Permission Marketing puts the power in the consumer’s hands, by requiring that the marketers send promotional messages only to consumers who have given marketers permission to do so, whether explicitly (opt-in email list, for example) or implicitly (internet search).

On one hand this is fantastic because it gives marketers a chance to provide relevant information to interested parties, but on the other hand, brands need to pay all kinds of attention to how they’re using Permission Marketing, because the consumer can pull their interest plug in a heartbeat.

So how can we keep consumers from “opting out” of our brand messages?

It’s only fitting that part of the answer comes from Seth Godin’s definition of Permission Marketing:

“Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them.”

1.     Permission is a privilege, not a right.

Consumers do not owe us their attention, and they certainly do not owe us their permission.  We need to EARN their permission, and that’s not done by a gimmick or a flashy set of ads.

Permission is earned through quality offers, genuine interest in and deep understanding of consumer preferences/needs, and a consistent track record that builds trust.  Keep the trust à keep the permission à keep the consumer.

2.     Relevance is king.  

We all hear daily that content is king – so let’s take that one level further and point out that it’s not just the volume or brilliance of content that matters to your consumers, it is how that content relates to them.  If content is not relevant to your consumer, it is nothing more than a waste of your time and a reason for the consumer to take away permission for ongoing interaction with you.

3.     It’s all about relationships.

People must come first – in your growth strategies, in your marketing plans, and in every social media interaction that you have.  When you place highest priority on people, you take the time to do all those hugely important things that build relationships:

• You operate from a mindset of SERVICE
• You think about what you can GIVE TO your consumers, rather than take from them.
• You ask them questions, listen to and clarify their answers, and get to know their pain points and what delights them.
• You base your innovations on what CONSUMERS actually need and want.

And the result?  You get and keep your consumers’ permission to continue and build your relationship with them.   In other words, permission is your ROR (Return on Relationship™).

As you head into 2012, remember that Permission Marketing is a two-way street, and the traffic signals are controlled by consumers.  Be their Green Light… not their stop sign!

Originally posted at CollectiveBias.com

Tell me about your background and your connection to marketing to women?

I’ve been working in digital marketing since 1997:  originally working with Seth Godin at Yoyodyne (which was acquired by Yahoo! in 1998), then moving into my sweet spot of marketing to women as CMO of e.l.f. Cosmetics (Eyes Lips Face) from 2008-2010.

In December of 2009, I joined the OpenSky Board of Advisors, and in 2010 served as their CSMO until their business focus took a turn away from the blogger relationships I so value.

I am currently the Chief Social Marketing Officer at Collective Bias and a Social Marketing Strategist for MARS Advertising. I am on the Advisory Board of SheSpeaks, and various other social marketing companies.

At e.l.f., I pioneered a program to develop and utilize blogger relationships to exponentially increase and sustain the e.l.f. brand visibility, and because of the blogger energy, talent, and networks, the program at e.l.f. brand evolved and succeeded with a unique approach toward not just beauty, but also accessibility, interactivity and consumer engagement.  Women were the key to the success of this initiative because they intuitively built relationships through their blogging, and I learned about them and their relationships to brands by watching them, interacting with them, and most importantly, building my own relationships with them.

My marketing philosophy is all about relationships and ROR (Return on Relationship™ ), so marketing to women – who tend toward relationship — is a natural connection for me.

How do you think men and women use social media differently?

Several studies have shown that more women than men use social networking sites, and women spend more time on those sites.   I think this happens for several reasons:

- Women tend to plan ahead more than men do, and care more about saving money than men do, so women are more likely to do the research and comparison shopping for products.

- Women are more likely to build relationships online than men are, so they are also more likely to ask someone in their network for recommendations before purchasing.

- Women are better at multi-tasking, and let’s face it, the nature of social media favors people who are skilled at being part of numerous conversations (and relationships!) at once, using multiple social tools, and quickly processing and acting on information.

Although there are of course exceptions to the rule, women still use social media more for lasting connection and relationship, while men as a whole use it more for information with a few quick connections thrown in.

What insights can you provide into the influence of Mom Bloggers?

Moms pride themselves on being savvy consumers, and as great networkers, they want to help others out by sharing their knowledge about brands /products/services.  Moms are constantly busy with multiple responsibilities, so they have learned to quickly and accurately sniff out poseur brands… and they will share that information!

Mom Bloggers are real people who have real-life experience with the brands, products and services that they blog about, so that instantly creates a certain level of trust with their readers.  Mom Bloggers also engage with their readers because they genuinely care about connecting.  Trust and engagement are two key components of building strong relationships, so in this new relationship-driven economy, Mommy Bloggers are golden!

Brand marketing (especially to women) in a social media world is about relevance, transparency and authenticity – all things that we see Mom Bloggers do.  No wonder consumers and brands alike are looking to Mom Bloggers as valuable recommendation and marketing resources.

What role do you think social media has played in the rise of marketing to women?

A very significant role!  Social media has taken away numerous connection barriers between brand and consumer, giving brands more direct access to not just push information out to consumers, but to actively engage in ongoing conversation with consumers and their networks.  Since women, who control 85% of household spending, are the majority of social media users, it makes sense that marketers naturally have turned their focus to marketing to women.  They hold the purse strings AND have the highest and most interrelated social media presence.

Social media has also given consumers a voice, and women are happy to finally have a platform for their insights, opinions, suggestions and recommendations – where their voice can actually make an impact and a difference.   Women are ready to be heard, so wise marketers will strive to give women the full brand experience… then hand women the microphone!    Women are naturally fantastic Brand Advocates, genuinely wanting to help others by sharing information, so marketing to women makes all the sense in the world.

Social media has also given Moms in particular a feasible way to start their own business from their homes and create income from their interests.  As more and more Moms (along with other women) are online for their businesses, they are also online for personal use , and once again brands benefit by getting even more visibility.

Who is doing it well / not so well (any specific examples or case studies?)

There are very few, in my humble opinion, truly doing it well, and many not so well.  A perfect comparison is jetBlue and Virgin America. When it comes to listening, engaging and interacting, no one is doing it better than jetBlue. They actively listen, they evaluate who they are listening to on the fly, and they have a well managed team and escalation policy. If you reach out, they reach back and do what they can, in a challenging industry, to make you feel heard. They view social as a tool to extend their reach into the hearts and minds of their consumers, not just another tool in the marketing tool kit. Virgin America, on the other hand, is using social remarkably well when it comes to campaign based, and branding, social; but they drop the ball miserably when it comes to what makes social unique and most valuable… regular interaction, engagement and customer service. Tweet them and you are lucky to hear back, and when you do they immediately take you offline.

I say… engage and interact in full view of everyone, no matter whether or not you can resolve the issue. The social platforms allow us as brands to humanize ourselves, speak to our consumers in full view of the world… and most importantly build relationships that will sustain the brand for the long-term through up, downs, breakthroughs and missteps.

What does the social media horizon for the next 3-5 years look like? 

I think we’re only beginning to see how ubiquitous social media is going to be.  We have gone through the infancy of social media creation and adoption as a serious marketing tool, and are now in the early stages of adolescence with marketers (and consumers) still mostly awkward as they figure out what this new focus on social media really means.   Some do have a better grasp on how to truly leverage social media for connecting brands to consumers, but we don’t truly have EXPERTS yet.

Within the next 3 years, the true experts will emerge:  those who weather this initial social media frenzy, and come out on the other side with a sharp focus on either a particular channel, social media tool, or marketing philosophy.  These next few years will weed out the so-called “marketers” who jumped on the social media bandwagon and expected to be able to just go with the flow.  The problem is that this is not just a wave, it’s a whole tsunami, and it takes dedication, commitment, and time to truly invest in learning how to and then actually using social media effectively and efficiently.

What does the launch of Google+ mean for the social media landscape?

Google+ is most certainly a Google victory, and possibly a victory for us all. The company has devoted a great deal of resources to make certain the product is worthy of users’ time, and attention to make it work for them and for brands. They have also taken great care to fix what needs to be fixed in the social space, bring all the Google power and products/features to bear, and build out a road map for the next stage of social communication. G+ is simply not just a social media infrastructure — like Twitter — it is a social media platform. G+ has the opportunity to be a social media Swiss army knife. Google has a massive portfolio and it can call upon any one of their products and integrate them into G+ … i.e. Analytics, Gmail, Google Apps, Google Voice, YouTube, and the most viral property — the Android mobile platform.

There is an amazing opportunity for brands to build interactive two-way engagement, interaction, and sharing within this platform, but consumers will have to adopt it to make it worthwhile, and only time will answer that question. It is too early to be sure how this will truly scale … whether people

have the bandwidth for another platform or willingness to change, and whether or not all the features will be overwhelming and distracting, or the new means of communication and social relationship building. The potential is huge to listen to what people want, integrate them into the process, and do exactly the opposite of what Facebook and Twitter have done … cater to what

the people want and need, instead of dictating what they can have.

What are the top five / ten social media success secrets for brands wanting to leverage social media to reach women?

The # 1 priority that brands need to have in reaching women through social media is to build long-term authentic relationships with individual consumers.   It’s ironic actually that now that many social media tools require abbreviated communications (140 characters, or a quick status update, or simply sharing a link), their success depends on extended timelines for ongoing interaction and engagement.

The “secrets”  (although I hope they won’t be secret for long – this is too important to keep secret!) to building relationships through social media are:

1. Shift your paradigm: this is a whole new marketing world.  If you still think push advertising along with the “brand is boss” attitude is the way to capture and hold consumers’ attention, you are not ready yet to leverage social media in your marketing campaigns.
2. Provide a trusted online community space: relationships flourish when women can comfortably interact with you and each other.  Trust is not purchased; trust is gained – put in the time and the effort and you will see the ROR (Return on Relationship)
3. Ask individual consumers for their opinions and recommendations: this is not just a “feel-good” exercise – we need this information for brand survival, and we need to make sure that our consumers know how much we value and depend on this information.
4. Listen to and hear their answers: If you don’t plan to listen, don’t bother asking. It’s that simple.
5. Confirm what you think you heard them say: Not only do we need to make sure we get it right, but we also need to make sure consumers know that we care enough about them and their input to confirm and re-confirm our understanding of their needs, preferences, and recommendations.
6. Make changes that reflect their preferences: Actions speak louder than words.  If you say you are listening, yet make no changes to the brand experience, you are fooling nobody.  In fact, this is one of the best ways to alienate consumers and their networks.  The way to prove you are listening is to TAKE ACTION.   (And why would you ask for feedback if you had no plans to act on it anyway??)
7. Put the consumer in the drivers’ seat: consumers have more influence now than they ever have before.  We can waste our time and energy trying to convince them of what they need from us, or we can work within the new reality and let consumers lead us.

The fourth edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Current English lists the verb “like” as follows:

like²*v. (likes, liking, liked) 1 find pleasant or satisfactory.
2 wish for; want.

Does this definition correlate to the “Like” of a Facebook business page?  Not a lot—in fact, I think the word has been devalued in about the same manner as “Friend.”  The “Like” button has become ubiquitous!  It’s on business pages (it used to be “Fans”), on updates, ads, photos, videos—and off-Facebook as well.  It can be embedded on almost every kind of content imaginable.  Yet does clicking it mean we actually find content associated with it “pleasant or satisfactory?”  Maybe—maybe not—it all depends on the “Liker’s” relationship with the brand.

Clicking the “Like” button of a business page certainly doesn’t make a person an instant brand advocate. For most it’s a first touch—a toe in the water to see if it’s worth going further.  That’s it.

So what does collecting a zillion “Likes” of a Facebook page actually mean in terms of dollars and cents?  Well, if all you’re doing is counting them, not much.

The same goes for “Liking” an update, photo or anything else that’s shared online. For instance, a hundred people can increase your Facebook edge rank by “Liking” content, but that number is pretty meaningless unless you actually develop a one-on-one relationship with those people by getting them to actually TALK to you and eventually BUY from you because they find your content and/or product or service RELEVANT to their lives.

Pete Shankman and I talked about this during a panel discussion at the Social Media World Forum back in November.  In discussing the future of the “Friend-trend,” he predicted that relevance will become more and more important over the next couple of years, and that real INTERACTION is the key to creating such relevance.

Bravo, Pete!  This makes perfect sense and ties right into my favorite social measurement, Return on Relationship™ (ROR).  Where is the business relationship without relevance?  The two are intricately linked—and THAT’s what we should be measuring, not how many people clicked a “like” button.  In fact, Facebook’s recent change in their edge rank algorithm de-emphasizes number of likes in favor of sharing and other interaction (a step in the right direction).

“But Ted,” I hear you saying, “If I have 20,000 ‘Likes,’ doesn’t that mean I have a higher probability of making sales than a page that has 1,000 Likes?”

Not necessarily.  It all comes down to how proactive you are about developing conversations with those individuals.  For example, you could invest in Facebook ads that are compelling enough to garner 20,000 one-time likes; however, unless you actively share content that keeps those people interacting with your brand, all you really have is a number (and not a very informative one at that).

As an exercise, take a look at how you interact with the business pages of brands that you personally find relevant to your life.  What are your favorites, and why?  How do you interact with them?  What makes you feel compelled to interact with a particular brand on social channels?  Break it down, study it, and use that information to tweak your own brand profile and strategy!

Year end is often a time when businesses take a look at their marketing plans and decide how they’ll change them in the coming year.  How do you plan on changing the way you measure your brand’s social effectiveness in 2012? 

Why?  Because the challenge of operating in an uncomfortable zone keeps you growing and moving forward in ways far greater than what you can do sitting inside your comfort zone.  Life is way too full of possibilities for you to let it all pass you by.   And let me remind you that fear is no excuse.  Do you think today’s great visionaries were ever afraid to step outside of their comfort zones?  Most definitely… but they did it anyway!

The same goes for brands and retailers:  if you want to stand out, get noticed, and be truly amazing at what you do and offer, you can’t do it from inside your comfort zone.  Innovation happens OUTSIDE your comfort zone!

For many of you, your comfort zone is doing business in the same way you’ve done it for the past 10, 5, or even 2 years.  Business is no longer the same as it was just last year, so you need to step out there and change the way you do business!

Take the Klout example in my recent blog post, where they hid behind their comfort zone walls of silence when consumers were demanding answers.  I’m sure it would have been uncomfortable for them to admit their shortcomings, but it sure would have saved them a lot of respect and possibly even some customer loyalty.

The new way of doing business pushes our comfort zones constantly, so why not just step right up and show that you’re willing to risk YOUR comfort to deliver value for your customers:

1. Trust your customers first: take your own wisdom with a grain of salt until you’ve confirmed (or disconfirmed) it with actual consumers.
2. Focus on relationships first: this isn’t just a buzz phrase.  When you put energy into getting to know and serve your customers and audience, the ROR (Return on Relationship™) includes sales, loyalty, and increases to your bottom line.
3. Insist on authenticity: it’s harder to hide the real “colors” (and message) of your brand and business when you’re outside of your comfort zone.  Let your customers see what’s real, ask them for honest feedback, and for goodness sake… don’t filter the less-than-positive! The result will be dedicated brand advocates.

Where does your comfort zone end?  Go there, and beyond… TODAY!  

We need to keep a good mixture of delivering on what we know now, while still thinking of how to address next year. For me, that means to keep innovating and building toward better content generation, delivery, and syndication, while still being sure to build relationships and emotional connections.

The relationships matter so much because they will help keep us grounded and connected to our customers during those “in between times” of innovation.  Change, even for great reasons, can be difficult since it requires learning and adjustment to something new, and let’s face it – some of us feel like old dogs trying new tricks these days, even if we are still quite young!  The emotional connections we have already built with our customers will help them feel they can lean on us and work with us during our times of innovation, rather than just walking away because we made a change.

There is always value in focusing resources RIGHT NOW on building relationships, no matter what innovation you are planning.  There is no better time than the present to set the stage for a high ROR (Return on Relationship™).

At the same time, though, it is also important to remember that just because something is working now does not mean it will work equally well tomorrow.  Of course it is vital to become better at what we already do, but it is also imperative to have some focus on the benefit of continually innovating — always learning and staying in front of the competitive landscape.

Think about how quickly social media has gone from something new to now being an ingrained part of our lives and businesses… that is not going to slow down anytime soon, so we need to be one step ahead in our planning, and always ready for action.

One area I feel certain will gain ground, be a part of the innovation/evolution to come and become an intrinsic part of the consumer/shopper experience, is location based service.  I believe LBS is finally ready for a breakout as the value for consumers becomes more apparent.  Facebook just acquired Gowalla and the whole location based concept, as it evolves to passive (reactive) check-in, makes it so valuable to retail and the shopping experience… and can/will have a dramatic effect on sales.  The innovators, those most willing to take the technology beyond its current limitations and add storytelling capabilities to drive value, build relationships and the ever important emotional connection, will be the winners by creating a shopper tool to power insights and the connection to the shelf.

This year during your year-end review, ask yourself what you can do to build even stronger relationships with customers, friends, family, and colleagues through the rest of this year.  Then if you really want to innovate wisely, ask THEM the same question because in the end, it is still all about relationships.

Originally posted at FromBogotaWithLove.com

Every social complaint or question is the “low hanging fruit” of a brand’s chance to interact with consumers.  But it’s not just ANY chance – it’s a chance to interact when you have the consumers full attention “and” PUBLICLY, to engage in a way that can, and often will, catch the attention of an entire audience. These kinds of comments are visible, relevant and actionable, and brands need to have a plan to engage.

Unfortunately many brands are ignoring or simply not taking full advantage of this opportunity and falling into one of the biggest social media mistakes… Not Being Social.

Makes me think of the old adage “if a tree falls in the woods…” except here the problem is that people are hearing the tree fall but no one is responding (or even aware)!  Consumers are speaking their mind, asking for answers or information, and they won’t wait long for you to pay attention before going elsewhere. The effects of this negligence can be detrimental to the brand at best.

Brands and retailers need to recognize this fundamental shift in consumer expectations – the expectation that their comments/tweets/posts will be noticed, acknowledged, and addressed.

I admit it is a challenge to see the “raised hands” of the tough-to-track Google searches, but let’s not use that as an excuse to not try!  Use this an incentive to get to know your consumers better by building relationships with them BEFORE they “raise their hands” in a Google search… so your brand will be a step ahead as the answer consumers will select first in a list of Google search results.

A raised hand is a request for attention, which, last time I looked, was exactly what we marketers want.  Start calling on your consumers who raise their hands before it is too late.

So what happened?  Long story short (read the article for full details), ChapStick posted an ad that was offensive to some people, and when those people voiced their opinions on ChapStick’s Facebook Fan Page, ChapStick deleted those comments… and kept deleting them as they were posted.

As I see it, the top three poor choices ChapStick made were as follows:

Poor Choice #1:  Staying quiet

Poor Choice #2:  Trying to whitewash their public space

Poor Choice #3:  Trying to make the whole situation go away

ChapStick’s controversial ad did not need to start a firestorm of negative feedback and perception; if it had been handled differently, it could have been a powerful opportunity to strengthen and broaden the ChapStick brand reputation:

Fix #1:  Respond –“out loud” — as soon as the first customer speaks up.

When it comes to social media, silence is often louder than words.  A quick Facebook post from ChapStick in response to the first customer complaint could have opened a conversation, providing a chance for ongoing interaction and the start of a mutually-respectful relationship between brand and customer.  Other Facebook fans (or Twitter followers) who read that exchange would also get a chance to build a positive opinion about ChapStick because of their willingness to listen to – and really HEAR – the customer feedback.

I did notice, however, that fans also spoke up on ChapStick’s behalf.  They acknowledged the strength of the ChapStick product and judging by the intensity of some of the fan Facebook responses, they actually CARED about ChapStick’s reputation.  It got personal.

That is ROR – a strong Return on Relationship™:  your customers/fans/followers going to bat for you, standing up for you and your reputation, and staying loyal to you even when you make mistakes or show your imperfections. 

Fix #2:  Be Authentic and transparent

What brand would you be more likely to do business with:  one that encourages and engages in open, honest (authentic) conversation with customers/fans/followers, or one that filters their public persona to portray a squeaky-clean whitewashed image?

The true display of transparency is having the courage to admit possible imperfections and respond to negative customer feedback – not to simply remove a realistic piece of the picture then not admit to the action when confronted!   This response from ChapStick is, in my opinion, just more side-stepping and more reason followers might lose their trust in the brand: “We apologize that fans have felt like their posts are being deleted and while we never intend to pull anyone’s comments off our wall, we do comply with Facebook guidelines…”

If your customers think you messed up (whether YOU think you did or not), take responsibility for the problem AND the solution.   That is how credibility is strengthened and relationships are built. 

Fix #3:  Embrace criticism

Criticism is a great opportunity to show what your brand is really made of.  Will you run from it, or take it as a chance to learn more about what your brand’s customers/fans/followers REALLY want and need from you?

ChapStick tried … eventually… to leverage this situation as a chance to state their appreciation of customer feedback with this statement: “We’re aware of the discussion going on across social media, and we’re listening. We love our fans and adore your passionate voice around ChapStick®. 

The problem is that after someone has their “passionate voice” (comment) deleted, the declaration of love and adoration no longer means much.   You can say you’re listening, but until you ask your customers/fans/followers clarifying questions and share your resulting ACTION plan, words are just words.

Listen, ask, listen again, ACT … then do it all over again.  THAT is how you turn criticism into the chance for ongoing relationships and a high ROR (Return on Relationship™).

Actually, we should all thank ChapStick ….for “taking one for the team” by showing us why every brand needs to have authenticity, transparency, and huge dose of courage in their social media strategy.

Originally posted at FromBogotawithLove.com

This year, I propose we all try a Social Thanksgiving – one where we focus on the true meaning and value of relationships, and take the time to pay attention to others first (and ourselves next).

Let’s make this Social Thanksgiving a time to make sure everyone remembers two of the most important rules of a relationship:

#1: More important than finding your own light, help others to find theirs.

When we help others find their lights, we enter into a relationship with them – collaborating with them, giving of ourselves, and experiencing the gift of seeing life for a while through their eyes.  We can always use a chance to and a fresh perspective on our own lives (and who knows, that could be the way that we end up finding our own light!).

#2: Build people up, don’t tear them down. 

This is one of my rules (perfectly phrased by a special friend I admire) and it should be one of yours too… no matter who you are interacting with.  When we tear others down, it is only because we feel small and inadequate and are taking it out on someone else.  Take that energy and put it into BUILDING the relationship and supporting others instead of trying to make them small enough that you seem more powerful, wise, or successful.

All people deserve your respect and genuine caring, and what really makes you shine is when you accept them, and build them up so they can see their own light and shine it on the path for others.

Why not take this Social Thanksgiving idea one step further, and going forward, use those two rules of relationship to inspire campaigns and consumer outreach that leads to deeper emotional connections with customers/shoppers?  I have tried it – it is the way I do business – and I can tell you, IT WORKS.

So this Thanksgiving, I thank each of you for building me up and helping me shine my light, and I hope I have the chance to do the same for you!  May you and your loved ones have a Happy and Social Thanksgiving!