Archive for marketing

A campaign is now an ecosystem

July 1, 2009 at 8:24 pm · Filed under marketing, social media, word-of-mouth ·Tagged , , , , , , ,

ecosystem

Shifting strategy for marketing in this transformational and disruptive era 

Marketers have lost it; they’re not in control anymore.  Instead, it’s the customers/consumers (who can also be called influencers, advocates or detractors) running things now as they leverage social media, initiate the conversations about products and services and ultimately behave as self-marketers whose word-of-mouth is as valuable a currency as a dollar, peso or yen. 

During a luncheon presented by the Houston Interactive Marketing Association, Scott Berg, director of digital strategy at HP, shared his perspective on the future of consumer and business marketing in an age where people are more connected than ever before by technology.

“If we keep focusing on and doing campaigns, business is going to suffer,” Berg said.  “Consumers are taking initiative because they have so much control.  It’s important to support and leverage this self-marketing.”

Berg said the typical model of digital marketing campaign management…

Discover – Find – Confirm/Validate – Transact – Support – Feedback/Share

must shift to a broader focus on customer ecosystem management:

Awareness – Consideration Preference – Purchase – Loyalty

The support and feedback/share segments of the campaign model have not been addressed well by marketing, Berg criticized, adding that measures of success have tended to focus on metrics related to how long a person spends with a brand (e.g. web page views, total time spent, interactions).

“We need to stop elongating the game,” he said.  “Focus instead on how quickly and how well we fulfill needs.”

Berg also offered compelling comments on market segmenting as he admonished the need for another shift – away from “finding them” to “them finding you.”  Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a critical strategy.  Also, content such as video and white papers must be distributed beyond a web site to wherever customers are doing what they do.    

Ultimately, Berg underscored that superior performance is what’s going to drive people to talk and generate that precious currency known as word-of-mouth.  “This is where buzz comes in,” he said.  “One customer comment on a Facebook page, for example, can generate a ton of email inquiries, tweets on Twitter and ongoing conversations across many platforms.”

LINKS

Houston Interactive Marketing Association – http://www.houstonima.org

Scott Berg – http://www.hp.com/blogs/thechangingfaceofmedia

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Facebook fuels social media mileage for YMCA of Austin

June 26, 2009 at 4:31 pm · Filed under Facebook, Twitter, communications, marketing, social media, word-of-mouth

ymca austin

As the Marketing & Communications Director for the YMCA of Austin, Sean Doles is the one-man graphic designing, media buying, internal and external communicating machine.  He’s in the beginning stages of integrating social media, particularly Facebook, into the central Texas nonprofit organization.

 

So far, the Y’s Facebook page is a platform for Doles to post pictures of events, programs, blog postings and links to interesting articles.  Ultimately, he wants to enable the Y’s members and program participants to do that, too.

 

“It seems a natural fit,” he said.  “We specialize in creating these communities – real communities.  This is just a virtual extension of what we’re already doing.  As a membership-based organization with a significant number of regular program participants, we’re in a tremendously advantageous position to utilize this platform and grow our informal communication network substantially.”

 

Doles says it’s not so much about building membership as it is about engaging, strengthening bonds and fostering communication among members.  “By sharing more information about what we’re doing as an organization, it strengthens their commitment to the organization.”

 

The Y’s Facebook wall has highlighted updates on the summer reading program, free swimming lessons, family fitness programs and more.  That’s the passive side.  On the active side, Facebook provides a forum for members to engage in dialogues about their experiences.

 

“It’s the kind of word-of-mouth that money can’t buy,” Doles says.  Ultimately, he feels that over time, stronger emotional attachments to the Y brand will manifest in levels of retention and charitable contributions.

 

“As a one-person operation, I wanted to find a couple of things that will be effective for critical mass with more versatility.  That’s why Facebook is so appealing.  You can do all these different things at no cost.”

 

He’s leaving the door open for the potential to use Twitter for brief updates on programs, events, links to useful articles and useful materials as well as reminders about deadlines for registration in Y programs.  “The Twitter communications would be soft, not blatant, sales pitches.  You really have to massage that well and stick to the unwritten rules of protocols of dialogue so people won’t tune out.”

 

Social media is also relevant to his grassroots strategy in media relations for the Y.  “There may be media folks who are following me on Facebook or Twitter, and that’s great,” he says. “But I’m still getting a lot of effectiveness out of traditional media through phone calls to assignment editors, pitch notes and faxed press releases.”

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How Wikis Can Enhance PR Efforts

June 8, 2009 at 4:09 pm · Filed under marketing, new media, public relations, social media

Collaboration, Empowerment, Control, Community, Expertise and Trust

A complete feedback loop enabling all users to create content.

A complete feedback loop enabling all users to create content.

Don’t limit yourself to blogs, microblogs, and social networking sites.  Wikis should be included in the PR communication mix.

Wikis are web pages that can be created, linked and edited by users.  While the other tools limit the contribution of end users to comments, wikis allow a complete feedback loop, enabling all users to create content.

Hundreds of wiki tools are available – some for free, others with fees.  Some offer basic designs and others feature branding and advanced aesthetic options.  Wiki comparison tools such as WikiMatrix (www.wikimatrix.org) can help you choose the right wiki for your goals, objectives and budget.

Enabling collaboration may be the greatest strength of wikis because this can happen without the involvement of the web page administrator.  Creating, linking and editing content on a web site can also generate a sense of ownership, which can be instrumental in viral marketing.

Some situations or specific pages may require more oversight.  Most services allow wiki administrators to assign permissions to users, letting you control whether users should be able to read, edit, delete or comment on content on your wiki site. Be careful about taking away too many privileges and contradicting the purpose of a wiki.

Because users create and manage wiki content, they can feel invested in its success.  Many of the most popular wikis are built around a community of contributors who volunteer their time and skill to produce content that helps other people.  By creating a community of people who feel comfortable sharing their expertise, wikis can foster a sense of belonging and purpose, which can be tied to your brand.

The tools available on wikis allow users to determine who is considered to be an expert in a community.  A sense of trust is also fostered because wikis democratically share power.  If end-users trust the content of your wiki, then they may be more likely to promote and market it through word-of-mouth and other social media tools.

Using a wiki in public relations requires an open, transparent and flexible approach.  While they won’t solve all problems, they can be powerful tools creating the kind of forward-thinking PR programs that garner not just trust among your target audience but also a sense of community that transcends brand loyalty.

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Tapping online networks to raise funds

May 25, 2009 at 12:32 am · Filed under marketing, public relations, social media ·Tagged , , , , , ,

fundraisingOne of my friends works for a charity that over the years has won supporters for its big annual college scholarship fundraiser event with e-mail blasts, brochures and personal calls to big donors.

But that’s soooo yesterday.

This year, the nonprofit group began posting event information to its new Facebook page. It also is tweeting on Twitter and uploading video to YouTube. Then, of course, the group also blogs and shares photos on Flickr.

The result? My friend (who’s an officer with the group) says registration for this year’s event is nearly triple what it was last year.

That’s the bottom-line promise of “social giving,” which uses online networks to raise awareness and, ultimately, money. Organizations with a cause are “friend-raising” on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and elsewhere to bolster that old-as-money objective: fund-raising.
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Social giving exploits online networks, which offer exponential possibilities for building personal relationships. Once an organization makes a connection to an individual, that person can leverage his or her personal contacts – the old “friends of friends” gone viral. When campaigns also include interactive contests, creative video clips, and real-time information, donating money becomes less of an obligation and more of an experience.
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Everybody saw the success of the Obama campaign — lots of small donations through online networks added up to big bucks for the candidate.  Bo Bothe, president and chief creative officer at BrandExtract, says that nonprofits can replicate that success.
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“In an economy where purse strings are triple-knotted, the strategy has particular appeal,” Bo said as he and I were chatting after he had just finished participating in a panel discussion at the recent Online Marketing Summit in Houston.
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“It’s not a magic cure-all,” Bo remarked. “They’re wonderful tools. It’s just not automatic, that if you’re on social media, your fund-raising is going to go through the roof. Social giving at its best, however, can be the gift that keeps on giving. It has tentacles. You have so many more people you can reach. The status updates and tweets allow nonprofits to have “two-way conversations” with supporters.”
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Clearly, the key is to reach out to people in the right way, establishing and understanding how social media fits into a specific nonprofit group’s goals and mission. While social media offer low-cost marketing options, they shouldn’t drain or distract nonprofits from doing the public good. 
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I think it’s possible for nonprofits to explore the potentials and pitfalls of social networks while working their connections. Post tweets and update Facebook fans about blog posts or public service announcements on YouTube.
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A nonprofit that keeps that kind of cycle going will potentially reach people who might not otherwise be exposed to or engaged in the group’s cause.

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PR is about the conversation

May 24, 2009 at 11:50 pm · Filed under marketing, public relations, social media ·Tagged , , , ,

verbal commI think it’s clear that digital marketing activities are converging the reality of putting the public back into public relations. While traditional media relations is intent on getting to know (hopefully) and pitching journalists and editors, the best success in doing that comes from writing for or sharing information that was interesting to the readers of those publications.

Odds improve when you write the story yourself. Whether the story is the piece of news in the press release or not, for it to go social, it needs to have certain elements built in to appeal to the ultimate audience – your customers or prospective customers. The degree to which it appeals to end users may also determine media pick up – traditional media and new media alike.  But you need to retain the power over facilitating the conversation and testing the viability of the resulting marketing decisions.
 
For you to do this well, it doesn’t mean you create a public idea site. Let’s not confuse tools with intent and process. Some companies may feel comfortable out in the open, others may already have such a strong community of advisers that all they need to do is engage those relationships.
 
So where do you start?
 
1. Start with your product or service.
What do you need to do to make it a valuable use of your customers’ budgets and time? If you feel you need to improve it, but do not know where to begin, open up the communication lines with your customers. This is the same deal as the employee suggestion box. It cannot be just lip service, you’ll need to walk the talk. The main difference between old media and new media is the filter – with new media you have none. That can be really good, or really bad for you. You decide.
 
2. Integrate CRM with social to build long term relationships.
The fundamental shift between your CRM system and the social Web to build relationships is that CRM is really a process where you capture and manage customer information. The social Web allows you to act publicly on that information to benefit your customers as well and you by reflection. If you want to connect with end users, begin by not seeing them as something you can use at will. Broaden that definition to include how they can use your content to become smarter, do their job better, look good with their peers and boss alike, and connect with each other.

3. Educate your company on new media.
Don’t take for granted that just because everyone’s on Facebook they know how to put these tools to good use for business. Set up training classes for your authors and content owners to help them see the possibilities. Do that as part of the media training program you offer. Share information on how you talk about what you do, your stories, what you’ve published in traditional media, what resonates with your audience.

That kind of intelligence allows subject matter experts to build on existing conversations.

Teach people how to write for the Web and you’ll be able to publish more content that is of value to your customer community. It’s the old adage of teaching people how to fish. All those who are in customer-facing jobs should be empowered to assist customers wherever they choose to communicate with you.

4. Listen, test, adjust frequently.
Don’t wait until you have the perfect answer. Start testing small initiatives by integrating them to existing programs and keeping them modest. What you want to do is set up realistic objectives, communicate them to your team, and measure against them.

Keep listening for changes in behavior and adjust your tactics or strategies accordingly. This may feel a bit squeamish for those who are classically trained in marketing. They tend to have very specific ideas of what needs to be done. Yet, gone are the days of perfect mass marketing campaigns.

Today it’s more about micro interactions – personal, relevant, and meaningful exchanges of value. You capture someone’s attention when you stop thinking of them as eyeballs and start thinking in terms of exchange – and connection.

5. Know where your customers are and why they’re there.
You may think that having an ad on Facebook is a good idea, after all many of your customers are there. Before you go ahead and find a new way for them to ignore you or piss them off, do take the time to find out why they’re there, what they do. Digital and online media by its very nature feels more personal. People have come to expect interaction and exchange. Instead of ignoring you, like they did off line when you interrupted them last, they may tell you what they think about your ad and they may tell all their friends, too – on Twitter.

These are ideas you can take and try your own way. They scale, too. Thanks to technology and the social Web, a business any size can be what it wants to be. It kind of puts a whole new meaning to “be all you can be,” doesn’t it?

Have questions or need help? Leave a comment below. Or contact me on         832-715-8021        or www.twitter.com/FeliciaGriffin1.

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