#OscarsRTM: Real-Time Marketing or Real-Time Misfire?

You’re at a party visiting with friends when out of the corner of your eye you spot a stranger eavesdropping. A friend mentions she watched the Oscars, and the stranger pounces. “I work for Oscar Mayer. What a coincidence!” After an uneasy moment, another friend mentions he just saw “Les Miserables,” when suddenly another stranger interrupts, “I thought Les Mis would win–could you please tell everyone at the party?”

This uncomfortable and preposterous social situation is a pretty fair analogy for what passed as “Real-Time Marketing” (or RTM) on Oscars night. Oscar Mayer posted a humorous tweet about how it was trending (Oscars/Oscar–get it?), while Special K tried to achieve virality by asking people to retweet its prediction that Les Mis would win an award. Oscar Mayer received more than 700 retweets–a more than respectable number–but Special K’s image received just six retweets, half from people who appear to have a relationship with the brand (and only one of whom disclosed it).

Oscar Mayer and Special K were hardly alone. I won’t attempt to provide an exhaustive list of the largely ineffective social media RTM that occurred Sunday evening, but you can see more at Jay Baer’s “Convince and Convert” blog, where he does a fine job furnishing examples and commentary.

The evening of the Oscars, David Armano launched a hashtag, #OscarsRTM, to discuss the night’s real-time marketing. He was dismayed when the hashtag conversation became “a constant stream of snark, dismissal, critique and a never ending barrage of ‘not impressed.’” David particularly objected when someone in the #OscarsRTM stream unkindly edited a photo of the U.S. Cellular “2013 Oscars Newsroom.” David rose to U.S. Cellular’s defense, noting “they are TRYING to provide relevant content vs. just doing straightforward advertising.”

I have tremendous respect for David–he has been a thought leader leading the charge for social media for longer than most social media professionals even knew what Twitter was–but this time I think David is wrong. What U.S. Cellular did on Oscars night was not “provide relevant content;” they tweeted ads. Each tweet contained an image attempting to tie the brand to one of the Oscar-nominated films.

The problem with the social media RTM that occurred on Oscars night is the “M” in RTM. The intent of these brands was clear to everyone–not to add to the conversation or enhance others’ enjoyment of the Oscars but to create value for themselves. Almost none of the brands attempted to engage others in a dialog–they instead broadcast a stream of brand messaging. Many brands tweeted their social advertising using the same #Oscars hashtag that consumers adopted for their conversations, which demonstrates how much RTM on Oscars night was less about social engagement and more about old-fashioned one-way interruption advertising.

When brands like Oreo and Tide demonstrated wit and agility with funny posts during the Super Bowl blackout, social media RTM seemed poised for growth. Just three weeks later, the pre-planned, unfunny, heavy-handed, brand-centric posts of Oscars night managed to make RTM look not like a fresh, new strategy but old, tired marketing-as-usual.

Not every brand fell into the trap of talking about themselves. Victoria’s Secret participated in social media as people would, commenting about the Bond girls, complimenting Jennifer Hudson’s performance and raving about Anne Hathaway’s dress. Mercedes-Benz’s Smart USA Twitter profile made creative use of Vine to honor the Oscar winners while inventively pimping their products. My personal favorite tweet of the evening was Chobani’s, which made fun of the fact they could not get legal approval for their Oscar tweets.

He wrapped himself in a nation’s fate. Like a custom smart wrap…but for the soul. Our Best Actor #Oscars t… vine.co/v/bgghz0M5IhU
— Official smart USA(@smartcarusa) February 25, 2013

When big events occur and millions of people turn to social media to share and talk, it is understandable that brands want to be a part of that, but they have to bring something to the conversation other than their own wants and needs. If brands want to build attention and awareness using social media during international events, they should consider the following:

  • Don’t broadcast; spark and engage in conversation. Respect that you are part of the consumers’ social channels and consumers’ dialog.
     
  • Be creative. Photoshopping a “Les Mis” French flag or a Lincoln stovetop hat to your product is not creativity–not by a long shot. As RTM grows, the bar will raise for what consumers will find worthwhile and welcome (and, conversely, the bar will lower for what they will dislike and criticize.)
     
  • Be spontaneous. The more you plan and prep, the less surprising, unique and topical your content will be. Watch for the unexpected to occur–such as the lights going out in the Superdome–and be ready to produce something timely. True RTM happens in real time; that’s why it is called “real time marketing.”
     
  • Engage emotions. Make people laugh; make them cry; give them something to think about; furnish them with something they will want to share or discuss. If you cannot do this, then maybe your brand is better saying nothing at all.
     
  • Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. No one wants to see how the sausage is made–they don’t care how your magazine ad is produced or that your social team is standing ready to tweet marketing content. U.S. Cellular misstepped by retweeting an employee’s photo of its social newsroom; it invited–and received–criticism.
     

In 2013, it can sometimes seem social media is a mature medium, but Sunday night proved that we are still feeling our way through this new channel with its new rules. A lot of brands paid employees and agencies to work on a Sunday and stay up late creating opportune content. Very few brands got enough bang for their buck. Either marketers must do much better to be authentic, relevant and interesting in the moment, or they should just let their employees enjoy the Oscars and other big events from the comfort of their homes.

The Lure, Opportunity and Danger of “Social Selling”

The term “social selling” has been around a while, but suddenly it seems very hot. I have been asked about it four times in the past few weeks, and the term has recently appeared in my tweet stream quite a bit. What is social selling and why has it become a hot buzzword now?

The definition is obvious–using sales techniques in social media channels to increase revenue–but why is the term “social selling” on the tip of so many tongues today? I think the interest in social selling is just another way of probing the ROI of social media, a question that never goes away despite the fact almost 100% of marketers are today deploying social media tactics. For some, the thinking seems to be that building community, enhancing reputation and creating advocacy is nice and everything, but if social doesn’t help brands increase sales, what good is it?

Of course, social media can do lots of good aside from increasing sales. It can furnish research, decrease customer service costs, improve customer retention, decrease return rates, improve awareness, protect and build reputation, furnish stronger collaboration with customers and vendors, combat incorrect information and multiply word of mouth, all of which are beneficial business outcomes that are not directly measured in sales. Social can also enhance sales with strategies that do not explicitly fall under the category of “sales”–for example, social campaigns can increase site traffic, ratings and reviews can improve ecommerce conversions and communities can increase share of wallet.

But what about “social selling”–the execution of selling techniques in social channels? Is there a place for these tactics in social media? The answer is a very cautionary and qualified “yes.” Creating successful social selling opportunities requires that brands overcome consumers’ natural aversion to being sold to. No one likes door-to-door salespeople and when given the opportunity to prevent telemarketers from calling, US consumers added 209 million phone numbers to the Federal do-not-call list (in a country with just 84 million residential landlines). Consumer attitudes in social channels are no different; according to a 2011 Exact Target study:

  • 71% of consumers report being more selective about “liking” a company on Facebook than they were last year.
  • 81% of consumers have either “unliked” or removed a company’s posts from their Facebook News Feed, with 43% saying their wall was becoming too crowded with marketing posts and 24% saying posts were too promotional. 
  • And, perhaps most interestingly, while 51% of consumers said they expected that “likes” would result in marketing communications from brands, a whopping 40% did not believe it should result in marketing communications. Think about that–four in ten people who “like” your brand still don’t want you to try to sell them something on Facebook.

Of course, there are circumstances in which consumers will welcome selling, and this depends on two factors–context and relationship. If a consumer enters your company’s space by walking into your store, visiting your retail web site or posting a product question via a social network, they have expressed an interest in receiving information and stated an intent to consider a purchase; in this context, selling is welcome. Many social media strategies are designed to improve inbound marketing so that consumers themselves create the context for sales opportunities.

The other factor that increases a consumer’s desire to be sold to is relationship–does the consumer recognize, know and trust the brand or sales representative? Consumers welcome brands and people who are partners, help improve their lives and bring value, but they are no more likely to accept sales queries (in social media or elsewhere) from entities they do not know than they are to welcome a telemarketing call. Last year, an About.com study found that 84% of respondents reported they will not engage with a brand until trust has been established.

Whether or not social media is a fertile venue for selling has less to do with the medium and more to do with what your brand and associates do to create trusting relationships and recognize when the context is appropriate. “Social” is not a magic word that converts distasteful and disagreeable sales tactics into something desirable and effective.

In 2013, the risk with social selling is that companies could become overly assertive deploying a new breed of social CRM tools that use social listening systems to identify consumers experiencing key life and money movement events. If companies use these tools to target smart and personalized messages to people with whom they have a relationship, these tools can improve social selling; however, if companies misuse these tools, the outcome could be an onslaught of spammy auto-posts that do more to offend than to motivate transactions. If a hundred companies using the same social CRM tools all reach out to a consumer following his or her post to friends about a pregnancy, birth, graduation, job change, retirement or relocation, the result is not likely to be improved sales but unfriended and blocked brands, spam reports and damaged reputations.

This is why relationships, as always, matter. Social doesn’t revolutionize sales–if anything, it reinforces the importance of traditional value-based relationship building. Brands that wish to succeed with social selling must realize that sales is a lagging indicator; the vital leading indicators are the ones that gauge the strength of relationships.

If sales are a lagging indicator, what are the leading indicators that suggest a brand or sales associate is improving both relationships and social selling opportunities?

  • Brand-building engagement–not just “fans” and followers but interactions, shares of content, community participation, etc.
  • Increased numbers of advocates and influencers engaged
  • Increased share of voice and improved sentiment
  • Positive reviews and ratings on sites like Yelp and recommendations on LinkedIn
  • Inquiries received and appointments arranged via social media
  • Views, inbound requests and downloads for white papers, SlideShare decks and YouTube videos
  • Inbound site traffic from social networks
  • Surveys that validate higher Net Promoter Score, trust and affinity for the brand

Social media is not, first and foremost, a direct marketing or sales channel; it is a relationship channel. And like in every other channel, relationships are not built on constant selling but on shared values, reciprocation, partnership and caring.

Social selling can be successful for companies and people who invest the time and energy to build relationships, but those that bring traditional sales tactics such as cold calling and ABC (Always Be Closing) will find social hostile territory.

Enjoy Alex Baldwin’s “Always Be Closing” speech from Glengarry Glen Ross. (Be advised, some of the language is NSFW. What did you expect, it’s David Mamet, after all?)

Miracle on Social Media Street

It may be the week after Christmas, but it is not too late for social media professionals to prepare themselves for 2013 by watching the old, classic, holiday film, “Miracle on 34th Street” (the 1947 original, not the inferior 1994 version.) Not only is it a terrific and heartwarming movie, but it also contains lessons about what we are doing wrong in social media and how we can enhance our brands in 2013.

Early in the movie, a Macy’s executive instructs his department store Santa (who may or may not be the real Santa Claus) to push the toys that Macy’s has in stock. However, when a child hops on his lap and asks for a toy Macy’s does not carry, the Santa tells the child’s mother she can get the item for a good price at a Macy’s competitor. She is surprised to hear this at Macy’s, to which Santa replies, “The only important thing is to make the children happy.” The mother seeks out Santa’s manager (who is about to fire his well-intended employee) and says,

“I want to congratulate you and Macy’s on this wonderful new stunt you’re pulling. Imagine, sending people to other stores… Imagine a big outfit like Macy’s putting the spirit of Christmas ahead of the commercial. It’s wonderful. I never done much shopping here before but from now on, I’m going to be a regular Macy customer.”

And there is your social media lesson from the 65-year-old movie: Dedicate your brand to doing what is right for the world and your customers notice, trust more and become loyal.

What is vital in this example is not that the department story Santa conveyed content but that he conveyed an honest intent to help the customer. We put too much stock in content nowadays; content strategy is vital in 2013, but too often, our brand content conveys our real selfish intent instead of authentically benefiting others. Consumers are beginning to notice the selfishness of our content, and they are not rewarding it: A recent study by MediaBrix found that 86% of consumers find sponsored video ads that appear as content to be misleading; moreover, 85% indicate that when they come across sponsored video ads that appear to be content, it negatively impacts or has no impact on their perception of the brand being advertised. Many people say “Content is king,” but history is littered with kings who were awful and unsuccessful (just like most of our branded content)!

When the Santa in “Miracle on 34th Street” told a Macy’s customer to go elsewhere to find the toy her child wanted, his goal was not to create “engagement” and build his “brand.” He just wanted a child to have a Merry Christmas, and the customer noticed. Actually, in the film many customers notice, and soon Mr. Macy’s himself is fending off his annoyed Advertising Department (the paid media folks responding angrily to the selfless acts in earned media), saying,

“I admit this plan sounds idiotic and impossible. Imagine Macy’s Santa Claus sending customers to Gimbels, but gentlemen, you cannot argue with success. Look at this. Telegrams, messages, telephone calls. The governor’s wife, the mayor’s wife, thankful parents expressing undying gratitude to Macy’s. Never in my entire career have I seen such a tremendous and immediate response to a merchandising policy. And I’m positive if we expand our policy we’ll expand our results as well.  Therefore, from now on, not only will our Santa Claus continue in this manner, but I want every salesperson in this store to do precisely the same thing. If we haven’t got exactly what the customer wants, we’ll send him where he can get it. No high pressuring and forcing a customer to take something he doesn’t really want. We’ll be known as the helpful store, the friendly store, the store with a heart, the store that places public service ahead of profits.”

And therein lays the business wisdom of “Miracle on 34th Street.” Do good, make a difference, give selflessly and people will reward you. In other words, have a positive intent and customers notice. This is not just some silly little contrivance from a fictional, old film; there is science to it, as well:

  • Havas Media Labs Meaningful Brand Survey found that more than half (51%) of consumers want to reward responsible companies by shopping there; 53% would pay a 10% premium for products from a responsible company. And they want companies involved: 85% of consumers want companies to be engaged on global issues, but only 22% think they’re getting enough.
  • The Forbes Top 100 Brand study found that the top corporate brands “are organizations increasingly known for their charitable giving, sustainability efforts, environmental cleanups, transparent business practices, clearly labeled packaging, respected leaders, ground-breaking innovation. These are benefits that go far beyond the crispness of corn flakes or the cleaning power of laundry detergent.”
  • Interbrand’s 2012 brand study found that “Consumers are expecting to see not just great products and services from the brands they choose; they also want to feel that the brands they love are, in fact, worthy of that love.” Interbrand points to the importance of corporate citizenship, but it tells it clients, “It’s about more than the spend. It’s about the credibility of a company’s culture of citizenship.”
  • A 2011 Weber Shandwick study found that 70% of consumers avoid buying a product if they don’t like the company behind the product. And 56% say they “try to buy products made by a company that does good things for the environment or community.”
  • The 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer Study found that the attributes that build future trust are “societally focused,” including “listening to customer needs, treating employees well, placing customers ahead of profits and having ethical business practices.” The report’s first recommendation is that organizations “exercise principles-based leadership instead of rules-based strategy.” 

As you plan your social media and content strategies for 2013, think of “Miracle on 34th Street.” Are you creating content that truly helps customers and builds trust, or are you creating content to drive traffic but that harms trust? Are you starting your 2013 content calendar by looking at your brand’s product release and ad campaign schedule, or are you starting it with an assessment of what will be on customers’ minds throughout the year? Are you trying to create relationships and advocates, or are you trying to create sales and customers? In summary, are you being the customer-focused Santa or are you the brand-focused Advertising Department?  

Surely, you don’t doubt Santa, do you?

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