Interview With Marketing Mastermind Krista Neher

Written by anni on Wednesday, February 8th, 2012 with 0 comments

Krista Neher is a social media authority, speaker, and author. As the CEO of Boot Camp Digital, she has extensive experience with using social media technologies to grow brands online. Neher is also the Managing Director of the Institute for Social Media at Cincinnati State where she created and runs the social media marketing certification program. She has trained thousands of people to use social media for Internet marketing—from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups to small businesses to individuals.

Neher has tested her metal with a wide variety of marketing challenges—from her work with Procter and Gamble to her position as Vice President of Marketing for Photrade.com, a successful technology start-up. She currently blogs for The Marketess, Ad:tech, The American Marketing Association, Ad Club Cincinnati, Ad Rants, and Mobile Marketer. She is also the author of Social Media Field Guide, currently available on Amazon.

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I know you have a rich past in the marketing and training fields, having done both at Proctor and Gamble, but what is it about social media in particular that captures your imagination?

Social media is different than any other marketing medium because it isn’t about creating content (ads) to sell a product – it is about connecting on a real and personal level with your audience in a way that provides them with real value.  I love social media because it isn’t just about marketing, it is about understanding people and how they view your organization.  Companies today have a huge opportunity to leverage this powerful channel as we enter an age of unprecedented transparency.

 

What connects marketing with social media? In other words, how is it that the two worlds collide and what is so interesting about that collision?

Marketing is probably the primary way that businesses are using social media.  Marketing is about getting the right message infront of the right person at the right time.  Facebook is by far the #1 web property, and time spent on social networks continues to grow quickly.  Marketing dollars must follow where time and attention are going.

But the opportunity for marketing on social media sites is far greater than simply getting attention.  The opportunity is powerful for marketing because it allows brands to have relevant and personal relationships with their customers and prospects.  Rather than telling people that you are the best at XYZ or have amazing customer service you can show them through social media and the web.  Brands and businesses can start to really engage and interact with their customers, which wasn’t easy before the web and social media.

 

How do you feel the arena has changed over the past few years?

The first stage of social media was focused on collecting people.  Brands and businesses obsessed over the number of fans, likes and follows they acquired.  Everyone wanted more Facebook fans (now likes).  Once businesses had collected these people, they stepped back and tried to assess how valuable these likes, fans and follows were for their business.  In many cases the answer was unclear.

Social media has become much more cluttered over the past few years, and as users of social media, we aren’t going to like or follow every brand or business that we come in to contact with.  An average person on Facebook is connected to 130 people, and an additional 80 groups, pages and events.  If each of these connections posts 5 times a day, that is over 2,000 updates we can each be exposed to.  The new challenge of social media is about breaking through the clutter and standing out in a way that provides value.  Now that businesses have collected likes, fans and follows, they need to figure out what they are doing to engage them in a way that builds real business value.

 

What advice do you give to businesses struggling to navigate the potentially difficult boundary between using social media for socializing and using it for advertising?

I’m not sure that there is a clear line between socializing and marketing.  In the real world we don’t always separate the two.  My real estate agent might suggest we meet in a social setting, and I often meet business partners for a drink. The reality is that we do business with people we know, like and trust, and appropriate personal connections can help build this.  The real key to success is understanding what is appropriate and expected for your industry and the people you come in to contact with.  Also, always remember that people aren’t on social networks to be advertised at – they are there to connect with their friends.  Businesses can participate, but they need to do so in a relevant way.

 

I know you’ve spoken at podcamp. I’m interested in your opinion on using podcasting for promotional purposes. Have you found podcasts to be effective marketing tools?

A few years ago, many businesses were interested in podcasts, today we don’t hear about many businesses that are interested in running them.  The main problem with podcasts is that they take a sustained effort – like a television or radio show versus a one-time audio or video recording.  The key is to decide if enough of your target audience is listening to podcasts to justify the effort.

 

How would you describe your public speaking style?

My goal is to entertain, educate and energize, and I am often told that I have a lot of energy and enthusiasm on stage.  I want people to leave with a clear idea of something that they can actually implement.  I love sharing tips, tricks and examples that others can use and learn from.  For me, sharing my stories and helping others learn in an engaging way is something that I look forward to.

 

What were your best and worst moments public speaking?

My best moment in public speaking was the first time I received a thank-you note from someone who told me that my advice on social media actually changed their business. I love helping people, and knowing that they weren’t just inspired but actually took action and got results made my day.

My worst moment was a few years ago when I fell getting on to the stage.  This probably doesn’t require more of an explanation.

 

Do you have a favorite event or venue that you really look forward to?

This is a tough question because there are many conferences that I really enjoy.

 

 If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring keynote speakers in the social media realm, what would it be?

Speaking is a challenging and competitive industry, and keynote speaking is a whole different level of public speaking.  The best advice I have is to get practice and experience.  Through trial and error you will see how receptive people are to your jokes, what content resonates with them and how to get them involved and engaged.  Malcolm Gladwell recently wrote a book based on the premise that it takes 10,000 hours for an individual to really master a skill.  The more you speak the better you get.  Look for opportunities to speak wherever possible to learn pacing, how to control the stage and how people respond to you and your material.

It also helps to analyze other speakers that you respect and admire.  I regularly go on YouTube to watch videos of other speakers and make note of the things that I thought were especially effective.  It gives me new ideas and helps me constantly improve.