Who Will You Find On a Social Network?
If your brand is not maintaining a strong presence on the major social networks at a bare minimum, your brand is missing great opportunities to achieve greater success. The majority of online Americans used social media in 2012, according to the Pew Center’s Internet & American Life Project published last week. 67% of all Internet users are using at least one social media site (including 71% of women), and amongst those 18-29, 83% use. The Pew report measured social media activity on 5 social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr). Certainly there’s some overlap, as there are many people Read More
If Multi-Channel Marketing Efforts Are Good Enough for an Icon, They Are Good Enough For You
For brands, it is vital to be everywhere that your potential target market is. It doesn’t matter how big the brand is, nor do past brand achievements. Not resting on laurels is a key component of an iconic global brand. Take for instance the Barbie brand, owned by Mattel. Barbie can claim the following achievements. 99% global brand awareness The typical American girl owns 10 Barbie dolls Annual sales are around $1.6 Billion The Barbie brand is valued at $2 Billion, making it the world’s most valuable toy brand Just from those two very simple marketing statistics, one might easily Read More
Social Marketing or Marketing on Social Networks?
Does your company practice social media marketing, or do you use social networks for marketing? There is a difference. The first – social media marketing – requires a strategy specific to social channels, and content tailored to those platforms. The second – marketing on social networks – is simply distributing traditional marketing messages through social media. Social media marketing works. Marketing on social networks doesn’t. Social media marketing is a true two-way conversation between a company and its customers, prospective customers, and the world at large. Marketing through social networks “pushes” company offerings to anyone who can hear them. This includes tactics Read More
Facebook Timeline Steps to Take Now
It’s been about a month since Facebook implemented the new Timeline layout for business pages. When Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s new page design was first announced, the reaction was less than positive. Like it or not, there are some features in the new layout that can make a big difference in how user-friendly business pages are for both the page manager and customers or prospects who “Like” the page. Here are some basic steps every marketer needs to take now to catch up with the new Facebook Timeline. I’ll admit that when Timeline first came out, I was among the Read More
5 Social Media Mistakes to Avoid
If there are any marketers out there who don’t have social media marketing on their 2012 marketing plan, they’re a definite minority. Nearly everyone agrees that it’s among the most cost-effective tools available to us. But there are five common social media mistakes that can be quite costly – so make sure that you plan now to avoid them in 2012. Posting sporadically or inconsistently. Social media, like blogging, is a marathon – not a sprint. Even if your very first blog post or tweet gets tons of clicks, there’s no guarantee that the next one will do the same. Measurable Read More
Trick or Tweet: 7 Social Media Horror Stories
Yes, it’s Halloween in the Twitterverse (and the rest of the social media world) — and to make sure that it’s all treats, and no tricks that can come back to haunt you, here’s a list of Halloween “don’ts” for marketers that make sense all year round. Don’t let personal comments (or prejudices) ruin your relationship with a big client or prospective client. Consider what happened to this PR firm when one of its executives tweeted a negative comment about the home town of the founder of one of the agency’s largest clients. Don’t let customer service complaints take over Read More
Social Media Is NOT Free
Ever been in a meeting with a senior executive who says, “So why is your budget this big? I thought we were relying on Twitter and Facebook and all that social media stuff more. And that’s free.” There’s a widespread myth out there that social media is free. It isn’t. For a social media marketing campaign you need people, time, and technology – all limited, non-renewable resources in most marketing departments. In fact, maybe the executive who poses a question about social media being free doesn’t understand that there is a near 100% overlap between the items that go into the marketing budget and the resources that Read More
Basic Google+ Cheat Sheet
Less than a month after it launched in late June, Google+ had over 25 million registered users — a milestone that took Twitter 29 months, and Facebook 3 years to reach. Have you tried it yet? Or are you waiting to see whether it’s a useful tool for multi-channel marketing? If you haven’t made up your mind yet, here are the absolute basics that marketers need to know. What is Google+? It’s not exactly a social network — it’s a sharing network where people create contact circles. Here’s how Shimrit Ben-Yair, Google’s product manager for the product describes it. “Google+ Circles solve Read More
How Engaged Are Your Customers?
Jasmine is a mixed-breed dog adopted from the Las Vegas dog pound. She’s a great dog. That’s her in the photo — patiently enduring being posed with a catalog of high-end dog beds while wearing a pair of silly eye glasses. Most of the time, she did what she was asked, (which was to look directly at the camera) but every now and again she couldn’t resist looking over at her trainer to see if it was time to go home yet. Jasmine was giving her attention to the humans around her — but she wasn’t engaged with what was happening. She was Read More
Measuring Earned Media vs. Paid Media
The newest buzz word for engaging current and prospective customers through social media is earned media. It’s measured with the same metrics as traditional paid media (advertising, press releases, telemarketing, direct mail, and email marketing): impressions/audience size, lifts in brand awareness, message awareness, and purchase intent. Quantifying the value of earned media has moved up the priority list as multi-channel marketers have learned that “free” marketing tools like social media aren’t really free. (Yes, it’s free to set up a Facebook page or a Twitter account, but it takes time and dollars to create the strategy, messages, campaigns, and marketing Read More
