Stop Following Social Media Influencers

What does being a social media influencer mean?

They’re influencing people via Facebook? Or they’re influencing people about Facebook?

One issue with seeing social media as an industry (which I don’t) is this idea that you should have already heard of everything and everyone who is “an expert”. I constantly hear this from marketing colleagues and people who will soon no longer work with me:

“Do you follow Joe X?” (Joe’s name is blocked here to protect the ignorantly blissful.) And I always reply, “Who?”

This is usually followed by, “Whadya mean ya don’t know who Joe X is!?! How can you not follow Joe X?”

No, I don’t follow Joe X, and neither should you.

No offense is meant to Joe X. Joe X is probably a good writer. I see Joe X’s blog occasionally in search results and I’m usually impressed by Joe X’s writing skills and ideas. I couldn’t write as well as Joe X in a million years. I will be likely to read future posts should the subject appeal to me, or more likely, the keywords match what I am searching. But following? Nope. It’s pointless.

Who should you follow? Two Tactics:

1. Follow influential people in your industry. If you’re in retail, franchising, food services, healthcare, automotive, or any industry, there are many smart professionals with whom you should engage. Don’t worry about what they’re saying about Facebook or Twitter…pay attention to what they’re saying about retail, franchising, healthcare, etc.

2. Don’t follow any specific people; search and follow ideas!

“Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.”
–Marie Curie

Local Social, Part 2: The Agency Menace

Misguided information is hurting franchise marketing when it comes to Local Social.

A public relations firm focusing on the franchise space that has recently positioned its team as being “social media experts” told me that they are advising franchisor clients not to allow local Facebook pages for franchisees. They recommend having just one Facebook page for the brand.

I asked why … because of a concern over consistency? Workflow fears? Worries over customer response?

No. Their answer was that it’s easier for the PR firm to measure that way.

I was at a loss for words. Instead of localizing social and growing communities of customers and potential customers, this agency was counseling its clients to make the agency’s own work easier.

My only response was that their approach was that it’s like losing a contact lens in the bedroom, but looking for it in the kitchen because the light is better.

This is not just uninformed. It’s lazy. And, if I were their client already, I could not fire this agency fast enough.

Social Is Local

Some will tell you that social media is all about making consumers and brands more global and creating virtual communities made up of people across the world. This may be true for entities that sell products only online, but it’s not true for small businesses or franchisees.

Customers typically don’t buy a large coffee, a slice of pizza, or a new SUV online. You can influence, engage with, and make an offer to consumers via social channels, BUT they need to come in to become an actual customer.

So many brands are selling at that local level, yet not marketing to or engaging with potential customers at the local level. Why are they missing these potential customers?

One reason is a misunderstanding about consistency. This is typical when the top person responsible for social marketing is not accountable for real business results (read: dollars!)

I recently spoke with a marketing and communications team at a large US-based oil company with several hundred franchised convenience stores in communities across the country. These mid-level managers couldn’t get past the idea of a local franchisee potentially saying something inconsistent in social media. They decided it would be safer to just have one corporate page and no local or regional activity in social.

This is exactly why franchisors need to lead, not just limit, social media communications. If that’s not possible, then they should remove their franchisees’ phones too. And, if inconsistency in social media scares you this much, then stop franchising. Close up shop!

The fact is, social media is the EASIEST place to manage your brand. Put some listening and publishing tools in place, commit an hour or two per week, and you’re good to go for your whole franchise system.

All that other stuff you’re already doing is the hard part of managing a brand!

4 Steps to Running a Good Contest on Facebook Since the New Rule Changes

Last week Facebook updated their terms to allow for contests to be executed outside of Applications and on your brand’s Timeline using Likes, Comments, and Messages to enter. Every one-person agency and self-named social media “expert” has been posting and shouting about how this is greatest thing ever and that you should run out and do promotions in this manner as soon as possible. After all, now it’s easy and you don’t need a pesky third-party.

But just because something is easy and you can do it yourself, does that mean it will accomplish a business goal?

(For those self-named social media “experts” and “gurus”, a business goal is something that grown-ups use. It has more to do with revenue than Likes. More on that later…)

Which do you want: more Entrants or more Customers?

Before running out to do the first contest that comes to mind – be aware of a few things. First, by doing a contest via Likes, you’re making winning easier for non-committed consumers to win. These are people who will dog pile onto your contest, maybe win something, but will never be a customer of your brand, store, or business.

Missing in Action: Emails

Second, do you know what your brand page and your local pages will really miss? Your customers’ email addresses! If you start doing promotions only on your Timeline and not using an application, you can’t collect email addresses or other desired data from your fans and customers.

We’re social media focused here at Engage121, BUT we do know the value of a customer’s email address. You still want to be able to collect these for newsletters, announcements, or future plans. What’s the value of a Facebook Like? I don’t know, but it’s less than an email address!

Don’t create temporary Fans

Lastly, by not requiring a Fan-Gated entrance to your app for the contest, you’re diminishing the likelihood of gaining a new Fan. Consumers may Like your status update once to enter the contest but never actual Like your page or engage with you further.

Solution: Let’s do both!

Run your contest as an App and hit your Timeline with it often! Here are four steps to success in the new Facebook dynamic:

1. Run the contest as an Application on your Facebook page. Here’s an awesome example of a successful just-finished contest from our friends at Scooter’s Coffee.

2. Talk about it, share it, and promote it frequently on your Timeline so your fans know it exists.

3. Create good content in the contest: I always recommend against being too self-promotional in your status updates. So the contest itself should be interesting on its own add some value to your fans’ day. If it’s not, then maybe rethink the contest!

4. Advertise: Along with sharing the contest as a status update, think about spending some budget on some well-targeted ads too!

Senator Marco Rubio to Address IFA

The International Franchise Association has just announced that Senator Marco Rubio of Florida will join an impressive lineup of keynote speakers at the IFA Public Affairs Conference in Washington, DC on September 17.

Mr. Rubio represents a new generation of political leader who will be moving our country forward and is also very hard to cast in a predefined label. Like Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, Mr. Rubio is a post-label politician; they’re pro-business and economically conservative, but they are by no means part of the old establishment when it comes to other issues.

I don’t know if Marco Rubio will be president someday (we can’t get that lucky) but it’s a sure thing that he will be a leader on many issues that affect American business, especially franchises and small business owners. From taxes to jobs to immigration reform to healthcare, Mr. Rubio will be a constant voice of reason and logic for decades to come.

If you’re a member of the IFA, you can register for the event now and sign up to meet with your member of Congress to discuss these important issues as well!

Social Recommendations Just For You…Not Me

I am not a fan of the overuse of content choices served up “just for you” based on various algorithms. Your news and entertainment choices should not always be made by popularity with the masses or what your friends like. I just don’t get that. I love my family and friends dearly but, good God, they have bad taste in music. As do most people except you…right?

And Facebook ads are now based on content that your friends like. While I see the marketing value in the perceived endorsement, I see less relevant ads coming my way.

I don’t even like suggestions based on my own previous selections on iTunes, Amazon or other services. iTunes’ Genius is my nightmare. And while Pandora and others offer a great service and a tremendous amount of music for free, the basic premise makes me want to argue with the algorithm more than enjoy the tunes. No, just because I listen to a lot of Elvis Costello doesn’t mean I want to listen to Culture Club. Ever. As Johnny Slash would say, “It’s a totally different head. Totally.”

Speaking of great TV characters, television also poses recommendation challenges. There are so many great shows out there that I don’t have time to see. Do you have that colleague or friend who bugs you constantly because you’re not watching his current favorite show? That’s how many apps present themselves to my eyes.

So instead of socially-smart pages recommending more content, I really could use an app to slow down time!

What’s The Value of A Facebook Like? Who’s Asking?

Some ridiculous and reckless newbies in social media monitoring have been promoting an actual dollar amount for the value of any Facebook Like. A recent “study” published the value at $174.17. This was produced by some self-proclaimed social media “experts” who will be selling used cars 12 months from now.

I see similar nonsense coming from small PR agency owners who joined Twitter last year and now want to spin you toward the idea that they do more that press releases.

$147 is the value of a Like? Why not just say a Like is worth $1,000? Sure, let’s go with that. That will make the CEO happy.

The truth is that a Like for Company A has much different value than a Like for Company B.

Social Values Overall

Let’s take a step back and look at all online recommendations and endorsements (if you can truly call “Likes” one of those). A positive review on a ratings & review site may be of great value to a hotel property, but much less to a retailer with a low-cost, hot product. A lousy rating on Yelp may scare people away from a local pizza franchisee but may not matter to a higher-end restaurant.

Take a further step back and look at an old yet still popular social media channel called the telephone: What’s the value of a phone call? I estimate somewhere between 2 cents if it’s an unwanted opinion and a billion dollars if someone is calling to acquire your company.

Ferrari Posters on Your Wall

Pop quiz guys over 30: did you have a poster of a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or Porsche on your bedroom or dorm room wall back in the 80s or 90s? Millions of boys had them in order to indicate which car they would pick up as soon as they had the means, as Ferris Bueller would say.

But how many of those cool young dudes now own a Ferrari or Lamborghini? Probably not many. The 2013 version of the sports car poster is a Facebook Like.

Ferrari’s Fan Page on Facebook currently has over 12 Million fans. I submit that those are 12 Million guys who do not own a Ferrari. Based on my own Facebook friends who I can see Like the Ferrari page, this is true. Seriously, if you guys had a Ferrari, you would not be on Facebook liking the page! A Like for a local sandwich shop may correlate much closer to a customer than that for Ferrari.

This commoditizing of Likes is doing is missing the whole point of engagement with a customer. If we’re merely counting Likes, then we’re measuring our current reputation, brand equity, and cool factor. For those of us marketing and selling Ferraris, the Like is just a starting point of an online relationship with a new prospective customer. Start your engines!

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