Know-How Exchange : MProfs PRO Seminar Q&A

What is the best way to approach a CEO skeptic with a social media plan? By a presentation, a meeting, e- mails, one on one?

Once the social media adoption process has reached #7, the "Integration stage", what steps must a company take to now integrate this new marketing tool in to the existing, current marketing tool box?ie, SEM, email, PPC, traditional ads etc.

To avoid fragmentation and stand-alone silos, shouldn't all the platforms interlink to build a cohesive, unified structure thereby optimizing this expanded, more robust marketing menue and ultimately increase ROI? How does a company accomplish this step?
Thanks,
Candace Fisher

Tam,
The Solar System approach seems most effective to me. Glad to hear it has a name. I understand how the easiest business environment in which to establish this baseline model would be a young or new business, or even an established business with few stakeholders. (Back to the slippery slope of homeostasis and creating a new normal.)

I just want to say that I appreciate the wisdom of your approach to gaining buy-in with reasonable skeptics-- of social media or otherwise. I regard the scientific method the cornerstone of reasoning and inquiry. The hypothesis step is to me similar to a thesis statement of an essey or research effort.

But your advice today reaches further back-- to Plato's philosophy of teaching. He believed that learning comes NOT from a "teacher", or marketing expert, ramming knowledge down someone's throat. Rather, educating comes from listening to, asking relevant questions of the individual, and stirring their innate curiosity and knowledge regarding something already in their minds.

They simply haven't had the time or environment or readiness to cobble together the very real fragments of a topic or pusuit they've intuitvely been drawn to. In the proper setting, which I believe you were showing us, a person's curiosity and buy-in is stimulated via our astute listening and dialoge (very Plato)to consider an idea that they would reject under high-pitch selling, or harassing-- which as you pointed out builds walls, not bridges. Plato believed in drawing out a person's knowledge, their questions, their search. Then the discoveries belong to them. They own the decision and get excited about possibilities. Whether it's learning Social Media or Algebra!:)

Thank you for an insightful presentation.
Candace Fisher
P.S. My spelling is horrid!

When selling social media to skeptics the first thing to do is to stop selling.

Forget every notion of using social media for outright selling. Social media's not about selling, it's about creating and nurturing relationships.

Before anyone buys from you, they need to:

1. feel that they know you,
2. think that they like you,
3. and believe they can trust you.

To accomplish all this they need to be made to feel that you give a damn about them, and you do this by building a value driven relationship over time, one where the people you are connecting with begin to see you as the logical person or company to go to to solve their specific problem.

I hope this helps.

Gary Bloomer
The Direct Response Marketing Guy™
Princeton, NJ, USA