• Depends on the company
• Who’s going to use social media in different ways?
• Figure it out ahead of time make sure delineations are clear–line item documentation.
• Make sure someone from senior team has sense of ownership – a C-level “champion”

Outreach and Community (bring wine to the picnic)

• Go out and start interacting with a community, bring something to the table that’s valuable before expecting anything back; Give people information, no questions asked
• Most important points: be present, listen, connect, be human, measure meaningfully.

What comes next?

• Marketing shifts into business conversations, storytelling replaces ads (content marketing), mass customization)
• Example: give product to customers and let them have video blogs, create content around their experiences (let them drive the car, carry around the camera phone, etc).
• Were Transformers the ultimate experience ad for GM?

Question and answers section

Q: How do you use time efficiently for social media?
A: Email is a huge time-sucker–does all that time employees spend sending email provide business value? Find business opportunities and go after them. Understand that you are doing more than just tweeting; you must have a strategy, identify conversion points, and measure success.

Q: How much of social media is a fad and how much will stick around?
A: Social media has hit a nerve in our collective psyche. Maybe twitter et al is not the end game, but it’s a step along the evolution of new opportunity.

Q: How do you demonstrate the value of social media marketing for a b2b company?
A: See case studies on Chris Brogan’s delicious account. There’s less of a difference than people think between b2b and b2c. The boss is really your client – how do you convince that client to engage in inbound marketing?

Q: Should social media marketing be done in-house?
A: Having an agency run your social media campgins is like having Brittney Spears hiring her PR agent to tweet for her. Agents should be involved as an educator, showing in-house staffers what to do.

Q: What’s the easiest way to win buy-in from Management?
A: Show them a competitor doing the same project and succeeding at it.

Q: How do you respond to managers’ fears of “losing control”?
A: This is a drinking game for marketers: We’re supposed to say, “You never had control of your message to begin with,” and then we take a drink. Remember that an email in-box can spread negative press, too. There was a similar same fear around IM when it was released. consider a social media policy for employees engaged in social media marketing endeavors. You can replace the word “email” with “twitter” in your company’s email policy and it will probably apply.

Q: Should you avoid social media if you don’t have time to fully engage in a particular site?
A: Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Start small and grow your program as you see results.

Q: How do you demonstrate ROI on social media/inbound marketing efforts?
A: Compare the cost of employees who are doing the work versus payback/leads generated.

(Hsieh’s comments on values and culture echoed the work of Richard Barrett, author of Building a Values-Driven Organization: A Whole System Approach to Cultural Transformation, whom I met last year when he held an organizational development seminar here in Austin.)

Zappos has made superior customer service its primary goal. They offer a 365-day return policy, “surprise” upgrades to free overnight shipping, and 24/7 warehouse operations to ensure that products are shipped on time. Zappos does  not rely on traditional advertising; instead, they aim to convert happy customers into brand ambassadors who spread the word far more effectively than a banner ad or a commercial. The money that might have gone toward advertising is invested in company culture.

Hsieh outlined seven steps to building a successful brand.

1. Decide if you are willing to build a long-term, sustainable brand.
2. Figure out your values sooner rather than later. Build a team whose personal vales are aligned with corporate values.
3. Commit to transparency.
4. Chase the vision, not the money.
5. Build relationships (as opposed to networking).
6. Build your team thoughtfully.
7. Think long-term.