Author Archives: Alex

3 Themes Social Media and Social Marketing Can Learn From

Social marketing and social marketing have something to learn from one another. Let me elaborate. (and no, that was not a typo.)

The fuel to my fire is social marketing. And, I’m not talking about any of that Web 2.0 or government 2.0 buzz-word crap (pardon). I’m talking about real behavior change. Thus, when I was asked to present at Yale University about social marketing, I knew I had to explain what social marketing is and what it is not in terms of the Web 2.0 “social marketing” often discussed. However, I’m also not a fan of black and white. In fact, my favorite color is gray. So instead of drawing boundaries or limits, I talked about what each can learn from the other.

I began with a slide that had social marketing on one side and social marketing on the other side, and asked: What’s the difference? A rhetorical question and maybe mean, but the truth is that when people say social marketing, they often mean two very different things. One means tools, the other means behavior, but both can enable and empower to reach that all-elusive real behavior change. Thus, I continued by outlining three themes that I find consistent between the two applications:

freedom vs. control
mission vs. mantra
voice vs. message

I feel these themes go beyond (just) social media and social marketing, but also dive into business, society and politics of today, and are relevant to a discussion when it comes to either social media or social marketing.

Social media thrives when freedom is given and control is released. In the field of social marketing, often times there is a battle over the message, the delivery, the pitch, etc. to remain controlled, yet if freedom was given, then sometimes reach could blossom. In addition, when it comes to the ethical framework of social marketing, some feel social marketing expands freedom, while other naysayers see it as control and manipulation. Thus, whether talking about either social media or social marketing, you need to discuss how you will or will not balance the two: freedom and control.

What is your organization’s mission? What is the campaign’s purpose? What problem are you solving? Who are you talking to? These are just some of the questions one needs to ask when wanting to communicate in social marketing or social media. In social media land, you have less room, less time and more clutter. You need to think mantra. You need to be understood. In social marketing, our audiences don’t always get “mission.” Sometime, we need to admit that we don’t even know what our mission is during a campaign or as an organization and regroup. If we could lean more mantra with both social media and social marketing, then perhaps we could connect more with the audiences we want to reach.

Come out behind the firewall–but first know when and where it’s appropriate. More and more, the trend is transparency, openness, honestry. If you don’t know the answer, admit it. People want to connect and engage with you. Your brand, organization could potentially be so much more powerful if you give it a voice, a person, a story….and not necessarily push out your nicely crafted messages that every senior exec QCed five times. (Okay, I’m over-exaggerating, but it gets the point home). Whether social media or social marketing, think voice and the ideals that go with voice, rather than message. As I prefeced though, know when and where appropriate.

What are your thought? How can social media marketing and social marketing learn from each other? What else do they have in common? Where else do they differ (we know there’s lots in that department)? Or, better yet, how and why do you think these themes go beyond Just social media and/or social marketing.

(I like questions.) =P

Crisis Communications is Hot, Hot, Hot

Crisis communications has always been a tricky conversation. And when social media entered the picture, it fueled the fire.

Now, within the past week, I have been hit with “crisis social media communications” discussions almost EVERYWHERE it seems. (So much so, that’s it’s starting to make nervous that the social media angel is prepping me for something – what, I’m not quite sure.)

1. Risk 2.0. The American Public Health Association held a conference on risk communications earlier this week and though I didn’t attend, I followed on Twitter. I must say the tweets coming out of it were fabulous and really insightful. Seems like many are going beyond the “Ah! What do we do?” factor and more into, how do we manage this, be pro-active and be strategic while also transparent, factors. Check it: #risk2.0

2. The Peanut Recall Case. Wednesday evening I attended the Blogging & Cupcakes event at Baked and Wired in Georgetown where social media guy, Andrew Wilson from HHS, presented the peanut recall case study. The case presented discussed how HHS, CDC and the FDA utilized social media in response to the salmonella crisis.

3. 3-Legged Horse Race. Catching up on Livingston Communications blog today, Geoff recently posted about three sessions that are currently competing to present at the fabulous Blog Potomac event coming up shortly. It’s interesting to me that all these sessions are about, you guessed it, crisis social media communications!

(writing this, I just thought of a 4th sign!)

4. Economy Stress and Eek, oh my! I work in public health, and this past week there was also some mixed reactions to SAMHSA’s launch of their “Guide to Get Through the Economy.” Many of my colleagues and friends looked the flurry that unravelled in response to this, and guess what we talked about? Yup, crisis social media communications! (as well as reputation management…who is a close cousin to c.s.m.c.)

What are your thoughts? Have you seen a rise in these types of communications at your own water coolers , conference rooms and happy hours? In the meantime, I’m going to continue to get my typing fingers ready….you never know when the hot, hot, hot, crisis social media communications will come after you.

flickr credit: Cayusa

Is Anyone Listening to Social Media Anymore?

I feel my current observations beg this question.

Many are discovering the joys of social media, and as more people are pushing out their materials, whether opportunists or conversationalists, I feel like there is more and more pushing happening, than actual listening, are better yet, engaging.

3 Points of Evidence

The Anti-Fan Movement: The brilliant Geoff Livingston alluded to this very issue himself when he recently recently wrote, “Twitter’s incredible growth has caused incredible follower populations and corporate/personal marketing activity. It’s also causing a backlash.” In his full post, he also alludes to three other bloggers who also allude to this same phenomenon. Thus, Livingston decided to take action and therefore installed the “Geoff Livingston Anti-Fan Page.” According Livingston, the anti-fan movement is for those that “…are tired of follower packs, friend counts, and clamours for social media popularity. (and Livingston is not alone in his thoughts…)

Mark Drapeau (aka @cheeky_geeky) shares this observation based on his post, “SXSW? Forget It,” where he reminds us that we biologically can only remember so much mentality. And thus, alluding that the #SXSW tweets alone are so saturated with information by more people using Twitter that it’s hard to follow the backchannel conversation. Drapeau greatly reminds us of the important piece of information that we can’t remember ALL that information. He also reiterated one of my favorite quotes: “It’s not information overload, but filter failure.”

Reverse Networking Effect: This article discusses the “reverse networking effect,” that in sum, describes the process that when new people join, others are motivated to leave. I find this true in myself when it comes to Twitter followers. I used to be so excited to get connected, engage and learn from a new person, and now, follow invites are often pushers, those trying to sell or get me to subscribe that I find myself becoming disheartened to some degree. I strongly encourage reading the article as it gives some good brain food to chew on.

What’s Your Observation?

Okay, I shared with you mine, and some other people’s opinions, what about yours? Do you feel people are still connecting online? Still engaging in that personal, authentic and communal spirit?

flickr photo credit: Orange_Beard

What Creates a Revolution?

“A revolution doesn’t happen when a society adopts new tools, it happens when a society adopts new behaviors.”

–Us Now Movie Trailer Preview

Today, I was skimming through my RSS feeds and one of my favorites had an update: Mike Kujawski’s Public Sector 2.0 blog. Mike gets social marketing (the real kind), and he is also a savvy social media professional. On his site, he posted the Us Gov movie trailer, which I had seen before on Maxine Teller’s blog, but today, the last quote (located above) really stood out to me the most.

It stood out because in it I saw a profound statement being made on behavior change. It may be due to me coming away from my talk with a class of smart Yale students, where their *good* questions focused a lot on the why of social media (measurement, literacy, behavior change, clutter vs. content, society’s relationship to technology, etc.). But, I feel like this quote gest to the heart of the relationship between social media and social marketing, and why the relationship is important.

It’s not about the tools (i.e. being cool or shiny)
Change (i.e. revolution, small or big) is a result of adopting/influencing new behavior (whether it be that of a society, an organization or an individual).

Currently, at an increasing rate, society is experimenting and applying social media tools, both for the good and the bad. Thus, we as practitioners need to be aware of this and how it is affecting one’s behavior. For example, I tease that in 10 years, we will be doing public health campaigns for internet addiction…but how far away is that really? We already have them for TV addiction. Take a quick look here at the Us Now documentary preview, as it’ll provide some more juices to step back and do some introspection and reflection.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlqU1o3NmSw

If you find this interesting and what to dig beyond the tools and really get to “what does this all mean?” Then, I also highly recommend visiting the Digital Ethnography blog and getting introduced to Professor Michael Wesch, who was named Professor of the Year for 2008. He and his students have some interesting and compelling videos on what “more than the tools” have to mean and why it’s important to know.

If you want to continue discussion on “what government may/can look like,” then I also recommend following both the Government 2.0 Club and the Government 2.0 Camp conversations (if you can’t physically attend the gathering coming up soon at the end of MArch) on Twitter too.

…because after all, what creates a revolution? and what does a revolution look like?

flickr photo credit: Wesley Fryer

Q & A on Social Marketing

Speaking of experts, I would deem Craig Lefebvre as one of them, and an amazing one. On his blog, he recently posted a set of questions terming it “An Environmental Scan of Social Marketing.” In a brave and humble (very humble) attempt, I am going to address my responses here in the form of a blog post.

I highly encourage discussion because as another expert I love, Chris Dorobek would say, “all of us are smarter together than each of us individually.”

1. When is it product marketing and when is it social marketing?

This conversation can roll into a number of conversations, but I feel the question is really getting to “What is social marketing and how to you define it?” WIkipedia has it’s answer, and I know Stephen Dann has developed a wonderful definition as well. In sum and in brief, I would say that social marketing begins with influencing behavior change for social good. And on that same note, I would strongly encourage diving into more research beginning with the Social Marketing Quarterly, Andreason’s Social Marketing in the 21st Century, and some of Stephen Dann’s research.

2. What is the size of the social marketing market?

Now, we don’t have an association. We don’t have full, formal degree programs (at least in the U.S.) yet. But, I would still argue that the social marketing market is quite larger than most realize. I propose that social marketing is a much wider umbrella than it has been characterized in the past. Social marketing encompasses public health, but also civil safety, social change, environmental issues, non-profit causes, and as I proposed in my master’s thesis, even has strong similarities when it comes to strategies, tools and ehical frameworks of journalism and advertising.

3. What are the 3 major issues in social marketing?

In terms of the field itself, I would say there are three persistent issues. These include the branding of the field, creating formal education programs, and providing avenues for collaboration and best practices such as an international or national association.

4. What are the red flags for who does, or does not, design and implement social marketing programs?

This list could be very in-depth, but I think the most common red flag given is when some confuse social marketing with social media marketing. Blogger Andre Blackman had a great post this week distinguishing between the two. Social media can be applied within the social marketing framework, but social marketing is a much bigger net than social media.

5. How many social programs (or what percentage of them) are evaluated?

This might depend on how you define “social programs,” whether government funded, community based or non-profit driven. I might have to call on some of our other social marketing people to respond to this question. As an educated guess, I would say most programs have some sort of benchmarks that they are evaluated on. I do not have an actual percentage on hand though. To what extent are they evaluated and/or should be evaluated may be other good questions.

6. What are some of the more sophisticated methods used in these evaluations?

Both this question and the next depend largely on what is actually measured and why. And thus, deserves a much larger conversation than these lines can provide. For example, as many communications leverage social and mobile technologies, data analytics will be critical. Once the new tools are so “new,” people will be wanting to show results and extract meaning. Thus, programs like Salesforce, Radian6, and others are largely being researched to bring programs full circle so that analytics drive strategy.

7. What types of methods are used in formative research?

Formative research may include both qualitative and quantitative research methods, or a triangulation strategy that calls for a mixture of both. Some different types of research formats include a needs assessment, developing audience profiles, media scans, environmental scans, surveys, in-depth interviews, focus group testing, usability studies, and more.

8. What percentage of social marketing program budgets are devoted to evaluation?

This is a good question whether social marketing or just marketing in general is being discussed. Often, I would say that evaluation is considered too late in the game or not stretched through as much as it could be. It is important to make measurable objectives from the beginning and think out those baselines before implementing. Also, it often depends on the client, project, task, and resources available that determines how much of the budget is devoted to evaluation. Thus, as a professor might say, it depends. Now, another good question might be: how much should be devoted?

9. Who are the innovators in the field?

That can be YOU! In terms of organizations, the National Centre of Social Marketing in the U.K. is doing great work that many of us are excited about. In the United States, the CDC’s e-Health Marketing group tends to lead the way. I would also add that both AIDS.gov and the EPA are also making great strides with some of their case studies that apply new media to communications and behavior change.

10. Who are the premier thought leaders?

In no particular order: Bill Smith, Alan Andreasen, Stephen Dann, Michael Rothschild, Philip Kotler, Gerard Hastings, Mike Newton-Ward, Nancy Lee, Craig Lefebvre, Nedra Weinreich, Doug Mckenzie-Mohr, Jeff French, Clive Blair-Stevens, Francois Lagarde, Seynabou Mbengue, Tane Cassidy, Mike Kujawski, Katherine Lyon Daniel, you….you….and did you get, that the next one could be YOU? I know it said premier, but all of these people and others are great. Together, we can all help build the social marketing field.

11. What conferences and publications do you use to keep up with the field?

Social Marketing Quarterly, the C-Change e-newsletter, numerous blogs, numerous books, the Social Marketing Listserv, the Social Marketing Wiki, events in the U.K., events at the University of South-Florida, and others. Additionally though, I also look to non-profit organizations and publications, as well as international development, new media and others to review best practices in other fields and see how they may resonate within the practice of social marketing.

In sum, many of these questions focused around evaluation. In other words, how do we know that what we are doing is working? Now THAT’S a conversation worth having. Now it’s your turn. How do you answer some of these questions (especially 5-8)? And, what other questions do you also have?

Tagging: Spare Change, Pulse and Signal, Social Marketing Panorama, Stephan Dahl

Expert versus Asset: Which One are You?

I’m going to warn you. Some people are going to view this article as radical. In recent weeks, there’s been lots of articles and conversations that denounce the expert, calling them carpetbaggers or government gadget gurus or what have you.

In my humble opinion, those that are experts are only referred to as “experts” by other people. This is one reason why they are experts….because they denounce their own “expert-ism.”

These are the people we love. The people that are life-long learners, not in a cliché way, but by role-modeling through action. They aren’t afraid to try new ideas or to spend extra time stretching an already vetoed idea. They experiment. They are not in a leather chair with shiny Italian shoes, but they are in the jungle of the marketplace navigating knowledge, ideas and society for applications of thought. True experts, also fail at times. But they learn from it, tweak it and make it better.

Last week on Twitter, I had a thought and shared it: “Don’t be an expert. Instead, become an industry-valued asset. The difference? One works for himself and his own knowledge base, the other, wants to be valuable and enjoys collaborative efforts.

Now I don’t know about you, but I would much rather work with someone who wants to be valuable. These are the people that do any task just because it needs to get done, even if it’s not in their official job description. These are the people:

that will admit when they don’t know something. But come to your office the next day sharing what they learned from doing some extra research the night before.
that know that everyone can teach them something, from the doorman to the man with his name on the door.
that first listen and observe in the meeting, rather than interrupt and share their ideas first.
that ignore their job description and take initiative whether its making copies, to binding the reports to adding in two-cents on a proposal, to in effect, get the job done.
that puts themselves second and the client, task, job, person first. They avoid inter-office politics/chatter to make sure that the client doesn’t suffer.
that recognize that they don’t deserve anything, but they earn everything.

People who want to be valuable don’t wait for people to come to them; instead, they roll up their sleeves and say, I’m ready. What do we need? In fact, my family has the saying that if you even have to ask: How can I help? Then you aren’t helping, because helping=doing. Perhaps once we separate those who want to be experts and those who want to be assets, the value of that employee and the work given will shine.

Not to be on a soapbox (okay, maybe a ramp), but perhaps you are an expert. But are you sensitive to how your colleagues and those in your industry react to the word “expert.” Perhaps, we need a new word for you, or perhaps you can angle yourself to be an “industry valued-asset.” Call it a game of the tongue, but words have meaning, as does action. What are your words saying and your actions doing?

In your eyes, what are some ways you differentiate between an expert and an industry-valued asset? What are other ways people can make themselves “valuable” in your eyes?

photo credit: jeannie86

For Twitter Success, Just Add Meaning.

With Dr. Mark Drapeau’s ReadWriteWeb Goverati article yesterday, it seems that the beast is awakening and out of this slumber is arising more Twitter accounts, and thus more friends to meet and conversations to maintain.

As a new Twitter member, one may be wondering a series of questions that I hope this post offers a “quick guide” to successful Twitter use and community, with the key ingredient reiterated at the end.

“What is Twitter?”

Twitter is a micro-blogging social media tool that asks the question, “What are you doing?” Individuals, who have logged in and registered for the free service, answer the question within 140 characters or within multiple updates and then ‘update’ their status. Twitter works by individuals agreeing to ‘follow’ a certain Twitter account. Once following this account, the person then gets the account’s updates. It is a great medium that lends itself to both one-to-one communications, as well as one-to-many communications. In the past six months, Twitter has gone from 600k accounts, to 2.9 million accounts.

“How can I/We use Twitter?”

The list below outlines 13 different functions that both individuals and organizations can use Twitter’s platform to accomplish:

1.    Inquiry Response
2.    Reputation Management
3.    Promotion
4.    Event Planning
5.    Brand Equity
6.    Marketing
7.    Fundraising
8.    Reminders
9.    Emergency and Disaster Response
10.    Provide information, news and tips
11.    Research
12.    Conversation Tracking through Hashtags (i.e. #WAD08, #healthcomm)
13.    Social Networking

“Now what?”

Find YOUR Voice. We all have different perspectives and a variety of experiences, and as I @cdorobek reiterate, we make each other better. Whether your Twitter handle is your real name or a nickname, it doesn’t matter, what matters…is getting started and getting involved.
Add Value. Twitter’s capabilities are great. But for them to stick and for you to get the most out of it, you must find value not just in the technology, but in the conversations and those you connect with. Thus, respond, connect and engage.
Create Meaning. This one stretches beyond Twitter, but into social media strategy in general. So, you create a blog, a wiki, a thingy-maggig, people aren’t going to use it unless it adds meaning to their lives.

“How do I connect?”

For Government folks, check out GovTwit. And, have you signed up for Government 2.0 Camp yet? Are registered on Govloop?
For Health folks, check out this top 100 health Twitter-ers list. (Also, be sure to check out next week’s DC Social Media Club event about Health 2.0 or there’s DC HealthCamp in late February, the Health 2.0 Conference).
For others, check out Twitter packs, Twitter Search and the JustTweetIt directory.

“Where can I learn more?”

Ogilvy’s Twitter Blog Posts Series
Twit Tip Blog by Problogger, (@problogger)
Government Micro-Blogging Information
Twitter Support
Twitter Wiki

In sum, just add meaning. This may seem easier said than done, so I want to help. What are your other Twitter questions? I can already think of a few (tools, metrics, etc.) Feel free to comment, and I will offer more in the comments. Finally, I too am on Twitter: @socialbttrfly. Feel free to follow, and I look forward to creating meaning together.

Do Something. (You Can Begin By Applying)

As I often like to highlight opportunities for readers, an organization that I admire for their do-good youth marketing approach and mission, DoSomething.org is now accepting applications for the Do Something Awards.

The Do Something Awards have worked to empower and recognize some of the most outstanding young and up-incoming world-changers we know. Last year, the Do Something Awards became the first non-celebrity category of the Teen Choice Awards, which contained 9 final nominees. Each of the 9 nominees received $10,000 for their project and the winner, 19-year old Chad Bullock won $100,000.

This year, 5 winners will receive a minimum of $10,000 in community grants and scholarships, and one will be selected as the grand prize winner, receiving $100,000 in community grants, that can be donated to a non-profit of the winner’s choice.

Deadline: See if you qualify, and apply by March 1, 2009

Eligibility: Applicants must be 25 or younger, and be a U.S. or Canadian citizen.

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FYI: SocialButterfly’s “Events” page is now updated with 2009 social marketing, non-profit, social media marketing and other related events and highlights from around the Web. If there are specific events you’d like added, please feel free to contact me at socialbutterfly4change@gmail.com or @socialbttrfly on Twitter

Liked what you read? Feel free to share with others: and/or connect with me on Twitter – @socialbttrfly.

What Shel Silverstein Knew About Social Media

“If you are a dreamer, come in.

If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer.

If you’re a pretender, come site by my fire, for we have some flax golden tales to spin.

Come in! Come in!” -Shel Silverstein

Upon reflection tonight (while making mini-funfetti cupcakes) the above poem came into my mind, as its one of my favorites that I often think to myself. That’s when it hit me.

Shel Silverstein knew all about social media before it even existed. Social media gives the same invitation that Shel’s poem up above does, because the technology is a means to an end. It invites us to join with others and pursue our passions, interests, and beliefs no matter what the occupation or desire. No matter who you are – “dreamers, bakers, hopers” – social media invites you to join in.

On the same note that Shel invited all to follow their own path, he also added a similiar warning that most today are still afraid of missing: their opportunity, in his poem, “Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda.”

“All the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas,

Layin’ in the sun,

Talkin’ bout the things

They woulda coulda shoulda done…

But those Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas

All ran away and hid

From one little Did.”

The point? Social media offers numerous opportunities no matter what your passion or believed purpose, so join in, explore, ask questions, seek knowledge and ACT, so you aren’t left repeating Shel’s poem, and instead can say, “I DID.”

Liked what you read? Feel free to share with others: and/or connect with me on Twitter – @socialbttrfly.

Scribd Your Own Script: Social Publishing Meets Collaboration and More

At DC’s Social Media Club event this past week, I heard many mumors about Scribd, so naturally I checked it out. I have yet begun to explore the site, but already I am impressed. With the self-description of “democratizing publishing” through its document sharing community, it’s hard not to be immediately intrigued.

Launched in March 2007 by founders Trip Adler, Jared Friedman, and Tikhon Bernstam, the platform now has greated that 50 million readers every month, with over 50,000 documents uploaded every day, and is available in 90 different languages. What rock have I been stuck under? I mean, individuals like Obama and groups like the New York Times and the World Economic Forum are on here too! This looks like a great community, that I look forward to interacting with more.

Not only can you

Engage in collaboration,
Expand your social network through your profile, searching for colleagues,
Create and join interest-specific groups,
Upload and/or download documents and files,
Find and discover interesting documents by category, by topic group, by searching, or by browsing the library,
Find interesting documents by category, by topic group, by searching, or by just browsing our library,
Create potential ways to monetize through your documents and hard work

With Scribd having just raised $9 million, along with a new president for social publishing, I look forward to observing and experiencing how Scribd develops in the future. Granted, the term “social publishing” has meant the publication of documents from “many to many” or “one to many” through a variety of social software mixed with web content management in terms of what the technology offers, however, what would “social publishing” through a non-profit/social change lens look like?

Anxious for your thoughts, as with today’s excitement at the We Are One concert on the mall today, my mind is racing with ideas. Cheers!

Liked what you read? Feel free to share with others: and/or connect with me on Twitter – @socialbttrfly.