Posts Tagged scott monty

Ford’s Focus on Social Media: Scott Monty Interview

Written on March 9, 2010 by admin

Filed Under: book, marketing, seo

Scott Monty When you think of successful consumer brands in the social media space, names like Dell, Zappos and Pepsi come to mind. Another is Ford. Last year the Ford Fiesta movement generated tremendous amount of awareness (and pre-orders) for a vehicle that wasn’t available to the public yet. (Great summary on Jeff Bullas’s blog) At the same time, it inspired a community to engage, create content and continue discussions about the Fiesta with over 7 million video views.

While in Dearborn, Ford’s Head of Social Media, Scott Monty, extended to me an invitation to The Henry Ford Museum, The Rouge Truck Factory and a visit to Ford’s World Headquarters where we did a short interview. In the interview, Scott talked about the place for social media with Ford’s new product lines, local social media work with Chapter 2 of the Fiesta movement and advice for companies on empowering communities.

Being able to learn about the history of this 100+ year old company through experiences at The Henry Ford and Rouge Factory tours was very informative. Being able to sit down with Bob Kreipke, Ford’s full time historian and hear stories about Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, company history and the evolution of Ford was priceless.

Fast forward over 100 years and Ford is a very different company, as is the automotive industry. It’s not enough to be innovative but to be able to innovate quickly and connect with customers in more meaningful ways. Based on my discussions with Scott, Ford is very committed to making those connections.  Watch the interview below to get more insight on how Ford is approaching social media:

Click here to view the embedded video.

By leveraging technology and the social web, Ford is moving from being known as “A truck and Mustang company” to a “Car, utility and truck company”.  I think the decision to focus on local social media marketing is great evidence of understanding audience in a social strategy. So much of what companies are doing in the social space is a shotgun approach based on popular applications vs focusing on where and how actual customers spend their time.

Check out the The Ford Story, a great example of a corporate social media aggregator not only of Ford social web participation, but of what others are saying about their brands. I can’t imaging any active brand online not launching a site like this.

What are some great examples of consumer brands you think we should focus on in future posts? What kind of insights would you like to learn more of from those kinds of companies when it comes to the social web?

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Poll: Best Royalty Free Stock Photo Sites for Bloggers

Written on March 8, 2010 by admin

Filed Under: book, marketing, seo

As with many bloggers, we’ve been using royalty free images for many years.  Many bloggers make use of images from Flickr and we have too but you can’t always find the right image there. I’ve even made a point to take more photos of people, places and things while traveling for later use in blog posts like the one to the right.

The stock photo site we’ve been using for several years recently decided to essentially double their prices (no matter how they spin it, that’s what they did) and it prompted me to ask the excellent people I’m connected with on Twitter for their suggestions on royalty free photography and image web sites. Here is a collection of 9 such sites that were suggested via Twitter or researched by TopRank.  Which leads us to our poll for the most “blogger friendly” royalty free stock photo site:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

For a list of over 100 free stock photo sites, visit this link.

5 Ways to Weave LinkedIn Into Your Marketing Mix

Written on March 5, 2010 by admin

Filed Under: book, marketing, seo

From Facebook to Twitter to You Tube, there’s no limit to the number of social networking sites that can be leveraged to interact with customers and prospects, and build positive brand awareness.

LinkedIn, however, stands apart from the crowd. The roots of popular sites like YouTube and Facebook are founded on the entertainment side of things. But since its creation, LinkedIn has been geared toward the professional business crowd.

If you haven’t already incorporated LinkedIn into your online marketing mix, consider the latest statistics:

  • LinkedIn has more than 60 million members
  • A new member joins LinkedIn approximately every second
  • Executives from all Fortune 500 companies are LinkedIn members

Get started with a LinkedIn marketing strategy today with these five tips:

1. Build a Network, Then Start a Group
Getting started with a LinkedIn marketing strategy involves two important steps, the second of which is dependent on the first:

  • Create a personal account and build a network of contacts. Reach out to customers with whom your business has a solid relationship – those who truly know your company and its products or services. Ask them to write recommendations for your company, which will appear in your profile. And don’t forget to ensure all employees are part of the network as well.
  • Once your personal account is setup, create a group for the brand. By creating a group for your brand, you’ll be able to maximize reach beyond your network. Within the brand group, you can start discussions, share news, post jobs and create subgroups.

2. Make the Most of Your Profile
For the LinkedIn community, your profile will be this first item they see, so treat it as you would any landing page. To make the most of your profile:

  • Hyperlink using keywords. Include relevant URLs in your profile, and use links with anchor text. For example, instead of “My Blog,” use a keyword to describe it such as “SEO and Online Marketing Blog.” (see image below)
  • Use keywords in descriptions. That includes the summary, specialties, experience and all other description categories.
  • Include an image in your profile. LinkedIn, after all, is a social networking channel. So add as many personal touches as possible to maximize engagement and put a face to the brand.
  • Caption: Include blog or website links in your profile using anchor text.

Include links in your LinkedIn profile using anchor text.

3. Leverage Third-Party Applications
Today, there are a host of third-party applications available to help you make the most of your LinkedIn activity. For example:

  • Box.net: Add links to files like resumes and marketing kits
  • Slideshare: Share business presentations and demos with your network
  • Company Buzz: Monitor messages sent out on Twitter about your brand or other subjects
  • TripIt: See where members of your network will be travelling to and when you’ll be in the same city

For an upcoming trip to Dallas, my contacts that will also be there are identified.

4. Update and Engage Frequently
Think of LinkedIn marketing efforts as you would blog, Twitter or Facebook marketing efforts: The more activity and interaction, the better the results. To consistently engage with your network:

  • Sync blog posts to your profile with tools like Blog Link or WordPress LinkedIn Application
  • Frequently update your profile with the LinkedIn status feature, much like Facebook status updates
  • Leverage the LinkedIn Question and Answer function – participate in others’ questions and ask your own

5. Promote Your Profile
In order to expand your network, LinkedIn marketing efforts – like anything else – must be promoted in other channels. Include a link to your profile on your website and blog, in individual blog posts, in email signatures and even on business cards. Be sure to optimize your profile for important and relevant keywords. Allow enough of your profile to be public so search engines can rank that content accordingly.

These tips, of course, are just the tips of the iceberg when it comes to LinkedIn marketing tactics. What specific tactics have you found successful for marketing on LinkedIn?

Social Media at a Fortune 10 Company: Ford’s Scott Monty

Written on October 5, 2009 by admin

Filed Under: book, chat, marketing, seo

scott montyKudos to MIMA for getting Ford’s Scott Monty to do a session at the MIMA Summit, “Social Media at a Fortune 10 Company”.  Scott will be keynoting the DMA International conference in San Diego with Martha Stewart later this month (10,000 attendees) and MIMA was able to get him to do a breakout session.

The story telling trend of MIMA Summit continued with Scott Monty talking about “TheFordStory.com” a site that evolved out of the “carpocalypse” situation surrounding the automotive industry’s financial situation as well as his own story about getting involved with Ford.

77% of people in the US trust companies less than last year. Edelman Trust Barometer.

Ford has about 95% recognition rate worldwide, but when Scott began with Ford, he had no connection with it. A decision was made to do more to “humanize” the brand.

Henry Ford was an environmentalist. Soybeans in Model T paint, hemp in seats.

Bill Ford Jr’s vision for Ford Motor company: “We are a green, global, high-tech company that is improving people’s lives”.

Having a plan “One Ford” and sticking to it is key to leadership at Ford. Previously siloed, Ford leadership brings the organization together.

New Ford products, new Taurus, Flex, electric Focus (2012), Fusion Hybrid. Technology focus: Ford CEO will keynote CES. Ecoboost engine, V8 power with V6 and fuel efficient in all Ford cars next 4 years. All represents Ford’s emphasis on technology.

“Ninety percent of social media is just showing up. It’s the other half that’s hard”. A lot of Ford’s social media activity is just being where people are talking. Example: @ford and @scottmonty

Scott related how when he was addressing a PR crisis on Twitter and made a point to explain what he was doing in that process. Being transparent had a lot of value for followers to understand Ford’s position.

Being authentic in social communications is about being human.

Ford’s corporate social media strategy: To humaninze the company by connecting constituents with Ford employees and with each other when possible, providing value in the process.

“It’s not just about getting on Twitter and being chit chatty. It’s about listening, communicating, educating, persuading.”

First step was Digital Snippets, an aggregated news contentand social media press release content site using WordPress for a CMS.

“If you love your content, set it free. If it loves you, it will come back. If not, hunt it down & kill it”. :)

Tools used, Scribd. Delicious, Upcoming, Twitter, YouTube.

Examples of Ford social media initiatives:

  • Summer of Taurus. Senior leaders (including Senior Legal Counsel) to Tweetups and test drive events.
  • The Ford Story. New feature, your stories. Consumers are invited to provide their stories about how Ford has impacted their lives over the years. Different categories of stories ranging from Ford families to interests in green technology.
  • What people do to be green (Facebook)
  • the2010Mustang.com web site offers content creation and sharing on social sites features.
  • PlaidNation.com – gave them a Ford Flex as the vehicle they’re using to cross country.
  • WeddingRoadTrip.com – Couple drove cross country to see everyone they would have invited to the wedding to get advice. Gained media coverage and social media exposure. They go married and are now known as Mr & Mrs Ford.
  • FiestaMovement.com – Relaunched in Europe last year. #2 most popular car in Europe overall. Program to give a Ford Fiesta to a number of digital influencers for a year. Obligation was to post a video once a month. Also blogging, Tweeting and posting images. Site aggregates and features content.

Is it effective? Ends November. 4.3 million views of videos. 3 million twitter impressions. 50,000 say they’re interestedin this vehicle, 97% of those are not Ford owners. 38% vehicle awareness rate for a vehicle that is not here yet.

“Ford’s social media marketing and product quality have me re-thinking the brand” Tweet

Went from #12 most social brands in 2008 to #1 most social automotive brand and #10 overall. Social Radar Index shows 97.6% of conversation about Ford online is positive – a higher percentage than any other company rated above it in the index.

Can ROI be associated with social activity? “It’s not like we tweet and someone buys a car.” It’s about awareness and creating relationships.

Monty related a story of a guy that Tweeted about test driving a Ford twice, joking that the CEO should call him to tell him he’s not crazy. Ford CEO Alan Mulally actually called the guy and talked to him for 20 minutes. The guy bought a car 2 weeks later, after being a dedicated VW and Audi owner. He also blogged about it.

What’s Next?

  • Cross training staff and rolling social media into other functions.
  • Going for the 1%
  • Connecting with enthusiasts and find ways for people to be officially recognized by Ford.
  • Update FordProposals.com
  • Listening to Ford community for suggestions

This was a great session and both an interesting and impressive perspective on what a very large company is doing and actually implementing in the social media space. Watch for a very meaty interview with Scott in the next month or so on social media strategy, planning, tactics, testing and measurement.