Tag Archives: social media

brand branding marketing social media

Pooh Cool

May 23, 2012 – 11:55 pm

The other day, someone on Facebook (OK, it was actually Erika Napoletano if you must know) shared a pretty funny cartoon. It was Winnie the Pooh, looking up earnestly at Christopher Robin, saying, “It would be cooler if you were Christopher Walken.”

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-HA!

Right?

But do you ever worry about this? I think it probably comes up a lot in people’s minds, given the constant exposure just about every market niche gets from global media outlets, big and small.

You know who your competitors are—are they cooler than you are? Are you cooler but not necessarily better? What if you’re not cool at all?

Guess what? It’s OK.

Why? ‘Cuz your customers—who are your customers because they want and need exactly what you happen to be offering—don’t care if you are cool. Really, they don’t.

They know that you understand what their problems are, and you can solve them. A Flash animation on your web site or a hipper-than-Ryan-Gosling infographic is not gonna change anything for them.

You get them. They know that. And they want you.

But Christopher Walken’s still cooler than you are. There’s really nothing you can do about that.

Share
Tags , , , | Comment (0)
social media

Tweets (Literally) Going Nowhere?

February 2, 2012 – 9:34 pm

I hear the same complaint on a weekly basis from companies in all industries: Why are my tweets not getting re-tweeted—is anyone even READING what I post?

Well, if you even have to ask, then I think you know the answer.

But first of all: Congratulations on using social media! So many companies are afraid to, or don’t think they have the resources for it—so anyone who is actually getting out there and doing it is already ahead of the game in my book.

Now, on to the pressing issue:

What if you’re tweeting your sweet little brains out, but nobody seems to be
sharing your brilliance with others?

This is a tough nut to crack for a lot of people and organizations, so you’re not alone. There’s really no single silver bullet (and no, I’m not talking Coors Light here—although that might make you feel a bit better about things) that can rock your world when it comes to getting RTed, but here’s a shortlist that might help you get a fire lit:

  1. Are you following people who care? If you’re only following Alec Baldwin, your co-worker Nathan, and your niece Emily, you need to expand your horizons. Follow like-minded people, and they will happily RT any pertinent info you post to their followers—who might in turn begin following (and RTing) you!
  2. Think graphically. Infographics are not only pretty, fun, and informative, they get RTed like CRAZY. I mean like Courtney Love-crazy. Make one. Tweet it. See what happens.
  3. Keep your characters in check. Are your Tweets routinely coming in at exactly 140 characters? If so, it’s time to do some pruning. See if you can tweet at about 100 characters, in order to leave room for your followers to add comments when they RT to their peeps.
  4. Is your information unique? If your tweets don’t offer an unusual twist on similar information being disseminated online, why should they bother RTing? Don’t just regurgitate the same information that everyone else posts; even when you RT someone else’s post, make it your own before you click that ‘Tweet’ button.
  5. Be provocative. No matter what industry you’re in (unless maybe you’re a nun), sex sells. So think about spinning your content around a well-crafted, clever innuendo, and you might see your level of RTs, uh, rise.  :)

Now of course, how to succeed on Twitter is a pretty big subject, and this only barely scratches the surface. But. . .I have it on good authority that there might be a <cough, cough> spiffy WEBINAR coming up soon on this very subject.

If you’d like to be one of the first to get a heads-up on our free upcoming social media webinar, just drop us a note, and we’ll make sure to let you in on all the details as soon as they’re firmed up.

Share
Tags , | Comment (0)
social media

Kwitcher Yelpin’!

December 21, 2011 – 6:40 pm

With all the social media advice flying around out there, one issue seems to be overlooked again and again, and I think it’s time someone talked about it, so here goes. . .

It’s Yelp.

Now, some people might not consider Yelp to be much of a social media vehicle; they see it as a younger, hipper version of Angie’s List, and in some respects, they‘re correct. But when you look deeper, you can clearly see how much value it has as a social platform—maybe even more than Facebook, truth be told.

And as with any popular social media outlet, Yelp offers businesses the opportunity to make
massive, horrifying mistakes when dealing with customers.

Know This:

  1. Yelp is a public forum where consumers post their experiences with, and related opinions of, your business
  2. You can’t control what people post
  3. Trying to manipulate your Yelp reviews is business suicide

Recently, someone I know posted a negative review of a business on Yelp. It was a valid review, reflecting that person’s experience with the company. Several weeks later, he received a letter from the company’s attorney, firmly requesting that the negative review be removed.

What?!

Now, this business had an opportunity, and they blew it. They could have offered to correct the problem, extended a discount, or at the very least issued a sincere apology for the experience the customer had.

But instead, they went on the offensive, and offensive they certainly were. As a result, my colleague posted an update to his review, outlining the experience of receiving the attorney’s follow-up letter.

Now, this company has several other reviews from happy customers on its profile. One less-than-stellar review wasn’t going to hurt one bit. But now, thanks to their overzealous response to a single review, people researching them on Yelp will likely think twice about doing business with them.

So Get This: Yelp is indeed an important social media outlet. Don’t treat it like your own personal sandbox. The same rules of customer service that apply to your call center should also apply here.

Now let’s all get out there and have some Happy Holidays, eh?

Share
Tags , , | Comment (1)
brand marketing social media

When Harry Marketing Met Sally Social Media

December 16, 2011 – 7:20 pm

Ever long for the good old days of Marketing? Marketing before there even WAS Marketing? The days when a bunch of middle-aged white guys sat around smoky bars, slapping each other on the back, cutting deals, and making weekend golf plans—all while ogling scantily clad waitresses named Margie?

Well, times have changed, and Marketing is no longer hanging out in bars with a Cuban cigar hanging out of the corner of its mouth. Today, Marketing is happily married—to a lovely, exotic young thing called Social Media. They got together a few years back, and despite their differences, these two crazy kids are
actually making it work!

Of course, every committed relationship creates change.
And although Marketing resisted for a while, he finally came around and learned to compromise, with fantastic results.

So what tricks did our old dog Marketing learn as a result of his relationship with that sexy vixen, Social Media? Read on. . .

4 New Truths of Marketing in the Era of Social Media

  1. Go where your customers are – Don’t make them come to you—use social media to find your customers in their favorite online hangouts, figure out what they want, and determine how they want to receive it.
  2. Shut up and listen – This is hard. For decades, marketers have jumped in and simply told customers what they wanted them to know, but that doesn’t work anymore. With social media, the world is your focus group, so get in there and crack yer ears open, matey—you’ll learn amazing stuff!
  3. The more data, the merrier – Every “like,” “follow,” and “retweet” gives you more (and better) first-hand information about your target customer, helping you market to them more effectively–and make them happier with your offering.
  4. Talk with ‘em, not at ‘em – Thanks to social media, customers today are interacting directly with brands they care about, rather than simply discussing amongst themselves. After you’ve done your listening and know what they want to talk about, jump in to chat, respond, and resolve issues. You’ll be building satisfaction and loyalty with every post!

So you see, even an unlikely pairing like old-skool Marketing and that little hottie Social Media can generate some really great stuff, and even long-term looooooooooooooove. If you want to read more posts on social media, check these badboys out:

Share
Tags , , , | Comment (0)
social media

Going on a Bad (Tweet) Trip

December 7, 2011 – 11:41 pm

It seems like every day we’re hearing about another celebrity getting their hands smacked by the general population over a misguided Tweet. This might lead you to wonder why we don’t hear much about this in respect to the large international brands we all know and love. And what’s more: How can your brand also take the high road when it comes to a Twitter presence—or gaffe.

All of the larger tech firms I work with have a Twitter account—usually multiple accounts, given the size and scope of their businesses. And while it may seem that these organizations are all over the Twittersphere, sharing, commenting, and announcing, you can bet that those approved corporate Twitter accounts are nearly impossible for the average employee to access.

These organizations know that the key to avoiding a social media meltdown lies in having a well laid out strategy, experienced and trusted staff manning the presence, and tight control over the accounts.

You won’t find HP, Apple, or Microsoft handing over their Twitter accounts
to a “social media intern.”

But even if you do have all those checks-and-balances in place, what should you do if the unthinkable happens, a finger slips, and something incorrect—or just plain inappropriate―gets released into the wild under your company name?

  1. Don’t Panic – It’s not the end of the world!
  2. Delete – First and foremost, delete the tweet in question. While it won’t stop the folks who have already seen it from sharing, it will keep the problem from escalating due to continuing access to the live posting.
  3. Address – Immediately (‘cause Twitter moves fast, man!) post a retraction, correction, or apology as appropriate.
  4. Clean Up – In the unlikely event that the mess created is REALLY big, follow up by pointing readers to someplace like Facebook, where a representative or team from your company can address specific issues or concerns one-to-one.
Share
Tags , | Comment (1)
marketing social media

The Tweet That Never Was

November 18, 2011 – 12:26 am

Just this morning I received a little email from the American Marketing Association, promoting an educational event. It focuses on social media for B2B marketers, and it’s taking place in Las Vegas. Now because I love spreading the word about great opportunities for fellow marketers to hone their all- important markety-type skills, I decided to tweet it to my followers so they could know about it.

But get this: The online event and registration page for the social media workshop did not include a way to share information about the event using, uh, SOCIAL MEDIA. This, my friends, is the reason the #FAIL hashtag was created.

So here’s a basic fact:

Just because you’re a marketer doesn’t mean
that you’re not also kind of a doofus.

 Of course I do mean that in the NICEST possible way; but c’mon, how dumb was that?! I doubt I’d be rushing to sign up to receive the social media marketing jewels the AMA has to offer when they can’t even properly use social media to market their own social media event!

Oy.

(Oh, and if you wanna tweet this post to your friends and colleagues, just click the icon below.)    :)

Share
Tags , , | Comment (0)
marketing social media

Elvis is Everywhere. You Don’t Need to Be.

October 13, 2011 – 11:04 pm

Twitter.
Facebook.
YouTube.
Flickr.
Foursquare.
LinkedIn.
The Blogosphere.

It’s enough to make your head swim, really. With so many social media outlets available, it’s not surprising that more and more companies are hiring boatloads of enterprising young grads to strategize about it and manage it all. But that begs the question:

Does your business really need to be everywhere?

. . .and the answer is a resounding NO. Thinking that you need to have a presence on every social media channel in order to reach your customers is like thinking you have to go to every dance club in town in order to find a date.

Social media marketing, just like any kind of marketing, is all about communicating with your target market. You remember them, right? Those folks that you have determined already need and/or want what you’re offering?

And yeah, they’re out there using social media. But if your customer is the HR manager of a funeral home, she’s probably not using MySpace in a business capacity. You probably saw this one coming, but here’s my common-sense thought for the day:

When spending your social media bucks, make sure you’re channeling them toward
the sites your customers are actually using.

So what this means is that Jerry, who loves country line dancing, doesn’t really need to be hanging out at the punk shows looking for a girlfriend. He’d have much better luck meeting his soul mate at the sh*tkicker bar down the street.

So the moral of the story is: If your customers don’t use LinkedIn, don’t feel a pressing need to build out an extensive presence there. By the same token, if you’ve found that your customers are more likely to purchase based upon a product demo, get yourself over to YouTube and put on a spiffy show for them that they can watch again and again.

And keep your fingers crossed for Jerry.

Share
Tags , , , , | Comment (0)
case studies marketing social media Web

Is The Bird REALLY the Word?

October 7, 2011 – 10:29 pm

Recently I heard a client exhorting an employee who was blathering on (and on, and on. . .) to “keep it tweetable!” This got me to thinking about the vast amount of marketing gems floating around out there, and the fact that right now, Almost Everything Marketing seems to be designed to pander to the 140 characters of goodness that is Twitter.

“A-well-a, everybody’s heard about the bird
Bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word. . .”

The thing is though, not everything is, or should be, tweetable. Here’s some stuff you need to know, and share:

  • Tweets are there to entice, to tease, to provoke
  • You absolutely cannot tell a story with them
  • Twitter should not be your entire marketing strategy
  • Twitter should not be your entire social media strategy
  • There is a strategy to using Twitter

Sure, definitely use Twitter if you’ve got a solid, standalone message to send that can be captured crisply in 140 characters or less. These things are cool, and can often get retweeted as-is. Yum.

Three things to remember, though:

  1. A tweet cannot sell one customer based on another customer’s success. For that you need a case study.
  2. A tweet cannot get a bunch of folks to register for your spiffy event. For that you need a well-crafted newsletter or emailer. And a kick-ass landing page so they can click ‘Register.”
  3. A tweet cannot convey the detail of the new technology that you have developed to revolutionize an industry. You need a compelling, sexy blog post for that.

Sure, use a sweet tweet as one of the vehicles to drive your followers to that case study, landing page, or blog post, but don’t fall into the trap of thinking that Twitter can do all the heavy lifting in your marketing world.

Oh, and if the lyrics up top got you all in the mood, feel free to sing along. ;)

Share
Tags , , , , , | Comment (0)
case studies marketing

The Write Tool for the Job

August 4, 2011 – 10:17 am

Do you know the difference between needing to hire a marketing writer, vs. needing to hire a tech writer? Unless you are deeply ingrained with a major player in the technology industry, such as Microsoft HP, Adobe, Apple, or Google, you’re probably getting it wrong.

There have been many occasions when I’ve been contacted by a potential client (who has presumably read my Web site and already done a bit of research on me) about a new project. Once we start chatting about their needs, however, it often bubbles up that they are looking for someone to develop a reviewer’s guide, user documentation, or possibly even a technical white paper.

Now, there is nothing at all on my Web site that would lead anyone to believe that I am a technical writer, yet this person somehow assumes that this is what I do for a living, simply because I write. And people just like this seem to land on my doorstep almost weekly, looking for my assistance.

A writer is not a writer is not a writer is not a. . .well, you get the drift.

Getting your tech writing project done correctly and on time is not merely a factor of “insert writer here.” You have to have the correct resource for the job. To help alleviate any further confusion, here’s a quick cheat sheet on these two types of writers, and the types of content can realistically expect them to produce for you:

Tech Writer

  • software documentation
  • operating instructions
  • assembly manuals
  • technical blogs
  • technical white papers
  • e-learning materials
  • online help files

Marketing Writer

  • case studies
  • Web sites
  • direct marketing
  • e-mailers
  • newsletters
  • slide presentations
  • banner ads
  • business white papers
  • demo scripts
  • brochures
  • advertisements
  • social media content
  • data sheets
  • SEO copy
  • messaging frameworks

This of course is not an exhaustive list, but it should at least give you a concrete idea of the kind of resource you need to get your job done. Got questions? Just ask!

Share
Tags , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comment (0)
Uncategorized

HOLLA: Ya Gotta Tweet:

January 7, 2011 – 11:05 pm

Social media. This is where you have an unprecedented opportunity to make yourself significant. By establishing yourself as a subject matter expert with social media, you create awareness of your skillset, and can even build mindshare for your brand—if you have one.

So blog, tweet, Facebook, and get yourself out there. If you’re attractive and comfortable in front of the camera, think about producing some webcasts. If you’re not attractive, even better! Let your personality become part of your brand, and spread the word.

Also get that LinkedIn profile of yours all updated and spiffy-like. And when you blog, make sure you announce it across all of your other social media channels. Site visitors to my blog jumped by 200% when a follower re-tweeted just one of my tweets announcing a new blog post. That’s powerful stuff.

Share
Tags , , , , , , , , | Comment (0)

« Previous Page — Next Page »

« Previous Page — Next Page »