Toby Bloomberg


Toby will teach about social media and networking for businesses at Solo Practice University® in a series of Guest Lectures.

Toby Bloomberg is passionate about helping people (not companies) create initiatives that leverage the power of social media communications to build and nurture “digital corner grocery store relationships.” From 2004, when she chaired AMA’s first Hot Topic on social media/blogs, Toby has been speaking, teaching and consulting on the topic at conferences for organizations such as BlogHer, PRSA, BlogWorldExpo, M/A/R/C, Chick-Fil-A, CDC, Cox Communications, American Marketing Association and Purina .. and now Solo Practice University.

Her blog Diva Marketing was acknowledged by Forbes as one of the 20 Best Marketing and Social Media Blogs By Women and recently voted one of the 10 Best Social Media Blogs by the Social Media Examiner.

Toby is an acknowledged leader in the social media marketing industry and has been profiled in several books on the subject including Naked Conversations, Now Is Gone, Twitterville and The Digital Handshake. She has been quoted in BusinessWeek, Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, MSNBC, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Atlanta Business Chronicle.

Her media credits include articles about marketing and social media published in Marketing News, Portland Business Journal, Impact (India publication), L’actualite Alimentaire (Canada publication), WEMagazine, RevenueToday and Atlanta Business-to-Business. She has been quoted about social media marketing in various publications including INC magazine, BusinessWeek, Wall Street Journal and Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Entrepreneur.com, MSNBC and the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

She serves on the boards of the Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association, the social media communities Savvy Auntie, Field Trips With Sue and Divine Caroline; as well as the non-profit organization Children’s Advocacy Centers of Georgia.

She was an adjunct professor at Goizueta School of Business at Emory University where she taught an innovative course on management consulting.. She holds a degree from Emerson College and has performed post-baccalaureate studies in marketing and management at Emory University.

She is a Yankee from Boston living in the South with her YouTube “rock star” Westie pup Max, who occasionally finds his way into Diva Marketing.

Syllabus – Building Client Relationships With Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing : not so new

  • Corner grocery store relationships
  • The Godfather was wrong .. business is personal
  • It’s not about technology .. it’s about the people
  • Technology is just a vehicle that helps build bridges across geography, time and culture
  • Helps you tell the stories of your brand/company

Social media is built on a culture

  • Social media was never meant for business
  • Only marketing strategy where culture MUST be taken into consideration before strategy is built
    • Understand the culture of the ‘villages’ you visit
  • Honesty, transparency, authenticity, passion
    • How do you define transparency? Is it different for each social media platform? Is total transparency the cost of entrée for lawyers?
    • Can you be authentic while being a steward of the brand?
    • Can there be shades of gray with transparency and authenticity?
    • Does it fall into an “ethics” conversation?

Why social media is the new darling of (some) marketers

  • Finding & Deciding
    • Internet changed how people find information
    • Social media added people’s opinions
    • Even if you choose not to play your clients or prospective clients might be …

A New Value Proposition

  • Marketing with the 4 Ps
  • Client centered marketing with SILVA
    • Better fit for services
    • Takes advantage of new ways of communication
    • Takes into consideration building partnerships and relationships
      • Product – Solution
      • Promotion – Information
      • Price – Value
      • Place – Access

The Gorilla in the room ..or why firms are fearful

  • Lack of internal resources/time
  • Lack of knowledge/expertise
  • Not convinced about the value/ROI
  • Lack of clear guidelines/policies
  • Lack of awareness of social media within company
  • Lack of budget
  • Social media not appropriate for company/brand
  • Fear negative reaction from customers/clients
  • Lack of global reach/scale
  • Lack of appropriate agency partner
  • Not wanting to hear answers to the questions you never asked

The Secret of Building a Social Media Strategy

  • There is no secret.
  • Traditional marketing still applies
    • Identify a niche – social media and niche marketing go together like PB & J
    • Understand and identify : who (they are) what (they do online) where (they hang out) how (they want to interact with you)
    • Determine objective and set goals

I finally figured out my problem: I was trying too hard to develop a social networking strategy instead of incorporating social networking into my marketing strategy.

~Brendan Hurley Goodwill of Greater Washington

Tactics

  • Listening – to the raw unfiltered voices of your clients
    • Tsunami of data point .. can be overwhelming
    • Part of an integrated customer insights/research strategy
    • Determine What to listen for
    • Determine Who to listen
      • How will you define influencers
  • Participating
    • How will you engage?
    • With whom?
    • Guidelines
    • How can you be a brand steward and still be authentic
  • Tools
    • Critical to understand the benefits, limitations and risks
    • Top B-2-B Social Media
      • Blogs
      • Twitter
      • Facebook
      • LinkedIn
      • Communities – industry/niche specific
    • How to build digital relationships
    • Blogger relations – would it work for an attorney?

Return on Social Capital

  • ROI – Success Measures
    • New value proposition. Only your company can determine
      • What is the value of the perceived “halo” effect about your company/brand from the “influencer?”
      • What is the value of longevity of social media in any type of medium (text, audio, video)?
      • What is the value of the community that the “influencer” brings to you through links and extended commentary?
    • What do you measure?
    • How do you measure it?
    • Leaning counts