Get To The Grapes

Online Marketing is Here to Stay, it’s Time to get in on the Action

Sacramento Business Journal – by Debi Hammond, Contributing writer, Marketing

Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Still, so many companies continue to market their businesses the same way — traditionally. That’s not to say traditional marketing is dead, though according to Joseph Jaffe, author of “Life After the 30-Second Spot” and “Join the Conversation,” marketers must adapt to the brave new world of the Internet, social media and social networking, consumer-generated content, blogs, videocasts and podcasts by joining in the meaningful conversations that are happening online.

The point is that you can no longer rely on traditional media alone to tell your story. Marketing has to be truly integrated. And quite frankly, marketing has changed. People no longer want to be sold to by companies; they want to be connected and compelled to buy in a more personal and meaningful way.

In “Join the Conversation,” Jaffe writes that today’s consumers are active participants in the advertising process. They are no longer simply silent targets and sitting ducks for one-way communication.

The advertising industry is changing rapidly, yet so many companies seem to have their heads in the sand — especially when it comes to incorporating social media into their marketing mix. They seem to think that if they stick their head in the sand, no one will notice them.

Well, my philosophy is that if you stick your head in the sand, everyone will notice you because you’re sharing your most undesirable end.

Not sure if your customers are really online? Let me share a few statistics with you. (more…)

I am almost finished with “Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust,” by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith and although it does get a bit, well, deep into the techie scene and their inner circle of social media gurus, it’s a great book on how to approach social media successfully.  In a nut shell, when it comes to social media, keep it helpful and keep it real. 

As marketers (and clients as salespeople), we tend to get aggressive with our messages – wanting responses and ROI immediately, but the fact of the matter is, that’s just not how social media works.  Personal relationships and connections take time and some giving of yourself.  So before you expect to get, start to give first.  Want to build influence and earn trust? I’d recommend picking up a copy of this book: Trust Agents.

Friday, December 04, 2009

Strategy often overlooked in social media

Set your goals from the start to avoid having to clean up a mess

Sacramento Business Journal – by Debi Hammond, Contributing writer, Marketing

Social media, the marketing buzz phrase of 2009, finally is being embraced by small and large companies alike. But for some companies, their late entry into the social media space has left them trying to clean up messes created by their “wait and see” mentality.

What they didn’t realize is that while they were “waiting to see” what this social media “thing” was all about, their brands were being altered, and in some cases, stolen, online.

We have spent the past few months flying all across the country taking clients through an in-depth social media training that is focused, not on the tools, but rather on the strategy behind the utilization of those tools. The difference between strategy and usage is extremely important.

Companies spend a fortune in both time and money hiring advertising and public relations professionals to manage their brands, yet when it comes to social media, they tend to pass those responsibilities on to the first intern or GenY employee who has a MySpace or Facebook account — thinking that the ability to use social media tools is the same as the ability to use them strategically.

Stay in control

So, what can really go wrong in the social media space by having just anyone manage it for you? A lot. Here are just two examples.

First, and probably most important, someone else will own your profile names. This means, for example, that your official business name on Face­book or Twitter could be tied to an intern’s e-mail address and when that intern is gone, so is your ability to manage (or own) that account, or the name on it. A huge loss for your business and your brand.

Second, you can lose control of your brand message. Every tweet, post and comment counts when it comes to your brand. What is really being said about, and by, your brand online? Something as important as your brand should be managed by those who truly understand it.

How can you avoid having to clean up a social media mess? Review these guidelines before ever starting a social media campaign.

Create a strategic plan

When you launch a new advertising campaign, you have a well thought-out strategic plan. When you launch a PR program, you develop a strategic plan. Yet, somehow, when companies launch a social media program, they do it without a plan. You know the old saying: “Fail to plan and you plan to fail.”

Develop guidelines

A lot of large companies are grappling with the fact that their own employees are talking about, representing and in some cases “owning” the company’s brand online. They’ve created fan pages and blogs dedicated to the company. They tweet on behalf of themselves and the company, using logos, branding elements and messaging that is often out of context and off message.

It’s not that they are doing anything wrong intentionally. In fact, if anything, you want to encourage their enthusiasm.

So how is it that the company can lose control online, even to its best brand fanatics? It’s because the company did not provide the guidelines needed to harness the enthusiasm from the beginning.

A simple set of social media guidelines can go a long way in unifying your brand online and/or saving you the time and heartache of trying to reel in and rebrand what 10 or 10,000 employees already have created online.

Hire or assign a strategist

Once again, almost anyone can use social media tools or teach you how to create a Twitter account. However, what’s important is that they understand how to use a Twitter account (or any other social media tool) strategically for the benefit of your brand and business. It’s imperative that the person who manages your social media program understands the traditional principles of marketing while fully embracing the untraditional principles of the Web.

Hire a social media strategist and watch your brand grow online.

Provide human capital, resources

Most people think social media is free, when, in fact, it’s quite expensive when done right. Yes, the tools are free, but what you need to implement a successful social media campaign is a team with time, resources and a strategic approach. It takes time, dedication and resources to create rich content, engage in meaningful conversation and monitor your brand online.

Without a social media team, you’re without the resources necessary to do it right.

Put social media in its place

Many elements fall under the marketing umbrella including advertising, public relations and creative development. Yet, somehow, social media is often considered an add-on — a free marketing element that doesn’t deserve the same time, planning and strategy as the other disciplines. Well, social media is an integrated discipline and needs to be elevated and positioned equally to all other disciplines under the marketing umbrella in order to use it successfully.

So, whether you’ve already implemented a social media program or plan to in the near future, be sure to follow the guidelines outlined above so that the buzz you create online supports your brand and your business.

Debi Hammond is president and chief executive officer of Sacramento-based Merlot Marketing Inc. Reach her at debi@merlotmarketing.com . Click here for original article.

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Don’t miss the National Latina Business Women’s Association’s 4th Annual Helping Build the Latina Woman Business Conference today at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel.  The conference starts at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m.  The afternoon session (starting at 2:00 p.m.) includes a panel of three marketing professionals who will share insight and information on “How to get Explosive Results from the Use of Social Media.” The panel includes:

Lindsay Myers, Senior SEO Consultant/METRO SEO
Tammy Burleson, President & CEO/Why Not Web
Debi Hammond, President & CEO/Merlot Marketing

Want more information or interested in attending?

Click on Agenda or Registration for more information.

According to a new study from Performics and analytics from ROI Research, 46 percent of social media users have recommended or talked about a product or brand on Facebook, and 44 percent have done the same on Twitter.

With more than 3,000 responses to an online survey of social network users, 30 percent said they have learned about a new product, service or brand from a social networking site, and 25 percent have gone directly to an online retailer or ecommerce site after learning about a new product or brand.  Twenty-five percent have recommended a product or brand to friends through social networking sites while 20 percent have discussed them on social networking sites after seeing an ad elsewhere. 

Want to engage your target audience?

Twenty-seven percent reported being receptive to invitations to events, special offers or promotions received through social networking sites. 

Just like with any public relations or advertising campaign, a social media program needs to be based in strategy and provided the resources needed to succeed.  But the real question is for those companies out there who still wonder if social media is just a fad.   They continue to hesitate to truly get involved or invest the time and resources to get involved successfully.  Well, if those companies wait for much more evidence, that ‘bandwagon’ will be long gone…. Full article at BrandWeek.

I just finished the book “Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business” by Neil Postman, and let me tell you, it’s not a light read.  A quick read yes, a light read no. It’s thought provoking and profound.  Although I don’t agree fully with all of the author’s philosophies, he does make you think about our culture from a different perspective.  In the age of social media (Twitter and Facebook) and a culture based around imagery, sound bites and ‘drama,’ this book will get you thinking about epistemology; more importantly, media as epistemology.  It’s a great read and one I’d recommend to everyone – especially marketers.  As we are early adopters of technology and new media, we owe it to ourselves and others to utilize them in a smart, thoughtful and intelligent way.

So between blog posts and tweets, pick up a book – preferably this one.  Still not sure if you want to dive in?  If nothing else, read the ‘foreward’ that follows. It’s powerful and succinct, and it alone will make you think.

FOREWARD: Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman

–We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn’t, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened, we, at least, had not been visited by Orwellian nightmares.

But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell’s dark vision, there was another — slightly older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.  Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.

What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism.  Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy.  As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny “failed to take into account man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions.” In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.

This book is about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right.–

As a consumer of “infotainment” and a professional in the communications field, I have a great appreciation of our media, yet I do continue to question how a nation who gets its news and knowledge in sound bites will affect our culture.

Employers experience much trepidation when it comes to social media, so they ban and block it from their employees. On the other hand, employees are simply better versed and more comfortable in the ‘Twitterverse,’ so they sometimes tweet and blog their way into trouble. So, what are employees and employers to do? Read on to find out. Here is a link to a great article featured this weekend in the Sacramento Bee.

Meet Dave

A lot of companies simply do not ‘get’ social media. Executives ask, what can it really do for my brand? Although it doesn’t always work quite this well for every brand, this VIDEO does make a great point. Social media provides a platform for companies to connect with their target audience. Not through an ad or an article, but through meaningful relationships they have online and in person. Yes, the two worlds are merging and companies that capitalize on it will win. And those that don’t?  Well, the word relevancy comes to mind.  Just how relevant will your brand be in say, three, five or 10 years from now?

Many companies think that as long as they are not blogging, commenting, tweeting or friending, then conversations about them aren’t happening.  Well let me tell you, the conversation is happening about you whether you want it to or not. So, shouldn’t you join the ’conversation’ so you have some say about your ‘blank?’ About your brand?  There are a lot of “Dave’s” out there, shouldn’t you introduce yourself? Say hello? Answer a question? Thank them for their business? You can do all of those things via social media.  The paradigm has shifted, so it’s time to change your game plan. Video source: 22squared.

What is Twitter? I don’t get it. It doesn’t make sense. Why do people waste their time? These are common comments I hear regarding the micro-blogging website. 

So what is Twitter? Well it’s far more than a micro-blogging site for friends and family.  It’s become a hit among celebrities, marketers and businesses.  News stories are breaking not through CNN or Fox News, but through ‘tweets.’  When U.S. Airways Flight 1549 went down in the Hudson, it wasn’t reporters breaking the news, it was individuals, both on the flight and on nearby ferries feeding details to ‘followers‘ who then shared it with the media.  And now, just as people begin to question the legitimacy of Twitter (after all, 60% of Twitter users fail to return after a month), we are receiving first-hand reports from Iranian protesters about what is happening on the ground in real time.  So, is Twitter anything more than a waste of time? Try plugging in the search term #IranElection.  On Monday evening (06/15/09), Twitter was registering about 30 new posts a minute with that tag. Stilll Thirsty…? 

Friday, May 29, 2009

With Twitter, you can promote your business and brand in real time

Sacramento Business Journal – by Debi Hammond Contributing writer

Although Twitter might not be the best vehicle for Shakespearean prose, it’s fast becoming a marketing powerhouse.

Twitter is a social networking tool that answers the question “What are you doing?” in 140 characters or less.

Originally designed as a personal social networking tool for friends, family and co-workers, marketers and other business professionals recognized its potential and are now seizing it for everything from customer service and brand perception monitoring to promotion of new products and services.

Best of all, it’s all in real time.

Even the president of the United States (@BarackObama) was all a-Twitter during the campaign, as well as national news sources such as CNN (@cnn). Heck, even Oprah Winfrey (@oprah) “tweets.”

So, should you start tweeting? Well, consider these statistics.

According to Compete.com, Twitter had 19.44 million unique visitors in April, up from 1.5 million in April 2008. Nielsen, however, recently reported that more than 60 percent of U.S. Twitter members abandon the site after one month of use.

But don’t let that discourage you. There are still close to 20 million users on Twitter from which you can create your very own following. And, once you do, you can reach them with your message in real time.

Tell customers what you’re up to

So, how are companies using Twitter to promote their businesses? Here are just a few examples:

• Zappos (@zappos): With more than 600,000 followers, Zappos chief executive officer Tony Hsieh understands the power of Twitter. He sells shoes online, and through Twitter, and has become a one-man customer service and marketing machine for the online shoe retailer.

Although some might find Twitter to be a bit impersonal, he uses it at Zappos for building more personal connections with both the company’s employees and customers. And given the fact that the company was featured on Fortune Magazine’s annual 100 Best Companies to Work For list, the guy must be doing something right. He continues to foster brand and employee loyalty one tweet at a time.

• High-end food vendors: I know, as odd as it sounds, mobile food vendors are using Twitter to draw more customers. The drivers tweet via their cell phones to alert customers to their whereabouts and menu options.

That’s true in the case of Kogi BBQ, which is, according to the Associated Press, an almost cultishly popular Korean-Mexican style taco vendor in Los Angeles. According to Jane Goldman, editor-in-chief of CHOW Magazine, “the Kogi folks have shown themselves to be adept at turning those mini-missives into a hugely successful marketing machine.”

• Comcast Cares (@comcastcares): Not known for their customer service acumen, Comcast was able to take a barrage of negative comments and stories in the blogosphere and, via Twitter, turn them into one of the most successful customer service case studies on the Web.

How might you use Twitter to promote your business? Depending on the type of business you’re in, here are a few ways you might capitalize on the craze:

• Restaurants: Tweet about your food and drink specials, events, new menu items, etc. Chefs can tweet about what they’re picking up from the farmers market and the sommelier can tweet about the new Bordeaux she just added to the wine list.

• Retailers: As a retailer, what you want is traffic, and Twitter can help you get it. Tweet about your new arrivals, sales, specials, discounts and exclusive lines.

• Grocers: From fresh strawberries to succulent salmon, tweet about seasonal specials and sales. Given the real-time nature of Twitter, during hot summer months you can tweet about cold concoctions to satisfy one’s thirst. This list could go on and on.

• Theaters/concert venues: Let people know there are still seats available at a discounted price. Tweet about the arrival of a celebrity. With great movies and music, the topics are endless.

• Marketers: Yes, I tweet, along with many of my peers. At our agency, we use it to communicate with editors, writers and reporters, as well as colleagues, clients and other followers.

To borrow a line from Shakespeare, “All the world’s a stage. …” Isn’t it time you started tweeting from it?

So grab a twitter handle (that’s the name you’ll go by following the @ symbol) and get to tweeting. Feel free to follow me at @DebiHammond or twitter.com/DebiHammond.

Debi Hammond is president and chief executive officer of Sacramento-based Merlot Marketing Inc. Reach her at debi@merlotmarketing.com.
 
All contents of this site © American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.