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What Ragu just taught us about how big brands should use Social Media and connect with influencers

I am loathe to blog about a topic when it seems that everyone in the ‘Social Media Bubble’ has already covered it, but the recent spat between Ragu and Social Media-savvy dads just keeps pulling me back in.

First, above is a list of the tweets that @RaguTweets sent out to ‘influential’ dads on Twitter pointing them toward this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXoFKt-5j6o

As you can see, that video is pretty condescending to dads.  So when you purposely target dads that you deem to be influential and social media savvy with a video that talks down to them, guess what happens?  Thaaaaaaat’s right!  Those dads turn to social media to call your brand out as being clueless idiots.

Did we REALLY not see this coming?

As C.C. said on his blog: “When my first interaction with a brand is an @ spam on Twitter … and when I engage and yet see nothing to welcome me … that is a turn-off. Follow that up with a video that insults me and my friends? Yeah, not exactly the welcoming committee I would have expected.”

What made this situation worse (as it usually does in the case of a ‘social media firestorm’) is that Ragu took a half day or more to respond to the dads they had spammed with the above tweets.  As I keep saying, most social media firestorms aren’t caused by the brand’s/org’s initial action that triggers the discussion, it’s by how the brand/org REACTS (or doesn’t), to that firestorm.  Here’s a couple of examples:

1 – Motrin Moms.  The discussion started I believe on a Saturday on Twitter, and Motrin never responded.  By Sunday, the anger had reached a fever pitch on Twitter because the brand wasn’t addressing the complaints over one of their ads.  So someone figured out who their agency was, and contacted them to ask for a response to the outcry on Twitter about the Motrin ads, to which the agency rep gave the now infamous response of ‘What’s Twitter?’  Motrin’s mistake was that they weren’t monitoring online conversations about their brand, and when you drop a new ad on Friday and go home for the weekend, you run the risk that said ad might generate some discussion that you want to be aware of, over the weekend.

2 – The Red Cross and #gettinslizzard.  The Red Cross did the exact opposite in handling a ‘rogue tweet’ from an employee that was accidentally sent from The Red Cross account instead of the employee’s account where she MEANT to tell her friend that she had the beer they were going to be drinking that night.  So it looked like The Red Cross was tweeting that they were #gettinslizzard.  There was an immediate reaction to this tweet, but to The Red Cross’ credit, they quickly jumped all over this, and within an hour had deleted the tweet, and explained the situation.  This totally changed the reaction to the event, and turned detractors into evangelists, and The Red Cross actually ended up seeing a nice bump in blood donations as a result.

 So in closing, I think there are two key lessons that brands need to take away from this whole episode with Ragu:

1 – If you are going to use social media sites and tools to promote yourself, you have to be prepared to respond to customer feedback via those same sites and tools.  Again, what Ragu did was effectively spam these dads with links to videos that talked down to them.  That’s a recipe for backlash from those same dads that anyone can see coming a mile off.  But when Ragu didn’t respond to criticism via Twitter till the next day, their slow response time became part of the frustration for the dads, and only made a bad situation worse.  As Gini says, you can’t commit to using tools your customers are using to be social, as sales channels only.  Your customers have an expectation that if you are going to use social media, that you will be….social.

2 – Understand that reaching out to influencers is a double-edged sword.  The great thing about influencers is that they have reach and the ability to connect with large networks.  The bad thing about influencers is that they usually have little to no affinity for your brand.  When Ragu targeted influential dads and then spammed them with a condescending message, they were setting themselves up to get slammed.  And then they haven’t helped matters with their response in MediaPost which basically reads as ‘sure, we got some things wrong, but so did the dads as well’.  The very thing that attracted Ragu to reach out to these influencers (large network, they are influential) is the very thing that sparked this brouhaha because of a poorly-conceived strategy and message.

This is also why I think that brands need to invest more time in connecting with their advocates and fans.  Look at what Dell (Disc: I’ve worked with Dell on this project) has done with #DellCAP.  They have a Customer Advisory Panel in place made up of Dell brand advocates.  These are special customers that Dell can bounce ideas off of, and get direction from.  If Ragu had a similar group in place, they could have reached out to them and gotten feedback on this idea.  My guess is Ragu’s advocates would have seen what would happen, and advised the brand to try a different approach.

In closing, I wanted to share an ‘old’ video from Gary Vee recapping how he handled a potential social media firestorm that affected his business.  As you watch this, pay close attention to how Gary explains that he responded to the criticism via the exact same channels and tools where that criticism was occuring.

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How to ace your first presentation at a Social Media conference

Exactly four weeks from today I will be on a plane bound (eventually) for Los Angeles, and Blog World Expo.  I’ve already started getting ready for this trip, and we’ll be doing a Live #Blogchat there on Saturday the 5th.  As I’ve been prepping for this trip, I realized that for some of you, this might be the first social media event you’ve ever spoken at.  Don’t fret, the first Social Media conference I ever spoke at was South By Southwest in 2008, and I survived!  So I wanted to write this post to give you some pointers (along with lessons learned) to help you ace your first presentation at a social media conference.

1 – Get started early.  If you’re reading this and thinking “Hey that’s right, I guess I do need to get started on my deck for Blog World!”, then we’ve hit our first Red Flag.  There is no substitute for prep time.  If I am creating a brand new deck for a presentation, I start working on it 6-8 weeks before the event, 4 weeks if it’s a session I have already delivered before.

2 – Devote half your time to creating the deck, half your time to rehearsing your delivery and always give yourself at LEAST two weeks for each.  That sounds like a ton of time, but it isn’t.  And when I am working on my delivery, I spend the first week delivering the presentation from  a script.  I make an outline of the presentation, and make sure to know the main points I want to hit on.  That’s in the first week of rehearsing, for the second week, I lose the script.  After a week of rehearsing, you’ll have a general understanding of what you want to talk about, but you won’t have the exact words memorized.  Which is ok, because when you lose the script, it will force you to talk about WHAT you know, versus simply reciting.  You don’t want to give a speech, you want to share your knowledge.  Spend the second week talking through the deck with no script, and you’ll be ready!

3 – As far as actual deck creation, I start out by making myself an outline.  It helps to do this to give yourself a sense of direction.  Write down the main points you want to hit, and it always helps if you can work this into the start of your presentation.  Within the first few minutes of the presentation, I like to tell the audience what we’ll be covering, so they know how the presentation will flow.

4 – Start connecting with and getting a feel for your audience BEFORE the event starts.  If you will be presenting at Blog World for the first time (or even if this is old hat to you), you should be following the #BWELA hashtag on Twitter.  That’s where you will find Blog World attendees discussing the event, and you can talk to them about their expectations.  And it is especially beneficial to follow this hashtag AFTER the event starts!  I always do this because I can get feedback from attendees on both the sessions, and the speakers.  It gives you an idea of what speakers are doing right and wrong, so you can adjust and improve your session!

5 – Figure out where exactly your session will be beforehand.  When I arrive at the convention center for Blog World, one of the first things I will do is go find the area where we’ll have the Live #Blogchat.  You should do the same thing figure out what room your session will be in, so you can become familiar with it.  You’ll want to know how big it is, what the setup is, will you be presenting from a stage, a podium, or can you move around?  Being familiar with the space where you will be presenting will make you  more comfortable, and that will make your session go more smoothly.

6 – When you delivering your presentation, remember two things.  The first is talk slowly.  Nothing screams ‘I am nervous!!!’ more than talking too fast.  Plus, it makes it harder for your audience to understand you and your points.  The second is that the audience does NOT know what you are about to say.  So if you flub up and make a mistake, there is a 99% chance they will have no idea that you did.  Just relax, collect yourself, and move on.

7 – THANK everyone for coming!  Seriously, it is a gift to have people listen to you speak, especially at an event like Blog World Expo, which has several tracks going at once.  And keep in touch with them after the event, that will only help generate positive word of mouth for the NEXT time you speak!

But in closing, prepare, prepare, prepare.  If you have a solid and engaging delivery, your presentation will go SO much better and be much better received by your audience.

PS: If you want a great post on attending a social media event, check out Lisa Petrilli’s introvert’s guide to attending conferences.

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#Blogchat This Sunday: How Sports Teams Can Connect With Fans Via Blogging With Lou Imbriano!

This Sunday at #Blogchat we’ll be joined by Lou Imbriano, who will talk to us about how sports teams can use blogging to connect with their fans!  Many of you know Lou, as he’s been a regular participant in #Blogchat for well over a year now.  Besides being the CEO of Trinity One, Lou is the former Chief Marketing Officer for the New England Patriots!  Additionally, he’s just published the book Winning The Customer, which he’ll be giving away a couple of copies before and after #Blogchat on Sunday!

Speaking of Winning the Customer, I wanted to share with you part of what Lou wrote in his acknowledgments section: “I have to give a big shout out to Twitter.  It’s the reason Elizabeth and I met, and it also led me to Mack Collier and #blogchat, which gave me the notion and the tools to write a blog.  That blog is what made me think I could actually write a book.”

How great is that?  That means every one of you that participate in #Blogchat have helped Lou in seeing Winning the Customer come to light!  Which is another reason why I’m so excited to have Lou join us!

Here’s what we’ll be discussing:

8:00pm Central – 8:30pm:  How can sports teams use blogs to connect with fans?  Should they start a blog based on the franchise as a whole, or one area?  If the Patriots said today that they wanted to get into blogging, how would we make that happen?

8:30pm Central – 9:00pm: Who should be blogging for the franchise?  The owner?  The players?  If the players, how much freedom do you give them?

That’s it, and although we do want to focus on blogging, if you’d like to talk to Lou about how sports teams and franchises can use other social media tools to better connect with fans, feel free!  And please in preparation for #Blogchat this Sunday, please do follow Lou on Twitter!

See you Sunday at 8pm Central!

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Sponsor the Love: Rethinking How Brands Can Connect With Their Fans

Last week I got to attend the 2011 FIRE Sessions hosted by Brains on Fire in Greenville.  I recapped the morning and afternoon sessions (Including a LIVE #Blogchat) over on the Brains on Fire blog.

The event itself was delightful and inspiring just like it was last year.  But for me, the highlight of my 3-day stay in Greenville came the morning after the FIRE Sessions, when I went visit the Brains of Fire headquarters.  There I had a chance to sit down and chat with Greg Cordell and John Moore.  Both conversations were absolutely fascinating, and today I wanted to share with you some of the smartitude that I heard from Greg.

We were discussing how companies can connect with their advocates, when our chat turned to the idea of sponsorships.  Greg said something that completely grabbed my attention:

“The greatest thing you can sponsor are the people that love you.”

Greg explained that the idea was to find what your customers love about your brand, and think about ways to sponsor events that tie into the qualities of your brand that attract your customers, or the way in which they use your product(s).  Here’s a couple of examples:

1 – If your customers love the elegance and simplicity of your product, create events and touchpoints that are elegant and simple.

2 – Figure out what your customers love about your brand and product, and create events that give them a reason to connect with each other and share that common love.  Greg explained that with Fiskars, they found that customers were using their scissors in their scrapbooking projects, and they also discovered that scrapbookers are very passionate about their projects.  So it was a natural to create events that bring scrapbookers together and let them connect over a common love: scrapbooking.

 

What’s important is to not only create an event that ties into the reasons why customers love your product and brand, but to also connect them to other people that share that love.  Greg clarified that companies should “sponsor the things that connect people to people, when you connect people to people through the things that they care more about.”  When you put people in contact with other people that share their same love and interests, it energizes and excites them.  And if your brand can facilitate that meeting and event, your customers will love your brand even more for doing so.

Isn’t that just so smart it makes your head hurt, in a good way?  When you relate this back to how Rockstars connect with their fans, this is really all a concert is.  It’s an event that brings fans together over a shared interest and lets them connect with each other.

What concert can you create for your brand’s fans?

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Think Like a Rockstar Review at #SMIATL

This weekend I was lucky enough to attend and present at the #SMIATL conference in Atlanta.  On Friday afternoon, we did a Live #Blogchat session which was fabulous.  We discussed how to integrate blogging into your over-arching social media strategy, and also how to improve your blogging efforts.  Around 60-70 people attended the sold-out event, and it was a wonderful experience.  Thanks again to everyone that came!

On Saturday I presented a new version of my Think Like a Rockstar presentation, which is embedded below.  I am so proud of the fact that the session was very popular with attendees, and the deck on SlideShare has been viewed over 30,000 times in the 1st 48 hours of being uploaded.  I wanted to walk you through the deck, but also how I created it and what’s contributed to it being so popular.

First, if you’ve spent any amount of time reading this blog, you know how passionate I am about helping companies better connect with their brand advocates.  As a result, this is by far my favorite session and presentation topic.  A big reason why I love the Think Like A Rockstar session is because it takes the idea of connecting with brand advocates/evangelists, and frames it in a way that sparks the ‘Ah-Ha!’ moments.  When you ask a company ‘Would you like to learn how to energize and mobilize your brand evangelists?’, you might get some blank stares.  But if you ask ‘Would you like to learn how your brand can have raving and passionate fans just like Rockstars do?’, then companies tend to get excited.

The deck’s central question is: Why do Rockstars have fans, and companies have customers?  If you think about it, most of us self-identify as being a ‘fan’ of any music artist when we download their music or buy their CDs.  But when we buy a company’s products, we tend to view ourselves as customers of that company.

Why?

As it turns out, it’s because that’s exactly who both groups target.  Companies want new customers.  In fact, acquiring new customers is the top marketing objective of companies.  The problem is, new customers have little to no brand loyalty toward that company.  Which also explains why it costs 6-7 times as much to acquire a new customer versus retaining an existing one.

But notice in the above well-drawn graph that companies and Rockstars focus on opposite ends of the customer spectrum.  Companies focus the majority of their efforts on acquiring new customers.  This is the group that’s by far the biggest in market size, but that also has little to no brand loyalty.

But notice that Rockstars focus on that tiny sliver at the end that represents Brand Advocates (which is a fancy business term for ‘Fan’).  Brand Advocates are by far the smallest group, but they also have by far the highest levels of brand loyalty.  And then there is this:

So Rockstars are focused on connecting with their fans, the smallest group, but this group has such his brand loyalty that it not only spends more than existing customers, they also refer business equal to almost HALF the money they spend.

Which means that companies are trying to acquire new customers, and spending 6-7 as much versus retaining existing customers.

While Rockstars focus on connecting with their fans, the group that is spending more than existing customers, and they are also referring business FROM those existing customers.

So if Rockstars can figure this out, why can’t most companies?

Now I wanted to talk a bit about what I did to help make this presentation as popular as it has been (which has been SO rewarding!).

First, as I’ve said, I am so passionate about this topic.  So in the weeks leading up to #SMIATL, I made sure that everyone attending knew I was presenting Think Like A Rockstar, and that it was going to be a ‘big deal’.  The main reason why I was saying that was because I was making a promise to the attendees as well as MYSELF.  I spent over 100 hours in prepping this particular deck and rehearsing my talk.  Because again, this is my passion project.

Second, I promoted the talk all last week here on MackCollier.com in FIVE posts.  But each post tied into an element of the talk, so I was previewing the session, instead of just blindly promoting it.

Third, I had some fun with the talk.  Since the theme is how Rockstars connect with fans, prior to the start of the talk, I played a bit of a Led Zeppelin concert from 1979.  Think about it, how often have you come into a session 15 mins early, and stared at the introductory slide for 15 mins till the talk started?  I just wanted to have some fun and give attendees something neat to look at as they were coming in.  And of course I tweeted out that I had a little surprise in store if they arrived early 😉

Fourth, my delivery was solid.  It wasn’t perfect, but I received many compliments on the session itself.  Again, I had 100+ hours of prep time invested, so it had better have been good.  The truth is, there’s not a lot of short-cuts here, it’s mostly about putting in the hours.

Fifth, I uploaded the file to SlideShare immediately prior to my talk starting, and scheduled HootSuite to tweet out a link right as my talk ended.  Now this I actually screwed up, as I got the time change wrong, and forgot HootSuite was still on Central time.  I scheduled it to tweet out at 1pm, when I thought I was telling it to go out at 11am, which was right as my talk ended.  Live and learn.

The deck is embedded below, I hope you find it valuable.

Think Like A Rockstar

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Think Like a Rockstar: Embrace Your Fans

All week I’ll be previewing my Think Like a Rockstar session at #SMIATL on Saturday. If you would like to attend #SMIATL use code SMISPEAK to register for only $128!

Unlike most companies that wish to keep their customers at arm’s length, most Rockstars look for ways to embrace their fans and connect with them.  A great example of this is what Blink 182 did recently with their montage music video for their new single Up All Night.  The band found over 100,000 instances of their fans using their music without permission in their videos, and they rewarded the fans.  They took the videos and mashed them up to create a music video for Up All Night.

The band was smart enough to understand that its fans weren’t ‘stealing’ from the band or trying to hurt them, they were in fact trying to promote the band and their love for Blink 182.  And to their credit, Blink 182 was smart enough to see this, and reward their fans by featuring them in their video.  All this does is make those fans more likely to promote the band to their friends!

The video is linked below, what are some ways that you could give your customers and advocates more of a say in your marketing efforts?  How could you put the spotlight on them?

http://youtu.be/eabtzkY_jNs

If you want to attend my Think Like a Rockstar session at #SMIATL, it’s Saturday morning at 10:15 AM!

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Think Like a Rockstar: Find the ‘Bigger Idea’

All week I’ll be previewing my Think Like a Rockstar session at #SMIATL on Saturday. If you would like to attend #SMIATL use code SMISPEAK to register for only $128!

In 2003, Sarah McLachlan was given $150,000 by her label, Arista, to create a music video for her new single, World on Fire.  However, instead of creating that music video, Sarah promptly took all of that $150,000 (save $15), and donated it to 11 charitable organizations. Through Sarah’s generous donations, the lives of over one million people around the world were bettered and improved.

However, this presented a problem in that while Sarah had just helped one million people, she had also given away all of her music video budget!  But she did still have $15 left, so she took those last few dollars and bought a video tape, then she got some friends to donate their time to create and produce a music video.  What Sarah did was create a very basic and simple music video that outlined the typical expenses for creating a music video.  For example, a Production Assistant might cost $200 a day, office phones cost $480 each, and the cost of hair and makeup would be $5,000 a day.

Sarah then detailed what that money was spent on instead of the normal expense.  The $200 that would have normally covered the cost of a Production Assistant for a day, was instead spent on providing 1 term’s worth of schooling for 100 children in Ethiopia.  The $480 that would have normally been spent on an office phone, instead equipped 10 schools in Afghanistan. That $5,000 for hair and makeup?  It was spent on providing a year’s worth of schooling for 145 girls in Afghanistan.

Sarah created an amazing video that detailed how all of us can contribute just a little bit of money, and still make a huge impact on people that are less fortunate than ourselves.  What made the video even more compelling was that Sarah not only showed us what the money was spent on, she also showed us the VERY PEOPLE that were helped.  For example, at one point in the video we are introduced to a woman in Ghana that works 16 hours a day, 7 days a week to raise the $200 that’s needed to send her son to school each year.  As part of Sarah’s $150,000 donation, this woman received a $1,000 grant that will cover her son’s schooling for the next 5 years, which also means that the mother won’t have to work as much, and can spend more time with her son.

When asked about why she structured the video the way she did, Sarah explained “I wanted a video that wasn’t about me and wasn’t preachy, but one that would help shine a light on the tragedy and turmoil in the world and also show the beauty and strength of the human spirit.”

And BTW, World on Fire also went on to be nominated for a Grammy Award.

If you are thinking about how to create compelling and engaging content via social media, you would do well to follow Sarah’s lead and focus on the ‘Bigger Idea’.  Don’t try to promote your products and services directly, think about how your customers use your products, and what they are trying to accomplish.  For example, if your company sells digital cameras, don’t create a blog devoted to your cameras, create a blog devoted to teaching your customers how to be better photographers.  If you are a Realtor, don’t simply blog about your properties, blog about the beauty of the area where your properties are located.  By focusing on the Bigger Idea behind your products, you’ll create content that’s far more valuable and engaging to your audience.

BTW here’s the amazing video for World on Fire:

Tomorrow, we’ll look at how Rockstars embrace their fans! If you want to attend my Think Like a Rockstar session at #SMIATL, it’s Saturday morning at 10:15 AM!

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Think Like a Rockstar: Rockstars Shift Control to Their Fans

All week I’ll be previewing my Think Like a Rockstar session at #SMIATL on Saturday. If you would like to attend #SMIATL use code SMISPEAK to register for only $128!

One of the clear distinctions between Rockstars and companies is how they both handle involving their fans and customers in the marketing process.  While most companies are scared to death of giving their customers any type of input into their promotional efforts, many Rockstars view their fans as marketing partners, and willingly embrace their efforts to help promote the artists that they love.

A good example of Rockstars embracing their fans is TheDonnasMedia.com.  This fan-run site collects and archives every live appearance made by the band, in whatever form is available.  Full-length concerts, television and radio appearances, even custom-made CD liners and notes.  If you are a fan of The Donnas, this is your Nirvana, with literally tens of thousands of hours of audio and video content stretching back more than a decade.

I contacted The Donnas’ management a few years ago when I first learned about this site, and asked them if they were aware of this site, and what they thought of it.  They absolutely loved it, and not only that, they fully-supported their fans’ efforts to make their music available, and even helped them in that endeavor.  Several times, the band has made mention of the site on its own website, asking fans that have recorded copies of recent concerts to contact the admins of TheDonnasMedia.com to give them access to it so they could add it to the site’s library.

The goal, as the band put it is to sell more music by giving it away. There is one big caveat with this site: You will find no content that has been commercially released by the band.  You can find a dozen or more live performances of the song ‘Fall Behind Me’, but you can’t find the version that was released commercially by the band.  Because the site self-polices itself and will only post music that the band isn’t selling.

But what I love about this is how The Donnas view the fans running TheDonnasMedia.com as PARTNERS that are helping the band reach new audiences.  They not only don’t feel threatened by the content that’s posted on the site, they actually help the site administrations get NEW material.  All because the band and its fans have a trusting relationship in place.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at how Rockstars focus on the Bigger Idea behind their music!  If you want to attend my Think Like a Rockstar session at #SMIATL, it’s Saturday morning at 10:15 AM!

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Think Like a Rockstar: Rockstars Are Fans Themselves

All week I’ll be previewing my Think Like a Rockstar session at #SMIATL on Saturday. If you would like to attend #SMIATL use code SMISPEAK to register for only $128!

I love this picture, is the audience raising their hands because Brett is, or is Brett raising her hand cause the audience is?

Rockstars are by default fans of themselves.  But this also means that they have the same mindset as their fans, and the same point of view.  As such, they are more connected to their fans, and better understand them.

Think about how a rockstar gets started: They play small local events, maybe only a dozen or 2 people show up.  Then, if they connect with their audiences, over time their fanbase will grow.  But throughout, the rockstar is connect to its fanbase and knows who they are.  They perform at clubs and bars, and then afterwards get to talk to them, share a beer with them, and learn who they are and what they like about their music.  They stay connected to their fans.

I saw an interview a few years ago with Willie Davidson, the CCO at Harley-Davidson.  CNBC asked him if HD did any type of market research to learn more about its customers and to better understand them.  Willie remarked “Oh we’re in constant contact with our customers…we ride with them all the time!’  That might sound like a smartass answer, but what Willie is saying is that he uses his products in the same way as his customers, and for the same reasons.  He knows about the ‘Harley lifestyle’ because he is living it.  As a result, he better understands Harley’s customers, because he’s talking to them every time he rides with them.

Is it any wonder that Harley-Davidson is considered a ‘rockstar’ brand?  The brand understands its customers and their point-of-view, and this is a big reason why the company has so many passionate brand advocates.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at how rockstars shift control to their fans!  If you want to attend my Think Like a Rockstar session at #SMIATL, it’s Saturday morning at 10:15 AM!

Pic via Flickr user tatu43

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Think Like a Rockstar is coming to Atlanta and #SMIATL this weekend!

I am beyond thrilled that I get to spend the weekend in Atlanta at #SMIATL!  The event will be very important for me because, besides seeing all my friends again, there will be a LIVE #Blogchat on Friday afternoon!  This will be the FIFTH Live #Blogchat so far this year, and is SOLD OUT!  I cannot wait to see everyone!

But I am even more excited about what happens on Saturday.  That’s when I get to give my favorite session of all, Think Like a Rockstar.  This session will answer two of the most important questions that online marketers have today:

1 – How do we build engagement around our Social Media efforts?

2 – How can we better connect with our customers and WHY should we?

One of the highlights for me in getting to attend South By Southwest Interactive in 2008 was getting to meet Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba.  The two literally wrote the book on Customer Evangelism, and are co-authors of the popular Church of the Customer blog.  When I met them, I told them both that what THEY were talking about, why companies should embrace and empower their most passionate customers, was the future of successful marketing.  NOT Social Media.  I believe that even more today than I did then.  Social Media are simply tools, but there is true business value in embracing and empowering your most passionate customers, and I’m going to make that case on Saturday morning at the Think Like a Rockstar session.

So all this week, I’ll be outlining some examples of how rockstars are connecting with their fans, and giving you ways to think about how you can apply these same methods to your company’s marketing efforts.  I’ll deep-dive into all of these areas on Saturday at #SMIATL, so if you’d like to attend, I have a special discount code you can use to get 20% off admission!  Just use code SMISPEAK when you register and you’ll get to attend #SMIATL for the insanely low price of $128 for the 2-day event.

BTW if you want to get a sense of what will be in this session, here’s last year’s deck, which currently has over 14,000 views on SlideShare.  I will add though that the deck I will be presenting at #SMIATL will be completely revamped and restructured with new case studies and format.  About 33% of the slides you see in this deck will make it to the one at #SMIATL, and even those will be used in a different context.

Think Like a Rockstar: How to Build Fans and Community Around Your Social Media Efforts

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