How Stan Lee Became a Social Media Superhero "EXCLUSIVE"

by Sam Laird

 Excelsior! At 89 years-old, comic book legend Stan Lee shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, the creative force behind iconic Marvel characters, including Spiderman, Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk, is more digitally connected than many whippersnappers half his age.
Lee will launch his own comic convention — Stan Lee’s Comikaze, Presented by POW! Entertainment — in September. The event is partnering with the location-based social engagement app Buzzmob to provide exclusive content to fans at the show, as well as connect those unable to attend.
Mashable recently sat down via Skype video chat with the Generalissimo himself, as well as with Comikaze CEO Regina Carpinelli. We talked comics, tech and social media — areas in which Lee also excels.
On Twitter, he’s amassed about 280,000 followers and tweets regularly from his home and office computers. (“I wear out a keyboard a week,” says @therealstanlee. “That’s how hard I hit them!”) He also just launched a new YouTube channel, Stan Lee’s World of Heroes.
Buzzmob, meanwhile, will give Comikaze a sophisticated level of social and mobile interaction. The app functions as a mini-social network for fans in attendance, letting them see who else is nearby and what else is going on at the convention, while simultaneously allowing Lee and other organizers to send out timely contests and notifications. But that’s not all — comic book fans who can’t make it to Los Angeles for the show can check in for a digital experience.
“It doesn’t matter if you live in Cambodia or Temecula,” says Carpinelli. “We want everyone to be a part of the show.”
Read on to see why Lee and Carpinelli partnered up for Comikaze, how Lee practically invented social media (you’ll be surprised), and his thoughts on how technology has changed the world of comic books. Also, stay tuned for one more upcoming treat — the entire Skype conversation in video form.

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Q&A With Stan Lee

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So what’s your first convention going to be like?
Lee: It’s going to be fan-tastic! I’ve always wanted to have my expo, my own comic con. But that’s not my business — I don’t know how to run them. Then I met Regina! She said, ‘Stan, how would you like to be a part of Comikaze?’ I had been to the first Comikaze, and it was wonderful! So I said, ‘By all means.’ Not only am I part of it, she put my name in front! It’s now Stan Lee’s Comikaze.
I’m real excited about this — it’s going to be a fan convention. The fans are everything, they’re going to be thrilled, they’re going to see new things they haven’t seen before. It’s going to just be the most fun convention there has ever been.
Carpinelli: And tickets are only $15! It’s jam-packed with amazing guests. Stan invited Todd McFarlane, and Elvira’s coming and doing all kinds of interactive content…
Lee: The Mistress of the Dark!
Carpinelli: We’re all about our fans and doing something awesome for our community. Eventually we’re going to take over the world.
Lee: Why haven’t we already?
What’s Buzzmob’s social integration going to bring to the table? How’s that going to help Comikaze?
Lee: We’re going to accommodate all the people who can’t make it, and we’re going to be in touch with them on the web! We’re going to have all sorts of things on the web for people to participate. I’m going to let Regina talk about it because, for one thing, she’s prettier than than I am, and my throat is getting hoarse.

“Keeping up with technology is really important. Anyone can have a regular convention. We want to change how conventions are made.”

Carpinelli: If you’re at the show as an attendee and you log in, you get exclusive content: downloads, contests with magical gifts and prizes. If you’re in a panel room, but there’s something else going on, you could still be following that on your phone. But the greatest thing is, if you can’t be at the show because you live far away, you can still log in and get special stuff and see videos and photos. It’s just like being at the show — but on your phone.
There are also two websites you want to go on. One is ComikazeExpo.com. Then Stan has an amazing site called TheRealStanLee.com. Stan is such a tastemaker, and he’s always at the front of technology.
Lee: No, no — she didn’t say I’m wearing a pacemaker. I am a pacemaker!
Carpinelli: A tastemaker!
Lee: Oh — a tastemaker. Okay. Well, I’m a pacemaker, also.
That seems like a pretty cutting edge approach for a comic convention. Why did you guys feel like it was so important to introduce that mobile, social element?
Carpinelli: Keeping up with technology is really important. Anyone can have a regular convention. We want to change how conventions are made.
Lee: We want to change how the world goes on! See, we can’t bear the thought of one human being missing out on all this wonderment. That’s why, through Buzzmob, if we can contact everyone in the world through the web and let them be part of all these great things we’re doing, its almost as if we’re performing a great public service, you see.
I think we shouldn’t have to pay taxes, because what we do is for the good of all mankind. I’d say more, but I’m getting all choked up emotionally.
Carpinelli: I keep trying to get Stan to run for president.
Lee: How about King of the World? President seems so local.
Was it easy or hard for you to get into Twitter, and why do you keep up with it so diligently? Not every 89-year-old man is doing that.
Lee: I always try to be out there somehow. One of my big fears is that somebody anywhere in the world might forget me, and I must never let that happen.
Twitter was easy to get into. When I was doing the comics, I had a column called “Stan’s Soapbox” that ran every issue of every book, and I would just talk about anything I felt like — of course, I made it incredibly entertaining and knowledgable for the readers. But Twitter is the same thing.
Twitter’s only the beginning of your social media expertise, though. What’s up with your new YouTube channel, Stan Lee’s World of Heroes?
Carpinelli: What is going on is they have all these fantastic, fabulous shows. There’s Stan’s Rants, where Stan complains about things — and it’s amazing. There’s Cocktails With Stan, where he sits with Jenna Busch, and they have drinks and interview these amazing people.
Lee: But we never drink too much! For our younger viewers out there, one sip and that’s all we have.
Carpinelli: There’s also an awesome show called Adrianne Curry’s Super Fans. She’s this beautiful model, reality show host — and huge, giant nerd. You can send in your videos and tell Adrianne how nerdy you are and why you are the biggest super fan, then she shows up at your house and looks at all your nerd stuff.
Lee: Somehow I feel like the conversation is never as interesting when it’s not about me.
Carpinelli: Elvira also launched an interactive web series with us, called Elvira’s Horror Hunt. Amateur filmmakers can send in their horror films. The winner gets flown out to L.A. and gets a screening of their movie with a red carpet premier at the Vista Theatre. The next day, they’ll be a guest at Stan Lee’s Comikaze.
Lee: I hope everyone is taking copious notes. There may be an exam!
Here’s a question from our reader, wdeg: “You’ve had an incredible career and could easily be kicking back on an island somewhere enjoying the fruits of your labor. So, why aren’t you retired? What keeps you getting up motivated every morning?”

“Most guys say, ‘I can’t wait to retire so I can do what I really want to do’ — play golf and so forth. But I’m already doing what I really want to do!”

Lee: I wouldn’t dare retire, because when I think of all the enjoyment that I bring to people out there, I know I couldn’t deprive them. It wouldn’t be fair for me to not let them enjoy me as much as humanly possible.
Carpinelli: Stan’s a giver.
Lee: That’s right. And I love the fans and want them to know I’m always there for them. See, most guys say, ‘I can’t wait to retire so I can do what I really want to do’ — play golf and so forth. But I’m already doing what I really want to do! Please don’t make me have to spend time on the golf course. That would be like a prison sentence!
This one’s from another Mashable reader and fan of yours, Manny Redruello: “If Twitter and social media had been around during the early stages of your career, how do you think you would have used it then?”
Lee: Well, I didn’t have Twitter, but I had my column and we had letters pages in the comic books, where readers would write letters. You know the reason I wear glasses now? Because I strained my eyes! I read every damn letter and answered as many as I could. I was writing to them and they were writing to me, and it felt like I had a million friends all over. So that was my Twitter in those days.
And I never thought of them as fans — they were friends. Everyone who writes to us and tweets to us now — these are friends of ours, and you’ve got to be good to your friends. You can’t be on the golf course when your friends need you.
Carpinelli: It’s amazing to see how gracious he is to his fans, and how they respond. I’ve seen people cry when they meet him. It’s fantastic.
Lee: You notice when people say nice things like that, I never interrupt? I let her talk and talk. About people crying to meet me, though — I hope that isn’t taken the wrong way.
Carpinelli: They’re tears of joy!

“Everything changes. Everything advances. To me, most of the changes are improvements. We can’t live in a way where we say, ‘I like the old stuff better!’”

A number of readers had questions along these lines: How have you seen technology change comic books over the past couple decades, and do you think it’s been good for the industry?
Lee: When it comes to stories, no change at all. We could write a good story today that was like an old story — there’s no difference. But some of the comic books have a whole new look now — they look like beautifully illustrated tablets. They look like paintings, rather than just regular comic book drawings, and it’s the addition of the computer coloring and computer lettering.
There are some purists who feel that we ought to go back to the old comics, that they were more like real comics. But everything changes. Everything advances. To me, most of the changes are improvements. We can’t live in a way where we say, ‘I like the old stuff better!’
It’s impossible to go back to yesterday — you have to keep moving along with today and tomorrow. To me, what makes the arts so much fun is that they keep changing with the times….Hey, that was a great speech!
Thumbnail image courtesy Gage Skidmore, Flickr.

10:10 by Robert dawne · 1

7 Steps to a Simple Social Media Strategy

If you do a search on social media, social media strategy or social media for small biz, you'll get millions of results. 14,753,645 to be exact. I counted.
Okay, just kidding.
What's not a joke is how important and how overwhelming social media can be for small business. It can provide the leverage to move a company from floundering to flourishing, but it can also take over your life. Figuring out exactly what to do is where it's easy to get lost—which is why you need a strategy.

• What should our profile say?
• What platforms should we use?
• Who's in charge?
• How often should we offer coupons?
• Who's in charge of coming up with stuff to say?
• How often should we post?

A strategy—a simple, actionable strategy—tells you what to do, how to do it, and when to do it for maximum results, as best fits your company. Set aside an hour and work through these seven steps, and you'll have your own simple social media strategy.
1. Identify your target
Don't get lost in the details here; use the demographic research you've already done, or just answer each question as quickly as you can from what you already know or with a minimal amount of research. You need a rough idea, not a book-length collection of research.

• Who are you trying to reach?
• Where are they? 
• What are they talking about?

2. Define your message
In order to create a message that matters to your customers, you need to talk about what they care about: their problems, their pain points.

• What are your customers' pain points/problems?
• What is your unique selling proposition (USP)?
• How can you communicate your USP most effectively to customer pain points?
• How can you approach social media with a solution to their problems?

3. Determine your goals
Goals can be anything from “build an e-mail list” to “get more sales”; it depends on how your business operates and how you use social media and your website to interact with your customers.

• Why are you using social media?
• What do you hope to gain out of it? (Be specific.)
• What counts as a successful conversion?
• How do those conversions turn into profit?

4. Brainstorm your offerings
Creating and offering value is what will make you stand out in social media. Adding to the noise isn't a good strategy; adding value and sharing it with your market is.

• What can you provide via social media that will help/interest/entertain your target?
• What kind of content will you produce? 
• What content or curation makes the most sense for getting customers to your goals? 

5. Set a budget/schedule for needed resources
You can't do it all; define your resources in terms of money, time and personnel, then put those resources to work.

• How much time, money, talent and energy can you dedicate to social media?
• Who is in charge? 
• What will you outsource? 

6. Set limits and benchmarks
You still can't do it all, so don't waste your time trying; focus on sticking to your strategy within a few social media spaces. You can always expand later.

• What social media platforms will you use?
• What content will you put on each one? How often?
• When will you produce this content?
• How will you measure its success?

7. Apply, wait and test/tweak
Set a time limit (several months, at the least) and stick to your strategy for that amount of time before you start messing with it.
Keys to success

• Start with a focused approach. Spreading yourself too thin is a sure way to commit social media suicide. Instead, choose one or two platforms, a primary message, and a primary means of communication.

• Stay consistent. Consistency conveys authority and builds trust.

• Follow the etiquette of social media (be polite; respond to people; don't spam; give credit; so on).

• Use apps that will help you streamline your social media sharing.

• Don't rely solely on automation. Engage, respond, talk to people, help them, have conversations.

• Don't let it take over your work time. Instead, designate a daily block of time to do your social media work.

• Set your goals first, then break the goals down into tasks, then assign the tasks to your daily time slots (and/or your employees, and/or your outsourced help).

• Stick with it! Social media takes time, but it's worth your time. Just not all your time. Use a simple strategy like the one you've just created to use social media effectively and still do the rest of your work.

09:50 by Robert dawne · 0

A Step by Step Guide to Social Media Success [Infographic]

There are a lot of ways to begin planning your social media campaign, but our friends at Simply Business have put together a really cool step by step guide to figuring out which platforms and accounts you want to use on your way to social media success.  The steps are easy, you start at the “Start”, and you move through the chart answering yes or no — games always make decisions a whole lot more fun.

The infographic is below, and while it may not highlight specific details in each case, it points out the various questions you need to be asking yourself before you just set up a Facebook Page and press “publish”.  Have you asked yourself about your monitoring tools or content strategies?  What’s your company’s social media policy?  Have you built a team to help ensure you’re always available for the inevitable crises that social media will pass your way?

 Click image to open interactive version (via Simply Business).


Planning, social media marketing, social, social commerce, social media, social media best practices, 

10:11 by Robert dawne · 0

5 Common Social Media Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Most small-business owners feel strongly about social media. They either love it, hate it or both. If they love it, it's because its tools can create tremendous brand awareness. If they hate it, it's because it’s a massive time suck. Regardless of where you stand and how proficient you are at each tool, there is always something new to learn. Here are a few common social media mistakes and tips on how to fix them.
Expecting ROI right away
Ashley Ranger sees this often. As founder of /excelamktg, a social media marketing company based in Los Angeles, potential clients frequently voice frustrations when not attracting a target number of followers or sales captures. Ranger’s advice is always the same: It takes time.
“If you are actively posting and commenting, I’d say it could take you six months to one year to see ROI out of a social media campaign,” she says.
Low on "likes?" Get creative. Ranger recommends that online businesses offer an additional 10 percent off purchases if customers "like" them on Facebook. Another way to engage: Give back. One of Ranger’s fashion clients will post a "look of the day" on Facebook and interviews with designers—both, activities that will help generate traffic.
Failing to plan
A social media campaign is like any other business campaign; it needs a well-laid-out plan before execution. Stephanie Derry, a social media consultant in Richmond, Va., recommends plotting out goals.
“Do you want to use social media as a customer service tool? A way to link to your website?” she asks. “It all comes down to market research. If you know what your target market wants, you can plan accordingly.”
Talk to your customers about the sites they use most, visit competitor’s social media pages and join conversations around your industry before firing up your own campaign, Derry adds. Once you’ve finished researching, assign one person in your company to be the director of your social media program.
“If you don’t have someone responsible, your customers will be talking to no one,” she says. “People want a personality to attach to the brand, they don’t want to feel like they are talking to a robot.”
Automating
Tools such as Hootsuite allow users to write one message and then simultaneously broadcast it to a number of social media sites. While this can be a time saver, Ranger guards her clients against the practice.
“When you automate, it starts to sound robotic,” she says. “You want your posts to have a personal feel, so take time to write different posts on each platform, even if they are similar in content.”
Hard selling
Think of your words on a social media network like the words you’d say to a customer walking into your brick and mortar store. You wouldn’t spam an in-person customer with sale promo after sale promo; you’d first focus on establishing a nice conversation and a relationship. The same goes for customers visiting your social media site, says Ranger.
Try asking your followers questions about personal topics (think holiday decorating ideas, best holiday memories) or quizzing them about their favorite product in your store. Offering a free gift can always inspire engagement, too.
Not connecting to other marketing platforms
Everyone should know you have a Facebook page, a Twitter page, a Pinterest account. According to Derry, it is important to connect your social media presence to your website, e-mail newsletter, print advertising, broadcast advertising, etc.
She says, “Make sure people who are connecting with your company are able to connect in every way; make your social media presence known for maximum benefit.”

10:02 by Robert dawne · 0