I'm currently attending and speaking at the Marketing Profs B2B Digital Forum in Boston.  It's great to hook up with some old friends and colleagues and meet other friends face-to-face that I haven't had the pleasure of meeting with yet.   The session I'm doing is a Digital Media Makeover Session - a 75 minute live workshop looking at the comprehensive web, blog, Facebook, twitter, linked in, Wiki (and more) presences of two very different brands. It should be fun and we have a lot to cover.

So far, I sat in two great sessions.  The first, Enterprise Social Media with David Thomas and Mike Barlow raised some great issues individuals in B2B enterprise face when trying to embrace, execute and coordinate social media-driven activities.  I loved Christina Kerley's session on Mobile.  CK is a fount of knowledge and a fireball of energy that lights up a room.  I'm sitting here next to Paul Gillin (Doh!) and realized that my session runs concurrently with his and several other great ones!  Do you think it'd be terrible to hang up a sign outside the door that says "FREE BEER?"  I mean, no pressure or anything.

For the swarthy, motivated folks that show up, I'll be reviewing the digital media footprints of two brands in real time during my session.  The goal is to provide some customer-centric feedback that will help guide them as they take their presence to the next level, from streamlining specific paths to increase conversions and results or improving execution within digital properties like the Web, Blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc.  The good news is, for those that made the hard choice to see someone else over me -- any conference attendees that miss our session can re-stream it on the Marketing Profs site here.  ;-)

Today, I posted an interview with Melody Overton, on the Marketing Profs Daily Fix.  Melody is a non-profit lawyer who lives in Seattle. She has been running Starbucks Melody, an unofficial Starbucks fan blog since 2008.  I met Melody in a recent twitter chat, and was intrigued to know more about her brand advocacy for Starbucks and her mission as a dedicated fan blogger. You can check out that article as a precursor to reading this one, if you like, but it's not absolutely necessary.

Lately, I've been talking to more than my share of companies attempting to deal with online brand detractors and fans - especially bloggers. After all, they're not all as positive as Melody.  Without question, I feel the inclusion of the blogosphere in a Customer Listening Program is key to getting a handle on brand buzz. However, brands must do more than just monitor if they wish to encourage the efforts of brand evangelists, and neutralize (or even turn around) brand detractors.

Can detractors be turned around?  Well, Right Now (a client - disclosure) reports that 92% of consumers said they would be willing to go back to a brand after a negative experience if they simply:

• Received a follow up apology/correction from a supervisor/head office
• Were offered a discount
• Were offered proof of enhanced customer service

In a day and age where an average of 1560 people *may* hear about your customer experience failures, turning those detractors around can be a powerful thing.  But going beyond detractors, brands must also consider the power unsanctioned brand promoters have today.  We live in a post-Enron era, where consumer confidence is much higher for people than it is for brands. So, beyond neutralizing detractors, fortifying relationships with unofficial brand evangelists is should be a highly compelling focus.

I started thinking about how hard it is for many companies to know where to start when dealing with vocal, online, unsanctioned brand evangelists (and haters!).   Then today -- sitting in a hotel lobby,  I came up with Eight Tips for Managing Vocal, Digital Customers.  This places an emphasis on bloggers, intentionally, although there are plenty of vocal customers in many different social channels. I talk about some of those, too.  While I'm sure it's not exhaustive, I hope it's a good start and that you'll add your comments and feedback.

1. Survey the Landscape.
Conduct an analysis of the unofficial blogs and other destinations that show up on Google, Bing and Yahoo where people are talking about your brand. You might want to dig several pages deep into the search results a bit, or use creative terms like " sucks" or "I love ".  If you use reputation management software like Radian6 or Techrigy, this exercise becomes easier and more robust, allowing you can look at volume, traffic and number of mentions. You can even search for mentions by the same individual (by name or handle) across destinations, and identify trends for location, persona, sentiment, etc. As you find these digital hubs, you'll also begin to find your most vocal brand detractors and advocates.  

As you survey the landscape, I recommend adding the blogs you find to an RSS Reader, like Google Reader. This will help you track and access these blogs in the future.  Second, I recommend cataloging these sites in a comparison grid that records the name, link, number of pages, author information, domain information, contact information (and/or link) and many of the considerations I'll ask you to make below, so you'll have it readily available later on.  Creating a private Google spreadsheet works well, especially if you've got more than one person working on the assessment, or if you want to share the spreadsheet:  

2. Assess the Content.
Now examine the blog's content to assess quality, quanity, frequency of posting, activity and accuracy.  Add scores for these items to your grid, if you like. If the site isn't graphically beautiful, don't assume it isn't influential.  There are plenty of highly active, well trafficked ugly sites on the web.  Read the posts (especially any "most popular" content, if it's available to you) and how frequently the author posts.  Check out activity on posts - are there a ton of comments?  How do the posts score on Google?  Is the content syndicated on other sites, like Facebook or LinkedIn?

Most of the time, what you find on a site is merely speculation or criticism that may be otherwise present in traditional and digital channels.  In these cases, it’s probably not hurting anyone and you'll be forced to ask whether any misinformation warrants your attention or not.  If you do find significant misinformation, copyright issues or other infractions, reaching out first with a friendly, positive note or comment that addresses the misinformation usually goes far to remedy the situation. It also shows that your brand is listening and can help hold the author accountable in the future.

If you find a blog is giving out routine misinformation, stands in violation of copyright or trademark laws, or if someone has gotten a hold of insider trading information or sensitive information, it may be a serious problem. You'll want to address any serious problems with legal counsel, and resolve any leaks inside your company directly.  As merited, the brand can push harder using legal means to correct the misuse of intellectual property or brand assets, malice, slander or misinformation that can negatively impact the brand..  

By spending a little time, it's possible to sort through active posts for new ideas, trends, areas of specific concern or passion.  This may stimulate new ideas, or draw the brand's attention to new areas for exploration. The blog's content may stimulate questions on the part of the brand, as well. For example, spending time looking through StarbucksMelody's blog, for example, you'll find a ton of comments and activities around Starbucks Mug collections as well as terrific feedback about the recent logo change. 

3. Generally Classify Sentiment.  
I'm not a fan of sentiment rankings using software because they rely on natural language queries that can be inaccurate. As you attempt to weigh sentiment, therefore, I encourage a lot of sampling, digging and reading. Many sites contain a "mixed bag" of feedback - and it's important to get a feel for the character and nature of each one in order to be fair minded about your future outreach or approach to them.  Note the overall personality of the blog.  Is it fun, irreverent, evangelistic, snarky or mean-spirited?  How has it changed over time?  On your grid, you can align the sites to a sentiment ranking on a spectrum from 1-5, positive to negative, adding notes and disclaimers as needed.

As you assess sentiment, you will also begin to identify individuals (authors, commentators) that are more  active and vocal than others.  Catalog these individuals on your grid is important, as well.  While manually, it can be difficult to get an accurate handle on the most vocal -- but you'll  begin to notice trends (both positive and negative) in tone and pattern over time. Using reuptation monitoring software can help you examine the content a single individual has left, over time and across digital "hubs".  If possible, probe into their histories of the most prominent individuals with your company and find out about their past experiences with your brand.  For example, if an individual is a high profile brand detractor who has been offended, and no amends have been made -- maybe there's room for relationship repair. 

4. Examine Potential "Influence."  
I was going to stay away from this term because of the way it is used and misused in social media circles today.  However. influence, as a measure of how much of an impact an individual *may* have on your target audience, is exactly what we're trying to get a handle on here.  Unfortunately, there is no magic tool or formula that will accurately tell you how much influence an individual may have - and an individual's influence is likely to shift and change over time.

Nevertheless, it's important to attempt to understand the following, level of engagement, voice and following a brand evangelist or detractor has.  If an individual has started a blog with successful and significant following (as measured by traffic, social following, mentions, search engine listings), they're more likely to be more influential than say, a regular commentator on a blog.  If they've successfully kicked off a movements, like a boycott or event -- or if they've influenced "trending" or created a "critical mass" of comments or activity on a digital hub, they're likely to have some influence. If they are a notable public personality or "friends" with notable public personalities, they may carry more influence. What you're trying to do here is determine who has more critical mass -- and potential influence for, or against your brand online.  You can align an individual's potential influence rankings on your grid on a 1-5 spectrum, as well.  Just keep in mind that influence tends to shift and change over time, sometimes very rapidly.

If you aren't using a Reputation Management tool, there are a myriad of free tools that can help you examine the influence of brand promoters and detractors. Check out blog traffic on compare.com or Alexa.  See if there's an active Twitter or Facebook following but keep in mind that it's easy to "buy" followers -- and a large following is not an indicator of influence. Look for the level of mutual  engagement the individual has with their online audience, and how engaged the individual's audience is.  You can do this by looking for active dialog on the blog, as well other social sites. You may examine retweets (RT's), comments and mentions over time.

I'm not a big fan of using Klout to measure "influence," for a number of reasons. However, seeing if a brand detractor or promoter has a Klout Score is one way of examining how socially engaged a person is.  An individual's level of social engagement may indeed be a greater indication of influence. Use all the tools at your disposal, plus your own common sense, to develop a high level understanding of how influential your promoters and detractors may be. This will give you a better understanding of the potential influence these individuals have, and help you prioritize your outreach approach.

5. Sort & Prioritize.  
Examine your grid and add an "Action" and "Priority" column.  Put notations on any site or individual that requires follow up with any critical issues that require immediate attention. Prioritize the rest and align the most appropriate response to each outpost or individual on the list.  For example, your "Action" column may include next steps like "Contact Legal", "Send Friendly Correction Note", "Leave Comment on " , "Thank You eMail", "Make Amends".  You may want to add certain individuals or blog sites (as some blogs have multiple authors) into a Campaign, such as a "Neutralize Detractors" campaign.  You might want to "Add to Blogger Outreach Program", which brings me to my next point.

6. Plan Your Outreach. 
A good blogger outreach program focuses on encouraging and fueling the activities of brand advocates while turning around or neutralizing brand detractors. It should not - and I repeat NOT - consist of merely adding the bloggers to the distribution list for your press releases or including them on a list of bad PR pitches that fail to consider their unique bent, interests or angle.  The latter, in fact, is likely to make you the butt of a joke instead of the recipient of praise.  Instead, a good blogger outreach program is heavily goal and objective driven, and sufficiently focused on both detractors and promoters, and is accompanied by measures that will help quantify outcomes.

Approaching detractors is best done on a case-by-case basis and is generally a very "high touch" activity.  Before approaching detractors, it's essential consider that  lending a brand's official response may elevate attention to a blogger's cause, and a poor response may escalate a volatile situation.  Two examples of this include Amazon's recent response to a book for pedophiles as well as the "Motrin Moms" scandal.  In some cases, a response is warranted and timeliness is critical - in other cases, saying nothing (or little) may be in order.  In general brands often benefit by demonstrating actively listening and a willingness to positive and negative feedback, as Domino's Pizza Turnaround Campaign reflects.  In some cases, however, some bloggers are proud of the distinction they have earned by being detractors, and have no intention of turning things around.  There are a number of different cases to consider.  This is why developing a decision and response tree that includes an escalated path for crisis management for dealing with detractors is critical to a successful outreach program.

Approaching brand advocates is certainly more happy business.  In general, blogger outreach programs are listening focused, personal, transparent (to the degree that brands can be) and not overly "sell" or "self" focused can create healthy connections with brand advocates that generate even more positive and more accurate dialog.  Giving bloggers a personal contact inside the organization (or an email address where they can ask questions) can create an open, healthy dialog that mitigates risk and allows individuals to conduct fact checks with the brand.  Touching base periodically with bloggers makes it easier to spread the word about new developments, products and activities that are relevant to them. This can be done by email, phone, through online events (e.g. web conferences) and real-world events.  Bloggers are always looking for inspiring new content to write about. However, it's important not to be perceived as hijack or control the content on a blogger's site and to always express gratitude for positive and negative feedback.

When it's appropriate, brands may also send test product or incentives to blog about. Larger brands have been doing blogger focused campaigns for years. For example, Ford's Fiesta Movement and Global Drive Event are two, highly popular campaigns.  Just remember that such provisions (trips, perks, samples, product, etc.) must be actively disclosed by the bloggers based on FCC regulations.

6. Engage! 
You don't have to wait for a fully initiated plan to engage with brand promoters or detractors.  This is where common sense comes in.  Working within the conscience and communications policies of your company, you might just consider dropping certain authors an email, or leave a comment on the blog. Thank the author for posts that properly represent the brand. Make your presence known! Your brand's participation doesn’t necessarily “endorse” the blog but shows you are paying attention and that you are engaged. This almost always lends credibility to brands with the engaged audience.  You don’t have to comment on every post or piece of misinformation. Stick up for the brand and clarify when necessary but don’t dive into a hornet's nest of contention unless it's absolutely necessary.

7. Monitor and Measure.
As I've mentioned repeatedly, listening is key but measuring the success of your outreach program is also important.  I'm a big fan of monitoring technologies such as Radian 6 and Techrigy as well as business intelligence and data mining tools like Clarabridge (disclosure, this is another client).  Use social monitoring tools to keep an eye on the blogs focused on your brand. Take a deeper look at natural language trending to get a finger on the pulse of your extended community. Keep your grid updated, and be sure you're measuring outcomes, such as increases in mentions by topic, increasing positive mentions, detractor conversions, etc.  Your individual measures should tie directly to the objectives you assembled for your blogger outreach plan and be as measurable as possible, and will be customized for your company based on your goals and objectives. 

8.  Learn & Respond! 
 Remember that while you may have your own channels and tools to measure the pulse of customers -- the people that gravitate there may not be the same people who gravitate to other digital outposts where your brand is discussed.  Keep an open mind, open eyes and you just may learn something new, and be prepared to respond by adding something new, enhancing your experience, etc.  For example, Starbucks recently responded to their vocal online and offline audience by making Wifi free.  The action your brand takes will often speak more loudly than your words.  There’s a lot to be learned from the free-expression of your customers on unsanctioned sites and blogs. You might be surprised at the ideas you find, and the new relationships you may build that can tell you something about your audience you didn't know.

So there you have it.  Eight tips for dealing with Brand Promoters and Detractors, with an emphasis on bloggers... drafted hastily in the lobby of a Santa Cruz hotel.  Your input -- additions, comments are most certainly welcome and appreciated!

Two years ago at an industry event, an executive from a major airline told me frankly the company would  NEVER go live on a platform like Twitter. “It’s Pandora’s Box” the executive exclaimed as we sipped glasses of wine, "There's no way we'd be on Twitter."  I felt my eyes widen as I responded:

I understand your concerns, and here's the problem with this thinking: “Pandora’s Box” is already OPEN!  Conversations about your brand are happening, right now, without you on the social grid. You can stick your head in the sand like an ostrich, but will only be a matter of time before the audience will demand your response. Wouldn’t it be better to enter the discussion proactively? Will it take a crisis to drag you into the conversation?  Can’t you see that these tools, like the Internet – have the potential to strategically extend your business – specifically in the area of Customer Service?

While my thoughts admittedly made a dent in this executive’s conscience – they didn’t make a dent in the company’s approach. Sadly, within a year, United Airlines was dragged into the open - totally unprepared - as Dave Carroll’s song, “United Breaks Guitars” became an overnight, viral phenomenon.



Prior to the summer of 1999, few people knew who Dave Carroll was. United Airlines did, but they didn’t seem to care – even though he’d been working to gain resolution on a customer service issue with United for almost a year. Dave had a band with a small following. He didn’t have a Top Marketing Blog listed in Ad Age’s Power 150. He didn’t boast more than 5,000+ Twitter followers or a kick butt Facebook Fan Page. In short, by current standards, Dave Carroll wasn’t an “influencer.”

United didn’t flinch when he warned them that, if he could not get satisfactory response, he would write a series of songs about United’s poor service and post them on You Tube for open consumption, votes and ratings.  Perhaps United believe him. Perhaps they didn’t care because they were locked in the world of policy and procedure. Perhaps someone just decided that Dave Carroll didn’t really matter.

But boy, did he turn out to be influential.

It’s been a year and I’m resurrecting an old story by Internet standards.  However, I'm doing so because I think Dave’s story illustrates some points about “influence” that many of the pundits in social media don’t seem to actively consider; primarily the fact that, in the present economy – and with a totally unstable level of predictability -- almost anyone can become an influential force overnight. Dave Carroll was an ordinary guy with a simple recipe:

• A good story, artfully told
• A clear plight or frustration that resonated with others
• Access to / proficiency with You Tube and other social tools
• Creativity and personality
• Some good friends
• A little dumb luck

So if we know this, why don’t we treat people better?


Today, I leave you with this thought, but I’m following up with another “People Matter” post. Until then, consider Dave's lesser known "Video 3" from the United Trilogy. For those of you who suffer from short attention spans, my favorite part of this video occurs at (:50 – 2:10 minutes) where he makes some good points about customer service:



Companies:  How does your company treat people like they matter? How do you use market segment, CLV, influence measures to enhance the service or experience you provide?

Consumers: How do the brands you support make you feel valued and respected?  How much of this is "going beyond the call of duty" vs. "providing a base level of good service"?

All:  This "broke" Dave Carroll's career.  So, what do you think of his (relatively) new, non-musical, customer experience venture "The Right Side of Right?"   Check it out and weigh in!

I was recently followed by a CMO of a huge corporation. Let's call him @CMOJOE. On Friday, out of the blue -- without any past contact, he DM'd me on Friday, actively promoting what I feared was a course in SEO magic...but turned out to be his book.

CMOJOE: LivePath Wow! @booktitle made TheDailyBeast-This Week's Hot Reads list, is #261 today on Amazon & #9 on "Mover &Shaker" List! http://bitlylinktobookthaticouldnotrecognize

Now, maybe it's just me, but his approach felt invasive to me.  I didn't know the guy. He'd never talked to me before. I didn't know he wrote a book.  It was a bit like the Twitter equivalent of accepting a first date and being groped on the spot. Irritated, I DM'd him back:

Livepath: Did someone hack your account, or are you actually DM Spamming me?

He didn't respond. I checked his Twitter stream and noted that I was not the only person who was irritated by the DM approach.  It doesn't seem he responded to everyone - but there was a lot of action in his tweet stream.  The responses he did send seemed a little brusque to me. Here were a few tweet "leftovers" I found:

CMOJOE: @personsname (It's) called communication - how else (to) reach you?


CMOJOE: @personsname You may call it that. I call it a DM. I sent it.


CMOJOE: @personsname on the issue... one thing i can tell u, DM's do work, big time. Some "rules" are not fully worked out, hence the comments.

In all fairness, i didn't have time to cross references his responses to the original responses. What I saw on the surface seemed, however, brusque and unapologetic. I was past really caring, and posted a single tweet on the topic without naming my offender:

Livepath:  CMO of major corporation is auto DM Spamming me about his new book. Had never engaged with me before now. UNFOLLOW!

This didn't elicit a response from CMOJOE.  However, I did hear from some other Twitter folks who put some virtual pieces together and responded to me via @ and DM.


One tweeter questioned the "ethics" of CMOJOE's action (I don't think this is an ethics issue, incidentally). Others sent me thoughts and links to articles. All were equally turned off by CMOJOE's approach.


One individual pointed me to the "I hate Auto DMs on Twitter" Facebook Fan page, pointing out that CMOJOE was, curiously, a member. While, as of this writing, he seems to have discontinued "liking" this page, he did leave a post on the Page's Wall, which clearly states

"I put the auto DM people on my definition of a twanker! Despise auto DM's!"

Another user pointed out to me a post CMOJOE authored on the blog for his (former) large corporation --railing against "twankers" whom he defines as:

"Twanker (noun) a person, organization, or company who uses bad form on or exhibits bad behavior on Twitter."

 
Another tweeter pointed me to an early release article stating that CMOJOE had resigned his position with major corporation to pursue full-time promotion of his book, "which was becoming a full time job."


Still another tweeter sent me a link to an article in a major publication, announcing CMOJOE's intent to launch into a television career:

"The gregarious executive, 49, tells me he has been approached 'by a lot of people to do TV' and he is now hashing out the details of a show, which could be on the air by fall, if not sooner."

Another sent another major media article to me about his resignation, which reads:

"(Huge Corporation CEO) knew he planned to leave the company this year. He decided recently to accelerate his departure. He plans to leave the company May 28.... (CMOJOE) says he will keep promoting himself and his projects through social media channels."

The press helped me fit some pieces together:  His book was doing well and he's moving on quicker than expected. All the more reason to aggressively push the book. Throw in a television deal... Okay - got it.
 
Later on, I saw that CMOJOE had become a last minute speaker at a conference that evening, and had spent 40 minutes on the topic with a passionate audience. I didn't have time to do anything other than retroactively scan some of the tweets from that session, and I don't like to formulate opinions when I'm not present for discussion. So, to avoid relying on hearsay, potential misquotes or information presented with a lack of context, I waited for some indication of personal concern from CMOJOE.

Maybe the message was sent in poor judgment... or maybe CMOJOE is a "twanker," to use his own term. The jury was still out for me.What do you think?

I admit, that when I have wanted some input, I've pinged a few friends via DM for attention... but it's always been a selective few... and I do it in a manner I hope doesn't feel like spam...typically these are people who are trusted sounding boards, and folks I do the same for on occasion. 

What would you do if, never hearing from before, you were sent CMO Joe's tweet?  Is it right or wrong to DM self-promotional messages to your follower list?  Where do you draw the line?  Do you use "Auto Bots?"  Thoughts?  

1. EMBRACE DUTY & CALLING: Super Heroes possess a sense of duty and calling - and at some point in their journeys, are forced to act upon their calling and/or to use their powers for good. They are called to an unusual life, marked by duty, sacrifice and hard work. In parallel, Super Marketers cannot sit on their laurels within a traditional comfort zone. They must choose to accept the higher calling, stepping out of the crowd to embrace non-traditional principles for success.
2. EXHIBIT SELFLESSNESS: Super Heroes always act in the service and best interest of others. In the same manner, Super Marketers demonstrate an "outside in" focus that stresses the experience of prospects and customers rather than the "inside realities" of the organization. Rather than being overly caught up in the corporate dogma, or the plight of the organization, Super Marketers demonstrate a passion and dedication to champion the needs of customers as the brand's best asset. They embrace the fact that consistently positive customer experience is a key element of positive brand recognition, as well as bottom line performance.  They also embrace a servant-leader role within the enterprise, helping facilitate collaboration and cooperation across the corporation.
3. BE BRAVE: Super Heroes do not bury their heads in the sand, but face their fears by assessing challenges head on. In parallel, Super Marketers cannot cringe in the light of a poor economy and the overwhelming onslaught of digital/social channel proliferation. Instead, they must weigh the realities and impacts of next-generation marketing and develop a clear action plan to meet new challenges head on. This includes the need for new interactive and technical skills and core competencies. Super Marketers always respond by taking action with boldness. They understand that failure is an option, doing their best to mitigate risk, learn quickly and improve over time.
4. DEVELOP YOUR SUPER SENSES: Super Heroes gain mastery over their powers through diligence and practice, and often in an "immersive" fashion. In exercising their powers, they often discover new abilities -- or ways to use their existing powers -- in surprisingly useful and advantageous ways. In the same manner, Super Marketers must embrace new skills -- and immerse themselves in new with active testing, use and measured experimentation. The learning cycle (about customers, markets, technologies and best practices) is critical to developing brawn and muscle. Failure is a critical element of success, and should be managed with grace and a determination to succeed the second time around.
5. GET A SIDEKICK (OR TWO): It's hard to go it alone, and that's where a supporting cast fits in. Batman had two sidekicks: Robin, who helped provide on-site supportt, and Alfred Pennyworth, Butler by day and inventor by night, he built the Bat Mobile, utility belts and other gadgets in addition to managing Bat Cave operations.  Both sidekicks had important roles to play -- and both saved Batman's bootie on multiple occasions. In the same fashion, Super Marketers need back up, education, information, training, insight, outside services and occasionally -- rescue! Finding ethical, trust worthy, reliable counsel and service from reliable consultants and agencies can be an important ingredient for success. Keep in mind, that Super Heroes are always on-call and assume full ownership of their duties -- they never outsource their responsibilities. In like manner, Super Marketers recognize that while outsourced support plays an important role, it is unwise to become overly reliant on such support.
6. HARNESS "SUPER TOOLS": Whether it's the super vehicle, a utility belt, a golden lasso, or protective cape Super Heroes call upon a host of tricky technologies to help them execute more efficiently and gain a competitive edge over the enemy. These tools help the Super Hero be proactive, and are developed in anticipation of "Super Needs". Super Marketers must carefully examine what's missing from the customer experience, take inventory of the tools at their disposal and use these tools to improve the brand experience for prospects and customers. This is especially true with regard to the many, lower cost, socially driven technologies that can improve response time, communication and dialog, whether it's Twitter for Customer Service, Facebook for lead generation and relationship-building, or YouTube and rich media to stimulate SEO, interaction and education or a tool like Foursquare or other mobile apps. Super Marketers find ways to harness these tools, incorporate them into the plan of attack and weave them into a cohesive experience that helps them drive desired outcomes.
7. DRESS TO IMPRESS: The Super Hero is always appropriately in character. There's always a mask, a costume, a concealed identity and a sense of professionalism. However, while Super Heroes are always personable, they are not always personal.  The costume or motif represent brand identity.  The entity -- and the actions of the entity -- wearing the costume represent the customer experience (products, services and customer interactions).  Super Marketers embrace the importance of brand identity, and the power of personable brand extension, they also understand the importance of developing a unique voice - especially in the era of Social Media. However, beyond "packaging" they understand the only true way to win the regard of the people is through consistently positive, and professional delivery.  The costume that oversells what's inside makes the hero seem ridiculous. In the same manner, corporate missteps and wrongdoing tear, soil and shred brand identity. Super Marketers work tirelessly to ensure the branded experience exceeds people's expectations, extending a personable voice and persona in the marketplace that is always professional.
8. RESPOND RAPIDLY & EFFICIENTLY: While answering the urgent call-to-action, Super Heroes rarely "trip over their tights." Demonstrating consistent preparation for the unexpected, they are nimble, agile, forward-thinking, proactive, well rehearsed, and have mastered their skills for maximum response. This is a dramatic contrast to the "reactive" positioning that afflicts many marketing divisions today. Super Marketers are always proactive, scanning the foreground for trends, topics, conversations and issues that either welcome or demand engagement. They act in a manner that elicits maximum response, in accordance with brand, voice and professional conduct standards and established policies. They move quickly to answer market opportunity and respond to challenging situations, turning negatives into positives.
9. BEWARE OF PITFALLS! Every Super Hero has a weakness, or has fallen for a beautiful decoy or deceivingly packaged bomb. For example, Superman knows the sparkle of and magnetic power of kryptonite, which feels like "home" but has a horribly debilitating power. In a similar manner, the rhythmic pattern of task-based focus, rather than strategic focus can be mesmerizing for the Marketer. There are a host of other of operational pitfalls that are easy to get caught in that are unique to each organization and culture. These traps have a neutralizing effect on Super Powers. Super Marketers must work ardently to avoid being trapped by the status quo and be aware of task-based thinking that forces them into a tactical, reactive mode. They must find creative ways to surmount obstacles, bypass pitfalls and deliver value to prospects and customers with steadfast grace.
10. NEUTRALIZE YOUR NEMESES: Super Heroes destroy the terrible, the troublesome and all things evil. Sometimes the enemy is external -- and sometimes Super Heroes battle a dark side, within.  Super Marketers are realistic about their own personal challenges as well as organizational issues that may thwart success. They work actively to grow beyond and rise above these problems by crushing ignorance, "inside-out" thinking, poor cross-organizational collaboration, poor integration and addressing leaders who encourage silo-based activities and "one-off" thinking. They work actively with executive leadership to neutralize the enemies of good customer experience, and insist on ownership, customer-focused thinking with an eye to the future and a vision for success.

• The One Trick Wonder is all show and no substance, claiming broad expertise but proving to be narrow and limited
• The Outright Liar is crafty and deceptive. He lacks the practical experience and knowledge to teach you what you don't already know and will cost you plenty until you figure this out
• The Lifetime Consultant who has never owned or managed a business - yet claims to know yours and how to fix it
• The Schmooze Puppy is handsome, fascinating and fun - and will selll you tricky projects that are equally pretty -- but also costly, time consuming, expensive and which provide limited ROI
• The "Strategerist" cannot build or execute but knows how to create great looking power point documents with broad, sweeping goals. Typically attacks and retreats
• The Builder who likes to build stuff -- that may not work with other "stuff" or in concert with a strategy
• The Delegator can't build anything or deliver anything, but can talk a good game and "knows people"
• The Glossy Analyst makes way more money than you do -- by asking you questions and writing about your success
• The Mental Mentor is highly esteemed -- in his/her own mind. This hype driven expert creates other experts, through paid seminars, webinars, extended courses and certification in just "x" days for "x" dollars.
• The Career Acrobat has taken Mental Mentor's course and has shifted careers to focus on (pick a topic above) and is now an expert and authority in all things

The last few posts have outlined some thoughts on the subject of Transparency. This generated some input from a few friends on the issue of "Authenticity."

One buddy stressed how important it is to demonstrate authenticity within emerging channels - specifically within social media. I thought about this a little, and I have a slightly different take on the matter.

I think we're already seeing a ton of authenticity in emerging media. For the observant, social media makes it relatively easy to piece together a somewhat realistic view of what goes on - or the thinking of various people and brands.

The problem is, not all of it is authentically good. There are a ton of people and companies being real out there. I'm not sure people always want to see real... because sometimes, reality bites!

• Hey, Cool Thought Leader: I don't want to find out you work in your momma's attic in your boxers and eating Cheetos as you crank out amazing insight. I'd rather have the illusion of a casual professional in an internet cafe or something.
  
• Hey, "Expert": I don't want to hear you yapping constantly about how great you are - or telling me to find out for myself by buying your sensational eBook for just $29.95. If you're that great, lemme hear it from others.
  
• Hey, Big Company: It's nice that you're fighting hunger in Africa with your $20 million dollar donation ... but you just laid off 5,000 American workers. :-(
  
• Hey, Huge Brand: I don't want to know that your social media outreach is being run by interns who love Gossip Girl, reality television and clubbing.

Seriously, some of what we're seeing is authentically bad stuff ... authentically ego-centric...authentically self-serving garbage. Further, too much reality can be a bad thing. We don't need more of this.

Without a doubt, we all love authentic good: Especially when it's not misleading or a smoke screen for the bad; Especially if it involves daisies, puppies and children. Authentically good stuff makes people feel better about interacting with you or your brand. It brings them back for more, and encourages them to tell others about your greatness.

At the same time, there are probably some authentically bad aspects of each one of us that might be better left unseen... or dare I say it -- repented of and remedied! ;-)

In the end, I'm sticking to my assertion that in emerging channels, people only want a level of insight into you that makes them feel more secure and confident investing themselves as your friend. (Note: Investment = giving you their time, attention, follows, engagement, recommendations, ranking, referrals, sharing your content, purchasing, etc.)

Strike this balance and you're off to a great start.

In my last post, I tried to define this notion of "transparency" as context for a few other posts. Smart companies understand that emerging channels demand a greater level of openness and transparency than we have historically provided to customers. They embrace the pressure to perform well in highly visible channels - using it as impetus to identify broken aspects of customer experience and fix things -- rather than continue the way they always have. They recognize the opportunity these channels present to serve customer needs, build stronger relationships and strengthen brand affinity.

A number of brands do this well today. On Twitter alone, it's easy and fun to engage with brands like @zappos @comcastcares , @southwestair @virginamerica @dell and others. Check out Best Buy CMO Barry Judge's blog and the activities at both My Starbuck's Idea and Best Buy's Idea Exchange for crowd-sourcing and customer co-creation. None of these brands claim they get it right all the time. But when they do mess up, it's refreshing to them say, say "Hey - sorry we messed up!" "We're learning." "Here's what we're doing about this problem." and "Here's how we'll make it right.". It's awesome to talk to companies who embrace responsibility as they work to help create satisfied customers. For these companies, transparency is a friend.

Unfortunately, conpanies like these are still the exception, rather than the rule in most emerging media channels. The truth is, many companies who have become active in social media (blogging, twitter, facebook, etc.) will privately admit to being terrified of having an increased level of transparency with customers.

While it's natural to have a healthy fear of increased exposure, some companies become so preoccupied with looking transparent and authentic, they lose focus completely. In an effort to use these channels to generate PR and spin, they may fail to engage as the medium demands: becoming more open and accessible; harnessing the power of the tools to bolster service and support; building relationships and driving brand advocacy. For these companies, transparency becomes the enemy.

We don't need to mention names ... Do a quick audit yourself of the posts, tweets and status updates of a few major brands. It doesn't take more than a page or two to figure out who's really tapped in to their network and who is not. Check for dialog. Check for responses, and look at how the posts are worded. Is there conversation? Resolution? Are they broadcasting 140 character versions of press releases? Do you feel like you're being force fed a marketing campaign in tiny little chunks? Are they attempting to buy followers? Are they focused on quality interactions? Do you recognize people? Does the chatter seam meaningful? It's pretty easy to tell where the brand is at. Next, ask yourself: "Would I follow this brand?" If you wouldn't -- take note of why and remember it.

This isn't just about corporations, but the agencies that serve them, as well. Ad Age did a fantastic piece this week highlighting the hypocrisy of agencies promoting Twitter. And that's just scratching the surface of a pandemic of agency hypocrisy in emerging media. In many cases, the lights are on, but nobody's home.

What surprises me is how easily companies and agencies forget that people don't necessarily want to have love affairs with brands. In truth, people care really care most about themselves and having their needs met. They care about being heard, and responded to. They want to feel valued and recognized. They want to know others care. They often seek relationships with other people who make them feel good about themselves. They love brands because they meet and exceed their expectations. These tools pose tremendous opportunity to meet those needs. However, it seems some companies think just being present is "good enough".

To be clear, being present in social media is not the same as establishing an effective presence. Broadcasting messages en mass within intimate digital channels isn't going to win coveted relationships. Shucking off customer issues, suggestions and recommendations isn't going to win friends. Ignoring people or their comments, is in fact is going to alienate customers and prospects. Yet it's happening all over within emerging media channels... as the world watches. For companies who do this -- transparency is your enemy.

Customers can see exactly where the heart of the brand lies by the focus, content and intention of their emerging media content. It's okay to approach these channels with caution... but the world is watching. Don't just stand there and spin... engage, provide service, add value, meet needs, co-create and give back. Turn that ship around and give people something positive and remarkable to discuss!

There's a lot of talk in marketing and social media circles today about the concept of "transparency." I use the term myself -- usually when trying to explain the impact of digital and social media to my clients. These technologies tend to expose the soft underbellies of our companies, by providing customers with greater visibility and more intimate knowledge of our brands, employees, products, services and operations. As a result, we are forced to work in a more transparent manner to address customer needs across a spectrum of online and offline channels.
That makes a bit of sense, I hope.

The problem is, the way most people are using the word "transparent" in this medium today feels terribly inauthentic to me -- as if we will all become as clear as glass, someday. The truth is, while these new channels force us to be more transparent, we will always seek a degree of opacity. Call it a fig leaf to cover our nakedness; a closet for our skeletons; or an illusion of transparency.

Will we ever become truly transparent? I think not. We've all got some damage; some ugly we're trying to hide. We've all got things that need to be fixed. Stuff that perhaps it's better others do not see. Do we want everyone to know our business? Nope.

So when we use the term transparent, what we're really striving for is balance -- creating an acceptable level of honest visibility for customers, which makes us more real and more accessible to them. This helps customers understand our plight as we attempt to service their needs, while providing enough opacity to shield us from over exposure.

Sounds a bit like dating, to me.

What do you think?

I'm going to write a bit more about companies that fight transparency in my next post. Stay tuned.

Ad age reported today that Kraft/Digiorno Pizza and Weber Shandwick PR have teamed on the launch of Digiorno's new Flatbread Pizzas. Digiorno will deliver free pizzas to tweetups in LA, New York and Chicago. The Twitter component is part of a national launch involving print and television. The announcement highlights the brand's plans to reach out to "influential" tweeters.

Okay - I think this is a GREAT idea. Tweeters are vocal, fiercely loyal and when you get us together, it's even better. Get a great idea out - make us love your product and we'll push the good news up the flagpole. We love brands that love us, and nothing says love like schwag, food and conversation! Yay!

The thing is, there seem to be quite a few challenges with execution here that are worth highlighting. To ensure success, here's some Live Path advice for any brand planning a campaign with a Twitter-driven social media component like DiGiorno:

1. Define "influence" in advance. The Digiorno There's no definition of what "influence" is. I find it hard to believe they'll be launching this without that definition in place. The article eludes to number of followers - but any veteran on twitter will attest to the sheisters out there who have numbers but LITTLE dialog or influence. Brands should look at followers against the backdrop of other elements, like overall voice (on Twitter and other social networks), reach (comments, re-tweets, links in), affiliations (e.g. social media club, DMA, others) and activity (travel, conferences, speaking where word may be spread).
   
2. Establish Your Angle(s). Beyond influence and geography, it's important to think about specialization/demographic. Social Media makes it easy to target individuals with specific areas of influence. Walmart and 800-FLOWERS are just two brands that have actively targeted Mommy Bloggers. I'm friends with a few of the Walmart 11 moms - and a few have frugal living columns. SXSW featured a panel with Chris Brogan and others called "Dad is the New Mom." I have a fun cadre of foodies in my Tweetdeck group. It's important to define the angle you're going to "shoot from" for "focused tweets." For example, for Digiorno, I would ask the following: Is your angle economics, making mom or dad's life easier, or great tasting pizza... or all of the above. Choose a mix that matters most to generate the best word-of-mouth!
   
3. Challenge Geographical Constraints. Don't assume you'll find the best and most influential tweeters for your brand will be found in LA, New York and Chicago - there are plenty of active, chatty hubs in other areas of the country, as well. If your product is aces for middle-american housewives - go get 'em! Targeting is not dead -- in fact it's even easier with social media.
4. Make it Easy to Get Involved. The article on Ad Age provides no way for people to engage with Digiorno. There's no page on the website - no available URL that details the new program. What happens if an influential tweeter reads this and says "I have an influential tweetup this week! I want Pizza!!" How do they make their case to Kraft? At a minimum, brands should offer a web page with details and criteria. Better yet -they're wise to add some comment functionality to the announcement page, allowing people to nominate themselves or their events in a visible way to others.
   
5. Tweet Unto Others. There's not one Twitter profile listed in the Kraft/Weber article on Ad Age. Furthermore, after some searching on Twitter, it seems Kraft is relatively unprepared to meet people from a brand perspective on Twitter. (Administering slap to PR agency hand!) This should have been handled before the release is sent out. When I looked on Twitter @kraft pulled up a person's profile with a link to an article about dead man's sperm. Nice! When I looked up @digiorno two accounts were listed -- without any followers, branded icons OR tweets. That's a shame because it's not hard to lay this groundwork. Put up a clever, branded icon. Seed your accounts with some tweets and information- engage some people in dialog on Twitter to create a tweet history in advance of any press releases. Oh - and while I'm on the subject - follow Twitter best practices. Do not use Twitter to BROADCAST your brand message. Simply tell people about the promotion, ask them what they think and create an open line of communication with the twitterverse. Finally, remember that once you are finished with your campaign - you're not finished on Twitter. Develop a plan for how your brand will continue on Twitter after your campaign is over.
   
6. Consolidate #Results. Do you want to demonstrate participation and make it easier to track word of mouth and discussion regarding your campaign? Why not create a hashtag to track buzz and centralize dialog about your promotion? It would be relatively easy to give something away for free with a simple request like this: "Participants will merely be asked to include "#digiorno in their tweet updates during the event".
7. Focus Beyond Tweets. Just because the campaign component is Twitter focused, your scope should not be limited to Twitter alone. You'll want to look at follow-up posts (like this one) and articles on popular sites and blogs - and you should be sure to comment on posts, and respond to tweets, as well. Recognize that everything starts the minute the press release goes out ... and promotion continues as campaigns ensue. "Shout out" the quick wins and results on the fly (e.g. Announced yesterday and 1000 people signed up!) to encourage follow up posts and mentions. Reward the people who volunteer but don't get selected with consolation prizes, like coupons or schwag. Take a page from Dell or Zappos and celebrate success publicly. Publish a post or rich media case study to highlight lessons learned and celebrate success. You don't have to tell all -- just tell enough to communicate success or how you have learned.
8. Immerse Yourself. Brands that want to foster dialog through campaigns like this should be careful not to miss the boat by acting like an old school marketer in a new media culture. The old models are dead on new media. Social Media Marketing is about , authenticity, relationship and dialog. It's not enough to just send free food or schwag! You must be present. While you can't be everywhere, you can target a few larger events and send a "brand agent"to listen and engage with your influentials. Make sure they fit in with the culture/bias of the group that is meeting. Make sure the agent asks attendees about themselves and what they think. Listen and respond positively. Be authentic, reflect the social media culture (and be sure to tweet remarks from the event yourself!)

I"m sure there's more to say on this topic, but I'm attempting to be brief here. Feel free to add your comments about how to create success with programs like these. Thanks for listening!

Giving a friendly hat tip to my twitter pal, @asfaq for pointing out to me tonight that Intel has a publicly available Social Media policy.

This is quite a contrast to other companies, like Johnson and Johnson, who doesn't yet have a publicly available policy, or set of social media guidelines or policies for their business. However, to be fair, it's harder for any company in pharmaceuticals to publish anything publicly - or to engage in social media due to heavy government regulation and HIPAA.

But I digress. Intel's guidelines are a breath of fresh air!

At a time when so many people are free to point out what companies are doing WRONG in social media, Intel's approach is a great example of doing things right. The policy is really well written and goes beyond what might be considered a "POLICY" document. It's a useful guide on how to engage appropriately in social media to drive success. It's proactive, consultative, helpful and educates people about their responsibility when engaging in social media. They've even got a special email address set up for individuals who have questions.

You can check it out for yourself here.