Rod Sloane, author of the upcoming book, Alignment: The Secret to Getting Your Sales and Marketing Teams Working Together. Sloane says, “If you wait until 2011 to start your sales and marketing alignment, then you are not only in danger of getting run over by your competition, but you and your team’s earnings will drop, and some may even lose their jobs. Sales and marketing alignment is not all about the technology you employ. It’s about your people, your language, and your culture.”

Why is Sales and Marketing Alignment Difficult for Most Organizations?

In a recent interview with Bill Golder of Miller Heiman, Brian Carroll, CEO of InTouch and author of the popular book, Lead Generation for the Complex Sale, says, “I think it’s because organizations aren’t taking a holistic approach that considers all of the marketing and selling components on a total, complete, and ongoing basis. The lack of synergy between sales and marketing regarding lead generation is so common as to risk cliché. Marketing feels that sales doesn’t follow up on marketing-generated leads. Sales counters that the leads aren’t any good, and the information they provide isn’t helpful. My experience confirms that this communication breakdown affects nine out of ten companies.”

In addition to Brian’s points, I think another reason that sales and marketing alignment is such a thorny issue lies in how each of those disciplines views its role in contrast to the other. For example, marketing often sees itself as the strategic player and sales as the tactical delivery mechanism for the strategy. In contrast, sales often sees itself as the primary driver for the business, with marketing relegated to a sales support role.

How Alignment is Like Golf

Ardath Albee, author of the highly acclaimed book, eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale, says that golf has a lot in common with the sales and marketing alignment process. “Marketing tees it up and takes a swing. The more they know about the course (the buyer) and the conditions surrounding it (the buyer’s needs), the more forward progress they can make. If they take a misstep and hit the ball out of bounds, they must return to take a drop and start again. When marketing gets the ball on or near the green, sales takes over to execute the short game with as few additional strokes (sales calls) as possible.”

Ardath’s analogy is a great one. I would add that the sales team also needs to be involved in the process of helping marketing select the right club and stance (marketing tools) for each hole, as well as assisting with gauging the distance, wind speed, and other course (market) conditions.

Automation, Culture, and Compensation

“Counter to popular belief, adopting automated lead management alone will not result in sales and marketing alignment. Without the requisite culture and process changes, these systems will go through the same adoption challenges as CRM and SFA systems. And sales and marketing teams won’t use them, no matter what carrots and sticks are applied,” says Christine Crandell, a renowned global marketing, business development, and sales strategist. “One of the ways to change corporate cultures so that alignment becomes sticky is to change marketing’s compensation structure. Ask any CMO, and they’ll tell you that’s a sensitive subject. People don’t like it when you ‘mess with their money.’ But we need to make these changes if marketing is going to dramatically and systematically improve the top line.”

I can vouch for Christine’s stance on how compensation can affect alignment. At BearCom Wireless, our marketing team’s bonus program is predicated on reaching several financial goals, most of which are sales related. Specific examples include revenue generated from sales leads, BearCom.com shopping cart orders, and customer extranet site orders, as well as the total cost per lead and overall company revenue. Making sales-related metrics a key component of the compensation plan for my marketing team has positively impacted thought processes, behavior, and accountability on a daily basis. And the final results speak for themselves.

Enlightenment on Alignment

So what impact does sales and marketing alignment have on the business beyond just commissions and bonus programs? The results can be significant. Hugh Macfarlane, founder and CEO of MathMarketing, conducted an alignment benchmarking study by surveying 1,400 professionals in 84 countries around the world. The study found that the businesses that have the greatest degree of alignment:

• Grow 5.4 points faster than their less-aligned counterparts when compared with businesses in the same industry
• Close 38% more proposals than non-aligned businesses
• Lose 36% fewer customers to competitors

With results like that, what more needs to be said?

I quoted or mentioned five sales and marketing alignment experts in this blog post. Below are links to their Web, blog, and/or social media sites. I’ve added links for John Cousineau, Adam Needles, and Phil Fernandez, each of whom also has specific expertise in the sales and marketing alignment discipline. Read their thoughts on alignment, and you’ll become even more enlightened about making better decisions as to how to help your sales and marketing teams achieve higher levels of success for your organization.

• Rod Sloane: Blog and Twitter
• Brian Carroll: Blog and Twitter
• Ardath Albee: Blog and Twitter
• Christine Crandell: Blog and Twitter
• Hugh Macfarlane: Web site and Twitter
• John Cousineau: Blog and Twitter
• Adam Needles: Blog and Twitter
• Phil Fernandez: Web site and Twitter

By definition, social media content is created by its users. Therefore, the content is not directly controlled by your company as it would be in the case of your official corporate marketing materials (Web site, collateral pieces, advertisements, etc.). Therein lies the potential risk. One way to help safeguard your organization is to publish an official corporate social media policy for your employees.

Questions You Should Be Asking Yourself

When considering whether or not you need to publish a social media policy, ask yourself a few questions. For example, do you know which of your employees are active in social media? Do you know what they’re saying about your company? Have you given them any guidelines as to what types of content are and are not acceptable?

The first step toward addressing these questions is to determine what stance your company should take toward social media. For instance, will employees be allowed or forbidden to participate on Twitter for personal reasons during business hours? How will that impact productivity, either positively or negatively? Who can and cannot participate in social media in an official capacity on behalf of your company?

What a Good Social Media Policy Should Contain

Your social media policy should begin by defining the term “social media” and detailing why a policy is needed in the first place. That way, your employees will better understand that the policy is not intended to restrict their activities online; rather, to protect the company from liability and brand damage. Explain how the company could be scarred by false or derogatory information on social media networks and how that information becomes a permanent part of the record on the Internet.

A well-written social media policy should also detail everything that your employees should and should not do when posting content online. For example, make it clear to the employee that he/she can or cannot:

* Identify himself/herself as an employee of the company
* Use the company name, logo, product photos, or other trademarked materials
* Discuss customers, partners, or other employees
* Offer recommendations for other employees (such as on LinkedIn)
* Post on social media sites during business hours

There are a few more obvious rules that should be included in your policy as well, such as forbidding employees to:

* Divulge proprietary or confidential information about the company, its products, and/or its services, including financial data, pricing, strategy, and the like

* Discuss or link to your competitors

* Talk directly to the media (those discussions should be referred to the corporate marketing department)

* Use vulgar words, ethnic or racial slurs, or derogatory comments of any kind

The policy should also detail the consequences that will occur when an employee doesn’t follow the instructions detailed in the policy, including stating that the offender’s employment may be terminated for repeated or egregious offenses. It should also cover the responsibility of an employee to report the actions of another employee who violates any of the terms of policy.

Before publishing your social media policy, it should be submitted to your human resources department and legal department (or corporate attorney) for review. After that, you should also ask your executive team to review it as well.

Make Sure Your Employees Understand and Follow Your Policy

In addition to announcing your new social media policy to all company employees after it has been properly vetted, the policy should also be included as a permanent addition to your employee manual. It should also be posted on your company intranet site.

Once your policy has been published and distributed, you might want to consider adding some follow-up procedures to ensure that the policy is being followed properly, such as:

* Sending monthly or quarterly e-mail announcements to all employees, reminding them about the importance of the policy and where to find it
* Making a list of all social media participants and regularly monitoring their activities online, at least by doing spot checks

How Your Industry Could Impact the Content in Your Policy

Some of the content in your social media policy could be—and should be—influenced by the particular needs of your specific industry.

For example, in the retail space, confidential supplier product information is one of the most common areas in which your company can be exposed. “At Best Buy, we are very committed to being an open and transparent brand, as we believe this builds trust,” said Barry Judge, Chief Marketing Officer at Best Buy. “However, in doing so, we need to be very mindful that not all information we have can be made public on social media sites, especially as it relates to proprietary manufacturer data that has been provided to us by our supplier partners.”

If you’re in the financial services industry, extraordinary care must be taken on social media networks to protect your confidential financial information. Eddie Reeves, CEO of Reeves Strategy Group and former Vice President of Media Relations for Merrill Lynch, said, “Obviously, when you’re talking about managing OPM—other people’s money—and the information related to that money, you have to take caution and discretion to a whole new level. That isn’t to say you can’t or shouldn’t use social media, because I believe you should, and I advise my clients to do so—not just with confidence, but aggressively. You just have to think carefully through your policies and procedures. Fortunately, most of the rules and policies that financial services firms already have on the books are usually sufficient with a bit of tweaking.”

The healthcare industry is fraught with social media concerns because of the potential liability issues related to medical content posted online and recommendations about other health-related sites, as well as the confidentiality requirements surrounding patient records, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Sam Mallikarjunan, Chief Marketing Officer at American Health, noted, “There is a delicate balance between the interest in utilizing new technology to engage and educate consumers and protecting consumer information. While a social media site that allows people with medical conditions to network or a site that allows patients to track their medical calendars may be valuable and useful, we must be mindful of the chaotic nature of the Internet and its vulnerability to privacy violations.” Mallikarjunan added, “A good social media policy must have mechanisms in place to guide employees towards the proper ways in which to engage customers. Furthermore, we must ensure that employees understand the depth of social media and the need to maintain a professional and respectable presence on all publicly available mediums.”

Other industries that may require special content in their corporate social media policies include travel and hospitality, publishing, media and entertainment, professional services, and government.

Examples of Corporate Social Media Policies

A number of major corporations have published their social media policies on the Internet for everyone to see. Here are a few examples:

* Cisco Systems
* ESPN
* Gartner
* Hill & Knowlton
* HP
* Intel
* New York Times
* Opera Software
* Plaxo
* Porter Novelli
* Sun Microsystems
* Wal-Mart
* Wells Fargo

Finally, here’s an easy-to-use template from SHIFT Communications that you may want to use as a starting point.

For more information about how you can protect your company with a customized corporate social media policy, contact Social2B.

Kent Huffman is the CMO at BearCom Wireless. You can follow him on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/KentHuffman