There’s an old axiom among fishermen that goes something like this, “Some lures are meant for catching fishermen and others for catching fish.”  Having grown up fishing, my tackle box is living proof of that truth.  Seems like the flashiest and most colorful lures never caught a thing while the rattiest, most beat up piece of wood with hooks has a history of catching the most and the biggest.

The real truth is all lures will catch fish if fished properly, at the right time in places where there are fish.  Social media seems to be one of those kinds of lures.  It’s the hottest, shiniest new lure out there in the marketing lake. There are a lot of people fishin’  but only a few that are catchin’.

R2integrated just published a study indicating that nearly 50% of companies using social media have no social media strategy.  That probably also explains why 65% of those reporting indicated that they hadn’t increased sales as a result of using social media.  Yet 77% said they were doing social media for lead generation.  Huh?  Fifty-four percent said that social media is integral to their business.  Whaaaaa???????

So, half don’t have a strategy, Most know what they would like it to do. It’s not doing what they would like it to do but it’s integral to their business.  In the word of Bill Cosby, “RIIIIGHT!”

Social media has caught a lot of fishermen but it hasn’t put many fish in the boat.  So as most businesses cast and crank their social media lures into a vast ocean with a few prospects swimming in it, there are a few who’ve used strategy to locate fish concentration and entice those prospects into their pond.

What is a social networking strategy?  If you think about it in purely social terms, it’s why you get invited to a dinner party.  You either supply interesting conversation…which usually means you’re don’t talk about yourself constantly because you’d be a complete bore and you’re really not that interesting.  Or, they really like your significant other.  In any case, your social media strategy should have its own shiny new lure to draw fish into your area of the lake.  Then you need to know what bait to use to get and keep them involved.  And that’s the difference between fishin’ and catchin’.

ZLRIGNITION and two clients have been honored by the Central Iowa Chapter of the Public Relations Society of American for work the agency performed in 2009.

The agency and Iowa Public Radio earned a Public Relations Mark of Excellence (PRIME) award of merit for the network’s 2009 Annual Report: Enhancing Connections. The award was the top honor presented in its category.

ZLRIGNITION and the Iowa Department of Human Services won a an Award of Merit for Cover the Kids Day. The program mobilized more than 1,500 churches throughout Iowa to help spread awareness of the hawk-i health insurance program for children. It contributed to nearly 30,000 calls to the DHS and the submission of 69,000 applications for enrollment in hawk-i and Medicaid from October through December 2009.

There continues to be dialog about social media versus traditional media and how social replaces traditional…at least that’s from people who make their living with social media. Traditional media advocates are silent in fear of being labeled “old school.”

We think it’s the wrong argument. We think that social media has much more in common with traditional media than the new gurus would have you believe.

The key difference is the fact that two way communication can be much more powerful for good or bad. A bad magazine ad wastes money. A bad discourse between a brand and it’s social following can destroy the brand.

We’ve all seen companies who rush to Facebook or Twitter effort does nothing more than pimp product or company information. It’s amazing to us how the appreciation for the audience’s interests is ignored for self interest. More, they intrude on a space reserved for “friends.” Not for long though, the ignore button is easier than a DVRing past commercials. These efforts usually have few fans and most of the fans they have will be already connected with the organization sponsoring the effort.

The discussion between social media and traditional media should really be about how to integrate the two and magnify the effectiveness of each. At what stage of affinity does social media really kick into the equation? Does it happen at the awareness phase? Or, closer to the “I’ve bought and I love/hate it phase?” Which media is better at which point of affinity?

If you have a product that has caught fire and your customers can’t wait to tell others about it, social media can create awareness and demand. If you have a product that is a hard to love necessity of life, not so much.

If you’re struggling with the argument of social media versus traditional, take a moment and create a scale that goes from totally unaware to loyal customer. Ask yourself which media strategy makes sense at what point of the continuum? How do you move a prospect from totally unaware to in love of your product? Then make it all work together by connecting the dots between all the options you have on the table.

If you do that rather than rushing into ineffectiveness, you’ll have a cohesive plan that makes the most of your marketing dollar.

Yesterday I was in a golf shop looking at putters. I’ve bought my share of putters and I can’t say that any of them made me a better putter. It’s a club they call the flat stick, because really that’s all it is. It’s a flat surface on the end of a metal rod with a handle used to roll the ball in, by or past the hole.

The golf shop I visited had probably a hundred different putters priced between $100 and $450. Given that I’d have to improve to stink at putting I tested a number of them. Perhaps I could buy a game. Putters come in all designs. There’s one that looks like it’s demon spawn complete with fangs and horns.

The secret about branding a putter is that you believe one will make you a better putter than the other. If Phil Michelson won the masters with an Odyssey White Hot XG Blade Putter, maybe I can sink a couple more a round if I too use the Odyssey White Hot XG Blade Putter. So U put my money down, buy the putter and go to the golf course. If hit the first couple of putts I think what a great putter you’ve purchased. If I miss, it’s my fault.

The fact of the matter is that the brand of putter makes me believe it’s good. The pro who wins with it makes me believe that some of that will rub off on me. The more pros that use it the more confidence I have that it’s a putter that will cut strokes off my game. I’m totally hooked and ignore the fact the Michelson probably practices putting two hours a day and has for the last twenty-five years. I even want desperately to believe it.

I only stop believing in the putter when I realize that it didn’t work, but Tiger Woods wins the next big tournament with a Nike. The Nike is $100 more than the Odyssey. I should have spent more the first time.

That’s what great branding does.

A major component of culture is language. When a language dies, so dies the culture and when it thrives, the culture is vibrant.

Yet, with all the talk about corporate culture, we rarely hear about corporate language. Words that have specific meaning to the company and its employees. Short hand for vision, mission and processes can help a company achieve it’s goal. Corporate language should not be confused with corporate speak which is usually cliche and meaningless.

Every company has a vision statement…or nearly every company. Most of those vision statements are two paragraphs long, hang on a wall and are seldom part of the everyday lives of the employees. Even vision statements that read like a billboard are forgotten by employees who have jobs to do.

The Iowa Health System is the largest network of hospitals and clinics in Iowa. Bill Leaver is IHS’ CEO.  He has a vision to continually improve the quality of care across the system. His vision statement is “Best Outcome For Every Patient, Every Time.” Short and understandable.

Stemming from that vision are internal initiatives that include everything from how sheets are folded to how heart attacks are treated. Every level of staff is a target for the vision. In an effort to make the vision more memorable we created an acronym…BOFEPET.

BOFEPET branded Mr. Leaver’s vision. It is shorthand that now everyone in the system understands. BOFEPET has become part of the culture and gives staff at all levels something to work toward.

As you think about your company’s culture, are there ways you can create words that encompass major initiatives that will save time and move your staff closer to it’s goals? Is there language you can create that will help you better communicate with your customers?