It’s hard to keep up with all the technology available to marketers today, but in order to serve my clients in the most thorough manner possible, I feel that I need to keep investigating all the options open to those who want to strengthen their brands. Anyone who talks with me knows that I am a huge advocate for digital marketing avenues–social media, blogging, email campaigns, etc.

Technorati has just come out with their new research document about blogging….who’s doing it, why, how, and what the avenues for profitability are. It’s a really great look at blogging today, backed up with tons of facts and figures. Have a look at the report at: http://technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere/

My blog is posted with Technorati through http://technorati.com/claim/zmgvthexmq

I saw a billboard in Times Square the other day that was advertising the television series Gossip Girls. It pictured a couple making out, and the headline read “OMFG.” My reaction to it was strange: on the one hand, it was clearly aimed at the 18- to 30-year-old crowd. I give them kudos for understanding their target audience and speaking their target audience’s language. It’s a good lesson to remember that, now in the midst of multicultural/diversity communications, we now need to speak the language of the various generations. It’s just another language to learn.

But on the other hand, I was disappointed in the agency that developed the ad and the brand manager that approved the ad. My reaction was, “Okay, so now, this is the way that we get around standards? Is it okay to swear in headlines, as long as we don’t actually say the words?”

I’m not a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but it just didn’t seem right.

In my last blog, I talked about social media audits. Once you have the analysis of what is being discussed (or, sometimes just as importantly, what is NOT being discussed) you can move into action.

How do you do that?

Get help. There are also companies that will help you manage your on-line positioning and help you shape how people see your brand. Social media is not something just for college students anymore. Whether you are a Fortune-500 company or small start-up, you need to think about your online image, both in terms of a website but also in terms of the blogosphere. Are there positive things being said about you? Are negative things being said about you? Engage in the conversation! Hire a firm that specializes in social media to jump in to the blog/forum/video-sharing site/social network/message boards on your behalf and communicate YOUR message. This allows you to a measure of control in today’s user-generated world during a time when many advertisers feel out of control.

If you are “old school,” you may think this is SPAM. It’s not. It’s conversational marketing that has a leg up on traditional marketing it’s completely measurable. Activating this type of a campaign can radically improve your results.

Ask anyone who’s tried it. Welcome to the twenty-first century. Enjoy the ride.

I was reading a blog about “Informing or Evangelizing: Turn Down the Volume”, that can be read in its entirety here: http://lgbusinesssolutions.typepad.com/solutions_to_grow_your_bu/2008/04/informing-or-ev.htmlÂ

The idea discussed in the article was that evangelizing has many positive connotations from the standpoint of new media and social media but can have a negative connotation from the standpoint of evangelizing leading to skepticism. Lewis Green states that “Evangelists are blinded to reality by their beliefs.”

To me, it’s just semantics, whether you call them evangelists, ambassadors, junkies, or enthusiasts. No one seems to have difficulty with the term “fans.” How is that any different? “Fans” come from the term “fanatic,” which certainly connotes someone a little “over the edge.” Go talk to a Chicago Cubs “fan” if you want to talk to someone “blinded to reality by their beliefs.”

Regardless of what you call them, they are all people who are advocates for your brands–people who believe in what you have to provide and so will tell the rest of the world. Any marketer worth his salt should want to provide this. If you are in business, you should be providing such a service that everyone thinks you’re fabulous.

Over-deliver.

Exceed their expectations, and you will build loyalty beyond belief. People should be delighted with your product or service experience. This is the pinnacle of marketing of any business. Creating passion for your product or service is the most cost effective way to go to market because:

 

1. You don’t have to pay for someone else to talk about how great you brand is.
2. It is authentic. People will believe someone else telling them how great a product or service is, much more so than you telling some one great your product or service is.

In the article, he talked about “Turning Down the Volume” and using the older phrase “word of mouth marketing.” The problem I have with that phrase is that it doesn’t connote the passion that “evangelism” evokes. Now nobody wants to hear from someone who is “blinded” to anything. I understand the negatives associated with the word, but it is used precisely because it connotes such strong feelings. Everyone should be looking for a way to provide a product or brand experience that delights the consumer such that they would tell someone else how fantastic it is.

Rather than worry about the semantics, worry about what you are creating. Does anyone talk about your brand? Great! If not, get to work! There is tremendous opportunity to do this in today’s media market. If you can find a way to get people talking about your brand, you’ve done something right. Â

 

Delight your customers and you will create evangelists/fanatics/ambassadors/advocate/enthusiast/junkies. Most importantly, you will have created revenue. And THAT smells very sweet!