Why Your Blog Is More Important Than Facebook

There's a lot to be covered here, much of which you've seen if you're a brand marketer or someone who likes seeing your personal Facebook updates read by most of your followers.  I'm not going to repeat things that have been posted all over the Interwebz in the last couple of months, you can see some of those stories at the bottom of this post.  But I am going to give you some solutions to a problem you MUST address is you've been using Facebook as one of your prime online outreach methods.

Here's the problem.  Facebook is now a public company with lots of shareholders who want a big ROI.  How can they increase revenue?  By charging for things they used to give away.  That means Facebook (and soon Instagram) is decreasing reach on free posts from brands and even personal accounts in hopes you'll pay them to promote your posts and get them seen by lots more people.  Want proof?  Just look at this graph, courtesy of the 4129 Agency.  It clearly shows engagement dropping in a big way between 2012 and 2013, and we're seeing the organic (read: free) engagement continue to nosedive in 2014.

Facebook is throttling engagement in the name of selling advertising, and that's not a good thing for all the brands and small businesses who have started saying "Find Us On Facebook" instead of "Visit Our Website".  Here's why.

There used to be three kinds of online media in the minds of most marketers, Owned (like websites and apps), Earned (like news or blog coverage), and Bought (like search engine or Facebook ads).  Now, I argue there's a FOURTH kind of online media, BORROWED.  That's the media you put your great content on and hope the owners will share it with their users, also known as your customers and prospects.

Many marketers have relied far too heavily on Borrowed Media in the last few years because, well, it was free and lots of people went there.  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, the list goes on and on.  And now most of those companies have had their IPO's and suddenly realize they need to make money at the hands of the users who have been, rightly or wrongly, taking advantage of the "free ride" for so long.  Facebook is clearly leading the pack in this, making it next to impossible for some posts to be seen without the advertiser coughing up some money.

Let's go back to the chart above and dig deeper into the findings the 4129 Agency published. These are statistics for September, 2013, and most people agree the situation is not getting better, it's getting worse for reach.

• Organic reach of photos starts to decline after the page gains 10,000 fans

• Beyond 1 million likes organic reach of photos drops below four percent

• Organic reach of video posts drops below 4.5 percent after 150,000 fans

• Status updates have high organic reach. Status updates from pages with 300,000 to half a million fans are seen by 41 percent of the fans

• Organic reach of links for pages with one million fans or more has organic reach below 3.5 percent

• The company also found that page engagement does not affect the organic reach of posts on Facebook.

If you were using an agency to give you results like that, you'd fire them in a heartbeat.  But Facebook is doing this to you if you're not paying them to feature your content.  And all the "Find Us On Facebook" mentions in the world mean little if people will hardly ever, maybe NEVER, see your posts once they like you.

So what do you do as a brand, business, or individual?  Concentrate on the media you OWN, like your blog.  Don't completely blow off Facebook and Twitter, but use them to move people to your own media like your website and blog so you can control what they see, give them reasons to come back, and grow a valuable e-mail database of your fans and followers that YOU own, not the highly leveraged companies you're borrowing space from.  You remember your blog, it's either your entire website or part of your website and chances are you haven't updated it in months or longer because you're putting pithy comments and photos on all those networks that aren't letting your fans see them.

Almost everything you have been doing on Facebook can be done on your website.  Updates on your blog, contests, trapping information about your visitors, coupons and deals, and much more.   And it's YOUR real estate, so YOU own the data you gather, YOU decide what you want to know from your visitors, YOU have supreme analytic power to slice it and dice it any way you want, and with a little work, you can turn ALL of that into an effective e-mail database that will speak to your audience directly, know what they do and don't want to hear about, and can be tested a dozen different ways to see what works.  Nothing you can own, earn, buy, or even borrow is more valuable to your brand than a well curated e mail list, and you need to have one to make up for not being able to borrow other people's platforms without paying.

We'll talk about using e mail in excruciating detail in a future blog post, but in the meantime, think of this. Would you rather spend your time posting things to social networks that won't pass them along to your fans or would you rather hire a good Digital Manager or agency and let them grow your website, bring people back to it often, and keep in touch with those people through a coordinated e mail campaign that may be 40 times more effective at making sales than social media posts?

Thinking time is up.  Being taken advantage of time is up.  It's time to reinvest in your website, blog, and e-mail so you can satisfy your current customers and attract new ones.

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• Future of Instagram Ads Gets Bigger
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Radio Continues To Have A "Missing Link" To Listeners

I spend a lot of time listening to the radio. All kinds of radio, from AM and FM

stations to Pandora, Stitcher, Beats Audio, and a plethora of other streaming services.  And to be clear, if it's sound coming our of a speaker, it's radio.  Period. After having spent more than three decades programming radio stations, it's hard not to have sound in the background.  I also spend a lot of time on the Internet, sometimes looking at stations' websites and Social Media outposts.  What I see online frightens me because most of the terrestrial radio stations, and even some of the streaming services, have a disconnect between their audio product and their online presence, what I call THE MISSING LINK.

In other words, most audio content providers don't think about how people USE their product, what else they're doing when they're listening, or most importantly, how they can take the product that comes out of the speakers to a computer or smartphone screen.  Because every day there are less audio delivery devices like the one above and more like this.

Of course, there are still a lot of audio delivery devices that aren't smartphones, but mobile is becoming king and smartphones are the King of Mobile, so let's think of the smartphone as the new radio.  And that includes phones with the FM chip that many broadcasters think is their ticket to mobile parity.  Which it isn't.  Not because having an FM radio in a phone isn't good for free listening or emergencies, but because if there's THE MISSING LINK between the audio and the online component of the radio station, there a decent chance listeners will figure out that the radio station, any radio station, isn't talking to them and doesn't know what their life is all about.

I'm not going to share some of the most glaring examples of THE MISSING LINK, but I've got some great ones saved. There is no shortage of posts that are meaningless, wacky DJ jokes online that don't work if you're reading them and not hearing them, or tweets that are too long, posted by some kind of automation, and either cut off in the middle or edited to being unreadable without a secret decoder ring.

So what's a content creator to do?  First, stop thinking that the only way people can hear your content other from your bone crushing transmitter is with one of these in an office.  It isn't 2003. Yes, there is still listening on computers, but remember, the world is going mobile and the smartphone is the King of Mobile. Second, start thinking about how your online activities can compliment, contribute to, and complete whatever comes out of the speakers. Have talent and promos send listeners to someplace online and get more information about an important local event. Use your online assets to drive listeners to the station at a certain time for something really special, not just the "Top 9 At 9". Talk to the people who aren't in the programming or marketing departments and find out how they use the audio you put out.  You'd be surprised.  And probably a little sickened, because in the world of the Millennials and younger people, you're not doing it the way they want it.

And here's the one thing you can do that will improve your online reputation, and therefore your "cred" with your listeners, no matter what format you are, terrestrial or online, and what market size you're in. Look like you care about your online presence.  That means update your Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest pages regularly, use only good pictures, not some bad, blurry phone photo just to slap something up online, and write different posts for different platforms. Anyone with a shred of knowledge about Social Media knows when they're seeing a tweet with lots of @'s and #'s simply reposted on Facebook and they know the person who posted is either unaware of how to tailor posts for each platform, letting automation run wild, or just plain ignorant.  Each platform online now demands a unique voice, and you need to take the time to create posts in all the right voices and post them when people might actually see them, not when it's convenient for the intern to put them up.

There's one last thing to think about when it comes to relating to your listeners.  Your website is the only piece of the Interwebz you completely control.

Don't force your listeners to look at something like this, it only makes you look foolish.  Listeners know what today's great websites look like, and far too many radio station websites are mired in the past because of benign neglect, not enough updates in the onerous barter contract you signed for "website development" or the fact that someone thinks neon colors and DJ pictures are what people come to your site to see. Guess what, that's not the case.  You can fix the ugly, uninformative website, and sometimes it's the biggest MISSING LINK.

If you're creating content, any content for that matter, are you providing the full 360 degree experience to your users or is there a MISSING LINK?

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When Marketing Automation ISN'T Useful

Those who know me and have worked with me know that I'm a fan of using marketing automation to schedule some messaging.  Not all messages, but some, especially on Twitter and text messages.  But I'm also a big fan of thinking about the audience and what the message will mean to them.  I ran across a case in point this morning and wanted to share it.  I'm not picking on the business that I'll talk about, I really love them, but this incident shows that they probably scheduled a text message and didn't account for how their database would be affected by it.

I'm in St. Louis, as is this business.  We're having snow today, many schools are closed, and the ones that aren't will most likely be sending students home early because the heaviest of the snow will be coming starting around noon.  The Missouri Department Of Transportation has issued a "stay off the roads" alert so they can get to the snow and keep people safe.  So it's fair to say this isn't the day to be going out unless you really have to.

Even with all that happening, I got this text message at 8:40 this morning.

I've got to believe this was a scheduled message, if for no other reason that any reasonable person would know not to ask their customers to come out during the time the snow is supposed to be falling hard and the state wants everyone off the roads.

So what happened here?  My hope is that the message was scheduled in advance and the person in charge of marketing for this restaurant either wasn't up yet to assess the weather or just forgot that the message was in the queue.  At least I hope that's what happened.

There's an important lesson here.  Taking advantage of marketing automation is usually a good thing, but if you do, you need to be able to stop pre-scheduled messages from going out and be able to do it fast.  In this case, it's because the weather stinks and asking people to come out in a snowstorm might not reflect best on the business. But scheduled messages could need to be stopped for any number of reasons, a news event that might take people's attention and make the business look crass, the death of a famous person, or even a public relations problem for other outlets of the same chain or the parent company.

Sometimes "radio silence" or rescheduling a small promotion is the least helpful to your business, yet safest way to act.  But you've got to know when your messaging is going out and be able to stop it, especially because your reputation, if not your sales, will benefit from an abundance of caution.

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Leading Social Media Blogger Says "Hire Mark Edwards"

One of the most listened to voices in the Social Media world belongs to Sarah Evans and her blog Sarah's Faves.  Sarah has become a leading Social Media thinker and has just joined the company Trackly as Chief Evangelist.  She's well known in Public Relations and Social Media circles as an innovator, big thinker, and one of the best and brightest in the online world. Sarah handpicked three people who should be working in Social Media or Public Relations and posted their stories on her blog.  I was honored to be one of the three people she thinks should be hired, and here's what she had to say about me and my work.

Name: Mark Edwards

How to Create Real Relationships With Social Marketing http://t.co/4DfHaWst

June 19, 2012 7:57 pm via iftttReplyRetweetFavorite

@markedwards

Mark Edwards

Twitter: @MarkEdwards Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/markedwardscubfan Blog: Markedwardsuncensored.com, Markedwardsworldwide.blogspot.com

Dream job title: Employee. I’m able to help in so many ways that I’ll let you, the employer, decide how I can help you best and what to call me. Three adjectives that describe you: experienced, innovative, connectedIf I’m hired by your organization I will: bring unmatched experience, knowledge, enthusiasm, and new levels of success to you.

What kind of  culture are you looking for? An environment that has energy, teamwork, and a culture of cooperation. I’ve worked in small offices, huge offices, and alone. The culture of the organization I join should foster creativity, no matter how many people are in the office.

What’s your most impressive professional accomplishment?  What about personal? Almost singlehandedly and secretly building and launching a brand new radio station, including a full suite of social media outposts and a marketing plan, in 18 days last year in Kansas City. Personally, I’m most proud of my three incredible sons. You can’t do anything more important than being a parent.

How many years experience do you have? 27 as a content creator, brand manager, and marketer using a score of traditional and new media resources.

Where should your ideal job be based? St. Louis, MO because it’s the best place I’ve ever lived to raise a family.

Are you willing to relocate? YES, Chicagoland would be my first choice, but I’ll go anywhere for the right job. I can also use the miracle of the Interwebz to work from World Headquarters in St. Louis.

Want to hire Mark? Email him at edwardsmark@gmail[.]com.

It's truly an honor to be recognized by a heavy hitter like Sarah, and yes, I'm available now for full time employment or project work through Mark Edwards Worldwide.   If you'd like to talk about how I can help your organization, please use any of the methods in Sarah's post to contact me.  You'll be glad you did!

This Post Should Be Read By Every Executive In The Radio Business

I've written before about how radio is on the fast track to irrelevance, and that the smart owners and execs in the radio industry have the power to stop that and save the business.  Media guru Mark Ramsey wrote about Pandora and how radio is freaking out about it but shouldn't on his blog yesterday.

Today, I found a blog post by Steve Parker, Jr. talking about what I think is the root problem for most radio companies and stations when it comes to their digital future or lack thereof.  Quite simply, they lack a digital strategy, even if they think they have one.  I've worked for companies whose long term digital strategy changed as often as I changed my socks.  That won't get you to the Promised Land in an era of mobile, personalized, on-demand communication and entertainment.  And the people who run most of the big radio groups just don't get it. 

Here's Mr. Parker's post in full, via Jack Myers Media Business Report's website

Lack of Digital Strategy & Accountability is Killing Brands - Steve Parker, Jr.-Levelwing

March 9, 2012

Published: March 9, 2012 at 02:55 PM GMT
Last Updated: March 9, 2012 at 02:55 PM GMT

'Doing' is not strategic insight. Just because it is measurable does not mean it is accountable.

If you are reading this and don't own a smartphone, you might as well stop right now. You won't understand nor can you be helped at this point – the technology world has passed you by. To the rest of you who have an iPhone or another 'super' smartphone, such as a Droid or Blackberry, read on. Many of you are probably reading this from your mobile phone as we speak. In fact, I'm doubtful you could put it down for a day or even a few hours. We have all become heavily reliant on our mobile devices – and for great reason. Mobile phones don't just make calls anymore; they actually help us in our daily lives. In your personal life, you have bought this device so you could have the 'Power of the Best' – best technology, best experience, best of everything. So, why in your business life are you settling for something that only makes calls? Seriously, why have you settled for the basics, knowing very well there is something much better and much more powerful? In the business world, this mindset goes way beyond phones: using Google Analytics when you could be using Omniture or simply reporting on campaigns vs. uncovering true business intelligence.

Smartphones have apps for seemingly everything – simple tools we use nearly every day for things like travel, directions, games, photos and social experiences. We use our phones to talk, write, chat, video conference, listen to music, check blood pressure, buy products, sell products, check email, do our online banking…

In short, smartphones and apps are all around us and engrained in our daily lives. But there are some things an iPhone or Droid just can't do. Contrary to popular belief, 'there's an app for that' doesn't actually apply to everything.

Digital Strategy:
Sorry, there is not actually a digital strategy app. However, most businesses are treating digital as though there is some magical strategic app that will make it easy to grow a business. Facebook is not a strategy. Twitter is not a strategy. Search engine marketing is not a strategy. Most companies, from the Fortune 500 to the local dry cleaner, do not have a sound digital strategy. You could argue this, but you would be wrong. It's true many businesses are implementing digital activities and, in some cases, doing a lot and seeing success. However a solid, well-planned strategy is lacking in most every case. Executing upon paid search marketing campaigns, communicating via Twitter or delivering a set of viral videos online is not strategy. I will clarify that I do believe in strategy for each of those separate executional elements (solid planning, measurement and management process, if you will), but an overarching strategy is still of most significant importance.

Measurement & Accountability:
Sorry, no app here either. Most businesses in the digital world fail to achieve true measurement and accountability – it's arguably one of areas most wrought with error. Many companies simply choose not to hold their investments in digital accountable. Let me be clear: measuring and reporting on clicks, likes, fans, site traffic, sales, share of voice and ad rates on some nifty dashboard is not the same thing as holding your marketing investments accountable. Those metrics (and many others like them) provide your business with little more than false hope and misdirection. Measurement and accountability are not quite so convenient and easy to attain. True accountability takes dedication, hard-nosed planning and a keen focus on goals.

Why Do Businesses Fail at Strategy or Accountability?
The answer is an inability to answer a simple question: 'why?' Most businesses do not know WHY they are doing the things they are doing in digital. No, the answer is not as simple as 'to sell more stuff.' That's the derivative – it is always the derivative or the expected outcome. But WHY are businesses doing the things they are doing? Are they doing them because of economic indicators, weather patters, overall demand in the marketplace, to provide better service to customers, to refine customer channel strategy, to define patterns in the business that can be shared throughout the organizational hierarchy? WHY? An honest and clear digital strategy answers these questions, provides clarity and then allows the business to execute strategically against them. Just because a million dollars was spent and a study shows brand awareness increased by four points does not mean the campaign was a success. Similarly, just because that $1 million in media sold $2 million of products does not mean it was successful either. You must understand why that happened and how you can improve from there. 'Doing' is not strategic insight. Just because it is measurable does not mean it is accountable.

People Are the Only Apps of Strategy and Accountability
People are the real applications that drive a business. Driving strategy and critical thinking while holding a business accountable starts with people. People have the power to create, guide, teach, define, measure and hold accountable that which is meaningful. Without true strategy and accountability, most well intended efforts will fail. You and your team of co-workers, senior leadership and third-party partners should fight for the hard answers, to define strategic vision and hold accountable all tactics and people involved. It's not easy, but it is right.

I've read that Steve Jobs didn't believe in the whole concept of apps initially. Good thing he got on board, though. They have helped to transform Apple and the ways we interact with our devices. However, one thing I am certain of is that he did not rely on an app to plan his business nor let something that is measured define accountability. Steve Jobs understood the complexity of strategy, held the business accountable and delivered well against that strategy and accountability plan. Sometimes our apps need updating – and, frankly, we are those apps.

Steve Parker, Jr. is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Levelwing, a digital advertising agency that provides data-driven marketing solutions. Steve can be reached at sparker@levelwing.com. Follow me on Twitter at @sparkerjr.

This advice applies to almost any brand, but it is particularly relevant to radio, because radio can choose to embrace the future or continue, in most cases, to not acknowledge it.  Or to think they've got their "digital strategy" under control and in reality be far behind the rest of the Digital Universe because they rely on second tier vendors and second tier "Digital Gurus" inside their organizations. 


Don't get me wrong, I WANT radio to win the Digital battle.  But how many radio companies started working Wednesday afternoon to make sure their station or group iPad app would look right on the new Retina display?  For that matter, how many radio companies even HAVE iPad apps?
 

What was once the digital equivalent of Thomas The Tank Engine is quickly becoming a Bullet Train, and radio has to get on board, be able to react instantly to changes in technology and user behavior, and do whatever it takes to stay relevant in a Pandora world.  I know some groups and stations can do this.  I just wish the ones that can't or won't would get on board the train before it runs them over.

 Related articles

• What Has Deterred Your Digital Strategy? (contently.com)
• The 7 Hot New Digital Marketing Strategies That will TRIPLE Your Business In The Next 12 Months [Dave Newton] (ecademy.com)
• Digital Marketing Strategy (kaon.com)

Rare Video Cameo By Mark Edwards

First of all, let's get the legal mumbo jumbo out of the way.  I did not receive any compensation for appearing in this video, writing this post, or endorsing the company involved in the project.  So take THAT, Federal Trade Commission.

One of the most important things in establishing a presence on the Internet is to have a dependable, reliable web hosting service. The company you choose is your lifeline to the Internet, and they have to provide hosting, keep your domain registration straight, and make sure that you're not missing any opportunities to promote your business on the web.

For a long time, I was a customer of GoDaddy.com. Their prices were fair, their service was good, and they never messed me over. However, they made the critical error of supporting Internet censorship legislation and I could no longer do business with them in good conscience. I asked my friends and Twitter followers who provided good hosting and domain services, and heard about a company called name.com. After a little investigation, I moved all of my websites to name.com and have since advised my clients to do business with them as well.

This company provides excellent customer service, comes up with great solutions to my silly problems, and has a great sense of humor. You can see the latter in this video that they produced over the last couple of weeks. They were looking for people to be a part of it, and were kind enough to ask me to join the fun, but you have to look fast to see my appearances. I'll give you a hint, I'm wearing the shirt of my heroes.

No, that is not me in the picture above.

The video is a cute diversion, the work of some people who are really bright about the Internet and know how to have fun at the same time, and comes from a company that I highly recommend if you are looking for any kind of Web services. Just to be clear, read the first paragraph of this post and you'll see that I got nothing for saying that. Nothing. Nada.

If you are so inclined, check out name.com's blog as they are running a contest in connection with this video. Clearly I have no chance of winning it, but you might and it could be worth entering. If nothing else, you can learn a little bit more about this great little company in Denver and the high quality work that they do for Mark Edwards Worldwide, our clients, and people around the country..

Social Media Is Not The Savior

This is kind of a follow up to the post I put up Sunday about how badly radio handled the death of Whitney Houston.  Since then, there's been a lot of chatter among those who regularly drink the Social Media Kool-Aid that Social Media actually broke the story of Whitney Houston's death and therefore it is more important than "real news".

I occasionally drink the Social Media Kool-Aid, although I prefer Monster Energy Drink (no compensation for that mention) but I TOTALLY disagree with that assessment, especially because some people have been looking at the timeline of the alleged first tweet and finding faults in it.  Now the very bright Jason Falls, who runs a "must read" site called Social Media Explorer, has some thoughts on this whole situation in his newsletter, which I get nothing to highly endorse but still suggest you sign up for it if you have any interest in social media and want to learn from a really smart guy.

 

The world of social media patted itself on the back again this weekend, claiming it broke the news of Whitney Houston's death. A Twitter user named Big Chorizo ( @chilemasgrande) who had 14 followers at the time, tweeted his "sources" said the pop diva was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel. This was sent at 7:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 11. The Associated Press was the first media outlet to report the death, citing publicist Kristen Foster with the confirmation, some 27 minutes later.

 

Here's the problem with the social media zealots getting all worked up over how the media landscape has changed, journalism is dead and social media is the new, democratized stream of information: No one in their right mind would trust Big Chorizo for such information. The AP, however, is a reliable source. There was no news broken until the story was vetted and verified. Twitter didn't scoop the media. Twitter shot first and hoped it hit something. Even a blind soldier gets lucky once and a while.

 

Remember the early December hoax that Jon Bon Jovi died? Twitter and Facebook got all worked up, ready to claim another media victory. When the alive and well singer posted a dated photo of himself on Facebook, the death-to-media hipsters sulked away and awaited another victory dance.

 

We can agree that social media has plugged more people into the here-and-now world of news and information and that the media landscape has changed. But our society, U.S. or otherwise, will never trust random users over trusted resources. That, my friends, is why journalism is not dead, nor dying. Until those we trust report the news, it's just a rumor. Even on Twitter. 

I appreciate all the comments on the post below, and am glad it started a discussion.  But I have to dismiss all the claims that social media was single-handedly responsible for breaking the Whitney Houston story.  The media mix now is different than when Elvis died (also in the bathroom) or even when Michael Jackson died.  And it will change every day.

My hope is that "traditional media" like radio will wake up and not let itself be left in dust of "new media".  Don't give up, don't concede stories to social media, CNN, and TMZ.  Every medium should do what it does best and learn how to do it even better in this new media world we live in.  I believe the term that applies here is "Innovate Or Die".

Related articles

• Twitter Breaks News of Whitney Houston Death 27 Minutes Before Press (mashable.com)
• How News Orgs Used Social Media to Pay Tribute to Whitney Houston (mediabistro.com)
• Jennifer Hudson Delivers Emotional Whitney Houston Tribute at the Grammys (popsugar.com)
• Howard Kurtz Asks If Whitney Houston's Death 'Is Worth' Intense News Coverage (mediaite.com)

Greetings And Salutations!

I really thought I'd never start another blog.  I've got blogs everywhere.  There's Mark Edwards Uncensored, Mark Edwards Rants, Mark Edwards 3.0, Mark Edwards Unlimited even Mark's Cubs Worship Pulpit.  To a lesser or greater extent, those blogs are sort of general interest, with the exception of the blog dedicated to the Chicago Cubs.

This blog will be different.  The focus here is the focus of Mark Edwards Worldwide. The Media.  Old media, New Media, Social Media, and perhaps most importantly, the future of media.  You'll hear my opinions on some of the issues facing content creators, I'll share some particularly noteworthy things I find around the Interwebz (which I do a lot at the Mark Edwards Worldwide Newsfeed) and hopefully I'll rile up the folks who stumble onto this blog to get a good conversation going every once in a while.

So welcome, please bookmark, tell your friends, and feel free to subscribe to the e mail or RSS feeds of the blog.  I promise to never spam you.

Stay tuned for semi-regular updates!

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