In October I had to queue to get into the Likeminds Conference in Exeter. This time I was one of the many getting kicked out by Scott Gould at the end of the night!

Well they went and did again didn’t they? The organisers, speakers and delegates raised the bar without creating one! “People to people” was the focus of this full day conference which threw up just as many questions as answers, but that’s the point.

There were particular vibrant and engaging presentations from Jonathan Akwue, Joanne Jacobs, Olivier Blanchard and the irrepressible Chris Brogan. Even the thought of Chris stood on stage in his Superman underpants did nothing to dissuade the audience (sorry you needed to be in the room to get that one!)

There was nothing irksome about the day. Superbly organised with a truly community feel, we all felt a little bit human again. The key lightbulb moments;

1. “When you give people a voice, you have to be prepared for what they are going to say.” Jonathan Akwue. That one  is for all you leaders out there!

2. “Understand, participate and then lead.” John Bell. Yep you got to eat an elephant in bite sized chunks.

3. “Having a prescence in social media is worthless unless you do something with it.” Olivier Blanchard. You know sometimes a blinding flash of the obvious is so bloomin’ powerful.

4. “You have to make people feel special.” Chris Brogan. Many of us commented we did feel special!

The buzz in the room was inspiring and so positive, there were obviously no Daily Mail readers in sight! People talk a lot about the social media hype. I’m curious to what they mean by that. Social media for many businesses is the Titanic’s iceberg and its no good re arranging the deckchairs on the old ship anymore. Its a difficult time for many companies. But, perhaps by humanising the relationships we have with people, we can actually thrive.

This conference showed that even in six months not just the technology has moved on, but so has our thinking. It can’t be taken as a token gesture, its serious stuff and it has serious implications. Miss the next one? Er no!

This social media is an amazing thing particularly for people who do a lot of thinking and have lots to say about their specialist stuff. Like anyone using tools like blogs, Twitter and Facebook, you have a journal of everything that you have ever written. The media would have us believe that this ability to record everything we do, say and photograph has its downside, well welcome to life, aren’t most things like that. On the whole, this ability to trace back and revisit something you said can be both a delight and embarrassment but, hey, how exciting and convenient is that?

You can’t avoid it. You can’t sweep it under the rug and you certainly can’t run like hell. We know the online world is starting to overpower the offline world. We can now start to show case studies of how big corporates are radically overhauling their marketing budgets towards social media activity.

People are talking about it, having conversations about it, delivering seminars about it, meeting about it, discussing it and, of course, doing it! You can’t stop what’s happening but you must understand this social media explosive wave of communicating with customers and spreading ideas. The implications are both fascinating and daunting.

It’s evolving rapidly and is causing huge problems for companies large and small. Marketing campaigns you’ve used over the last 3 years have become irrelevant. Before you think I’m thrusting Facebook down your neck and recommending you immediately create fans stop! It’s too late now just to test it out, you’ll fail. You can’t do what I did 18 months ago and plunge into it with no armbands just to see what it was like and whether it was for me. I did! I love it and hate it at the same time. But, life has moved on, its too serious for you to see it as a side issue.

I know how people are feeling, particularly those who haven’t done anything on the social media front yet and those who are wanting to rack things up this year. It presents a paradox; exciting and overwhelming! The key thing to think about is that actually the technology doesn’t really matter….it can almost do anything! What we all need to focus on, no matter what stage we are at, is how social media can help you  to develop relationships with people.

Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff in their book ‘Groundswell’ quote “people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations.” I  would add that this is not a trend that is about to go away, in fact, its likely to blow your business model apart over the next few years. As I mentioned earlier, its not something you can dabble in anymore, you need understanding, structure and strategy.

With hindsight, I’d consider following these four steps before embarking on a marketing approach that is not a spectator sport:

1. Read, read and read. Follow people who know what it’s all about and understand why its happening.

2. Understand what it is! It’s not just Facebook and Twitter. Consider some case studies.

3. Think about how you can use it to develop relationships with your customers, suppliers, people and community. It’s about allowing participation and having a conversation.

4. Then, with help, build a strategy that can be implemented. A focused approach that doesn’t expect miracles overnight but that gradually and solidly sustains your marketing over the long term.

Hope that helps!

Over the Xmas period I’m writing an eBook considering how business is changing including the fundamental shifts we are experiencing and, also the key things we possibly need to get back to. It will cover between 50 and 100 words all supplied by my colleagues, clients, followers, connections and fans. Although, I may throw a few into the mix.

I’m hoping to provide an overview of some critical factors that will influence the future of work and business. Some of you have been kind enough already to provide some interesting topics such as; value, adaption, substance, competition, talent, time and feel.

It would be great if you could join in! I’ll reference you in the book and provide a hyperlink to your website or blog. Hopefully, I can provide some thought provoking ideas and thoughts with a bit of humility too. Can’t wait for the conversation to start once it’s published in February/March 2010.

If you want to contribute a word or two, please just make a comment on this blog, direct message me on www.twitter.com/annholman or, email me at ann@annholman.co.uk

Thanks!

My post is made easier today by this mega post by www.scottgould.me

The case studies are starting to raise their heads above the parapet and Scott considers the recent race for the number one spot in the singles chart between Rage Against The Machine and the X Factor winner. In his usual style, Scott gives us an insight into how social media is impacting on the ’spreadability’ of ideas with a well researched article.

For those doubters, case studies are starting to appear from Dell, to the new VW Golf GTI, to how the music business is going to work in the future. Scott’s post is well worth the read and is telling us something fundamental….things have shifted!

http://scottgould.me/rage-against-the-machine-the-case-study-in-spreadability-vs-reach/

It’s an interesting question. If social media is to, actually it has, taken over and because of the demands of the new marketing approach that’s emerging, why do we need a marketing department at all? In his blog post http://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/becoming-p2p-principal-characteristics-of-the-new-social-business/ Olivier Blanchard sets out that a P2P business (people to people) doesn’t even need a Social Media Director citing that social media is completely embedded in the organisation. He has a point!

Social media removes the need for one department to be responsible for marketing. Indeed, perhaps if a company does have a marketing department, they are completely subverting what social media can do. Marketing, in the future, will be about valuable conversations, enlightening collaborations and strong connections, all wrapped snuggly in a ‘word of mouth’ blanket!

In fact here’s a suggestion, if we are moving from B2C/B2B to P2P, perhaps we need to merge human resource and marketing departments. They have a lot in common in the suggested P2P environment. Retention of staff/customers, loyal customers/staff, great conversations, cultural shifts in expectations and bevhaviour, the way we treat people, the relationships we have, brand equity and so on and so on.

It makes sense, there is so much synergy between the two disciplines now that it would be a shame to miss an opportunity to add value to the P2P relationships we have both internally and externally. By the way, Olivier’s post is well worth the read!

There are four types of business behaviour at the moment in response to the social media revolution:

1. Talk to the hand - the ignorant and the arrogant.

2. Tolerant - but little acceptance so far. It’s a fly in their soup. Fearful of losing control is at the forefront of this behaviour.

3. Dipped toes - have tried it, quite liked it, the water’s warm, but don’t know what to do next to embrace it fully.

4. Riding the wave - hey they are way ahead of the game….

If you can admit to being in either 1 or 2, go look at this video. Clay identifies huge implications to the cross over to the business application of social media.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/clay_shirky_how_cellphones_twitter_facebook_can_make_history.html

If you’re not convinced after this, I give up, you are not listening!

I presented a seminar this week in Cornwall for www.mervynsmallwood.co.uk on customer loyalty and social media. It struck me that, like yesterday’s post, some new things are going to be challenging for business but we don’t need to panic about social media. Not just yet anyway. There is time to sit down, relax and just watch/observe.

My top five tips of what you need to be doing if you are looking at your marketing strategy in the next few months. Social media will be at the forefront of that so:

1. Read this book www.ducttapemarketing.com/socialmediaforbusiness.pdf

2. Research and play with social media, it’s meant to be fun.

3. Get yourself booked onto www.alikeminds.org in February 2010.

4. Find a social media ‘guru’ and pick their brains.

5. Read this blog and others www.thebrandbuilder.blogspot.com/

Don’t panic, social media is here to stay. You don’t need to jump on the bandwagon just yet. It’s more important to make sure you know what you’re doing and want to achieve. Spend 3 months getting your head round it. Play with www.twitter.com Start to engage with people. Follow people you like, follow people you hate. Understand the language, how it’s changing the way we do business, then launch yourself into it.

Social media is not a spectator sport so be prepared for that. You are not going to lose out by waiting a few months. In fact, you are going to be in a better position to manage the process and ensure your business makes the right decisions rather than hundreds of decisions.

Yep little old me, because of the web, social media and technology has a voice. I perhaps have a lot to thank Tim Berners-Lee for! I have a voice that can not only be heard around the world but its one a few people are interested in listening too. How cool is that? Not only that, but it allows me to converse with the likes of Tom Peters, Seth Godin, Patrick Dixon, Colin Shaw and Trey Pennington.

Ten years ago this would have been impossible. I’d have had to go the traditional route, through a publisher, or, turned up to the ‘guru gigs’ and been that annoying person who hands out business cards to everyone and anyone.

I look around me a lot, it’s the fascinating part of my job, being able to observe. I spot a lot of people who have lost their own voice and thereby, to some degree, their individuality. They’ve adopted their corporate BS speak hook line and sinker which is as attractive as a fish wife in a small tin room.

This ‘groundswell’ of change in how we communicate can be seen as a threat or an opportunity. Small businesses have the distinct of advantage of seeing it only as an opportunity. They tend to be set up for this change far better than corporate businesses. They tend to have more intimate relationships with their customers and staff, so making the jump is more like a hop and a skip really.

This eBook written by John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing is a great introduction to social media in business. Concise yet full of practical help it’s a good place to start and it’s free. Download it here:

http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/socialmediaforbusiness.pdf