Corporate Transformation

How to do real-world Social Media in an Enterprise - it's NOT Vanilla Ice Cream!

I'd like to share with you the work I'm doing on "The Social Value Chain".  

This is quite important for all Enterprises, Organizations, Operating Corporations, Multi-Product - Multi-National Companies and PE Firms, since the Social "stuff" floating around all over today does NOT work well for the Enterprise.  

It appears that every other Consultant on the street today is a “Digital Media Strategist”.  Every marketer became a Social Community Expert.  Graphic Designers have become Social Platform Builders.  And the hype around “Social” continues …

For an Enterprise, a Corporation and real operating entities, the value of “Social” is NOT uni-dimensional.  Nor is it in a single corporate Blog, a plain-jane Twitter account or even in a copycat Social Community tool.

An Enterprise can benefit more so from “Social” than a flat organization.  The real impact of Social Media and Social Communities lies hidden inside a corporation's Value Chain and in their operational efficiencies. Remember Michael Porter’s Value Chain?

To implement an effective Social Media & Community Strategy, you need a Social Value Chain Methodology that delivers improved Sales, Marketing, Operational efficiencies, Brand/Customer Loyalty and Financial results - throughout the entire Value/Supply Chain.

All (that I've seen to date) of the so-called Social Media Strategists completely ignore the Value Chain - because they don't have broad Operational experience!  As an example of successful implementation, by embedding a Social Value Chain in one company, a number of complete Business Processes have been replaced with a less expensive alternative - powered by Social Communities!

The Social Value Chain requires a seasoned understanding of the Supply/Demand Chain, the entire enterprise’s Value Chain, operational KPI’s and a deep, visceral mindset that thinks in terms of Social Media & Community persona's.

Oh, and by the way, you would be well advised to use a Methodology that seamlessly melds the above.

Is your Value Chain “Social”? Is it plain Vanilla?

Here is how a Corporation / Enterprise implements real Social Media Strategy & Methodology across all of it's Value Chain: http://slidesha.re/d5C9I9  

Ytzik Aranov

Twitter the Time Away?

My Message to Pace Lattin --> http://industrypace.com/frontpage/2010/1/21/twitter-no-money-to-be-made.html

Hey Pace:

Affiliate Marketers will claim to everyone that they can make money on Twitter - as do everyone and their brother-in-law who wants to create an Online Revenue Stream to supplement their income (heard that one before?). We know what happens to the creators of the Online Programs (they make the money) and to their Customers (the Affiliates - they spend the money). The real point in using Twitter is that it is a direct channel that Consumers ACTUALLY LIVE ON!! Brands today do NOT have anywhere else a 24/7, active, live, uncontrolled, say-what-you-want, and well-monitored channel directly to their Customers and Fans. Twitter is that channel. So, making money on Twitter - maybe, although probably not. Brand Refreshment, Brand Extension, Customer Service, Channel expansion, Damage Control, News Blasts, Brand Loyalty, Value Chain Management, yada, yada, yada, .... 

Vote YES on Twitter!

And for all you old-timers who know what the Value Chain is, you'd best take notice since Social Media IMPACTS the entire Value Chain of your Enterprise! So, listen up and map your Social Media Impact Points to your Value Chain!

Or, just call me .....

Social Media Architecture - all the Rage!

Hey, what's all the rage today?

Social Media. 

It's like saying the word "Alchemist" in the first Millennia, or "Wizard" in the Middle Ages, or "Freemason" in the 1800's, or Web 2.0 in the early 2000's.  It invokes visions of the secret, dark arts.  It gives one the stamp of "I know the real state of the world".  It attempts to connotate that all previous attempts at web marketing are useless now and there is a new paradigm dimension one must enter.

You know, it's funny, though, that I see whenever many of these "paradigms" pop up (unless they are a truly new technological discovery), the common theme among them all really is "Common Sense".

Unfortunately, we have all lost our common sense here and are being made to believe that Social Media Marketing & Networking is some new technological discovery that obsoletes all before it and if you are not on the bandwagon, then, well, you must be over the age of 25 or senile!

It's how to apply Social Media to your business that makes the difference and makes it effective - or not.

My good friend and one of the foremost Social Media Architecture & Marketing experts I know today, Alex Romanovich, founded a Think Tank called "Social2B"  - of which I'm honored to be a participant in.

Alex publicly asked the question on LinkedIn

What role do you think that Social Media Marketing 'Architecture' will play in the success of a company?"

My answer is very simple - and it's Common Sense!

Like all Information Technology Architectures, the Social Media Architecture is no different. 

A company must first define who are their Customers/Constituents, the desired results (Sales, Loyalty, etc.), the Product/Line/Service mix, the Marketplace into which they are selling, the data associated with the Customer/Product/Service/Market, the Business Processes, corporate goals, etc. 

Once that is mapped, then a Social Media Marketing Map is created that identifies where the Customers, Suppliers, Service Providers, etc., are located. This is obviously created based on the intersects between where they are and data from Step 1. Then both data architectures (e.g., the results of the analysis) are mapped to each other - and then an Architecture with a Social Media Marketing Strategy & Social Media Marketing Campaigns emerge. 

Jumping into Blogging, or Social Communities or Facebook, etc., without conducting the preliminary analysis and Strategic mapping is like driving to a meeting while hoping that on the way, the people you are meeting with will give you the address. 

Think, Then Do! 
Measure Twice - Cut Once!! 

Ytzik Aranov

>> See Alex's question and a number of answers here.

Who Is Driving?

Hi folks!

Here is a Seth Godin gem, if I ever saw one!  It's so important that I've copied it word for word and provided the link to his post as well.  See my notes below.

Seth's Post:

"Hop in, I'll drive."

Just because someone offers you a lift, doesn't mean you have to take it.

In a joint venture or possible business arrangement, it's reassuring when the other person offers to drive. "Leave it to me," they might say, or, "I'm socializing this through the organization... be patient, I've done this before and we need to do it this way."

Often, this is true. It's the honest appraisal of a generous insider, someone who wants both of you to succeed.

But, just as you should never get in a car with a drunk driver, understand that the minute you let the other person drive, you've bought into their process. Spending three months or three years following someone off a cliff is nuts.

I'd rather disappoint you today and refuse your offer of a lift than end up with both of us having wasted hours and hours of time somewhere further down the road. No, you can't pitch this to your husband, that's my job. No, I won't stand by and watch you mangle this before the board. No, we're not going to interact with customers your way merely because it's the only way you know.

Thanks, but I'll drive this time.

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What a message Seth drives home!

When conducting your business - and I mean YOUR business, that is exactly what it is - YOURS.  You conduct your business, your company, your partnership, your department, your personal life, etc., in the manner consistent with your personality, lifestyle, leadership, knowledge, experience and business sense.  Don't relinquish this to others - however well-intentioned they may be.  By doing so, you've lost control over the process and lost the edge which is completely YOURS and which is YOU.

Seth says it in a special way that only he can; take note and embed this into your leadership / management style and into YOUR way of doing business and conducting YOUR life.

The TechComDev Service - what is it?

Welcome to the rollout of our new TechComDev Service.

This hands-on Advisory & Consulting service provides our Clients with deep expertise and track record in:

• Technology Commercialization
• Global Business Development
• Strategic Partnering
• Outsourced business advisory services
• and more

The New Social Media Dashboard

Your car has one.  Your cell phone has one. Your dishwasher has one too!

Your Career focus needs one as well.

Create a Career Dashboard to channel your efforts in your targeted dimensions of activity.

Do this:

1. READ Mike Fruchter's How restaurants can use social media 
2. READ Mike's Netvibes: The New Social Media Dashboard
3. Go build yours
4. Monitor it
5. Respond responsibly and frequently!

Teens Don't Tweet ... Hello!

Teens DO NOT Tweet.

It's True, folks. My teen kids and ALL their friends and all their friends' friends refuse to Tweet. And many more friends that they know, do not Tweet also. Having lived through technological changes for years and having transformed corporations with new technologies for years, I can say that there is a generational thing here. Most Teens do NOT invent the new technologies of today. It's the twenty-somethings. By the time the new tech becomes commercializable or goes viral , the 20-somethings and above assimilate the new tech into their arsenal, but people above (the "older" generation) as well as the generation below (Teens), refuse to accommodate the trends. Because no one tells them what to do or how to live, let alone how to communicate and to whom! And they don't trust anyone over 19 - remember?! By the time the Teens become 20-somethings, a new technology comes along or they invent it. And the cycle begins again. If you think 20-somethings are focused today and tech-savvy, Teens today are even more so - so focused that you WILL NOT move them off and out of their tight-knitted community (that grows slower than you would think) of friends and their FaceBook/MySpace/SMS inner circle. So, don't go overboard trying to hook and net these Teens - they're smarter than the rest of us and smell bait a mile away.  

The Secret

The secret to Teens is "Something Free". Give them something free that they can use and also forward to their Teen friends and they will make this so viral that the CDC will have to get involved! Free means they gamed the system. Free means they get value without asking Mom & Dad for money. Free means they are a source of authority for their peers.  

Now the free stuff has to resonate with them. Like a free subscription to a Massively Multi-Player Game that they can invite their close-knit inner circle into. Free means Ice cream at the local Mall. Free means Free.

Ytzik Aranov

Twitter is a hundred times better than Google for market research!

So, are you using it correctly?

See the video clip from Mark Shaw and then make a list of the targeted segments you could be searching for to market your product and/or service to Prospects in your target locations.

Twitter Market Research

Learn to speak the language of success

Are you projecting a "Lack"? Or an Opportunity?

The way you think and speak will dictate the probability of your success, or not.  

Watch Roger Hamilton here: 

http://bit.ly/P4Gro 

Marketingspeak ...

Read Seth Godin's new blog post at --> http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/08/not-so-good-at-math.html 

Here it is again for those of you who don't like surfing:

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Not so good at math

A simple quiz for smart marketers:

Let's say your goal is to reduce gasoline consumption.

And let's say there are only two kinds of cars in the world. Half of them are Suburbans that get 10 miles to the gallon and half are Priuses that get 50.

If we assume that all the cars drive the same number of miles, which would be a better investment:

• Get new tires for all the Suburbans and increase their mileage a bit to 13 miles per gallon.
• Replace all the Priuses and rewire them to get 100 miles per gallon (doubling their average!)

Trick question aside, the answer is the first one. (In fact, it's more than twice as good a move).

We're not wired for arithmetic. It confuses us, stresses us out and more often than not, is used to deceive. 

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Ever see those M.C. Escher drawings where the space in between shapes morph into shapes themselves and where dimensions and levels all merge into a different perspective?

This is exactly what Seth is proving in his brilliant post.  However, I'd rather focus on the marketingspeak vs. the math.

When marketing spins, it weaves a story into the fabric of the spin.  When you read the words in Seth's blog post, the words spin a tale.  The tale doesn't hold up to the mathematical reality, however. As Seth points out, we would rather believe the spin than go through the trouble of doing the math to arrive at a empirical scientific conclusion.

So, this is a double-edged sword.  In the hands of the Marketeer (or Politician, Statistician, etc.), they know full well that their spin weaves the story to the point consumers buy their products and constituents believe their messages - counting on the fact that fewer will "do the math" than not.  

The same sword in the hands of an educated Gen-XY Consumer (the generation that did not grow up on Big Brand Messages, IBM Mainframes or slide rules) will cut through the spin and they are more likely to do the math. 

Ergo, It's a generational thing if you follow the spin or follow the math.  I'd argue that Gen-XY and beyond will not accept the message without slicing and dicing the math - and they're much better at doing that in their heads at new-math speed than earlier (mine) generations were.  

VPs of Marketing & Branding people take note - the spin is losing its cycle without the math and Consumers / Constituents now are more in control than before.  The lesson here is to weave the math into the story as you spin, target the neural patterns of your different constituents, be credible to the math and above all else, don't be wishy-washy in your spin-cycle!