rahna

Is there anything low-tech that you are doing right now?  Anybody who reads my newsletter as well as my blog knows that I am a big proponent of all of the changes and opportunities that have been developed because of the surge of digital penetration and variety of Web 2.0 executions available to a marketer today.  

But I don’t want to forget the tried and true.  I was working with a client, reading about the results from the sampling that they did at a movie screening college. As I look at the photos and saw a lot of kids engaged with the brand, I was reminded of how sometimes, it is the low-tech options that can be really good and that can do a lot for you. Door hangers, windshield flyers, branded premiums, and “Tupperware”-type parties are all still very viable.  Are there any low-tech opportunities that you are passing by or turning your nose up at because it doesn’t seem “sexy” enough, because it is not on the “cutting edge of cool”?  Don’t pass up on an opportunity just because it is not high-tech. In addition, maybe there are ways to make it high-tech, to tie it to all of the new media that is available. Maybe you do a postering campaign or a billboard campaign that has been around forever. So you add text messaging. Maybe you offer a printed piece of paper but you direct your consumers to a website where they can get free downloads. The possibilities are endless.  Just make sure you are not high-tech snob.     

One of the things I do is teach people about personal branding.  I encourage everyone to discover what is unique and wonderful about them, what excites and motivates them so that they can figure out how to spend more of their time doing work that they love.  I firmly believe that doing what you love, what you are naturally good at, draws success to you and builds a stronger personal brand. 

A perfect example of this is the recently departed Tim Russert, a man with unbridled enthusiasm in all that he did.  Talk about a HUGE personal brand.  Tim Russert, may he rest in peace, loved what he did and he did it with his own personal flair.  He interviewed with interest, asking the questions you and I  were thinking in our heads.  He trusted his own innovative instincts, setting the standard in his industry…and if the occasion called for it, he used a whiteboard.

Here’s a good way to honor his memory: Be unique. Love what you do.  Do it with infectious enthusiasm.  Trust your instincts for what you do.  And if the occasion calls for it, use a whiteboard.

I came across a video that explains “Social Media in Plain English,” done by Commoncraft.com.  It clearly shows the basics of social media, its development and benefits.  If you read some of the comments, there are a few pieces it misses, but overall, it’s a very nice description worth viewing at:

http://www.commoncraft.com/socialmedia

You’ll also find other worthwhile videos about twitter, wikis, and other “New Media”  Check it out!

I think we are only scratching the surface on the opportunities that social media provides.  An interesting exercise would be to ask yourself (or your marketing team) what opportunities there are for your organization.  Here are a few questions to spark conversation: 

How can you use social media as a research tool? 

Just as you can do a Google search to find those websites that are talking about the “guitar lessons” that you would like to find for your son or “how many miles the Amazon River is”, there are computer programs that will monitor discussions going on about your brands, about your industry, about your competitors, and about you. 

Conducting a social media audit is an immediate way to listen in to the great American water cooler of America.   What are people thinking about at your industry?  What are people saying about you?  You need to find out.  I am not saying that a social media audit replaces traditional research.  You should still conduct quantitative research.  However, social media audits can supplement the work going on now, can supplement your research efforts that adds additional insight into whatever it is that you need to find out. 

How can you use social media to talk to your customers?  Social media is also an opportunity to engage with consumers as never before.  It used to be that TV was the way for you to have a conversation.  Primarily, it was a one-way conversation (you telling your consumers whatever you wanted them to know).    There are companies out there that hire brand ambassadors to get the right message out there.  There are those that would rather take a more organic approach, not willing or able to spend the money to have someone else spread that word.  Then there are some lucky ones who can tap in to existing communities to launch that message.  

How about you? What are you doing about it? 

I gave a talk today on Building Brands and Brand Ambassadors to a group of executives in the financial services industry.  The main thrust of my talk was to talk about the importance of marketing fundamentals and how savvy marketers are finding new ways to communicate their brand messages. 

The interesting thing about this presentation was the reaction that most participants had.   

None of the people in the room had ever heard of Twitter.   

These were not ancient executives on their way out.  These were people on the top of their game, in charge of new product development, in charge of managing their brands.   

I talked to them about the availability of “social media audits” and the strategy of hiring brand ambassadors to communicate your brand message in the digital world.  These executives were unaware that you could hire people to do such things. 

So, for those of you who are selling services in the digital world, your message is not getting out there enough.   

For those of you who are managing brands and are not factoring in the role of social media as a research tool, as a marketing tool, as an overall communication tool, you are missing the boat.   

In short, there is lots of opportunity, endless opportunity for both buyers and sellers of such services. 

Did anybody see this week’s Business Week article, cover story on “Beyond Blogs:  What Business Needs to Know.”  This article is a recap or an update to a cover story done three years ago that stated “Blogs Will Change Your Business.”    The article talks about how technology has dramatically changed over the last three years.  Anyone following media can see how quickly social media has blossomed and is changing.  The major forces of YouTube, iTunes, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and Wikipedia are all discussed briefly.  If you are not up to speed on any of these digital phenomenon, if you are not figuring out how you can incorporate these into your marketing efforts, you are completely missing the boat.       I highly recommend this article.  But understand that it only scratches the surface.  There is so much now that can be done with social media marketing ; where are you engaging with your customers?

Continental Airlines has a postering campaign that includes a headline that reads, “You’ve Got Suits Older Than Our Planes.”  The fine print talks about how they have the “newest jet fleet.”   

There are several basic advertising principles illustrated in that ad: 

1. Be timely.  With all the bad press that Southwest has generated about the age and poor condition of some of its airplanes, Continental is taking advantage of topics that are top of mind with its customer base.

2. Use emotion to your competitive advantage.  The inherent implication is that everyone else’s fleet is old and therefore, scary to fly.  This ad prays on the fear of flying and offers Continental as the alternative choice.

3. Put it in context.  By comparing the age of their planes to the age of a suit in someone’s closet, they have reframed the meaning of the word “old.”  This classic technique can be found in many industries.  “Ten Easy Payments of $19.99” (versus $200.00) or “Less than the cost of dinner for two” (versus $100.00). 

So the questions for today are: ·         What negative press is your industry getting that you could flip to your advantage?                 ·         What emotional triggers can you tap into?·         What frame of reference can you provide that allow someone to look at your offering from a whole different perspective?         

The economy is certainly impacting many areas of business. $4.00 for a gallon of gas has made people much more mindful of how they spend their money. This leads to businesses offering promotional programs and deeper discounts in order to woo money from the wallets ofAmerica.  

These days, you may be considering lots of promotional programs in order to meet your sales goals. Be mindful of what impact promotions have. It is one thing to offer something on a short term basis in order to see a lift in sales.  But if those promotional offers end up as standard, every day offers, they are no longer promotions. The danger in offering promotional programs is that you water down the value of your brand and you train your consumers as to what to the value is (or isn’t) for your brand.   Even with this economy, the products or services that you provide do have value. Be sure you have a clear strategy for the promotional programs that you offer and try to change them often so that consumers don’t get convinced that your product or service is of lower value.

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.

This is for those “old school” marketers whose marketing plans still consist wholly of TV, radio and newspaper.  Amazingly, I still find in my travels clients who are not concerned with their digital identity. 

Social Media is a quickly evolving marketing tool. Several years ago, nobody knew what “social media” was.  Now there are companies that can give you a social media audit for your brand, your industry, or any topic you define.  They will monitor what is being talked about, what people say about your brand (or your competitors), the discussions surrounding your industry and a whole host of other measurements. When choosing to do a social media audit, make sure that the information that you’re getting is actionable.  

What do you do with this information once you get it? Well, you shape your business accordingly. There are companies that have learned what people think of their industry; there are companies that have learned what isn’t being offered in their industry. They’ve been able to identify gaps in the marketplace simply by listening to what’s happening in the social media world. Sometimes specific brands are mentioned, more often not.  Usually it’s the industry or topic that is mentioned.  

You may feel that your brand or your industry is not “interesting” enough to be discussed in a general blog, but perhaps you can take it up one level. I was having discussion with someone about whether pudding would be a discussion item. You may say pudding is not interesting, and pudding is not exciting enough for someone to talk about on-line. However, kids healthy snacks is, and so maybe there’s a way for you to find out what moms are saying about kid snacking.  That then can lead you to somehow developing a unique position for your pudding.  

The opportunities to learn about your consumer through social media are endless, and I encourage you to take a good long look at what you can use, analyze what’s being said about you and your industry, and then act!