Online Influence? Bah I Choose Real Life

Yesterday we had a discussion going about Klout on Shift Digital's Blog. I have written extensively about Klout here in the past. But I want to look at the bigger picture of influence. Some people like my friend Jason Konopinsky think Klout has a slick algorithm but that since it can be gamed it is flawed. I have views that the whole online influence idea is flawed. At least how it is being viewed.

I think finding actual experts to test products and services would be a great use for these tools. But what is being pitched it using it as a marketing force. That you can technically by pass paid media, PR/Publicity efforts and real marketing and advertising if you can find these influencers. Well this is not true. Since maybe 1% of your network will see a Tweet or a Facebook post right there you are hamstrung on those two networks. Bloggers have inherent readership numbers but not often in the millions or tens of millions a major brand needs. 

To prove my point recently Brian Solis presented a slideshare on using influence. All his case studies were for product launches.  And sorry but he might be a marketer but I am a finance/sales guy who happens to be in marketing and all his case studies he presented he had zero proof they worked. The one example of influence working was from 2008. So basically since 2008 he couldn't find one other example showing success? Just stamp FAILURE on his post and slideshare. Also please note he also lists David Armano, and two people from Microsoft who all are biased because they either need Social Influence to work and be a success (Mr. Armano) or worked on the Windows Phone release (and we all know how well that went). I exposed bias in this post.

I recently blogged that the average person now spends 12 mins a day on social media networks. If we spend so little time how much influence via social networks can anyone have. I am pretty sure 99% of those you ask will say they like to communicate with friends and family, which might include 'discovery' of things. Just think 23 hours and 48 mins a day your customers are NOT using Social Media.

I know I am always negative. I will be positive now. Though I doubt anyone needs Klout or Peer Index vs simple Google searches for this. Chobani, my good friends in the Yogurt world, are an excellent case study on using influence to grow their business. In fact they have been doing this for the 18 months I have known them. They support fitness, health, and food bloggers big and small. They aren't trying to launch a product with influence vs steadily grow their business. If you have some readership Chobani will give you a case of yogurt to give away in return for the exposure on the blog with your readers. This is part of a larger integrated marketing plan. This isn't THE MARKETING PLAN. But they know that if they just convert 5 blog readers to Chobani who buy in real life, that free case paid for itself.

See real life trumps online. Be afraid of email and texts and in person word of mouth. That is where your success will be made or destroyed. Find the people who influence others off line and you will succeed. Because we say lots of things online that we don't mean or follow through on. Audi needs eople who can afford their cars buying their cars. They don't win if they have 50mil people chatting them up online who can never afford to buy their car. Find the real life influencers.

Klout and Influence is a tool. No reason not to use them where they fit. They will never replace paid advertising or public relations or even your social media efforts. They should be used as part of your marketing efforts where they fit. And be skeptical. Do your research. Just because someone is considered an expert and has high klout maybe they aren't. Klout says I am an expert on Yogurt (true) and Glee (not true I hate Glee). So send me your yogurt to try I might comment on Twitter. Send me tickets to see Glee filmed you will be over dubbing my heckling from the audience. Good luck with that.

 

How can Klout Measure Influence With So Much Private Communication?

In thinking about 'Social Communication' vs 'Private Interpersonal'. I think of how much I converse via email and SMS (1400 texts per month) vs 10 Facebook comments, though my tweets might be upwards of a few hundred a month. Cell phone 800 minutes a month. In person to person...whoa a lot. I email some very influential people I have gotten to be friends with. Ad Age 100 Bloggers. People who run Social and Digital for Fortune 100 companies and other well known National Brands. People I view as Brains and not the Zombie type. We discuss lots of Social Media fraud and hype in private at length in detail. One friend and I spent time dissecting the Facebook Brand Page Insights and how wrong they are (though better now they are still poor). This is someone Facebook actually kisses ass to because the company he works for is very important to Facebook's success.

So how can Klout or Peer Index measure my influence when visible communication online is so small vs how much I impact others overall. 

They don't see any of these discussions going on that are more important and influential than anything happening on the Twitter.

I still slam and destroy Mashable less in public now days but fully in private. I tell people verbally and via email almost daily that if you want to get real coverage of social media never use their site except for informative things. If you want to see a new Facebook feature go to Mashable. If you want to know if marketing on Facebook is working why would you go to a fanboy site. I mean Pete Cashmore obviously is infatuated with Mark Zuckerberg to a point of having posters of mark in his bedroom walls. (ouch that hurts Pete!). But Klout will never catch this. They won't catch how many eople I convert away from Mashable.

Or how many people I have converted in the supermarket dairy aisle into Chobani customers. I talk Chobani in that aisle there almost every week. My folks were asked the other week by the guy who works dairy 'aren't you the parents of that Chobani guy'. Klout would never know I converted probably over 100 people easily in the last 12 months to diehard fans of Chobani. I email with the Chobani Social Media Community and Communications Manager because I love the brand so much hoping to keep them a huge success with my insights. Yes she can take it or leave it when I give it, but she is always appreciative. Like when I explained this week why I don't read Mashable....in an email. 

Many really really smart people are leery about using Social Influence as anything but a small tool to accent the bigger picture. They know 98% of our human communication is private and would never comb Twitter and say 'Oh they used the word Starbucks 8 times this week they much be expert influencers let's contact them to help promote our new coffee'. And when you work with Brands do you have time to do this vs say see what coffee blogs have the highest readership and just go to the owners of those blogs? Shortcuts do not exist and we need to stop trying to invent them.

Social Media Will Always Be Small Time For Most Major Brands

Sorry to burst your bubble all you Social Media Ninjas and Gurus. But this is a fact. You can't scale without Paid Advertising. Facebook with 800+ million users? Is one giant Paid Advertising Property no different than Yahoo.

I discussed this in 2010:

Why Social Media is not in the C-Suite for Major Brands (still isn't)

Can Social Media be Scaled for Big Brands (Not without massive hiring of people)

If I own a small business working Social Media to acquire 50 or even 1000 new customers can make my year. But imagine a company that has to reach millions or tens of millions of people every day. A McDonald's or Kraft or Nestle. You can not reach that many people guaranteed using Social Media. Or a Fan page. Not even close. Not ever.

You can't even converse with all your fans if you wanted to. How many people can I respond to if they called my Brand out in an 8 hour day. Granted each contact is not like a phone call. But you are looking at hiring thousands of people if you have tens of millions of fans and followers. You just can't talk with 10 million people each day even if they want to. You can't reach out and touch 100 million customers.

And it has been proven that while people might Like your page or Follow you on Twitter you come last in their life as this Ad Age article explains.

Unless you are a Power Passion Brand like Chobani where people LOVE the product so much they come begging to be your friend, you are at the bottom of our 'care to interact' list. Right below using a toothpick on our teeth. And even Chobani probably is only engaging with 0.01% of their daily customers. One thing we forget when we think of Facebook. So what if McDonald's has 17 million fans WORLDWIDE. They serve 26 million meals per day. So I bet they have 400mil to 500mil or more unique customers per year worldwide. So 5% are Fans. You are going to blow off 95% of your customers because 'Social is the way to go'?

What is Social to you then? One big Paid Advertising play. You can reach the 15 million daily active Tweeters in the US* with a Sponsored Tweet. You can reach the 25-35 million daily active US** Facebook users with Facebook ads. But you can't engage with them on the network for free. They will not see your post or your tweet. Chances are only 1% due to sheer volume of competing posts and tweets in our networks will see a post/tweet if you are lucky. Never mind react to one.

So for big Brands. Social is bundled into TV, Out of Home, etc. They have no choice. They will never have a choice. Social is about people to people. Think of the relationships you worked hard to cultivate. While I might be able to respond to 1000 tweets or posts for my employer to make friends I can probably only get to know 100 per day. That is huge costs and possibly not big returns. What will I buy 3 more packages of Kraft Mac and Cheese this year? Oh boy see that stock soar from Social Media.

*based on number of tweets per day and the fact 70% of users are not in the US this is the number of active tweeters (people who don't log in and just send one tweet not to be seen til the next day).

**based on the actual activity levels for Facebook (Status Updates, Log Ins, Comments, Likes) about 15% of the 150mil monthly users who visit the site in the US account for 85% of all daily activity.

Fun Friday - Chobani Rocks the Yogurt World

This post is the first of a series on Chobani Yogurt that will continue next week. Those that know me know I am a big fan of the Brand and the Product.

Announcement in Yahoo Finance April 20, 2011

In April of this year Chobani became the number one yogurt in the US. This is not a social media story. This is a product and timing story. They have the finest yogurt (in my opinion) which justifies their premium pricing. Their tag line Nothing But Good is not a load of bull. Read the label. It truly is Nothing But Good. All natural. No chemicals or preservatives. Even the milk is hormone and chemical free. All ingredients are premium high grade stuff. People know this. If you haven't been aware there has been a shortage of product because they can not keep up with demand. Show me a Consumer Food Product that has a shortage? I have never seen this. 

Chobani has 60,000 Facebook Fans. Two months ago it was 40,000. So this is a product story not a social media story. I will go into the details next week on what they have done right in their marketing. But I have said over and over no marketing or advertising can make up for a bad product or poor customer service.

This is a fun brand. They have passionate fans and customers including me. If you follow me on Twitter or see my Facebook posts I am very active in supporting them. But this goes deeper. They have created this passion in me beyond the product. Yes I have received free yogurt from participating on Twitter and Facebook in coupons and twice a whole case of 12 sent to me. They give away a lot of Yogurt! They encourage people to engage across many platforms. They support bloggers, chefs/cooking and fitness/nutrition. Their staff is as passionate as their customers. They care about their fans and do many things right.

Look at these fans. These are photos from their Facebook Page

I recommend you follow @Chobani which the very personable Emily Schildt who is Chobani's Communications Manager and thus Community Manager. As well as @ChobaniNicki which is Nicki Briggs MS RD who is their staff nutritionist. Ask her a question she will help you.

And if you want to see their CEO Hamdi Ulukaya interviewed on Bloomberg in April with his truly immigrant to America success story adding to 400 years of such history which is why people outside of America view us so differently here you go: