SMBSTL Speaker Spotlight: Russ Henneberry

We are so excited to have Russ Henneberry speaking this year. He has become a force in both marketing and sales, and has been able to utilize social media in order to grow his business and endeavors.

In order to get to know a little bit more about Russ, we asked him a few questions about this thoughts on business, social media, and more!:

1. Why do you think some businesses are still behind when it comes to social media?
I think there are a number of reasons that a business may be behind when it comes to social media:
1. They don’t see a clear ROI – Social media takes time and effort.  Add to that the fact that results are often slow to develop and it is difficult to measure.

2.They don’t have the technical know-how – Those of us that work in the online marketing space of often live in an echo chamber.  We don’t realize how difficult something like Facebook or Twitter is to operate and understand.

3. They are afraid to lose control – It’s true, the proliferation of social media has caused us to lose control of our message to some extent.  That being said, ducking your head in the sand will not cause people to stop talking about you in these channels.  Get involved in these conversations.

2. What must businesses do differently now in order to succeed?
According to research done by Shopper Sciences, 70% of Americans look at product reviews before making a purchase.  When researching purchases, 50% of Americans use search engines during the “information gathering” stage of the buying cycle.  In short, people are searching for information about your products, your brands, your key employees and the solutions that are available to them.  This research phase is where purchasing decisions are formulated.  If your company is not involved in this online conversation you are becoming less and less likely to be involved when the purchase is made.

 3.What do you see as the future of social media and marketing?
In the past, companies were pure product/service providers that looked to publishers of content (TV networks, print publications, radio stations) to buy access to the audience in the form of ads.  As this model continues to erode, companies will continue to morph into publishers of their own content and builders of their own audience.  Online communities like Fiskateers (a site for arts and crafts enthusiasts that use Fiskars scissors) and Nike’s Better World (a community of athletes that care about the planet) will become the rule rather than the exception.  While these are product based examples from large companies, small businesses will find the creation of community around their content more beneficial and easier to execute than large businesses.

Russ will be presenting, Three Overlooked Ways to Build the Email List of Your Dreams, on Social Media Day #1. Get your tickets now to learn from Russ and other speakers and presenters.

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