Monthly Archives: April 2011

April 29, 2011 · 8:09 pm

4 Media (Social & Traditional) Things to Remember

It’s been a busy week of news and business.  It’s always good to take a moment and think about what you can learn from it.  Or, better yet, how it reinforces what you already know.  Here’s four I can share — what about you?

1.  Celebrities still rule.  As much as corporations are trying to steer away from using celebs as spokespeople — the average person still pays attention to the celeb.  Especially online.  Celebrities are aspirational in a tough world right now.  And, if you look at the online records broken (streaming and others) by the marriage of Prince William and Kate today — you could say they’re “hopes-perational.”  Many people still believe in the fairy tale…and hope they live happily ever after.

2.  If you build it; they will come.  But not instantly.  As much as the world tuned in via their computers to watch the royal wedding; many are not sure how Social Media works.  Yes, they can talk a good game,  throwing out phrases like:  did you see that YouTube video that’s gone over-the-top viral this week?  Sounds like success, but not every video is a viral homerun (in fact, the average YouTube video gets about 12 views).  And an overnight viral phenomenon is rare.  You need a strong campaign to push it through.  Be strategic, then patient.

3.  The Social Media Fab 4 aren’t for everyone.  Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube are on everyone’s minds.  And all four can play a role in your business.  But small business should choose wisely, since it takes a lot of push-pull of other activity to drive consumers to you.  Evaluate the right strategies for your budget.  Don’t be pushed into something you can’t keep up with — or consumers will see that right away and it will become a negative for you.

4.  Email is still king (queen?) for women.  As much as the world is now  smaller because we’re all connected on Facebook and other social networking sites, women — and Mom’s in particular — still rely on their own circles via email.  So even if buying an email list sounds antiquated — it isn’t.  It’s a direct line to Mom.

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April 22, 2011 · 4:42 pm

Three Ways Small Businesses Can Start Social Media

This week I listened to several comments about Social Media from small business clients and prospects.  Summed up, they were all commiserating:  they felt forced to join the Social Media world, yet didn’t know where to start, or who should handle it.

And they’re right on one level — managing your business through Social Media is price of entry now.  It’s expected by consumers and considered a right.  A right that can boost your business exponentially with fans.

So, how do you get past that “have to do it” feeling, when you want to focus on what you do best — running your business?  Here’s three tips:

1.  Think of Social Media as a selling opportunity.  You’re always looking for new ways to attract consumers/customers — this is one of them.  Reframe your attitude to motivational.  Move from “this is an extra thing I have to do today” to “this is a new opportunity to sell more products or services.”

2.  Stop thinking this will be expensive.  Social Media is tremendously cost-effective.  In fact, that’s how small to mid-sized brands are making their marks and competing with big brands.  Your actual costs for Facebook ads or video production can be very reasonable.  You may simply need to re-prioritize your advertising/marketing spend.

3.  Surround yourself with experts.  As we all know, a smart CEO surrounds him or herself with people who know more than s/he does.  The same thing applies to Social Media.  Now that doesn’t mean you need to hire a full-time staffer (maybe some day) or team.  Instead, think of hiring a Social Media consultant to work with you to develop your Social Media strategy and content — and ways to measure its effectiveness.  That can be a reasonable, one-time cost for this year.

Then delegate the execution to an employee or among employees.  You’ll find that you have experts you didn’t know you had.  It could be your receptionist or a sales clerk.  If you don’t have that internal luxury of adding to an employee’s duties, hire an intern.  Simply snatch an avid social media user from your local college (at minimum wage, for example) and use him to implement your strategy.

There’s your start, with minimal investment — time or monetary.  You can grow from there.

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April 14, 2011 · 4:17 pm

Consumer Insight May Be Best Social Media Measurement

Bazaarvoice  just conducted their second annual survey of chief marketing officers (members of the CMO Club) to find out about “their use, expectations and measurement of Social Media.”   Their chief finding?  Even though CMOs are still struggling to pinpoint how to measure Social Media in 2011 — they’re increasing their use of it because they have found value:  consumer insight.

Although the goal is to trade in Social Media metrics like number of fans or followers and use business measurement like revenues or conversion, CMOs are recognizing their ROI may just be in the form of consumer input.  Customer ratings and reviews were pointed out as the top social strategies to drive measurable ROI.  93% of CMOs plan to use some form of user-generated content to develop their products and service decisions.

Top forms of user-generated content in 2010 included customer stories (59%), product suggestions or ideas (54%), polling (49%) and customer reviews (47%).

This real-time market research enables companies to perfect their products, services and relationships with their consumers.

Bazaarvoice is a software company that powers customer-generated content on more than 1,000 brand web sites.

 

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April 7, 2011 · 7:28 pm

More Than Half of Americans Are on Facebook — So Use It!

Last week Biz Report announced more than half of Americans over the age of 12 have a profile on Facebook. This comes from a study due out this month, “Dial 2011: Navigating Digital Platforms” by Arbitron and Edison Research.

Everyone recognizes the amazing power in those numbers…if you use Facebook correctly.

A few tips to build your brand:

A Facebook ad is surprisingly inexpensive — try one. And often those ads are what prompt a consumer to go to their favorite brands and click the “Like” button. People don’t get on Facebook everyday with the intention to find their favorite brands. But once they’re in the experience, they don’t mind being reminded that you’re there too.
Think about adding to your brand page on weekends. Many Facebookers are finally getting time to read and write on the weekends. Recent news on their walls gets the most attention.
Make visitors to your page welcome. Many brands have joined Facebook to have a conversation with their consumers, but they don’t converse. Instead, they just post announcements. Invite your consumers to share their thoughts — whether it’s about your product, a new promotion or ad. You’ll find they have some good insight to share!

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