B2B Marketing Blog

Event Recap: Baer Shares How to Make B2B Faster, Smarter, More Social

  

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Jay Baer is one of the country's most recognized and renowned authorities on the subject of social media and its effective application in business. His consultancy, Convince and Convert, works with companies to build integrated, measurable social and content programs. He's worked with over 700 brands since 1994, is a prolific blogger, professional speaker and is currently on a national tour promoting his latest book, one that he co-wrote with Amber Naslund, vice president of social strategy for Radian 6, The Now Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Businesses Faster, Smarter and More Social.

The BMA Atlanta was fortunate and excited to have Jay stop by during his whirlwind tour to address the audience at our keynote event, October 5, 2011. He provided an overview of his book and explained in a compelling and engaging way why social media represents a fundamental shift, not a tactical shift, in the way business is and should be conducted. One of the things that stood out to me was Jay's point that success is predicated so much on company culture, not just in the realm of social media, but in the overall health of the company. Changing organizational culture is an enormous challenge, but one that must be met.

Below are some of the highlights from his presentation:

• Before the advent of social media, we were limited in our ability to communicate, which was primarily "word of mouth." There is now no limit to our ability to communicate, and every customer is a reporter. In order to survive in this new environment, businesses must do three things: 1) get faster, 2) get smarter, and 3) get more social.
• There have been many product innovations and channels of communication through the years that changed the way we do business. First there was the telephone, then fax, then the web, then email, and now, social media. "This (social media) is the most transformative of all because it fundamentally changes the nature of the relationship between businesses and its customers. It's not a master-to-servant relationship anymore; it's closer to peer-to-peer."
• "The success of social media relies on corporate culture and sociology, not tools and technology."
• "Companies should move with one mind and one heart. To move this way, we have to hire for passion and train for skills. The companies that do this are the ones that will achieve cultural alignment."
• "Social media is the new 'canary in the coal mine'. It's the new telephone; you have to answer it."
• Social media success metrics: know what you're trying to accomplish with your social media efforts. Is it awareness? Sales? Loyalty and retention? Other? Each have different metrics. "The problem is not that we can't or don't have enough to measure, it's that we have too much to measure."
• Facebook fans, for example, is a worthless metric. Eight-four percent of current Facebook fans are current customers. "In social media, we have to measure behavior, not aggregation." "Facebook is digital bumperstickering."
• "If you use these four words fast and well, you'll be better than 80% of the companies using social media: 'thank you' and 'I'm sorry'"
• The engagement spectrum: Ignoring > Listening > Responding > Participating > Storytelling. "Participating" is the act of jumping in and adding context and value. "Storytelling" is creating content. "The less people are talking about you, the more content you have to create. The more people are talking about you, the less content you have to create." At some point, you have to create conversations, not just engaging in them.
• The companies that are best at storytelling are best at "internal story harvesting." Sales, operations and customer service are the groups that know the most about the business. A tunnel should be developed between those groups and every other group in the company so that the story is known, communicated and consistent.
• "The enemy of storytelling is features and benefits."
• Find your brand voice by talking about people, not company abstract. "We are intrigued by and remember human stories."
• Helping vs. Selling (in social media): "In social media, you earn the right to promote by being helpful, useful and relevant." You can't buy that right like you can in every other medium. Help first, sell second.
• "We're in the era of the invitation avalanche (when every company has a special offer, invites you to join their blog, become their FB fan, etc.). This is where we're going, folks. We need to be part of the solution, not part of this growing problem. You differentiate around helpfulness."
• "Social media is a job today, but it's going to become a skill, much like typing. Everything important in business eventually becomes a skill. You have to have people in the company that have their antennas up."
• There are two types of changes in business: 1) protocol and 2) paradigm. "Social media is both, which is why it's so hard. Customers will simply ultimately demand that you communicate with them this way."
• "Be social, don't do social."
• "Social media requires experiential learning. If you don't love it, you suck at it."

Have you heard Jay speak before? What are your thoughts? What would you add to this conversation?

Erick Pennington serves as the sponsorship chair for the Business Marketing Association, Atlanta Chapter, and has 10 years of experience in B2B marketing and business development. He is currently the business development manager for The Jones Group, an Atlanta-based creative agency with a strong focus on B2B marketing.