MAD Perspectives Blog

It's been an interesting time for enterprise social media (called enterprise 2.0 by some).  In the last year, several leading social communication and social media monitoring companies have been acquired. Last weeks announcement of Microsoft's acquisition of Yammer raises the stakes for all companies enabling social connectivity within the enterprise. The difference between Yammer and Twitter, is that Yammer provides connectivity behind the firewall. It's a perfect fit for Microsoft as it is already integrated with Sharepoint. Yammer is focused on enabling real-time collaboration between users across the enterprise. It is already implemented in many large & medium enterprise customers. For the leadership team at Yammer, being acquired by Microsoft gave them access to a $360 million user installed based.  Not bad!

It was not surprising to see Salesforce.com acquire Radian6 in 2011. Given Salesforce.com's customer centricity, Radian6 complimented and enriched their customer relationship management offer. Radian6 provides social intelligence that allows users to benefit from the social chatter surrounding their customers. Salesforce.com, while not perfect, according to the wide variety of users who have volunteered comments about them over the years, has positioned itself as the innovative provider of services to help clients better understand and manage their customer relationships. Then they upped the ante with their recent acquisition of social media marketing giant, Buddy Media.

Of course, this elevated Salesforce.com's battle with Oracle whose suite of CRM solutions includes acquisitions of Siebel and Peoplesoft. Larry Ellison has been engaged in a PR battle with Salesforce.com CEO, Marc Benioff over definition of cloud, how to provision CRM solutions. Oracle has not ignored the social platforms either. They have acquired Vitrue (social media marketing) and Collective Intellect (social analytics), all to support its overall enterprise social business strategy to improve enterprise collaboration.

Now, IDC has released its Worldwide Enterprise Social Software 2012-2016 report. How timely! They project a compound growth rate of 42.4% over the next four years, with the market growing to $4.5 billion in revenue by 2016. Drivers include enterprise interest in adding social collaboration features to existing applications and desire by enterprise users for software that feels like the social media applications they use outside the workplace.

Social media is growing up as it the market consolidates. The maturity of these large enterprises provides expanded go-to-market opportunities for social platforms targeting the enterprise. These companies will certainly integrate these platforms with their various enterprise applications. Social also naturally expands their cloud service offerings as social media has been in the cloud from its inception. The question is, will these social technologies continue to innovate now that they are part of corporate america? 

Is your enterprise getting social? I'd love to hear about it.

What's your perspective?

A client recently asked me about using social media for customer service. I am engaged with this client on a variety of marketing topics, but nothing related to social media - so far! I like that the client asked about how social media could help them enhance their ability to serve their customers. It shows their intent to satisfy their customers. It also reflects their curiosity about how different platforms can help them.

This customer has recently integrated Salesforce.com into their overall support process. They are able to track trouble tickets more effectively and manage potential escalations more efficiently. Their goal is to resolve problems as quickly as possible. However, they would also like to help their customers with some self-service options - allowing them to quickly diagnose and fix simple issues on their own. They would like to be proactive and prevent problems before they occur. This requires the capability to understand customer concerns before they actually call the help desk.

This client has a limited social media presence. They are using the primary social networks in a controlled manner, at present. Given their cautious approach to social media, I did not suggest that they start tweeting customer support answers (or create a Facebook page or LInkedIn Group dedicated to support). Rather, given their pre-existing relationship with Salesforce.com, I asked them if they were aware of Radian6 and its ability to monitor the social web to understand customer comments, concerns and sentiment. They were not familiar with Radian6, but were intrigued.

We discussed how platforms like Radian6, Visible Technologies, Sysomos, Attensity360 and others, provide the platform to listen to online customer conversations related to a brand and its products. We brainstormed how this client could combine its in-house data related to customer issues with social interactions related to product performance, installation, usability or competitive products. The client understood the power of gaining greater insight into customers concerns. They were intrigued to understand that they could use this insight to help define their strategy for self-service support.

The client is at the earliest stages of developing this strategy. Given their relationship with Salesforce.com, i'm confident they will pursue a discussion with them about Radian6. I anticipate Radian6 helping them with a trial to demonstrate the type of data they can obtain to help them understand customer priorities. Customer support is the most critical element in securing customer satisfaction. The power of listening to customers is an art that continues to evolve thanks to social media monitoring platforms.  Are you listening to your customers?

What's your perspective?

I was in Las Vegas last week, attending the annual broadcast industry gathering - NAB. The conference is an opportunity for technology providers to promote their capabilities to broadcasters such as CNN, Comcast/NBC Universal, ABC and others. After working around this industry for 8 years before leaving HP, I'm still interested to see how broadcasters evolve. This year I attended with one goal. I wanted to understand the hot topics and see how they had shifted since I last attended NAB two years ago.

The topic that has been trending for several years is that of multi-screen delivery or OTT. This means the delivery of TV content to the PC, tablet or smartphone. We've all become used to watching video online, but probably don't think about the behind the scenes effort involved with making that content available. Vendors such as EVS, Harris and Ericsson TV are providing broadcasters with solutions to simplify the adaptation, delivery, branding and user interface for their programming. Streamlining and simplification are increasingly important. Due to the rise of tablets and smartphones and 4G or LTE networks, consumers are demanding content in real time regardless of device.

The trending topic coming out of SXSW and into NAB is that of social TV. This is the integration of social content into and around TV broadcasts. Any of us watching news broadcasts or reality TV have seen the incorporation of Twitter or Facebook feeds into the on-air graphics. The vendors that provide the platforms enabling this integration are ramping up their efforts.  

Broadcast use of social media started, not surprisingly, from a pure marketing perspective. TV shows, broadcast journalists and networks created Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, YouTube channels and iPad apps to augment their on-air programs. The use of these "second screens" created a social buzz around the content while it was on air, but also even when it was not. Companion apps such as Buddy TV, Miso or Get Glue track this buzz and will let subscribers know what their friends are watching.

However, the new challenge is to integrate live social content into programming in real-time.  Vendors such as Mass Relevance and Never.no have created modular platforms to moderate select and integrate social feeds into broadcast workflows, adding Twitter or Facebook comments to on-air graphics. These niche social TV platforms must integrate with leading graphics vendors such as Chyron, Vizrt and Harris.  In fact, these start-ups provide these long time vendors with the ability to showcase new capabilities. The challenge for broadcasters is to curate the social feeds, provide the expected level of interaction as well as select the best content to share on-air. This is a new challenge for producers and requires new skill sets both behind the scenes and on-screen.

The broadcast industry faces an ever shifting landscape as it struggles to remain relevant in the face of news driven by un-substantiated Twitter feeds.  Its acknowledgement and incorporation of social content is critical to its survival. There are still challenges related to media asset management, tagging and metadata to be addressed, but it was great to see the dating ritual underway between social TV and traditional broadcast vendors. The marriages will follow - of that I am sure!

What's your perspective?

I'm here in Vegas to check out what's new in the broadcast community as it relates to social media.  There has been a lot of buzz around the topic of social TV in the last year or so. Social TV can be defined as either the use of a second screen (usually a tablet or smartphone) or the integration of social media and online video.  Either way, advertisers are salivating at the thought of incremental channels through which they can reach and influence consumers. VC's are putting money into technologies which simplify integration of social streams into programming.  Large technology companies (Google and Microsoft to name two) are investing. Microsoft recently demonstrated the integration of social plus online tv via its XBox at the Social TV Summit in San Francisco. Big name broadcasters (CNN, NBC, CBS, MLB, WWE and more) are investing in apps to make sure their content is wherever their viewers are, physically or virtually.

Traditional broadcast vendors like Chyron and Vizrt have already adopted technology to integrate social feeds, from Twitter or Facebook, into onscreen graphics - making the social audience an integral part of the live broadcast. I'm curious to see other ways social is impacting the broadcast industry. This is a space in constant transition. Social media could be considered a double edged sword, both threat and possible savior. It's all about engagement, but where will that engagement occur?

Stay tuned. Today is day one of NAB2012.  I'll keep you posted on what i learn!

What's your perspective?

Last week I shared some thoughts about aligning your video marketing with your overall strategy. Now, assuming you've done your homework and have defined your goals for creating a video, you actually have to create and share the video. This is the fun part, but it is also the most challenging. There are a LOT of companies who will help you create video.  You may even consider doing it yourself. However, please consider using a professional. They will help you with:

    - Concept: This is the brainstorming phase. The concept stems from the purpose for creating the video but incorporates different perspectives.  Your story may best be told through casual interviews of executives, employees and customers in real life settings. Or, it may include abstract concepts involving video shots of places or things. Or, it may include animation and voice overs. A professional can walk you through the options and help you make your business come alive!

     - Content:The only way to create video content is to use a camera. There are many inexpensive cameras available today. The FlipCam (may it rest in peace), Digital Point & Shoot Cameras and Smartphones all have the capability to capture video quickly and easily. However, while the quality provided through these devices may be great for posting content to Facebook or YouTube, is that casual format aligned with your goal? A professional will use higher quality cameras. They will understand how to stage the shoot, taking into account lighting, sound levels, background views, background noise, etc. The results will be worth the effort.

     - Editing - This is perhaps the most important stage. This is where the story really comes together. A shoot may involve many versions of the same concept. During the editing stage, a professional will select the pieces of content that best tell your story, as per your guidelines. While there are many affordable editing tools available to the consumer, again, deciding the sequence of scenes, seamlessly editing the content can be challenging.

     - Sharing - Underlying this whole process is the use of technology that enables the video to be seen and shared across online or mobile networks. This includes decisions about codecs (the format in which the content is saved and viewed) and distribution platforms at the very least. You content should be accessible via pc, smartphone or tablet. You'll need to think about how you will share content on your website, using social media or email. Each of these devices or platforms has different requirements for allowing consumption by your customers. 

B2B use of video marketing is on the rise for a lot of very good reasons. For me, number one is the power of video in expressing your business value. For others it may be as pragmatic as the fact that video improves SEO. For further insights on the rise in B2B use of video, check out the Savvy B2B Marketing blog. Are you ready to take the plunge to take your story telling to the next level?  I hope so!

What's your perspective?

Thanks again to Glenn Zimmerman and Mad Bear Productions for helping me think through these thoughts on companies using video to share their stories.  

Every company has a story to tell.  There is the story about its creation and growth.  There are stories about its products and solutions.  There are insights about its impact on society, markets and individuals.  These stories are told through a wide variety of communication platforms. Social Media 101 would recommend defining a plan aligned with your strategy, then using the most popular social media platforms (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, blogging) to fulfill that plan. As we enter 2012, lets look at some additional tools that will expand the audience for your business stories!

1. Slideshare - As the name indicates, share your presentations.  Not only can companies post presentations and whitepapers, they can create audio to complement the information in the presentations. Slideshare is great outlet for establishing your position in the market, sharing insights in a visual manner, promoting new products, providing "how to" content, and more.  Tell stories through graphics, pictures and key highlights.

2. LinkedIn Groups - Every LinkedIn pundit promotes the benefits of a good profile, increasing connections and gathering recommendations. They also encourage involvement in groups, yet many of the individuals that I talk to don't realize the value of groups. There is a group for just about any industry, technology, profession or interest.  Your company can create groups specific to product categories or market needs. It provides an alternative channel to promote your company's value. Groups allow members to ask and answer questions between themselves or the group moderator. Stories evolve through these interactions.

3. HootSuite or TweetDeck - Simplify your monitoring and posting of social commentary. Each platform allows users to establish multiple accounts (i.e., on behalf of clients), receive notifications, schedule updates and view multiple columns of content on a single screen. These tools provide a single destination for managing your posts on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Foursquare, WordPress, Ping and others. They provide you with instant access to content to keep your story relevant.

4.  Apps - 2011 saw the rise of the app as a means of sharing content on mobile devices.  Given the restrictions of these devices, apps streamline user access and interaction. Without apps, smartphones and tablets would not be enjoying such high levels of success. The challenge for B2B companies is identifying and developing apps to address employee and customer needs. Apple launched its B2B App Store in late 2011, acknowledging the unique needs of this market segment.  Apps simplify how employees or customers can engage with your company while on the go.  Some broad ideas for relevant apps could be customer service FAQs, order management, product highlights and demos, need feeds incorporating corporate, industry and social content.  Apps help you interact in a new way and share your targeted elements of your story.

Coordinating cross channel communication efforts will be the 2012 challenge for sales, marketing and customer support. Creating and adapting content for use across multiple platforms takes time and talent. Companies will face resource challenges to manage content development and distribution. In parallel, social platforms continue to emerge and there are several technologies that all marketing strategists should be addressing. They include the use of mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets), adoption of monitoring and analytics platforms and the importance of location based services.  

Be aware of how any platform can benefit your company's goals as well as increasing awareness and interaction. Use the same methodology you've been using to align and integrate your communications strategy. Define your audiences, the content they need and the best communication channels. Take your strategy to the next level -  testing and analyzing platforms relevant for your business and your customers.

What's your perspective?

November's blogs have focused on the use of video solutions in the B2B market.  Some of you may be asking, well, heck why doesn't MAD Perspectives use video?  Bottom line, we're a small business who loves video and leverages it in many ways (webinars, online video tutorials, desktop video conferencing, etc.) but hasn't prioritized it's use - yet! 

What do I like or not like about how i see B2B companies using video?

I like:

- Executive Presentations -  Or, perhaps I like dynamic executives who can overcome the well scripted content to inject personality.  I'm happy when they focus on 3 key points and support these points with market perspective, customer testimonials or facts and figures.  I'm even happier when they inject personal anecdotes (even if they are scripted).  I want to see executives interact with their audience.  I want to see them get excited about their products and solutions.

- Product Demos - It's a great way to see and hear how to use a new product.  The best videos are those that have a passionate spokesperson who REALLY understands the product and its target market.  The demonstrater who can talk clearly, succinctly and knowledgably about their solution can win new customer while retaining existing ones.

- Webinars/Webcast - They are a great educational resource whether it is to gain high level knowledge, engage in Q&A, gather some market statistics.  Webinars are often the first step in the product/company awareness process for a prospective buyer.  The ability to inform, educate and differentiate using this format can arm the potential buyer with great insights before a face to face sales meeting.

- Video Conferencing - there is nothing better than being able to see the person to whom you are speaking!  Even if there is a slight time lapse (i.e., Skype, Windows Live Messenger) there is still the ability to see and read facial expression which add more context to a conversation.  These solutions continue to evolve and I can imagine a future where video conferencing is an every day occurence.

I don't like:

- Executive Presentations - that are sooooo scripted they no longer feel authentic. 

- Product Demos - that use a spokesperson who obviously does not understand the product nor do they understand the target market.  The script is bland and reflects the company's focus on marketing blah blah and ignoring the real needs of the customer.

- Customer Testimonials - that don't explain what the customer problem is or how the company's product helped them solve that problem and what improvement they've seen - in laymans terms!

There are a lot of moving parts when coordinating a video strategy and many of them are quite technical.  If you are looking for insights into streaming media solutions, check out www.streamingmedia.com or www.onlinevideo.net for some insights, best practices and vendor lists.   Understand what you are trying to accomplish before you get buried in the technology.  Who is your target audience?  What do they need to understand?  What information are they seeking?  What action do you want them to take after viewing the video?

We are going through this process here and wee hope to jump into the video world in 2011.  Hopefully, we'll be able to share that experience with you!

What's your perspective?

Last week, I attended an event hosted by Citrix Online.  We all know Citrix through their variety of collaboration tools such as GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToMyPC.  The theme of this event was the changing face of communication.  In addition to comments from Citrix CEO, Brett Caine, there were keen insights from Aline Wolff, associate professor of management & communications at NYU; TJ Keitt, analyst at Forrester Research; and, Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post.

Some key takeaways:

     - The flexible workplace is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity.  However, face-to-face meetings have become a luxury.  Telecommuting has become the norm for many mid-size to large companies.  This is, in part, due to improved networking, security and distribution technologies.  it is also due to the mobile nature of today's business world.  Telecommuting does not necessarily mean working at home.  It also means woking on the go.  This requires devices that allow workers to access private and public networks from home, on the train or at the airport.  Thank goodness that those devices and technologies exist, along all aspects of the communications value chain.  They enable secure, reliable access and delivery of content.

    - Technology is helping us build trust and rapport between colleagues and between businesses. Trust is the number one concern for many individuals when selecting a vendor.  Unfortunately, the financial melt-down, CEO misbehavior, federal government partisan stonewalling and high unemployment help create an atmosphere of skepticism and mistrust.  However, the advent and near dominance of social networks as an avenue to personalize business and government, can also foster rapport between geographically disperse colleagues and influence trust.  Companies are sharing more information in a dynamic, ad hoc way.  They are soliciting input from their customers and responding (most of the time) to their questions and concerns.  These networks, and the ease of accessibility to these networks via many devices, cultivate intimacy, personality and yes, trust.  We feel like we have “insider” knowledge of the company and its products.

     -However, this in turns leads to our addiction to the technology.  We are online 24x7.  We are anxious if we cannot access email.  We purchase the latest devices in the form of smart phones, iPads and tablets so that we can tweet, Facebook, read and consume content.  We are setting expectations that we are available and accessible to our companies and our clients all the time.  With this addiction, how do we focus on the things that are really important?  How do we make smart decisions if we are exhausted from consuming so much content?  We crave the data, but can we actually take in so much data that we aren’t capable of making decisions, simply because we think there is more information that will help us with that decision?  Or, because we are distracted by the device and content it provides?

Net, net, communication methods and styles are changing.  The days of tops down marketing have already shifted although big brands still push their story across multiple communication channels.  The difference is that they must listen to their customers to validate that their story is relevant.  We all must be aware of and consider adoption of those technologies that simplify our lives, enable real time communication, streamline access to solution and allow collaboration.  We do need to be cautious about becoming addicted to these technologies, but we cannot hide our heads in the sand, like the proverbial ostrich. 

Are you communicating on the go?  Are you using social networks and mobile devices to "keep up"?  How much time do you spend on business vs. personall communication?   Are you able to put your device down and spend quality time with friends and family?  I'm interested in your thoughts!

What’s your perspective?

Community is a hot topic this week as we are amazed at the successful rescue of 33 trapped miners in Chile.   They seemingly happily co-existed in extraordinary circumstances for 69 days.  They formed their own community based on their circumstance.  However, they were already part of a community when they went into the mine.   I celebrated a milestone birthday this weekend and was surrounded by a community of friends who represent different parts of my life.  Dictionary.com defines community as “a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.”

We live in communities built of houses, schools, shops, restaurants, roads and local government.  We work in communities defined by the structure of our respective businesses.  However, since the rise of the Internet, we also exist in many virtual communities.  What makes an online community? How do we develop, foster or join these communities? We join groups based on our desire for:

•      - Shared experiences
•      - Knowledge on products, services and solutions
•      - Q&A with perceived experts
•      - New, or insider, information and/or documents
•      - Status, visibility, connectivity

Now, think about communities as it relates to your customers.  Where are they going to obtain information, share content or ask questions?  You want to be in the same places.  You can probably make some assumptions based on your industry.  However, you can also use some simple tools such as Trackur to see what social sites your contact database is accessing.  Of course, the simplest way is to just ask them!

By participating in communities, your business will benefit from:

•      - Live interaction with potential customers
•      - Understanding customer concerns and priorities
•      - Gaining feedback on product feature/ functionality
•      - Brainstorming new ideas
•      - Greater awareness
•      - Better qualified leads

That said, is important to think of a community from a sense of participation and interaction.  The purpose of a community is not about marketing your business.  It is about learning, probing, exchanging, and listening.  Isn’t that what you do in your local community?  Why would it be any different for your business?

What’s your perspective?

Many years ago a technology industry CEO distributed a poster throughout its various corporate, sales and manufacturing offices stating something like “Technology is always changing, if you cannot keep up with the pace of change then you are in the wrong industry.”  This was before Unix, before the internet and long before social media was even a glimmer in anyone’s eye.  The technology industry IS constantly changing and at pace unimagined more than 20 years ago.

So, how do we keep up?  Social media has changed the face of communication forever and who knows what’s next.  While it is possible to imagine that IT hardware will continue to see improvements related to performance, price, environmental impact and size, it is more difficult to forsee how applications will evolve.  An articled on Wired.com recently debated the death of the web while the internet lives on.  Regardless of your point of view, the commentary regarding the implication of an app based future is intriguing. 

Thanks to Apple and its ubiquitous devices, there seems to be an app for everything from reading our favorite publications to comparison shopping to bouncing penguins off the wall.  Social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, FourSquare, Groupon have led or leveraged the growing social mentality to share, communicate, and interact based on interests and now location.  Whereas 20 years ago we spoke of Big Brother’ and our fear of anyone having any visibility of comings and goings, now we have left “1984” behind and voluntarily share our likes, dislikes, and destinations.

Do we need to adopt all forms of social media and start developing apps for fear of being considered a ‘neo-luddite’? The term “social media” is becoming all encompassing.  Any application that creates some sort of community experience is considered social.  A community could be moms against peanut butter or customers interested in new storage technologies or individual investors trying to navigate the financial markets.  The challenge is in how any of these tools can provide solutions that are aligned with strategic business goals.

B2B Companies are using or experimenting with social networks to:

• - understand customer opinion -> to increase customer satisfaction, customer retention, modify product features/functionality, maintain customer loyalty
• - invite customers to events or webinars -> to  increase customer knowledge, increase customer touch points, qualify customer interest, increase quantity of leads
• - provide product updates ->to  increase customer knowledge, invite customer input, increase customer loyalty
• - share industry insight -> to show thought leadership, educate customers,  improve competitive differentiation
• - offer special discounts or deals -> to drive short term revenue, create awareness,  reward community members
• - create communities -> to understand trends, drive discussions on select topics, recruit new employees, crowdsource to solutions to simple and/or complex challenges

As long as these activities support higher level goals for sales, innovation, operational efficiency or other needs, the investment in social media is beneficial.

With the increased focus on apps, should companies be developing apps as well as using social networks?  Perhaps apps can help companies address these same goals.  If an app can be distributed on multiple devices, does that make it social?  Personally, I don’t think so.  Being social is about interaction and community.  So, if that app enables customers to easily interact with each other in some kind of semi-private walled garden, then perhaps it is social. 

I can envision B2B apps focused on addressing frequently asked customer questions.  As a long time HP employee in my past life, I can image HP apps to troubleshoot printing problems, a SMB focused app to configure servers, or an app to easily locate your nearest value added reseller (VAR). Other companies could leverage the data associated with calls coming into their 800 numbers to develop apps that easily and quickly address frequently asked customer questions.  By using social networks to inform their constituents that these apps exist and are available for download to defined devices, these companies leverage the two hottest trends (other than cloud computing), apps and social media to enrich their customer’s experiences.

Perhaps we need an app to help us keep up with all the new technologies that are emerging.  Ooops, perhaps that is the new Mashable app!

What’s your perspective?