What is different about Guerrilla Social Media Marketing?
I have been asked by a number of people what the difference is between most brands and a brand that employs guerrilla social media strategies. Today I thought I would share an excerpt from my upcoming book that answers that question.
An excerpt from “Guerrilla Social Media Marketing” by Shane Gibson and Jay Conrad Levinson:
What is an authentic guerrilla brand?
- It makes promises and statements that can be backed up today, tomorrow and indefinitely.
- It is customer-focused and sells and markets to the customer what they need and want.
- It is consistent, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in any geography or language.
- It doesn’t take shortcuts for short-term gain; the guerrilla brand builds customers for life.
- It is, however, fallible; all brands have imperfections and weaknesses, and a guerrilla brand does not shovel these things under the rug. It takes feedback and improves the customer experience.
- It is accessible. No executives are in an ivory tower; no labyrinths have been built to keep out the unhappy customer.
- It is focused on a distinct area of true competency and expertise, and that is why people gravitate to the guerrilla brand.
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Social Media for B2B Marketing and Sales
A common question I get from business to business focused marketers and sales professionals is: “Does social media marketing and social networking really work in the B2B space?”
I posed this same question to Jeff Booth CEO of Builddirect.com and here was the answer he gave me:
“Social media is not really about B2C or B2B it’s about P2P or person-to-person communications and adding value.” – Jeff Booth CEO Builddirect.com (the worlds largest online wholesaler of building supplies.)
The reality is that the majority of decision makers or their direct influencers use the web to find information on a vendor and the individual employees they are dealing with. I have compiled a short list of resources and blogs that you may find useful in deciding is social media marketing will work for your organization.
Here are some statistics and quotes regarding social media in the commercial space:
…69% of B2B buyers use social networks “primarily for business networking and development.” (About.com)
…Stereotypes may have C-level executives delegating research to others, but the study reveals that 53% prefer to search the Web and locate information themselves. – Google and Forbes Insights Study (2009)
Social media is not a separate silo or discipline, in fact, companies in the Business-to-Business space like Builddirect.com, Oracle, SAP, Intel, Accenture, GE, and Siemens have found that is most effective when integrated with existing sales and marketing processes. They also have found it has given them a significant advantage over their less socially engaged competitors. (An entire engagement study can be found at http://engagementdb.com )
B2B Social Media Reading and Resources:
- Video: “Vital Statistics for B2B Marketers”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXQdy-22TXM“
- 20 Support Cases for Using Social Media in B2B Marketing” http://www.savvyb2bmarketing.com/blog/entry/122161/20-support-cases-for-using-social-media-in-b2b-marketing
- “A fascinating B2B Social Media Success Story” http://businessesgrow.com/2010/06/20/a-fascinating-hardcore-b2b-social-media-success
- “5 B2B Social Media Success Stories” http://blog.marketo.com/blog/2010/05/b2b-social-media-success.html
- “30 B2B Social Media Resources” http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/6379/30-Awesome-B2B-Social-Media-Resources.aspx
- “The Definitive Case for B2B Social Media Marketing” – Fast Company http://www.fastcompany.com/1665075/the-definitive-case-for-b2b-social-media-marketing
- “7 Reasons Why Social Media is for Sales” – http://bettercloser.com/7-reasons-social-media-sales/
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Social Media Calendar
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There are many aspects to success in social media. Having a solid goal, knowing your core target market and of course monitoring social media conversations and your brand. Producing great content and engaging community are also vital. All of this has to be grounded in a solid implementation plan in order to work over the long term. A goal, great content, and community engagement are not enough to succeed using social media as a marketer, sales person or entrepreneur. We also need to ensure that we are consistent in our approach, message and community involvement.
Today’s podcast is about the importance of a social media calendar for individuals and organizations. I have also provides a social media calendar template that Jay Levinson and I developed for Guerrilla Social Media Marketing.
Have a listen, download the sample social media calendar and then let me know how it works for you.
Download the sample social media calendar here in Word format and here in PDF format
Social Media Calendar
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The Customer Owns Your Brand
I saw this great example of how a customer owns your brand in social media. While some Realtors may blog and tweet the links, or others build Facebook page shrines in their likeness, Jack Bernard has been branded by his customers online. You obviously want both, but this creative list as to why he’s the best Realtor in the world is a great example of how a raving fan can use their social influence to promote your business.
Jack recently helped Michael Tedham find and buy a new house. Mike is a successful marketing and promotions manager for the Granville Entertainment Group. Mike also has 1957 Facebook friends. So when Jack delivered great service, Mike didn’t just tell a couple people… he told 2000.
From a note on Mike’s Facebook page here’s his tongue-in-cheek tribute to Jack Bernard:
Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 6:46pmWhy Jack Bernard is the best realtor in the world.
1.) He is a ginger, but somehow has a sole intact.
2.) He doesn’t drive a BMW convertible.
3.) He doesn’t use spray tan.
4.) He stops at Starbucks before he picks you up.
5.) It’s really fun to say ‘JACK ATTACK!’
6.) He is EXTREMELY knowledgable.
7.) He is an EXTREMELY good teacher.
8.) He takes about a second to understand what you are looking for, and finds it.
9.) He doesn’t care if you are hung over, and keeps the stereo down if you are.
10.) DId I mention he somehow retained his soul?Thats 10 reasons, and I could name about a million other. Tina and my experience purchasing our first home has had several set backs, but NONE were by fault of Jack, and he helped us through every single one of them. Anybody out there looking to buy, be it your first place, or 50th, Jack is amazing, and I will never buy another place without him.
Kudos Jack…. Kudos
jack attack!
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Guerrilla Social Media Marketing – Foreword by Guy Kawasaki
Since late 2009 Jay Conrad Levinson and I have been working on our new book Guerrilla Social Media Marketing. It’s the latest in the Guerrilla Marketing series of books, the top selling marketing series of books of all time (20 million copies sold). I know Jay personally and when the opportunity came up to write the book I jumped at it. It wasn’t until 1/2 way through the book did I realize the magnitude of the opportunity (and the work entailed in living up to the Guerrilla Marketing brand).
Although the book isn’t available until October 3rd 2010 you can pre-order it here or join the Facebook page here.
In the meantime I thought I would share the foreword written by Guy Kawasaki of Alltop.com:
How to Become a Social Media Guerrilla
I first met Jay Conrad Levinson, the father of guerrilla marketing, when I interviewed him in early 90s. I met Shane Gibson at an Olympic Hockey Tweetup in Vancouver, Canada. When Shane told me that he and Jay were working in this latest volume of the Guerrilla Marketing series about social media, he captivated my interest because the two are a match made in heaven.
Alltop owes its success to social-media guerrilla marketing. We used Twitter and Facebook to create Alltop evangelists, galvanize our supporters and critics, and generate page views and brand awareness. We also tapped community and built multiple nano-casts of content for the nano-markets that Jay and Shane talk about in this book.
The combination of the social media and guerrilla marketing enables entrepreneurs to level the playing field in their industry. Capitalizing on social media is not just about using them as tools but taking matters beyond this and making them guerrilla-marketing weapons.
Jay and Shane have crafted a comprehensive guide for the marketer, entrepreneur, or executive that is serious about profiting from social media. The challenges that people face in social media are:
• What tools to use and how to use them profitably.
• Finding and engaging profitable target markets.
• How to build community and then raving fans.
• What and how to measure ROI.
This book answers all these issues. It’s not an easy path; it will take discipline, tenacity, and creativity. For those who are willing to pay this price, Jay and Shane have provided the ultimate roadmap needed to achieve your goal.
Guy Kawasaki
Guy Kawasaki is a founding partner and entrepreneur-in-residence at Garage Technology Ventures. He is also the co-founder of Alltop.com, an “online magazine rack” of popular topics on the web. Previously, he was an Apple Fellow at Apple Computer, Inc. Guy is the author of nine books including Reality Check, The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, Selling the Dream, and The Macintosh Way. He has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.
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Worthy Cause: Local Man is Fundraising for New Spandex Outfit
Just kidding… but he does need skates 
Ever thought of dropping everything to chase a dream?
We all would…. as long as it fit in to our busy schedules. BUT who has the time or the energy?
I was chatting with Steve Jagger, my co-author for Sociable!, and he shared the new adventure his younger brother Kevin has undertaken.
I had spoken with Kevin just a few months ago, at the time he was working for a US college media firm after putting in his dues on Bay Street as an investment banker. Turns out I was a little out of the loop.
After watching the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, Kevin has decided to quit his job and attempt to compete in long track speed skating with the ultimate goal of trying to make the Canadian National Team.
Crazy right?
What makes it only slightly crazier is that Kevin has never even competed in speed skating and up until the time of writing has yet to step on Oval ice!! Talk about bold.
One thing I did not realize is speed skating is not cheap – especially when you have to commute to Calgary to compete (the ice at the Richmond Oval has been removed), hire a full time coach and get custom made skates & blades.
As a way to support himself, Kevin has started a great blog that follows his journey from the cubicle to the ice. The blog is aptly named: Long Track Long Shot (http://www.longtracklongshot.com).
If you want to support Kevin on his journey he is selling t-shirts to help raise funds to buy his first pair of custom skates. For $25 you can help Kevin and even get the t-shirts delivered by Kevin on his bike! (for those of you living in the Lower Mainland). You can order for the next 48 hours if you want to support his vision.
Here’s a video of him training:
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10 Best Practices in Social Media for Social Causes
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There are dozens of organizations out there that are effectively using social media in the not-for-profit and charity sectors. I have truly just begun to understand and study all of the fantastic case studies and success stories from events like the annual Blogathon to some of the great stuff that organizations like the Redcross have achieved through online funding.
Today’s podcast is not about some of these global examples but a very local one I had the privilege to be part of. In a 24 hour period Anthony Caridi of KasuFunding.com and I along with a very committed social media community here in Vancouver raised over $12,000 for the Make a Wish Foundation. Almost 100% of the donations came from Twitter or FaceBook connections.
Here are 10 things we discovered that worked (some of them we implemented and others we will implement next time):
1) Organize your collateral material early for each stakeholder group
2) Make your content easy to share, cut and paste
3) Integrate the offline with the online and get influencer buy-in early
4) Have multiple platforms for RSVP’ing for events
5) Get donors with big lists and big reach to not just cut a check but use that influence and reach to promote your cause
6) Contact people individually and ask them to do something easy
7) Use a fundraising platform like KasuFunding.com that makes it easy for people to Tweet, share and forward information about the cause.
8) Work close with the Charity
9) If you are a charity leverage your stakeholder groups when social media marketing instead of using internal resources
10) Keep your message really simple.
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Special Thanks to:
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Make a Wish Foundation 24 hr Online Fundraiser is Today
Anthony Caridi of KasuFunding.com met with me a month ago and shared with me a great vision. His goal was to run an online social media campaign to raise funding for the Make a Wish Foundation. Globally Make a Wish grants a child’s wish every 40 minutes. Most of these children are very ill, many of suffering from life threatening illnesses. The stories are both heart warming and gut wrenching for me. (See some recent wishes here) Being a parent and knowing the innocent bliss that most of our kids live in, it’s hard to see children live with such hard realities. I’d like to ask you to donate a small amount, the goal is not to have a few big companies cut big checks. The goal is for all of us just to donate $20 and invite a friend. Through the power of our online social networks, blogs and Twitter accounts we hope to prove that a whole bunch of little contributions by a large community can make a huge difference. Click through below to learn more:
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How the World’s #1 Online Building Supply Company uses Social Media
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Today’s podcast is an interview with Rob Jones the Marketing and Social Media Coordinator for BuilDdirect.com. BuildDirect sells more building supplies online than any other company on the planet. Rob and I discuss how they have used social media to augment their online marketing efforts.
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Why Social Media in the C-Suite is Vital
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Why executives must invest in understanding and driving social media use in their organization.
Social media is not just another tool. It can be, but it’s a lot more for those organizations that embrace it. The challenge is it’s also not just about learning a new technology, it’s about changing the way we communicate with customers, stakeholders and staff.
This is a corporate cultural change, it’s also about embracing one of the most powerful word of mouth tools ever invented. There are huge inherent risks and opportunities presented by this. For that reason social media or online engagement initiatives in general have to be driven by the C-suite, the people who can hold others accountable and sponsor change in their organization.
In today’s social media podcast I talk about the following:
- Senior executives and their need for buy-in
- What and who to invest in
- The importance of a corporate social media policy
- How soft steps lead to ROI
- Why most social media marketing fails:
- Lack of a goal
- Poorly defined market
- No listening
- No real launch plan
- Quitting too soon
The bottom-line is that social media is too important to compartmentalize or see as a pet project.What do you think?
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12 Social Media Tips <140 Characters
- Keep giving and contributing more than the competition. Pay back will be huge.
- Every tweet, blog entry, comment and status update will be saved forever and is permanently part of your brand.
- Before permission to market comes permission to connect. There’s a lot of trust building in between.
- Make it easy for people to find you. While you’re out looking for business there is an entire market looking for you.
- “It’s not about B2B or B2C it’s about person to person marketing in social media” – @jeffbooth.
- Use the back links function in Google to see who is linking to your competitors. Reach out to those connectors.
- Go wide with social media then build strong deep networks by going deep with the phone, Skype, webinars or in-person.
- Twitter search and tools like Twellow.com can dampen the noise down from millions on voices to the exact ones you’re targeting.
- Picking a fight publicly stays on record long after the battle is done. Rarely is it worth it.
- Not getting the results you want? Are you asking for help often enough? It’s about community. Reach out.
- Share and give more than you think is practical… then do it again. It will build positive momentum for your brand.
- When partnering with other social media influencers start by making sure your values and principles are aligned.
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