The Customer Experience Saga

Mr. Customer Experience Adam Toporek was just highlighted by Gini Dietrich last Friday as someone to follow on the Twitter and read his blog Customers That Stick. I fully concur! So this just happened to me and I figured good blog fodder.

I bought the Motorola Droid Razr specifically because it has Gorilla Glass from Corning and is touted as durable and rugged in billboards and commercials. It is Kevlar strong! I got the phone in April. In August the screen cracked from a drop onto a dirt road when jogging. It slowly got worse and I reluctantly replaced it via Asurion Insurance 2 weeks ago. It was simple. 5 mins online got the phone the next day. Was TOTALLY HAPPY! In fact this was probably my 6th happy experience over the last 8 years with them. But the problem was where I was going to be wasn't in their computer for the address. So had to set up shipping where I wasn't going to be. And had to wait to get my phone a few days.

One week after activation of the new phone a drop on a hard wood floor broke the screen dead. I tried to use the insurance again (I am allowed two replacements per year at $99 deductible). Because it was so soon I was asked to print an affidavit, scan or fax and send with ID. This was easy but I didn't get a response that the documents were rejected until after 5pm Monday too late to fix to get the phone out that day.

Why was my claim rejected? I chose the wrong model on the drop down menu in the system. It didn't match the model I hand wrote in the affidavit. I said I have your shipper this is what it says what is the problem? 'The model is different on the form and computer they need to match'. 'You sent me this phone. Don't know you exactly what phone I have?' 'Sorry Sir you can get that info from Verizon'

So Yesterday it took 2 phone calls and redoing the claim online 2 times before I got to shipping. Again won't take the address. I figured place it and call to change the address I am going to be at today. Sorry Sir once the file is processed can't change shipping. WHAT?! 'Well to be honest if you get the email that a shipper is printed there is someone we can call and get it changed' Total 4 phone calls.

3 hrs later. Get the shipper call Asurion. Sorry Sir, it is too late the shipper printed. I explain what I was told. Sorry Sir that is not our policy you can call UPS. I call UPS who was helpful but to get to a person was traumatic with their phone system. They failed to give the 'talk to a person option'. There was no option for 'Change a shipping location' or anything related. Their answer? 'Our contract with this client prohibits us for changing the delivery address.

Today I am here waiting for my phone so I can then drive to Vermont costing me more money in babysitting. And I am not happy with Asurion who until this time was great (also on previous claims). But the moral of my saga is first how a horrible customer experience will have a lasting impression even if there have been many positive experiences prior. Second is it is wonderful to nail down processes that handle 99% of your business effortlessly. But you need to have flexible procedures for out of the ordinary circumstances. When the 'System' rejected the address because we have no official USPS address, we have a PO box for mail, but UPS and FedX deliver direct to the house address. Would of been nice to have an option to call for help vs no instructions. Or allowed me to have the shipping changed in their system.

And notice UPS and Corning responded to me but Asurion did not. While often these outreaches don't get me to respond I did write UPS and was pleased they both asked.

Uniques are Important for Buzz not Total Actions

My friend Gini Dietrich posted today about Social TV. And while there is a mention of Social Media Buzz determining TV programming, I have seen articles showing sometimes buzz on Social did not mean a successful movie or TV show.

How could this be? Easy. You can not use total buzz. It means as Gini would say....Horse Hockey.

YOU MUST GET A UNIQUES NUMBER!

Why? Because that is the important number. Look at the follow screen shot of Skittles:

The BUZZ says 193,464. But that is not a real number. It is not 193,464 people. It is the 7 day total of all mentions, likes, shares and comments on the page. It could be just 1,000 people who each took 193 actions that week as rabid fans. Or it could be 193,464 people who took just 1 action. Facebook doesn't give us Uniques.

So let's look at TV. What if there was 1 million people who mention a TV show in a week. Vs 1,000 who are such hardcore fans they talk nonstop all week adding up to 1 million mentions. Which scenario will mean much more a sign of if the show will be successful or not. Those 1,000 people talking non-stop might expose your program to 1 million but unless they get people to join in we have no idea if there was influence.

In fact while running Twitter for some clients I find people like this all the time. Look at how many tweets and how small a network. How many people is this person really reaching outside that network? I bet not many based on how little content gets retweeted.

I had a conversation not long back with Scott Monty of Ford. He said he would rather have 10,000 hardcore fans on Social than 50 million people pay half attention to Ford's TV spots. Well what if that 10,000 do not influence anyone? What if they do not attract more people to participate because there is only 10,000 rabid fans? I will take the 50 million half watching the TV spots even if they cost more personally.

The point is uniques trump total buzz for insights. And unless those uniques are attracting people to the conversation their impact is negligible. But I will guarantee most marketers would prefer to give total buzz to their Boss, CEO, CFO because it looks better.

The problem with Twitter and Twitter Apps/Platforms

This has been bugging me a long time. There is no desktop nor Mobile App that gives me everything I need. I am not sure why. Bizarrely the same company will have differing tools between mobile and desktop.

For example: I can retweet using the Twitter Mobile App and add a comment. I can not do this on the desktop. Why?

Hootsuite doesn't auto shorten at all. Why?

Using Twitter's Twitpic shows me how many people viewed a photo. Ow.ly from Hootsuite does not. Why?

I can add custom streams on Hootsuite but not Twitter. Why?

How come I can not get basic analytics showing me number of Retweets and mentions per week and month from either? Why? 

I need a special report from Hootsuite to show link clicks  and Twitter offers nothing here? Why?

The auto-fill for my network connections work in Hootsuite desktop but not Mobile App? Twitter desktop gives me some but not all. Why?

How come none of the photo uploaders give me an easy way to mass delete or manage all the photos that have been uploaded to them? Why?

Twitter does not have a tool for Tweet scheduling? Why?

What I see is a bunch of useful tools that are only half complete. Tools that require me to use other tools from different brands all for the same purpose of using Twitter. Why should I have to patch together my use of this service using 6 or 7 different tools?

Granted it is better in totality than Facebook. We all know Facebook insights to be very weak and not accurate or in effect more rosy than they really are. And you can't listen on Facebook like you can with Twitter. So why isn't Twitter realizing how much more powerful their tool can be than Facebook, especially for marketers if they make it easier for us to use and manage? If they want to monetize they had better start doing this soon because it threatens their business. Trust me I see the sponsored Tweets in Hootsuite and this is not going to make them a lot of money long term.

But they could easily have their photo and video sharing hosted on a YouTube/Flickr style platform that allows easy management and offer another place to host ads. They could complete their tool set for marketers. Facebook is a passive platform. Twitter is active. Big difference. They should take advantage of this.

Part 2 in why maybe you shouldn't trust marketing blogs

Yesterday I kicked off this series.

There have been many studies showing Marketer's are trusted less than Used Car Sales People. And deservedly so. Why would you trust people who do not care about honesty, accuracy, or reality. Especially so they can make money? I feel we should care about what we publish, what we present to clients. Yes making money is the goal, but clients come first right? Oh wait that is why in Advertising they never tie awards to successfully selling product.

Chris Voss has a pretty well read blog. Randomly this post with a Twitter Infographic was tweeted:

How Big Twitter Is in 2012 Infographic

I hate Infographics. They are almost always filled and riddled with errors. So I won't post any here. The issue I had with this one is stated that there is 175mil Tweets per day. Oh and also 33 Billion Tweets per day. When I asked Chris why he would post a graphic with false data here is his response:

So basically Chris is telling me it is ok to publish false content and that facts are not important and that I should get a life for wanting to have accuracy in reporting. But I bet if I slandered Chris and said he sleeps with goats and steals money from kids lemonade stands (allegedly) he would be upset that my content is not accurate. Would you hire someone who doesn't care about telling the truth?

This is why people do not trust marketers. Too many of us bullshit out of our asses....like Chris. Want to know what is even more stunning? 1,200+ idiots retweeted this deceptive and inaccurate infographic. Makes me really proud of my peers.

UPDATE:

Seth Godin created a minor storm this week. He was taken to task and quite humbled and accountable with his response:

Punk Views on Social Media

I also bring up Inforgraphics in this post where Ad Week had a horrible one on Mobile.

So What is Twitter and Facebook Good For?

Yesterday I claimed marketing using a Twitter account or Facebook Brand Page is Dead.

This is true. But this doesn't mean to not have a Twitter account or Facebook page and be active with them. They have value. And while they won't drive your sales growth, they will impact your business. A Fan and a Follower is not someone who is anything more than a passive customer. Don't count everyone as a champion of your brand. But the people who talk with you can become brand champions.

So here are some reasons to not only have these accounts but to actively manage them.

1] Customer Service - people know phone calls and emails for simple things are dead. They won't go to your site and fill out a form. They are just going to tweet or post on your page that you blew it, or suck or they are pissed. This is a chance to fix things and make them feel you care. Twitter should be fairly quick response. Facebook people will give you some time.

2] Community Building - don't give this short thrift here. You can create a brand army by actively engaging and grooming customers. These people will have your back. They will eagerly promote your brand to friends. Our Chief Alien is part of Chobani Yogurt's Army. He regularly converts people in the supermarket dairy section without pay (well there has been a few free cups of Cho but no cash!).

3] Sharing happens - Who cares if only 1% of your fans see your posts or tweets and only 0.1% respond in some way. Every time a fan or follower does respond people in their networks have a chance of seeing this person identified with your brand. This will help you slowly gain more fans and followers. While sharing per person is very low with most twitter accounts barely used and Facebook users barely clicking Like or Commenting. Why not take what you do get and view it with value.

4] Fun Fun Fun - the networks really are fun platforms for consumer brands. So give them a reason to talk with you or talk about you or visit your page. While many surveys say people only care about deals, if that is what you use these channels for you are just degrading you pricing power and wasting your resources. Use these as value added channels. Run contests. Share interesting content about your brand. Tell your story. Highlight your employees. Showcase your customers.

5] Focus Groups and Listening - View your fan base as a large focus group. Gain insights. Learn about what you do right and wrong. Shorten the development cycle for new products. You can learn about quality issues really fast.

As you can see there is value to being present on Twitter and Facebook. They help give your brand a human face. And yes you can still pitch and promote things, you just can't reach most of your customers that way,

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.

Social Tuesday - Death to Marketers! Long Live Marketers!

I am writing this post out of anger, and angst. I know. Best frame of mind to be in right?

I love Marketing. It is my second career after B2B Sales/Business Development. It fascinates me to no end. In some ways in large scale it is more complex than say the Missile Defense Program. Imagine having to come up with the Marketing Strategy and Buy for a blockbuster film with a massive budget. Having to figure out not only the content but the platforms and where those will be. How can someone in an office in NY or LA know when they buy placement on 1000 billboards nationwide where they all are located? Or all the Bus Stops and Bus Wraps etc etc. You also have to get everything set including any cross promotions all to run at the right time to maximize excitement to see a film in the movies and if you fail your client could lose millions. No pressure right?

And we all would agree we are consumers and like learning about new products, services, brands etc locally and nationally. Even if Brands are not the focus of our lives like Marketers want to believe they are, I am ok with this disconnect because we are performing a service. In fact I wrote about this not long ago:

I just don't care about your Brand, your Company, or your Product

But with the emergence of G+ I get angry at what I have seen all along. This view by Marketers that they have an inalienable right to market to us anywhere our eyes go. I mean there is marketing being sold on the plastic deodorizers that sit at the bottom of men's urinal's at bars! 

Currently Twitter and Facebook enable us to market in some way shape or form based on the current platform format. Twitter because it is public. Facebook while Brand Pages, Places, Open Graph, etc have failed miserably to drive sales or awareness beyond a very small percent of the Fan base, you can buy Ads on the network. You can't reach me because I block almost all digital ads except from some very specific websites I care about and wish to help them with revenue like the Economist. But I never click on Ads. And anyone who knows me, knows I hate Facebook for being Hucksters, Exploiters, Shysters, and Slimeballs. So I surely am not reachable on Facebook by Marketers.

But now G+ is coming out and Marketers are insisting they have a place there. And that is BULLSHIT! Buy a Digital Ad if you want in. But I am not bringing them into my world there. I can already find them when I want how I want 24/7. Just like Telemarketers crying over the Do Not Call Registery like they have a right to call me at dinner time there is a lot of Social Media Marketers, Agencies, and Talking Heads scared shitless if they are locked out their Fraudulent Gravy Train is gone. No more books and speaking engagements shoveling shit for money are gullible business owners. No more fame and fortune. No it will be back to reality!

Two great posts on the G+ Marketing Fraudsters including some of the biggest names in social being taken down and exposed come from:

Gini Dietrich on Spin Sucks - Beware the Google+ Experts

and 

Danny Brown + Geoff Livingston on Danny's Blog - Advisory: Google Begins Booting Brands

Fact is Social Media is a Revolution of Interpersonal Communication Technologies. It brings together people and is great for networking and socializing. It is not great for marketing! Youtube videos, Fan Pages, Twitter Accounts, nothing has scale. You can't reach people like you can with TV or Billboards via Social Networks. And we do not have an INALIENABLE RIGHT to Market via these platforms!

Social Tuesday - Torching Social Influence for Marketing and just a bit of Facebook love

First off I need to state Ben Kunz has been killing it. Not sure if he is the smartest person on the Twitter or possibly Gunther Sonnefeld but they are neck and neck. Ben has been blogging using math lately over at Thought Gadgets. His latest post is brilliant.For the most part Twitter and Facebook are not Viral Platforms. In fact they are almost just plain NOT VIRAL. There are trending topics but rarely a trending piece of content. And it's the content, not a topic that is what viral is all about in Marketing.

A Deeper Essay into Viral Success

I can say a You Tube video that is viewed 1 million times in 1 month is Viral correct? But that comes down to just 33,333 per day. Considering how many people are on the Web world wide that is almost zero. 

Next some observations I wish to share as proof Twitter is really not a Viral Platform for Content:

This really dings Klout too and Social Influence. Notice Mari was tweeting about a FREE Webinar. In 90 minutes she got only 3 Retweets from her 100,000 plus followers. I don't know who Guy Kawasaki is, and maybe the problem is no one else does either and thus they didn't retweet it. But only 3? Wouldn't Mari have at least 100 friends out of 100,000 followers who would retweet just because it is her tweet? Obviously her 78 Klout does not include influence when it comes to Webinars or Guy Kawasaki.

Notice Mashable (I hate that mug shot serious who could ever follow on Twitter that mug shot! lol) has 2.3 million followers and got a whopping 17 and 40 retweets. The 17 was in 2.5 hours and the 40 was in 3.45 hours. Obviously Mashable has zero influence on the topics of HTC, Social Media, Tech and Mobile because otherwise wouldn't the 88 Klout score earn a ton more Retweets?

As we know the longer time lapses the less likely a Tweet was seen so I doubt it will bring up more. Caveat is if this is only recording Hootsuite Retweets (anyone who can clarify please share). To me this torches Viral and Influence (Klout)

Next Facebook:

Really what does gaming the system get you? I have proven no one will see your Brand Page Posts like a gazillion times.

First the positive for Facebook as promised. Cross posting photos for my client to Twitter that reside on Facebook has greatly increased traffic to the Brand Page. But the impressions are so wrong it isn't funny. Facebook is adding the network numbers of the 2 LIKES to the total. I mean seriously with 1800 Fans who wouldn't at least LIKE this delicious gourmet ice cream sandwich?!! No we got two because so few saw the post. Bad platform for marketing simple as that.

Lastly I won an award I am very proud of!

THE CHIEF ALIEN HAS BEEN BANNED BY MASHABLE FROM COMMENTING! 

They got tired of me exposing their Fan Boy Journalism and shoddy reporting. I never once used bad language on their site or said anything anyone would be offended by. But the truth hurts. This hasn't stopped me from commenting. But I can not comment with my Sky Pulse Media Twitter Account. Which BTW get's me back to these STUPID commenting systems based on Facebook and Twitter! 

If you require me to log in with Facebook to comment.....NO COMMENT

photo: ben andrus

Social Tuesday - On Monday - Who Cares about Real Time Web?

I feel like a pinata when something happens and I have to react with a blogpost. Saturday was case in point when while the premise of Huffington Post and Fred Wilson's article about would we pay for Facebook was true today, it made me respond. Because I wouldn't pay for Facebook now because it sucks as a network, but there was a time before all the Brand and Marketing pollution when I would of. When many of us would have. LINK

Now Osama Bin Laden. Last night there was the announcement that President Obama had a press conference scheduled. I learned during the Mets vs Philly's baseball game on TV. I then went to Huffington Post and saw Bin Laden is Dead but no story. I then went to Twitter and saw the chatter.

Someone who is very well known in Social Media sent a Tweet stating Twitter trounced for the story. Then he posted a blog post about it. I got pissed because of many reasons.

1] He didn't know this or could prove it. Not at that time. Maybe never. And how many knew who had to sit on it because they wanted to know it was true vs Twitter where we libel all the time with lies, rumors, hate, etc (just check the hashtag #TCOT)

2] I learned from TV first

3] 96.7% of the US was not on Twitter yesterday. How many were on at 10pm EST? I had Twitter in a Tab on FireFox but was viewing something else.

4] During the Philly game the crowd found out before any announcement and started chanting USA USA! Yes Philly fans are dumb. They acted like that kid you beat up every day for 10 years who then you wipe out on your bike and they come running over to taunt you saying they won. I mean your bragging after this guy took down the Twin Freaking Towers! He humiliated us for ten years and suckered this country into bankruptcy and some heinous behaviors in wartime and the destruction of the fabric of American cohesiveness. I think not only does Osama Bin Laden win. He should be buried with Ali's Boxing Belts. Hell throw in Fraziers and Tysons as well.

But I want to focus on the crowd. Because Gini Dietrich posted a well crafted blogpost that Social Media was definitely a news facilitator and I agree. It only took a few people in the Philly crowd to see a Tweet, a Facebook update, get an SMS Text or Phone Call to have the whole crowd know really quickly. But I will bet the bank 95% of the fans learned by verbal communication from their neighbors in the stands. No different than how things spread in Egypt or Tunisia. It only takes a few well located people with access to others to get a message moving. Even if very few are using Social Media or Mobile Technologies.

Interestingly enough as proof of Social Media and Technologies lack of reach. The announcers kept mentioning the Phillies in the doug out were clueless about why the chants for USA were going on. And not just for a minute. For a whole half an inning! None of those people have phones? There wasn't one support person in the clubhouse watching TV? No coach in a booth watching the TV feed for coaching purposes?

So since not just most I bet 80-90% of the US learned about Osama Bin Laden outside of Social Media. And some people knew before others. And all these people are pushing real time web like it matters like the person who got me riled up last night.

WHO CARES?

Why do so many Social Media people need validation of the importance of Social Media even when it's not that important? They rubber stamp events without critical research or proof. And often over stuff that doesn't matter.

WHO CARES?

This was not life and death. This proves the fallacy of the REAL TIME WEB being worthless most of the time. If I learned 10 minutes later than you WHO CARES? Are you that much of a stuck up whiny geek that you want to brag you knew before me? I have found VERY FEW examples of where REAL TIME WEB is more important than ALMOST REAL TIME WEB. And they are so few and so rare.....WHO CARES? The ones I have found are important ones like if I was trading stocks. But most people will never benefit in almost all instances.

Why Did Saks Fifth Avenue Pay Twitter to Show me this Ad?

Advertising and Marketing is complicated. The whole chain of important activities to sell something can be blown if just one key part fails.

1] We need a product people want or will want if they know about it.

2] The Brand needs to make something that meets the value expectation otherwise all marketing efforts go down the tube with no repeat business.

3] The Advertising and Marketing must be crafted in a way that achieves the goals of awareness, enticement, emotional connection whatever it takes to get someone to try something new or improved, or remember they miss/liked something they have tried and forgotten about.

4] The Advertising must bee seen by people who will most likely buy the Brand's product or service. The less likely I am to buy the more it costs the Brand per contact. For example I can show an Ad to 100 people who will have a 70% likelihood of buying. Say that is a finite number. Now the next hundred whom I pay the same $$ to reach have a 50% likelihood of buying. It just cost me more per sale for my Advertising/Marketing expense.

Last Friday I saw this ad as a sponsored Tweet in my Twitter Feed:

I didn't see it once. I saw it ALL FREAKING DAY!

So I clicked to see what the link brought me too. Drum Roll Please!

As Kyle's Mom on South Park would say....What What What??!!!

So who's fault is it? Twitter's? The Media Planner? The Ad Serving Platform? Is Twitter not sophisticated enough a platform to identify women? What is worse is whomever is giving a report back to Sak's is counting my views as success. And counting my click as a success. Which is why people do not trust Marketers, Advertisers, Nielsen, etc. Anyone who makes money based on gross views or clicks without identifying how many of the true target saw something or took action is technically stealing money from their clients.

Mobile Monday - Travel Notes - Mobile - LBS still 1.0

On Saturday I went to Brooklyn, NY for an art show opening that I knew some of the artists and their group of friends. During my visit I used a number of Apps on my Droid2. Here is the high and the low.

 Usual Suspects Opening Night - WIlliamsburg, Brooklyn

Good:

Google Maps - with the GPS function enabled it shows your position on the map. If you entered an address it brings you there. 

Google GPS - the voice search feature is great. It also has at least an 80% success rate.

Droid2 - I don't take my Digital Camera out any longer and use my Droid2. Eliminated 1  device to take out!

Yelp! - allows me with GPS enabled to pull up bars and eateries nearby, often many with pictures. Also allows me to check in similar to FourSquare and Gowalla. I can even write a review while at the place and upload photos.

NYC Mate- On the Subway, which I meant to get a photo of they signs say the MTA as a strategic decision did not create any Apps for Trains, Bus, or Ferry Service. Instead they allowed private developers to create Apps incorporating the MTA info. So I use this simple App that has the subway lines and stops.

Twitter - Twitter for Android and Hootsuite make keeping in touch on Twitter very easily as well as the ability to run a clients Twitter while out of the Office.

The Bad:

Yelp! - I can pull up restaurants but not by cuisine on their App and it loads just 10 places per page. In NYC you easily would have 100 in close range in some areas. Won't allow me to complete my review until I am at home logged into Yelp! on my laptop.

LBS - FourSquare and Gowalla - bad news for your form of LBS. Yes I like telling SOME friends where I am, and sometimes the Twitter. Your services do not work in buildings. I was at the Spike Hill Tavern in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and I wasn't getting up and walking outside to check in. I also aside from one night at Chili's in October I have never seen any deals from the places I check into being offered.

Artwork by Keely

LBS Part 2- Shopkick - I have played with this App before. They do have some national my chain discounts. I never set up the settings and when I was walking from Penn Station to Herald Square because they moved the E train to the F train line. On my walk where seriously with 100 yards could easily have 100-200 Stores. My phone started buzzing like crazy. I was in a rush and wasn't in town to shop. I finally figured out at least one store was buzzing a deal and I decided I did not like that at all. I want to be there to shop and pull up the App and look for deals. I do not want Deal Alerts to my phone that buzz, or beep, or shock, or play a song.

Social -

I uninstalled my Droid Facebook App not that long ago. It works great but when I read Facebook wanted to sell phone numbers and contact info to Brands I decided I don't need contact by any push advertising from Brands that buy my info from Facebook. So went 24 hours without Facebook and I did not miss it.

Twitter - Twitter for Droid and Hootsuite - I like Hootsuite because it is better for managing my own account, and a client's. I like uploading photos when I travel to twitter. Hootsuite works better and faster, BUT the Ow.ly photo host doesn't show how many views, while TwitPic does. I like Twitter's new name completion and auto-shortening of links feature since the upgrade. I do not like that they don't have a 'Send' box for viewing. Hootsuite has this but it doesn't work most of the time. I really wish one App did all.

Hootsuite - it is a small box to see which account a Tweet Stream will launch into. So my joke photo of the Playgirl Van which was meant as an inside joke with @DarrylOhrt and @KDel713 about the next Humongo Nation tour vehicle via @skypulsemedia , it actually was sent into @ChunknChip 's Twitter Stream. DOH!

News Reading - I have several Apps I use to read news. Other times I like to pull off Twitter. Often if the Web Browser was asked to open the resulting content was not formatted for mobile sadly.

The Ugly:

Admob Banner Ads - I know I highlighted last week a success story. But seriously all I normally see are ads to find singles in my area and how to extend my battery life.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Motorola Droid2 Battery Life - I had to bring 3 charged batteries and my damn charger. Luckily Amtrak and the Art Opening they had a plug for me. Yes 3 batteries was not enough to last from 12pm Saturday to 11am Sunday.

Twitter for Android/Verizon - really very slow to up load 1mb photos. In fact sometimes it is excruciatingly painful.

Subways - No connectivity under ground. No 3G. No Wi-Fi. No GPS. No nothing!

 This Advertising Works!

In wrap up, while my phone was very invaluable in many ways, there were plenty of frustrations where things didn't work perfectly, were too slow, or froze up the phone! To me it feels like we are just out of the gate and the race is just starting for mobile technologies of a wide variety.

Social Media Still Has No Scale for Big Business

I blogged about this in October LINK and related this to why Social Media is not in the C Suite for big brands either LINK

This hasn't changed. I see improvements on Facebook Pages in terms of how they are organized and used for customer service or to engage with customers. I see more use of Twitter by Brands. But the reach is small compared to what Brand Websites, Store Fronts, Customer Service Phone Banks can offer. I have no problem helping a small slice of customers this way, especially if it saves money. Toll Free phone lines cost money. But does paying someone to monitor Facebook or Twitter cost more than someone answering phones? My guess is maybe today. Maybe not tomorrow. It is possible to one day outsource Social Media Customer Service to a low labor cost English speaking country with proper training.

Recently Fortune Magazine did a really nice covert test to see if they could get help via Twitter, and compared the results to Phone and Website. Interestingly enough the Phone worked best for Zappos. Here is the study, all tests were with big businesses asking for help with common tasks for customer service

LINK

I think the big key is sometimes we need people and we need timely response. If we get someone on the phone it is immediate and timely. Even if we are on hold 20 mins. If something can be automated via a Website to where we have control that works best in my opinion all around. But not all customer service needs can be solved that way. I just can't imagine helping 20,000 people a day on a Facebook Page or via Twitter, though maybe one day Technology will get creative and allow those or similar networks to be a Portal vs the host location, and then channel the persons needs electronically via proprietary networks to the right person.

I think Banksy foresaw the death of telephone customer service just a bit prematurely!

Is Facebook Waning? Is Social Losing its Luster?

In November I blogged that Facebook has experienced a 22% drop in time spent per active user per day on the network since April 2010 from 55mins to 43mins. Of course Facebook to hide this fact switched from stating 55mins on their Stats Page to 700Billion minutes per month hoping no one would do the math and all of us would just say OOOH....AHHHHH!

LINK

Now comes this totally unrelated article from CNet in my email that further backs this theory of less network usage. I am not sure the reason, whether it's privacy, fatigue, people aren't as enamored with sharing as they had been?

LINK

In April 2010 Facebook claimed 3bil photos uploaded each month. Now per this article to sound better, they use the 100mil photos per day! At the time they claimed 400mil active monthly users. Now they claim 540mil. See where I am heading?  

Per user number of photos uploaded to Facebook has dropped 26% since April 2010! Now it's down from a whopping 7.5 to only 5.5 Photos Per Month Per Active User. Yawn!

Why is this? Is this the beginning of a slide? A fall? Is Social Media losing it's luster and hype? Twitter has had an explosion in accounts but not users per month which has been flat for the last year at around 25mil in the US. Where are the people migrating to online or offline? This is important to find out for Investors, for Marketers, for Brands, for VC's, and for anyone looking to start a business in the Social Media Technology space. 

Social is a HUGE space. Are we re-fragmenting moving to other Social Networks and Technologies? Or moving more of our time to non-Social Media?

What are your thoughts?

Fetch or Sit, What is your Social Media Strategy Part 2

Last post I discussed the two strategies and focused on the Sit Strategy. Today it is the turn for Fetch.

Fetch Strategy is much more interactive, more personal, and has a higher risk, but much higher reward. It is also the hardest to implement. You need people power. You will find yourself involved with Social Media beyond the 8-5 work day. It can be fun. It can be scary. But if you want to move your business from using Social Media as a Push Advertising Strategy to a more Interactive Engagement you must implement Fetch. This will lead to longer threads of communication, greater loyalty, opportunities for customer service/feedback, and you can help groom your future Brand Ambassadors.

The Features of Fetch:

1] Must have Great Content. This removes some of the marketing via the Live Feed, people come to visit you on their own. Great Content could be anything from amazing specials, informative content, comedy/humor, great conversation/discussions.
2] Higher Expectations for Reward. Reward can be anything from the great content, discussions, to a contest or a financial incentive.
3] Greater Loyalty, Greater Pressure. As the person invests more in the 2-way experience, they will grow more loyal, but also be more angry if you let them down.
4] Deeper Brand-Consumer Conversations. Expected to react faster in real time to issues, and you had better learn to be human, and exhibit some Empathy. Customer Service is going to bleed into Fetch. Customers will know there are real people having real conversation and use this as an easy channel to 'Contact the Company'. 
5] Have Personality: It is very important to choose the right people who are empowered, know your brand and product, balance being professional and fun/human etc, who represent your brand properly especially under duress. If you get invited into my Personal Private Network I want someone who I enjoy showing up in my feed, not some pompous, arrogant or robotic person. 

This is hardest for Big Business...letting go and trusting. They want the elevated relationship, they want to be invited into Private Personal Networks, but they fear attack, they fear losing their message, they fear losing an iron grip on their image. If this is your fear stick to a Sit Strategy it is much safer.
 
Depending on the type of Business in terms of the product or service you sell, the personality and culture, and the size of your company, you will choose which type of marketing presence is best for you. Also once you are invited into a Personal Private Network, this does not mean you will get a sales boost, or any type of boost for that matter. Soon I will discuss ways Social can help increase ROI/Sales.

It's an Operating System Dummy!

"Twitter and Facebook are Operating Systems"

Recite that a few times. Understand it. They are not networks. We are the networks. I have my own. You have your own. Without me or you creating it, it does not exist. If I close my Twitter account, Twitter can not keep my network going without me. So we are the networks. We use tools to do this. We have many tools to create our own social network. Sometimes we use the tools themselves (Facebook, Email, live Phone Calls etc), other times we use 3rd party platforms (think Tweet Deck). Everything is a module that makes my Social Network, and often much activity occurs off line.

So when a Marketer wants to Market via Social Media it really means working your way into someone's Personal Network (or playing field inside a Stadium..onto the field and into the game, invite only). This is not Facebook or Twitter Marketing. It's personal marketing into a private space (aside from Facebook Ads). But to get into the stream of discussion and sharing you must work your way in, past all the permissions and locked doors. Once you are in you can get kicked out any time. Remember that. There is no contract preventing you from being kicked out the moment your value to my Personal Network is not work me letting you stay. You must bring value.

To put this in a better frame of reference. Marketing to people on Facebook or Twitter is no different than trying to market to me via Microsoft Windows. It's not fit, form, and function. You must do special actions to be successful. Most will fail. Remember that, Most will fail and that will never change. Each of us has 1000 Brands screaming to connect with us online Socially, and maybe we have time for 10 or 20. But all 1000 reach us without Social (another thing to remember!)

But for those that don't get on the playing field, but insist they have to connect via Social Media there is always Facebook Ads. Not the same personal interaction and engagement. But you are in the Stadium. But hey that's easy, anyone with money can buy a seat inside the stadium. Only those truly gifted will get on the field playing directly in the game.

Tomorrow I will cover ways to improve your chances to get on the field.

Context, Context, CONTEXT!

One thing I get aggro about when I read news, blog posts etc is lack of context. They take big numbers, great numbers, and use them to promote an agenda. But fail to put things in context so you can see if it is really news, important etc. It really is very poor reporting and more towards propaganda (calculated or innocent). Sadly many people buy it hook line and sinker.

Examples:

Story: Facebook breaks 250mil video views in 1 month (second most on web)

Context: 0.46 Videos per Person Per Month. Think of the tens of hours per week so many watch TVCable.

Context: Even YouTube's claim of 2bil videos viewed a day comes out to a few minutes per person who have the internet vs the hours per day spent watching TV Cable.

250mil video views is nice on Facebook in a month. How much can they monetize out of each view? Can I compared costs for Facebook, YouTube, or Cable/TV advertising to judge what will give me best results for my budget? Maybe Facebook winds up limited reach but high value per video view.

Story: New York Times now has more Twitter Followers than Print Subscribers.

Context: Apples to Oranges. They get $2/day in NYC more elsewhere plus Advertising for Print. To follow on Twitter is free, brings in little revenue and takes little effort on behalf of the follower.

Context: a better story would be how many click throughs from Twitter to an Article hosted on the Times Website are they getting each day/week/month. Yet no mention of this.

This could be a non-story if no one is clicking through to the NY Times Website hopefully generating some Digital revenue. Maybe it helps convert some followers to print subscribers or newsstand buyers. Maybe it will help convert digital only subscribers once the pay wall goes up?

Story: Twitter passes 150 million user account.

Context: with 100 Million Tweets per day most Twitter Accounts are not used each day.

What if only 20-30million people world wide were tweeting each day? But those people generate increased revenues and business activity from connections, faster awareness, loyalty, engagement where the value per Tweeter is worth more than a passive print add, cold phone call, or PR efforts will bring in per contact? 

This is business news to me and needs to be more accurate with proper context. Often the shiny coat being spun over shadows very impressive achievements. It's easy to be suckered into the Mashable/People Magazine type reporting. But ask more questions, and ask the right questions.

The Fall Mobile Social Travel Issue Rant

I had an Alien Fall Road Trip last week. Left on Thursday and visited:

HUMONGO

Humongo was gracious to allow me to visit them and I can't say enough about them, fun, smart, sharp, witty, energetic and a little dangerous. Darryl Ohrt the Prime Minister of Awesome gave me a tour of their fourth floor Penthouse spread in Danbury. Darryl took the group to lunch, where we broke some Tortilla Chips together.  We also did a traditional people's bartering ceremony. I did very well, I got some Humongo gear, a rare Plaid T-Shirt, and 2 homemade Brownies (made by @kdel713 ) in exchange for some Hudson Valley Cider Donuts, Hudson Valley Apples, and a jug of Hudson Valley Apple Cider. It was a huge Hudson Valley Branding effort and it seriously gave me pause to ponder of the tough negotiations over Manhattan Island. It was the Humongo buttons that sealed the deal. I was going to take the Cider Donuts out of the agreement but then the buttons increased the value enough to make a deal. Sadly I was not able to take the goats Darryl was offering.

If you need some awesome creative digital of any kind Humongo should be on your list! Trust me they are more than just Bobble Heads on a Killer Website.

Then drove to my sister's on Long Island. Friday I spent in NYC taking the train in. Saturday went Pumpkin Picking with my almost 7 year old nephew, attempted to go wine tasting, John Harvard's makes a great dry Stout, went to my nephew's soccer game, then drove back up to Albany stopping in James Baird State Park for some Fall Foliage hiking in a bright yellow Forest.

Mobile - Social Technology Notes:

Really sucks that you need a Satellite for Four Square. Often had a hard time in NYC when I had really tall buildings near by. And why don't you dump all the businesses in the phone book into your system. And it is kind of fun checking into places from the Parkway, kind of defeats the purpose of the 'game' but quite amusing seeing what I can check into, highlights: NY Times News Room, Council for Foreign Relations, Hell and Aunt Tooties.

Verizon you really need to pump service into the Subways and too often you did not have 3G service. Even above ground. No excuse to lack 3-G service in Manhattan! And the Droid2 battery life of about 4-5hours max means bringing my recharging cord with me. Talk about lame Motorola. No excuse to not have a full day or evenings battery life. Would of been great being able to read the news while on the 1.5 hr ride into Manhattan from Suffolk County but needed to conserve battery life.

That said GPS with Google Maps was pretty slick, though sometimes it tried sending me in the wrong direction! I also have an app with a Subway map, and was able to check what time Long Island Rail Road Trains were running at night. I left my Digital Camera home and got some great quality shots with the Droid2. But the photos were better in the Yellow Forest with my Olympus than with the Droid2. And the voice search/gps is amazing. Very rarely does it not understand what you say.

I decided Twitter is fun when traveling, but when Verizon wasn't 3G service uploading photos takes a long time. Sometimes had to kill the upload. Still way too many actions needed to upload a tweet.