Recently, my PR team and I were brainstorming ways to get our client's product into stores. We started to think about ways we could solicit our customers to help make such a feat happen.
What were trying to do is called a "pull" marketing strategy. We were trying to get the customers to demand the product so much so that retailers would be insane not to carry it.
Pull strategies often involve advertising and PR campaigns (both traditional and social media marketing campaigns) to solicit customer interest and favor directory. We even thought about starting some sort of petition to make our customers' voices heard loud and clear!
On the other end of the spectrum is "push" marketing strategies. A push marketing strategy involves bringing a product to your customer. This can be accomplished by attending tradeshows or forming a proactive sales team.
The end goal of a pull strategy is to solicit retailer demand for your product so they carry it in their stores and introduce your products to their customers. It involves having a good supply chain so retailers are happy and full stocked - and so they feel good about your company and products. Pull strategies often incorporate eye-catching packaging and POS displays that retailers can use to entice customers to first notice and then buy these products.
That said, a pull strategy requires some push too. Retailers can build your business and garner customer favor for you. A good marketing strategy is one that gives (pushes) and takes (pulls).
What push and pull strategies have you employed to grow your business?
It was Super Bowl Sunday and I was in a room filled with more than 30 people – eating, drinking, talking and oh yeah, a few of us were actually watching the exciting football game and the highly anticipated commercials. I was one of the few watching the game and ads when I was inspired by the Chevy Sonic ad.
The ad was based on all the adventurous “firsts” that a Chevy Sonic goes through. It truly was an exciting, adventurous commercial, but what resonated with me was the word “firsts” tied into those emotions.
One our clients is in the cloth diaper industry where there, of course, many “firsts” for baby. In our social media interactions with our fans, we often ask questions on Facebook such as, “What was the first word your baby said?”, or “What was the first food you fed your baby?”, but this time I was inspired to directly asked about a memory related to the brand, “Do you remember the first FuzziBunz cloth diaper you purchased?”, and “How did you feel the first time you put your baby in a cloth diaper?”
What I took away from that Super Bowl ad was “emotion” – the ad was more about the excitement of the first time the car tried several stunts, but I instinctively knew and responded to the emotion behind it. Because I put emotion into my question to our fans, I was instantly greeted with wonderful responses, including a few I didn’t expect.
For example, fans remembered the color, the date, the reaction of their baby, spouse and friends when they first put on the diaper. They said things like, “I felt like the smartest mom, scared and then excited, love, and confidence.” These are strong feelings and brand connections that will last in memory for years to come. And isn’t it special that these fans shared that information with us too!?!
For some, it can be a challenge to think of new ways to engage your fans. My advice is to take cues from everywhere; you might just be inspired by a Super Bowl commercial.
If Facebook is a PR and marketing priority for your organization, you may be curious how you can get more Facebook fans to "like" your page.
While the number of fans is important, seek to attract quality fans in the process. Here are some tips to attracting the fans that you desire most:
1. Make It Easy to Like You. Offer visitors to your website or individuals who have completed a purchase on your site the immediate opportunity to "like" your company on Facebook. People visiting your site or who are already doing business with you are some of the best "likes" around. Turn these individuals into people that are brand loyal and possible social evangelists of your brand too.
2. Require a "Like". Give someone an incentive to "like" you by only revealing special content to fans-only. It could be a coupon code, special document, or preview of your upcoming Winter collection, but whatever it is, your fans will have to click that Like button to reveal the incentive.
3. Commit to Facebook Ads. I've never been one to like advertising before, but I do like Facebook ads. You can pinpoint your target audience and invite them to engage with you and your community. Use Facebook ads regularly and strategically to grow your Facebook community over time. Do it right, and you'll find some quality fans over time.
4. Make It Fun. I know a lot of companies that shun contests and sweepstakes, but I happen to think they work if done right. The prize should always be something important to your fans or free product from your company. Anyone will enter a sweepstakes to win a free iPad, but only pregnant or breastfeeding mothers will enter a sweepstakes to win a breastfeeding pillow, right? So make the sweepstakes highly targeted - and fun! Another way to ensure the "right" fans are entering your contest is to put parameters around it that only your fans can relate to. Send us a sentimental picture of you and your dad or your baby using our bibs, for example.
5. Repetition. Make friendly reminders to your customers and anyone you interact with to join your Facebook community. Invite them through your enewsletter or include a call to action to join your Facebook community in your email signature.
6. Keep It Real. Make your community a fun place for fans to converse. The content you share should be interesting and relevant to the community who "likes" you. Give your fans what they want and they'll likely stay for more.
What other tactics work well to grow your Facebook fan page? Please do share!!
I recently read a HubSpot blog post titled, “7 Epic Uses of Twitter’s New Embeddable Tweets Feature” and wanted to share my thoughts. As background, one of Twitter’s new features enables users to embed tweets in various places such as a company website, blog, email signature, etc. It’s just another way to keep everything integrated and work on your company’s inbound marketing strategy.
The post lists out the “Top 7” uses, so be sure to click here to read them all, but here are my favorite three, okay four (I couldn’t decide!) and why:
1. Customer Feedback. Anytime you get a positive comment on your brand or product via Twitter you can embed it on our customer testimonials page or another relevant page on your site – so smart and easy! You could even take this a step further and include feedback from key media or other influencers that you’ve received through Twitter. This will add major credibility to your brand for people perusing your site.
2. Social Media Polls. A very common Twitter tactic is to ask your followers questions by taking a poll. So here’s what you can do now to integrate your blog and Twitter page: Create a poll or pose a question on your blog. Then make each of the answer selections embedded individual tweets. This way blog visitors can retweet the answer they are voting for and hopefully attract more voters (and site visitors) as it’ll go out to their Twitter followings too.
3. Event Round-up. So you just left a trade show and heard excellent feedback on your brand or product(s). First, draft a blog post on your blog and then embed tweets from people you met at the trade show or event. This will help you both get more followers (we hope!) and encourage them to share your summary post on the event. Maybe you’ll even find some new prospects out of this?
4. Email Signature. Okay, I had to add one more. You can now embed a tweet in your email signature. How cool is that? Say you get some great feedback from a Twitter follower; you can display that tweet in your email signature for the day or week. Change it up as often as you’d like. Fun and easy.
If you need more information on embedding tweets, you can click here for a step-by-step guide.
So what do you think? Are you in love with the new embed feature too? Will you use it in your social media marketing efforts?
Being a social media expert can be challenging at times when there are so many things to consider and so many changes occurring each and every day. One thing I am sheepishly admitting to learning recently (thanks to a tip!) is that posting Facebook posts to your Fan pages through a third party API might be doing more harm than good.... or at least it did at one time.
Why?
Several articles floating around on the Internet suggest that posts cued up in third party APIs, like HootSuite or SocialOomph, decrease the likelihood of fan engagement by up to 80%. A company called EdgeRank conducted a study to prove as much.
Why Are Third Party APIs Providing Lower Engagement?
There are many technical reasons this may happen, but a less technical reason that I'm able to understand may be that Facebook knows you're "scheduling" or "automating" updates. This may be of concern to Facebook because spammers are notorious for scheduling and automating practices. There may be the signs of no human touch when content is automated.
What Should You Do?
- Don't sweat it. After EdgeRank wrote about this phenomenon, Facebook adjusted its newsfeed on Nov 6, 2011. EdgeRank conducted a new study and the findings showed that there actually may be no difference in impressions and engagement when you post your content to Facebook directly vs. through a third party API.
- Limit API use as possible. Post content when you're on your Facebook Fan page rather than schedule it. This allows you to be timely, relevant and real. That said, there are times when you can't be at your computer 24/7, so in those cases, scheduling is totally appropriate. The rule of thumb is it's better to have some posts that are automated than no posts at all.
You make the call. Do you prefer automating posts or posting manually. Be honest!
Several years ago I contemplated setting up a Linked In account. I wasn’t sure what the point of having an account would be. I didn’t really have any of my resume information up to date, I was uneasy about who would be looking at my information, and I just wasn’t sure if I had time to manage the account. Does this sound familiar to you?
Flash forward a few years… the social media revolution is here and I can honestly say that I can’t imagine life without a Linked In account. My profile isn’t always 100% complete, but I have personally resolved to maximize the marketing powers Linked In offers. Here are a few ways I have used my account and why I now find it invaluable:
Jobs! Yes, I have connected with four individuals over the last three years that have led me to client work. First, I become Linked In with the individuals, then I email them within our mutually agreeable online space, and oftentimes it ends up that we agree to talk about consulting options offline. I’d say these were easy WINS!
Connections! I have browsed through some of my connection’s connections and found mutual relationships that I didn’t know existed. This can be a great conversation starter the next time you are on a call with a connection or when you’re trying to network more effectively. “Hey Maria, I didn’t realize that you knew Tim, did you know we used to work together on….”
Groups! I belong to a communications group in my hometown. Over the years our group has used the Linked In groups connection to open discussions on relevant PR/media topics. This was particularly helpful to me when I was researching QR codes, for instance. I quickly found out some valuable information from one of our members, thereby saving me countless hours of research. Groups are invaluable to marketing yourself and your business.
Just like any resolution, we have to commit a bit of time to the task. But wouldn’t it be worth it if you were able to connect with even just one important business relationship or potential customer through Linked In?
These are just a few of the valuable takeaways I have received from using my Linked In account. What has or hasn’t worked for you? Will you commit to starting or updating your account in 2012?
Around the holidays I was looking for a new pair of long underwear. I live in Minneapolis so layering while enjoying the outdoors (running, skiing, skating, etc.) is an essential lesson to learn, except for this winter, in which we’ve had more 40 degree days than I can count and snow is non-existent.
Regardless, I was under the assumption the cold would come soon enough (not yet though…) so I wanted to stock up on some new long underwear. There are so many brands out there I wasn’t sure which one was the best. And while I’m still not entirely sure (as there are many brands that are all great), this is when I had my “Cuddl Duds” moment.
I first asked a friend for a long underwear recommendation, and she said she loved Cuddl Duds and had heard a lot about them recently. So I Googled the brand and perused their website; I was impressed – quality, relatively affordable, and stylish (a lady always has to look her best). What came next was a bombardment of Cuddl Duds that I didn’t expect from a brand I didn’t know much about. Here’s what happened in order:
- A friend told me about Cuddl Duds.
- I Googled the brand and thought they were great, but had not yet purchased.
- I was in the car listening to the radio one morning and the DJ talk show was talking about Cuddl Duds! I’m not even sure why – but they were discussing how great they were – cozy, warm, fashionable. (A typical man/woman morning show banter conversation.)
- I drove by a bus stop and saw a display ad (yes I’m a PR person, but ads have their place too – I’ll be fair!).
- I then saw Cuddl Duds referenced in a women’s fashion magazine (for the life of me I cannot remember which mag as I read way too many – call it my occupational hazard).
- So I finally purchased them. I received them. I wore them. I loved them. I “liked” the brand on Facebook.
- I started telling everyone I knew about them!
So there you have it – the power of word-of-mouth marketing with a mix of PR, advertising and probably some inbound marketing strategy and social media. Marketing really is a powerful force if it’s done right. The lesson I was reminded of here is don’t put all your eggs in one basket, but instead build momentum through a few different tactics.
Now what I’m curious about (as a marketing person) is if I was “victim” to the Cuddl Duds marketing strategy. It’s likely I fit into their target market. I’m open to hearing if anyone on the inside scoop on Cuddl Duds marketing… email me at betsy at redjeweledmedia dot com!
I couldn't help but notice a variety of Facebook promotions swirling around over the holidays.... many were hosted illegally on Facebook.
Yes, that's right, illegally.
Did you know that Facebook has very specific guidelines for hosting promotions as part of your PR campaigns on Facebook? You can read those guidelines in detail here: http://www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php
In general, the promotional guidelines state:
Promotions must be hosted on a third-party app. This means you can't host a sweepstakes that says, "I'll pick a random fan to win" - NO! You have to have a third party app with an entry form that someone has to complete in order for them to win. Also, someone cannot win just for "liking" your page. So when you tell people to like your page to win, that's against Facebook policy. We wrote about our favorite third party Facebook apps here.
Promotions must absolve Facebook of any liability. Your promotion must state that Facebook is not associated with your promotion in anyway - it is not endorsed by or adminstered by Facebook, for example. We highly recommend you put this statement in your promotion's "official rules."
You must notifiy winners outside of Facebook. While you can announce the winner's of the promotion on your page, you must also contact them outside of Facebook, either through email or phone. This is another reason you must have a third party app with an entry form.
These are some of the rules I've seen broken the most. Always check with your legal advisor to ensure your Facebook marketing is okay and legal.
Over Winter Break I was taken aback by a VERY rude person leaving comments on one of my client's Facebook pages. She was mean, impatient and oh-so-nasty. The good news is our team knew how to handle her posts swiftly and within reason.
Why?
Because we had a social media policy in place.
In the social media policy, we state that anyone who leaves a disparaging comment about our company or other individuals, fans or related companies will have their post removed from our Page. If they continue to bash people in a mean, rude or distasteful way, they will be banned from our Page altogether.
Does your company have a social media policy? Is the policy available on the company's website or in the Notes section of its Facebook page? If not, consider writing and posting one for a number of reasons:
Why You Should Have a Social Media Policy:
1. A social media policy allows your company's leaders to decide upfront what kinds of content is okay and what's not okay to post. You'll want to discuss the types of articles that are favorable and if your company is okay sparking controversial discussions on its Pages.
2. A social media policy enables your social media manager or online community manager to deal with negative comments swiftly. It will provide guidance on handling negative comments, as well as how to handle rude or distasteful posts by Fans. You don't want to wait until your company's Facebook Page is barraged with nasty comments to start discussing, as a company, what you should do.
3. A social media policy will stay with your company long after your current social media expert leaves. If someone is covering for "Jane" or if "Jane" leaves, the policy lives on.
As for the rude woman who posted on my client's site last week, we responded to her first message kindly. When she continued to be rude towards our company, we banned her from the Page. She took her (oh-so-nasty) conversation with us offline, where it should have been in the first place, especially because it was simply a warranty issue that was covered amicably by my client - not grounds for a public roast.
And if you've ever been tempted to leave a nasty gram on a company's Page, remember to be nice. After all, January 9-13 is Be Nice on the Internet Week. While it's sad that we have to have a week to remind us to be civil online, it is what it is. So be nice when leaving comments - and if you can't be positive - at least try to be constructive. Real people are working hard behind each Page and company - and they're listening, rest assured!
It seems like everyone is calling themselves a social media marketing expert these days. But are they really? Is someone that knows Facebook and Twitter well really a social media marketer? Don't be fooled!
Before hiring an intern to manage your social media, consider this:
1. An intern has no "life" experience. Do you really want someone with no experience managing the most public-facing job in your organization? Why do you undervalue social media so much when it brings your company closer to your customers than ever before?
2. An intern may not be your "target" audience. If you're trying to appeal to moms or small business owners, for example, you'll want to hire someone who understands your business and industry and who has life experiences to show as much. A mature and experienced person knows what makes a good status update or can write intelligibly on your blog.
3. An intern doesn't have "communication" experience. We all know that some nasty comments can fall on a Facebook business page. It's easy to write a snarky comment back to a customer. With a qualified communications expert on hand, the communications can be handled professionally and within the company's social media acceptable practice policies.
4. An intern isn't a "marketer." Don't you want someone skilled at marketing to run the most public-facing marketing function of your business?
If you leave your social media to the cheapest person you can find, like an intern, you'll be leaving your marketing to chance.
Did you know that Red Jeweled Media has social media marketing packages starting at $1,500 per month? Our experts have 10+ years experience in marketing and life! Value your business and value your marketing efforts!