The Social Experiment

The answer to the question I asked in my last blog post is 3 hours and 48 minutes.

Tuesday’s blog post was an interesting experience/experiment in watching Social Media at work.

After posting the blog at 10:12 am and ending the post with this challenge; “Now, let’s see if they are as good as I think they are…how long before they pick this up and respond?” Richard Hammer (the author of the blogpost on Allstate & Twitter) posted a comment at 2:04 pm.

The question is how did they find out so fast? I asked our Director of Marketing the same question; “If someone wrote a story on MarketBridge how long would it take for us to pick it up?” He mentioned about a day, which sounded reasonable, but now it makes you think...is that too long?

After working with clients for years on improving their tracking, measuring and overall campaign and program effectiveness, Social Media suggests a whole new set of questions about how to track marketing efforts. We used to live in a world where we tracked programs over months/years, and campaigns over weeks/months. Now we’re dealing with hours or less …from “analog hours to digital minutes” as my colleague, Andy Hasselwander likes to say.

I still remember the impact of telling a client a few years ago that the effectiveness of an email campaign lasted less than 72 hours. Now we could be dealing with 72 minutes. It’s fascinating to watch and holds great potential, if understood. And if the social media platform providers can figure out how to monetize their models…e.g. right now Facebook is growing faster than their revenue model can support and how will Twitter make money?

This potential evolution/revolution poses some very interesting questions for marketers, such as:

• How long will “freeness” last?
• What platforms will be left and who will own them? Really, how many Microblogs do we need?
• How do I measure the impact of a “flash?"
• How do I control the “reach and direction” of my communication?
• Do I have to worry about privacy issues if everything is in the public domain?

So how did Modea find out that I blogged about them so fast? Google Alerts (free) as David mentions in his comment, most likely it was set to alert once a day, probably the reason why Michael thought it took them 8 hours to respond. How did I get comments from Modea bloggers, who I mentioned in the post, but not by name? Because the blog post was posted on Modea’s Facebook (free) page.

How did they know about the story so fast? Twitter (free) most likely from their Facebook posting. At least 6 people “tweeted” about story and linked to the post. How did I know? I searched Twitter (in the public domain) and Google Analytics (free).

How do I know they came from Facebook? The same way I know that there were 34 visits from 32 people from Blacksburg, VA to the post within the first 8 hours, Google Analytics (free).

Hope this helps answer the question about tracking Social Media. The bigger question is who will receive the value/benefit from “freeness” for now? My bet is Social Media/Digital agencies like Modea, who have grown incredibly fast over the last three years, because they understand how to use the “free platforms.”

How do I know…it’s in the public domain...just like all the information above. How long will it last...now that's a good question.

Social Media Agency uses Social Media to Promote Itself

How do you find Digital talent in an area of the country that is anything but a marketing hot spot? Don’t get me wrong Blacksburg, VA is a great college town, especially, if you’re a Hokies fan, but Digital Agency Mecca? Ah, no.

Where does a new fast growing Digital agency recruit that kind of talent? Well, being based in Virginia you go to the closest talent markets…Richmond, VA for creative folks (home of the Martin Agency…Gieco Caveman and Gecko, fame) and to Northern Virginia (NoVA) for Web Developers, Account Managers, etc.

But how do you get them interested in a small, relatively new agency in the middle of nowhere that specializes in social media? Simple, apply what you know… social media. Modea, a growing digital agency in southwest Virginia took a dose of its own medicine and pulled off a subtle but effective effort.

Recently and by accident, we picked up a couple of blog posts that made it into the mainstream media written by Modea employees. The first blog post, written by a recent grad, appeared in Ad Age on 4/13. The article, cleverly written, describes the author’s interview process/courting process with Modea and gave tips for other recent graduates looking for a job in this challenge environment…it also conveniently mentions the firm, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

It describes how she started her search on VCU’s BrandCenter Facebook page (recruiting Richmond talent). She points out that she had reservations about moving to Blacksburg. And, of course she subtlety gets in the plug for the agency…

"Modea is neither an agency nor a think tank. It is an idea-churning society."



Original? Not really, we found the exact quote in a photo of the Modea offices on their Facebook page. It was printed on a piece of paper and taped to conference room wall. Looks like she's "on brand."

The second ad/blog post was written by a Web Application Developer at Modea and appears on Handshake 2.0. This post is aimed at the NoVA crowd. Again, cleverly written as a blog post, it describes the experience of another recent hire that left Northern Virginia for the hills of Southwest Virginia.

He starts his story with the fact that he recently transplanted his family from NoVA to Blacksburg…”to take advantage of an amazing job opportunity.” Ah, there it is…the plug.

The author goes on to talk about his pipes bursting while he had the house on the market during a “bitter cold stretch.” He posted a Twitter status update that he was in "good hands with Allstate" and how quickly they responded to his post.

Through telling of his ordeal he also convenient slips in his initial skepticism about Twitter but now how it’s the greatest thing since Web 1.0.

"Here is a brand and a company that, in my opinion, gets it. Here is a visible, public social medium where people are sharing publicly their views and thoughts on anything and everything in their lives. Communities are sharing their experiences and current state of consciousness. Consumers are expressing opinions, both positive and negative, about the world around them and how they interact with it. It would be a missed opportunity for any brand to ignore this medium. Listening and being aware of what is being said about their brand, allows them to, in some cases, actually do something positive and nurturing about it”.

Now I'm not exactly sure what ol’ Mr. Web Application Developers job is at Modea but I’d be willing to bet it has something to do with helping clients with their Twitter strategy.

Anyway, with all this being said I have to take my digital hat off to these guys. Two things could explain this bloggin coincidence and both of them are good.

The first is that this is a well thought out Social Media campaign (which yes, happens to be one of the services that Modea offers). The second is it’s a case of passionate employees who are raging advocates applying their craft to spread the good word about a company they love (or perhaps there’s a big employee referral bonus). Either way…well done, Modea! You’re best in class either way.

Author’s note – I have no connection to Modea. I’m not being paid to endorse their services, I have no stake in the company, I’m not even a client…just a fan…or am I? Now, let’s see if they are as good as I think they are…how long before they pick this up and respond?

Digital Insurance Agents - The Future is Now

We just finished research on the independent agent channel in the insurance industry. Here are some interesting highlights:

• The independent agent channel is responsible for nearly 95% of small and middle market insurance, which contributes 72% of revenues to carriers, according to the Independent Agents of America 2008 Agent Universe Study.


• The average age of an insurance professional is 54, and 60% of insurance professionals are older than 45, according to the same study. With 60% of the industry’s professionals set to retire in the coming years, the profile of the insurance agent and his/her customer is about to change drastically.


• Will the industry and its traditional, stodgy image be able to attract the necessary talent it needs to replace its most productive agents? Unfortunately, as our research indicates, it typically takes 3 years for a new agent to become productive, and over 2/3 of new agents fail.
• This means that with roughly 160,000 independent agents in the market today, agencies would need to hire 30,000 new agents annually to account for the productivity lost by retiring agents.

This is industry is about to undergo a major shift in how it does business. The learn more see the following links.

• To read more on the topic download the Executive Brief on the research


• Register for the May 7th Webcast on the topic

Here's the funny part: after we completed the research and shared the Executive Brief with others in the firm they said the same trend is ocurring in other industries, for example, in Hi-Tech business partners (in particular, VAR's) are aging at a similar rate and at least half are looking to retire over the next 5-10 years. Stay tuned for more on the "greying" of the channel to come.

VODcast: Measuring Marketing Effectiveness

I recently sat down with Andy Hasselwander, the head of our Marketing Science group, to discuss how companies can improve the effectiveness of their marketing measurement efforts. In the video Andy lays out a simple 5 step plan that I think most companies can implement. Also, check out Andy's Blog for more informaton on Marketing Measurement and Analytics.

The Price/Value Equation and The $1 Razor

A few weeks ago, my wife and I got a chance to get away for the weekend. On our way to the hotel I realized that I had forgotten to pack a razor. We were passing a shopping center at the time so we pulled in and spotted a Dollar General store.  I went in and bought a $1 pack of razors. A commodity product, down economy, it was necessity, so I figured it was a good decision until…I used it.

The only way I can describe the experience is to say that I couldn’t tell if the razor had a blade on it until it sunk deeply into my skin. It skipped over some parts of my face and dug in on other areas. I had nicks and cuts everywhere; I looked like a school boy after his first shave. The lesson I took from this is that sometimes you have to feel the pain to understand and/or appreciate the value of quality.

From what I have observed lately, companies are starting to, or will come to this same realization soon. We’ve all cut back to weather the economic storm. Are companies doing a much better job at managing costs now? Absolutely. Have they finally made the cuts they should have made a year ago? Yep. Have they perhaps gone too far with some of their cost cutting? We’ll see.

What’s important to remember about this economic downturn is that it started in 2007. It’s only gotten dramatically worse in the past six months, but many companies started cutting back long before the “crisis” hit. As a result, three or four rounds of adjusting cost to meet declining revenues have already occured. The fat got cut a long time ago. They cut into the muscle around mid-year last year and now are cutting into the bone in many industries.

If you’re a vendor or service provider like us, you may have experienced this first hand. But hang in there, I believe that companies will return to quality providers. It’s only a matter of time before the results of the “nicks” and “cuts” really begin to hurt. Each company has a different tolerance for pain, but when, for example, the "cost saving" decision to change your outsourced customer service provider leads to rising customer attrition and declining service levels, those “cuts” will begin to sting. When this happens, and customers can see recovery on the horizon, they will come back to quality.

The question you need to ask yourself is; has your organization created the $1 razor? With all the cost cutting, is your product/service at the same quality level and/or can you deliver the same customer experience. When customers do return…so do their expectations.

Be careful, during an economic downturn the price/value equation can become unbalanced. Like many companies, you’ve probably created a lower cost, stripped down model, hoping to gain or hang on to market share. If customers return with smaller budgets, will they adjust their expectations of value as well? Should they expect less? Probably, but will they? Not unless you manage their expectations.

Adjustments will have to be made, and it will not be a smooth shave. You may already have the “nicks” to prove it but don't let your customers end up feeling the pain.