When people talk about customer service, often times the phrase is, “the customer is always right.”  This may, or may not be true.  It is not always a clear cut issue.

[SIDE NOTE:  But certainly, in every case, the customer or client and his or her needs and concerns must be listened to and taken into full consideration.]

I have to say, it is not everyday that I hear, “it is ok (and in fact can be good) to disagree.”  And I agree, it can be healthy and enlightening, and can create even better solutions in the end.

Check out this great image:

I love this: “Through our differences, we create harmony.”  And I would add that through our differences, our various ideas, insights and experiences, we can together come up with opportunitities and solutions that can really make a difference in what we do going forward.

Exciting to think of the possiblities, isn’t it?  I have to say it is one of the more exciting things about the world of marketing – things are not necessarily clear cut.  They almost never are.

The collaboration of clients and professionals together can do amazing things.

We would love your comments on this post.  Please join in the conversation here, or on our Facebook page.  We love to hear differing ideas and insights – it makes for great learning and interesting conversation!

Yes, cleaning your marketing – or more specifically, your social media strategy.

So here is MMC’s take on social media channels as of early April 2012 to give you some ideas on how to ”clean house”  - agree or disagree, we thought we’d put it out there and let you weigh in as you wish.

1. Facebook – important and still a powerful way of carrying on conversations with people.   BUT, make sure you have updated your page to reflect the new timeline and graphic requirements…..otherwise your page is looking so 2011.

2. Twitter – still love it.  Love it.  A great way to engage in one-to-one conversations and build a network.  The power of Twitter is not diminished.

3. LinkedIn – still not going anywhere, and a fabulous way to keep your online “Rolodex” up to date and current.  Are you using LinkedIn for your business or brand?  For many businesses, this is also an important tool.  No matter how you use it, don’t forget some of the basics like ensuring your profile is up-to-date, and posting status updates.

4. YouTube – video is growing.  It can tell a great story, it can be a great way to engage with people, and, despite popular opinion, it doesn’t have to be expensive to produce.  YouTube is an excellent repository for all your videos that you can then use on other marketing channels.

5. Blogs – still important for SEO and for sharing thoughts and ideas so that you (and your company) are portrayed as idea-generators, content contributors, and hopefully as experts in your field.  In addition to more traditional blogs (like the one you are reading right now), Tumblr is also a way to curate content and generate blogs (and is growing in popularity).

6. Google+ – this is a tricky one.  It is good for SEO – a very important part of online marketing – but in other ways I am not convinced it will do a good job of reaching many target audiences.  It seems that there are very select audiences who G+ can reach – many of which are business people themselves.  Some have had good experiences with G+ reaching a B2C market, while others have not.  Analyze this channel carefully before jumping in. 

7. Pinterest – this is the channel I am so excited about.  Its use for business – both B2C and B2B – is amazing and has enormous potential.  It’s not for everyone – BUT if you don’t look at it carefully to see if there are potential ways it can work for your business, you might be missing a key marketing opportunity.

These are the key social media channels I’ll focus on for today – but keep in mind much depends on who your target audience is and where you can best reach them.  That is one of the most overlooked areas when business people execute social media – they don’t stop to figure out where they can best reach their targets.  (And this really is perhaps the first thing to do…..)

Now is a great time to look at the social media channels you are using – and assess if you are using them “because everyone is using them,” or because they will help you connect with your target audiences.  Use social media strategically – take some time right now to ensure your channels are helping reach your business goals.  “Clean out” those that are not.  Add in those that will be effective for your business.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic as well.  Which social media channels are key ones to focus on?  Are there any you feel are growing in importance, or diminishing in the value they provide?

MMC approached me about writing a guest blog post about my social media topic of choice. The answer was simple: memes.

Memes (pronounced meems) are a series of preset images with designated text formats and personalities that are representative of what’s popular in today’s culture. Individuals can create their own memes on sites such as quickmeme.com using these specific characters. For example, meet the “Condescending Wonka” meme. Backed by an image of Willy Wonka, the text appearing on the meme is always meant to be condescending. Without knowing Willy Wonka is being condescending, someone may not understand the humor behind the meme, or heaven forbid they may create a misused “Condescending Wonka” meme and face ridicule from other meme creators. Sound nerdy enough for you yet?

So, what does all this meme (pun intended)? From my point of view this means several things. First, one more distraction during lecture. Second, a concept originally meant for visual enjoyment is now driving conversations on social media platforms. Third, a potential marketing opportunity to reach college students, if executed very carefully.

One does not simply look at one UW meme. These witty, humorous, and often crude images are blowing up around college campuses nationwide and are gaining a strong presence on mainstream social media sites such as Facebook. On February 7th, meme pandemonium hit UW-Madison’s campus as the first official University of Wisconsin Memes Facebook page was created (before Minnesota’s page). Memes instantly became a sensation consuming the lives of 9,400 student body followers. Walking down State Street you can hear people conversing in meme phrases. Looking around a large lecture hall, you can see one third of the students looking and quietly laughing at the most recent meme posts.

Students are creating memes relevant to our every day student lives, which only adds to their humor. Whether the content is about dorm food, bad TA’s, or how much better UW is than other schools, students are expressing themselves to one another through memes. In an essence, the Facebook page creates a space of inside jokes only UW-Madison students can truly understand and appreciate. And in true Facebook fashion, students who may not even know one another, are connecting, discussing, and liking the memes posted on the page. Many memes already have over 1,000 “likes,” which is pretty impressive.

Businesses on campus are noting the trend and are trying to get their name out in front of this massive market of students. Ian’s Pizza was one of the first adopters. This popular pizza restaurant made a meme competition for students and challenged them to create the best Ian’s-related meme. The winner received a free 20-inch pizza and Ian’s received free marketing to their target customers. The winning meme Ian’s selected had over 85 “likes” in a matter of hours.

However, marketers beware. Due to the influx in meme usage on campus, many new creators are improperly using memes. Because of this, many memes are receiving negative commentary from meme experts via Facebook. Also, it’s important to be careful of how you promote your product through memes. Like Facebook, memes are a way for people to connect with one another. Companies may face backlash if memes users feel they are trying to capitalize through memes.

In the end, much like Charlie Sheen’s #winning tweets, memes are probably just a fad that will fade out pretty quickly on campuses. As a student who has admittedly been frequenting the University of Wisconsin Memes Facebook page, it’s pretty clear the quality and uniqueness of the memes is getting worse as more and more uneducated creators post incorrect memes. But, that’s the power and the beauty of social media. It moves fast and timing can be just as important as the content you post.

Yet many, many are still not using social media strategically.  Many businesses and businesspeople are in the mode of fire, ready, aim, instead of planning and aiming first before making a move.

So what can you do?  What are some ways to better ensure your social media is on target?  Here are 3 checkpoints for you to consider right now:

1.  Have you identified your audience – or prioritized which of your target audiences is most important to reach?  You need to know who you want to reach with your messaging – and use the social media channels where this audience is.  It might be a blog, it might be Facebook, Twitter, or another channel.  You don’t need to be a part of every social media channel out there – but you MUST be where your audience is.

2. Is your content engaging?  Is it what your audience wants to hear, so they can learn, talk to you and each other, and move on to the next step of their relationship to you?  A big mistake many make is posting content that is not of value to your target audience.  Remember, your audience is going to ask, “what’s in it for me?”

3. Do you have a call to action – are you looking to build the relationship beyond social media?  Before you post, figure out what you would like your audience to do.  Likely you’d like someone to visit your website to learn more and get more of an idea of your story and what you are all about.  You might want to encourage that person to engage with you on a different social media channel (such as watch a video on YouTube, have a conversation on Facebook or Twitter).  Or you might want to encourage a call or invite someone to schedule of a meeting with you.

Here is a recent video where I discuss the strategic side of social media (a bit of a different angle from above):   

What can you do next?  Learn more about my views on social media at the MMC website.  Want to ask some questions?  Have some insight you’d like to share?  You can do so on the MMC Facebook page or via Twitter.  Or, feel free to contact me in another way.

And this is also the time of year when a lot of non-profits are asking for donations … and us consumers who want to open our pocketbooks at this time of year then have decision to make – WHO to give to? How much?

And we tend to give to causes that are close to our heart, or ones that tell a good story that gets to us at an emotional level.

MMC recently spent some time in the Big Apple, and saw the Salvation Army red kettles near Rockefeller Center.  (They certainly are everywhere this time of year, aren’t they?!)

If you look at the picture, you will see some singers (look for the guy on the right holding the bell in the one hand and a microphone in the other).  There is a karaoke machine under the kettle (that you cannot see), and these folks are all jamin’ to Christmas favorites.  They are dancing, singing, attracting a crowd and having others join in. Having a great time.  It’s fun, it’s a bit of a party on the streets of festive NYC.

And many people were pulling out their wallets for dollars or their phones (see how easy it is to text to donate $10 – instructions clearly on the big sign which you can hopefully enlargen to see). MANY, MANY people were making donations – many more than you would normally see at a Salvation Army kettle.

But why was this groups so much more successful?  This group was adding VALUE to everyone around them – providing entertainment that really makes everyone feel good about sharing in the spirit of giving.  It’s not just a one way transaction in this case - which would be I put money in a kettle, am thanked perhaps, and then I am gone - here in the streets of NY there is value given to the person who walks buy.  People stop to see what’s happening, they share the excitement, and join in the giving.

This translates into a much bigger percentage of people actually donating…..and more money going to the people who need it (which isn’t part of the messaging here – but is implied as we all know the brand).

Whether you are a not-for-profit or a for-profit business, keep this in mind.  Make it clear the value you provide. Do something different to attract attention and get others excited about you.  Experiment.

I wish I had videoed this group – but someone else found some other Salvation Army folks in NYC and posted it on YouTube.  This is similar to what I saw – enjoy!!

HAPPY, HAPPY holidays from MMC! 

Google+ seemed to take off early on, when it was first introduced and people were excited to get on, check it out, and see the features.  And many of the features of G+ are cool, really quite a bit better than what Facebook offers (the list includes the ability to edit a post, better-looking pictures once posted, ‘circles’ to better organize your database and those who you want to follow, and so on).  Early on, people signed up in droves as things were really exciting. 

I was among the first to sign up, and I really liked it.

But the floodgates didn’t open soon enough. Many who wanted to sign up couldn’t (all in an effort to keep it special and build more excitement, I presume).  So I was left waiting to engage with many people who didn’t add a G+ profile as they either couldn’t get in (or didn’t know how), or they decided they didn’t need to move over as they already had a Facebook profile.

I found myself waiting, and waiting and waiting for others to join the crowd at G+. But they never came on over.  It was disheartening.

And on top of all that, business pages took forever to be introduced.  That really, REALLY hurt Google+. 

And so last week, business pages were finally introduced and early word on the street seems to be positive.  So my thoughts were back to maybe Google+ has a chance to make it and can spark interest again….

Until I got this email from Google+ less than a week ago:

Yes, you read that right.  Google+ is inviting me to join.  To join!  I guess they weren’t able to check their database to see if I was already “in.”

Some might say this isn’t that big a deal, but I think it is.  To me, this just means the Google+ folks don’t have their act fully together. I always think it is the little things that count, and I would even dare to argue this is a big thing.  Anything that makes a company or product look silly – well, I think everyone would agree you want to avoid that.

But maybe you have different thoughts about the past, present and future of Google+.  I definitely want to hear about it.

I am able to use this tool in such amazing ways – like, um, to talk to Peggy Olson, circa 1965, the trailblazing female copywriter at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce on Madison Avenue – you know all about her if you watch the hit AMC show Mad Men. 

(Oh, and I love Mad Men.  But that is totally going off topic. Focus, Laurel, focus.)

Back to Twitter.  I say this whenever I give social media presentation, and I will say it again right now:

It never ceases to amaze me the connections I am able to make via Twitter. I would not be able to make these connections in any other way.

I have read articles about many amazing people, wanted to touch base with them in some way, and sent them a tweet and gotten a response.  Each time the response and emotion I feel is the same:  Connection!  Yes!  Success! 

Twitter has become my communication tool of choice at the times I want to make a one-to-one connection, and there are many reasons for this.  A tweet is short and concise.  It isn’t a big time commitment (unlike an email or old fashioned letter).  It is public – meaning the tweet and any response (or lack of a response) are transparent and available for the world to see (again, very different from an email where it is all too easy for a recipient to ignore and hit the “delete” button).

Twitter is also an excellent tool to use to reconnect with someone you have met before but haven’t seen in a long time or don’t know well…..I have used it to reconnect with a Pulitzer Prize winning professor from my MBA days who travels the world talking about his field (negotiations); I have used Twitter to have some public (and informal) discussions with collegues I know well, on topics that invite other voices to chime in as well. 

I use it to experiment….and to see, in the world of communications, what is possible.  (Like connect with Peggy Olson!)

How did this this Peggy Olson connection happen?  I love blog posts at Social Media Examiner, a great resource for staying on top of social media trends.  I saw an interview there with Carri Bugbee, who had noticed no one was tweeting for the fictional character Peggy Olson. For fun, she decided to do it.  And after some…..discussion (!) with AMC, she has continued tweeting for Peggy (& doing a great job!). 

(She has, not surprisingly, many fun stories from her tweeting adventures.  You can watch the interview with Bugbee by clicking here if you wish.)

So as an experiment, and for fun, I decided to reach out to “Peggy” and see if I would get a response to a tweet I directed at her (using the @ symbol).  I did – and you can see above my actual tweet and Bugbee’s response for Olson.

My favorite thing to do with Twitter is to see what types of connections are possible.  And thus my fun experiments, and my never-ceasing amazement and admiration of Twitter as a connecting tool, continue.

Who should I reach out to next via Twitter?  Don Draper?  Pete Campbell? Roger Sterling?

And I’d love to connect with you via Twitter (http://twitter.com/LaurelinMadison).  Facebook is another great tool, (the business page tool is awesome!), and I invite you to join the conversation there well on MMC’s page.

So I turned to Priceline – and got really lucky by snagging a room at the W (City Center) at a great price – some might say a steal.

While I was there, I noticed many great things the hotel did in terms of branding, + one important miss.  But let’s start with the good – here is what was done so well:

1. As a visitor, I started to feel the vibe for the brand as soon as I pulled up to the hotel.  And this brand image was true and consistent during my stay. The W brand is funky and hip, a bit Euro, and the tone takes on a certain spin that makes the place unique.  You’ll see this reflected throughout the hotel – check out this first picture that is of a coaster in my bathroom.  Note it doesn’t just have the brand stamped on it – it has a saying that seems to aim to make the guest think (perhaps a bit deeply) for a moment.

2. Details matter to the brand.  The W had a complimentary car service available to desks – a really nice touch.  There was amazingly creamy and rich hot cocoa and yummy cookies in the check-in area – really comfort food that put someone at ease. The rugs in the elevator were changed according to the time of day – from “good morning” to “good afternoon” to “good evening.”  I wonder how many people notice – but I did.

3. This customer felt special.  And this is notable because I was a Priceline customer and was put in a room by the elevator.  Despite this, I was made to feel like I was a cool customer.  At check-in, I was given special attention (or so it seemed to me) as I had a bunch of questions and I never felt rushed.  Later that night, when I expressed disappointment later that the hot cocoa was no longer available, a staff person had one sent especially to my room (and a big size at that).  I felt like I was a valued guest, even though I was very likely paying less than everyone  else in the hotel and the staff knew it.

4. The W brand does not try to be all things to all people.  It is clear this is not a family hotel, and does not try to be.  Yes, I am sure kids are welcome if they show up, but the target is definitely a certain age-range of adults.  You know it, you feel it, and the W doesn’t try to hide it.  There is no confusion about the brand’s target audience, and it works well.

5. Even though my stay was short, I felt an emotional attachment to the brand. I noticed the small touches, and felt happy and relaxed to be there at the W. And we all know that when a customer starts to feel an attachment to a brand, that is the start of a good thing (and perhaps a long standing relationship).

So, with all this positive energy from my stay, what was missing from the experience?  What was the element that the W missed??

I was never given the information on how to connect with the W brand via social media.  So many things were done right, the final follow up touch would have been for me to connect via Facebook (a logical first place to engage), or some other social media channel (Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, a blog….).

And why would this be important?  I would be more likely to remember the brand and keep it more top of mind if I were connected via these other channels – and after a wonderful experience in the real world at their fine hotel, it would have been a natural next step to engage with me via social media.  And I would have been happy to do so if asked.

Have you ever had a great experience off-line, and then extended in on-line as a next step?  Or had this second step forgotten?

And I invite you to further engage with me and MMC on Facebook and Twitter…..and share the stories and passion for great communication that we have.  We hope to learn from you, as well as offer up our own ideas to inspire you.

OK, that is understatement.  People misuse social media seemingly all the time, in big ways and in small ways.

But I’ll mention one way that seems to be gaining in popularity, and one that drives me crazy.

If there is one thing you do with social media, don’t use the auto feed to send the same message out via different social medial channels.  For example, with Twitter, do not, DO NOT send those tweets automatically to your LinkedIn status update field.  Or to your Facebook account as a post.

Why?  you might ask. Or why not?

Let’s think about what Twitter and a tweet are.  Twitter is a microblog that allows for a short update, thought or idea. It allows for a short concise dialogue to take place.  It allows one to reshare another person’s thought.  It’s great to use Twitter and add content multiple times a day.

Let’s think about LinkedIn.  A professional channel, this is the place that one can share updates on projects, accomplishments, events, and so on.  I have found that it is fine to have no more than 2 or 3 LinkedIn status updates per week.  More than that, and it is too much information.

And Facebook allows for a more open exchange of ideas, and a running dialogue with people who are interested in a posted topic.

These are all VERY different uses – thus, you’d want different types of content or at least differently phrased content to come out via each channel.

To put it bluntly - to have a Twitter feed automatically populate your LinkedIn status update field, and you are trying to drown me with information that is not relevant if received via that channel.  By sending that Twitter tweet to Facebook, you are likely not phrasing it in a way that will encourage a dialogue to develop.

Social media forces us to think about who our audience is, what information they want to receive, and how frequently they want to receive it.  I want different information via LinkedIn than I do via Twitter or Facebook – as do the majority of people, I’d venture.  So don’t merge these different channels together.  Post different things to different channels as they are used in different ways.

I know that many social media users are trying to figure out ways to streamline the process, make it easier to keep different channels filled with info.  There are so many channels (and growing!).  But I think this backfires, and doesn’t work. 

Take the extra bit of time to be most meaningful to people.

PS Ready to engage with MMC on Facebook?  Click here to join in!

Want to connect with Laurel on Google+?  Click here (or post to MMC’s FB account if you want a G+ invite!)

We’d love to keep the conversation going on these other channels!!

Social Media as a means of College Life

Clearly, most people go to college to pursue a degree in one field of study or another, but once the classes are over for the day, college life begins. As a college student, being social is a central focus in our four (or five or six!) years of pursuing a degree. We use social media as a break from studies, as a way to commiserate with friends after a rough exam, as a meeting place, as a news source, and for a multitude of other things. Social media is a way of life on college campuses.

I think it is amazing how many times when I walk past computers in the library, most have up some sort of social media channel. Social media is our way of bonding with one another. It is a way for us to discover new talent, new friends, new videos, new photos, new celebrity crushes, and new activities – new information.

Social media has exploded over the last ten years. I’m hard-pressed at UW-Madison to find a single student who does not have a Facebook account. In fact, I’m hard-pressed to find anyone between the ages of 18-30 who does not have a Facebook account. Facebook has become a staple in most college towns. Instead of inviting people to an event the old fashioned pen and paper way, now with a few key strokes you can invite hundreds of people to the next great party in a matter of minutes. Then after your event is over you can share all your crazy photos with everyone who attended by sticking them up on Facebook. You can use Facebook to procrastinate before writing that paper for tomorrow by getting caught up in Farmville. You can rank how cute your friends are or see which words you use most often in your status updates.

If all that isn’t enough, every time you do something cool you can post it as your status and every one of your friends can see it. Facebook is it’s own world and it is merely one example of the social media sites that are commonly used by college students.

Social Media is bigger than the computer

My generation is a “smart phone pda generation” and social media has not missed a beat with apps. The saying “there’s an app for that” totally makes sense when we are talking about social media. Most of my friends have at least a Facebook app, Youtube app and a Twitter app on their phones. People will check their Facebooks between classes. They will look at that sweet new video someone suggested on Youtube while riding the bus. Students will even follow their favorite celebs secretly while the professor is discussing supply and demand. With our handheld devices the world is at our fingertips every second of the day.

Social Media has become a language. It would be normal for college students to joke about “Like”ing something someone said just like on Facebook. Twitter makes news global and I often hear people say “I learned about this from a tweet.” Then there is of course how we’ve made social media sites into verbs. “He was facebooking before the exam.” “Let’s YouTube the Charlie video.” “I totally caught her blogging during class.” The social media lingo is almost big as the social media fad itself.

As a college student, life without some form of social media is unimaginable.

ENDNOTE: Laurel, the Owner and President of MMC, cannot imagine what life is like for professors today with students plugged in (and presumably distracted) during classroom discussions. Laurel is also happy to say she remembers prehistoric times when invitations to social events were all made and sent on paper.