How Do These People Get Into (and Stay In) Marketing?

People often times joke about how you need a license to drive a car but not to be a parent. Sometimes I feel the same way about marketing and PR. Too many people end up in marketing who have no business being in the field. Like any serious discipline, marketing is hard work. It is not a skill you learn once and then switch to autopilot like say, learning to type or riding a bike. Once you learn the principles of marketing you need to keep current with the latest technologies and information that will help you improve your skills. It is hard work and takes a significant time commitment.

A great example of this is the simple task of press release distribution and media relations. Or not so simple task. A marketer recently complained to us that:

• having to go through long lists of publications to choose journalists to send a press release to is daunting;
• sending out individual emails with personalized "pitches" to journalists takes too much time;
• having to take the extra steps to insert hyperlinks for a search optimized wire release is tedious.

As Kevin grossman says, "you can't just put dog poop in a box, strap fireworks to it and light the whole friggin' thing on fire and expect to generate long-term publicity, traffic and leads".

He is right.

As we discussed in our recent article Making Sense of Your PR Distribution Options (see blog here), the simple task of sending out a press release is not so simple anymore - if you want to do it right. What worked in 1995 does not work in 2010.

So yes, you may need to set aside a few hours to properly construct and distribute your news releases. Can't find the time? Try harder or delegate/outsource to someone who can.

Or, you can just continue to blast the same release to thousands of media contacts with no personalization (sorry, but simply inserting a salutation before your release isn't personalization) and then send the same text release with no search-optimization to a wire service.

Go ahead - but don't expect to move the needle on key metrics like online visibility, web site traffic, sales leads and search engine rankings. And don't blame your marketing and PR software when you don't see results.

You can give someone a membership to a health club but you can't give them weight loss. That, they have to earn - and it is hard work.

For those who like to make News Years resolutions and need the help (fortunately, this group is in the minority) how about learning the latest best practices in marketing and PR? We have plenty of free articles and white papers here (and lots more coming in 2010 :-).

2010 HR Marketing Trends ("Dat") - Addendum Revisionism

With all this marketing soothsaying happening around me, I'm compelled to make a prediction:

HR suppliers will invest more in marketing in 2010.

Okay, so I'm being a little facetious. Fact is, my crystal ball is styrofoam, but we're already seeing suppliers investing more in marketing at the end of 2009 and that's good news.

But where are they investing?

I read two articles yesterday - one titled Trends to Watch — All of eMarketer’s 2010 Predictions and the other 10 Online Marketing Trends for 2010 from Entrepreneur. Both of them include similar predictions and trends that are also applicable to the HR marketplace.

I will play addendum revisionist. Mind you that's not the same thing as hobbling the healthcare bill.

First off - my daughter loves Baby Einstein and Baby Genius. Everyday she'll point to the TV and say "dat", which is her way of saying one of two things - "what's that?" and "I want that". And we say "video" and then she giggles up a storm. "Dat - I want that."

Video will continue to grow as a valuable and emotive marketing tool. Whether it be short viral marketing videos that are easy to consume and easier to share across social media platforms, video tutorials for your products and services, video testimonials and case studies, video blogging and video interviews, recruiting videos and employer culture videos - videos will become more prevalent next year. People dig talking pictures.

But doesn't anybody read anymore? And what about search-optimization? From the Entrepreneur article:

Video presents a great opportunity for small-business marketing, but don't think of video as a replacement for text. As powerful as video can be, it can be more cumbersome than text because you can't scan a video as quickly as you can scan a page of headlines, links and text to quickly find the exact information you need. Use your investments to find the right balance for your customers.

I love my iPhone and all the cool stuff it can do. Not so in love with AT&T's network. A contradiction to be sure, but the fact is smart phones of all kinds are on the verge of flooding the market.

Mobile marketing will be bigger and better. And you'd better be a part of it. Ensure your website is mobile friendly, ensure your email marketing campaigns will render properly on mobile devices (text and HTML), test texting as a mobile marketing solution, create smart phone applications that gives users access to your product or service (direct access, taste or a trial). Location-based mobile marketing, like personalized local search, will be on the rise as well.

According to eMarketer:

Mobile ad spending will rise from $416 million in 2009 to $593 million in 2010 as more brands and agencies integrate mobile into their marketing mix. The fusion of mobile and social and the appetite for apps (among both consumers and brands) will continue unabated. In fact, location- and social-aware apps and utilities will be a key avenue for brands looking to engage consumers on the go.

I'm a social butterfly and love social media. Besides the fun, there is much value to be had as a viable marketing channel.

Social media marketing will continue to be cool. And it works. From my last blog post:

Stop the methodical marketing madness and start a conversation. Get a little messy. It’s real and it works.

That's what I mean by adding social media marketing to your mix. I’m a big fan of the softer outcomes such as familiarity and trust and sharing our valuable content and that of other influencers, customers and prospects. The more familiarity and trust I build with my customers, prospects and influencers, the more valuable my company becomes to them.

Relationship building helps us grow our company. We hear it anecdotally again and again of late from our customers and agency clients.

However, I get the fact that in order to know if your social media efforts are helping your grow your company, you don’t want touchy-feely bunnies, unicorns and rainbows. (Remember, at some point you have to shut-up and sell.)

So while it's good news that more CMO's are investing in social media marketing, I recommend that HR supplier marketers:

• Know where their buyers play in social media
• Listen and join the conversations - build relationships
• Share best practice content - and not just yours
• Integrate social media marketing integrate into your overall strategy

Joy to the world of social media marketing!

Other continuing HR marketing trends of note and future blog posts include:

• Search engine optimization
• Paid search
• E-mail marketing (it ain't going anywhere)
• Webcasts (not mentioned in the articles but will continue to be a powerful way to deliver content in the HR marketplace)
• Podcasts and Internet radio (played down in one of the articles but I believe will be more prevalent in the HR marketplace in 2010)
• Blogging (again played down for 2010, but still a great way to deliver insight, commentary and best practices content to buyers and influencers - and search engines love 'em)

Dat indeed. Happy New Year!

Post by Kevin W. Grossman (join me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn - and now join HRmarketer on Twitter!

Joy to the world of social media marketing!

All right, enough with the melodramatic influencer list love for now. Let's get back to marketing.

'Cause marketing is hard work. And hard work leads to influence.

All right, I'm stopping.

Read a little news blurp this morning at BtoB titled Poll: CMOs plan to boost social media spend for 2010.

According to an online survey of 133 chief marketing officers conducted by social media monitoring company Bazaarvoice, together with the CMO Club, 66% of respondents said they would boost their social media budgets next year, with about 75% saying they would attach sales goals to their social media spend.

I'm not surprised and have spoken with many HR suppliers who are also interested in adding the social media marketing channel to their marketing efforts, or already have, meaning:

• Investing staff
• Investing time

Because simply put, that's what it takes - social media isn't free.

Measuring return via increased sales can also cost depending on the tools and services you use.

But herein lies the continual conundrum we've discussed before - How is [insert marketing tactic] going to help generate sales?

Would this tactic likely have a direct and immediate impact on sales?

Marketing does not work like this - it's more of a cumulative effect. That's why we recommend companies engage in a variety of marketing and PR tactics. This is what best-in-class companies do - from investing in SEO to producing regular "content", direct marketing, advertising, exhibiting, webcasts, media relations and 'social" marketing such as podcasts and blogging (and ideally, Twitter but we'll take it one step at a time).

It works.

And it's hard work.

Based on another recent post of ours, Get a little messy AND measure stuff. Contradictions are the new marketing chic:

Stop the methodical marketing madness and start a conversation. Get a little messy. It’s real and it works.

That's what I mean by adding social media marketing to your mix. I’m a big fan of the softer outcomes such as familiarity and trust and sharing our valuable content and that of other influencers, customers and prospects. The more familiarity and trust I build with my customers, prospects and influencers, the more valuable my company becomes to them.

Relationship building helps us grow our company. We hear it anecdotally again and again of late from our customers and agency clients.

However, I get the fact that in order to know if your social media efforts are helping your grow your company, you don’t want touchy-feely bunnies, unicorns and rainbows. (Remember, at some point you have to shut-up and sell.)

So while it's good news that more CMO's are investing in social media marketing, I recommend that HR supplier marketers:

• Know where their buyers play in social media
• Listen and join the conversations - build relationships
• Share best practice content - and not just yours
• Integrate social media marketing integrate into your overall strategy

Joy to the world of social media marketing!

Post by Kevin W. Grossman (join me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn - and now join HRmarketer on Twitter!

Influencers work; workers influence. I thank you all for yours.

Recently John Sumser visited us at HRmarketer and delivered yet another fascinating HR industry presentation, as only John can do.

A big meaty filet migmon, bloody, with just a bit of gristly fat on one end for more chewing pleasure. So much so I pass out after every one of his meals. Sometimes during.

Then John said this:

Influencers don't work; workers don't influence.

I dunno. Sure there was more context around the statement, but his point was that to be a true influencers you have to spend your time influencing, not "working".

But that's work, isn't it? Especially when you're an intelligent, long-time trusted, sometimes curmudgeonly controversial influencer like John.

And then there's the other side of that where workers don't influence. That's not quite right either, because otherwise we wouldn't have associations or unions or other workforce orgs pushing policy, or employees influencing the birth flexible work schedules and telecommuting as a new way to work.

I won't win any philosophical HR debates with John anytime soon, but it is exciting to end up on his new top 25 HR digital influencers of 2009 as presented in his latest online magazine endeavor - HRExaminer.com.

It's important to note that this wasn't a peer-reviewed list of influencers and there are many naysayers out there who poo-poo lists of any kind like this. This listing was no exception and I did notice low-level rumblings in the sociomediasphere.

In the first study of its kind, HRExaminer.com and Traackr partnered to define the 25 most influential members of the online HR community. Using Traackr's proprietary algorithm, the study surveyed online activity in the Human Resources area.

The survey measured:

• Reach (size of each person's audience online)
• Resonance (a measure of inbound links and references)
• Relevance (mapping against a cloud of keywords)

Also of note:

• Over half of the people on the list have more than one blog.
• Only 20% actually work in an HR job.
• 40% work in and around the recruiting industry.
• 55% dispense some form of career advice as a part of their work.
• 96% have a Facebook account.
• 72% are on Twitter.
• 92% use LinkedIn.

You know, I haven't been spreading social media fairy dust and magic Bea pollen around the HR marketplace just because I want to be liked.

Well, a little bit.

The fact is, I care deeply about the HR marketplace and all the players therein, whether they be on the vendor side or the buyer side. Building relationships and sharing valuable content (and fun) is where it's all at for me. Social media has allowed me to do that more than anything else in all my professional-blend-to-personal life.

In the decade I've been in the space, I've learned volumes from John and from the folks in the top 25 HR digital influencers of 2009, and from so many others far and wide and here and there and everywhere.

However, business is business, and I'm also all about growing it. All of us at HRmarketer fully understand the marketing power one can wield when those trusted relationships are a fleet of ships that set sail in red oceans and blue on behalf of you. Social media as a marketing channel has done just that for us.

We've worked hard. You've worked hard.

Influencers work; workers influence.

I thank you all for yours. Happy Holidays!

Post by Kevin W. Grossman (join me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn - and now join HRmarketer on Twitter!

A white paper download isn't a sales conversation. Asking for the sale is.

"Yes, Kevin, we agree that content marketing generates more publicity, traffic and leads - blah, blah, blah - but I want to sell more product now. How the heck do I do that?"

I'm hearing that more often than not these days from clients and I get it.

I get the fact that marketing, particularly content marketing and social media marketing, helps drive sales conversations in the HR marketplace, but marketing is not direct sales.

We're a marketing firm that helps define and evangelize your thought leadership, products and services that drive people to your door.

However, you've got to invite them in. That's where the sales conversation begins.

Simply put, sales includes these planets in alignment (in my mind):

• Establish and foster relationships beyond content downloads = nurture your "house" list (warmer prospects) with further personalized best practice content and ask for demo conversations - how can I help your organization today? This is how...
• Address pain points with direct product marketing = nurture your "house" list (warmer prospects) with further personalized best practice content and ask for demo conversations - how can I help your organization today? This is how...
• Ask for the sale. Really. Shut up and sell them stuff.

Then close the deal. Easier said than done I know. That takes a different mindset than relationship building and asking for the sale. We'll be posting more on that soon.

But from a marketing perspective, I want to make something perfectly clear:

Content marketing and pure-play marketing don't create the same results and thus shouldn't have the same expectation.

For example, maybe you get hundreds of folks to sign up for your content webinars and download your white papers. We've done hundreds of them and know first hand.

Now ask those same folks to sign up for a product demo. The numbers drop dramatically and as it should be.

With content marketing you're giving them something in return for something, usually their contact info (and maybe you do ask them if they want a demo at the same time).

With pure-play marketing (demos and the like) you're asking for a sales conversation.

Get that? You're asking for a sales conversation, and unless they're part of the handful you've been nurturing, building relationships with, or even the "bluebirds" you may run across from time to time who buy outright (not common for major software/system buys of course), your response rate will reflect those who are ready to have that conversation - a much smaller number.

A white paper download isn't a sales conversation. Asking for the sale is.

Post by Kevin W. Grossman (join me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn - and now join HRmarketer on Twitter!)

Financial Engines Grows Up - 100 Million IPO Planned.

Another HR vendor is about to be public which means we have a wealth of great information being made available via the company's S-1 filing with the SEC. Any HR software or services vendor, particularly those that compete in the "retirement" sector of employee benefits, will find great information in this S-1 filing.

Financial Engines was founded in 1996 to address the need for independent investment advice. The company was a pioneer of online investment advice with the launch of the first independent Online Advice platform in 1998 - basically, very sophisticated online calculators. But that was then. There very interesting history is here.

Today, the company is a leading provider of independent, technology-enabled portfolio management services, investment advice and retirement help to participants in employer-sponsored defined contribution retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans.

Their business model is based on workplace delivery of these services. They target three key constituencies in the retirement plan market:

(1) Plan participants (employees)
(2) Plan sponsors (employers)
(3) plan providers (companies providing administrative services to plan sponsors).

The business model is a typical software/services model. Revenue is generated from management fees based on the value of the assets under management (services) and from recurring, subscription-based platform fees for access to the company's web-based financial portal (software).

As of September 30, 2009, Financial Engines had signed contracts to make their services available through 107 Fortune 500 companies and seven Fortune 20 companies.

The company's total revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 was $58.8 million.

The market opportunity? Here are some sound-bytes from the company's S-1 IPO filing with the SEC:

- We believe the United States retirement savings industry is large and growing and that shifting trends within the retirement industry present us with an opportunity to help plan sponsors provide independent portfolio management services, investment advice and retirement help to their employees.

- We believe the following key market trends will continue to drive the growth of our business and increase the value of our service offerings:

(a) Shifting Demographics Drive a Growing Need for Retirement Assistance.
(b) Growing Reliance on Defined Contribution Plans.
( c) Changing Legal and Regulatory Framework
(d) Automatic 401(k) (as a result of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 plan sponsors are actively seeking automatic retirement savings solutions for their employees).

This is a very good case study in building a business - adapting to changing market needs, patience and perseverance.

Good luck Financial Engines. The company hopes to raise $100 million.

Softballs, marketing and me on the HRchitect WebMingle. Merry Christmas.

Pssst...this is a shameless plug for HRchitect's HR Technology Happy Hour WebMingle.

And me and HRmarketer.

Hard to believe it's been a year since they launched the WebMingle when Mark was on.

Amazing. Matt and Tiffany do a fantastic job with this show. My HR Market Share podcast series pales in comparison. (Well, maybe not pales, but still...)

I just wanted to let you know that I'm fortunate enough to be the featured guest on HRchitect’s HR Technology Happy Hour WebMingle, the HR Technology Industry’s only live web radio show.

The show will air live this Thursday, December 10, from 1 PM – 2 PM CST (11 AM - 12 PM PST). I’ll be taking live questions, so if you’d like to dial-in to ask a question the number is 646.595.2360.

Give me softballs, would ya'? It's Christmas.

If you’d like to email a question for the show, just send it to tappleby@HRchitect.com with my name and “Happy Hour WebMingle” in the subject line. To listen to the show live, just go to BlogTalkRadio.com/MattLafata and click on the Listen Live red box in the upper right corner.

While the show is live, you can also ask questions via Twitter by adding #WebMingle to the end of your question. To listen to a broadcast after it has aired, scroll down the WebMingle show page to access previously aired episodes.

I’m excited about being a guest on the show and hope you’ll be able to tune in or call-in with a question!

Softballs, marketing and me. Merry Christmas.

Post by Kevin W. Grossman (join me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn - and now join HRmarketer on Twitter!)

My Grown-Up Christmas Wish: Reinvent and Reinvest

Jobs, jobs and more jobs. The lack thereof. The projected growth therein.

Last week I saw a picture in the Wall Street Journal. A man holding a sign that read:

NO REAL AMERICAN WOULD HELP DESTROY THIS STEEL MILL

The choice of words alone told me volumes and hurt my heart. The U.S. steel industry has been contracting for decades; many industries of late have contracted. Politico-speak aside, markets that aren't running at capacity can't be sustained. The globally competitive market has changed the face of what it means to do business in America.

But the beast of business can no longer pretend entitlement, this isn't the 1930's, people need to own their development, and there is no magical tree where jobs fall ripe and ready.

It takes investment in small to mid-sized business, to foster market growth where there is little to none, to help unstrap the ultra-bootstrapped business owners.

So they can hire at least one more employee and create job growth. (Ours didn't happen in November, but it will happen for Christmas.)

I completely agree with with John Hollon from Workforce Management and his assessment of last week's Obama Administration Job Summit.

It was a PR-schlock bust. The stimulus money to date that has been earmarked for public works projects seems to have made no dent at all. Plus that money only helps create jobs in the short-term and will only take off if private industry takes over.

There is no permanence, only transition. We must learn how to bounce back, not smack flat like a cartoon pancake.

For me, no real American would give up on themselves, their communities, their country.

Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country.

Kennedy had it going on when he said this. Obama's call to service is on the money as well.

But it takes reinvention and reinvestment to get the job machine humming again. HR can be a big people part of that.

When HR plays nice with business and vice-versa, amazing things happen. In Mark's post yesterday he wrote:

At its core, I've always believed human resources is all about (a) hiring the right people, (b) keeping them motivated, engaged, and productive and (c) developing them. Everything else is details. (which, incidentally, is why HR vendors who can clearly communicate how their offerings support one or more of these core functions tend to have greater success).

There are dozens and dozens of new firms in the HR marketplace. They are the lifeblood of the body economic, that which fuels job growth.

Ask what you can do for your country.

One of my favorites holiday songs is "Grown-up Christmas List" as sung my Amy Grant (songwriters Linda Thompson and David Foster). I'm a cryer, so give me some tissue now.

I've added another sentimental line as my grown-up Christmas wish:

No more lives torn apart,
And wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end

[And everyone would reinvent and reinvest
And aspire to be their very best]

This is my grown-up Christmas list...

Post by Kevin W. Grossman (join me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn - and now join HRmarketer on Twitter!)

CEO or CHRO? Procter and Gamble's Top Brass Gets Human Resources.

"If you leave us our buildings and our brands but take away our people, the company will fail" - Richard "Red" Deupree, CEO, Proctor & Gamble, 1947

"Are we hiring the right people?" - A.G. Lafley, CEO Procter & Gamble, 2002

At its core, I've always believed human resources is all about (a) hiring the right people, (b) keeping them motivated, engaged, and productive and (c) developing them. Everything else is details. (which, incidentally, is why HR vendors who can clearly communicate how their offerings support one or more of these core functions tend to have greater success).

This was driven home to me in a recent story in Fortune Magazine on P&G.

Did you know that the office of P&G's global human resources officer is directly next to that of the CEO?

I didn't. This and other interesting HR facts are in the recent Fortune Magazine article titled CEO Swap: The $79 billion plan which gives a behind the scenes look at Procter & Gamble, where "A.G. Lafley and protégé Bob McDonald are navigating the sweet science of succession".

The article is part of a feature cover story on The Top Companies for leaders: 2009.

An excellent read.

Some other facts about P&G taken from the article:

- All executives who become general managers are evaluated every six months with what is called a GM Performance Scorecard. It is a two-page document, with one page of relevant financial measures and a second, equally important, assessing leadership and team-building abilities.

- All managers are reviewed not only by their bosses but also by lateral managers who have worked with them, as well as their own direct reports.

- Every February one entire board meeting is devoted to reviewing the high-level executives, with the goal of coming up with at least three potential candidates for each of the top 35 to 40 jobs.

- The company has a "Talent Portfolio" that contains the names of P&G's up-and-coming leaders, compared against one another over the past six years in both financial performance and the ability to lead and help others do the same. There are also lists of who is ready to be promoted next, who will be ready after the current assignment, and who will need more time. There are at least three possible candidates for each major job.

Wow.

Moheet Nagrath, P&G's global human resources officer, says this about the binder (that's right, it's a binder - perhaps a sales opportunity for you talent management software vendors):

"Today I could show you the next generation of successors to current leaders, the generation after that, and the generation after that," says Nagrath. Those at the upper-left-hand side of one particular page are the people who have consistently outperformed. The people at the lower right are considered "at risk."

Read the article. It's fantastic. In just a few pages (and two excellent videos) former CEO A.G. Lafley and current CEO Bob McDonald teach us a lot about human resources, succession planning and even marketing.

After reading the article you get the sense these guys are not just Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) but also Chief Human Resource Officers (CHROs).

The Latest HR Market Share Podcast: Interview with Kim Wells, Executive Director of the CAEPV

The latest HR Market Share is ready for your listening pleasure below.

Subscribe to the series in iTunes and look for regular posts to our blog and on the HRmarketer.com site. You can also subscribe to all our past and future interviews and episodes via Hipcast.

Our latest podcast features an interview with Kim Wells, Executive Director of the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence, the leading force in the fight against domestic violence. It is the only national organization of its kind founded by business leaders and focused on the workplace.

More than 70 percent of U.S. businesses have no policy or formal program in place to address workplace violence. However, violence costs businesses $70 billion a year, with $64.4 billion attributed to lost workplace productivity.

Kim suggests formalizing a program to keep the workplace safe, whether the violence is related to domestic or workplace issues. Components of a program include, formalizing a policy, creating a response team, building awareness and educating staff on the realities and affects of workplace violence.

There's more where than came from. Very important topic to me personally as well.

Thank you and enjoy!

• Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence (CAEPV)
• Domestic Violence in the Workplace blog
• The coolest and most comprehensive collection of human resource content found online is in our HR Directory (HR suppliers load up your content if you're not already there)
• News for HR Newsletter
• Check out our new HR Vendor News blog
• HR Industry News

Post by Kevin W. Grossman (join me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn - and now join HRmarketer on Twitter!