Finding Your Social Media Centerpoint

Img00058 While I was reading Groundswell (the new book from Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff from Forrester Research) on the plane last night, I had an epiphany.  I need to find my own "centerpoint" on social media.  What’s a centerpoint?  Great question, I’ll get back to that.  Here’s the paragraph that hit home for me from Groundswell, along with a picture of my signed copy from the Forrester Marketing Forum:

"…these people [IT strategists and CIOs asking about blogs, Facebook, etc] know they need to get involved, but they’re nervous about moving forward.  To us, they seem to have developed a sort of low-grade fever.  In fact, this problem is so common, we have a name for it: groundswell approach-avoidance syndrome.  Look for these symptoms in yourself or your co-workers:

  • Strong, and in some cases obsessive, interest in the blogosphere and in online doings at sites like Facebook and YouTube.  Repeated forwarding of articles on said topics to fellow sufferers.
  • Excessive salivation upon hearing much-repeated stories of corporations that have developed partnerships with social networking sites, started online communities, or otherwise managed to get held up as winners in news reports and at marketing conferences
  • Anxiety at the thought of actually participating in social technologies, balanced by similar anxiety at the thought of missing out."

In the words of Lt. Frank Drebbin, Police Squad:  "Bingo."  My firm is abuzz right now with "figuring out" social media, and we have started a social media breakfast group internally to talk about client opportunities, strategy, lessons learned, trends, etc.  I’ve been using twitter for several months, started using Google reader, started this blog, joined Facebook…all in the interest of learning about community and interaction.  My CEO regular forwards press releases and articles about social media, and our internal interest group points out cool case studies to each other all the time.  What became clear after reading this chapter in Groundswell: I need my own centerpoint for social media.

Blue_4 A few years ago an an internal community meeting, my old firm hired John Foley to present about how high performing teams work together.  Foley is a former pilot with the Blue Angels, and tours doing speaking engagements.  A "CenterPoint" is what the Blue Angels would use to set up their amazing runs – a focal point or object on the ground that would be the absolute center for their flying demonstrations.  One flight pattern in particular uses it – having two F/A-18s fly directly at each other and pass just inches apart right over the centerpoint.  In Foley’s speaking arrangements, he uses the analogy of a centerpoint to be a common purpose to align people and resources, that "all pursue with conviction and clarity."  It can change over time, but defining a purpose is a first step.  (Foley, by the way, is an amazing speaker about how to energize high performing teams – his presentation is very engaging, with some amazing video. I’d highly recommend considering him for doing something different in those "offsite team building" dreary meetings.)

My social media centerpoint, for starters, is to educate, empower and connect people within my firm.  We can’t start preaching to clients about the merits of connecting the community if we can’t eat our own dog food first and learn from our own mistakes trying. 

What is your social media centerpoint?

“Cannonball comin’…”

A couple of college friends spotted my blog recently and asked why.  Some colleagues at work joined Twitter recently and found that I am already on it (in fact, I’m linking to this as my 1000th post), and asked why.  In the last three months both friends and family have seen me spend quality time on Facebook and asked why.  I gave it some thought.  To understand these tools, you have to immerse yourself in it – by diving right in.

As I learn more about interactive marketing – frankly, I know I have a lot to learn – social media is changing our industry.  Old approaches to connect with customers and communities are becoming less effective and less relevant.  What better way to understand how it is changing than to jump right in, drink from the fire hose and be baptized by fire all at once? 

After a few months, I have learned a lot and had fun doing it through Twitter, Facebook, this blog, and other tools:

  • I have met a diverse group of passionate social media enthusiasts who have been welcoming to a new participant, including the Social Media Club in Boston.
  • I found a group of strangers who love dunkin donuts coffee like it’s crack, just like I do. 
  • I have direct access to some of the folks in PR, venture capital and social media around the country that are defining how the industry will change, and there are amazing conversations taking place that I can participate in. 
  • I have reconnected with former clients and colleagues who are marching down the same learning path that I am.
  • I have caught up with old friends from elementary school, high school, college and work.  Not to mention summer camp (former campers who were 12 last time I saw them are now out of college!?).
  • I found a die-hard group of Red Sox fans to share a live game experience as if we were all in the same room.
  • I watched a campaign to raise money for Cancer research unfold due to the openness and honesty of a few core bloggers.
  • I watched a couple of social media companies leverage tools like Twitter to do their own PR about their new firm.
  • I have watched companies and individuals experiment, connect, ask questions and contribute thoughts and opinions.
  • I have found new ways to leverage being online and being connected every day.

Most importantly, I’ve experienced first hand how connecting to communities can add value to the experience – in this case my own – and am grateful for the connections.  I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next.

Top 10 Things You May Not Know About Facebook…for Marketers

Think you know all there is to know about Facebook?

I admit it, I like Facebook.  I think it’s compelling, addictive, and fun, even though I hate those vampire apps and any app where you gain more points by inviting friends to use the app.  I’m guessing you’ve tried it – If you have, you’ve probably found a few high school friends, connected with some college buddies, you’ve SuperPoke’d some people, you’ve been bitten by a werewolf or two and you think you’re addicted.  You might check your account a few times a day.  You get poked, you poke back, you deal with all the BACN.  But what about the marketing tools?  What’s the reach of the audience for a retailer? 

Today a regional sales director from Facebook came to our home office to talk about how the Facebook advertising platform works, the origin and history of the company, and how we can better advise clients to leverage the platforms to drive traffic and promote their sites.  Here are the top ten things I learned about Facebook that I didn’t know, after about 4 months of being a regular user:

10. 60% of Facebook’s current traffic is from outside the US

9.  1 out of every 2 people online in Canada is a Facebook user

8.  Facebook has doubled in size every six months

7.  Half of Facebook’s users today are over 25

6.  When a company buys a social ad in your news feed, and a user opts to participate, the first 3 friends of that user who see the ad are free to the buyer

5.  Sponsored stories in your News Feed always first show at #2 on the list, show at the most 5 times in 24 hours, and naturally move down your News Feed in that time

4.  The average Facebook user has just under 120 friends

3.  The next big opportunity where Facebook currently doesn’t advertise?  Facebook Mobile

2.  Companies will soon be able to leverage a tool called "Chatter" to measure and track the buzz going on in Facebook about their company

1.  Facebook has an AVERAGE of 200 data points on every user

That last point really got me – I knew Facebook had a lot of information, but for an average user, 200 data points?  A marketer’s dream and a privacy advocate’s gasoline to pour on the fire.  Either way, thanks to Facebook for presenting today, good stuff and I look forward to figuring out how to to leverage the tools available.