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Social Media: Do you have to attend every party?

In Social Media | Posted by Anne Smith on February 29th, 2012 0 Comments

I saw an article today telling me that Pinterest is now the fastest growing social network. Shortly afterward, I received an email offering me 26 ways I can use Pinterest to market my business. Wait – I thought Pinterest was a place where you could collect photos of ideas to enhance your wedding or home décor, or cute pictures of cats. (There seem to be A LOT of cat pictures on Pinterest.)

The generic social media has made a huge impact on the marketing world. The tools that are being developed for people to socialize with each other electronically have also made it possible for businesses to have two-way conversations with their customers, and vice versa. Instead of the traditional method of pushing marketing and advertising messages onto customers, brands and businesses can ask their customers what they want. And, apparently, they get a lot of feedback. At the same time, if you as a consumer have a bad (or good) experience with a brand or business, the social media channels make it easy to express your disappointment (or satisfaction) directly to providers of the experience.

Unfortunately, as Linda pointed out to me, every social media platform seems to have been designated as a “marketing tool” by the marketing gurus, and we are expected to use them as such. You only thought Facebook was to keep up with your distant cousins and high school buddies, and Pinterest was for collecting photos of cats and wedding dresses. So does that mean every business has to jump on board every ship that comes in with the social media label attached at the risk of being left behind?

Not at all. Doug has been using the analogy for a while now that social media is like a cocktail party. It’s a great place to initiate a conversation and get to know someone on a basic level before deciding you’d like to get to know him or her a little better. (Then, lo and behold, I discovered the book Social Media is a Cocktail Party by Jim Tobin, founder of Ignite Social Media. So far, it’s been a good read.)

While there are some super-social people who go to every party, many are more selective. Some parties have music that’s too loud for your taste or chairs that are uncomfortable or too many cats. They’re not a good fit for you, but others might not mind. Same goes with social media. Some people will have a comfortable presence on every platform available, but many will discover there are certain platforms that work better with the way they want to communicate with their customers, and maximize their use of those platforms.

So we suggest you experiment. Go to a social media party, look around for a bit, listen to what people saying and how they are saying it. If the fit seems good and there are people with whom you might be able to strike up a conversation, or even develop a long-term relationship, then you might be in the right place. If it’s not, don’t force it – just find another party. There are plenty going on.

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Are We Too Social?

In Social Media | Posted by Anne Smith on August 2nd, 2011 0 Comments

If you are a follower of the social media world, you may have heard about the release of Google+ several weeks ago, which is Google’s latest attempt to break onto the social media scene (and gain some search traction in the social world, since Facebook is keeping its indexing of personal information mostly to itself).

Through an invitation-only premier, Google+ attracted 10 million users worldwide in its first two weeks, which is a pretty decent showing. However, it has awhile to catch up to Facebook’s current 750 million.

It’s easy in my little world to get caught up in all the industry excitement, especially since part of my job is to follow social media marketing trends to determine what will work the best for our clients. But the most common response I get when I ask my friends (Friend friends, not Facebook friends) about Google+ is, “Huh?”

And when I step out of that little world and look around a bit, I start to think the same thing. Huh. Another place to connect with our friends, co-workers, and people we have stuff in common with in our spare time. Between Facebook and Twitter and YouTube and LinkedIn and Google+ and every other social media tool out there, are we becoming too social?

In addition to the 10 million jumping onto the Plus bandwagon, two other recent snippets of information caught my eye. One is that, according to a study by Momentus Media, you will get the most interaction with your Facebook page if you post up to 12 times a day. Hopefully that statistic is directed toward business pages – I can’t imagine any of my personal friends would remain that way if I posted something 12 times a day. But at the same time, I would quickly Unlike any business that felt it had to talk to me that many times in one day. (Imagine getting 12 phone calls a day from a company – or anyone. You’d tell them to go away pretty quickly.)

The second is that the longest YouTube video ever has been uploaded by Pittsburgh resident Jonathan Harchick, who created a slideshow of some (several?) out-of-focus photos of a trip to Chile that runs for 571 hours, 1 minute, and 41 seconds. I haven’t watched it – I don’t have 23 extra days. But the idea that someone actually had the time to create something of that magnitude – and be that overly social – is a little overwhelming.

So is there excess in social media? Sure there is, but there’s excess in everything. The nice part about knowing people who follow the social media marketing industry is that they can pay attention to all the new tools and trends that are out there, leaving you the ability to focus on your business. They’ll show you how to promote your business on Facebook and YouTube and Google+ for Businesses (when it’s available) and know how to do it well. Without a 23-day video.

In the meantime, if you’re curious about Google+, send us an email and we’ll send you an invitation to try it out. And if you’re not sure about how social you should be in this social media-crazed world, remember you’re not alone.

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Taking the Mystery out of Search Engine Optimization

In Uncategorized | Posted by Anne Smith on July 14th, 2011 0 Comments

As long as there have been Internet search engines, there have been people promising they can make your website come up on the top of the list of search results. While there are no sure-fire ways to get you to number one every time, there are some search engine optimization, or SEO, techniques that will help improve your site’s chances of being found by those searching for the type of product or service your company offers. 

But first, how do search engines rank websites and what do they look for? 

Search engine automated robots crawl through the web following links to index all the millions of interconnected documents that make up the Internet. When you search for something, the search engines quickly scan their indexes looking for the most relevant information based on your search criteria and then they rank it in order of perceived value, displaying the information on search engine results pages, also known as SERPs. 

The ranking factors of how the major search engines determine what information will provide the most value often changes, but currently it is based on popularity. Their “thinking” is that the more a site or page is viewed, linked to, or updated, the better and more valuable its content must be. This means simply loading your site and metadata tags full of keywords you hope people are searching for is not an effective tactic. 

So what can you do to make your site more attractive to the search engines? While there’s no way to guarantee you’ll be ranked number one (and anyone who tells you they can do that for you should be sent packing), there are some tactics you can use to optimize your site: 

  • Make sure every page can be accessed by at least one static text link. Flash-based navigation can look really cool, but the search engines can’t “see” the links to know how to move through your site.
  • Fill your site with quality content that people will be interested in reading and sharing, and make sure the title and description data (in the HTML code for the page) for each page reflects the topic of the page.
  • Think like a searcher: use potential search terms or keywords in the visible page text, but make sure the content is written for users, not search engines. There are plenty of people who will search for “marketing agency” but they will get better results if they search for “SEO and social media marketing” or something more closely targeted. Keep those phrases in mind when you’re writing your content.
  • Make regular updates to your site content.
  • Increase the number of links to your site, called inbound links. Quality directories for your industry, social media tools, and partner businesses are all ideal locations for links to your site. 

Including terms and phrases in your content that will help make your site rank well requires a fine balance – you want to use the keywords that people are searching for, but if these words have too much competition, it will be harder for your site to have a higher ranking. At the same time, you want to be sure your keywords are ones that people will be interested in searching for. 

How to tell whether your keywords are effective often involves trial and error. Website analysis tools such as Google Analytics and HubSpot can indicate which search terms people are using to reach your site — if there are keywords that no one is using, you can change them in the content of your site to have a different focus based on what people are actually searching for. 

And maintaining your website should be a regular activity:

  • The search engine robots can tell if there is new content on a site, and perceive a site with new content to be better than one that never changes.
  • You should actively monitor your site data to ensure your keywords are up to date and keep your product and company information current as well.
  • Keeping up with the Joneses on design trends and technology is important, too. If the sites of your competitors are fresh and new and yours has been the same for years, it might be time for a redesign. Search engines like sites with clear hierarchy that are easy to maneuver.  

Search engine optimization isn’t rocket science (not totally, anyway), and there are a number of steps you can take to make your website more friendly to search engines, increasing the potential that your site will be found by the people it will benefit the most.

Creating the Most Interesting Brand in the World

In Branding, Effective Marketing, Marketing | Posted by Anne Smith on July 6th, 2011 0 Comments

We talk a lot about building brands. To those of us in the marketing world, that tactic makes perfect sense. But telling clients that they need to build their brand is probably a lot like my mechanic telling me that my car needs a new head gasket. I think it’s a big deal and is very important, but I don’t actually know why.

As I was watching TV over the weekend, an ad from one of my favorite campaigns graced the screen and I realized it would make a great demonstration of how branding makes an impact on how you feel about a product.

The ad I saw was for Dos Equis beer, from their “Most Interesting Man in the World” series. Love that ad, as apparently a lot of people do. (The MIMITW has scores of Facebook pages, each with more fans than I’ll ever have on my one lowly page.) I love the series because the ads are funny, but also because they sell the brand of Dos Equis.

So, what do those ads tell you about Dos Equis beer itself? Nothing. You don’t know that it’s most delicious at a certain temperature, best consumed by a certain date, or tastes great AND is less filling. You know nothing. In fact, if you’re not paying attention, you may not even know that Dos Equis is a brand of beer. The ads are designed to create a longing in someone who wants to be as interesting as the ads’ leading man and brand spokesperson. Emotional connection: If I drink Dos Equis, I will be as cool as that guy.

Do the ads work? According to Dos Equis, sales have increased in the U.S. every year since 2006, the year the ad series debuted, but there’s no way to know whether the increase can be directly attributed to Mr. Interesting or not.

Now, compare that ad series to another that’s well known. Ads for Corona beer feature the product more prominently, but they are still brand ads. Rather than the adventure and mystique of Dos Equis, Corona is all about relaxing, primarily on the beach. I had never tried Corona until about 10 years ago, when we were on vacation at the beach watching the sunset. My husband said, “I think Coronas would be appropriate.” He was right, and they were.

Just like the Dos Equis ads, nothing in Corona ads tells you how good the beer is or what kind of water is used to make it or how the hops and barley are blended just so. In fact, the Corona commercials rarely say anything. It’s all up to the viewer to make that emotional connection: If I drink Corona, I’ll be relaxed like I was vacationing on the beach.

Do the Corona ads work? Corona has been the best selling imported beer in the U.S. since 1997 and is regularly in the top 10 best selling beers in the U.S. overall. Maybe it’s the little slice of lime that’s driving sales, but I’ll bet it has more to do with that great beachy feeling.

Building a brand is much more involved than running clever TV commercials, but hopefully the comparison has given you a better idea of what we mean. Branding has to do with creating a brand story that consumers will connect with and desire, then delivering all aspects of that brand consistently. If you’ve got a thirst for improving the brand of your product, company, or organization, give us a call. We’ve got just what you need to quench it.

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Negative Brand Sentiment

In Branding | Posted by Doug Larson on February 23rd, 2011 0 Comments

So, what do you do when you are seeing/reading negative brand experiences online about your brand?  This has been tremendously important in the medical community lately with bad doc reviews.  But, it is going to be equally as important for company or brand reviews.  I came across this story which I think does a great job of setting you up for success.  Of course, you’ll need to work your own approach into the solution, but it’s a solid start http://mashable.com/2011/02/21/negative-brand-sentiment/

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Effective Social Media

In Email Marketing, Social Media, Viral Marketing | Posted by Doug Larson on February 9th, 2011 0 Comments

Have you ever wondered just how many times you should send an email to your customers/audience?  Do you want to know why people are opting out of your social media campaigns.  This great study on effectiveness of social media and email marketing is a great read.   You will find out the top reasons people unsubscribe for email, Facebook and Twitter…. In short, content is king (information that helps them, not you, i.e. marketing speak and also make sure the content is fresh) and don’t swamp them in too many emails.

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Branding 2010 Brand and Marketing Bombs

In Branding, Effective Marketing, Marketing | Posted by Doug Larson on December 19th, 2010 0 Comments

A little holiday cheer (or jeer) for our brand-minded folks.  We love to preach the brand is so much more than the logo and the tagline…. or even “awareness ads”.  The brand, in fact, is the total embodiment of the company and what it stands for.  Check out these brand failures for 2010.

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Effective Marketing

In Contests, Effective Marketing, Strategy | Posted by Doug Larson on November 3rd, 2010 0 Comments

Leave it to Disney to master another marketing rollout.  The classic Tron movie from the early 1980s is getting a follow-on story line and going to hit theaters mid-December 2010.  But, the folks at Disney have been busy marketing it for weeks already in hopes of netting their third $1 Billion film of the year (Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland).

Applying Disney-like marketing to your company is not as difficult as it sounds.  Take a look at what they are doing.  Essentially they are using resources they have on hand (theme parks, media outlets, partners) to do a staged rollout over 10 weeks.  They carefully diagram what they want to happen each week and build off previous weeks.  You may not have the Disney budget, but you can certainly have the Disney timing and thinking and apply it to your company.

What’s Hot 2011 & Beyond

In Marketing, Promotion, Social Media | Posted by Doug Larson on October 22nd, 2010 0 Comments

The Digital Hot List came out about 2 weeks ago.  Provides some insight on what’s going to be the hot websites in 2011 and beyond.  Pretty fun read.  As you can imagine, social media sites dominate.  One of interest, take a look at #6 on the list, Zynga.  The are the makers of the wildly popular game, FarmVille.  Thinking about them (and the industry of game-based internet learning) I get mixed emotions.   Zynga is doing a great job of connecting people and growing their business.  But, at the same time I cannot help but wonder what the impact on society will be 10, 15, 25 years down the road.  Will we be so virtually connected that playing games face-to-face won’t exist anymore?  Where will society’s social acumen and ability to communicate end up?  I have my take.  Whatever it is, it will be interesting getting there.