This shiny new vending machine was getting a lot of attention at LAX. Everyone was stopping by to ponder the offerings.

There wasn’t anything edible in there though. Best Buy has it filled with lots of electronic goodies ranging from MP3 players, digital cameras, various types of cords, on up to headphones including a  pair of Bose.

There’s a video monitor on the top right with some flashy advertising.  The screen on the right provides a touch screen for additional info about the products and offers to take your credit card.

Best Buy is a Minnesota company so it was nice to see them trying this idea out. When I was still in libraryland we had talked about putting kiosks like this at the mall. But that’s a bit different scenario (and it never happened). The advantage here is that they don’t have to rent a whole store space. And they don’t need to staff it. Vandalism shouldn’t be too bad because it’s in a very public spot. It’s good advertising for the brand with the signage.

We were flying back from San Francisco and taking the scenic route through Los Angeles airport on our way back to Fargo, ND. So we had a few hours. I also ended up in 2 book stores.

When I was in the largest one, I found myself wishing for computer access to look up an author that I knew had released a new book. Wouldn’t that be cool if I could walk over to a computer and look up the information I was looking for while I shopped? (just like at the library?) I finally asked the girl at the counter and she looked it up for me. Then she told me they didn’t have that title in the store. But now consider if I would have had access to their online store and could have:

1. looked up the information I was thinking about

2. and ordered it right then & there to be delivered to my house

I’m not sure how practical that is in airports where people are browsing. Do major bookstores offer that? (yes, I am geographically challenged & rarely go into a bookstore because I use Amazon & have them delivered to me).

Last week I was shopping at my favorite store, Christopher Banks. I overheard the clerk say to a customer that they maybe had the item in her size online & suggested that she check their site. Wouldn’t it be nice if they had a computer there where the customers could do that and place the order for themselves right then & there? I’m wondering if the desire to purchase lessens or is forgotten after the person leaves the store? What if they don’t have a computer?

Libraries provide access to their online catalogs so that people can request items that aren’t available inhouse, so it should work well for retailers that offer online items too I would think. Would customers use it? If the retailer has invested in adding an online presence should they interweave that experience with the in-store one? Do kiosks offer a new direction?

Here’s a summary of the basic premises every community manager should keep in mind. And companies that are creating communities should also realize their importance.

• How can you ensure that your community will be successful?
• Identify a need and provide resources to fulfill it.
• Build a community around that concept.
• There needs to be a lifestyle affinit
• How do you make others aware of the community?
• partner with related sites
• provide meaningful information
• How do you identify those that need your product/service?
• by listening to online conversations & utilizing tools
• I’ve been using Google alerts since Oct 06 & acting on them
• My day job is with Techrigy SM2 and we have a free version
• Monitoring social networks as well as web analytics is imperative
• Why will people return?
• to learn more about the product
• to get their questions answered & discuss niche related items
• How do you get people to link to your site?
• it’s human nature to want to help each other, so they do it to be helpful
• if you have resources that others find helpful then they will link others
• How do you build interest around new product releases?
• know your customer segment(s)
• what interests them? what types of activities do they thrive on?
• we held events such as chats (our ladies loved real time chats), offered prizes, celebrated niche specific events

And probably the most important realization that I had:

• Why will people want to buy at your site?
• if people find value in the information and resources they will want to support you
• time is of great value to many & if your site demonstrates extensive knowledge then people will want to purchase the product or resources

In the community that my sister & I created at DigiScrapInfo.com we started with no expectation of a business model. We later added the affiliate program because our community appreciated the resources so much that they asked how they could support us. People sincerely wanted to make sure that we were compensated if they  purchased.

My blog and site are another example. After less than one year people were offering me work opportunities. When I started this blog I never had any intentions of monetizing it, but it happened in a subtle way. Even though I have a full time job now people still assume that I do contracting work. With the recession I can connect those seeking positions with employers who read my blog. The job sourcing and mentorship is free as time permits because that’s how I can give back to my community.

My focus is on helping you create opportunities for yourself no matter the size of your community whether it be a blog, forums, small business, or a company.

If you are a company that is creating a community you should have a business case. But it will be much more successful if the focus is on providing information and resources first and realize that sales will be a natural progression. That will be a subsequent benefit after realizing many other benefits such as positive WOM, increased brand visibility online, etc first. It’s about establishing a presence based on giving back resources for what your community needs and establishing a relationship with them.

What have I missed?

KTM asked a question:

Do you have any thoughts around handling this issue when the potential audience is thought not to be very engaged with social media?

The answer lies in your question. And we can take a look at it in two parts.

We need to take a step way back. In all the melee around social media we tend forget about the bigger picture around marketing. Building a community isn’t the end all, be all solution. Other things need to be done as a part of the bigger plan. Mitch Joel has an excellent article today about how our values are affecting our outlook on marketing.

Building a community is a part of the overall marketing plan & should compliment it.

So here are the two aspects to consider:

1. Evaluate your customer segment(s)

• What are their demographics?
• What is their lifestyle like? and what affinities do they have?
• What needs does your product fulfill?

You really need to know that information to make decisions on where your marketing efforts should be focused. Mitch Joel’s point is well taken that traditional channels shouldn’t be discounted.

Listening will also help you find people talking about your brand/product online. And you may find people using your products in unique ways.

2. If your potential audience isn’t very engaged in social media then you need to decide where that would be for your customer segments. Where are their family & friends coming online at?

My suggestion is to get involved at two places:

• Major social network
• Facebook – join niche related groups & build a network there
• if your target audience is a MySpace type crowd, then go there
• if it’s traditional business people, then LinkedIn is your place
• Niche sites – find 2 or 3 that are very popular & get involved

And I would highly question anyone that says: “Our potential customers aren’t online”.

That sounds like a really lazy answer. With some effort you can find people needing your products/resources (even if they didn’t know they did!). If you move into an educational mode & provide resources and teach people then you’ll be off on the right foot towards fostering community. Remember that your ultimate goal is to contribute to the community at large (not sell your products/services). Sales will happen when people realize they need your products.

What would you add to those points?

• Read the full post at the Marketing 2.0 blog.
• And join the community.

Recently Francois Gossieaux invited me to join a group blog on Marketing 2.0. I’m excited to represent the voice of community building alongside some great thought leaders in the marketing field!  Isn’t the logo great?!

The other contributors blogging at Marketingtwo.com are:

• Valeria Maltoni, Conversation Agent is a Fast Company Expert blogger
• David Berkowitz is Director of Emerging Media & Client Strategy for 360i
• Renee Hopkins Callahan is editor of publications at Innosight LLC, a Boston-Area consulting firm
• Paul Dunay is Global Director of Integrated Marketing for Bearing Point
• Francois Gossieaux is President of Corante & is a president and founding partner of Beeline Labs
• Lois Kelly is the author of  Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word of Mouth Marketing
• Peter Mahoney is the vice president of worldwide marketing for Nuance Communications
• Steve Mann leads the Total Customer Experience, Competitive Marketing and Services Marketing functions for SAP
• Johnnie Moore works as a facilitator and marketing consultant
• David Rogers is Director of the Center on Global Brand Leadership at Columbia Business School
• Constantine von Hoffman is a journalist, social media consultant, award-winning science fiction writer, stand-up comedian and sometime marketer

Francois has also included a community with the blog. Join us there for further conversations. I hope you’ll pop over to the blog periodically. I love the theme & the way that each writer’s photo is featured when they post. I think that adds personalization to our work & is another way to connect us to the reader.

And when Francois & I compared notes we found that we have a common vision. Definitely exciting things ahead!

I caught his tweet today @gapingvoid and wanted to share my expansion on his idea that’s so true.

His post suggests that if companies don’t have a marketing plan that incorporates the geeks that are supporting their brands, then they won’t be viable. I’ll extend the idea that the marketing plan has to not only engage with those geeks, but also embrace & support that community. Growing it will provide the brand with ensured success (and the community will not only overlook the flaws in the products, as well as help improve on it if they’re listened to.) There are so many opportunities to succeed!

And I’ve wanted to share this cartoon by Hugh for a long time! Coming from Minnesota where our joke is that the mosquito is our state bird & being a big fan of Shel Israel’s book, Naked Conversations – this cartoon totally cracks me up!

Now go check out his site for a chuckle, some fresh marketing ideas & even business cards!

The word ‘beta’ has new meaning for me! I’ve heard my Twitter friends talk about their betas, but now I totally understand. Taking a project from development to launch is an amazing adventure! And incorporating a beta period allows for our customers to join us.

We launched our beta last Monday and after one week the product positioning is beginning to happen. As we developed it, I had a good idea of where I hoped that to be but isn’t it ultimately decided by the customers? Marketing & PR just can’t dictate that.

Someone asked if it will be successful? I translated that into new questions:

• Are we listening to our community?
• Do we know our customer’s wants/needs?
• Will our business expectations be met?

It was interesting to read this today at a forum in our community:

ACDsee is once again flexing their muscles and really coming on strong as a real contender. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been giving the Pro 2 software a real consideration and it is very very good. Some real problems still exist and their are some significant holes for the pro photographer (Pro – hence the title of the software). But I’d recommend Pro2/v10.0 and the editor over PSP* now any day… PSP have moved backwards while ACD are bringing their products forward.
That’s a generous trial period and a great marketing idea…

*PSP is Paintshop Pro by Corel

That information is quite valuable in a number of ways. It also highlights the opportunities to gather feedback outside of the beta forums.

Beta definitely has a new meaning for me & I’m sure that there will be more to share on the process. What does beta mean to you?

If you’ve decided to incorporate social media tools into your mix for supporting your customers, have you thought of looking beyond your existing community? Let me ask this in another way, would you like to expand your market?

Brian Solis recently had an excellent post that included this graphic:

The stages are from the customer’s perspective. But what about from a company’s perspective? Here are some questions for you:

• Are you aware of who your evangelists are?
• Do you know what segments are using your products & what types are considering it?
• Who is aware of your products? and who isn’t? (should they be?)

Allow me to digress for a moment: On our recent trip to Anaheim, CA, my husband & I had a new adventure. We rode the city buses. Now that may not seem like a big deal but it was. Both of us grew up in rural areas with no mass transit. The closest that either of us have been to subways/people movers are in the Seattle & Denver airports. I want to visit London & we’ll be using the Tube, so the experience in California was good.

Details for our family & friends (and anyone else that wants a chuckle) – We asked the hotel staff for a taxi & they suggested the bus because it was ‘easy’. After a few moments of giving instructions including the word ‘transfer’ & ‘I’m not sure what bus numbers’ the person giving instructions said, “I’ll call you a cab”. At this point we were determined to try it. And on our return the hotel staff were quite amazed we accomplished it!

It was a good experience because it made us realize the realities of mass transportation in a city. A very helpful young lady our daughter’s age helped us change buses since that was her stop. She was attending a trade school & looked confused when we said our daughter was going to get a degree in English. On the 2nd bus we talked with the bus driver & learned a lot. He helped load two wheel chairs and told us why he loved his job. We noticed that riders assumed that he knew Spanish (and he told us about that too).

Overall we were quite impressed with the bus ride. It cost us $6 total vs the $60 we paid taxis one evening. Also it was good for us to expand our horizons.

That was a real life experience, but it can be applied to online experiences. Are companies looking beyond the usual places where they expect to find their customers? What would happen if you took the risk like we did in riding the bus & exploring new venues & talking with the people there? What could be learned?

I represent that idea because that explains my connecting with ACDSee. People in my niche were talking about their software behind the walls of a forum that Google wasn’t crawling. An enterprising employee at ACDSee joined the forums & found us using their software in a unique way. In the end, ACDSee gained a new market.

So where should you be having new adventures with social media?

Social media marketers will be challenged on how to help their clients creatively utilize social media tools. Consumers want time saving features & efficiency. But listening carefully to customers could result in some very interesting services that integrate social media tools that people are already using. (I think that’s the key).

Jim Tobin posted this ad by Papa Johns where people can text their order in. Now imagine if the customers that use this service opt in to receive text messages of special offers that were sent out near the end of people’s work days? Would that increase sales?

NPR has a 5 min podcast on Papa Johns & Dominos using text messages for ordering.

gomobo.com is a service for restaurant users to use. It allows users to text their order in & pay, then they receive a text message back stating the time the order will be ready.

Their tab to recruit restaurant owners has very descriptive clip from a Good Morning America spot. Their comment that it’s quite popular with 40 yr old soccer moms was interesting.

Check out their call to action to recruit new restaurants. It’s a very tactful appeal to consumers to take responsibility for recruiting restaurants.

Have you used a service like this? Is it something you’d like to see in your neighborhood & you’d use? What other services would you text for? library, dry cleaner, pharmacy,…?

• If you asked your customers, would they say that your brand has personality?
• As a marketer how do you give your brand personality?
• As a Community Manager how can I give our ACDSee brand personality?

All of those questions resulted from reading about Rohit Bhargava’s new book.

Faceless companies don’t work anymore. In a world where consumers have more access to information than ever, and more power to share their voice … a brand’s identity is no longer controlled through marketing and advertising. In this new era, what you say your brand stands for is no longer good enough. What you demonstrate to your customers matters most. This is the power of your personality.

This book is going to be an interesting read because I think my sister & I personalized the ACDSee brand. Here’s what happened:

• We’ve had a website since January, but this happened July
• We started holding real time chats at digital scrapbooking sites
• We became branded as Connie & Heidi – our personalities came thru
• Because ACDSee Photo Editor was little known, we spent the first half hour chatting about it each time
• Our chat schedule has been busy with one per week since July
• ACDSee Photo Editor not only has users, but word of mouth is increasing

I had realized how we launched ACDSee Photo Editor. Talking about it in real time was far more effective than traditional advertising efforts. But have we given the brand personality? And my sister stepped up the social media initiative by doing a webinar so people could see the software being used! That was well received too.

So my question is – when digiscrapping ladies think of ACDSee, do they think of ‘Connie & Heidi’? Or does the brand have it’s own personality? I just asked a couple what their ‘word association’ response was to ACDSee. One said ‘easier scrapping’ & the other said ‘Connie’. I think I need a bigger poll!

Overall, social media efforts are probably more appealing to potential customers because of their interactive nature. Customers are thinking about the product, asking questions and if that results in a positive experience it’s integrated with their sense of the brand.

In my work as a Community Manager I’m working externally with Customers as well as internally with our team. It’s my goal that the enthusiasm for social media tools is extended in both directions. Everyone should share in the excitement about the brand! It’s more than just creating & selling of the software. Or on the flip side, the use of it. It should be an experience that everyone wants to share with others!

So my challenge is how can I impart this? Here’s an example where a digital designer uploaded an image of her kit, then describes it using Utterz (it definitely gives it a new dimension). Does it give her work personality?

What ideas do you have for creating brand personality? We can brainstorm while we wait for Rohit’s book to be published!