Robert Pease, Vice President of Marketing at Gist, Inc., argues that companies must listen to online conversations to understand customer needs and sentiments. He outlines steps for engaging in online communities through contributing helpful content, amplifying others, and responding promptly while avoiding direct sales pitches. Companies should target influential online voices, build a pool of shareable content, and measure success based on follower growth, conversions from leads, advocacy, and referrals rather than just marketing activities. While challenging, online engagement through communities can blur traditional roles and become a core marketing strategy.

1. “Marketing Mayhem”Can you hear me now? 8/15/09 Robert Pease Vice President of Marketing Gist, Inc. www.gist.com

2. If you are not listening, you don’t know your market People are talking… And they are saying a lot… “Looking for a new database app for the Mac. Any suggestions?” “I hate Acmeco. Your products and service suck.” “Thinking about flying VirginAmerica. Anyone have any experience with them?”

3. Who are these people? 8/22/09 confidential 3 Sources: Mashable, Gist, TechCrunch, Discovery Communications

4. Do my prospects care about what is being said? 8/22/09 confidential 4

5. Getting Started – Listen First, Write Second Step 1: Awareness Step 2: Content Listen Amplify Enhance Contribute “Write a blog” “Post to Twitter, Friendfeed, etc.)” “Start conversations” “Answer a Linkedin Question” “Email a blogger” “Comment on a blog post” “Reply to a Tweet” “Ask a Linkedin question” “Read blogs” “Follow on Twitter” “Search & discover” “Look at a profile” “Email a blog post” “Retweet” “Share/Favorite a link”

7. Personal & authentic

8. Actionable & meaningful

9. Complete coverage

10. Response within 4 – 6 Hours

11. Personal & authentic

12. Actionable & meaningful

13. Over 6 hours to respond

14. Generic response

15. Direct sales tactics

16. Nothing worth sharing

17. Partial coverage

18. No coverage

19. No responseReal-time/Near-time Response No Clue Batch & Act #FAIL

20. This blurs organizational lines Sales=>Marketing=>Support The customer sees no difference New role(s) emerging Community manager/concierge/liaison that is hybrid sales/marketing/support role that “owns” the customer Support is sales You are in the renewal business It is not “free” Requires skilled & experienced staff but could be the majority of you marketing program spend

21. Seven Rules of Engagement “Amplify” others through your channels to help them build their personal awareness & credibility…you become a promotion engine for your customers. Avoid the frontal assault – not the forum or channel for generic sales pitch, respond in context and be helpful. Be personal and authentic – not to be outsourced or placed in entry-level hands Always respond with a smile…no matter what. You do not control the conversation. Always in public…build the echo chamber. Go off-line when the time is right. Always transparent…both good and bad. Your advocates will stand up for you. Point them somewhere like Facebook, Linkedin, or a user community that you host. You want them to connect & share….even about things unrelated to you.

22. Your Tone is Crucial Authentic & value-added Share things not about you – add domain knowledge/expertise to the flow; contribute Supply questions to followers – don’t be afraid to ask Leverage competitors but be mindful of exposure & reciprocity Let your followers answer questions about you

23. Target Those Who Make Noise Those with a voice Bloggers, Tweeters, Linkedin users, content creators Focus on self-reinforcing groups Have a place to not just collect them, but activate them on your behalf Facebook Fan Page, Linkedin Group, Twitter followers Connect them to each other and let them carry the conversation

24. ABC –Always Build Content Use blog posts, tweets, video testimonials, media coverage, survey data, thought leadership, content routing (sharing) to create a dynamic pool of content that you & your community can constantly tap This is “anchor content” that carries your message – blog, press releases, coverage (mainstream or users) Share it!

25. The Echo Chamber Others share, like, repost, create blog posts about, retweet, etc. You share, like, repost, create blog posts about, retweet, etc. Others Others share, like, repost, create blog posts about, retweet, etc. You distribute/publish content (blog post, tweet, email update, etc.) You create content (blog post, press release, video testimonial, etc.)

26. Old vs. New Marketing Techniques

28. Track business problem/need mentions

29. Provide content that contributes

30. Answer questions/be helpful – do not pitch

31. Passively engage generally

33. Follow up to assist – technical & usage

34. Maniacal focus on ease of registration & on-boarding

35. Enable users, provide usage tips, connect them with power users

36. Less about sales/marketing & more about support

39. Reward behavior

40. Provide shareable content

41. Enable with product functionality (invite, share, etc.)

43. Areas to Improve Measurement Is it working? List Management Leverage friends/fans/followers across platforms and outreach options Micro-segmentation Who are these people & what do they have in common? Keeping up…

44. Thanks robert@gist.com twitter.com/robertatgist www.gist.com