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If you’ve built a profile on the Big Three social media sites, you may have been pleased about not having to defrost your credit card to do it. (Yes, a friend of mine once froze her credit cards in a bowl of water to ‘cold turkey’ her overspending.)
Sure, you can upgrade your LinkedIn membership and pay a variety of monthly fees to get more perks. But you don’t have to, and that makes millions of people very happy. Based on nothing but your creativity, ingenuity and inventiveness, you can promote your business for next to nothing.
How free is social media, really? About as free as starting your own business.
Meaning, it’s not. Hence the phrase…next to nothing.
Gauging the true cost of social media is crucial in today’s marketplace. Which areas might end up costing you? Here are several to reflect upon:
Implementation
As you know by now, there is more to social media marketing than building a profile and waiting for something to happen. A ton of content goes into the best social media campaigns. Even if you’re a copywriter, it’s still going to cost you time (which, ultimately, means money). Images cost too. Getting targeted help can cost if you hire an ‘expert’ to point the way, or buy books and other materials. As well, some social media platforms charge for functionality. You may not care now, but as you grow, you will. And when you get there, you may find you need help from a social media manager, either in-house or outsourced, to keep everything running efficiently.
Promotion
You’ve heard of Starbucks? They are the Facebook leader. And they didn’t get there by accident. You may never aspire to Starbucks fame, but even in your own tiny corner of the world, promoting your campaign requires a budget, as well as a skilled graphics designer and perhaps a web designer to create advertising.
Tracking
Google Alerts are great. TwitterDeck rocks. But some day, hopefully soon, you’ll need to upgrade to Radian6 or another paid tracking tool. The freebies just aren’t going to cut it.
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Engagement
As recently as a year ago, it was all about SEO. Today, it’s about CRO…Conversion Rate Optimization. What good is all that traffic if it doesn’t convert to real sales? Engagement requires focused landing pages, keywords, email, a website, split testing…a host of functions that require tools, and they’re not all free.
Analysis & Reputation Management
Analysis tells you where you’re heading, and when you will arrive. Along the way, analysis, combined with tracking, can assist with reputation management…an emerging industry which seeks to delete or contain negative brand conversations. If you’re not watching listening and responding, what’s it all for?
Personnel
Who’s doing all this work? In many cases, staff. Customer service, design, technology, administrative tasks…you’re only one person, and can only go so far all alone. Your time is an opportunity cost…not to mention the time/paycheck of a staff member…perhaps even additional staff to engage and communicate with perhaps thousands of connections.
Yes, social media can be free…but not for long.
How are you navigating your way through your own social media campaign?
Victoria Ipri is CEO of Modello Media, Inc., an e-marketing strategy firm based in suburban Philadelphia, PA. She welcomes your questions and comments on this forum, or contact her directly at: ModelloMedia@gmail.com
Feel free to connect with members of Green Buzz Agency on Linkedin: Tod Plotkin, Sara Evans, Jennie Nowers, and Jared Lee. Or join the Green Buzz Agency Linkedin Group.
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The recent flip-flop by Gap in their choice of logo illustrates the power of the consumer in brand decisions. But really, the consumer has always had this power – the internet and social media has just sped the plow. We marketers love the idea that we’re in control. We carefully craft messages and choose channels to reach our carefully selected target audience, who we track relentlessly.
But really, it’s all an illusion. It always has been. We don’t create brand perception, we influence it through our actions and messages.
Extend that idea to job candidates. You’re probably not thinking about them much these days, between slow economic growth and high unemployment. It’s likely that you either aren’t hiring or that you have a pretty large candidate pool. Supply is outstripping demand.
It’s not going to stay that way. Recessions historically are followed by roughly 5 years of growth, which will create a talent shortage. Also, recent research by Regus and Rasmussen Reports indicate that anywhere from 27% to 40% of people currently working are going to look outside their current company to change jobs. Lou Adler of the Adler Group has predicted a “Hiring Tsunami,”where millions of employees will change jobs during a 6-month period looking for greener pastures, discover that their new jobs aren’t any better than their old ones, and then change again.
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When that happens, your employer brand will become ever more important. Don’t wait until the “tsunami” hits – by then it will be too late to differentiate yourself from others. A few basic concepts that will help with the employer brand:
Simplify. While in the current environment candidates may put up with about anything to get a job, it’s not likely to stay that way. Make it easy to find the careers page on your website. Have a good search mechanism to find relevant jobs. (That makes it easier on you, too, by allowing candidates to self-qualify.) Don’t make candidates retype their résumés into your online job application – invest in technology to do it for them.
Communicate. There is nothing candidates hate more than a black hole. Consider how disheartening it is to apply for a position or send in a résumé and never hear any response. And by the way, the automated “Thank you for applying” e-mail doesn’t count. At minimum, make sure that candidates know when a position closes. Most applicant tracking systems will send that e-mail for you when you close the requisition. On that e-mail template, however, encourage candidates to seek other opportunities within your company. And no, candidates don’t believe that their résumé will be on file and considered for other positions.
Another communication to consider is actually e-mailing job openings to candidates who have applied in the past for other positions. Make sure this is an opt-in list for CAN-SPAM compliance, but these types of updates can have very high ROI. In a previous position at a medical staffing company, I created a direct e-mail campaign for traveling allied health professionals where they received open positions in their skill set and chosen geographies. This campaign had a 30-day ROI of over 1,000%, and an ongoing ROI consistently over 200%.
Demonstrate. It’s great on your careers website to tell candidates what it’s like to work at your company, but to be credible, show them. Profiles of successful employees, employee blogs, video interviews with successful employees, company event videos, photos of your workspaces, insights from senior leadership and any other way you can show candidates what it’s like to work for your company are invaluable. You create great employer brand equity and credibility through these types of demonstrations.
John Cloonan is the Marketing Director at ZeroChaos. Follow him on twitter @johncloonan or email him: john@johncloonan.com
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Question: If you use LinkedIn at your workplace, who retains ownership of your profile, and all of your connections?
Answer: It may not be you.
In an article published June 2008, www.telegraph.co.uk reporter Richard Tyler revealed, “A former employee of recruitment firm Hays has been ordered by the High Court to hand over business contacts built up on his personal page of the social networking site LinkedIn. The decision is one of the first to highlight the tension between businesses encouraging employees to use social networking websites for work but then claiming that the contacts remain confidential information at the end of their employment.”
The law here is very grey; however, most employment contracts state that, if you leave the job for any reason, everything and anything you used during the course of employment, from software and hardware to tools and office supplies, belongs to the employer.
The murky argument is then raised: If you create, maintain and build a hefty LI profile while employed, can you take it with you when you go? In other words, to whom do all of your contacts belong? Not to mention, the murky waters become downright sticky when factoring in the typical non-compete agreement.
In the HR world in particular, this is a question that deserves deep consideration. If the employee retains ownership, he or she is essentially walking out the door with valuable company contacts. If the employer retains ownership, the employee may be less than enthusiastic about social networking during work hours, thinking “What’s in it for me?”
Some employees come to the employer with added value ‘built in’, specifically because of the networks they have built. LinkedIn is, of course, the perfect place to grow a budding network. This begs yet another question: do those connections then represent peer relationships, or company-to-prospect/company-to-client relationships? Who decides?
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Currently, it is the employee’s responsibility to understand network ownership policies that may exist within the workplace. The problem is, in most companies, they don’t exist. As employers work to catch up with the effects of a speeding Internet, no doubt new policies will be crafted to address these issues. For example, while the non-compete addresses the time limit within which the former employee cannot reach out to former clients, can we assume this also covers relationships defined by social interaction? How would an employer regulate such a thing? And what about connections the employee built prior to employment…where does the employer draw the line on which connections must be “handed over”?
Five Ways Employees Can Protect Themselves
1. Set up a separate email account to which all LinkedIn emails and connection requests are copied.
2. Export your contacts to a CSV file as a backup of the names and email addresses of your connections.
3. Export your profile as a PDF, so you don’t lose your recommendations.
4. Do number 2 & 3 at regular intervals.
5. Nurture relationships with people! A list of contacts on paper is meaningless without the engagement to support it.
Employers should ask themselves, not “Who owns the connections?”, but “What can I do to develop relationships with these connections, whether the employee stays or leaves?” If both employer and employee remember the Golden Rule of LinkedIn – quality, not quantity – perhaps this debate will one day have a harmonious ending.
Victoria Ipri is CEO of Modello Media, Inc., an e-marketing strategy firm based in suburban Philadelphia, PA. She welcomes your questions and comments on this forum, or contact her directly at: ModelloMedia@gmail.com
Feel free to connect with members of Green Buzz Agency on Linkedin: Jennie Ryon, Jared Lee, Jennie Nowers, and Brittney Grove. Or join the Green Buzz Agency Linkedin Group.
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A Guest Blog Post by Jennifer Schaus, Principal of Jennifer Schaus & Associates, Washington, DC
Marketing any product or service requires understanding your buyer; the what, the who, where, when, how and why. Marketing to the government is the same. The Federal Government is the worlds LARGEST buyer, spending over $400 Billion dollars annually on anything from armored vehicles to pens and pencils to socks.
The WHAT
The Federal Government buys anything from armored vehicles to socks and pens and pencils. In addition to products, they also buy services ranging from IT to HVAC and construction. The key component in your offering is to ensure you have a solution that fits the needs and budget of the government.
The WHO
There are usually several players involved in the buying process. This will usually include several individuals such as a Program Manager and a Contracting Officer (those who sign off and approve the purchase).
The WHERE
Although Washington, DC is the hub of the Federal Government, much of what happens here is policy related. Major and minor purchases take place both in Washington and at various government locations around the country and world. These locations can be military bases or field offices for The FBI or The Department of Agriculture. This information is public and therefore spending some time to build relationships within your local government community will be advantageous to your sales process.
The WHEN
The Federal Government fiscal year runs from October 1st to September 31st. Every agency has a publically available budget information as well as details on historical purchases. Because of a use-it-or-lose-it process, the federal 4th quarter tends to see great spikes in purchases. The 1st quarter can tend to be slow due to budgets being approved (“Continuing Resolution”).
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The HOW
The government is a slow buyer. They tend to be risk-adverse. Anything you can do to make the buying process easier for them, the more likely they are to buy from you. The government can purchase using p-cards (procurement cards) most of which have spending limits at $3k. They can purchase directly from you using a competitive bid system, sole sourcing your solution &/or through contract vehicles such as the GSA Schedule, the VA Schedule, etc. These contract vehicles usually have completed the vetting process and established your “best” pricing upfront, thus eliminating paperwork and time on the buyers side.
The WHY
The government tends to be reactive rather than proactive and this is a simple fact. Most of what they buy is in response to a crisis or great need and these are usually the high-dollar purchases. For example, as a reaction to 9/11, there was a tremendous increase in the government purchasing security systems – products and services. All agencies have a website stating their mission. Using this available data to conduct research and understanding your customer will help you make a more effective and tailored marketing pitch.
Additionally The Small Business Administration has set-aside goals for contracts. They set levels and disperse grades at the end of the fiscal year to every agency based on meeting (or not) certain goals. You can use the grades to determine which agency received poor marks and back into targeting them (if you meet one of the small business designations). These goals can range from awarding contracts to woman-owned businesses, HUB-zone businesses, Veteran-owned, disabled, 8a, etc. If your firm holds any of these formal designations, you become more attractive to the buyer.
Resources Available
Various resources are available both for purchase (from commercial companies who specialize in B2G) and gratis (government websites). Carroll Publishing, FedSources, Input (now Deltek), Leadership Directories are examples of commercial firms, data aggregators, who provide marketing list of government buyers as well as some value-added data on solicitations and agency intel. FedBizOps and FPDS are examples of government websites that house data on solicitations, budgets, past and future. PTAC offices are also available and useful to those who are just beginning in the B2G sector.
For more information on any of the above services, please contact Jennifer Schaus at JSchaus@JenniferSchaus.com
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One of my LinkedIn connections — we’ll call her Julie — recently asked, in essence, “How can I improve my status as an industry expert, without others stealing my ideas? I’m writing a book, and this concerns me. I don’t know how to offer value without sharing everything I know.”
Julie had hit upon a common conundrum. Our Internet age requires great content, and lots of it, to generate attention. As well, lots of valuable, free content is required to achieve expert status. How can one avoid getting ‘ripped off’…or is this even an issue to worry about?
The answer is…yes…and no…and, it depends.
Space does not allow us to delve into trademark and copyright rules here. Much excellent information is available to help you become familiar with the rules. For today, however, we’ll limit our discussion to LinkedIn.
What Is Expert Status, Anyway?
Expert status is a somewhat indefinable combination of transparency, visibility, influence and accuracy. Experts are made, not born. Julie is on the right track as a soon-to-be-published book author, a nearly instant expert status symbol.
Not everyone wishes to be perceived as an expert. Most of us are content to maintain a smaller sphere of influence among clients, prospects and colleagues. If our increased visibility leads to interesting connections, paying work, maybe even a cool joint venture or two, terrific.
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What about those who lie in wait for flashes of your brilliance, because they’re too lazy to think for themselves? It happens. Groupthink is the order of the day. One person writes an original blog post on a hot topic, and hundreds of other bloggers pick it up, writing a post about the original post. Senseless? Maybe. Lazy? No doubt. But a rip off? No. Actually, all of those reposts add to the writer’s sphere of influence and, therefore, his or her expert status!
LinkedIn Success Begins with Information Sharing
Without connection, engagement and sharing across millions of members, there would be no LinkedIn. Certainly, achieving expert status requires consistent, high quality information sharing. For example, my blog posts here on GreenBuzz give tips, tricks and strategies to enhance your LI experience. I could say, “I’m not going to give all my knowledge away for free. People have to pay me for this stuff!” But this attitude is shortsighted. Yes, I need to make a living, but it is the unbridled sharing which draws quality clients to me…clients who recognize I can help them achieve their goals, and who are willing to pay for specialized help.
The fact is, I would have to blog 24/7 to dispense everything I know about LinkedIn and, still, there would be new topics to write about. Am I hurting myself by giving away so much information no prospect feels the need to conduct paying business with me? Absolutely not. In fact, the opposite is true.
So what is the solution? Create lots of fresh, vibrant, meaningful content, share it with your LI network, then wash, rinse, repeat. Forget what others might be doing. Honestly, most people will read your thoughts, leave a comment, and move on to something else. In terms of sheer stats, it is rare that your work will be swiped.
American author Fran Lebowitz once said, “Original thought is like original sin: both happened before you were born to people you could not have possibly met.”
That Fran…she was a smart lady, don’t you think?
Next Week: The Hot Debate Over LinkedIn Profile Ownership
Victoria Ipri is CEO of Modello Media, Inc., an e-marketing strategy firm based in suburban Philadelphia, PA. She welcomes your questions and comments on this forum, or contact her directly at: ModelloMedia@gmail.com
Feel free to connect with members of Green Buzz Agency on Linkedin: Tod Plotkin, Sara Evans, Jennie Nowers, and Brittney Grove. Or join the Green Buzz Agency Linkedin Group.
