Whether marketers and PR professionals like it or not, the folks we market to can now have a real voice and we would do well to take this seriously. More than that, it no longer requires money and influence to be heard; it requires being at the right place with a message that resonates.Amen to that, brother.
Labels: b2b, Marketing, social media
Posted by Scott Monty at 12:57 PM
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At Ford, Scott heads up the social media function and holds the title Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager. He is a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company, from blogger relations to marketing support, customer service to internal communications and more, as social media is being integrated into many facets of Ford business.
Prior to joining Ford, Scott served as Consigliere for crayon and spent a number of years with PJA Advertising + Marketing, a boutique BtoB agency specializing in health sciences & high tech.
In addition to his professional responsibilities, Scott is an active blogger and podcaster. He writes about the intersection of advertising, marketing and PR at The Social Media Marketing Blog and also writes The Baker Street Blog and cohosts I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, two literary undertakings. Scott has been featured in hundreds of news and business publications in print and on the web, in nearly dozens of books, and on a variety of mainstream media, including NBC, NPR, CNN and The Wall Street Journal. Scott is a recognized thought leader in the social media industry and frequently speaks at industry events.
Scott received his Master's in Medical Science from Boston University's School of Medicine concurrently with his MBA from BU's Graduate School of Management. He lives in the greater Detroit area with his wife and two young sons, golfs all too infrequently, and has a hidden talent for voice over work.
Oh, and one last little-known fact: Scott coined the Oxford Dictionary of English-accepted term "tweetup."
You may download a headshot here, courtesy of Rosh Sillars; a PDF version of Scott's bio is here .
Scott speaks on social media at events, seminars and conferences around the world. His topic generally focuses on corporate use of social media, becoming an online spokesperson, and specifically on the progress that Ford has made in the recent past. If you're interested in booking Scott to speak at your event, please click here to submit a speaking request for Ford-related purposes or email me at speaking [AT] this site's URL (if you know what I mean) to send a general email request.. Scott's bio and headshot can be found in the "About Scott" tab above.
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Hi, I'm Scott. I'm the global head of social media for Ford Motor Company. This is my personal blog, where I share my perspectives on social media - the convergence of marketing, advertising and PR on the Web - for marketers, agencies, the enterprise and the individual. This blog contains my personal views. My bio is available here and my headshots can be found here.
Hey Scott - I think the B2B applications of social media are pretty darn exciting, and the cool thing is that the space is so new, we all get to write the rules!
Scott,
Thanks for kind words on my blog post.
I think the underlying problem is that the internet has entailed enormous change for marketers and how we adapt to that change. Most companies -- and marketers -- historically have waited until something big happens (usually, that means something bad for them). A competitor has a big hit or a big problem. Or they have a big problem. It takes a wake up call. Go ask the folks over at Kryptonite what happened to their brand and sales when a blogger uploaded a video on the net showing how to break one of their locks in under a minute using a Bic pen. How about Lockhead Martin, a government contractor, when a whistle-blower recently put up a video at YouTube?
Too many marketers get stuck in the online weeds, focused only on tactics, behaving as if there is some sense of stability on the internet. There's not. Everything that works today in online marketing probably won't be as effective next year and the way people use the internet continuosly evolves.
I'm wondering if the next generation of marketers should have minors in sociology and finance.
Hello Scott.
I've been doing some research on Social Media Optimisation / Social Media Marketing and I have my own take on this. I think B2B's have trouble marketing through social media because the nature of Social Media is to be (or at least appear to be) non-commercial. I found a good set of case studies for successful social media campaigns -
http://www.demonzmedia.com/DemonzBlog/?p=9#comment-41
There probably are commercial examples of Social Media Optimisation. Mark Echo's Air Force 1 hoax comes to mind as a social media campaign for a commercial company that was highly successful, but again the whole idea here was to appear revolutionary and non-commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP0iSJQLfJ4
I think then the problem for B2B's is how to create something commercial that is non-commercial. I also agree that it has to be part of the conversation somehow, and this has alot to do with how it is packaged (e.g. as a video link on Youtube where people can discuss the content).
Thanks for your comment, Phil. One example of SMO that's been incredibly successful is the "Will It Blend?" series by BlendTec. They spent an initial $50 on producing a video in house and have since become a Web phenomenon that has translated into 300%+ growth in sales.
As to B2B, I think the solution lies less in a social media campaign as it does in applying best practices on a regular basis: if you have a blog, using keywords in your posts and headers to drive search results, and commenting on forums, blogs and other sites that can help raise awareness. These may not seem like sexy approaches, but they do make a difference in B2B, where search is a key part of the research & decision making process.