Adaptation or Extinction, Its Your Choice

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I am posting segments from another simply fabulous blog post by one of the most prolific and insightful minds on social media marketing, Brian Solis. I believe he hits it on the head with this quote by Darwin and then his own comment which also promotes his book (below). I have already ordered it and cannot wait for it to arrive so I can sit in front of the fireplace and devour it in one sitting.

I am so thrilled about his post because I have witnessed dramatic change several times in my marketing career only to watch the vast majority cling to “the way it was” despite overwhelming evidence that suggests following the old path leads to extinction. I encourage you… no I implore you to examine how you approach your marketing strategy and be honest in your review about how open you are to innovation.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” Charles Darwin

“This is a time where business as usual is no longer an operating model.” Brian Solis

Leadership in an Era of Digital Darwinism – Brian Solis

A perfect example of failing to adapt is how few companies are implementing semantic markup for their websites. Estimates by some experts, Robert Kost of Thematix for example, are stating that less than 5% of websites are using the markup as prescribed by Schema.org (Google, Bing, and Yahoo partnership.)

If you would like more information or a free, no obligation consultation on semantic markup scan the QR Code below to download my vcard for contact information. I will provide you with a information and resources for implementing a semantic markup program.

Related articles

• What Consumer Culture Will Look Like In 2020 (And How Brands Can Adapt) (serve4impact.com)

What Should be in 2012 Your Marketing Plan

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It is budget season for many industries and a time when people pour over the year’s performance statistics to develop a marketing plan and budget for the upcoming year. Looking backward is important in determining what to do in the future. With the rapid changes happening in marketing today, how do  you predict what you’ll need six months from now. Take the Arab Spring for example. No one predicted the rapid transformation of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and what looks to be soon Syria, a year prior or the impact of social media as the catalyst of those changes. Given this rapidly changing environment, what should be in your 2012 marketing plan?

Here is my list of items I recommend budgeting for in 2012.

What Should be in Your 2012 Marketing Plan

• Organic Search Marketing – The money you invest here repays with long-term, sustainable visibility.
• Website redevelopment – Unless your site has been redeveloped in the past three years it is out of date.
• Mobile website(s) – I would budget heavily here for the production of multiple sites; the ROI will be well worth it.
• Mobile marketing – A still emerging force with a multitude of options from apps to geo-targeted advertising; do your research and you will be rewarded
• Print (includes newspapers, magazines, trade publications, etc.) – Although still viable, use sparingly and negotiate hard for extras; do not sign long-term contracts
• Social Media – Include contests and sweepstakes
• Trade shows/Conferences/Meetings (attending or exhibiting) – No matter how advanced digital marketing gets, nothing replaces “pressing the flesh”
• Sales kits/Brochures/Promotional Material (includes photography and production of other visuals except video) – This portion of the budget is shrinking and should be reflected in your budget or cut completely
• Flex (a portion of your budget set aside to apply to any of the above that demonstrate rapid growth or to a new channel not yet realized)

I would be interested in your feedback and comments regarding my list. Please provide reasons why you agree or disagree along with suggestions for items which I have not included. Thanks.

Understanding the Scope of Effectiveness in Social Media

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Inevitably people responsible for marketing question the value of social media. It is not entirely their fault. They are constantly asked, “What is the ROI on that?” Where it IS their fault is their inability to understand the strategic value in social media themselves! Why is that? I have my own opinion. Outside of large companies, marketing executives are also sales people. The difficulty with that is that sales people are paid based on production. It behooves the executive to focus more on tactics rather than strategy. And social media my friends is all about strategy. So how does the executive communicate the value of strategy to upper management?

The Scope of Effectivenes

BusinessDictionary.com defines “effectiveness” as:

The degree to which objectives are achieved and the extent to which targeted problems are solved. In contrast toefficiency, effectiveness is determined without reference to costs and, whereas efficiency means ”doing the thing right,” effectiveness means “doing the right thing.”

“Objectives achieved and problems solved” are words any CEO loves to hear yet “without reference to costs” may open you up to criticism. It may appear that you have no consideration for budgets. Clearly additional information is needed.

Strategic Value

Yesterday’s post referenced Sun Tzu’s interminable tome “The Art of War.” It is convenient to use war metaphors in understanding Strategic Value. In battle planning either a defensive position or an offensive action, it is vital to hold or capture land or structures that provide an advantage. Hills, bridges, tall structures all fall into the category of “strategic value.” Keeping that in perspective when explaining the need for social media is very helpful. Incorporating social media into your marketing holds strategic value in both offensive and defensive actions. Your conversation may go like this:

“Our brand is under constant attack from our competitors on all fronts (in stores, advertising, direct marketing, trade shows…etc.) Our competitors are consistently and constantly bombarding our customers, and potential customers, with offers, promotions, and marketing messages. We must be equally aggressive in return if we want to maintain or grow market share. We must, in fact, be more effective than they are. We have tools that have significant strategic value in achieving our objectives and solving specific problems. Social media is one of those tools. It allows us to expose our brand; build better relationships with our current customers; and establish connections with potential new customers at very low cost. If we maintain a dominant position in social media over our competitors, we will have an important strategic advantage.”

This is a must for you if you are to ever alleviate the incessant questioning of the value of social media but you must first, if you already haven’t, altered your mindset to a more strategic planning perspective. It is, after-all, the most important lesson Sun Tzu delivered to us.

Business Planning

Having a business plan is essential yet often overlooked or ignored. A plan provides a road map to success and also gives you alternatives when your route is detoured, a highly probable possibility. As is stated in this video available from Cornell’s eClips service, once the plan is written it should be revisited and revised according to present conditions.

The same is true for an emarketing plan. It is essential and vital to achieving the success you expect in the online environment. Paraphrasing what the Cheshire Cat told Alice, “It doesn’t much matter which way you go if you don’t know where you want to go.”