As the NAA Conference nears, I’ve been thinking about questions the industry would want to ask Tony Hsieh, Jeremiah Owyang, and Pete Flint. Instead of guess what the space would want to ask,

What would you want to ask Tony Hsieh, Jeremiah Owyang, and Pete Flint?

Put your questions in the comments below and I’ll try to ask it during the Thought Leadership panel Saturday morning.

See you all this week!

About the Panelists:

Panelist #1 – Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com

Tony Hsieh has grown Zappos.com from $1.6 million in 2000 to over a $1 billion in revenue in 2008. Before Zappos.com, Tony co-founded LinkExhange which he sold to Microsoft for $265 million. After LinkExchange, Tony founded a startup incubator called Venture Frogs, which invests in early stage startups.

Panelist #2 – Jeremiah Owyang, Sr. Analyst at Forrester Research

Jeremiah Owyang is a senior analyst at Forrest Research and a leading expert on social computing, social media and interactive marketing. Jeremiah’s blog was ranked 19th by Advertising Age, he has consulted for large brands such as Hitachi Data Systems, and he is a speaker and educator at many conferences such as Web 2.0 Expo, SXSW and CES.

Panelist #3 – Pete Flint, Founder of Trulia.com

Flint founded Trulia.com in 2005 and it now is one of largest and fastest growing real estate Web sites in the United States. Trulia.com has over 5 million unique visitors a month and has raised more than $33 million in funding. Prior to starting Trulia.com, Pete was part of the original launch team of lastminute.com, Europe’s largest online travel company where he was responsible for Interactive Marketing and Business Development. During his 5 years with the company he helped it to grow to more than 2,000 employees in 12 countries and over $1billion in annual transactions. The company was acquired by Travelocity in 2005 for more than $1.1 billion. Pete earned his Master’s degree in Physics from the University of Oxford and his MBA from Stanford University.

In 1997, I can recall my older sisters saying how cumbersome email was.

In 1999, I can recall high school classmates saying that Napster will never replace music CD’s.

In 2005, I remember friends saying how stupid Facebook is.

Today, I have my own friends and peers asking me the value of social media as a distribution, marketing, and communication tool.

I think it’s important to note that we’ve seen disruptive technologies and changing consumer behavior change industries. This seems particularly true in the newspaper and television industries as of late. And the inability to adapt to this change has caused large print and television corporations to lose market share.

What should have happened is these well-funded and well-positioned companies should have identified the trend, and set up division to experiment, explore, and develop new technologies in line with consumer demand. In essence, Gannett should have created Blogger, NBC should have created YouTube, and Yellowpages should have created Yelp.

In terms of the Multi-family housing industry, I’m not defending the value of Twitter as a lead generating service for the apartment industry. It may never provide significant results as a lead generator. And I am not saying that Twitter, FriendFeed, or Facebook is the next platform that will change the way we find apartments. But I think it is a mistake to make all decisions based on measurable results.

Here is why:

1) It takes time to build and adapt to new technologies.

There is a learning curve involved. You cannot just get a PageRank of 9 overnight. You cannot build a network of followers for your blog with one post. You cannot build your online content presence by creating a Facebook Fanpage.

2) Social Media is also an engagement, communication, and customer service tool.

Not all results of customer service are immediately measurable. I do not need to defend the value of transparency; we all use UCG and review sites everyday. But I feel like I need to convey this… The way we (consumers) communicate, interact, and consume information is changing and for the most part, has changed. The social web, reviews, and UGC influence our purchasing decisions.

Conclusion

Social media is a rapidly growing consumer trend and many companies are still figuring out how to use it effectively. However, it has changed the way consumers make decisions and it is important that companies understand how to employ it to their advantage.

The recent months, the hot topic in the multi-family housing industry has been social media. There are those who understand it, those who are experimenting with it, and those who deny it’s existence.

As we gear up for the NAA educational conference and the social media panel with Tony Hsieh, Jeremiah Owyang, and Pete Flint, I have noticed that there are some people that have never heard of large companies like Zappos.com. 

So to reward those who know what Zappos.com is and want to see Tony, Jeremiah, and Pete discuss Social Media, but cannot afford tickets, NAA has graciously sponsored a contest to give away 1 FREE NAA CONFERENCE TICKET and 50% off 1 NAA CONFERENCE TICKET.

Enter the contest and see if you are a social media guru. 

“I want to highlight two main problems with that old, tired, me-first approach. First, it distracts you from what’s truly important, and may lead you to compromise your values and your principles and commitments. Think about it. It’s in chasing titles and status — in worrying about the next election rather than the national interest and the interests of those who you’re supposed to represent — that politicians so often lose their ways in Washington. (Applause.) They spend time thinking about polls, but not about principle. It was in pursuit of gaudy short-term profits, and the bonuses that came with them, that so many folks lost their way on Wall Street, engaging in extraordinary risks with other people’s money.

In contrast, the leaders we revere, the businesses and institutions that last — they are not generally the result of a narrow pursuit of popularity or personal advancement, but of devotion to some bigger purpose — the preservation of the Union or the determination to lift a country out of a depression; the creation of a quality product, a commitment to your customers, your workers, your shareholders and your community.

…

That other stuff — that other stuff, the trappings of success may be a byproduct of this larger mission, but it can’t be the central thing. Just ask Bernie Madoff. That’s the first problem with the old attitude.

But the second problem with the old approach to success is that a relentless focus on the outward markers of success can lead to complacency. It can make you lazy. We too often let the external, the material things, serve as indicators that we’re doing well, even though something inside us tells us that we’re not doing our best; that we’re avoiding that which is hard, but also necessary; that we’re shrinking from, rather than rising to, the challenges of the age. And the thing is, in this new, hyper-competitive age, none of us — none of us — can afford to be complacent.

…

Many of our current challenges are unprecedented. There are no standard remedies, no go-to fixes this time around. And Class of 2009 that’s why we’re going to need your help. We need young people like you to step up. We need your daring, we need your enthusiasm and your energy, we need your imagination.

And let me be clear, when I say “young,” I’m not just referring to the date of your birth certificate. I’m talking about an approach to life — a quality of mind and quality of heart; a willingness to follow your passions, regardless of whether they lead to fortune and fame; a willingness to question conventional wisdom and rethink old dogmas; a lack of regard for all the traditional markers of status and prestige — and a commitment instead to doing what’s meaningful to you, what helps others, what makes a difference in this world.”

Text - Obama’s Commencement Address at Arizona State University - Text - NYTimes.com

Recollecting the best sessions at Web 2.0 conference, Eric Ries’ session on the lean startup was one of them.  If you haven’t seen it, here it is for your viewing enjoyment.

In a recent Kanye West blog post, he states his esteemed opinion on the value of Twitter.  In typical self-absorbed Kanye form, 

(This spaz comes courtesy of losers making fake Kanye West Twitter accounts) I DON’T HAVE A FUCKING TWITTER… WHY WOULD I USE TWITTER??? I ONLY BLOG 5 PERCENT OF WHAT I’M UP TO IN THE FIRST PLACE. I’M ACTUALLY SLOW DELIVERING CONTENT BECAUSE I’M TOO BUSY ACTUALLY BUSY BEING CREATIVE MOST OF THE TIME AND IF I’M NOT AND I’M JUST LAYING ON A BEACH I WOULDN’T TELL THE WORLD. EVERYTHING THAT TWITTER OFFERS I NEED LESS OF. THE PEOPLE AT TWITTER KNOW I DON’T HAVE A FUCKING TWITTER SO FOR THEM TO ALLOW SOMEONE TO POSE AS ME AND ACCUMULATE OVER A MILLION NAMES IS IRRESPONSIBLE AND DECEITFUL TO THERE FAITHFUL USERS. REPEAT… THE HEADS OF TWITTER KNEW I DIDN’T HAVE A TWITTER AND THEY HAVE TO KNOW WHICH ACCOUNTS HAVE HIGH ACTIVITY ON THEM. IT’S A FUCKING FARCE AND IT MAKES ME QUESTION WHAT OTHER SO CALLED CELEBRITY TWITTERS ARE ACTUALLY REAL OR FAKE. HEY TWITTER, TAKE THE SO CALLED KANYE WEST TWITTER DOWN NOW …. WHY? … BECAUSE MY CAPS LOCK KEY IS LOUD!!!!!!!!!

I agree that the Twittersphere, by following squatters, is providing positive incentives for them to continue to squat.  However, unfortunately Kanye seems to miss a big part of the value of Twitter; searchable and real-time news and information transfer. 

Sure, I don’t want to know that Kanye is on a beach or why spell check is not working on his blog, but I’m sure he wants to know about the latest trends in music, or how consumers are reacting to his lyrics, message, brand, or songs.  Information, feedback, news, and content in real-time is not a trivial function of the social web.  

I especially enjoyed his statement that “I’M ACTUALLY SLOW DELIVERING CONTENT BECAUSE I’M TOO BUSY ACTUALLY BUSY BEING CREATIVE MOST OF THE TIME”, implying that being creative and delivery content are inversely related.

Last, I’m going to make a prediction.  Kanye regrets his statement and in the next 18 months starts using Twitter.

Well done BMW. 

NAA welcomes several of social media’s best minds to discuss how this marketing trend applies to customer service and retention at a Thought Leaders session at the 2009 NAA Education Conference & Exposition on June 27 in Las Vegas.
By Eric Wu

All the current talk is about social media - how Twitter is taking over e-mail, how Facebook has more users than most countries have citizens, and how engineered virality can replace a marketing budget. With all the chatter, one might think that social media should be a substitute for advertising, a reason to eliminate a company’s marketing staff, and even cure cancer.

All too often, abstract concepts in social media marketing and communication are not concretely defined or measured. The result is the perception of a far-fetched land of geeks getting together and somehow magically altering business operations, marketing strategies and branding.

On June 27, 2009, at the NAA Education Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas, the “Thought Leaders in Social Media” panel aims to provide some experiences and relevant insight into how to use the social web. As a precursor, let’s introduce the panel and take a look at how these individuals have applied social media strategies to increase brand recognition, retention and revenue.

Panelist #1 – Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com

Tony Hsieh has grown Zappos.com from $1.6 million in 2000 to $840 million in 2007, a measly 525,000 percent increase.

How was Tony able to change a company from a little over $1 million in revenue to almost $1 billion in revenue?

If you ask Tony, he’ll say, “customer support.” For most people, these words act as reminders to answer phone calls and please the customer. And, granted, Zappos does both of those brilliantly. However, Zappos has consistently adopted social media as part of its customer support strategy to engage and listen to customers.

“We actually take a lot of the money that we normally would have spent on paid advertising and put it back into customer experience,” says Tony. “We’ve always stuck with customer service, even when it was not a sexy thing to do.”

Zappos shortens the engagement loop with the entire organization by being very active on Twitter. Tony has more than 350,000 followers, and more than 400 of his employees are using Twitter.

For Tony, growing the business has not just been about answering phone calls, but about building a brand around the principles of engagement, creativity and a laser focus on fulfilling customer needs. These initiatives have resulted in 7.4 million total customers, 75 percent of purchases coming from returning customers and repeat customers ordering more than 2.5 times every 12 months. Talk about retention.

Panelist #2 – Jeremiah Owyang, Sr. Analyst at Forrester Research

Jeremiah Owyang is a senior analyst at Forrest Research and a leading expert on social computing, social media and interactive marketing. Jeremiah’s blog was ranked 19th by Advertising Age, he has consulted for large brands such as Hitachi Data Systems, and he is a speaker and educator at many conferences such as Web 2.0 Expo, SXSW and CES.

In a recent study titled, Social Media Playtime Is Over, Jeremiah writes:

The recession has put more pressure on interactive marketers to deliver measurable results. While many marketing budgets are being cinched, more than 50 percent of interactive marketers say they will increase their spending on social marketing. Why? These inexpensive tools can quickly get marketing messages out through interactive discussion and rapid word of mouth and, properly managed, can deliver measurable results. But in this downturn, interactive marketers must move beyond experimentation by making social applications a permanent part of marketing, measuring and demonstrating their value, and integrating them into marketing efforts.

As a part of the study, Jeremiah found that 53 percent of marketers are determined to increase their social media budgets and 42 percent will keep budgets the same, a total of 95 percent of marketers bullish on social media marketing. Even though these budgets are small (three-quarters are less than $100,000), Jeremiah recommends that marketers do not approach social media marketing as an experiment. “Remember, the most expensive cost isn’t the tools, it is the soft costs–strategy, education, process, roles and measurement,” he says.

Jeremiah continues to provide empirical data and demonstrate why social media outlets can be an integral part of marketing and distribution. His message is spot-on; it is not just about being there, but it is about having a strategy and goals for the engagement.

Panelist #3 – Pete Flint, Founder of Trulia.com

Flint founded Trulia.com in 2005 and it now is one of largest and fastest growing real estate Web sites in the United States. Trulia.com has over 5 million unique visitors a month and has raised more than $33 million in funding.

Trulia has been able to bridge the gap between buyers and real estate professionals by building a community called Trulia Voices. Some stats include:

• Visits to Trulia Voices increased 146 percent year over year
• The volume of question and answer activity in Trulia Voices Q&A increased 114 percent year over year
• Real estate professionals’ answer volume increased 96 percent year over year
• Consumer questions increased 181 percent year over year

How has Trulia engaged both millions of home buyers and hundreds of thousands real estate agents?

Again, the answer seems to be centered on the engagement of the customer. Heather Fernandez, Vice President of Marketing of Trulia, says, “Consumers are looking for guidance and education and are relying on our pool of more than 200,000 real estate professionals for advice and insight.”

With multifamily housing traditionally closely tied to the real estate sector, Trulia is a relevant example of how user-generated content can change the flow of communication to consumers.

Moderator – Eric Wu, Co-Founder of RentWiki.com

I’m a 26-year-old entrepreneur and co-founder of RentWiki.com, a socially-driven rental search that connects renters with peer advice. I’ve spoken at conferences such as NMHC Technology, AIM Conference and the Harvard Business School Entrepreneurship Conference. In 2006, I was named one of BusinessWeek’s Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25.

Conclusion
Having a Twitter account, a Facebook fan page and a viral YouTube video will not cure cancer, but they can and will affect your bottom line. The underlying message is not about usage or presence. It is about having a consistent strategy to engage consumers, listen to customers and focus on their needs. As Jeremiah puts it, “Fish where the fish are.”

Eric Wu is Co-Founder of Rentwiki.com. He can be reached at eric@rentwiki.com or 415/640-4970. The “Thought Leaders on Social Media” session will be presented 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 27 in the Mandalay Bay’s Lagoon Ballroom as part of the 2009 NAA Education Conference & Exposition.