#SMTIPS Word of Mouth Media Relationship Ladder - Rung #4 DIALOGUE

You've invested a lot of time in trying to elicit a response. Perhaps the reason that you haven't been successful (yet!) is that you are spread too thin.

This week I made a major decision which was predicated by coming to the realization that I was indeed spread too thin, in a lot of areas of my life, including social media.

For those that know me well, you'll understand that it takes a lot to get me to that point, as multi-tasking is my middle name.

I realized this week that I needed to narrow my focus back to what I both know and am known for, which is within travel, mapping and navigation. Then I can leverage what I've learned in social media and in doing the radio show (www.blogtalkradio.com/solutionzlive).

Getting people engaged in dialogue online is getting more and more difficult. Case in point is Groups on Facebook and Linked In. Lots of people join them, perhaps to have that "badge" on their profile so people know what they are interested in, but very few people get engaged to the point where they are actually eliciting dialogue.

Dialogue is first and foremost a function of LISTENING. You can't have a meaningful dialogue if you are the only one talking. That is called monologue for a reason. So the difference between Rung #3 of trying to elicit a response and #4, DIALOGUE is how much listening you are doing versus talking.

Is your response one that is just intended to turn the attention back to you? Or do you really care about the other person's views and their needs?

One of the characteristics of true online dialogue is when it has more than a single cycle (e.g. a comment that may have a response, but no more interaction) or when someone else chimes in, having found value in your contribution.

To get to multiple cycles, well, that is Rung #5 - Conversation. Stay tuned!

Chicke Fitzgerald | founder | Solutionz Media 813-925-0789

#SMTIPS - The Word of Mouth Media Relationship Ladder - Rung #2 NOISE

OK, so now you understand that even though spamming is something you can do quickly and really quite effortlessly, it is not a wise move in social media by anyone's measure.

The next step up on the ladder is NOISE.

No one likes to be called "noisy", yet, this is typically the first step for someone who decides to "graduate" from email spamming or the social media equivalent of mindless autoresponders trying to "sell" your idea or product to whoever follows you on social media.

Noise in Word of Mouth Media™ is the equivalent of going to a party and walking from group to group, introducing yourself and spouting off whatever you want to say and walking away without even knowing whether anyone cared or wanted to learn more.

Engagement does NOT follow noise, nor does conversion.

One of my favorite authors is Sam Horn. She wrote a great book called POP! with the sub-title of stand out in any crowd. Trust me, it doesn't include instructions for how to generate "noise". What Sam does talk about is how to get from the place where someone "furrows their brow", which translates into not being very happy about whatever just happened, or worse, no "brow reaction", to the place where you get a positive response (or in social media terms, someone commenting on your post, your tweet or your video) that looks more like raised eyebrows, which signifies visually "Wow!" or "I get it!".

We'll talk more about engagement when we talk about Rung #3 - RESPONSE. Stay tuned!

Chicke Fitzgerald | Solutionz Media | 813-925-0789

#SMTIPS The Word of Mouth Media Reputation Ladder - Rung #1 SPAM

Of all of the things that I've learned in my 6 month immersion into social media, this one is the most important. It is so important, that I'm going to break it into a series of posts, each one addressing the various rungs of the relationship ladder.

RUNG #1 - SPAM
Without any training or strategy, most everyone that wants to get across a point, get people to an event, or to somehow get them into your sales funnel, begin online at the bottom rung of the Word of Mouth media™ relationship ladder.

SPAM is not just a brand of canned mystery meat, it is what happens when you attempt to have some sort of dialogue or conversation (or what you think might appear to someone as such) without any form of current relationship.

I say current, because most of us have been building our email list (aka address book) for more than a decade. We have everyone from friends and family, to business colleagues, clients, former clients, all the way down to the guy you sat next to on an airplane in 2002, but can't even remember why you thought he was important enough to add to your address book.

We've all done it. You are in a hurry, so you send out a notice of a product launch, an event, a company announcement or even a particularly funny joke, but what you forget to do is to ensure that the person on the other end will actually (a) remember you; (b) care about what you want them to care about.

It goes without saying that this is not only not a good idea, but it is actually counterproductive on a number of fronts.

1. You stand to alienate people that you actually care about a great deal (either personally or professionally).
2. You don't give them a graceful way to tell you that they don't care or more likely, don't have the time for whatever you want them to care about
3. You don't sway them to your way of thinking (they hit delete or navigate away from your post, or worse, unfriend you electronically) before they figure out what it is you really want
   

So, if you are on this rung, STOP | THINK | DON'T SPAM. Stay tuned for Rung #2.

#SMTIPS Word of Mouth Media

Everywhere we turn, we are bombarded with someone trying to get our attention; someone trying to sell us something. We become desensitized to it and in fact, set up rules in our email to filter it out and deploy pop up blockers in our browser to keep from being bothered by the "pitch". We abandon groups on Facebook or LinkedIn when they cease sharing information and begin selling products or services.

This week I was talking to a colleague about the term Social Media and he suggested that we really need to coin another term. He suggested "Word of Mouth Media", which I think says it all.

When we really like a product or a service (or we've had a bad experience), the first thing that we do instinctively is to share it with others. Voila! Word of mouth. It is as old as the hills as a form of communication.

Next week I'm going to explore the power of "word of mouth" and the relationship that is implied by listening to anyone sharing their experiences. In the meantime, have a great long weekend. See you Tuesday.

Also, stay tuned for an announcement about the launch of our Word of Mouth Media book club!

#SMTIPS - Who are the experts in Social Media in Travel?

It is safe to say that the Travel Industry has been one of the most advanced in the use of the Internet for commerce, user generated content and now for the integration of social media tools.

From the launch of the first travel websites that were little more than brochures in the mid-90s, to full fledged booking sites and now robust shopping and planning sites, the Travel Industry scores an "A" in eCommerce, with nearly $140b in annual sales. We know how to drive traffic and how to convert business to a sale, although increasing that conversion rate well into the double digits is still the holy grail. For the purpose of this blog, I will remain silent on how I believe that this channel can become even more effective, as I cover that in detail in my Distribution blog.

A similar grade would be given for user generated content, with sites like TripAdvisor and Travelocity's IGoUgo leading the way in allowing consumers to rank various travel venues. The industry now fully understands that hearing the voice of the consumer is much more powerful than the understandably biased view of the brand.

And if PhoCusWright's Travel Innovator Summit is any measure, there are now more companies chasing the social media aspect of travel than any other niche. Literally millions are being thrown at coming up with ways to link people together in meaningful ways, and especially in ways that can be monetized. The emerging model is one of advertising and sponsorship and monetizing traffic, with a link back to the traditional ecommerce sites for good measure and a well rounded business model.

I know from experience, that when you are well-funded as a company, it is easy to be a product leader if you are blessed to have a foundation of innovation to build upon. But at the end of the day, like any other discipline in our industry, there has to be training to create a level of expertise in the skill of Social Media. It must become a recognized discipline in its own right.

So I am left wondering, who the individual experts are in Social Media in the Travel Industry?

We have an amazing amount of talent in the travel industry and a lot of folks are working on building companies around Social Media tools, such as building and leveraging communities.

We know from the various travel conferences who the bloggers are. But are bloggers experts? We also know who Twitters and who provides frequent updates on Facebook, LinkedIn and Plaxo. Can we use numbers of followers or number of links to determine who the experts are?

In my 30 years in the travel industry, I don't think I've ever seen anything spread so fast, yet so ineffectively as social media. I say ineffectively, as the return on investment of time just hasn't caught up to the effort needed to cross the chasm from being a novice to being an expert. And it will take experts to ensure that ROI comes from business growth that is fueled by the viral marketing that is possible with social media.

I have started this new blog to dedicate some real time and attention to picking out those that if not already leaders in Social Media, have the desire to learn and lead the charge on the effective use of social media to fuel growth.

Join in to the conversation. Follow me on Twitter and look for #SMTTIPS. If you don't understand what the hash tag (#) symbol means, then bookmark this site (to use the Web 1.0 vernacular) and tune in to a dialogue that is sure to educate, will likely challenge some and it is my hope that it will raise everyone's boats more than a notch when it comes to using the toolset that is now in our hands.

Chicke Fitzgerald, Founder Solutionz Media Group