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Morgan is one of the more respected people in social media marketing and he’s regularly recommended by other guests of the show.

In my chat with Morgan, we’re talking about the JetBlue social media strategy and you’ll learn: 

• How JetBlue leverages social media and what you can do to model their success.
• I ask him how he and his team deal with all of the people who tweet them seemingly whining about every little thing while traveling.
• As with each of my guests, Morgan gives his top 3 JetBlue social media strategy tips he would give to a small business trying to grow their business using social media.
• And we talk about a ton of other cool actionable things that JetBlue is doing that you can implement into your business.

Right-click here to download the MP3 of this episode

Links discussed during the interview

• Follow JetBlue on Twitter: @JetBlue
• Follow Morgan on Twitter: @MHJohnston
• JetBlue on Facebook

   –> Give Morgan a shout-out on Twitter for sharing his insights by clicking here to tweet him!

Inside Social Media iTunes Review + Rating

If you enjoyed this podcast, I’d be extremely grateful if you would take a second and leave me a review and rating over on iTunes.  Your taking a minute to do this allows me to help more people with this podcast, so I really appreciate it.  

Simply click here to leave a review and rating

Thanks very much!

Until next time, keep rockin’.

-Rick

The post ISM Episode 9: Morgan Johnston and the JetBlue Social Media Strategy appeared first on Rick Mulready - Big brand social media strategies for growing your small business..

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes

In addition to being the Giants Director of Social Media, Bryan is also an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco in their sports masters program, focusing on sports and social media marketing.

I’m excited for you to hear my conversation with Bryan because it gives you another unique perspective on big brand social media and he gives a lot of great tips and insights for how small businesses can model what he and his team are doing with the Giants.

Just a heads-up that Bryan is on his cell phone so the audio isn’t as 100% good as you’ve come to expect on the show here, but I promise his audio does get better as the show goes on so be sure and stick with us.

Top Social Media Marketing Tips & Strategies

Here are the top tips and strategies that Bryan and I discuss, that you can take and put into action immediately for your own business:

• Social media marketing is part of your overall marketing mix.  It doesn’t exist by itself.
• Using social media doesn’t have to cost anything other than some time and effort.
• Encourage your customers to share their experiences with your business.  Encourage them to check-in at your business.  Word-of-mouth is really powerful.
• When new platforms and tools come out, it’s a good idea to at least try them out to see how they work.  It also allows you to stay on the cutting edge of technology.
• You can use Facebook ads’ interface to see how many people are within a demographic in a certain geographic area.
• Have a social media policy in place for your organization, especially if you have employees, but don’t control their social media.  Look to educate and help.

Measurement

• Try and measure everything you’re doing on each of the platforms.  Such as, time of day you’re posting, did you post an image, etc.  Learn from the information to improve later efforts.  This will also help you determine how often you should be on social media.

Ideas for metrics to measure:

• How many people are talking about you (can track a hashtag on Twitter, for example)
• Measure direct sales of a product versus social media marketing efforts announcing the product’s availability.

Listening & Engagement

• Small businesses can connect with their customers on a one-on-one basis.  Listen to them and offer to help.  It’s a conversation.  Don’t try and go for the sale straight away.
• Develop your personality on social media.  Good way to do this is to model yourself after other similar brands that you admire.  Learn from examples.
• Use the same voice on social media, as you would talk to your customers.  Be authentic and tell stories in your own way.  Remember, there’s no right or wrong.
• If you only have time for one social media channel, find out the channels where your customers are and go deep on that channel.
• Use social media to learn more about your customers, for customer service and for putting your brand out there.

Right-click here to download the MP3 of this episode

Links discussed during the interview

• Follow Bryan on Twitter: @srabe
• Follow the San Francisco Giants on:
• Twitter
  
• Facebook 
• Instagram
• Tumblr
• Google+
• Pinterest

   –> Give Bryan a shout-out on Twitter for sharing his insights by clicking here to tweet him!

Inside Social Media iTunes Review + Rating

If you enjoyed this podcast, I’d be extremely grateful if you would take a second and leave me a review and rating over on iTunes.  Your taking a minute to do this allows me to help more people with this podcast, so I really appreciate it.  

Simply click here to leave a review and rating

Transcript

Click here for a PDF transcript of this episode

Thanks very much!

Until next time, keep rockin’.

-Rick

The post ISM Episode 8: Bryan Srabian, San Francisco Giants’ Social Media Director appeared first on Rick Mulready - Big brand social media strategies for growing your small business..

She can’t start her day without a cup (or two) of dark roast, and over the last three years I’ve slowly become a coffee drinker myself.

My day can start just fine without it, though.  Rather, I simply enjoy the experience of a great cup of coffee (especially bulletproof coffee but that’s a whole other topic for another day).

So, when we go back to my hometown of Hampton, NH a couple of times a year to visit my family, we hit up this drive-through coffee shop called Jumpin’ Jacks Java.

Yes, there’s a Dunkin’ Donuts in town but we like Jacks coffee way better.

I know, I know, there’s a passionate army of you Dunkin’ Donuts coffee lovers out there, but I’m telling you, the “triple J” rocks.

But the coffee isn’t the point of this article.

It’s the guys who run Jumpin’ Jacks and more importantly, Joe.

Give Your Customers a Reason to Talk About You

Amy and I have gotten to know Joe since we stop by so frequently when we’re in town. 

Every time we’ve been there he greets us with a cheery hello and a smile on his face, no matter the time of day or how horrible the weather is.

He often offers us a free muffin or bagel to go with our coffee and not just at the end of the day when he wants to get rid of them.  He’ll do this at 7am or 8am in the morning during his busiest time of the day.

Just last weekend we drove through with my young nephews in the car.  We were kind of in a hurry so we weren’t able to chat a whole lot with Joe but he smiled at them, waved and said hello.

The next day we went back through (without my nephews) and Joe apologized for not offering them a free donut or muffin the day before.  He asked us if we’d be seeing them anytime soon because he wanted to make up for it.

We graciously thanked him but said it was completely unnecessary.  He insisted, though, telling us to be sure and stop by before seeing them again so he can send along a donut and muffin.

The next morning, on our way to see my nephews, we drove up for our coffee and sure enough Joe had a whole box of donuts and muffins waiting for us.  Not just one or two, a whole box. 

I told him I couldn’t accept it for free but I was happily going to pay for it.  He wouldn’t have any of it, though.  He insisted and told me how much he appreciates our business when we’re in town.

He handed us our coffees (which, yes, we paid for) smiled and wished us a good day.

My nephews, needless to say, love Joe now too.

Taking Social Media Customer Service to the Next Level

Two days later I stopped by in the early afternoon for a second cup of the day.

As I was waiting for Joe to bring over the dark roast I noticed a box of dog bones on the counter inside the window.

Why is there a box of dog bones in a drive-through coffee shop, I thought to myself?

Then it came to me.  I bet Joe has them for his customers who come by with dogs in the car!

When he brought the coffee to the window I asked him about it. 

Sure enough, he smiled and said “yep, I have a lot of regulars who come through who often have their dogs in the car.  So, I have a treat ready for them.  And, I don’t leave out the cats” as he showed me a can of cat treats.

Wow, talk about going above and beyond.

I shook my head in amazement and told him that he “gets” customer service.  He knows how to build a business of raving fans.  Customers that are going to keep coming back and tell all their friends where to get coffee in town.

Joe just smiled and said “thanks, I appreciate you noticing that and for your business.”

How Are YOU Being Remarkable in Your Business?

Seth Godin talks a lot about it and he even wrote a book about it.

In my podcast interview with Frank Eliason, Citi’s Director of Global Social Media, he talked about it too.

Being remarkable.

In this day of saturated markets and fierce competition, you have to stand out from the crowd.  You have to be that “purple cow” that Seth talks about.

One way to do that is to be remarkable in your business, in how you treat your customers.

After all, people generally don’t take to social media to talk about businesses unless they have a bad experience.  Right?

Think about it.  If you walk into a place, order a coffee, you get it and then walk out.  You’re happy because you got your coffee but there wasn’t anything special about your experience.

You aren’t going to tell anyone about it because it was just a normal experience.

Frank, in my chat with him on the podcast, put it really well: “Companies have to find how to be remarkable. How often are you willing to make a remark about companies?  Probably not as often as the company would like to think and that’s because everything they do is relatively average.  They don’t find or give you a reason to want to go wow, this just happened with this company.”

Joe at Jumpin’ Jacks Java is being remarkable.  He has my business whenever I’m in town and I’m the first to tell anyone who will listen about how great they are.

Speaking of which, if you ever find yourself in Hampton, NH and want a great coffee, he’s located on Route 1, a bright red neon “open” sign out front. 

So, now the question is, are you delighting your customers and giving them a reason to talk about you?  When it comes to people talking about businesses in social media, it doesn’t always have to be negative.

How are YOU being remarkable?

The post Case Study: Are You Giving Your Customers a Reason to Talk About You? appeared first on Rick Mulready - Big brand social media strategies for growing your small business..

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes

Chris has co-written two books, Trust Agents and The Impact Equation, both of which are NY Times best sellers.

His company, Human Business Works, is an education, publishing and media company dedicated to helping professionals work better, do the work they want, and to be brave.  He’s a very sought after professional keynote speaker.

Chris is one of the most thought-proving people I know when it comes to building successful businesses through digital channels and he’s just an all around down-to-earth good guy.

Here are the top tips and strategies that Chris and I discuss, that you can take and put into action immediately for your own business:

Measuring your social media efforts

• Put metrics on your social media efforts. If you don’t, why are you doing social media?  You must take responsibility for your business and get serious about what social is actually doing for you.
• When it comes to measuring your social media efforts, it comes down to dollars.  Period.
• Figure out which metric of your business you can influence with social media.  For example, as a car dealership, you could influence and measure test drives.
• One way to measure your social marketing campaigns is to create unique URLs for different platforms, but driving people to the same page. Simply check your analytics to see which link worked the best.

Listening & Engagement

• Engage.  Take the effort to connect and don’t use social media as a bullhorn.
• As a business, are you asking your customers how they found you?  So simple to do and very effective.
• Find which platform allows you tell your story the best way.  For instance, if you’re a restaurant, pictures of food and pictures of people having fun times at your restaurant are going to be most effective.  Thus, Instagram/Facebook.
• Cover your industry’s news and be the go to resource.  Example:  Corcoran Group real estate in NYC.  Great content about NYC.
• Fast engagement in social media (customer service) is something people really appreciate it.  It’s a huge opportunity for businesses to show their customers they care.

Importance of Your Email List

• If you have an email list, why not ask them where they hang out online and engage with them there too.  If they want to, of course.
• The real business tends to come out of your email list.
• Treat your newsletter list kindly.  Be more personal with it, like a hand written letter.  Treat it and the people on it with love.

Right-click here to download the MP3 of this episode

Bonus Question

After Chris and I finished up, I asked him a bonus question that you can listen to or download here (you’ll also find it in the transcript).

Click to listen to Chris’ bonus answer or right click to “save as”

Here’s the question: 

What’s an example of a time where you saw a brand using social media really smartly, why do you think it was successful and what might small businesses be able to learn from it so they can model something similar?

Links discussed during the interview

• Chris’ Upcoming Live Event in Washington, DC
• The Impact Equation (affiliate link)
• Trust Agents
• chrisbrogan.com
• Follow Chris on Twitter
• Catch up with Chris on Google+

–> Give Chris a shout-out on Twitter for sharing his insights by clicking here to tweet him!

iTunes Review + Rating

If you enjoyed this podcast, I’d be extremely grateful if you would take a second and leave me a review and rating over on iTunes.  Your taking a minute to do this allows me to help more people with this podcast, so I really appreciate it.  

Simply click here to leave a review and rating

Transcript

Click here for a PDF transcript of this episode

Thanks very much!

Until next time, keep rockin’.

-Rick

The post ISM Episode 7: Chris Brogan, NY Times Bestselling Author & CEO/President of Human Business Works appeared first on Rick Mulready - Big brand social media strategies for growing your small business..

They start using Twitter or Facebook because that’s where their friends tell them they should be.

After gaining a few followers and fans, they start spouting off messages about sales they’re having or a new product they’ve come out with.

They think, hey, I have all these people who are now fans of my business so why not tell them about everything I’m selling.

Social media becomes their virtual soapbox and they use it as a bullhorn to talk about what they want to talk about rather than listening to and talking about what their customers want to hear about.

Listening Is the Core of Social Media

The way you win in social media is by listening to your customers on the platform or platforms they are on and engaging with them by adding value to the conversation.

That’s the gold.

By doing this you build a relationship with your customers so they can begin to know, like and trust you.  The more you add value to them and engage in the conversations they’re having, the more they’ll be apt to buy from you.

Unfortunately, though, this is where most small businesses miss the mark with social media.  

The Mailbox App Team “Gets It”

One company who is doing a good job of using social media to listen to the conversation is the Mailbox App.

It’s an iPhone app that integrates with Gmail and it allows you to get through your email inbox quicker.  I don’t know about you but my email is way out of control.

Recently, I had a first-hand experience with the peeps behind the Mailbox App using social media to listen to their customers.

It was a brief interaction with them on Twitter, but it showed they have a human side and as a result they gained my respect.

I also now tell everyone I know who uses an iPhone and Gmail to get on the waiting list for this super cool app.

I was at the Social Media Examiner’s Social Media Marketing conference in San Diego recently and I noticed my buddy Srini from BlogcastFM whipping through his emails on his iPhone.  

Within a couple minutes and after several swipes of his finger, he had his inbox down to zero.

Woa!  What in the world is that, I asked.  He wasn’t using the standard iPhone mail app.

He laughed and told me it was the Mailbox app.  Hadn’t I ever heard of it?

Ah, no.

He said it was one of his favorite new apps and it saves him a ton of time in getting through his email.  

He told me where to find it in the App Store but that I’d likely have to wait a while before actually being able to use it after downloading it.  There was a “waiting list” of like 100,000 people.

Wait, what!?  I have to wait in a line of 100,000 people in order to get the app?

I jumped into the App Store to see what he was talking about.  I downloaded it and sure enough, I was number 96, 254 in line.

Srini laughed and said it should be about a month before I could start using it.  And, they had a cool feature where you could keep an eye on your place in line.

When you pulled up the app on your phone, the number started counting down right there on the screen.  You could track your progress in real time.

How cool is that!?  

I was completely enamored with it and found myself checking it throughout the day just so I could watch my progress. (enter your own “nerd” comment here)

Talk about creating demand.

Through scarcity and social proof (the number of people waiting) the team behind the Mailbox app had created a ton of buzz and demand for their product.

How One Simple Exchange Turned Me Into a Brand Advocate

A day or so after I signed up I was pleasantly surprised to see myself moving quickly up the cue.  The digital tracker was ticking off a few thousand at a time.

I jokingly tweeted Srini to let him know, and included the Mailbox team in my tweet.  Here’s a screenshot, with a reference to the movie “Dumb and Dumber.”

I didn’t expect a response from the Mailbox team, but they surprised me a few minutes later with this tweet back: 

Which started a few fun tweets back and forth:

The “tinyurl” they sent me, btw, was a funny dance move.

Well played Mailbox team, well played.

But what I loved most about this exchange was that it showed they were listening to and engaging with their customers.

It showed a human side of an iPhone app.

They weren’t trying to sell me (the app is free), they were just talking to me.  Engaging with their customers.

It was the simplest of exchanges but it was effective.  They were adding a little humor to the situation and I appreciated that.  

That’s what social media is all about.

It’s not about getting out your virtual megaphone and yelling, hoping people will listen to you.

It’s about listening to your customers or the people talking about your brand and engaging with them; providing value to them whenever possible.

Did the Mailbox team provide value to me?  No, but they engaged with me and showed they were listening to their customers.

I appreciated that and it’s a big reason why I’m telling people how awesome this app is.

Yes, I’m happy to report I got access after only five days.  And, it’s been worth the wait.

Are you listening to and engaging with your customers on social media?  

If not, it’s time to start.

(photo credit: David Hilowitz)

The post How You’re Getting Social Media Wrong – A Personal Case Study appeared first on Rick Mulready - Big brand social media strategies for growing your small business..

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Pepsi is one of the more forward thinking brands when it comes to social media and tends to be on the cutting edge of real-time marketing, especially when it comes to pop culture.

In my discussion with Shiv, we talk a lot about measuring your social media efforts including how Pepsi looks at the success of their Super Bowl campaign from this past February as well as their Pepsi Refresh campaigns from a couple years ago. 

Here are the top tips and strategies that Shiv and I discuss, that you can take and put into action immediately for your own business:

• Social media all starts with listening.  What are your customers talking about?  What are their aspirations, concerns?  Offer content based on that listening.
• Leverage social media to add more to the lives of your consumers while not interrupting them.
• Create unique/entertaining content for social platforms where your customers are.  For example, you could create one minute videos about some form of pop culture that your customers are interested in and post them to Twitter.
• Don’t expect to cover off on every social platform, though, it’s just not reasonable.  Pick and choose based on your brand’s strategy and how it aligns with a particular social platform.  If your customers are there, go deep on that platform.
• Do you have a goal in mind when beginning your social media efforts.  Otherwise, how can you measure what you’re doing?
• Have a pulse on pop culture and your customer base so you can act quickly, from strategy to implementation.  This is real time marketing.
• If applicable, make every effort to link your online social efforts to your offline efforts.  For example, if you have a retail presence.

Just a heads-up, Shiv is on his cell phone so the audio quality in the first part of the interview isn’t as 100% good as you’ve come to expect of the show.  The audio gets better as the interview goes on, though, so stick with us.

Right-click here to download the MP3 of this episode

Links discussed during the interview

• Social Media Marketing for Dummies (book, affiliate link)
• Vine App
• Follow Pepsi on Twitter
• Follow Shiv on Twitter

–> Give Shiv a shout-out on Twitter for sharing his insights by tweeting to him here!

iTunes Review + Rating

If you enjoyed this podcast, I’d be extremely grateful if you would take a second and leave me a review and rating over on iTunes.  Your taking a minute to do this allows me to help more people with this podcast, so I really appreciate it.  

Simply click here to leave a review and rating

Transcript

Click here for a PDF transcript of this episode 

Thanks very much!

Until next time, keep rockin’.

-Rick

The post ISM Episode 6: Shiv Singh, Pepsi’s Global Head of Digital appeared first on Rick Mulready - Big brand social media strategies for growing your small business..

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes

I’m really excited to chat with Gary because he’s so passionate about the use of social media to grow your business.  And, he brings his trademark high energy to our discussion.

Not only does he back up what he preaches but he always tends to be way ahead of the digital marketing curve.  He sees what the “social” trends are well ahead of most business people.  

Gary is able to give us a unique perspective because he started out in small business with his family’s wine store.  After growing it to a multi-million dollar business, he became one of the best known experts in social media and now consults the biggest brands in the world on their social strategy through his company, VaynerMedia.  

You’ll hear that Gary’s approach to social media is largely about creating great content within the proper context (i.e.- social platform).  He preaches giving, giving, giving before you ask for the sale.

He also answers two questions I get asked all the time: how to go about building a thriving Facebook fan page for your business and how to measure your social media return on investment.

Here are the top tips and strategies that Gary and I discuss, that you can take and put into action immediately for your own business:

• Create content where you’re telling a story.  It’s never been easier to reach your customers with relevant content.  Give them great content, talk about what’s relevant to them, talk about what’s going on in the world and only then do you try and sell them something.  (This is what Gary likens to jab, jab, jab, right hook which is the title of his next book) 
• With the intense scale that Facebook and Twitter have, if you’re not marketing on these platforms, you’re doing your business a huge disservice.
• Vine, the six-second storytelling video app, is a very compelling platform for small businesses.  Try and figure out how to tell a six-second story around your business as often as possible.
• When looking at measuring your social media efforts, quantify your “ask”.  You’ll know clearly whether you achieve it or not.
• If you are constantly throwing sales messages at your customers you’re spamming them.  You MUST offer tons of value in the form of great content before trying to sell them.
• Audit what you do every day in your business and then hire an $8-10/hour employee to do the 10-20% of the tasks you shouldn’t be spending your time on.  This will give you more time to spend on the things you should be doing, creating content and connecting with your customers.
• Take your new found time and put effort into your Facebook and Twitter accounts.  And, if it makes sense, other social platforms where your customers might be.
• Give first, and then worry about asking for something in return.

Right-click here to download the MP3 of this episode

Links discussed during the interview

• Gary on Facebook
  
• Follow Gary on Twitter
• Gary’s Books (affiliate):
  • Crush It
    
  • The Thank You Economy
  • Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy World
• WineLibrary.com
• WineLibrary TV
• Vayner Media
• Vine app

Let Gary know how much you enjoyed his insight by tweeting to him here!

iTunes Review + Rating

If you enjoyed this podcast, I’d be extremely grateful if you would take a second and leave me a review and rating over on iTunes.  Your taking a minute to do this allows me to help more people with this podcast, so I really appreciate it.  

Simply click here to leave a review and rating

Transcript

Click here for a PDF transcript of this episode 

Thanks very much!

Until next time, keep rockin’.

-Rick

The post ISM Episode 5: Gary Vaynerchuk – NY Times Best Selling Author, Entrepreneur and Speaker appeared first on Rick Mulready - Big brand social media strategies for growing your small business..

Which brands are on the cutting edge, really “get” social and are using it in creative ways to grow their business?

I mean, there are many brands that smartly embrace it but one that is consistently top of mind for me is adidas.

Adidas “gets” how to incorporate social media into their overall marketing strategy to sell shoes and apparel and ultimately grow their brand.

In fact, it’s a primary way they get the word out about their products. 

Something to think about… are you leveraging the social media channels you have available to you to get the word out about your products or services?

Yes, adidas has 13 million fans on Facebook and adidasUS has 138k followers on Twitter, but social media, as you know from my podcast interviews, is far more about quality than quantity.

Adidas has done the work to figure out where their customers hangout online and they engage with them in those places.

They then use the appropriate social platforms to “give fans access to the brand that they wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else.”

There’s so much we can learn from what adidas is doing in social.  And as entrepreneurs and small businesses, we can model their success for our own business with little to no budget.

Because of that, I wanted to peel back the curtains of adidas’ efforts and give you inside access to their social media strategy.

Lia Vakoutis, Head of Digital Strategy at adidas America

I reached out to Lia Vakoutis who is Head of Digital Strategy at adidas America, for a behind-the-scenes look and she was gracious enough to do an interview with me:

Rick: adidas has such a strong social media presence and does a great job in promoting the brand through these channels.  What can small businesses and entrepreneurs learn from what the big brands, like adidas, are doing on social media?

Lia: The options for how to market have evolved with the emergence of social media and the new “digital everywhere” mentality.  But the fundamentals of marketing remain the same:

• Establish a clear objective for what you want to accomplish. 
• Understand whom your consumer is and how to reach them. 
• Create a compelling story of value to connect with them where they are online. 

There are many different ways that adidas has used social media to engage with fans – from exclusive first-looks of the latest adidas shoes to live chats with adidas’ partner athletes, our goal is to give fans access to the brand that they wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else. 

Actionable takeaway: What are the marketing goals of your business and whom are you marketing to?  Do you have a clear understanding of where to reach them?  You don’t have to use every social platform, just enough to engage with and add value to your customers.

Rick: What do you see popular social media platforms, like Facebook or Twitter doing over the next couple years to make themselves more attractive to small businesses?

Lia: Social platforms are making it easier for anyone – big brands, consumers, small businesses – to amplify their presence within social media.  For example, Facebook is making it very easy for big brands and small businesses alike to buy social media ads against their specific target demographic.  This trend is likely to continue.  But it is up to the brand to determine how to use the data social platforms have collected to best reach their target consumer with a message that is valuable to them.

Actionable takeaway: Use social media to listen to your customers and from what you learn, tailor your message to them so as to add value.

Rick: What are the top 3 tips you would give to a small business or entrepreneur just starting out on Facebook?

Lia: Focus on quality of fans versus quantity of fans.  It is important to know who you want to talk to and make sure you are capturing the attention of that audience.  Know what your company or brand can offer your consumer that has value to them and create a social activation plan around that offering.  Keep it simple and compelling.

Actionable takeaway: It’s about the quality of your message and engagement with your customers rather than quantity of fans.  Know what your customers like and offer your product or service to them in that way.

Rick: I realize there can be different measures of success of a social media marketing campaign, but in your mind, what’s one example of a really successful campaign that you’ve seen?  And, why do you think it was successful?

Lia: There are many different ways that adidas has used social media to engage with fans.  From exclusive first-looks of the latest adidas footwear to live chats with adidas’ partner athletes, our goal is to give fans access to the brand in ways they wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else. 

A recent example of how adidas has used social media to engage fans is the campaign, “The Return.”  We used social media to connect Derrick Rose and his fans around the world in a highly personal, six-part story that documented his recovery and pending return to the basketball court. 

We leveraged YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to create a movement around Derrick Rose and build hype around the launch of his third signature shoe, the Rose 3.0. 

Each part of the story was released exclusively through adidas’ and Derrick Rose’s social channels and brought to life through video, photos and a Facebook application that allowed fans to add a red filter to their profile picture to show their support for #thereturn.  Millions of fans participated and showed their support of The Return.   

Actionable takeaway: Building off Lia’s previous answer, leverage the social media platforms where your customers are to market and build hype around your products/services.  Lia and her team created an exclusive launch of the shoe using multiple platforms (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) giving them several different ways to personally connect with their customers.

Rick: Small businesses obviously don’t have the kind of marketing and social media budgets that big brands do.  If you could give only one piece of advice to small businesses wanting to market themselves through social media, what would it be?

Lia: We are operating in a world of high-maintenance marketing.  Social media is a medium that needs constant attention.  However, the fundamentals of marketing have not changed.  It is important that you know whom you are talking to, what you want to say and how you will communicate your message in a way that relates to your consumer.  Marketing has become a two-way street where it is more important than ever to listen, respond and learn from your community. 

Actionable Takeaway: Notice a theme here?  Use social media to find out where your customers are online, listen to them, and add value with your message that relates to them.

I’d like to extend a HUGE thank you to Lia for taking the time to speak with me. 

As we’ve seen there are several ways to connect with adidas online.  Here are the links if you’d like to do so:

Twitter: @adidasUS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adidas

Instagram: http://instagram.com/adidas

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/adidas

The Inside Social Media Podcast

If you’d like more social media insights, strategies, tips and tricks from the most successful brands in the world, check out my Inside Social Media Podcast.  It’s available on iTunes, Stitcher, Blackberry and Zune Music.

I give you inside access to heads of social media from the most successful brands in the world, as well as the smartest social media influencers around.

We discuss the latest trends in social media marketing, how these big brands use social media to grow their business and most importantly, how you, the entrepreneur or small business owner, can model their success with little to no budget.

The post adidas Social Media Success: A Behind-the-Scenes Look with Lia Vakoutis, Head of Digital Strategy at adidas America appeared first on Rick Mulready - Big brand social media strategies for growing your small business..

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes

In the few weeks between when Kevin and I sat down to talk, Kevin actually left the mayor’s office and moved over to a political strategy firm in the private sector called Purple Strategies.

Having been appointed to his position of Director of Social Media by Mayor Emmanuel when he took office, such a move after two years can be common in the political world.

I’m excited to bring you a different “big brand” perspective with this discussion because thanks to Kevin and his team, Chicago is one of the most forward thinking cities in the US when it comes to social media.  (Living in LA, I wish they’d learn a thing or two from what Kevin and his team are doing)  :)

He gives us a unique insight into how one of the biggest cities in the country uses social media to make itself more efficient and accessible to the residents of Chicago.

And as entrepreneurs and business owners there’s a lot we can learn from Chicago’s approach to social media that Kevin talks about today.

In addition to Kevin’s insight and tips, we also discuss unique case studies and real life examples of how Chicago is using social media. 

Here are the top tips and strategies that Kevin and I discuss, that you can take and put into action immediately for your own business:

• If you’re not listening to your customers you’re missing the point of social media (notice a trend?  This has come up in every discussion so far).   
• It’s about your customers and what they want.  It’s not about you.  It’s also about the relationship you want to foster with them.  What does that look like?  How do people interact with you and what do they want from you?  And then give that to them in the way they want it.
• How can you use your customers’ feedback and turn it into a tip a day on Twitter or on Vine or a blog post?  Leverage the information you know your customers want/need and use appropriate social media channels to give it to them.
• Don’t treat social media like a mega-phone.  Listen, engage, and connect.
• When measuring social media efforts, look at what you’re tying to get in your business.  Then, see what social channels align with that goal as opposed to getting too bogged down with analytics and numbers.  It’s about the quality of social media engagement.
• Show who you are with social media rather than telling what you do.  Consider how you already successfully market your business offline and look to replicate that through social media. 
• Look at your business niche and come up with a way for how you can be helpful to that niche, even if it’s outside of your exact business.  It shows you care and positions you as an authority.  How can you as a small business leverage public data and build something that benefits your city/town as a civic duty?

Right-click here to download the MP3 of this episode

Links discussed during the interview

Follow the city of Chicago on Twitter: @ChicagosMayor

Chicago makes itself awesomely accessible with its digital hub: Chicago Digital Hub

Let Kevin know how much you enjoyed his insight by tweeting to him here!

iTunes Review + Rating

If you enjoyed this podcast, I’d be extremely grateful if you would take a second and leave me a review and rating over on iTunes.  Your taking a minute to do this allows me to help more people with this podcast, so I really appreciate it.  

Simply click here to leave a review and rating

Transcript

Click here for a PDF transcript of this episode 

Thanks very much!

Until next time, keep rockin’.

-Rick

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I was listening to an interview with Gary Vaynerchuk on the Entrepreneur on Fire podcast and as the interview was wrapping up, Gary was asked what resources he would recommend entrepreneurs read.

He suggested we read sites like AdAge.com and Techmeme.com.  Reading these sites allows you to learn and understand how “big business thinks” and also keep up with the latest trends in emerging technology.  Doing this allows you and your brand to “build strength” and gives you a competitive edge in the marketplace.

This advice resonated with me, particularly the part about modeling big brands, because I’ve always been a big believer in not trying to re-invent the wheel.  Find someone who is successfully doing what you want to do and model (not copy) them.

So it got me thinking about how I could incorporate this advice into my own brand.

How could I leverage all the years I’ve spent in corporate Internet ad sales, calling on the largest brands in the world?

How could I continue simplifying Facebook marketing for small businesses while expanding my reach to help more people?

Then it came to me.

My “Pivot” and New Podcast

In the entrepreneurial world, the term “pivot” refers to when you start a business in one direction and then reach a point in your journey where you make a decision to strategically change your direction.

This is a pivot for me.

I’m expanding beyond just Facebook marketing and bringing you a holistic view of social media marketing, but from the perspective of the most successful brands in the world.

After all, understanding and modeling how big brands leverage social media can offer small businesses and entrepreneurs powerful insights that we can then use to strengthen and grow our own business.

You can count on me to translate “big business” trends and strategies into actionable and realistic advice for you.

I’m so pumped up about bringing you this new content because I know you’re going to find so much value in it.

And as part of my new brand, I’ve started a new podcast that you are going to LOVE.

Introducing The Inside Social Media Podcast

I’m beyond excited to announce the launch of The Inside Social Media Podcast, which you can subscribe to today on iTunes.

Inside Social Media is a weekly show where I give you inside access to heads of social media from the most successful brands in the world, as well as the smartest social media influencers around.

We discuss the latest trends in social media marketing, how these big brands use social media to grow their business and most importantly, how small businesses can model their success with little to no budget.

It’s like sitting down for coffee and having a conversation you couldn’t normally have.

You get real-life case studies, strategies, tips and tricks of the trade that you can in-turn use in your own business.

I’ve done several interviews already and the amount of actionable insights coming from the discussions is going to blow you away.  And the cool thing is, you get a unique perspective from each interview.

With each podcast episode, I summarize these immediately actionable tips and strategies for you in the show notes.  You’ll also find any helpful links discussed during the show as well as ways to connect with each of my guests.

Launching with Ford, McDonald’s, and Citi

In the first 3 episodes that you can download right now, I’m ecstatic to bring you interviews with the social media brains behind a few of the biggest brands in the world:

1. Scott Monty, Global Head of Social Media for Ford
2. Rick Wion, McDonald’s US Director of Social Media
3. Frank Eliason, Global Director of Social Media at Citi

And, I already have other huge interviews done, ready for release, and am also quickly lining up others for you.

Subscribe to the Podcast + Rating and Review

If you’d like to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss an episode, simply click the below link:

Subscribe to The Inside Social Media Podcast in iTunes

And, if you enjoy the podcast, I would be grateful if you would click here and leave me a rating and review on iTunes. 

It only takes a minute and your doing so allows me to help more people with this podcast. 

This Podcast Would Not Have Been Possible Without…

A HUGE thanks goes out to Pat Flynn from SmartPassiveIncome.com for helping me make this podcast possible.  Without him I would not be launching this show.

I followed his free podcasting tutorial step-by-step and for someone who knew nothing about recording quality audio and the equipment that’s needed to do it before I dove into his videos, the tutorial was exactly the detailed process I needed.

I’m also grateful to call Pat a good friend and he was always gracious with his time and knowledge in answering my seemingly never-ending questions.

If you’re looking to start your own podcast, look no further than Pat’s tutorial and his content over on his SPI blog.

What To Expect Now

With the launch of the podcast and the new direction of my brand, you can expect a few things from me, namely:

• A brand new podcast each week where heads of social media from the biggest brands in the world reveal secrets for how they use social media to build their business, and how you can model what they’re doing with little to no budget.

• New content on the blog, twice per week, where I break down “big business” trends and strategies into actionable and realistic advice for you.  You’ll get case studies, insights, strategies and tips that you can start using immediately.

• Work with me: Social media marketing isn’t something that should be done on it’s own.  It should be part of your overall marketing strategy, each piece contributing to your ultimate goal.  If you’d like to work with me to develop a social media marketing strategy for your business, I’d love to do a free strategy session with you to see if we’re a fit for each other.  Simply click here to apply.

I’d love to hear your feedback on the podcast.  Do you like it?  Not so much?  Let me know in the Comments below.

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