4 Items for Brogan’s “Managing Social Presence”

Recently Chris Brogan did a post on Managing Social Presence where he ended the post by asking want others want in a presence management dashboard.  I’m adding my list of wants to those offered by those in the comments to Chris’ post.  As an avid user of Hootsuite, I use its functionality as the jump off point.  I’m thinking about what else I’d like in a presence manager.

1.  Manage inbound & outbound streams (don’t just publish to other networks)

As many (including Suzanne Vara, Charlie_Screendip) suggested, not only do I want to be able to publish to multiple souces, but I want to be able to aggregate social presence into a single interface.  More clearly, a lot of services allow to one to publish to multiple services, but I haven’t found a service that can analyze the content in all your streams and integrate them based on purpose, author, topic and relevance.  The first person to do that is going to be HUGE.  Know someone doing that?  Drop me a note @iamreff.

2.  Manage followers better

I’m trying to be better at curating at lists, but its a pain.  I recently learned of a tool called Fourmulists  and I’m trying it out as a way to dynamically organize my followers and find those with similar interests.  It’s great that a multitude of niche products are sprouting up, I just wish they could be included in a single interface (as I’m sure they will as the space matures).

3.  Provide Relevant info

Like many, I rely on social networks (especially Twitter) for breaking news.  But some news I care about and some I don’t.  I use Google Alerts, socialmention, Twitter searches and other mechanisms to find conversations relative to my interest areas.  This needs to become easier.  I want to be made aware of topics that are influencing people that influence me and my followers.  Again based on purpose, author, topic and relevance.  Revelant stuff to the top, irrelevant stuff to the bottom.

4.  Relevant alerts

Once I can manage my social presence as described above, I want sensible and granular controls over notification.  Notifications include UI, e-mail, SMS and device integration (vibrates, LED changes, chirps).  An example of notification done poorly?  Foursquare ping.  There’s no relevance.

What tools do you use?

Like Chris, I look forward to a platform that makes managing my social presence easier.  Until that happens, what are your tips and techniques?

How to measure QR code impressions

Problem:

Tracking and attributing campaign results can be difficult, especially when it comes to direct mail.  QR codes provide an opportunity to link direct mail efforts to digital platforms, but unless efforts are well thought out, results can be difficult to measure.

Options:

  1. Create vanity urls specific to each QR code and tease results from web analytics (e.g. Webtrends, Google Analytics) provider.  This process seems a bit involved but may work best for some.
  2. Instead of making the QR code for http://yourdomain.com/landingpage,  use a URL shortener (e.g. bit.ly, tinyurl.com) first and create your QR code from the shortened URL.  Then use the analytics from the URL shortener to track QR code usage.
  3. In writing this post I discovered a free online tool that will create the QR code and do the analytics in a few easy steps.  QReateBUZZ is one such utility.
  4. UPDATED: Tom Martin (@TomMartin) recommended reviewing the QR code generator within Google Analytics.  Check it out here.

Note: I am in no way affiliated with QReateBUZZ; I just like things that make my life simplier.

Why hire a Chief Marketing Technologist? [poll]

What is the #1 reason for the rise in popularity of the Marketing Technologist? (leave other answers in the comments)

[poll id=”2″]

What is a Marketing Technologist?

Recently I was having lunch with a colleague and we discussed “What is a Marketing Technologist?”  (Other topics: why are companies inventing this position?  What does a Marketing  Technologist do?  How does one land such a job?)

What is a Marketing Technologist?

Let’s start with some typical responsibilities of the position.

Responsibilities:

  • Evaluate new technologies as they relate to the Marketing discipline
  • Assist Marketing with technology awareness, evaluation and adoption
  • Create standard processes that support Marketing Operations functions
  • Liase between Marketing and IT as needed to ensure resources are properly aligned

While a list of responsibilities is useful, it doesn’t tell the whole story.  Depending on the company, the opportunity and the individual, a Marketing Technologist may find themselves providing value to the department/company in various ways including:

  • Strategist – you will frequently be asked to analyze situations, evaluate options, and recommend strategy & tactics
  • Change Agent – you may find yourself playing the role of a change agent where you have the opportunity to introduce new marketing technology and techniques
  • Consultant – you may be asked advise ebusiness teams on how to integrate new “Web 2.0” digital techniques to the traditional websites
  • Project Manager – given your unique position between IT & Marketing, you may be asked to manage several projects

BONUS POST: what can IT & Market do today?

Now in Marketing after 15 years of managing technology infrastructure I have gained insights into the similarities and differences between IT and Marketing.  This is the last post in a series of four posts.

In the first post in this series we considered what Marketing doesn’t know about IT. In the second post we looked at the flip side. In the third post we looked at the similarities between the two departments.  In the final post we looked at why these two are bound at the hip.  This is a BONUS post, what can IT & Marketing do together?

So if you’re IT what can you do to foster a better relationship with Marketing?

Topical Marketing Initiatives What IT can do today.
Speed to Market Determine development and support processes that could and should be accelerated to ensure product and services get to market quickly.  Be specific.  Identify success criteria & metrics.  Celebrate successes.
Adjusting to New Technology There is a rash of new technologies that Marketing needs to adjust to.  IT can reach out and lead conversations on which technologies matter and which are fads.  IT has a long history or accessing technology and Marketing could benefit from IT’s experience.
Market Research & Customer Intelligence Identify gaps and opportunities associated with capturing, storing, and managing customer behaviors and attitudes at a macro and micro level.  Invest in technology to harvest information and intelligence from the data collected.

If you’re Marketing, what can you do to foster a better relationship with IT?

Topical IT Initiatives What Marketing can do today.
Invest Smartly Spend time with IT discussing Marketing priorities.  Be precise in what is needed and what features can be delayed. Involve IT early in the process.  Reach out to IT with business problems and opportunities, not solutions.
Business Partnership Marketing can advocate for technology improvements.  It can be an active member of an IT planning committee.  Through training programs Marketing can become more tech savvy and seek to understand how new technologies (Web 2.0) are affecting the Marketing profession.

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