PostRank Connect

Image via Wikipedia

I learned about PostRank Connect at the recent Monitoring Social Media conference in Boston and decided to give it a try as it meets my key criteria:

• It promises to provide me with insights about my content through the PostRank Analytics application (free, for now, when you sign-up for PostRank Connect).
• It promises to connect me with brands that could lead to mutually beneficial relationships.
• It is FREE.

How do you sign up?

Navigate to the sign-up page and enter standard information like your username, password, and location.  Now identify your content sources, your blogs and your social media accounts.  Important points:

• It is critical that you identify the attributes of your blogs as you set them up, making it easier to do the matching of brands and influencers.
• When you identify your blog you must also prove ownership, like you do with Google Analytics and other similar tools, by either adding a page, an image, or making a networking change through DNS.
• When you add a new contact source you can link it to a Twitter account.  Ideally you should also be able to tie in Flickr, YouTube, Facebook, and any number of other accounts as well.
• To achieve the best results you should use Google Analytics to your site.  This will enable you to see how engagement and traffic tie together.

Alright, what else?

Well, return to business as usual for a couple of days, running any planned campaigns or just letting the sites run as you normally do.  After a few days log back in, select the My Sites tab and then click upon the View Analytics button.  I set this up for a brand new community that I am very slowly tweaking and very slowly rolling out.    When I view analytics for this site I see the following:

You can view, side by side, the page view information and the social engagement information associated with this site.  If you scroll beneath this first chart you will also see all Facebook status updates and Twitter messages that are related to content or pages you are tracking for this site.  By default all blog posts (tracked via RSS feed) are tracked.  Other content must be added manually as part of the setup process.

Deeper analysis?

You can click upon the Analyze menu to download a CSV file which I am, at this point, unimpressed with.   You are not given the option to choose a date range or fields to include in the CSV file and the data, at least for my test site,was not useful.  I am looking for, and hoping to see, PostRank put a lot more into the reporting for this solution.  This offering is not significantly more powerful than Google Analytics alone.

My verdict?

The product is easy to set up and requires a minimal effort to interact with.  If you are already making use of Google Analytics and investing in Twitter and Facebook than you should give this product a try.  If you are not using Analytics, however, I would not both using this product.

John

Related Articles

• Analytics For Social Media (outspokenmedia.com)
• Social Graph, Influence and the Social Web | PostRank Blog (postrank.com)
• Which News Sites Get the Most Social Media Engagement? (adamsherk.com)
• PostRank adds Google Chrome extension and soft launches new service, PostRank Connect (techvibes.com)

Podcast with Michael Wu on Social Anthropology and The Social Ecosystem

Michael is a Principal Research Scientist at Lithium Technologies and spends his time focused on the dynamics of communities, the roles of influencers, and social anthropology.  Michael and I caught up to discuss how this all fits together and his insights can be heard on this 30 minute podcast.

John

If you need help from The Lab give me a call..

Noteworthy: Zuora and the Subscription Economy (via Beagle Research Group, LLC)

Denis Pombriant is someone who consistently provides great information and insights. When I saw this post about the subscription economy I felt that it was worth sharing as this is a direction we are clearly headed.

Let me know what you think.

Zuora is touting a new idea called the subscription economy.  It’s not radical and others might have had the idea before but I was not aware of it.  The subscription economy is just what it sounds like and it reiterates the reality we see all around us.  Today, the company announced the release of its flagship product, Z-Commerce for the Cloud, at GigaOM’s Structure 2010 event in San Francisco. Z-Commerce for the Cloud targets the growing market … Read More

via Beagle Research Group, LLC

ET, and your customers, are looking to phone home

I found this great infographic on the Beyond Philosophy site and had to share this with you.  While it is very easy to fall in love with the shiny new strategies and tools it is important that our organizations stay focused on executing the basics well.   Jim Rohn, American author and speaker, said it well when he stated “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals”

A couple of months ago I ran a very simple survey, asking people about their own personal support interactions, asking specifically, “What method(s) did you use to get support for your issue?”.    In that survey of 87 random people, 46% of them reported that their last support interaction took place on the phone.  This was the number one response, with e-mail being number two.  Traditional support channels are still the primary methods of obtaining support (even though new channels are slowly rising in popularity).

While you work to bring social channels, communities, and other new solutions into your support arsenal, make sure:

You support organization has clearly defined goals that are in alignment with the rest of the organization.

Your support organization has well-defined processes that focus on meeting the customers needs at the lowest costs possible.  Note that the goal is to meet the customer needs first, not cut cost first.

Your support organization is receiving constant training on the products and services they are supporting.  Too often I see support organizations tasked with supporting new solutions and not given time to learn the products they are supporting.  This is a great way to deliver horrible customer service.

You constantly survey your customers to learn how they view the service they are receiving.  Ask them how you are doing.  Listen to what they tell you, make adjustments, give them feedback so they know they were heard.

Use internal metrics, not just customer feedback, to find how well you are doing. 

I know the advice above is not earth shattering nor revolutionary.  The advice is simply a reminder, a reminder to focus on delivering great service at a price your company can afford.  Remember too that you customer support organization is not a cost center.  While you may not see the revenue that they are producing directly in sales, you will see it in higher retention rates and customer lifetime value increases. 

Keep executing everyone.

John

Google is trying to become my social media client, will it be yours?

In time the answer is a clear Maybe.  Google Replay makes it very easy to see what social media conversations are taking place about any keyword(s) you want to watch.  Google Replay shows you in real-time the conversations that are taking place across a variety of networks and platforms, ranging from Facebook to Google Buzz to Twitter and more.  For example, do you want to see what people think about American Idol?

• Navigate to the Google home page.
• Search for “American Idol”
• Choose Show Options and click on Updates. Search results, updated in the real-time, are now right in front of you.

I know, I know, who wouldn’t want to track American Idol in real-time?

While Google is clearly your social media data store with real-time updates do not get too excited about being able to replace more expensive solutions anytime soon.  While small businesses that are not yet investing in more robust solutions should leverage Replay, others will have to wait for more features to either be built on top of,  or around, these additions.

In line with Google’s efforts to become my Twitter client, or rather my social client, it has also added Follow Finder, a recommendation engine for Twitter users.  Expect to see a lot more coming out of this tool, or similar tools, as Google works to mine the data to build unique insights on influencers and power users.

2010 is continuing to shape up as an interesting year on the social scene and guess what…. It is only April.

John

John Moore’s definition of Social CRM

Since my disagreement with the complete definition of Social CRM, the one that Paul Greenberg put forth, has caused controversy with many of my peers, let me take a minute to clarify.  First off, Paul Greenberg is a genius, a legend, and knows more about CRM in its entirety than I would ever claim to know.  Paul  offers us this simple definition:

“CRM is a philosophy & a business strategy, supported by a technology platform, business rules, workflow, processes & social characteristics, designed to engage the customer in a collaborative conversation in order to provide mutually beneficial value in a trusted & transparent business environment. It’s the company’s response to the customer’s ownership of the conversation.”

My only change, my only tweak, is to state the following:

“CRM is a philosophy & a business strategy, supported by a technology platform, business rules, workflow, processes & social characteristics, designed to engage the customer in a collaborative conversation in order to provide mutually beneficial value in a trusted & transparent business environment. It’s the company’s response to the customer’s joint ownership of the conversation”

The company AND THE customer have a relationship.  Just as a great marriage is not owned by only one party, a great business relationship is not either.

John

Social CRM is Dead? Not really…

I read a post today that stated that Social CRM is Dead, Long Live Social Media Flavored CRM, reminding me of a post I wrote last September titled Social CRM is dead, long live Social Business Strategy.  In both cases the driver for the post is a dissatisfaction with the nomenclature, not an issue with the definition of Social CRM.

I probably would have read that post, responded, and simply moved on if it had not been for a tweet I saw today that stated “Those who struggle with the term Social CRM believe it is about technology, it is about people and culture, first”. 

What’s right about this message?

Technology, as many of us have noted countless times, is definitely the least important piece of the CRM puzzle.  CRM, Social or otherwise, is a strategy put in place to help your business or agency improve your relationship with your customer to maximize your profits.  Yes, some will disagree with that last point, stating that it is about enhancing relationships, but the relationships are only important to the degree that they drive profits.

The focus on people and culture are critical, of course, but not to the detriment of short and long-term corporate profitability. 

What is wrong about this message?

It is easy to lose sight of real business goals.  The people and culture are critical components in the tactics you use as part of your CRM strategy.  They are more important than the technology but not more important than the profitability of the business.  Cold?  Yes.  Blunt?  Yes.  Honest?  Yes.

The struggle with the term Social CRM has nothing to with confusion about the prioritized importance of people, culture, process, and technology in a CRM strategy.  Social CRM does leverage information from social channels to enhance your CRM, your corporate, strategy.  In simple terms Social CRM is nothing more than CRM benefiting from bi-directional communication in these social channels.

What do you think?

John

Martha Coakley, Attorney General in Massachusetts, talks about Social Media

Martha Coakley continues to look for ways to innovate, to find better ways of achieving the goals associated with her role as Attorney General of Massachusetts.  I was fortunate enough to get her insights on a number of questions, I hope you learn as much as I have. 

Q. What are your thoughts on government 2.0, the open government directive/initiative?
A. Government leaders and agencies that are open to adapting new practices will see benefit from doing so. The opportunities new technologies afford government and the people we serve are important.

Transparency in government is essential – not just for efficiency and access to information- but to maximize participation by all individuals and groups and to build confidence in how our government works. President Obama’s willingness to explore new uses in government for  web-based technologies is an encouraging step forward and represents an opportunity to build public trust. 
 
Q. Have you seen the Open GovTracker at http://www.opengovtracker.com/?  Would something like this add value, in your opinion to the AGs office?  Would you consider leveraging an ideation platform like this?
A. I was not familiar with the OpenGov Tracker – it is a very new tool, but I’m always open to looking at new ways for the work of the AG’s office to be accessible and transparent. 
 
Q. How does social media and other collaboration strategies and technologies (blogs, wikis, twitter, etc) it fit into your overall communication strategy?
A. Social media has become an integral part of the education and prevention work that we do in the Attorney General’s Office.  In our view, social media tools are channels to provide information to our constituents. We engage through our own Twitter account and office blog, as well as constantly working to make sure important consumer information makes into the online discussion. 

In 2007, we took on a massive website redesign to create what we hope is a very robust tool with useful information.  Our mission was to create a tool to better empower citizens and provide direct, easy guidance to the often complex questions asked of us.  Our social media tools have been a way to increase traffic and help assure that people have access to timely, helpful information.  They have not, and may not, replace other traditional means of communicating with our office, but they have certainly supplemented our efforts in this respect.
 
Q. How return on investment are you seeing from your efforts?
A. We are continuing to see an increase in the number of people who are accessing information from our office through new media.  We’re also able to receive constituents’ feedback through blog comments, Twitter @replies, and website traffic, to help us not only enhance communication but identify trends and be more efficient in our information dissemination. 

There are also some ‘intangibles’ in our social media outreach that can be difficult to quantify, such as public confidence and trust in our work, and enhanced access to accurate and timely consumer information. 
 
Q. Has social media played a part in any convictions?
A. Our abilities to investigate and prosecute crime with a cyber component greatly increased this past September, when our office opened a state-of-the-art Computer Forensics Lab in Boston.  The lab is designed to help the Commonwealth develop a statewide capacity to prevent, investigate, and prosecute cyber crime.  The lab has expanded the office’s forensic capabilities, allowing us to conduct exams on a variety of digital media such as computers, cell phones, laptops, PDAs and GPS devices. 

Without addressing specific cases, I can say that law enforcement officials are always mindful of the public nature of social media networks, like Facebook and Twitter.
 
Q. Are their laws that Massachusetts residents should be aware for social media and collaborative technologies?
A. Criminals are constantly finding new ways to exploit technological advances.  Social networks can be another means for criminals to access personal or identifying information, so you should always be cautious about what you are posting about yourself online. 

On the state level, I filed An Act to Combat Economic Crime with a coalition of legislators, District Attorneys, and law enforcement organizations, designed to give law enforcement the necessary tools to investigate and prosecute sophisticated criminal enterprises in the 21st century. 

When I took office, we created a Cyber Crime team right away, and they can be a resource to you. Please contact us anytime with questions about illegal online activity or internet safety! 

Q. What social media usage policies/guidelines do you have in place for the AGs office?
A. Governor Patrick and the Information Technology Division have established guidelines and best practices for social media use by state agencies.  They have researched and compiled ways for government to use online tools responsibly to enhance civic engagement and increase transparency and access in government.  In my office, we follow these guidelines, and we work to ensure that our constituents and users know how we use these tools and why.  You can find our usage policies on our website.
 
Q. Are you using a CRM system?  If yes, how is it being used?
A. In my office, we’ve been transitioning to a comprehensive database system to work seamlessly with as many divisions as possible, and with web-based applications like complaint forms. Given the legal work we do and the broad scope of the office, we must also prioritize compliance with public records law and protecting sensitive information.  We have prioritized finding ways to more efficiently track consumer complaints, case filings, fair labor intake, charities filings, and we are also working towards systems that allow for seamless online complaint filing and municipal law research.
 
Q. Have you seen results from social media that you could not have replicated using other communication channels?
A. The benefit we have seen unique to social media has been the two-way flow of information.  While we have always taken calls and received emails and letters, social media allows for a conversation with constituents that is more immediate and more viral.  For example, we are able to watch @replies on Twitter, identify a trend in a particular area, and use this information to craft an appropriate response such as a blog post, a new brochure, or an investigation if appropriate.

Come on B2Cs, it’s time to add social geo data to your CRM system

Social geo data is cluttering the air waves.  People are constantly publishing their current location using services like foursquare, Gowalla, and Twitter.  Are you leveraging this information to improve your marketing, sales, and customer service efforts?  Eh?  Yes, I am talking to you, don’t look behind you.  I saw you check-in at Starbucks and, while you’re drinking that extra large cup of coffee, staring at your iPhone, let’s chat.

My friends at Sysomos sent me a link to their simple Fourwhere application.  At the same time, my friends at Lithium shared with me a widget they are baking into their  software.  In both cases the solutions are extremely basic, for now.  In both cases the companies look poised to iterate quickly to begin turning these solutions into powerful solutions that will provide data to feed your CRM, to improve your business, and to provide real value for your customers. 

Here is a short list of items I want to see from both companies as well as thoughts on how I would like to see B2C and B2B companies leverage the information:

• The Fourwhere application is great in the fact that it highlights known venues on an easy to use Google map (Lithium is providing a similar solution).  You can view comments, see the number of check-ins.   Please also:
  • Let people check-in via this interface. 
  • Capture e-mail address and make this data available through an API to push back to customer CRM system.
• For Businesses
  • Enable them to push out live updates on daily specials, coupons.
  • Since data is in the CRM system (or better yet, in Sysomos or Lithium) use this data, this past purchase and travel history, to make recommendations.
• Highlight friends in the area or, taking an example from avoidr.org and highlight where your less popular acquaintances are hanging out.
• For B2B companies use a mashup like this to highlight your customers and their buying history.
  • When your sales people are in the area make it easy to see the information they need, via a handy map interface.  Not only can you optimize their time but you can maximize your sales potential.  That’s what we’re all trying to do, isn’t it?
  • Let’s take it a step further and highlight potential customers as well.  I want sales people making sales, make it easy to find those potential customers.

Are you leveraging geo-social data yet?  Is your competition?

John

The dichotomy that is Comcast customer service

Comcast is one of those companies on the leading edge of leveraging social media for delivering high levels of customer service.  In fact, I recently gave them praise for quickly helping me resolve a networking problem in my house entirely through Twitter.

Sometimes, however, even companies that understand customer service fall down when it comes to the basics, as can be seen by what is taking place in my small home town of Winthrop, Massachusetts.  On Thursday afternoon my father in-law lost TV reception in his house.  We called and, after navigating through the IVR system, reached a message stating that there were known problems in our area, stay tuned.  It is now Sunday night, no TV service.  This, in isolation, is not a big deal, however, as you start to dig in, this is a major failure by Comcast, a failure that I hope is addressed both in restitution to the customers affected and also in the processes and systems where failures have occurred.  Lets dig in:

• My father in-law has called Comcast more than a dozen times and I have called for him as well.  Each time, people have no knowledge of the past calls, that his house was added to a broader ticket.  He has had his box reset, been told it is a broad problem, been told to wait.  No information on when this problem will be fixed.
• The IVR system forces you down a path where you enter your phone # and, if you answer the prompts correctly, are always taken to the automated response that tells you to wait.  You must answer the questions incorrectly to reach a real person.
• As my father in-law has chatted with neighbors he has learned that many of them are dealing with their own television outages.  Some of these failures have gone on for a week or longer, each of them waiting, calling multiple times a day, no resolution.
• One of the times I called for my father in-law I had him added to a ticket covering multiple homes, being told that Winthrop was having a large outage, ongoing, no clear time for fixing.  If I wanted to call another department I could discuss a refund.  What?!?!?!  Comcast, you are failing to deliver service, failing to deliver answers, and failing to simply reach out and take care of those customers….  This is not acceptable.

Please understand, I have nothing against Comcast or its people.  However, these failures are indicative of a lack of process, poor system integration, and a misunderstanding of how to service your customers.  Comcast:

• Please let me know how many customers in Winthrop are down and the total # of days they have been without service.
• What is your plan for proactively solving the problem and “making things right” with these customers?
• Lets sit down and discuss where your system or process failures are happening.  If handled properly we can work together to fix these problems.
• I know you want to deliver great service.  The efforts of people like Frank Eliason show me that you’re on the right track.  Lets see if we can work to make failures like this a thing of the past.

John