Marketers need to pay attention to systems that they tie their success to as well. Stability and safety are two things that corporations like. Apple’s iOS usually provides that. A story from the Apple Insider, however, made me wonder if Apple will continue to be more of a tech safe house if more headlines like this occur.

The story here isn’t that Blackberrys are being replaced. That’s happening in many places. What is interesting is that Apple is working to become the mobile device and system of choice for one of the most targeted and vilified companies on the planet. In case you have a short memory, Halliburton is most famous for its association with Dick Cheney and war time efforts around the world. They do A LOT more and should not be cast as demons but just these two facts alone are enough to make it a brand that some would like to see taken down.

The Insider goes on to say

“Over the next year, we will begin expanding the use of our mobile technology by transitioning from the BlackBerry (RIM) platform that we currently use to smartphone technology via the iPhone,” the Houston, Texas-based firm told employees in an internal newsletter this month.

The move comes after “significant research” into both Apple’s mobile platform and Google’s Android operating system led Halliburton to “determined that the iOS platform offered the best capabilities, controls and security for application development.” For Halliburton, supporting multiple platforms is not currently seen as feasible option.

The next quote makes this seem like more than a rumor.

“Approximately 4,500 Halliburton employees currently have BlackBerrys,” a spokeswoman for the company confirmed to AppleInsider. “We are making this transition in order to better support our mobile applications initiatives.”

She added that Halliburton actively “engaged with Apple on this transition,” which is slated to roll out in phases over the next two years.

So why the worry? Honestly, maybe there is no reason for anyone to think that Apple will not suddenly come into the crosshairs of hackers and someone who would want to bring a company like Halliburton to its knees through security mishaps. But one has to believe that something like this makes Apple less the “perfect corporate citizen” vs. Microsoft and more like, well, Microsoft.

The relative safety of the iOS platform is a great feature of it. Most have felt that the hacker world has given it a pass for the pst part because the big guns were on Windows platforms. But if Apple moves to this kind of corporate play with the iPhone the likelihood of a free pass diminishes quickly and that could mean some different problems for the company moving forward.

Things are changing at Apple already as Mac 9 to 5 reports

Last year Apple saw the loss of many executives ranging from its OS X chief, iAd chief, and Global Security chief, and 2012 has started off with another leave: the departure Vice President David Tupman. Tupman has been Apple’s Vice President of iPhone and iPod engineering for over a decade, making him a vital component of Apple’s leadership team.

Does that necessarily mean anything? No but if that kind of top talent was leaving your company would you think that maybe, just maybe, there is something happening that is at least unsettling?

We live in a world now where online safety, privacy and security are more at risk than ever and it is getting more attention than ever. Why? Because real people are getting hurt. From regular Joe’s to investors and beyond, there are concerns about just what is happening in the online space. And there should be. Heck even the online security company Symantec is supposedly being held hostage as someone threatens to release their code to the world.

While some of this may seem out there or even kind of sci-fi in nature, it’s not. If Apple is going to be painting a target on itself with corporate sales like this one the trickle down could be enormous. Not saying it will be but anyone who can connect the dots can see that the Apple safe haven idea may not be long for this world.

Your thoughts?

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Last week I talked about how marketers should leverage culture to promote brands. Today I would like to talk about why we also can (and should) change culture.

As I watched the video above I couldn’t help but ask myself, “Is marketing changing culture? Or is culture changing marketing?” Or in other words, are these ads changing our perception of beauty or is our perception of beauty changing the ads? I still don’t have the answer, but maybe it;s a little bit of both.

In the end it doesn’t really matter, the bottom line is that the concept of “ideal beauty” has been around for a very long time. However, that doesn’t mean that it has to continue, and as marketers we have a unique ability to make a difference. Because as marketers we, in part, define culture.

How To Change Culture With Marketing

Develop Icons – Cultures love a good icon. For example take a look at Donald Duck in Germany, they love him. A strong icon can be a powerful force with in a culture. And who creates icons? Marketers do, that’s who! If we want to change our culture’s obsession with ideal body types we need to work to develop more icons that embody realistic and diverse forms of beauty.

Change The Narrative – Maybe with the help of some of our new icons we can start telling some new stories. How about a story about a fully figured woman that men fight over. Or perhaps a movie about a funny young guy in a wheelchair that hordes of women lust after (wink). Stories shape our collective conscience and define the way we view the world. They also help define our own personal narrative, which gives us courage to be different and try new things.

Make A Profit – Remember that marketing is still all about generating wealth. With out wealth we can’t elevate icons or tell new stories. So we need to use the power of marketing to create consumer demands that redefine cultural norms. We need to start building brands that target individuals that deviate from the prevailing cultural narrative. We need fashion brands that market directly to consumers with wrinkles and body weight. We need to grow these brand’s revenue streams and make wrinkles profitable.

Quit Being Lazy – As I watched the video above I couldn’t help but think how unimaginative and uncreative the ads pictured were. Smart marketing is never easy. To redefine culture we have to be creative and try many different things and be willing to fail. Sometimes, it’s hard selling failure to our clients, which is why we need to demand and expect more courage from the companies and brands we work with. Most of you that work with large brands know that they are run by good people that want to do the right thing, they just often times lack the needed courage to do what needs to be done.

In the 21st century marketers are one of the most influential elements on our culture. We have the power to redefine ideas and conscientiousness and it’s our job to wield that power responsibly. This does not mean simply abstaining from the types of ads in the video, it also means taking an active role in the development of new trends that shape our collective identity. If we can effectively do that, we can use marketing to make the world a better place while generating wealth. And, to me that sounds beautiful.

Of course, being a New York Giants fan, I won’t be paying any attention to ads during the game. Have fun “analyzing” the commercials. I’ll be watching the game and that’s it.

How uncool, huh? Watching a football game for the football. Can you forgive me?

Every time a piece of my content goes viral its completely unexpected and leaves me asking, why? I could just ignore things and go eat hot dogs, but, as a marketer its my job to answer that question.

Recently Jared Keller tried to answer this question, and in my opinion did a great job. Keller tells us that the secret to virality isn’t structure or social tools but rather the inherent culture of the given online ecosystem:

In reality, the key ingredient to virality isn’t the number of share buttons or Twitter followers you have, but your sensitivity to culture, that body of nuances that go beyond demographic breakdowns. Each sharing ecosystem on the web has its own unique subculture, its own sets of rules of order and norms of behavior. The secret to going viral is seamlessly navigating these worlds.

If Keller is correct then we need to explore ways to leverage culture to move content on the web. Because I like painting with broad strokes, let’s break this down into two basic strategies.

The Hard Way

Promoting any piece of content online is going to be hard. But, this strategy tends to be harder than the next because it requires a lot of work. Essentially the way this works is publishing a lot of content that attempts to fit in a basic cultural vein, then structuring that content around different sharing strategies that make it easier to go “viral”. Publications like Huffintigton Post, Buzzfeed and others use this strategy everyday. The problem is that you have to constantly push content hoping that something will “go viral”. Its hard to run this type of business because you find yourself having to constantly look for cheap or free content to offset the cost of all the content that doesn’t go viral and just sits there.

The Not As Hard Way

I call this strategy the not as hard way because even though it isn’t as hard as the one above it’s still not easy. This strategy is to simply create channels for your audience to become an active participate in the content’s creation. Brands like Old Spice and OfficeMax have seen widespread success with this strategy. Their campaigns went viral by tapping into their audience’s culture by making them a featured element to the campaign’s production. In a way they “meme-ified” their content!

As Lada Adamic points out above, memes can be a power tool to spreading information. However, they are also difficult to control.

Remember that there is no master strategy to making things go viral, but if you stick close to an ecosystem’s culture you have a greater chance at seeing success!

Larry Page: We are going to do so much stuff at the start of 2012 that it will get the Internet industry types’ knickers in such a twist that they won’t know what hit them.

Staff: Will our bonus be tied to it?

Page: Yes.

Staff: We’re all in.

The latest update is regarding Google’s privacy policies. In short, they are attempting to consolidate products and the privacy policies that each carry. Oh and according to the Washington Post there is no opt out. But first let’s have a video interlude courtesy of the Google blog.

Back to that little opt-out thingy from the Post.

The Web giant announced Tuesday that it plans to follow the activities of users across nearly all of its ubiquitous sites, including YouTube, Gmail and its leading search engine.

Google has already been collecting some of this information. But for the first time, it is combining data across its Web sites to stitch together a fuller portrait of users.

Consumers won’t be able to opt out of the changes, which take effect March 1. And experts say the policy shift will invite greater scrutiny from federal regulators of the company’s privacy and competitive practices.

The move will help Google better tailor its ads to people’s tastes. If someone watches an NBA clip online and lives in Washington, the firm could advertise Washington Wizards tickets in that person’s Gmail account.

There will be outrage. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth from Internet insiders who have the ear of Silicon Valley types. As for the 99.9% of the world? They won’t know anything happened and won’t care either. The only other people that will notice are the headline hungry folks in DC. That should be enough to keep them busy until after the election them they can get back to good old fashion graft and corruption.

So how does Google present this?

First, our privacy policies. Despite trimming our policies in 2010, we still have more than 70 (yes, you read right … 70) privacy documents covering all of our different products. This approach is somewhat complicated. It’s also at odds with our efforts to integrate our different products more closely so that we can create a beautifully simple, intuitive user experience across Google.

So we’re rolling out a new main privacy policy that covers the majority of our products and explains what information we collect, and how we use it, in a much more readable way. While we’ve had to keep a handful of separate privacy notices for legal and other reasons, we’re consolidating more than 60 into our main Privacy Policy.

So what should we make of it? As much or as little as you want. The reality is that while there may be the ability for end users to tweak settings most won’t bother or won’t even know to bother. Google, however, wants to make sure that they have said there is a level of control even if opting out is not an option.

Finally, what we’re not changing. We remain committed to data liberation, so if you want to take your information elsewhere you can. We don’t sell your personal information, nor do we share it externally without your permission except in very limited circumstances like a valid court order. We try hard to be transparent about the information we collect, and to give you meaningful choices about how it is used—for example our Ads Preferences Manager enables you to edit the interest categories we advertise against or turn off certain Google ads altogether. And we continue to design privacy controls, like Google+’s circles, into our products from the ground up.

In the end all this means is better information for advertisers for more efficient ad delivery. A marketer’s dream. And Google’s as well.

The study called “The Evolved CMO 2012″ shows that the highest levels of the marketing environment knows it could use a little help with technical knowledge.

This can’t be an easy thing for those at the top of the marketing ladder to admit. With marketing as a whole becoming more and more digitally focused there is the reality that those who have reached the top of the marketing profession have done so with much of their experience and success coming from the traditional marketing world.

One thing that we in the Internet and social media marketing business have to do though is not get all smug about this shift in the environment. Why you ask? Well, it’s mostly because we pass around the cup of Kool-Aid that says digital marketing is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega of marketing and, sorry to burst your bubble here, it’s not. It’s influence is growing and it is becoming an accepted and critical component of any complete marketing strategy. The misguided idea, however, that all marketing will be digital sooner than later is nice hype but it’s not the truth.

Sure there may one day be an all digital marketing world but that won’t happen for a long time. Let’s just look at the notion of the paperless society we envisioned at the dawning of the Internet Age that would save the planet blah, blah, blah. Many would argue that we use more paper now than we ever did because we print things we find on the Internet. All of this is to say that true marketing is mix of what works, not just traditional or digital. To go from he way it was done for years to simply making everything all digital all the time is not being realistic, it’s just being arrogant and a bit stupid.

Maybe the faster you realize that fact the closer you can get to the CMO? In the meantime, though, it looks like the more you can can help upper level marketing executives understand the technology of marketing a little more the better positioned you may be to move a rung or two up the ladder yourself.

Now go help your help your friendly neighborhood CMO figure out how to use “The Twitter”. Happy career building!

The Kansas City Star reports

When Google Inc. announced last spring that Kansas City, Kan., had landed the tech company’s much-pursued super-speed Internet project, the company gushed about the local utility poles.

They were flush with space nicely suited for hanging Google’s cables.

Now it turns out that differences over where and how to hang wires on those poles, and what fees or installation costs may be required, have created a troublesome bump in plans to launch the project at “Google speed.”

Well, it was just under a year ago when Google released this love letter video talking about how wonderful this would all be. Remember this?

Now you have the mayor Kansas City, KS saying that there are no delays in the project despite Google saying that the first customers would be signed up late in 2011 and service would be delivered in early 2012. Three words on that one “Ain’t gonna happen”. Overall, it seems like there are more questions than answers according to the Star

It still hasn’t, in fact, announced how much it will charge customers. It has not begun installing the fiber optic network needed for its service. And its prediction of beginning service has slipped to the first half of this year. Just how many months have been lost is difficult to sort out, especially with both the Unified Government and Google refusing to say.

In the end I suspect this will all be worked out and everyone will shake hands for a photo op at a local school when the first underprivileged youngster gets ridiculously high speeds for Internet connectivity. Until that day though, it looks like there may need to be quite a high wire act to see that this grand idea comes to fruition.

The Internet is coming together for what will likely be just enough time to move a politician or two from the realm of the clueless to that of “maybe I should listen”. Of course in the social media world of “click activism” this will be short lived and probably just as misunderstood as most things as people will join anything that looks like they are “sticking it to the man” only to move on an order their frappachino or whatever.

I’m sorry. I am being cynical. My apologies. OK back to Google. On their blog Google is asking for people to sign a petition as they outline the evils of SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act). Here are the main points brought to light by Google.

PIPA & SOPA will censor the web. These bills would grant new powers to law enforcement to filter the Internet and block access to tools to get around those filters. We know from experience that these powers are on the wish list of oppressive regimes throughout the world. SOPA and PIPA also eliminate due process. They provide incentives for American companies to shut down, block access to and stop servicing U.S. and foreign websites that copyright and trademark owners allege are illegal without any due process or ability of a wrongfully targeted website to seek restitution.

PIPA & SOPA will risk our industry’s track record of innovation and job creation. These bills would make it easier to sue law-abiding U.S. companies. Law-abiding payment processors and Internet advertising services can be subject to these private rights of action. SOPA and PIPA would also create harmful (and uncertain) technology mandates on U.S. Internet companies, as federal judges second-guess technological measures used by these companies to stop bad actors, and potentially impose inconsistent injunctions on them.

PIPA & SOPA will not stop piracy. These bills wouldn’t get rid of pirate sites. Pirate sites would just change their addresses in order to continue their criminal activities. There are better ways to address piracy than to ask U.S. companies to censor the Internet. The foreign rogue sites are in it for the money, and we believe the best way to shut them down is to cut off their sources of funding. As a result, Google supports alternative approaches like the OPEN Act.

In the end we need to figure out a way to stop online piracy without opening the doors for abuse. That’s how it is with all laws isn’t it? Has anyone stopped abusing anything these days? In the end I would just like a free Internet and if someone steals something and gets caught then they get punished. No more. No less. As for stopping piracy completely? Good luck.

Pubcon

Now the joy-o-meter just cranked up to 11, with Pubcon Paradise! Yes, my favorite conference is now heading to my favorite destination in the world….Hawaii! And Marketing Pilgrim readers can save 20% off registration until Feb 7!

February 14-15, at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki is the location for the must-attend event. And, how can you not go? Especially when you can tell your spouse you are taking them to Hawaii for Valentines!

The conference will have a strong travel and toursim focus, but broad enough that any marketer will walk away with their head spinning with awesome SEO, PPC, Social & Affiliate marketing tactics.

So, what are you waiting for? There’s still time to register and if you do so by Feb 7, you can save 20% with this discount code:

mp-4529120

P.S. If you need help planning your Hawaii trip, I know a web site that can help you with that!

The particular digital press that this company purchased required a dedicated server to manage all of the incoming data and organize project management. So when it came time to purchase a server the company’s IT specialist was consulted. Internal IT specialist are in rare form these days. With IT services being outsourced and more data being stored in the cloud, remaining IT personnel are constantly looking for ways to show value to their employers. It seems as if this IT specialist was no stranger to this, and when it came time to recommend a server, he recommended the cheapest option available.

The IT specialist’s recommendation was taken and the cheapest sever available was purchased. After the whole system was setup new orders started rolling in and new production started moving forward. However, after a few months something clearly wasn’t right. They were now completing projects at a much slower rate, Which means less work was getting done and less orders getting filled. This was mind boggling to some in the company. How could new technology that removed huge work loads in production, take longer? If you asked this question to any of the press operators or technicians responsible for running the new press, they would immediately tell you that the server that was bought was to slow. Soon most of the employees could see the effects of the slow new server as it impacted every aspect of the plant. But despite the obvious problems, everyone kept quiet everyone kept working even when everyone started to get their hours cut.

The reason that this company is now starting to fail isn’t because of a slow server. It isn’t because the digital press doesn’t work right. They are starting to fail because of fear. The IT specialist was afraid to recommend extra cost. The employees are afraid to complain about new processes. All this while the company continues to lose money with new equipment to pay for. And maybe even the owner is afraid of failure himself. The ironic part of this story is that it is the fear of failure that will eventually bring failure on.

Don’t think this can happen to your company? Well the saddest part of this story, is that its true. Eliminate fear in your company, before fear eliminates you.

[photo credit]

Once Google reached a zenith sometime in 2007 the companies have mirrored each other. They have been slaves to the same market conditions and swings and have acted accordingly. That is until very recently. As Microsoft continues to struggle to make itself into a digital company for the future, the market is starting to see it for what it may very well be: a big company that may not be nimble enough to transform itself for the future.

Google on the other hand is a digital company through and through. While it has sputtered through the social media transition it is at least getting its sea legs with Google+ and a more integrated approach to their product set. As a result their value in the market is recognized and rewarded with an upward push in market cap while Microsoft looks to have evened out or, even worse, reached a point where they may see continued declines.

I suspect that these charts in five years will see Google far ahead of Microsoft in market cap. As I have already said, I am not a stock guy and what you are reading is the “man on the street” interpretation of this chart. It’s fair to say that there are larger trends in place and this year we may see the true parting of ways where Google takes its place ahead of Microsoft for the simple reason that Google is an online company and Microsoft isn’t and may never be.

What’s your thoughts?

What is happening is that businesses have more data than ever at their disposal but it’s not manageable thus it can almost seem useless. It’s like having a huge uncut diamond but having no way to refine it to the point that it realizes its true market value. A recent study by Connotate as reported by eMarketer shows that companies are wrestling with this problem every day. Heck, 21% of the people polled couldn’t even define big data!

The following chart lists the challenges that companies are seeing with regard to the amount of data they have at their disposal yet can’t seem to wrestle to the mat. I think you could actually substitute the word “excuses’ for “challenges” but that’s just me.

It’s almost impossible not to chuckle when you read that data aggregation managers find social media to be a problem because of the variety of data sources etc while social media is the marketing darling of the foreseeable future that they are not going to be able to outrun.

So what’s the net result of this over abundance of data? It’s pretty funny actually if the next chart is to be believed. For all of the information collected about customers and their behaviors big data boils down to a way to keep an eye on the competition for most while the revenue generating side of it slides down the scale. Why? Because it is hard to measure while there are market ready tools that can listen to what the competition is doing (tools like Trackur ).

So while marketers are busy outrunning themselves to play with the latest and greatest toys that simply generate more data, the infrastructure behind them is ill-prepared to handle that data thus, in many instances, rendering it useless. An Internet and social media marketing conundrum wouldn’t you say?

If you are looking to find the next “killer app” find a way to solve this issue. There is NO larger problem in the Internet space than not being able to utilize the massive amounts of data that is available to marketers and businesses in general.

What’s your take?

Just because the calendar has changed the year has anything really changed for you as an Internet marketer? I sincerely doubt it. You may have the desire to try all kinds of new things in 2012 but that is a more of a distraction, especially in the Internet and social media marketing space that can be dangerous. We like to chase the newest shiny object but we leave our current practices (you know the ones that can actually produce results?) under attended and under performing. Then we wonder what happened. It’s the same story every year.

So let’s keep it simple this new year. Let’s not get distracted by the latest shiny object. Let’s pay less attention to those trying to uncover the next greatest thing and pay attention to the proven things. In fact, at the risk of sounding boring may I suggest some things for the “new year” that should always be “top of mind” before you flitter off trying something because it’s cool.

Website usability audit – Most websites are designed to please the designer and the client. It is remarkable at just how little the end user is considered when websites or blogs are put together. If your site was put together and everyone sat around a table and got all silly over some kind of interchanging picture something or other and didn’t wonder if it would tick off your visitor, then you didn’t do your job. Take a look at your site from the visitors’ side of the table. It’s the only one that matters.

SEO audit – Oh no not that! Yes, that. Search generates business. If you haven’t turned over every stone in this now fundamental piece of any solid online marketing campaign then you are simply leaving opportunity on the table. Find a reliable provider to do something that has your blessing to rip your current efforts to shreds (if they deserve it). Spend the first part of this “new year” getting your SEO ship in order. Your year may be better for it.

Stop wasting PPC spend – Many are in the habit of “set it and forget it” with regard to their paid search campaigns. Some have simply handed it over to a provider who is checking in on a weekly or monthly basis and are not really being watched. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to be vigilant. You just have to be aware.

Stop playing with social media – Do you have a Facebook page? Do you have a Twitter presence? Are you doing what all the cool kids are doing? Gee, good for you. Now, the next question. Are you making money from those efforts? Can you prove it? If not you are just playing at social media and you are wasting a lot of resources on your “free” efforts.

Measure and monitor – We like to talk about measuring and monitoring for trends etc. That’s fine. What you need to be monitoring is performance. Can you tie your efforts to revenue that has been produced? You can measure anything and everything but if it doesn’t show some form of positive ROI you need to reconsider your efforts.

Listen more- Are you really paying attention to your brand and your competition online or are you just saying that you are while just paying the activity lip service? That’s dangerous. Online listening is no longer an add-on. It’s a basic. You should be doing it with intent. Stop talking and start listening.

These are just a few of the basics that everyone should be considering before they rush out and try every new trick that is unproven. Doing the basics well day in and day out actually would then make the changing of the new year a different story. We get fat and out of shape because we don’t do the basics of eating well and exercising each day during the year. Then because the calendar changes we act as if we are suddenly aware of our health. That’s not being proactive that is just accepting a lie which leads to getting away from the basics.

We do the same with our business and our marketing. At what point in time did someone really think that the changing of the calendar means anything different than any other day of the year?

What are some of the basics you are going to concentrate on today so that when we “celebrate” the start of 2013 you won’t be searching for potions and magic tricks? Instead, you’ll just be trying to do the basics better than the competition while they chase the latest cool thing like a dog chasing its tail. In the end, you may seem boring but you may also be more successful.

Here’s to a basic 2012. Any thoughts?

Some define marketing as a process which creates wealth. So if you want to get better at marketing then you need to get better at creating wealth. I am a big believer that practice makes perfect so how about start creating some wealth right now for an organization that needs it? No I am not talking about SEO or social media. I am not talking about PPC or conversion optimization.

The fastest and most dependable way to create wealth in 2012 is to donate to a non-profit or charity. When you give your time, money, and resources to a non-profit you are creating wealth for them. They then are better able to enrich the world, and thus expand “humanity’s wealth”.

Donating to a nonprofit makes you a better marketer because you get to see a how much potential your skills and resources have to change the world. Donating to a nonprofit makes you a better marketer because it gives you a perspective that doesn’t normally fit within commercial endeavors. Donating to a nonprofit makes you a better marketer because it makes you a better human being.

Its important to pick a nonprofit that you care about to spend your time and money with, but, here are a few of my favorites!

• Shriners Hospitals for Children
• National Youth Leadership Network
• CARE
• Catholic Charities USA

Happy New Year!

[photo credit]

We had a great year this year and we are excited about what is possible in 2012. If you would like to learn more about channel sponsorships at Marketing Pilgrim we would love to hear from you.

Thank to this fantastic (and growing!) list of sponsors:

CHANNEL SPONSORS

INBOUND MARKETING CHANNEL SPONSOR – HubSpot

SOCIAL CHANNEL SPONSOR – Full Sail University

Marketing Pilgrim’s Social Channel is proudly sponsored by Full Sail University, where you can earn your Masters of Science Degree in Internet Marketing in less than 2 years. Visit FullSail.edu for more information.

B2B MARKETING CHANNEL SPONSOR – Marketo

SEO CHANNEL SPONSOR – Link Assistant

REPUTATION CHANNEL SPONSOR – Trackur

Marketing Pilgrim’s Reputation Channel is sponsored by Trackur’s social media monitoring tools. Plans start at just $18 a month and you are up and running in just 60-seconds!

OUR ADVERTISING PARTNERS

WPROMOTE – Superior search engine marketing
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Sponsoredreviews.com – Bloggers earn cash, advertisers build buzz
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Thank you again for a great 2011 and we look forward to even better things in 2012!

My 2011 Christmas Wish List

• Could you make sure that the words guru, maven and ninja and any others like them would be stricken from the social media lexicon and no one can use them again unless they are OK with being mocked and ridiculed? Thanks!

• A nice social media metrics tool kit (that really works) – This is something that so many people are trying to build but with the varying degrees of plausibility and success it looks like we have a long way to go. Gonna need some Santa magic to figure out the best way to measure success of social media.

• A spirit of understanding in Northern California – It seems as if the folks in the Silicon Valley region have lost touch with large numbers of people who may one day need some of their products. They seem to assume that the entire world thinks like them but, well, Santa, they don’t get it. Could you give them some kind of a reality machine to let them know that there are people out there who might like to use some cool things but they also enjoy simple language, clear instructions and a little less arrogance.

• Peace amongst social networks – Can’t we all just get along and see that there is no way for one social network to truly please everyone and that choice is a good thing?

• Less government involvement in all matters Internet (and business for that matter) – This one needs no explanation, right Santa?

• Research done by unsponsored researchers – Is there any way to get real research about Internet and social media marketing that isn’t done by someone trying to promote their product and way of life? Boy, that would be neat!

• A true competitor for Google in search – People are wondering if Microsoft is slowing down their quest to make a dent in the search industry by going head to head with Google. Heck, if they didn’t buy half their current market share no one would give them the time of day. We really could use someone who could push Google real hard in the search space. Is that something even you can’t provide, Santa?

• A rumor filter – We say some doozies this past year Santa from all the iPhone 5 talk, which even included a pretty serious claim that Sprint had an exclusive on this year’s version of Bigfoot. It seems that the Internet news industry has confused rumors and speculation with actual facts and reality. Do you have an “I call BS!” machine or something that might stop this so we can spend time concentrating on things that are really happening?

• An appreciation of where we are versus where we are going to be – Seems like everyone is in such a rush to do the next thing that we have a bunch of old “next things” lying around half used. I know you see this every year when you give the toys to the boys and girls and they play with them for a day then put them aside and work on next year’s wish list. In the Internet space it would so cool if you could help people use what we have in their hands today to their greatest advantage before they move on like a spoiled child and forget how cool things are that they have right now.

• Did I mention less government involvement in the online space already? Well, this one is worth mentioning again.

So that’s my wish list for this year. I don’t know what you can do with this Santa but any help would be appreciated. In fact, I may have some people who have other Internet and social media marketing related wishes for Christmas this year. You might find some of them in the comment section today.

Thanks, St. Nick!

This series is part of our ongoing effort here at Marketing Pilgrim to show the real world of social media rather than just the industry hype and drivel. Let us know what you think and give us an idea of what you might like to see in the future.

Depending on which study you read, anywhere between 33 and 70 percent of us lie about our finances in some way, shape or form. Whether we lie about whether we can really afford something or we embellish our salaries to friends and family, ultimately money makes for interesting conversation. “ I haven’t treated myself in a while” or “It’s on sale, I may never have this opportunity again” are the kind of thought bubbles you could draw over many shoppers heads as they contemplate spending dough. Whether we actually have the money to spend is a completely different question. Don’t get me wrong; people who have money and pretend they don’t are also considered not telling the truth.

So what you might ask does this have anything to do with community banking and social media? Social media and its impact on the way we do business is not a fad, it’s evolution. All businesses, including banking are now experiencing the power of the customer having control over their experience reporting. The old saying that one unhappy customer tells 10 others is amplified to be one unhappy customer tells thousands and even millions, instantly. Just imagine what an unhappy customer who isn’t telling the entire truth to themselves could do to a banks reputation using social media when something doesn’t go their way. Imagine this scenario, one that is very real:

Someone posts on Yelp a very unflattering and scathing report regarding a certain bank in town that denied a loan request for $5000. The individual reports they had been a customer of the bank for over 20 years, owns their home, has worked at the same job for the last 10 years and has a credit score of 725. The unhappy customer recommends all those who are even considering doing business with this bank to stay away because they are tight fisted, not customer service oriented and don’t serve their best customers needs.

If you are unfamiliar with how a bank works, this write up could definitely cause you to think a little more about where you might go for your next loan request.

Unfortunately, as a bank you can’t say anything to defend yourself because it breaches the customers privacy. The bank can’t respond with the other details that would help round out the story and make it more factual. Something like: all the information stated in your Yelp post is indeed correct however you failed to mention that you owe $50,000 in credit cards, many are near their credit limit and your debt to income ratio is 77%. We are very concerned about your financial situation and denied your request but also offered you financial counseling in hopes of helping you avoid any further deterioration in your finances.

This type of scenario is a very serious fear in the community banking sector as it is a real example of how social media can damage their reputation. They aren’t too-big-to-fail behemoths with millions of customers. They can’t afford to be impersonal and make loans based on credit scores only. Like most entrepreneurial small businesses, community banks are integral to the success of the local economy, so they actually have a more serious need to do the right thing all the time.

One of the hardest things to convince anyone, especially a community bank, is that while social media outlets gives a complainer a megaphone, it also presents tremendous opportunities to gain positive feedback which can often extinguish the situation. After generations of conditioning that asking for feedback is tacky and expecting that the only time people speak up is to complain, it’s completely understandable why some would assume social media is built to be destructive.

To change that, we advise our members to think differently:

1. Encourage your customers to evangelize. You’ll find people are very happy to talk about their positive experiences, if you just ask them.
2. Brag on your customers. You aren’t the only one doing great things in the community so talk about your customer’s good deeds.
3. Learn how to receive positive feedback. There’s nothing wrong with letting feedback speak for itself. Feel good that your customers like you.
4. Negative feedback is reality, so don’t seek to delete. People expect to see a bump or two, its normal. A long list of positive without so much as a blemish looks contrived and fake.
5. Handle your business, offline. Yes, it hurts and yes, it’s tough to admit you can’t satisfy everyone so reaching out to the disgruntled on a one-on-one basis can sometimes start the healing process. A phone call, a handwritten note or even a face-to-face conversation carries a lot of weight. Who knows, they might even go back and write a follow up or remove the post entirely.

About the author

Chris Lorence is Executive Vice President/Chief Marketing Officer for the Independent Community Bankers of America, headquartered in Washington, DC. His duties include oversight and management of the organizations marketing & communications department, which includes political advocacy, social media integration, press relations, and brand management. Chris is also responsible for the organizations flagship award winning national magazine, Independent Banker® and 4 other strategically aligned membership and industry publications. As a member of the senior executive team, Chris works with management and staff to both create and bring to life the organizations strategic vision and initiatives. The ICBA enterprise consists of both a non-profit trade association with nearly 5000 members and five for-profit subsidiaries, one of which is a national bank. Before coming to ICBA, Chris was Chief Operating Officer of a community based financial organization and has over 15 years of senior management experience within the financial community.

From the Gmail blog

As the holiday season approaches, we’re happy to announce that we’ve extended free domestic calls within the US and Canada for 2012.

This is our way of helping you connect with friends and family across the country. And you can still call the rest of the world from Gmail at our insanely low rates.

Now, you don’t think that this has anything to do with Google’s attempt to have us all ultimately do everything through, or at least connected to, Google+? Nah. They wouldn’t do that now would they?!

C’mon man!