Steve Olenski

Call in multi-channel marketing. Call it an integrated marketing strategy. Whatever name you apply to it, brands and companies are still struggling to give consumers what they want... a consistent and seamless message across all marketing channels. - Steve Olenski

"Hi Jacques, Thanks for sharing your blog post! I loved it... In your experience what kind of responses have you received from marketers looking to break free of the silos?" - Steve Olenski

"Hey Julia, You are right in that many marketers feel the need to just run right out and set up the latest social media platform... and then forget about it. As for your "spiraling vortex of discounting" comment... love that phrase by the way... You are right in so much I do think the temptation will be for some businesses to "over do it" when it comes to offering discounts for the sake of getting someone to Like/Follow them. I think it will be very important for businesses to be prudent; they will need to reward their most loyal customers after such time they have been deemed worthy of such a perk. How and when that is will be dependent on each individual business. But... I dont see anything wrong with offering a discount or perk, etc right up front, initially to a prospective fan. To me the bottom line is to give consumers something of value which may or may not be in the form of a discount. Can easily be something that carries with it an "exclusive" feature as in an exclusive look..." - Steve Olenski

"Hey Jim, Yeah that would be a great thing if biz focused on the long term game not just short term. The question is how we do get them to see the light?" - Steve Olenski

What do businesses and brands have to learn from the Santorum/Savage “Google Problem”? Unwanted search results will always be alive online, and it takes an active approach to keep them managed as much as possible. With the right tactics, it’s possible to minimize reputational threats, but simply complaining about them will not find a resolution. - Steve Olenski

"Hey Jim, You bring up a good point... do you think email will always remain the preferred method to communicate?" - Steve Olenski

"Well I am sorry you do not see the humor in all of this... Happy New Year!" - Steve Olenski

"Thanks Jim. I cant take credit for that line you reference but I knew as soon as I saw it I had to share to it... You make some great points re: distractions. I always use the line "life gets in the way" but that's just an excuse plain and simple. Consumers dont care about the issues you mention, they care about being heard, about being engaged; they want to know someone on the other end is listening to them." - Steve Olenski

"Hi Julia, Yeah I loved that line, too. It sounds so simplistic but of course is anything but. The journey and the engagement along the path of that journey is what a consumer wants and it is that engagement, that journey which is what will bring about the much-desired loyalty." - Steve Olenski

"Thanks for sharing the links... am curious to know why it is you think most social sites are not ideal for B2B marketing?" - Steve Olenski

"Well unfortunately being cynical is becoming more and more popular these days and rightly so to some extent. Think about it.. How do we know the person we see on a Twitter profile for example is indeed that person? Same for any social media platform... how we do know when we're engaging and interacting with someone we know they are who say they are?" - Steve Olenski

"Thank you for the kind words and it is amazing to me how many B2B companies lose sight of something so obvious... at least its obvious to me :) What has been your experience re: social media and B2B folks?" - Steve Olenski

"Hi Joey, You bring up an excellent point and as you can see from my response to Jim's comment above, the question becomes how does the average consumer know if what they're seeing and reading from a brand ambassador is legitimate? When you ask if I think they should be paid my answer is no, at least not in the traditional sense. The other day I wrote a post titled "The Major Disconnect Between Brands And Consumers When It Comes To Social Media" Here's the link: http://bit.ly/vlNJ7Q The post touched on a study which queried both CMOs and consumers and I want to share one excerpt with you which speaks to this very issue: "Social customers not only want but expect to be rewarded for connecting with brands online, and there are a variety of ways to go about satisfying them. Special offers and promotions bring new customers into the fold while the chance for increased status, privilege, or rank keeps them engaged and motivates them to contribute more. " The term "social currency" is one..." - Steve Olenski

"Hey Jim, Thanks for the kind words and you bring up a great point re: transparency, which of course is one of the hallmarks of social media - both from a personal as well as a brand/business standpoint. There's no more hiding in the shadows if you will... advertisers and marketers need to be right up front with full transparency which means any and all brand ambassadors need to be the genuine article for if they are not... well as your article points out, they face a backlash for sure. So the question becomes how do consumers know if a brand ambassador is genuine? How we do know they're not shilling for given brand? Interested to hear your thoughts... Thanks Jim! Steve O" - Steve Olenski

The world of social media, where consumers rule the roost, has taken the power of suggestion to a whole new level and brand marketers and product managers and ALL marketers would be very wise to engage and empower as many ambassadors for their brands as they can. - Steve Olenski

"Hi Chamois, Interesting choice of words you used... "new generation emerging"... were you referring to a younger generation of a more technological savvy generation or both?" - Steve Olenski

A survey conducted by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and Lithium, a social media tech firm, revealed a huge divide between what marketers think consumers want vs. what consumers really want when it comes to social media. - Steve Olenski

"Thanks Jim... thank you for compliment. You are right in that Twitter can be a very effective tool for B2B marketers if they know their prospects are on it... But how do you generate leads if your potential customers are not online? Still use the tried-and-true direct mail or email or telephone? Have you come across many companies who are not online and thus can only be reached via these more "traditional" channels?" - Steve Olenski

"Thanks Dave... appreciate the kind words. Am curious as to how you yourself use Twitter and LinkedIn. Do you use LinkedIn more for leads than Twitter? Are you involved in groups on LinkedIn as a means to generate leads?" - Steve Olenski

"Hey Tom, I love this campaign too... you are so right in that it was a brilliant move by Chevy to take full advantage of a very hot idea and acted very quickly on it.  That is the world in which we live in and advertisers and marketers need to realize that the time to act is now, not after taking X of meetings and so on like in the "old days"  Those days are gone...  PLUS anytime I can hear Ray Charles singing America the Beautiful is a good thing... a VERY good thing. If you are not moved by that song as an American chances you are not an American in the first place. Not to get all political here, Tom but there's just something about that song sung by that man that gets me every time I hear it... Great post!Steve O" - Steve Olenski

Today let’s start things off with a self-affirmation a-la Stuart Smalley. You are not a number. Like a beautiful, intricate, and fragile snowflake you are as unique online as you are in the real world, and that’s ok… so step back from your Klout Score and take a look at the ways, rather than the amount, you are engaging with your networks online. - Steve Olenski

Late to the party or not, Twitter has followed in Facebook's and Google+'s footsteps with the launch of their new brand pages and brand marketers would be wise to sit up and take notice of the new features coming to a Twitter account near them. Clearly the brand battle lines are being drawn. - Steve Olenski

"Hi Stephanie, thanks for the comment. Am curious to know your take on the ZMOT in either the B2B or B2C world or both? How do you see marketers changing to try and win the Zero Moment of Truth?" - Steve Olenski

Interacting via comments is one of the best ways to engage your readers, your fans, your customers and prospects alike and while your existing content management system may suffice, here's one argument to at least consider using a 3rd party service for reader and visitor comments. - Steve Olenski

"Thanks Rod! I watched the Simon Sinek video and thought it was fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing that... And you are right in that I too am very much learning each and every day as to how we all interact and engage with one another in the online AND offline arenas. I happen to think NO ONE is a master for we are all learning as we go for this is all so new to all of us. I dont ever want to stop learning and something tells me you don, either... :) All the best my friend, Steve O" - Steve Olenski