Ted is a leading social marketing strategist and coined the term ROR: Return on Relationship, a concept he believes is the cornerstone for building an engaged multi-million member database, many of whom are vocal advocates for the brand, like the one he built for e.l.f. Cosmetics as the Chief Marketing Officer between 2008 and 2010, and the one being built for the new updated OpenSky where Ted was Chief Social Marketing Officer until the end of April.
Currently the Chief Social Marketing Officer at Collective Bias and Social Marketing Strategist for MARS Advertising, Ted be will taking part in the Keynote Panel discussion ‘What is Social Reputation and why this should matter for your business’. With less than a month to go until SMWF N. America, we caught up with Ted for a chat about his experience in the world of social media.
1. How did you get your start in the industry?
In 1997 I was looking for something exciting and new and was determined to move back to NY from South Florida and get back into the action. I decided this new thing called the “Internet” was the way to go. I read an article about Seth Godin and since he mentioned he was always on the lookout for talent I was determined to work with him at his start-up Yoyodyne. I sent resumes to probably 100 companies and when Yoyodyne called I knew it was meant to be.
2. What is the biggest challenge facing your industry?
The biggest challenge facing the industry is integrating accountability and measurement with an understanding that the true value of Social Media is the ability to engage, interact and build long-term relationships for brands.
3. What is the method to your blogging success? What inspires your blogs?
My blogging success it totally due to the emergence of this unique and extraordinary publishing platform call Twitter… maybe you have heard of it 
. Twitter helps me to think things through, express, and wrap my arms around ideas before writing a post. It also allows me to express myself and my thoughts at a moments notice and preserve and develop ideas as they come to me.
4. What’s your view on how social media will evolve?
The marketing paradigm is shifting with much greater “power to the people” facilitated by social media. If you want to continue to reach your market, it’s not about advertising any more, but about building relationships. Just activating your audience, however, is not enough. A brand always needs to be working to keep these valued influencer and advocate relationships alive and strong and build an emotional connection. Always remember that brand loyalty declines due to lack of relevance — this has been evident for years and is clearly a direct result of not listening… and NOT hearing when you do listen. When building a social media presence, building relationships through engaging as many people by truly interacting with them, and doing what I call “looking them in the eye digitally,” is what will build value and loyalty for the long-term. Always keep in mind that Social media’s incredible power is in allowing us to instantaneously connect to, interact with, and build relationships with our audience of thousands to gain high-value end results… but if you do not make them feel valued and speak to them on their terms, and bring value to the table, the results will be underwhelming and you will not be utilizing social for its true value. It will just be another tool in the marketing toolbox.
5. What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out?
Get started now. Do not wait to develop a comprehensive strategy… just jump in and start engaging and interacting.
6. Where can we find you on the web/on Twitter/Facebook/etc.
Finding me is easy… just look for Ted Rubin: @TedRubin, TedRubin.com, Facebook.com/TedRubin,LinkedIn.com/in/TedRubin, YouTube.com/TedRubinUSA and of course [email protected].
Hear more from Ted at this year’s Social Media World Forum N. America on Nov 1 -2 at the Javits Center. Ted will taking part in the Keynote Panel discussion ‘What is Social Reputation and why this should matter for your business’ alongside:
- Garth Holsinger, VP of Sales and Business Development, Klout @garthsklout
- Chris Heuer, Specialist Leader,Social Media Club and Deloitte @chrisheuer
- Paul Papadimitriou, VP + Principal Analyst, Constellation Research @papadimitriou
- Phil Guest, Chief Commercial Officer, PeerIndex.com @PhilGuesty
To secure your place at this year’s event please click here.
Originally posted at Social Media Forum blog
Trackbacks/Pingbacks