The business world is abuzz with the power and potential of social media, but the true success stories are few and far between when it comes to the average organization utilizing Facebook, Twitter, and other social platforms. Why is this? Perhaps it is because there are a few 'ground' rules that are ignored by many corporate users of social media.
The next few posts will focus on five key 'rules' that can really impact a company's success with social media. So let's start with #1:
Start With a Clear Objective
Social media is no different than any other activity that a business engages in: there needs to be a reason for devoting the time to it. There needs to be a payback, ROI, a measurable result.
Here are a few social media objectives to consider:
- to connect with customers
- to obtain specific feedback from customers
- to provide a special place for promotions, premium content, and other things that may be offerred only to engaged customers
- to bring customers, prospects, and employees together in a genuine forum.
- to provide 'real-time' updates/news/feedback
What are your objectives for utilizing social media?
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
In Case You Were One of the 5 People Who Missed It...
Check out all of the Super Bowl commercials here: http://superbowlads.fanhouse.com/
Then let us know which one was your favorite and why!
Then let us know which one was your favorite and why!
Friday, February 4, 2011
The Age-Old Debate Rages On: Marketing vs. Sales
Many businesses struggle with striking the right balance between their marketing and sales efforts. Hopefully, most of us are enlightened enough to know that without marketing finding prospects or leads to follow up with would be much more difficult and without a good sales strategy closing the transactions that bring in revenue would be darn near impossible.
The 'traditional' definition of marketing is 'everything that you do to reach and persuade prospects.' Sales are everything that you do to close the sale and get a signed agreement or contract. A business won't survive without both of these functions, however, an organization will thrive if the right balance is struck between them.
Think about marketing as setting the stage for sales to occur. If your prospects have never heard of your company or its products and a salesperson contacts them, the sales process is going to be that much harder and longer. Good marketing reaches the right prospects with the right message to create demand, preparing the prospect to buy. Marketing can include advertising, public relations, brand marketing, viral marketing, direct mail, social media, and online activites--just to name a few tactics.
Traditionl sales usually involves some sort of interpersonal interaction. E-commerce has added a different kind of dynamic where the interaction happens through an online transaction (note: it is usually marketing efforts that get prospects to the site to purchase.)
Research has shown that it takes eight contacts to move a prospect or potential client to the close of the sale. Marketing can move a prospect along in the process and 'warm' them up for a sales professional to close the deal. For most organizations, success in marketing and in sales depends on balance!
The 'traditional' definition of marketing is 'everything that you do to reach and persuade prospects.' Sales are everything that you do to close the sale and get a signed agreement or contract. A business won't survive without both of these functions, however, an organization will thrive if the right balance is struck between them.
Think about marketing as setting the stage for sales to occur. If your prospects have never heard of your company or its products and a salesperson contacts them, the sales process is going to be that much harder and longer. Good marketing reaches the right prospects with the right message to create demand, preparing the prospect to buy. Marketing can include advertising, public relations, brand marketing, viral marketing, direct mail, social media, and online activites--just to name a few tactics.
Traditionl sales usually involves some sort of interpersonal interaction. E-commerce has added a different kind of dynamic where the interaction happens through an online transaction (note: it is usually marketing efforts that get prospects to the site to purchase.)
Research has shown that it takes eight contacts to move a prospect or potential client to the close of the sale. Marketing can move a prospect along in the process and 'warm' them up for a sales professional to close the deal. For most organizations, success in marketing and in sales depends on balance!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Culture: The Game Changer
What happens inside your organization from a 'people' perspective--often called culture--has such a profound impact on overall business success, that it is wise to take some time to evaluate whether the way you walk and talk internally is in line with your external brand, marketing strategy, and sales activities.
For example...if you are going to build your brand around a 'Satisfaction Guaranteed' promise, your company culture must make it possible to deliver on that promise by empowering employees to produce a great product that is less likely to create customer dissatisfaction, to take care of any issues customers encounter along the way, and to celebrate a sense of pride about your company and its products or services. Otherwise, the promise becomes just another unfulfilled marketing gimmick that today's savvy consumer will never embrace.
For example...if you are going to build your brand around a 'Satisfaction Guaranteed' promise, your company culture must make it possible to deliver on that promise by empowering employees to produce a great product that is less likely to create customer dissatisfaction, to take care of any issues customers encounter along the way, and to celebrate a sense of pride about your company and its products or services. Otherwise, the promise becomes just another unfulfilled marketing gimmick that today's savvy consumer will never embrace.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
The Power of Simplicity
Clear the clutter...reduce the amount of copy, chop the number of daily FB posts, be careful about the amount of talking you do on a sales call. Use the extra space and time to solicit and analyze your audience's feedback. Make it easy for your target audience to understand your point of view and then provide their own perspective.
Incorporating this practice into your everyday communications is simple and the results can be invaluable.
Incorporating this practice into your everyday communications is simple and the results can be invaluable.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
2011 Marketing Trends in a Nutshell
Do you have a small business? Are you interested in the marketing trends for 2011? This article by Susan Gunelius at Entrepreneur.com
via Reuters.com sums up what you need to know perfectly.
As the global economy struggles to correct itself, and social-media marketing becomes a strategic imperative, small businesses will have exciting opportunities to expand in new directions this year.
The need for trust, value and brand transparency, among other trends from last year, are just as important today. But the current shift to geotargeting, mobile marketing and online reputation management require that small businesses modify their plans to surpass competitors.
Here are 10 marketing trends that small businesses should incorporate now to be positioned for success from the start.
1.Building reliable brand advocates. The idea that you need tens of thousands of Twitter followers, blog subscribers, LinkedIn connections and Facebook friends to build your business via social media is dead. Quality connections with those who are loyal to the business and the brand are far more helpful to spread your message than large groups of connections who disappear after the first interaction.
2.Excelling in one area rather than being all things to all people. This will be a year for small businesses to focus on their unique niches and position themselves as the definitive source for information, products and services related to the specific places in the markets where they operate.
3.Creating quality content as a viable marketing tool. Social media marketing and content marketing go hand-in-hand, and this is the year businesses will create useful content that adds value to the online conversation and to people's lives. The Web is a cluttered place. Amazing content is essential to break through the noise.
4.Moving more marketing dollars to social media. Statistics show that large and small companies are shifting budget dollars to social media and other digital marketing initiatives and away from print and radio advertising. Consumers spend more time online than ever and to reach them and stay competitive, small businesses need to have a presence on the social Web.
5.Tracking brand reputations on the social Web in greater detail. Social media has given consumers a large platform to voice their opinions, and small-business owners are realizing the importance of actively monitoring their reputation on the Web. With dashboards and social media aggregators like Hootsuite and Spredfast, it's easier than ever for small businesses to develop, nurture and track their stature online.
6.Increase in branded online experiences to meet diverse consumer needs. Simply having a Twitter account or Facebook page isn't enough this year. Small businesses must surround consumers with branded online destinations such as a blog, LinkedIn profile, YouTube channel, Flickr profile and so on. Consumers can then pick and choose how they want to interact with your brand. Of course, quality trumps quantity, so extending a brand across the social Web must be done strategically to maximize opportunities without compromising content and communications.
7.Pursuing mobile marketing. There is absolutely no doubt this is the year of mobile marketing. While still in its infancy, it is the marketing imperative of the future. With mobile advertising, branded mobile apps and mobile marketing apps like Foursquare, consumers will expect businesses to have a mobile presence in 2011.
8.Geotargeting and localized marketing will become a top priority. Local discount websites like Groupon and local review sites like Yelp make it easy for consumers to find deals and reviews about businesses in their neighborhoods and beyond. Creating targeted, local marketing campaigns using these popular tools will become the norm this year.
9.Accepting that silo marketing is ineffective. Offline, online and mobile marketing initiatives create an opportunity to lead consumers from one message to another by integrating those strategies. You can drive a significantly higher return on investment by cross-promoting branded online destinations, discounts, contests and events.
10.Co-marketing to boost returns and lower marketing costs. The economy is still struggling, which means small businesses can benefit from economies of scale by partnering with complementary businesses to develop co-marketing programs in 2011. Promotional partnerships not only lead to reduced costs but also can lead to increased exposure to new audiences.
This year, all businesses will be experimenting with a variety of online, localized and mobile marketing initiatives. Remember, even if you're not leveraging marketing trends and opportunities, your competitors are.
via Reuters.com sums up what you need to know perfectly.
As the global economy struggles to correct itself, and social-media marketing becomes a strategic imperative, small businesses will have exciting opportunities to expand in new directions this year.
The need for trust, value and brand transparency, among other trends from last year, are just as important today. But the current shift to geotargeting, mobile marketing and online reputation management require that small businesses modify their plans to surpass competitors.
Here are 10 marketing trends that small businesses should incorporate now to be positioned for success from the start.
1.Building reliable brand advocates. The idea that you need tens of thousands of Twitter followers, blog subscribers, LinkedIn connections and Facebook friends to build your business via social media is dead. Quality connections with those who are loyal to the business and the brand are far more helpful to spread your message than large groups of connections who disappear after the first interaction.
2.Excelling in one area rather than being all things to all people. This will be a year for small businesses to focus on their unique niches and position themselves as the definitive source for information, products and services related to the specific places in the markets where they operate.
3.Creating quality content as a viable marketing tool. Social media marketing and content marketing go hand-in-hand, and this is the year businesses will create useful content that adds value to the online conversation and to people's lives. The Web is a cluttered place. Amazing content is essential to break through the noise.
4.Moving more marketing dollars to social media. Statistics show that large and small companies are shifting budget dollars to social media and other digital marketing initiatives and away from print and radio advertising. Consumers spend more time online than ever and to reach them and stay competitive, small businesses need to have a presence on the social Web.
5.Tracking brand reputations on the social Web in greater detail. Social media has given consumers a large platform to voice their opinions, and small-business owners are realizing the importance of actively monitoring their reputation on the Web. With dashboards and social media aggregators like Hootsuite and Spredfast, it's easier than ever for small businesses to develop, nurture and track their stature online.
6.Increase in branded online experiences to meet diverse consumer needs. Simply having a Twitter account or Facebook page isn't enough this year. Small businesses must surround consumers with branded online destinations such as a blog, LinkedIn profile, YouTube channel, Flickr profile and so on. Consumers can then pick and choose how they want to interact with your brand. Of course, quality trumps quantity, so extending a brand across the social Web must be done strategically to maximize opportunities without compromising content and communications.
7.Pursuing mobile marketing. There is absolutely no doubt this is the year of mobile marketing. While still in its infancy, it is the marketing imperative of the future. With mobile advertising, branded mobile apps and mobile marketing apps like Foursquare, consumers will expect businesses to have a mobile presence in 2011.
8.Geotargeting and localized marketing will become a top priority. Local discount websites like Groupon and local review sites like Yelp make it easy for consumers to find deals and reviews about businesses in their neighborhoods and beyond. Creating targeted, local marketing campaigns using these popular tools will become the norm this year.
9.Accepting that silo marketing is ineffective. Offline, online and mobile marketing initiatives create an opportunity to lead consumers from one message to another by integrating those strategies. You can drive a significantly higher return on investment by cross-promoting branded online destinations, discounts, contests and events.
10.Co-marketing to boost returns and lower marketing costs. The economy is still struggling, which means small businesses can benefit from economies of scale by partnering with complementary businesses to develop co-marketing programs in 2011. Promotional partnerships not only lead to reduced costs but also can lead to increased exposure to new audiences.
This year, all businesses will be experimenting with a variety of online, localized and mobile marketing initiatives. Remember, even if you're not leveraging marketing trends and opportunities, your competitors are.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Are You "We-ezing"? Try "You-sing" Instead
It's a simple yet difficult mindset to attain, but it's a critical element of successful and relevant marketing strategies: think and act from the customer's point of view.
As tough as it might be to accept, the truth is, the buyer of your product or service and/or the supporter of your organization is only going to be moved into the desired action (i.e. buy something, give money or time) if there is something in it for them. What is that 'something'? It should be the crux of your marketing message.
Take a look at your marketing collateral, your organization's language and policies, your website--if you're referring to 'we', 'our' or 'our company name' more than you are framing your information from a customer's point of view, you're 'we-ezing'. Try 'you-sing' by talking about the benefits an individual receives by being involved in your organization--the ones that matter to them...not you.
As tough as it might be to accept, the truth is, the buyer of your product or service and/or the supporter of your organization is only going to be moved into the desired action (i.e. buy something, give money or time) if there is something in it for them. What is that 'something'? It should be the crux of your marketing message.
Take a look at your marketing collateral, your organization's language and policies, your website--if you're referring to 'we', 'our' or 'our company name' more than you are framing your information from a customer's point of view, you're 'we-ezing'. Try 'you-sing' by talking about the benefits an individual receives by being involved in your organization--the ones that matter to them...not you.
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