Social media was the topic du jour at the most recent Publicity Club of Chicago luncheon, in which panelists discussed how to transform marketing efforts and reach an even greater audience by connecting people and ideas online.

Speakers:

· Mark Scheffler, founder and executive producer of online video magazine BusinessPOV.com
· Jordan Ayan, chairman of Create-It! Inc., a technology consulting organization and strategic Web company
· Sarah Skerik, vice president of distribution services for PR Newswire
· (Moderator) Keidra Chaney, Web content manager and editor at DePaul University’s School of Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems

Following are highlights, courtesy of the PCC’s Sue Masaracchia-Roberts:

Keidra Chaney

Chaney has been a blogger since 2003, and is a freelance writer and editor whose writings have appeared in a variety of online magazines and blogs. A co-founding editor of Chicago6Corners.com, she has presented papers on online culture and related topics at a variety of universities and is a member of the Association of Women Journalists-Chicago.

Chaney suggests that traditional message boards, e-mail blasts and Web sites, along with sites like Web2, blogging, Second Life and FaceBook, are all parts of social networking outlets. However, there are some questions one should ask before launching into these sites.

She cited an incident involving a New York Times article about Wal-Mart that appeared in early 2006. “Independent journalists” interviewed Wal-Mart employees across the country; however, it turned out they were not journalists but marketing staff from Wal-Mart. “It blew up in their faces and was a lesson on how not to start a blog. It reinforced the importance of balancing transparency with being honest,” said Chaney.

Chaney said quality can be measured by the number of hits. Look to the person who pushes the brand. For example, FaceBook broadcasts to friend networks, getting a lot of buzz.

“Sometimes you cannot control the direction of a blog, but instead need to do damage control,” she said. If you want to get a handle on today’s blog action, she suggested checking out www.mashable.com.

Indicating that the current presidential campaign has devoted enormous resources toward leveraging the power of social media, she said, “Other individuals have been using this kind of forward thinking for a while. In this campaign, it is new and pushing boundaries.”

Chaney can be reached at kchaney@cti.depaul.edu

Mark Scheffler

Scheffler served as a staff reporter for Crain’s Chicago Business, covering consumer trends, residential real estate and executive culture, and is now co-producing Crain’s Entrepreneurs in Action profiles. Before joining Crain’s and creating BusinessPOV.com, he frequently contributed to the Chicago Tribune Magazine and other publications, and was a senior editor for Prentice Hall, Henry Holt and World Almanac.

BusinessPOV.com is an online video business magazine, with a focus on innovation and entrepreneurial efforts in Chicago. As a form of social media, it builds communities and allows others to see best practices and explore other business models.

“The bigger media companies are going to new media,” said Scheffler. “BusinessPOV.com began as an experiment, as a new way to tell stories online. With the media landscape changing rapidly, this is a unique way of telling stories with a unique focus.”

Transparency is key, according to Scheffler. “You need to cast aside the traditional armor put around your sites and need to be honest or you’ll be ripped off. Be clear, concise and interesting without becoming too schmoozy or PRish.”

Web analytics are a big issue. He is all for experimenting with new ways to get messages out while still being a brand ambassador. That is why BusinessPOV.com is not about making money but is entirely journalistic. “If it was all about money, we’d be toast,” he said. “You need to make sure the line is solid, as there is a difference between recommending something and being paid to say something.”

He feels FaceBook is influential with a lot of people in the network, but is risky to run. If information is being sold, it changes the dynamics of an exchange. Consider, he urges, to see if they blog consistently and if they have a desire to keep the conversation going.

As a lover of Real Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds, Scheffler has 300 sites in his RSS reader, not all of which are blogs. He said he will read a couple of each to see if they are interesting. He will add people to his RSS reader if they are relative, provocative and good writers.

He indicated that “a blog done well can also be used as a marketing tool. One such blog is used by a company called www.37signals.com. Its blog, Signal vs. Noise, is used to talk to customers, beta test information, and discuss topics like Web and blog design, business, experience, simplicity, culture, information architecture and more. Although the site will, on occasion, shut comments down, it will explain why it did so.”

Sometimes people disagree with parts of a story he produced and they will write him. “That’s a conversation I’ll have with people. We will reconfigure the text due to the conversation. I’m interested in hearing back from people about this story. It is important to acknowledge [problems] and to know you cannot police the entire Web. I could go back and tell what others have said, inviting them to keep me posted.”

He also discussed an online industry newsletter called Brew blog, a “feel-good, fluffy one that is a hybrid. There is a fine line here between news and influence.”

Scheffler can be contacted at mscheffler@businesspov.com

Jordan Ayan

An expert on permission marketing, Ayan is chairman of Create-It! Inc., a technology consulting organization and strategic Web company. He is also CEO of SubscriberMail, which provides permission-based marketers with services and tools to develop and deliver e-mail, as well as the author of “The Practical Guide to E-mail Marketing.” Some of his clients include sports teams like the Bulls and Blackhawks.

“Social media does not have a lot of controls over it,” said Ayan. “Relevancy is key. You need to know your audience and be relevant, as well as display a genuineness. Word [of dishonesty] will spread quickly. If you lose being genuine, you lose your audience.”

Ayan added, “Lurk before you leap. Consider the perception of your communication to your brand.”

To measure the success of a campaign, as it is organic, one must allow measurement over time rather than return on investment. He suggested reviewing open links and click-throughs. “The life of a campaign could go on for at least four years.”

As advice for language to use and not use on Web-based vehicles, Ayan has created “The seven dirty words you cannot say in e-mails. These are posted,” he explained, “on PR Newswire, on blogs and included in my book.”

As added information, he suggested that if a blogger posts to download a white paper, you can track and measure where he comes from. Also, review the blogger’s comments and the replies he receives.

Some things to consider before posting a blog:

· Does it drive your brand?
· Could it provide impact for the long term?
· How do you explain it, as there is really no guaranteed way to measure it?

One more thing you can measure, according to Ayan, is opt-in names, found on each page of the Web. “Learn to dance real well,” he said, “and to explain, as measurement cannot be measured in traditional ways. The concept of being an influencer in a group is powerful. If material is a promotion in a micro-segment, it is extremely powerful. Influence builds from below. It’s about building relationships, not just when you need them. You need to engage bloggers and friends of bloggers. If there is not genuine connection, it doesn’t work. You cannot pitch them something but, instead, must build networks.”

He cited LinkedIn as a great example of putting people in touch with potential appropriate connections. He uses this site to recruit employees, finding the fee nominal. He also likes Jigsaw, BusinessCardExchange, Trip Advisor, YouTube and Web 2.0.

However, sometimes the best reaction to a problem situation is no reaction. He suggested that a reaction might just cause more sparks.

The whole presidential campaign is putting social media under a microscope, according to Ayan. The candidates and their supporters are finding out what works and what doesn’t, and they are trying to use it at a grass roots level.

Contact Ayan at Jordan@create-it.com

Sarah Skerik

Skerik is a 15-year veteran of the newswire industry. Before joining PR Newswire as a product manager, she was the marketing director for City News Bureau’s PR News Service. She has experience in new product development and using social media as a tool to help achieve the organization’s objectives.

Among her favorite Web sites are the “unsexy” discussion forums that build on permission marketing and community.

Observing “the needs [that appear] and who engages on these and gives permission to contact them is a marketer’s dream,” said Skerik. “Here are clusters of people talking about specific topics.” To find these topics and forums, she suggests “Googling” them by interest, such as her outside interest of racehorse retirement.

She added that each audience brings traffic to the Web site and represents an area of it. “You need to understand where the traffic comes from. You cannot shape online behavior. However, you need to understand the reality of content being discussed,” she added. “You need to engage in a relevant and transparent way.”

Skerik cited Dell as an example of a blogging success that engaged customers. Dell was roasted at one time for ignoring some rumors that appeared on blogs in an effort to make them go away. They now have areas with blog technology that are incorporated with strategic implementation. These are in the form of their “Idea Store,” which invites people to post their ideas on the site. Some of these ideas grow legs and start to surface to the point that Dell now has more than 700 ideas in development that began as blogs.

Skerik suggested ripping a page out of a marketing playbook, by engaging Web visitors so you make friends and encourage them “to go to one page, and then get them to go further. Programs that measure Web activity – Web analytics – go from visit to action. Engage your visitors. Social media will engage audiences. By the time I get to the Web site, you have a really engaged customer. Capturing that transaction is important.”

She added that promoting a brand on FaceBook could be interesting, using a promotion of Tide detergent as an example. “It might work if there are perfume allergies even though it removes stains. The question is how to deal with that product. It will come across as ‘Here’s what I’ve learned from an authorized person.’ You need to recruit bloggers, not secure them. Identify bloggers who are intentionally friends. Have client postings be interesting and intelligent, including comments, disagreements with what is said, and add them to a blog roll. That’s what gives them traffic. You can then pitch them your story. Bloggers love to have exclusives!”

To start making connections with bloggers, she suggests starting with Technorati and Blogpulse to crate a baseline. She also suggests checking out social bookmarking, Digg and del.icio.us.

She warns that opening the brand to the outside can create loyalty, but it can also generate bad news. Those involved need to deal with it, sometimes becoming crisis managers. “If something is not true, respond on the blog,” she said. “Introduce yourself and post responses to address the situation. The conversation will happen no matter what, so engage in it!”

If anyone is contemplating involvement with Second Life, be aware it is entertainment and a game as well as being an Internet forum. “You are walking into people’s personal space. Being there enables you to communicate in a personal way. It is still my space and sites like this are more for the hobbyist. Even if you are marketing something, a person there must be enjoying himself. You need to be respectful of the space users.”

She added more of those in technology-related groups use social media. Twitter can be used with shareholders, but, as much as fans say they are a good way to keep in touch with busy friends, some users are starting to feel ‘too’ connected, as they grapple with check-in messages on Twitter.

Although she feels they get short shrift, Skerik particularly likes tactical discussion forums. Symantec, she said, has “a gazillion blogs. [They] got into those blogs; blogs are search engine fodder. And a little snark never hurts.”

Skerik can be reached by e-mail at Sarah.Skerik@prnewswire.com

Post to: del.icio.us | | Posted by Maria Perez on Friday, November 30th, 2007 at 12:37 pm.