Erik Qualman's Blog, page 689

Wow, what a story!

Isn't social media cool?  Since I graduated college in 1992, I've been involved with two of the biggest fundamental shifts in communications in our history, mobile phones and social media.  I started selling cellular telephones in 1994 for BellSouth Mobility and just left that industry last

summer. I started dabbling in social media since that time and I have uncovered a new found passion. Long story short, six months later, I've started my own social media consulting company (I think that's kind of cool too.  Owning your own business is the American dream right?).

I began to put pen to paper to find out what really jazzed me about social media.  What's the catch?  In my last blog I talked about a friend of mine who in  2009 asked me if I was on Facebook and I said "no, I'm not 16yrs old".  Little does he know that I remember that comment to this day.   I want to lay out three reasons why I think social media is cool and why people love it, companies love it and our culture loves it.

I love technology.  I think we all do.  Social media is a new kind of technology.  In a lot of ways it's a lot like cellular technology back in the day.  You couldn't see the voice transmissions of a cell call but making a call on Motorola flip phone was just "cool".  Social media is real time on a

speakerphone with the world, where everyone or just a few loved ones can see talk, write, send videos, share pictures, write articles, find jobs, get advice or listen to what their favorite movie star or football player has to say.  Technology is awesome and social media has taken it to a new level.

Our entire existence is based on relationships.  No matter where we are or what we are doing, chances are we are communicating constantly and building relationships.  100 years ago it was around a campfire in the wilderness. 50 years ago it was in a mother's home over tea and Tupperware.  Today, it's online, and on our smartphones almost every hour of every day. There are plenty of downsides to social media but that's for someone else to write about.  I love people, I love building relationships with people and I love to learn from other people.  Social media allows me to do all three all the time and that's cool.

The best parts of social media are the stories, i.e. your story.  Everyone has a story to tell. I would argue that almost everyone has a compelling story to tell.  If the volume of books, articles and blogs are any indication of how many of us have a story to tell, then it makes complete sense to me why social media has exploded in recent years and will continue to evolve, expand and get even more popular.  Small business owners are finding out social media allows them to listen to their customers "stories" while allowing them to share their own.  That conversation is

taking place everyday on social media and that's cool.

Stories draw people in. There's power in story.  Look no further than Hollywood.  (Mark Zuckerberg has a cool story to tell).  Look around, social media success stories are everywhere, especially in business. Many small businesses understand social media and use it quite

effectively because they haven't forgotten how to tell their story, which builds relationships with their customers. It requires you to be transparent and genuine.  That builds trust.  Trust with your customers builds your business.  Whether it's an idea, a product, or a vision, people buy from who they know, like and trust.

Technology, relationships and story.  That's the reason social media has exploded.  What's your story?  Whatever it is, share it and start a

conversation.  You will build relationships with others that will inspire, teach, encourage and "wow" you.

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Congressman Weiner exposes himself on Twitter

New York Democrat Rep Anthony Weiner finds himself in hot water as a lewd photograph of his crotch was sent from his Twitter account to a college student. Comedian John Daly summed it up best (see below video) with:

"You know – that's the picture right there. I have to tell you, this Twitter is something else. You know in the old days a congressman had to chisel images of his penis on limestone or sit for days for a penis portraiture. And then have a runner take the picture to whichever damsel they wanted to horrify."

Frustrated during an interview Weiner called a CNN reporter a "Jackass." Seems like Weiner doesn't know how to use traditional media either.

Recommended book: Decision Points

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Have you been hit with the referral bug?

In Australia at the moment everyone seems to have caught the Referral Key bug.  I think we might be a bit behind the US on this, since when I googled it there were results from 2009 coming up – duh!

For those readers who are like me and my friends "down under" and haven't heard of it it's a referral website.  Basically you sign up to it for free and invite your friends to also sign up.  The idea is to incentivise people to refer work to you – you can choose how much cash they get per referal, some people have $1000!  People can also rate your services.

This to me seems a bit odd.  I mean, if I know that x needs y and I know someone who is good then I will refer them without the cash incentive.  I guess my dilemma will come when I know someone who I could refer to who won't give me anything, and another who will give me $200…. then what?

Don't you think that your personal reputation is worth more than $200?

What happens if the person you refer them to does a bad job?  I'll tell you – they will come back and moan at you = decrease in credibility

Here's my tips on referring

Only refer to people who you know will do a good job, otherwise you look bad
I tend to check first that they want referrals – if they are too busy that looks bad as well
Own up if you are getting a kick back – it's a bit like the affiliate links you use online
If you know the person who needs help is a nightmare to work with and you wouldn't wish them on your worst enemy then check with the potential company before you give the person their details!

I would love to know what your thoughts are on Referral Key… do you use it?  Should I keep using it?  Have you had any results good or bad?  Tell me in the comments below…

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Fun = Sales

Have you ever been to a party, bar or networking event and seen someone who looks like they are having a great time?  Yes, doesn't it make you want to go up and talk to that person and potentially become friends with them?  Or at the minimum it makes you smile.

Have you thought that the same is true in social media?  It is.  If you have ever seen a tweet retweeted by someone you follow and thought that looks fun/amusing/interesting – you usually check it out.  Go to a Facebook page where there is lots of interaction and it looks like people are having a good time – you think "I want to be part of that".

People want to be part of a community, they want to enjoy themselves, if you are providing it they are far more likely to join you!  Plus, research shows that if people enjoy themselves with your business they are more likely remember you.

How can you have fun?

Be human, it sounds odd I know, but express your personality when you interact
Add relevant, interesting and yet fun videos, for example I love the flashmob videos, which demonstrate perfectly social media examples and are enjoyable to watch – much more interesting than me telling you about it!
Be topical, for example the French open is on at the moment, talk about that in relation to your business
Tell a joke!?!

If you enjoy what you are doing it will come across to your audience, there is no one way to do this – make it personal to you.  For example look at Gary Vaynerchuk and Wine Library TV, he expressed his thoughts on wine in his own personal way that was enjoyable to watch, as a result his business grew to $50m.

What are you doing that your audience is having fun with?

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Social Media Finance: The Man in the Middle

For nearly a month, a good portion of my daily routine has had me combing through the Twitosphere, looking for engaging finance related news to share on my own recently launched social news site for finance – Shmish. It is my hope that others will follow suit and Shmish will become a vibrant community for the sharing of finance related news.

Through my endeavors on Twitter, I've come to discover that the pulse of the social network's financial community beats loudly with a steady stream of thought provoking content from some of the brightest minds in the industry.

There are many notable contributors such as @ritholtz, @alea_, @reformedbroker and @zerohedge – each of whom provide real substance to the conversation stream. However, at the very core of the financial twitosphere stands one man – and one man alone – "The Weez".

As a quick glance of his twitter bio confirms, "The Weez" aka @TheStalwart is Joseph Weisenthal.

More than being one of the most well respected tweeters in the sphere of finance, Joseph epitomizes social presence.

Long before the sun splashes against the New York City skyline or the trading pit of the NYSE begins to howl, you'll hear the chirping of @TheStalwart's twitter account, cranking out his morning address; "So, did I miss anything overnight?" – is generally how he'll enter the conversation.

By seven o'clock in the morning, as many of us are justifying the necessity of snoozing 10 more minutes, Joseph has already published six articles on Business Insider – where he holds the title of Deputy Editor.

Many of his columns are no more than a couple hundred words long. Few by count, these words are evidently quite well chosen, as they have a tendency of setting the blogosphere in motion. Some of his articles can receive 10, 15, even 20 comments within an hour. Additionally, you'll find that his articles and tweets are widely retweeted by those composing Twitter's financial community.

On any given day, Joe could be posting links to obscure Romanian media sources, or interviewing the likes of famed bond trader Jeffrey Gundlach. It's this broad involvement within the discipline of focus that legitimizes his stature in the community.

Like most all things in life – success in the realm of social media is a testament to ones devotion to their trade. It's about being the first tweeter on and the last tweeter off; listening, as much, if not more, than speaking; understanding that Twitter garners its value not simply as a means of propagation, but rather as a forum for engagement.

Though building a social presence on Twitter is largely about finding your own personal voice, taking a cue from those with experience can prove to be immeasurably beneficial.

As Joseph's traditional working-day hours wind down, he reminds us that Twitter is a virtual network for making real-world connections and that his social presence reaches well beyond the constraints of virtual confines.

He writes: "Hey j'all. Gonna be at this drinks thing on Stone Street in a few minutes. Say hi to me if we've never met."

Though a good portion of Joseph's followers may never get that chance to meet him – we have all had the opportunity to feel as if we know him – and therein lies the magic of Joseph Weisenthal's social presence and the essence of social media in general – communication.

Recommended Book: Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the FinancialSystem–and Themselves

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The Man in the Middle

For nearly a month, a good portion of my daily routine has had me combing through the Twitosphere, looking for engaging finance related news to share on my own recently launched social news site for finance – Shmish. It is my hope that others will follow suit and Shmish will become a vibrant community for the sharing of finance related news.

Through my endeavors on Twitter, I've come to discover that the pulse of the social network's financial community beats loudly with a steady stream of thought provoking content from some of the brightest minds in the industry.

There are many notable contributors such as @ritholtz, @alea_, @reformedbroker and @zerohedge – each of whom provide real substance to the conversation stream. However, at the very core of the financial twitosphere stands one man – and one man alone – "The Weez".

As a quick glance of his twitter bio confirms, "The Weez" aka @TheStalwart is Joseph Weisenthal.

More than being one of the most well respected tweeters in the sphere of finance, Joseph epitomizes social presence.

Long before the sun splashes against the New York City skyline or the trading pit of the NYSE begins to howl, you'll hear the chirping of @TheStalwart's twitter account, cranking out his morning address; "So, did I miss anything overnight?" – is generally how he'll enter the conversation.

By seven o'clock in the morning, as many of us are justifying the necessity of snoozing 10 more minutes, Joseph has already published six articles on Business Insider – where he holds the title of Deputy Editor.

Many of his columns are no more than a couple hundred words long. Few by count, these words are evidently quite well chosen, as they have a tendency of setting the blogosphere in motion. Some of his articles can receive 10, 15, even 20 comments within an hour. Additionally, you'll find that his articles and tweets are widely retweeted by those composing Twitter's financial community.

On any given day, Joe could be posting links to obscure Romanian media sources, or interviewing the likes of famed bond trader Jeffrey Gundlach. It's this broad involvement within the discipline of focus that legitimizes his stature in the community.

Like most all things in life – success in the realm of social media is a testament to ones devotion to their trade. It's about being the first tweeter on and the last tweeter off; listening, as much, if not more, than speaking; understanding that Twitter garners its value not simply as a means of propagation, but rather as a forum for engagement.

Though building a social presence on Twitter is largely about finding your own personal voice, taking a cue from those with experience can prove to be immeasurably beneficial.

As Joseph's traditional working-day hours wind down, he reminds us that Twitter is a virtual network for making real-world connections and that his social presence reaches well beyond the constraints of virtual confines.

He writes: "Hey j'all. Gonna be at this drinks thing on Stone Street in a few minutes. Say hi to me if we've never met."

Though a good portion of Joseph's followers may never get that chance to meet him – we have all had the opportunity to feel as if we know him – and therein lies the magic of Joseph Weisenthal's social presence and the essence of social media in general – communication.

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Exceptional Customer Service in a Digital Age

It has been said many times that "relationships are everything in business". I happen to agree. There are few things as potent as a satisfied, loyal customer who shares their extraordinary experience through the social channels today's digital world provides. Providing exceptional service and support through these channels is an effective and powerful way to reshape corporate culture, grow customer relationships, and set yourself apart from the competition. Need proof? According to Nielsen, people spend three times as much time on blogs and social media than on email- across all age groups. Bottom line? It's vital and very necessary to leverage the social channels for a superior customer experience.

And just how do we go about doing this? I asked the experts at Assistly , for some wisdom on the matter.  Here are just some of the many benefits exceptional customer service provides.

Exceptional Customer Service: 5 Truths

 

Transparent and public support leads to customer retention. Sincerity breeds trust. Trust leads to "customers for life"– the most desirable kind. Transparency also has the added benefit of humanizing you and your team. Forget perfection. Relax; you don't have to be perfect–just be genuine.

Rapid response is not just for heading off trouble in a crisis. It's about demonstrating respect. Respect is lacking when a company provides a response after 6 weeks. Respond within hours or a day to that Facebook comment or tweet, and you demonstrate respect..

Support and service through multiple channels builds advocacy and evangelism.  On social channels in particular these VIPs become unpaid members of the marketing team—community turbo boosters. A peer opinion is the most trusted opinion.

Supple support satisfies customer expectations. Customers have idiosyncratic expectations of how, when and where they want to interact with your brand. Some customers are extroverted. Age can dictate a preference for Twitter over email, or chat instead of phone, and some don't want to talk to a human being at all—they want to find their own answers.

There are organizational benefits to Whole Company Support. As companies grow, even small companies, a shift can happen—one that moves part of the workforce away from the customer and isolates customer support to a siloed group. Getting everyone involved in support bridges these barriers and ensures that the entire team is focused on the customer.

Example: Bonobos

A great example of these truths put into practice is Bonobos. Bonobos, a stylish and sophisticated provider of men's apparel, connected a staff buyer with a customer inquiring about a new fabric. How many companies would do that? Not only did this give the buyer a great opportunity to conduct valuable research, but it also let the customer see their central role in the Bonobos culture.  Bonobos just also happens to be a client of Assistly.

Moral of the story? Use the many tools available to provide exceptional service and make your customers very happy.

 

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Couponing Deals Gain Popularity

Tightening the purse strings in this economy no longer means putting your entertainment needs and wants on lockdown.

Thanks to the advent of mass couponing sites through Facebook and Groupon, you can now indulge without feeling any sort of buyer's remorse.

"Deals on Facebook" was launched on April 26, 2011 and as a direct competitor to similar site "Groupon" it has seen success. The premise is you enter in your city and the site spits out deals on various sports events, theater packages and entertainment experiences. Once you purchase these said deals, you are free to enjoy the fruits of your social media experience….at a discounted price of course.

"Deals on Facebook" has only been launched in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Diego and San Francisco for now but if you don't find yourself in those city limits- fear not! Facebook has a feature where you can input your city and when the coupon application makes it way there, it will notify you so you can start saving ASAP.

"Groupon" and other coupon purchase sites like "LivingSocial" should be feeling "Deals on Facebook" licking at their heels as it is gaining popularity and success. Facebook has a built in fan base of 500 million already. People can easily transition from updating their status as "hanging out at home" to "just booked a night on the town from Deals on Facebook. Saved $150!"  Coupons can be purchased directly through Facebook and to extend the exposure, you can "like" , "comment on"  or "share" someone's purchased deals.

You might have been familiar with the already established "Check-in Deals" on Facebook but while that application runs on the "Places" check-in system, "Deals on Facebook" offers a chance to plan an excursion without being spur of the moment. "Check-In Deals" is a more of an immediate savings tool.

For business owners, "Deals on Facebook" is instant gratification. These owners can immediately track the people who have purchased the deals. With competitor sites such as "Groupon," business owners have to wait to have a document sent to them with customer names.

However, the ease of this process does come with a set of challenges for Facebook. Finding appropriate businesses to participate in group buying coupon sites can be a challenge. Facebook does have a somewhat limited ability and resources for meeting advertising client needs. It has been predicted that Facebook could end up using a more self-service approach where participating merchants place the ads themselves. This could mean that Facebook might generate less than stellar deals.

Groupon claims to keep 50% of their revenue and LivingSocial banks 40%. Facebook has yet to divulge their profit.

"Deals on Facebook" is currently working with kgbdeals, Plum District, Open Table and PopSugar City to name a few to bring deals to a city near you!

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A Brand, Twitter and Jobs

Two years ago, a friend of mine asked me if I was on Facebook and I replied in a somewhat haughty tone, "No, I'm not 16." Today, I'm on Facebook and Twitter, I Skype and use Meetup.com and amazingly, I've started my own social media consulting company called Social Brand U, LLC. I have not only embraced social media but I've become evangelistic about it. And, I've created a brand in the process.

Shortly after I was laid off last summer, my mother, of all people, told me she saw a CNBC segment on Twitter and how many companies use Twitter to find talent, find customers and build loyalty. I had to laugh. My mom is 74 years old and not exactly on the information super highway. She does, however, surprise me from time to time with knowledge of topics of the day. The second thing I did was laugh, again, because my impression of Twitter was that it was designed for Taylor Swift or Chad "Ocho Cinco" to communicate with their "fans". Twitter, it seems, is the most misunderstood social medium out there.

I did a little research and found out she was right. The enterprise presence on Twitter was amazing. So, I created an account and learned how to use it. My intent was to find out which companies on my "target list" had a presence on Twitter and how I could leverage that presence to get in front of the right people. What I discovered was a community of recruiters, career coaches, resumes experts, industry leaders, job boards and subject matter experts of all kinds expressing compelling information that was not only relevant, but extremely insightful, timely and practical. In addition to that, much of the senior leadership in my target companies was also active on Twitter.

My interest sky-rocketed, and as I added followers I began to understand that Twitter is really about a conversation with a community of like minds. There were individuals willing to help, share, learn, advise, teach, inform, and ultimately build relationships with. I've spent my adult life in the wireless technology business and have a passion for communication. How did I not see this one?

I started to share with others in my circle of influence what I was learning about Twitter and it was met with the same amazement and intrigue that I had experienced. I'm not sure if I'm more surprised by the numbers of people/companies who use Twitter, or the numbers who don't. In addition, I never suspected that Twitter could be such an effective tool for branding either one. Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh, is a great example (@zappos) of how effective it can be.

I spoke to some college students recently who I thought would be heavy users of Twitter but I was wrong. They had the same misconceptions about Twitter that I did and had almost the exact same comment, "I just don't get Twitter". In todays' job market, with so many experienced professionals needing jobs, college graduates need any advantage they can get. How does this younger generation not know how to identify opportunities with the industries and companies represented on Twitter and how to use social media, including Twitter, to brand themselves in the market place. Most of us think of company brands but not many of us think about our own brand, which is the most important brand, especially when you making a career transition and looking for a job.

Those of us who are forty something can be using it too. Once we get beyond the notion that Twitter can be used for something more than letting friends know where Happy Hour is going to be, watch out! Imagine the advantage we can have knowing how to use social media to communicate with peers, customers and employers around the globe, in real time, accessing a wealth of education and experience from the tips of our fingers on any wireless device in the world. Our micro blogging (i.e. tweets) actually help build our brand at the same time.

So the question I have is: What's your brand? The answer: whatever you want it to be. There are many ways to brand YOU. Twitter is unique because it requires you to be concise, compelling and relevant. You speak to the topics you're passionate about and, in turn, build relationships with others around the world or around the block. The best advice I got regarding Twitter was this, have the courage to be you.

Think about what your brand will be 3 months or 3 years from now and start branding "You, Inc." today. Oh, and always listen to your mother.

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Social Media's Role in Finance

As the projected valuations of social media behemoths such as Facebook continue their breathtaking ascent above companies which were once considered cornerstones of the American economy, it has become increasingly clear that finance will play an ever-larger role in the sphere of social media. However, what is less apparent, and quite possibly equally important, is the role that social media will play in finance.

At first glance the relationship is obvious; financial markets are thought to be driven by the perpetual flow of new information and social media provides this flow in near (if not actual) real-time. For those in the financial community who base decisions on real-time information, the value of social media is well defined.

If social media's relationship with finance were simply fashioned as a means of obtaining real-time news; it would serve a function, but not necessarily fill a void. In truth, software offered by traditional news outlets, such as Bloomberg Professional, already provide breaking, up to the minute news feeds quite competently (albeit at a hefty price tag).

Recent research is beginning to shed light on a new and possibly game-changing role for social media in finance. In late 2010, Johan Bollen, Huina Mao, and Xiao-Jun Zeng published a paper in the Journal of Computational Science, giving cause to believe that social media is quite possibly providing a service that goes far beyond real time news – astonishingly, it may in fact be predicting price changes in the stock market.

During the course of their study, the three researchers evaluated nine million tweets over a nine month period of time in 2008. The authors used a program to comb through tweets gathered over the course of 3 days. This program only collected and organized tweets pertaining to certain keywords which express different emotional states. Based on the frequency of a particular emotion tweeted during the previous three days, the researchers predicted the direction of the stock market on the fourth day. Using this approach, they correctly predicted the direction of the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing price nearly 3 out of 4 times, or 73.3% of the time (you'll want to check out an article written by Socionomic Institute for a more in depth look at this research – Socionomic Institute is in no way related to Socialnomics).

The implications of this study are profound. It could very well mean that stock markets are influenced by social mood. This directly contradicts the inverse mainstream belief that the mood of a society is influenced by the stock market. In other words, we are learning that society is not gloomy because the stock market is slumping, but rather that the stock market is slumping because society is gloomy.

Most simply, this ground-breaking research also implies that social media could play a huge role in the sphere of finance through the years to come. It appears that we have only scratched the surface in discovering and analyzing this relationship. If social media does in fact have the ability to predict price movements in stock markets, it's role in finance has unlimited potential.

Naturally, a hedge fund hoping to capitalize on the prospective success of social media in finance has quickly sprouted. The Derwent Absolute Return Fund Ltd is in the process of establishing a fund that plans to aggregate tweets to gauge market sentiment in hopes of predicting price changes in the stock market. The fund was due to launch in early April but this date was pushed back because of higher than expected investor interest. They have chosen to restructure the fund to accommodate the increased demand.

As further studies continue to shed light on the relationship between social media and finance, new social media start-ups are hoping to help. Online social communities, engaged specifically and entirely in the realm of finance, could be used much like Twitter in evaluating the sentiment of society to ultimately predict market movements.

Shmish.com, which launched in early May, is a social news site dedicated to the sharing of finance related news. The user-base is currently too small to accurately measure the sentiment of the financial community. However, being that Shmish is focused entirely on the sphere of finance and is built on an easy to navigate, user-friendly, intuitive platform – it's a likely candidate to harbor future studies of social news and its predictive abilities.

As it is often quipped in financial circles – there is no 'holy grail' approach to market analysis. That being said, social media may prove to be an immeasurably valuable tool in helping to understand underlying market sentiment and in turn predicting price movements of the stock market.

So stay social. Share, vote and comment in communities like Shmish. Our collective thoughts just may prove to be priceless.

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