I found this article a great read. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlywhitler/2012/05/09/5-steps-cmos-can-take-to-make-social-media-work-2/.

Written by:  Kimberly Whitler, Contributor of Forbes

Relevant and actionable academic insight on the challenges CMOs face

Social media is important. CMOs (chief marketing officers) get it. There are plenty of articles that detail how important social media is and many others talking about how unprepared CMOs are to handle it. However, few articles focus on the gap – the space between knowing social media is important and being able to successfully leverage it.

In a discussion with Marco Fregenal, founder of Social Media Guardian, he indicated that “the first thing that happens when the next new technology or channel comes out is that CMOs and CEOs tend to forget the basics.  Before social media, it was a 1-to-1 conversation and afterwards it’s just 1-to-many. So…let’s just look at it as another tool, not a silver bullet, and manage it in a similar way that we would the rest of our tools.” In a discussion with Rick Thompson, founder of Brand Periscope, he outlined the following steps that CMOs can take to build a successful program.

Steps to Building a Social Media Program

1. Start with the end in mind and define the objectives/goals/target: What are the business objectives and what role does social media play in helping accomplish those goals? Once defined, what are the specific objectives and goals for the social media program? In addition, how do you measure the impact the social media program has on leads and revenue?

2. Define the Social Media Strategy: Given the defined target and the goals, what choices will you make regarding the channels, content, and categories you will focus on? What will be the balance between original content and curated content selected from other sources? The categories chosen provide the goalpost for the content you will create or source. As an example: Tide could target moms with kids and decide to focus on two of the biggest channels (Twitter, Facebook) with 50% original content and 50% curated content in 6 categories (Clothes, Fashion Trends, Stain Removal, Clothing Problems, Fabric Care, and Household Budgeting).

3. Develop the Content Plan: Now that you have the strategic plan framed up, determine the specific tactics regarding the content. How many messages per channel per day? What are the dayparts? What is the frequency per category? What is the mix between curated and original content? How does an organization develop original content that can interest an audience? “One best practice is to develop an editorial calendar weeks or even months in advance that coincides with important corporate events,” says Greg Matusky, President of Gregory FCA, a large integrated public relations and investor relations firm. “We typically publish the calendar and let it serve as a game plan for what will be published when and who will author each post,” says Matusky.

4. Execute it: Who leads and who participates in the implementation? Do you staff it internally or outsource it? What is the voice of the campaign? How do organizations humanize the message and the messenger?

5. Measure and Enhance: There are several articles dedicated to the topic of measurement. Essentially, the closer you link intermediate metrics (e.g. postings, linked, ingroups, retweets, etc.) to top and bottom line measures (revenue and profit), the better the metrics. However, there are four broad categories of behavior that you can measure:

1. activity – i.e. the number of posts by channel and by category,
2. engagement – i.e. the ability of the activity to get followers engaged (likes, comments, retweets),
3. conversion – i.e. driving traffic to the website, generating leads, and, and
4. performance – i.e. purchase.

Once you determine how the program is performing, you can alter and improve it. According to both Marco and Rick, the challenges that CMOs are struggling with include aligning social media programs with the broader business strategies, developing the content, and monitoring / measuring performance. This doesn’t seem unique at all. These challenges are similar to the challenges that marketing pioneers faced during the early years of TV. And this is Marco’s point, “Understand the nuanced difference, advantages and weaknesses of social media and then approach it from a strategic perspective the same way you would other tools. There are clear differences that need to be considered but at a strategic level, it’s simply one more tool.”

Reposting by Carie Statz, DCTC Marketing and Sales Instructor

            Over the last ten years I have helped literally thousands of people start a small business.  Some of the people I have helped have been students taking my classes at Dakota County Technical College.  Some have been clients of the SBDC (Small Business Development Center), and some have taken my one day course on starting a business called The Foundation Course.  In addition to the people who take classes for me and are clients with the SBDC, eight months ago I started doing a free seminar at Work Force centers on starting a successful small business.  In just over eight months I have spoken to over 1300 out of work people, and have tried to give them the hope that starting a new business gives.  It doesn’t matter if I am in the classroom, doing individual counseling, or doing a talk on starting a business, my best advice is always the same.  If you want to start a new business AND you want to give that business the best chance at succeeding, then the one single best piece of advice I can give you is……

CREATE A BUSINESS PLAN BEFORE YOU START! 

            So why is business planning so important.  Creating a business plan (notice I don’t say write a business plan, see principle #3 of the 21 Question Business Plan™) is critical because going through the business planning process does three important things that will help your new business succeed:

            #1:  Going through the business plan process verifies that the business you want to start will meet your goals!  Everyone starting a business should start with a goal for the business.  The business planning process tells you very clearly if the new business will meet your goals.  If it does, great go ahead and start the business.  If it doesn’t, shelve that business idea and start another!

            #2:  Doing a business plan before you start your business will show you areas that need work so you can deal with these areas before you start!  There are a lot of areas of a new business that need focus.  No one person is good at everything.  Going through the business planning process will show you the areas where you are the weakest.  These weak areas might also make the business vulnerable to failure.  Discovering these areas before you start gives you a great opportunity to work on them and strengthen them so the new business launch will be successful.

           3:  Going through the business planning process helps you make a rock solid decision that you are starting the right business for you!  If you are starting a business you can’t start if half-heartedly!  You have to start your business with a 100% commitment and a 100% desire to succeed.  Creating a plan before you start will either give you 100% confidence in your decision, or it will cause doubt in your decision.  If after doing a plan, you have doubts, than deal with the doubts before you start!  If your decision is now rock solid, then start your business and don’t look back!

            Thanks for reading this blog.  I recommend you subscribe to this blog using the RSS feed, because I update it frequently!  If you have any questions or comments, you can reach me by e-mail at bob.voss@dctc.edu.

I loved this article by Tracy Sigler - http://avlmarketing.com/2202/7-rules-for-facebook-contest-sweepstakes/. It explains what Facebook’s policies are in respect to contests and sweepstakes posted on its platform. Check out this great information:

Facebook contests and sweepstakes can really create some excitement for your company’s brand and drive growth of your Facebook fan base. If you’re considering a Facebook promotion, be warned that Facebook has some very specific rules, and not following them can potentially result in your page being taken down.

In this article we’ll look at each of these rules in turn and use Hotels.com Mystery Suitcase Sweepstakes as a case study of how to run a Facebook promotion correctly.

Hotels.com Facebook Sweepstakes

Straight from the Facebook Promotion Guidelines page:

If you use Facebook to communicate about or administer a promotion, you are responsible for the lawful operation of that promotion, including the official rules, offer terms and eligibility requirements (e.g., age and residency restrictions), and compliance with regulations governing the promotion and all prizes offered in connection with the promotion (e.g., registration and obtaining necessary regulatory approvals). Please note that compliance with these Guidelines does not constitute the lawfulness of a promotion. Promotions are subject to many regulations and if you are not certain that your promotion complies with applicable law, please consult with an expert.

OK, let’s take these one at a time…

Rule 1. Use a Third Party App

Promotions on Facebook must be administered within Apps on Facebook.com, either on a Canvas Page or an app on a Page Tab.

We’ve reviewed a bunch of third party apps and you can get that report if want to see which companies we like. Even if you can figure out how to run a promotion that is within Facebook’s terms of service without a third party app, your life will be made much easier by using one of the many quality services available. Pricing and options vary widely and there are new companies popping up every day. The better promotion apps will step you through everything that Facebook requires for your contest or sweepstakes to be in compliance with their terms of service.

Rule 2. Be Clear That Facebook Doesn’t Endorse Your Promotion

Promotions on Facebook must include the following:

1. A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant.
2. Acknowledgment that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.
3. Disclosure that the participant is providing information to [disclose recipient(s) of information] and not to Facebook.

It can’t hurt to mention the above in at least a couple places. In addition to the main page of your sweepstakes or contest you can add it to your contest rules. The rules can be on a separate page as long as there are prominent links to them. Hotels.com makes it clear Facebook does not endorse their sweepstakes.

Make it clear Facebook is not associated with your promotion.

Rule 3. Don’t Use Facebook Features as an Entry System

You must not use Facebook features or functionality as a promotion’s registration or entry mechanism. For example, the act of liking a Page or checking in to a Place cannot automatically register or enter a promotion participant.

Hotels.com uses a completely custom application for their Facebook sweepstakes. Most apps will require the user to “allow” access to their info at some point. For this sweepstakes there is a request just to get to the entry form. The important point here is that there is a third party app that enables users to enter, and it has nothing to do with Facebook.

Custom Sweepstakes App

Rule 4. Don’t Use Facebook Features as Requirement to Enter

You must not condition registration or entry upon the user taking any action using any Facebook features or functionality other than liking a Page, checking in to a Place, or connecting to your app. For example, you must not condition registration or entry upon the user liking a Wall post, or commenting or uploading a photo on a Wall.

As you can see, you are allowed to require people to “Like” your Page to enter your promotion. Simply liking the page cannot enter the person but it can be a requirement. Most third party apps makes this type of “fan gating” or “required liking” easy to implement.

Also, if you run a photo or video contest (or any type of “user generated content”) DO NOT use the built-in Facebook apparatus for contestants to submit their entries. Again, a third party app comes to the rescue.

You can require people entering your promotion to “Like” your page.

Rule 5. Don’t Use Facebook Features to Vote

You must not use Facebook features or functionality, such as the Like button, as a voting mechanism for a promotion.

Voting only applies to “contests,” “sweepstakes” are usually done by a random drawing. People break this rule all the time. The typical scenario is to ask people to post a photo on the wall (that alone is a rule breaker) or joke or whatever, and then whichever wall post gets the most “Likes” is the winner. Clearly, that’s not allowed.

Rule 6. Don’t Use Facebook Features to Notify Winners

You must not notify winners through Facebook, such as through Facebook messages, chat, or posts on profiles or Pages.

Have I mentioned that you can’t use the built Facebook features in any way? Except, of course, for requiring a “Like” to enter. Your entry form must include at least one way to contact the winner. It’s against Facebook’s terms to even post the winner’s name on your page. That said, it is a common practice to have the winner (photo and/or name) displayed in the page’s profile image. Hotels.com collects quite a bit of info, too much in my opinion. But at least they will be able to contact me when I win!

You’ll have to collect contact information to notify winners. Don’t use Facebook’s tools for that.

Rule 7. Don’t Use Facebook Logos in Ads

Ads may not imply a Facebook endorsement or partnership of any kind. Ads linking to Facebook branded content (including Pages, groups, events, or Connect sites) may make limited reference to “Facebook” in ad text for the purpose of (1) fulfilling your obligations under Section 2 and (2) clarifying the destination of the ad. All other ads and landing pages may not use our copyrights or trademarks (including Facebook, the Facebook and F Logos, FB, Face, Poke, Book, and Wall) or any confusingly similar marks, except as expressly permitted by our Brand Usage Guidelines or with our prior written permission.

Trust me. The Facebook ad monitoring goons will shoot you down for using anything remotely resembling Facebook branding. I speak from experience. Save yourself some time. Don’t use any of the things mentioned above in your ad images or copy.

That seems lot a like to digest but as I mentioned before a quality third party app will help you get through this. If you have questions please post them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Reposted by Carie Statz, Marketing and Sales Instructor

Does the idea of adding social media marketing into your small business communications somewhat overwhelming? Don’t worry. DCTC is here to help!

If you want to quickly learn the important social media platforms to add to your marketing communications strategies, DCTC offers a hands-on course called “Social Media Marketing Tools” this June. It is an accelerated 8 week course which will equip you with the knowledge on the social media platforms that make sense for your target audience.

DCTC is launching a new certificate and a full AAS degree in Social Media Marketing starting this Summer!* Courses in Social Media Marketing can be taken online or in the classroom. Plus, you can transfer this major to a four-year university.

Contact Registration@dctc.edu for more information on signing up for the “Social Media Marketing Tools” online summer course. If you want to declare a major in Social Media Marketing at DCTC, contact admissions@dctc.edu for more details.

* Social Media Marketing degree and certificate educational options are pending final MnSCU approval.

Posted by Carie Statz, DCTC Marketing and Sales Instructor (carie.statz@dctc.edu)

The American Hotel and Lodging Educational Foundation offers scholarships each year to hospitlaity management students. In fact, one of our students won a scholarship last year. DO check out complete information online here. Direct any questions to Christa Boatman at 202-289-3139 or cboatman@ahelf.org. Good luck!
Rosealee M. Lee, CMM, CAE, CM
651-423-8604
rosealee.lee@dctc.edu

       It’s pretty rare that the United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) recognizes a new profession by adding it to its official list of accepted occupations. So meeting, convention and event planners cheered when their profession was added to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook in 2005. In the ensuing years, our profession has met global and economic challenges. We faced bad press and found our “voice”. We learned to measure and report project outcomes and have increasingly earned a seat at the corporate “table”. The importance of meetings, conventions and events as drivers of success and profitability for hosting organizations has become a pivotal business focus. We’ve always known, and now our stakeholders are aware that –

When people meet, business happens!

One of the Fastest Growing Professions
       We’re cheering again in 2012! The BLS projects 44% growth for our profession over the next decade. Indeed, they report that meeting, convention and event planners are among the top 20 fastest growing occupations. In the complete BLS report on this profession, BLS cites that “meetings and events bring people together for a common purpose . . . to ensure that this purpose is achieved seamlessly.”

       In many organizations marketing and meeting personnel work together, so it’s no surprise that our close “relative”, market research analysts and marketing specialists, also earned a place in BLS’ top 20 fastest growing occupations with 41% growth projection over the next decade.

One of the Best 25 of ALL Jobs in 2012
       U.S. News selected meeting, convention and event planners as #16 on their list of The Best 25 Jobs of 2012. (Jobs ranked #1 thru #15 are not in the business sector.) In their report, U.S. News states, “All of the occupations on our Best Jobs of 2012 list are outstanding, but the top 25 make for a particularly great career choice.”

#1 Business Job in 2012
       But we work in the business sector. Right? So, (this one is more than a cheer – it deserves a drum roll, please) check out our ranking in U.S. News’ Best Business Jobs of 2012. We’re #1! Their report cites, “The Department of Labor predicts that this sector (business) is just behind healthcare and social services in gaining the most jobs this decade, with nearly 3.8 million expected openings.”

Then and Now
       In the middle of the 20th century the meeting, convention and event industry was well underway, contributing substantially to our gross national product, but not yet recognized as an industry. Neither the industry nor the profession was acknowledged as “real”. Individuals employed in the industry gravitated to their “non-profession” jobs in the “non-industry” by chance. There were no formal educational programs, standards, guidelines, or even formal expectations in place.

       Today, this same industry is a gateway to other hospitality industries. A major percentage of hospitality venues and service providers target meetings, events, conventions and tradeshows as their primary market. As an employer, I hit the jackpot when I can hire someone trained in both my AND my customers’ business. As a result, many of DCTC’s Meeting and Event Management graduates elect to work at venues and destinations. They can be found working in venues such as hotels, theme parks, country clubs, casinos and more. Many graduates are also employed by service organizations. This sector includes a wide range of services such as props, tradeshows, catering, design, production and more. Many graduates opt for the planning end of our business. Whether they work in the corporate, government, religious, sports, non-profit, wedding, festival or one of the many other markets, they know that the training they have received provides fluidity to later transitions into venues and service organizations.

       In fact, the symbiotic relationship of the many hospitality careers stimulated the need for DCTC’s Spa and Resort Management as well as the Hospitality Lodging Management programs. The many facets of hospitality all lead to the same destination –

The Guest.

Rosealee M. Lee, CMM, CAE, CM
651-423-8604
Rosealee.Lee@dctc.edu

Do you want to create buzz for your products or services? Maybe Pinterest is right for helping to market your company.

Pinterest is a pinning and photo sharing website, allowing users to create and manage theme-based image collections. The site’s mission statement is to “connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting.”

Users of Pinterest manage their themed boards, populating them with media found online using the “Pin It” button, or uploaded from their computers. A “pin” can be a picture, a video, a discussion, or a product.

You can categorize your pins. Pinterest can be accessed by adding the “pin it” button to the desktop bookmark bar, “follow me” and “pin it” buttons added to personal website or blog pages, and the Pinterest iPhone app.

The Pinterest platform is particularly popular with women if this is your target market!

Posted by Carie Statz, Marketing and Sales Instructor