The Social Media Marketing & Communications guide for Natural Health and Wellness insiders.

My recent article from Contact Canada’s Natural Health Products Canada Industry Guide 2012

Note: This is a reprint of my recent article in Contact Canada’s Natural Health Products Canada Industry Guide 2012

When Fred Haynes asked me to write a piece on social media for this publication, I thought hard about an angle. Curious, I googled ‘social media expert.’ 23,600,000 results came up. Seems like everyone wants to tell you how to do social media these days. The problem is, I can say without hesitation that just like every other aspect of business there is no social media manual that will guarantee success. So rather than another social media booster article or 101 instructional, I decided to share some ideas, see if I can poke some holes to let the light in, and hopefully inspire you toward some worthwhile action. Consider the following:

It’s all social now. Forget about your twitter or facebook page being separate from your website, your brand and your reputation. It’s all connected in this new social web. When someone searches for you online there’s no guarantee that your carefully crafted company website from 2005 is going to be the only thing on the page. A Yelp review, google places page, facebook post or blog post from god-knows-who could all show up, defining who you are in the eyes of the beholder. And it’s all sharable. You can’t control this, but you can influence it. One of my favourite quotes: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.” Better to start managing your online reputation sooner than later.

Social media strategy: One massive step to get you over the hurdle

This post is for natural health business people who -

1. Are still wondering how to use facebook, twitter and the rest of the social web to help grow their business.

2. Have started social media accounts but need ideas for using them.

It’s great to get ideas from other businesses and from marketing gurus, but for the most valuable insight you need to look at your own business.

It’s like one of my favourite parables – the Indian one about the blind men describing the elephant. To a sales person, social media is about sales. To a customer service department, social media is about customer service. And so on.

The point is, social media is simply communication. And communication is used in lots of ways. Hence the problem: “How should our company use social media?”

It’s a question that many companies continue to wrestle with.

And here’s the place to start: Assess your real life brand.

Sweetener Under Fire: How Coconut Bliss Used Social Media to Protect Their Reputation in Real-Time

In early 2010 anti agave syrup sentiment was gaining momentum, led in part by articles by Dr Mercola like this one – viewed 385,958 times at last count.

Mercola article damning agave syrup

Google search “agave dangers” today and you’ll get nearly a million hits.

That could be very bad news if you’re a natural foods dessert company using agave syrup as your sweetener – which is precisely the position Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss found themselves in.

Tweet Links to Drive Clicks (Not To Drive Your Ego)

Twice today I’ve seen natural product brands tweet a link to a media story about their product. Both times the brand ignored the original headline and theme of the story and instead tweeted a headline that was all about them.

For example, say the Globe and Mail just published a story about natural approaches to managing high cholesterol. And hooray – they included a mention of your product!

Their headline: “Natural Health Companies Capitalize On Consumer Safety Concerns About Cholesterol Drugs.”

You might be tempted to start tweeting: “Read about us in the Globe and Mail! <link>!”

Here’s why you need to think twice:

What Place Does The V-Word Have in Your Business?

There’s been a lot of talk about transparency and authenticity in social media over the last couple years, and I’m noticing an equation:

Transparency + Authenticity = Vulnerability

When your natural health business participates in transparent and authentic online (and real-life) interactions… it becomes vulnerable. You open yourself up to hard questions and critical feedback. That’s scary for a lot of businesses, but especially so – I think – for established natural health brands.

The health food/NHP industry has long had to defend itself from detractors of all sorts, and I understand the hesitancy of a business to let down their guard and give the public deeper access to the people, ideas and realities that truly drive the organization.

But denying vulnerability might be a dead-end.

There. What you just read is how far I got with this post when I started it about half a year ago. It’s been sitting in draft form until now.

Two things happened recently that have me typing away on it again.

Brand Ambassadors: Turning the Idea Upside-Down

The term “Brand Ambassador” has loosely come to mean someone (an enthusiastic customer or superfan) who is influential, loves your brand and tells people about you – officially or unofficially representing your brand. There’s much discussion across the internet about engaging, enrolling and empowering brand ambassadors. A quick Google search will net you plenty of opinions, definitions and examples around the whole concept.

What I want to share isn’t more ideas about conventional brand ambassadorship… it’s about turning the whole idea upside down.

The ONE Thing Your Website, Blog or Facebook Page Absolutely MUST Have…

It’s not any particular function, plug-in or widget. It’s not a sign-up box or RSS feed. Those things don’t apply equally across the board. I’m suggesting that what virtually ALL websites (and web strategies) must have to be successful today is… flexibility.

Here’s why:

Why Your Social Media Strategy Isn’t Working

Even if I don’t know you, I bet I know why your social media strategy isn’t working.

Reason Number One:
You don’t really have a strategy.

The Cheshire Cat says to Alice “If you don’t know where you’re going, any path will do.”

Do you know where you want social media to take your business?

Do you have a clear, specific outline for what you’re trying to accomplish… and why? Can you connect the dots between your social media strategy and your overall business objectives? Rather than re-invent the wheel, from here I’ll point you toward Shannon Paul’s excellent post on the topic.

Reason Number Two:
You’re Thinking With The Wrong Brain.

Social Media Happy Surprises – Stories from the Frontline of Natural Health

Social Media is full of happy surprises. Unexpected opportunities are a fringe benefit of participation. Many companies initially enter social media with hopes of quickly “driving sales,” but the smart people usually discover other benefits to the bottom line… Benefits to PR, HR, and the larger sales cycle, plus personal connections with the people who matter most to their business.

Here are four Social Media Happy Surprise stories from Nature’s Path, Naturally Savvy, Edible Vancouver and CulturedCare Probiotics.

Nature’s Path

“A great surprise Nature’s Path experienced through Twitter was when we were able to connect with our local Board of Trade for an initiative to help the homeless. The Board of Trade put out a call on Twitter to local companies to donate products to a program it was launching to deliver food, water and first aid supplies to homeless and vulnerable communities in our area. We just happened to see the post and were able to deliver product the next day. It was such a good news story, that it was reported in our local media.”

Kylie – Nature’s Path
http://www.naturespath.com/
http://twitter.com/naturespath

Tuesday Tweaks: How to keep your facebook fans happy even when they’re not

Call it the Triple-A protocol for Facebook wall interactions. (Every good system is better with a snappy name right?)

1. Acknowledge
2. Address
3. Accountability

The Triple-A protocol applies to both POSITIVE comments and NEGATIVE comments on your Facebook wall.

Here’s a recent example from a wellness retail chain’s facebook wall (edited for privacy and clarity).

CHFA Social Media Seminar: Followup Questions and Answers

One of the most valuable parts of presenting to an audience on the topic of Social Media is the Q&A. I like to stop for questions at key times to make sure my audience is following – and to tap the collective curiosity (and wisdom) in the room.

If one person asks a question, I assume many more are wondering the same thing.

I got some great questions at my recent talk for health food store retailers at the CHFA expo west convention and tradeshow.

I’m going to recap some of that Q&A here, and I invite you to continue the conversation in the comments section below.

Q: Do I need to use all three? (Twitter, Facebook, Blog)

Facebook Fans: What’s The Crucial Number?

Here’s the short answer right up front: Quality beats Quantity.

A thousand facebook “fans” who don’t actually care about your brand or you products are less valuable to you than one single, true fan who does. This probably isn’t news right?

So why do we act as though numbers are important?

Truth is, we’re usually trying to convince someone (or some part of ourselves) who doesn’t “get it” yet. And people who don’t “get” Social Media tend to focus on things like numbers of Facebook fans.

Tuesday Tweaks: Un-Sync Your Social Media Platforms

Don't Tangle Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

(There’s so much social media advice out there that it can be overwhelming! Tuesday Tweaks are the antidote… simple, step-by-step actions for improving your social media performance. On Tuesdays, but not every Tuesday.)

Many people in business are tempted to synchronize their Twitter, Facebook and even LinkedIn posts. This means that when you post to one, you post to all. I think this is a grave mistake.

Social Media “Happy Surprises” – Share Your Story!

Social Media is full of happy surprises. Unexpected opportunities are a fringe benefit of participation. Sometimes these “Happy Surprises” and unexpected opportunities are truly remarkable.

I’m collecting a limited number of (short) stories from leading natural health and wellness businesses for a special upcoming feature in these pages.

The theme is… “Social Media Happy Surprises.”

I would love for you to share a short story (aprox 100-200 words) about a remarkable “Happy Surprise” you experienced on Twitter, Facebook or your Blog.

(see below for full details… and to see what’s in it for you)

Tuesday Tweaks: Put Keywords in Your Facebook, Blog, Twitter Titles

(There’s so much social media advice out there that it can be overwhelming! Tuesday Tweaks are the antidote… simple, one-step actions for improving your social media performance week by week.)

Do you know about Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? How would you like to get the benefits for free, just by tweaking what you’re (hopefully) already doing?

Your customers, prospects, partners, and the media all search the internet every day for the information they need. They use Google, Bing, Yahoo and other popular search engines. These search engines now include Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media content in their results.

Bottom line – When people search for information that relates to your business, you want them to find YOU.

Search Engine Optimization simply means that you optimize your online presence (your website and various social media sites) so that when people search the internet, your brand comes up on top. SEO is a crucial part of any successful website or online presence.

Until recently SEO was still a very complex (and expensive) proposition. You hired an SEO specialist to add keywords to your website meta-tags and do a bunch of coding and back-end stuff that most people don’t really understand. Many companies still pay big bucks for SEO consulting to improve their search rankings and get more website traffic.

There’s nothing wrong with that. Many SEO specialists provide very good value.

But I’m going to show you one single tool to drastically improve your SEO – to connect you to your target market – without spending a single extra cent or taking any more time out of your day…

Tuesday Tweaks: Optimize Your LinkedIn Website Links

(There’s so much social media advice out there that it can be overwhelming! Tuesday Tweaks are the antidote… simple, one-step actions for improving your social media performance week by week.)

LinkedIn lets you display up to 3 website links on your profile.The generic default reads “My Website” but you can customize the titles to reflect the name of your site or whatever keywords or phrase you choose.

The benefits are two-fold -

1. Your website links become much more compelling. People are more likely to click on them.

2. Weblinks to your site containing your name or keywords are valuable SEO tools. Your website search engine optimization and general find-ability shoots up.

Twitter Your Way to Success: CHFA ExpoWest 2010 Seminar with Justice Marshall

(NOTE: Only CHFA members can attend CHFA Expo West events.)

From the seminar description…

Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Blogging… Social media is rapidly changing the way customer and B2B relationships are developed and managed. How can YOU use these tools to build brand loyalty, synergize strategic partnerships and ultimately improve your bottom line?

Whichever online medium or strategic approach you choose, there are four crucial principles to observe. This seminar is for social media “newbies” who want to get started right, and for intermediate users who want better results. You’ll come away with a roadmap and concrete examples of how to use these four key principles to participate successfully in the social media arena.

See you there!

Tuesday Tweaks: Hotlink Your Company Website on Your Facebook Fan Page Profile

(There’s so much social media advice out there that it can be overwhelming! Tuesday Tweaks are the antidote… simple, one-step actions for improving your social media performance week by week.)

Today’s Tweak: Hotlink Your Website in Your Facebook Fan Page Profile Box

Part of the reason you have a Facebook Fan page for your business is to direct visitors to your company website right?

So make it easy for them! Many fan pages include a company website address (beginning with www. etc…) in the profile box that appears on their “wall” sidebar (beneath your profile picture).

But you can do better.

Natural Health Brands: The 3 Types (Which Type Are You?)

Natural Health Brands: The 3 Types (Which Are You?)

I’ve identified 3 core Brand Types in the Natural Health and Wellness industries. The TYPE of brand you are should inform your marketing and communications.

The 3 types:

1. Lifestyle
2. Personality
3. Solution

Lifestyle brands appeal to the customer’s experience and sense of self. They say “We know you. We share your values.” Whole Foods Market is a Lifestyle brand. They have created a shopping experience that appeals very specifically to the preferred life experience and world view of their target market.

Personality brands are built upon the status and like-ability of a celebrity or health expert. They say “You trust me. Maybe you even love me. You know who I am and you want to be associated with me.” Andrew Weil is a Personality brand. When he puts his name on something it becomes valuable.

Solution brands simply solve a problem. They say “We know what ails you and we have the best solution.” ColdFX is a solution brand. They’ve built a reputation for solving the problem of colds. Period.

How Information Technology (IT) Is Different From Social Media

Do You Have a Social Media Map?

Imagine you’re trying to get to… Disneyland. You’re in a car. You ask a guy for directions. He says, “Disneyland? Oh, that’s easy. Here’s how you get to Disneyland: Press down lightly on the accelerator while you slowly release the clutch. This introduces fuel to the carburetor and engages the transmission…”

Half an hour later you’re getting a pretty thorough understanding of combustion engine mechanics. But you’re not any closer to Disneyland.

Twitter, Facebook, Blogging, YouTube… are all tools with mechanical aspects. Certainly you need to know how to use them, just like if you’re going to drive to Disneyland you need to know how to use a car. BUT – an understanding of mechanics is NOT the same as having clear directions to your destination.