Groundswell links

We are using Groundswell as our text book, and it is a great one as it focuses on social media for relationship-building, not just as a set of technologies. While you were reading it, did you see a great idea that you would like to dig into further? Did you read about a really cool blog that you would like to subscribe to (in a reader, of course)?

Here is a great resource for you which supplements the book. There are links to all of the blogs, posts, and websites from each chapter. The authors, Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, also each have their own blogs where you can get more information and hear their thoughts directly about Groundswell as well as other topics.

Let me know if you find these additional sites helpful!

Marketing via New Media - New Term!

I am looking forward to meeting my new students this week as our Winter quarter starts up. This is a nine week class focused on teaching businesses how to market using new media/social media. It includes a lot of hands-on activity, guest speakers, as well as valuable projects (the final project is creating a social media marketing plan for a non-profit organization).

This term should be a great class with new student blogs coming on board in the next week or so (usually their assignment in Week 2) and lots of great discussion early on about what IS social media? As you can see from the blogs on the right, many of my former students are still keeping their blogs updated and are creating conversation with them. Way to go!

As usual, our textbook is Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff.

I will be sure to share the student insights with you, so keep coming back for more info.

Onward to the new quarter!

(Photo credit: ArTG)

Social Media Metrics - The Final Frontier

Well, as we wind down class for this quarter (to start up again in January!), we turn to a very important topic: measuring social media. Much of what should be measured will depend greatly on our goals and objectives for social media in our business. (Note - objectives below are based on Groundswell, our textbook.)

Do we want to listen? We can measure how much of the conversation we are listening to (and hopefully acting on if needed).

Do we want to talk with customers? We can measure how much they talk back.

Do we want to energize our customers? We can measure the viral spread of our brand message.

Do we want to support customers? We can measure the number of customer service issues answered through social media/number of calls averted.

Do we want to embrace customers? We can measure the product/service ideas we are getting from customers and how many we implement.

Suggestion: Only choose two or three metrics, at the most, to track for social media. Incorporate them into your marketing dashboard (you are looking at social media as another set of marketing tools, aren't you?) Follow the trends over time, rather than obsessing on daily changes.

There is also a great post today over at MarketingProfs on social media metrics.

(Photo credit: shaja)

How Social Media Users Influence Others

I just watched a very interesting video from a sociology professor at Columbia University, Duncan Watts. He did a study on how the presence of "popularity" data on a website helped influence music downloads on a social networking site. In a nutshell, two different sites were created for the study, each with the same list of songs for downloading. However, one list of songs also showed the total number of downloads. Simply by listing which songs were more "popular" (higher number of downloads) greatly inflenced the behaviors of the social network users.

Check it out for yourself on this video:




Several of my blogging friends have wondered whether to show the number of subscribers to their blog. Some feel it shouldn't be done until a critical mass of subscribers has been reached. Others feel that there is benefit in showing the numbers in order to help "prove" that the blog is worth reading (if others are reading it, then you should, too!). I have chosen to show the number of subscribers to my Customers Rock! blog as I think it gives the site more credibility. The above study done by Mr. Watts helps to support my point of view.

In our class we have talked about the Critics, from Groundswell, that group of social media users who rate and review other sites. A company who has customers that are willing to rate and review should most likely embrace those customers and enable them to share their thoughts and ideas on the corporate site/blog. Even if the ratings and reviews are not all good, there is an opportunity to open up a dialogue with customers, right on the site, to look into and address any concerns. Being willing to be open, transparent, and honest is a key to social media success.


What do you think? Should blogs show the number of subscribers? Should companies showcase reviews of their own products and services? Let me know what you think!


(Hat tip to The Market Research Event blog for the info on Duncan Watts.)

Blogging: Gotta Try It!

One of the most interesting homework assignments I give my students is to start a blog and maintain it over the class term. This assignment really helps the students understand what it takes to create and maintain a social media property. Last night, we discussed the process of blogging and the student reactions to it.

Choosing a Topic

Some students found it difficult to find a topic they could blog about for several weeks. They had a lot of ideas but weren't sure which they could sustain!

Teacher's Advice: Always choose a topic you are passionate about. If you hope to make money from your blog someday, be sure to choose a topic others are passionate about as well. :)

Naming Your Blog

Other students struggled with finding the right name. They had noticed that, given a list of blogs, they would be more inclined to read those that had interesting names.

Teacher's Advice: While a good blog name is important, the more critical aspect of blogging is the actual content that goes on the page. A good name may bring someone to your blog once; great content brings them back!

Finding Your Blogging Voice

Students also shared they had a hard time deciding what the tone of the blog should be. Should it be very professional, with sentences properly thought-out? Should it be casual, as if one was carrying on a live conversation? The students are writing blogs on both ends of that spectrum, and both are generally OK!

Teacher's Advice: Write in a way that is natural for you and also encourages your readers to participate in the conversation.

Determining Blog Goals

One of the most important aspects of creating a new blog is deciding what you want the blog to accomplish. Is it a blog to educate others on a certain topic? Are you trying to persuade people to your side? Do you want to be seen as a content expert in a certain area?

Teacher's Advice: Determine your goals, and your audience, before writing even one post. Then, use those goals to guide you on future content, frequency, voice, and linking strategies.

Let's Blog!

Please check out the blogs from both this term (Fall 08) and last term (Summer 08) on the right. A blog to note is Blogging Around the World. This blog was started last term here in the USA which the student, Nicoletta, has decided to continue now that she is back home in Rome. She even attended a Web 2.0/blogging conference in Italy - both as an observer and as a participant. Well done, Nicoletta!

Communities in Social Media

This upcoming week in class, we are going to be discussing microblogging, which includes Twitter. Here's one great way I use it: I find all kinds of links to interesting posts. I just saw one about the difference between communities and online conversation, thanks to a Tweet from Matt Dickman (@technomarketer).

Here is an excerpt from Beth Kanter's blog (which, BTW, is on using social media with non-profits - pay attention, students, as your final project fits the bill here!). This excerpt should get one thinking - and spark some conversation:

A traditional online community is a group of people who interact
together and have a relationship over time on a site where people can interact around a common interest. A loosely coupled online community is a group of people who are joined together by a common interest and have conversations is different - this might include groups on social networking sites or a network of blogs. It's important to determine if your organization needs a traditional online community or something else.

Later in the post, Beth discusses whether our communities are more like book clubs, where members all discuss the same book (she used movies as her example), or are they more like real social clubs, where we meet and discuss our interests and dreams. There is a big difference!

What do you think, students and readers? In which cases would the first example work vs. the second example? Let's discuss!

Updates and Great Links

This post has info for the students as well as for other interested parties (go to the end of the post).

For the students:

Now that the mid-term exam is over, we can focus on the road ahead of us over the second half of the term:

• August 6: Viral marketing and intro to final project – guest speakers from Brickfish
• August 13: Microblogging and widgets
• August 20: NO CLASS - work on your projects!
• August 27: Communities and Creating a Social Media Plan -guest speaker from Intuit
• September 3: Final Project presentations

Our final project will be to put together a social media plan for the non-profit organization We Rock 4 Kids! Be sure to bring your questions, as we will get the "client brief" tomorrow night in class.

For Everyone

In my Google Reader today, I spotted a great graphic that was shared with me by Phil Gerbyshak of the Make It Great! blog (thanks, Phil!). The graphic was part of a blog post put together by Matt McDonald as an easy way to explain social media. Here is the graphic:

Matt goes on to explain the difference between his three circles of socially created content, social networking, and socially highlighted content (as well as the in-between content!). In class, we have covered the first two quite a bit; the latter weeks of class will round that out, as well as dig into the power of social media in highlighting content for others (the "collectors" written about in Groundswell, our textbook).

Check out the comments, too, for a discussion by the community on where improvements could be made to the model (including "swirly circles within circles and bathroom people"). I have added my take to it as well, as I am not sure how this would go over in a "B2B" or business-to-business company.

I believe it is important for us to be able to speak the language of our audience in order to share our ideas well. I think we are on our way, but many times, we are best at speaking our own language (as it is the most comfortable for us). Right, international students?

What do you think?

Is Matt missing anything? Does this picture make social media easier to understand? Add your comments here or on Matt's blog!

(Photo credit: 3pod)