Social Networks Part 4: Quantitative ROI
October 6, 2008 by Mary Wynne-Wynter · Leave a Comment
RedShift Social Media-Network Model for Business
Businesses across all industries are paying more attention to social networks which are predicted to explode worldwide. Although clearly there’s tremendous opportunity and potential it can be overwhelming to grasp the rapid disruption happening and the voluminous information getting pushed out.
Decision makers need help discerning what’s valuable from what’s hype and in taking a direction that makes sense for them. My goal is to help them do that with a unique 4-stage map that is more strategy than tactics and more visual than wordy.
My posts on stages 1-3 are:
- Social Networks Part 1: Community Segmentation
- Social Networks Part 2: Integration
- Social Networks Part 3: Qualitative ROI
The purpose integral to my model is that businesses of all size increase their natural natural influence by using social networks to expand their social capital, brand awareness and sense response skills and abilities.
The quantifiable return in my model is the sum of actionable metrics that follow the qualitative experiential learning of the earlier phase. What’s most important in the very organic world of social networks, is patiently directing the movement, or progression from one stage to the next and not losing commitment to authentic community relationship-building in the quest for ROI.
I developed this model to support a practical approach to social media with recommendations including:
- Determine if and how social networks can help you grow your business and/or improve profitability.
- Accept the disruption resulting from a shift from seller to buyer power.
- Involve people in the decision making process who will challenge assumptions and habitual responses to change and disruption.
- Understand that it will take two years to measure returns on integrating social networks, whether external, internal (behind the firewall), or both.
- Model natural and authentic communications both offline and online and give incentives for participation.
- Don’t wait, over-plan, over-control, micro-manage or over-analyze. Adopt a test and learn approach to social networks.
- Be open-minded and creative about results and metrics you choose to track, knowing that you could get an unexpected equivalent result, or something even better.
- If the above don’t convince you, consider the cost to your business of doing nothing.
Social Networks: The Pre-requisites
September 18, 2008 by Mary Wynne-Wynter · Leave a Comment
Businesses of all sizes and industries, from solo firms to large corporations, are becoming increasingly interested in using social networks, both internally and externally, to build collaborative and conversational communities.
When I talk to owners, managers and executives about their approach and expectations, I often hear answers that combine elements of Web site initiatives and marketing campaigns. But social networks are about sharing and relationship building. A traditional approach will likely fail.
What I usually don’t hear is a deep understanding of why social networks make sense for them and how social networks are related to shifts in control of markets, knowledge, media and technology. Unlike pre-Web 2.0 online marketing, branding, communications and e-commerce, social networks initiatives bear little resemblance to traditional business and marketing models. Although its good to carefully and consciously experiment, a serious social network program requires that deep understanding as well as integrating a clear purpose and message in all content and communications.
I like the holon as a metaphor for an integral social network strategy.
Social Media Integral Strategy
A holon (Greek: holos, “whole”) is something that is simultaneously a whole and a part. The word was coined by Arthur Koestler in his book The Ghost in the Machine (1967, p. 48). Wikipedia
Whatever the planning process, a visual will ensure that strategy and execution is anchored to the underlying understanding and purpose. Simple questions should be asked at the outset and periodically, for example:
- Is this good for me?
- ….for us?
- ….for the community?
- ….for a greater good?
Once the purpose is clear, a road-map for short-term experiential learning, and long-term actionable metrics can be developed to direct your social networks to go the right way.
Naturally influence the sales call
August 25, 2008 by Mary Wynne-Wynter · Leave a Comment
If you’re in professional services you’re hearing some version of this when you make a sales call: “All this blogging and social networking and having conversations is too much work, too expensive, giving my expertise away for free and just another passing fad. I need to get good leads because I know I can close the business if I have the leads. So I want you to help me with a business development plan so that I meet my business and life goals and objectives.”
In the past, I’d be immediately mentally rehearsing my exit thinking “they’re clueless, don’t waste your time, there’s nothing here.” I’m now practicing a better response by being be present with, open to and curious about these potential clients. My approach is to meet them where they are and drop any attachment to getting their business. I don’t try to persuade them about anything, its futile. And I avoid getting drawn into long, detailed story and history, its meaningless.
What I commit to is understanding how a business owner responds to change out of old habit and then continually reinforces the counter-directing assumptions by endlessly, willfully and forcefully repeating them. “Push” is the modus operandi. But “push back” is no longer mine. That alone can shift the dynamic of the meeting and create an opening for inquiry, deep listening, re-framing and shared understanding. Whether new business results or not, positive fulfillment, often indirectly, unfailingly corresponds with my choice to be naturally influential, even when the sales call seems hopeless.
I may not get a new client, but I’ll definitely gain a new friend.
RedShift News
August 20, 2008 by Mary Wynne-Wynter · 1 Comment
RedShift Web 2.0
I’ve recently made significant changes (yup - again!) to my web site and blog and it may be of interest to those of you who are starting a new business needing online content or who are thinking of bringing your existing site(s) to another level. I’ll try to explain in the simplest, non-technical language as possible.
I decided 2 weeks ago to migrate to WordPress and to self host my blog. I’d previously used TypePad, a blog service. I was so impressed with its capabilities, that I decided to integrate my web site and my blog, bringing them both together in one WordPress site. Not only is it more professional looking and integrated, but it also provides a greatly enhanced architecture for Web 2.0 trends and search engine optimization. On top of that, its easier to maintain, manage and update, and its cool and fun which I like to be. Its no longer a big deal to add additional functionality (calendars, forums, social networking….you name it) and the capabilities are extensive.
Custom web design and programming is expensive for solo’s and small business and often does not really serve the purpose of building community and relationships. On the other hand, standardized applications, developed specifically for Web 2.0, provide a pre-built structure for doing just that. When business owners don’t have to deal with the mechanics, they can focus on education, collaboration and relationship building - the things that keep people coming back for more. Another huge advantage is that WordPress sites are developed to maximize search engine placement.
Although I’ve resisted doing Web site work for clients in the past, I believe that these great new web tools, combined with my strategy, writing and coaching skills, allow me to offer “my kind” of creative program that provides clients real value for a very reasonable investment. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!
I still have a few things on my new site to fix or complete. But I’m trying to adhere to a mantra that someone I respect recently posted: “better done than perfect”.
RedShift on Twitter
I’m now on Twitter and send out very short posts - information, ideas, inspiration. If you’d like to check it out, or if you’re interested in following me on Twitter, you can get my little snippets by email or on your cellphone. You may want to experiment with Twitter yourself. Like most Web 2.0, its very simple concept providing a lot of community development potential.
As always, thanks so much for your time, interest and feedback!
Optimize your content in the dead of winter
January 31, 2008 by Mary Wynne-Wynter · Comments Off
So this is a good example of how things evolve for a solopreneur. A few weeks ago, in response to some inquiries I had about the complexity of a generalist’s web site architecture, I wrote a blog and included a concept diagram using my web sites as an example. Note: I’m a firm believer in never waiting for a client to test a new idea; I always use myself and RedShift as a case study.
Around that time I was trying to get a handle on SEO/SEM, not so much because I planned to delve into it in a big way, I just have that kind of “need to know” personality, and I like to learn fast, in an experiential way. So, by extending the web architecture map, I was able to quickly get a good “view” of how my collection of online content could be optimized for SEO/SEM, both natural search and paid advertising. Coincidentally, I was contacted to do a paid (confidential) interview on SEO/SEM strategy. I pay attention to these kinds of synchronicities. As solo’s, we often have little else to help us sense we’re on the right track.
Well here I am three weeks later, having invested a great deal of time and effort, and happy with the results so far. I’d describe what I’ve accomplished, as critical “prerequisites” to the actual mechanics of SEO/SEM. And there’s an inherent paradox to these prerequisites and optimization: the more content you have the worse it is and the more content you have the better it is. I’m a generalist offering a range of programs and services, so I have a quite a bit of content. So it was a big job. But without depth of content, the opportunities for SEO/SEM are limited or non-existent. My #1 recommendation: content is king, create often, think iteration, not perfection.
The following broadly summarize my experience completing the prerequisites, although there was a lot of additional detail work.
1. Plenty of my content had to be written, re-written, cleaned up, tightened up and re-organized. There’s no shortcut; its just a lot of hard writing work.
2. My landing pages were not good, heinous actually, and what I expected them to do (i.e. conversion goals) was pretty ridiculous. They needed major re-work and re-thinking, but the writing was not so difficult and the concept diagrams provided a good guide.
3. Links matter, and I tripled mine by better linking all my web content assets together.
4. As the optimization work progressed, things that did not integrate tended to jump out. Some needed to be trashed, some needed to be re-grouped, some need to be re-placed. This was fairly major, affecting the programs and services that I offer. They were weaknesses that I knew existed but had pretty much ignored. I think making the changes was easier as part of the optimization prerequisites process.
So a colleague was shocked when I told him that I’d still not determined that small professional service providers with optimized content could get to the top of search rankings, or if paid search ads even made sense for solo psf’s. But you want to have the option because the potential for a more even playing field is still an unknown. An even more important, although unexpected result, is a body of content that’s now aligned with my business purpose and business model. And even better than that, I have new content, frameworks and programs to offer, based on what I’ve learned and the experience I’ve gained.
Technorati Tags:
marketing , solo professional service firm, optimization, SEO/SEM, content
RedShift eBook - The Seven Virtues of Change Leadership
January 2, 2008 by Mary Wynne-Wynter · Comments Off
How Executives Will Fill the Leadership Chasm and Transform Their Organizations
This is my first eBook and a labor of love created during the dead of winter 2008. My goal is simply to create a spark in people who are leading change initiatives, perhaps for the first time.
You can either download the pdf version or view the single page web version.
Download pdf file (1.1 mb)
Web version (no download)