A direct response marketing program – This means we need to avoid the urge to include conversation stopping things like hyperbole, canned benefits statements and a call to action.  Few things shut down a blog conversations faster than “act before Friday…” or some other type of offer.

A press release – PR teams have a very specific role as the “official voice” of the organization for the media and other third parties.  This typically means speaking of your organization in the third person.  In contrast, effective blogging works in the first and second person as you would in a conversation.  This also invites comments, both positive and negative.

An email substitute – Just because your house email list is losing its pop doesn’t mean you can blindly move your promotions to your blog.  Blogs with no obvious value to your audience are spam.  You need to get beyond the facts and tell me something new, fresh or surprising.

A case study – Blogs are great for telling stories but again think in the first and second person rather than the third person.  You have to interview your customer for the case study so why not take the time to capture the narrative as a Q&A or podcast?

Buzz – You are not stupid.  You can see through it when there is no substance.  It is no secret that the best blogs are full of fresh content and interesting ideas. Why bother blogging at all if you have nothing new, original or real to share?

Advertising – If you are a consistent blogger with a thoughtful SEO plan, you can crank up your pagerank and generate significant inbound traffic that can replace expensive paid media.  Again it starts with compelling content that your readers want to read, share and link to.

Viral marketing – Sure a blog post can “go viral” and get shared broadly but you first need to create something your audience cares about and is worth sharing.

- Mr. Tangyslice thanks you for joining us today and wonders which of these things you see most frequently and if he missed anything?

Related articles:

• Top 8 Mistakes Of Blogger Newbs (davidrisley.com)
• The Power of Being Personal on Your Blog (problogger.net)
• 8 things I wish I knew before starting to blog (shoutmeloud.com)

Wake up everybody. The age of plentiful bandwidth is here. This means a streaming radio show can sound like the host is sitting right next to you. Last summer I blogged about my learning from producing a couple of online radio shows.  I created this post as a follow roadmap to help you create your own show.

My guess is that this is a new venture so I am a big advocate of testing new media programs in no-cost or low cost ways to prove the concept before “going big”. So how can we get from idea to fresh online radio show in an agile way? Here is my road map I used twice last summer and am currently employing as I produce a new show here at Novell.

Strategy:

• Write a short creative brief – This should be no more than 3 pages. Remember that the show is the product not the document.

• Sell the idea to the most important stakeholders – You need buy-in but don’t try to sell everyone. The first show (ie “the pilot”) will be your best tool for convincing people to do more.

• Find an executive sponsor – This person can advise the team and protect the idea from the corporate T-cell types that challenge anything new or different. Your sponsor could also be a possibly be one of your first guests.

Operational details

• Decide on a format – Will it be a panel? Will it be a one-on-one interview? Or a combination?

• Pick dates for your first three shows – Without a first show date, all you have is an idea. This creates a sense of urgency and catalyzes the team.

• Decide on frequency – My bias is towards weekly. Unless you have enough content, more than once a week is tough. On the other hand, less than once a week doesn’t give you the chance to develop a rhythm.

• Identify potential guests for your first three shows – The first shows won’t be perfect so you don’t need to call in all your markers to get  superstar guests. Save that for when you have worked out the kinks.

• Get all your technology straightened out. You don’t need much equipment these days to do radio but you do need someone who can plug it in and make sure it works seamlessly. TV/video has even more moving parts so plan accordingly.

• Figure out the streaming/hosting – Where will the show reside? There are a number of Internet radio stations to consider. You can also buy some bandwidth from a CDN and stay independent.

Content

• Find a strong host – I find this the most challenging part. Many people think they can do this themselves but in reality this is a specialized skillset. While I have a hairline for radio and charming demeanor, I know that make a better guest than host. Try to find someone who is a good interviewer and can control the conversation. This can be a difference maker.

• Pick a working title and theme – Don’t worry about perfection. This can be changed easily. In many cases you will learn from your first few shows and make adjustments.

• Have a pre-production meeting – Two days before the show, meet with the host and guests to make sure everyone knows what the theme is and how the program will flow. Also let people identify their role or position on an issue. This can help generate more controversy and a better overall program.

• I prefer a soft launch for the first show – This means emailing people you know will listen and provide honest feedback. Begin promoting the show through social media about 24 hours before airtime. Remember, this is a pilot and will not be measured by audience size for the first show.

The show

• Get everyone together an hour before the show – Like a sporting event, people need to warm-up and get ready.

• Give your team a pep talk – I know we are adults but chances are your guests and host will be a little nervous. Anything you can do to break the ice will make for a better show.

• Take care of your talent – Make sure they all have a beverage and are comfortable.  No brown m&ms in the green room is crucial.

• Double check with your engineer that you are recording the show.

After the show

• Publish the recording – Think MP3. That is the only format that matters for radio. There are a bunch of options for video (Youtube or Vimeo).

• Decide on your discussion hub – This is where you will engage your audience between shows, test topics and publish recordings. Options include a Facebook fan page, LinkedIn group or blog.

If you are looking for an example show, I particularly like what PJA Advertising has done with their “This Week in Social Media” show.

Full disclosure: I was involved in the development of the show but they have done all the heavy lifting and have built a pretty big audience.

Anyone else dabbling in online media want to chime in? Did I miss anything? Any risks in this format?

In no particular order:

1. Blog it
2. Tweet it
3. Digg it
4. Stumble it
5. Post in  LinkedIn groups
6. Add to email signature
7. Tweet it again later today
8. Post to Facebook group(s)/fan page(s)
9. Update your LinkedIn status
10. Share in customer forums
11. Reddit
12. Create a one minute podcast for iTunes
13. Record a one minute Webcam video for YouTube
14. Upload your PPT to Slideshare
15. Create a Friendfeed
16. Get your blog listed on Technorati
17. Tweet it tomorrow
18. Update/create your Wikipedia page
19. Post to vertical communities like Toolbox.com
20. Ask friends to retweet
21. Ask friends to “like” on Facebook
22. Beg your favorite bloggers to mention
23. Post picture from announcement party to Flickr

I’m sure I missed some.  Any other suggestions?

A number of recent conversations with clients and CMO friends have centered on what to try next in B2B marketing.  The conversations have gone something like this:

“I’ve cut back PR because I just couldn’t justify the retainer.  Our traditional media buys are much smaller this year because the economy sucks.  We’re doing our one essential trade show this year and have killed the rest. We’re tweeting and have about 500 followers.  Most of my prospects and customers aren’t on Twitter. Our Facebook page has 250 friends but they are mostly employees, vendors and a small group of customers.  Despite alot of knob turning, our paid and organic search has reached a plateau.  And my sales team is complaining about the quality of the webinar and whitepaper leads…  What can I do?”

Here are two cutting edge things that I have seen more progressive marketers testing:

Social media lead generation – I know this may be heretical but try using social media to actively engage people.  People  are using one of the social media monitoring tools like Radian6, Scoutlabs or Trackur.  The obvious rules of social media apply (ie don’t be an idiot, be considerate, join the conversation, etc).

Online Content Syndication – There are about 10-20 social media sites that have any traffic and really matter to the average B2B company.  Once you establish your presence on these sites, you can use tools like PingFM and Tubemogul as well as RSS feeds to push content.  The idea is to use tags based on your most important SEO keywords.  Again, I know this isn’t “joining the conversation” so you need to be actively monitoring things to participate and engage prospects.

Can you suggest any others that I have missed?

Also, for those of you didn’t get the 80’s one hit wonder reference in the post headline, here is the video for the song by the  bad Haircut 100.  Enjoy and stay tangy.

I’ve been thinking a great deal about the balance between inbound and outbound marketing.  I’m not a big fan of the term “inbound marketing” as it is largely a rehash of things that most online marketers discovered over the last 8-10 years.  Accountable and analytic marketers understand that:

• Most of the mass media and “push” techniques just aren’t as effective as they used to be a decade or two ago.
• People don’t like to be harassed by telemarketers.
• Shoppers are increasingly using the Web (including blogs and social media) to learn about your product or service.
• Prospects who engage with your business online are typically further along the purchasing process and are more likely to buy.

These are all things that most of us have discovered empirically.

In my opinion, the real challenge is figuring out if you can get enough from your online channels to fill the funnel and support your sales goals.  In many markets, a large percentage of people still use “old media” to learn about things.  For example, while over 10 million people still watch the nightly network news shows in the US, the more popular online TV shows have at best thousands of viewers.  I know, I know we can talk about audience targeting and specificity but differential is meaningful.

While all trends are toward online media, most of us will exhaust our productive online opportunities and will need some “old media”push in our marketing mix.  To use an expression popular in the state of Maine, “you can’t get there from here.” We have businesses to run and sometimes we still need the sheer mass of eyeballs you can only get from “old media”.

I know that change is upon us as print media and radio suffer through their painful corrections but they still have big, relevant audiences that we need to keep that in mind.  These channels are also not going away anytime soon.  My suggestion is to watch the numbers and be ruthless as you make media decisions understanding that most businesses need more than just online marketing (even if the customer acquisition costs are much higher offline).  At the end of the day, results matter more than channels.

How much are you moving to online media?  Can you reach your goals this year with online alone?

Last week I blogged about fresh alternatives to the B2B marketing lead generation trinity (webinars, whitepapers and tradeshows).  While few parts of your marketing mix can help you tell your story, share a demo or answer questions like a live web event, I feel like the medium has become tired.  How many sessions about “Best practices in…” or “X Ways to improve…” can your prospects bear?

The format has become as predictable as a “Friends” rerun. You begin with a short intro, followed by a customer or analyst testimonial, then a demo, shameless plug and finally an interactive Q&A.  Your prospects may or may not listen to the audio in the background as they get caught up on email or checkout Perez Hilton.

So, what can a software marketer do? Sales is still going to breath down your neck for leads.  My suggestions is to take another look at streaming radio.  I know this is technologically similar to webinar audio but has a few advantages.

Costs:  Unless you are using one of the low-cost, higher-risk webinar providers (ie Gotowebinar or Dim Dim), streaming radio can be significantly less expensive.

Sound quality: A 128K audio stream typically sounds better than the overburdened VOIP or conference call connections from the major webinar services.

Scalability: Webinar providers also often have a different pricing schedule for bigger events (ie over 1,000 people).  Streaming radio on the other hand can use a CDN which typically scales to much great levels without arbitrary limits imposed to maximize revenue yield.

Freshness:  Who wants to be a webinar attendee?  An Internet radio show just sounds cooler.

Podcasts: It is pretty easy to create podcasts from most streaming radio software.

Here are a couple things I have learned:

• You need an alternative plan for chat.  I’ve dabbled with Twitter and a custom hashtags. You could also consider Skype or some other chat platform for less social media savvy crowds.
• You need to find a registration system.  I’ve used Eventbrite.  It is free and easy to configure.
• Live demos are a challenge. You would need to find a screensharing solution.
• You’ll want to build a custom page for radio show URL.
• People can access the show without registering, costing you some leads.

Anyone else have experiences with streaming radio they would like to share?

The tech marketing holy trinity (ie webinars, whitepapers and tradeshows) still rule for most of the B2B marketers I meet.  That doesn’t mean that they aren’t thinking about ways to test the waters with new/social media.  While their customers may not be gathering and connecting in great numbers in these channel (yet), opportunities still exist to share content and start the conversation.

Here are three fresh things you can try:

Update Linkedin – Make sure your company profile is up-to-date and check out a few groups where you think your prospect are chatting.  If you feel ambitious, start a couple of discussions.  While the groups are a little spammy, there is a also a ton of action.

Do a Google blog search – Check out what people are saying about you or your competitors in the blogosphere.  Even better, setup a Google blog alert for your top 5 organic search terms.  This gives you the opportunity to comment on relevant posts.

Peek at your Web referrer logs – I am always surprised to find new sources in my organic web traffic.  It often gives me fresh ideas for online content and campaigns.

Any other super simple things you have tried?  How have they worked?

As a followup to my recent rant about faith-based arguments, I grappling for a better label for a social media proponent.  Aside from the obvious consultant label (self deprecating barb), I came up with  the idea of replacing “social media evangelist” with “social media pragmatist”.

Imagine what Twitter would be like if people spent more time admitting that some social media were not adding much business value.  Conversations could be less opinion based and more factual.  We wouldn’t have to hear the same old tired stories about the  hype spot of the day or that crummy low margin etailer who everyone loves because its CEO tweets alot.  We could get down to discussing business transformation and measurable outcomes.  Boring things like sales, leads and net promoter scores could become the only meaningful metrics.

One can only dream…

As I blog about new media, I am often struck by the irony of my social media “lifestyle”.  Many of my new “friends” have drunk the web 2.0 Kool-aid and spend most of their time on social media talking about social media.  From my conversations with them, you would think that these new media like Twitter and Facebook will change every aspect of our lives (heck, even Oprah is on Twitter now).  While I remain bullish about the potential of these channels, I have a bunch of concerns about long term adoption by pragmatists and laggards particularly in the B2B world.  Here is my logic:

Advertising based business models are weak: Regular readers of the ’slice know about the poor response rates of Facebook ads.  Without a strong ROI from this advertising, companies will eventually steer clear of this medium or prices will be driven down to a level reflecting its effectiveness.

Where are the doctors, lawyers and other “regular” business people? I can see them wanting a presence in the social media world but until these media can improve service delivery, increase sales or cut costs, it will be a nice to have experiment for some guy in marketing.

Customer conversations are great: Engaging them online is valuable but it is challenging to measure the impact.  We’ll see in the long run if customer satisfaction or retention rates improve from these online interactions.

Someone’s gonna pay: In many cases, however, we just don’t know who that will be.  I love what people like TipJoy are doing in the micropayments space but we still don’t have strong revenue models for many of these sites.

Call me old fashioned: One of the things that helped Web 1.0 explode was when business people realized they could sell more stuff by having an ecommerce site.  I’m still waiting to hear more of these B2B stories from the social media world.

So what does this mean?

We need to keep innovating and testing.  There is a great deal of option value in being a part of the conversations.  They are happening out there whether you like it or not.  Also,  I know this isn’t a very web 2.0 idea but repurposing and syndicating your content through these channels can have a positive impact on your search engine marketing and help you reach prospective customers. Just be don’t be an idiot, be relevant, and add value to the conversation.

I’d like to share a story about a time when I thought I was measuring the right thing (but wasn’t).

I had decided that paid search was the right answer for my business.  Many of my competitors were buying keywords and there was plenty of traffic in the space.  The popular terms were bid up to the $2-3 dollar price range and based on my conversion assumptions, I thought I could get the customer acquisition cost tuned to the point where we would have a strongly positive ROI.

After about six weeks of adjusting bids, killing off bad ad creative, inserting new ads, and reorganizing ad groups, BINGO, the cost per customer landed within about 5% of my target.  Needless to say, I felt pretty good and was thinking it was time to “pour some gasoline on the fire” by making a big budget request.   It seemed like a sensible thing to do given the acquisition cost and conversions rate.

Before making the “big ask” for budget I decided to take one more look at the numbers.  I wanted to make sure these new sign ups would become productive long term customers.  My back-of-the-envelope estimates prior to the campaign had assumptions for the average revenue per customer.  The real data, however, showed that these customers yielded 75% less revenue than our “typical” customers, pushing this campaign into the red.  I was relieved to discover this before dropping  a large sum of money into this medium.

The moral of the story: make sure you are measuring the right things and they are connected to real results. In most businesses, activity-based measures like leads or traffic are directional indicators.  In the end, revenue and sales are what really matter.

So, what are you doing to connect your marketing activity to bottom line results?