You know those incredibly necessary, but yet annoying “thanks for signing-up” emails you get anytime you join a new website? I came across one that I thought was really thoughtful (even if it’s fake or automated). First, I registered at Swipegood.com (which is a cool concept for a charity website/platform, i’m trying to get my favorite charity on their list, Operation Breakthrough)

After signing up, a few hours later, this email from Steli hit my inbox:

I have no clue if this is just a batch and blast email they send to all new users, but I thought the personalization of coming from “Steli” along with “(sent from my iPhone)” was an incredibly smart way to give a warm fuzzy feel to what is usually a cold and obligatory registration auto-reply email. It tells me they care enough about every new user- and they’re willing to be as helpful as possible.

Thoughtful, simple, and smart.

Is your “Welcome” email for your business or brand working as hard? Know of any other great examples of auto-reply emails? Put ‘em in the comments.
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This past weekend I was in Chicago attending SOBCon (Biz School for Bloggers). This was my first year attending and overall the entire weekend was great time with some pleasant surprises (like riding a scooter in downtown Chicago). In my opinion, the difference in this conference is it has a more intimate, interactive, feel and makes it easy to really get to know almost everyone who attends (view my video blog). While we all had a common interest of utilizing the Internet, the people I met were made up of such an eclectic mix of focuses it was interesting to hear the different perspectives.

I’m a proponent of going to conferences and doing as little talking as possible (which for those of you who know me, it’s hard for me to do). Ask, ask, ask questions is what I say. There were several presentations, but the most engaging part for me at this conference was all the conversations in between. This is where I got to hear the stories of what works, what doesn’t, what struggles others have faced was interesting- and motivating.

It was also interesting to ask how people were either making money marketing social media or utilizing social media.

One thing I’d like to share that really resonated from people and presentations was the concept that social media is more than just marketing.

Social media is just a way where people can talk to each other and that can affect the entire company. Marketing just so happen to be where the money is, that’s why people are talking about it. It’s much more than just marketing.

BINGO; social media can touch everything in a company like: customer service, operations, research and development, compliance, human resources, public relations, product development, etc. etc. So while marketing and lead generation may get most glitter and attention- it’s not the only consideration when executing strategies as a company. For example, consider what a social media HR strategy has to it: In what ways do potential employees engage looking for jobs at your company? Does having a presence in certain existing online networks help facilitate recruiting? Does this require that you not only ‘fish’ for candidates in social networks- but also contribute in order to positively position your brand in the long run of potential candidates?

Your objectives dictate how strategies should be executed and formulated (online and offline). And the bigger point is that these objectives involve more aspects of the company other than marketing or new business- understanding this is the first step, but executing and measuring (then repeat) is vital in order to see success.
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Last week eMarketer published an article titled, “Retail Shoppers Hit the Web First“.

“Eight out of 10 respondents who had recently made consumer electronics purchases in a brick-and-mortar store said they had visited the store’s Website first, according to a May 2008 Nielsen Online survey. More than one-half said they purchased from the retailer on whose Website they had spent the most time.”

…the article then goes on to describe:

“If they had to choose just one method of researching their purchases, 58% of respondents said they would choose the Internet — far more than would choose their own friends and family.” Only 8% chose friends and family.

To me, this is a no brainer, I’m a digital native. However it should be a LOUD message to those Marketers, Executives, and CEOs out there who don’t view the web as a major component of your marketing communication strategy. When is the last time you reviewed what you’re providing online? Is it timely, relevant, and adding value to your personas that are finding you online?  It better be.
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