Marketing 3.0

The Elusive Facebook Business Page

lboyce — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:52:22 +0000

Look at Facebook business pages as easy to grasp as your teenager’s friends, as easy to handle as your kid’s sports schedule, or as easy to understand as a new language. Let’s face it, Facebook is elusive for a reason. They will never let anyone completely control the content, or learn their special mark-up language, it just doesn’t fit into their business model.

Personally I chuckle when a new version or announcement comes out. They hold the power. As a marketer that helps others to massage Facebook business pages I find it an inevitable annoyance. It takes a little research, testing and tweaking to get what you want, but don’t hold your breath, it will change in less than 6 months.

At the end of the day let Facebook developers do what they do… confuse us, frustrate us, and leave us scratching our heads. Our time and attention really should be spent on developing the content that feeds our Facebook page anyway. Facebook is not a soul marketing tool, it is ancillary.

Focus instead on developing a strategy for your website, or blog. Feed your email campaigns with your valuable content. Concentrate on the channels that you control, and can continue to control as others chase their tails trying to keep up with the most elusive developers our time has seen.

Top 5 Musts for 2011 Email Marketing

lboyce — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:56:21 +0000

Wanted to share a recent post that I was asked to submit on focus.com regarding email marketing in the coming year. What do you think is important?

1) Build your list of opt-in subscribers – Too many businesses are still waiting for people to find them rather than gathering contact information from interested parties. Be sure to give ample opportunity to sign up for your email program. Include a detailed sign up page on your website and blog, and collect info at your tradeshows/speaking engagements. Make sure that every email that you send out has a link to join your email list, and an option to forward to a friend. Some businesses believe strongly in the power of “squeeze pages”, pages that are highly focused and allow a reader
only two choices: sign up, or leave the page. May be a bit too pushy for some, but if you offer a valuable freebie on the other end you can afford to be more aggressive.

2) Link, Link, Link – Just like location, location, location in real estate, linking to other channels from your email campaign is crucial. Emails should be teasers to more in-depth content that drives traffic to your website, blog, or Social Media Channels. Sending out a brief paragraph with no where to go is not the best use of time and energy. Links are a great way to up sell other products or services, or to drive registration to events. Write your email copy with at least 3 or 4 links in mind each time. Before you know it linking will be in the forefront of your email marketing planning.

3) Cross-promote – Email marketing remains on the rise because it’s so cheap and effective. That means more companies are using email marketing than ever before, and it’s likely that there are other people using it within your industry. Seek out other email marketers targeting similar market segments, and reach out to them to set up cross-promotions. Each side can provide great content for the other’s mailing list to benefit the reader. Just remember, only endorse products that you genuinely believe in, you don’t want to damage the trust you’ve worked hard to build up with your readers.

4) Build trust – Share your expertise with loyal followers by adding content that only goes to your subscribers. Add a tease to your other channels to get more subscribers, i.e. sign up now for more tips, etc. Emails that provide compelling industry studies are great, but even better when you add your own viewpoint, and experience with the topic. Don’t hide behind your brand, let people know who you are. Add a few recent events, or networking stories that benefit your audience. Sharing a little of what you know, and who you are will go a long way in building trust and word-of-mouth referrals.

5) Sweeten the deal – Think about how many people are vying for the attention of the same audience you are after. To entice new subscribers, it helps to offer a free e-book or video download, a white paper study or special one-time discount. If done right they will be chomping at the bit to sign-up and will be more likely to pass it on to a friend or colleague for you.

Don’t forget to measure every email that goes out. There are many inexpensive tools available that will track deliverability, open-rates, and click-throughs. Use this information to make your next email even better, and to clean up your contact lists.

Apps for the Sake of an App

lboyce — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 20:41:23 +0000

There is a lot of discussion recently regarding mobile applications. Many businesses are clamoring to develop apps whether they support their business goals or not. The thought of creating something that is useful and of value to their customers is thrown aside for having the bragging rights of creating a new app.

But what is the sense of going through the motions if you don’t keep your customers or prospects in mind? If you decide to develop a custom app it should be in line with your brand and a good fit for the people that will be using it.

Don’t let the pissing match between Apple and the Droid get in the way of good judgement.

Social Media Tools vs Strategy

lboyce — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:57:58 +0000

Many people confuse the tools you are using for social media messaging as a strategy. Remember, that the effectiveness of social media isn’t the tools that you use, but how you use them to listen, answer questions and connect with your audience and followers.

Social media tools/channels are just opportunities to connect your brand with your customers, and connects them to tell others about you. Think about the use of each tool, their purpose and how you can use each to vary your message and content to optimize your reach.

Pick the Tools to Fit Your Goals. Think about the purpose and strategy of the following channels.
Tool
Monitoring Tool — Listening and measurement
Corporate Blog — Thought leadership, depth, engagement, linking & guest posts
Twitter — Headlines, engage, sales, solve service issues, competitor insight
Community — Customer driven, customer care, sourcing trends
Facebook — Social, friendly, recruiting, link to community and blog, video
LinkedIn — Engagement, networking, recruiting
YouTube — Amazing stories, brand awareness
SlideShare — Content sharing, thought leadership

Rank each of the channels by priority 1-5, 1 being the greatest. Keep your business and financial goals in mind. Concentrate on the 1′s and 2′s!

Multiple Media Channel Approach Rules

lboyce — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 16:17:33 +0000

The recent post on emarketer.com about not abandoning email marketing for social media got me thinking more about how I always approach marketing. Not any one tool can answer all of your business development challenges. You need to keep direct mail, networking, email, social media, mobile and online marketing always working in tandem to deliver your message.

Think about how you like to receive information. Some things I read in an email, some require logging on to an online forum, sometimes I read articles in print, or I may watch a webinar a few times a week. Flexibility, and multiple formats keep me up-to-date on the latest trends and research in marketing, making me a better resource to my clients.

Consistent content in multiple formats is the answer. Be creative, split up your content, tie into other channels, start conversations, and see what happens.

Alpha Users of Mobile Marketing

lboyce — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 20:01:32 +0000

If you are thinking about integrating mobile marketing into your business development strategy be sure to tailor your strategy to your specific audience . You may have several audiences within your customer base and you need to keep in mind the attributes of these key groups to plan a successful mobile marketing campaign. Most consumers are not opposed to mobile marketing, but the alpha users of mobile devices fall into 4 categories:

1) The Teen – If teens represent the future, why not communicate with them like they communicate with each other?
2) The Tech Savvy Man – the very definition of early adopters. They always want the latest and greatest — no matter what it is. Mobile coupons for free beer, discounts on a round of golf, fantasy sports, and opinion polls. You get the idea.
3) Millennials – The young adults of the world. They range between 18 and 35 years old. Stay connected through the use of wallpapers, ringtones, SMS, instant messages, and mobile websites.
4) The Digital Mom – Digital moms are time starved and endlessly seeking functionality. They require a High-level engagement while maintaining simplicity as they are seeking ways to add time and reduce stress in their lives. Build trust with this group by creating apps, websites, or updates that help them multi-task, manage time more effectively; or entertain and inform them with short, simple interactions.

This is not to say that your target audience needs to fall into these 4 categories, that are just the most primed and ready for your message.

Push vs Pull Marketing

lboyce — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 13:20:00 +0000

Traditional push marketing, the practice of “pushing” your message/content toward an audience, has taken a sharp turn. Cold calls, print advertising, and sales flyers miss one very important key, timing. Calling when not expected, or dropping by with sales collateral can be seen as a nuisance especially to someone that doesn’t recognize your brand. On occasion your timing will be right or you may get lucky. Pull marketing is all about YOU.

Forget about YOU! The web, email marketing, mobile marketing and other pull marketing methods forget about YOU and focus on your audience. Pull marketing creates value and places your brand in a position of authority if done right. Pull marketing takes drive, creativity and time. It is no small task but once you have built trust it can be the greatest source of new business.

What valuable information are you willing to share?

Social Media for B2B

lboyce — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 13:22:39 +0000

Social Media for B2B

No question, social media grew out of the consumer space, and B2C examples of social media success are easy to find. But take a step back. Look at the value that businesses get out of social media. You’ll see it’s not specific to B2B or B2C companies. Consider the three main benefits marketers get from social media:

1. Listening — Every company needs to listen. It doesn’t matter if you sell solder paste, CRM software or fencing supplies. You need to listen to your competitors, your customers, your prospects — your community. Social media sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook make this information more easily accessible.

2. Reach — Reach is important to any marketer. It’s the number of people you can communicate with directly via email, telephone, or any other channel. You need this whether you’re selling to consumers or businesses. Social media tools extend your reach beyond any traditional media tools and make it easier to communicate consistently.

3. Nurturing — Nurturing is another critical marketing task for all companies. Regardless of what you sell, you need to build trust with potential customers and educate them about your company and your products. Social media facilitates the development of personal relationships at scale. This makes it an ideal tool for nurturing in any business.

The days of “paid” media are being surpassed by “earned media”. People buy from people not from brands. Giving your company, and your key employees a persona and a voice will deepen existing relationships, and create new ones.

Social media is highly measurable, and can be tracked by:
• Engagement – How well your message/conversations resonate with your audience
• Reach – Change in the number of fans/followers
• Activity – Each individual message, down to “voices” can be measured for effectiveness

Curious to see where your efforts are already making an impact, or want to learn more about your competitor? Get started by trying out free tools such as Social Mention, Addict-o-matic, or boardreader. They are helpful in finding mentions of your brand both by your own efforts, and within forums, blogs and other online communities where other people may be adding their two cents.

Frequent Posting Does Not Mean Quality Messaging

lboyce — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:38:02 +0000

Social Media is still on the uprise and many business owners are not horribly comfortable with populating blogs, Facebook pages, etc, but for those that think they are, they may have another thing coming.

Just because you post frequently it does not necessarily mean that you are engaging your audience. Without linking to something more, you are not providing a call to action.

Depending on the tone of your message you may or may not get a reaction. Try varying your messaging to be entertaining, educational, and enlightening, and see what resonates with your audience. Sounds like a lot of work, but in reality it is the most pliable, on-the-fly, inexpensive marketing you can do.

Just remember the days when you ran ads haphazardly only to find you sent thousands down the toilet without a strategy or the ability to tweak as needed. Embrace it! Just like any other skill it will become easier over time.

Think Facebook is for Generation Y?

lboyce — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 18:56:30 +0000

Think again. The average age among Facebook Users (as of June 2009) was 37.

With the above finding it makes perfect sense that the content shared on Facebook is by no means limited to personal photos and snippets. News is the most popular type of shared content, according to Chitika. Facebook is also the most active for Social Gaming with popular apps such as Farmville and Mafia Wars. Trust me, I know plenty of people in their late 30′s to early 50′s taking part in these trivial, and often annoying games.

Facebook is more than just a great tool for connecting with faraway friends, and school classmates who have lost touch. With so much time spent on Facebook, marketers are turning to advertising, marketing, and engaging with their target demographic through promotions, sweepstakes, contests, events, and more. In fact, an online survey of 2,393 business professionals found that 80% prefer to do business on Facebook than any other social network.

Curious to know what this vast audience is looking for? Facebook users say they become Fans of brands on Facebook primarily because they are customers of a company, they wish to express affinity or support, and they want to receive discounts and promotions. Users are less concerned with being first to learn of company news or of gaining access to exclusive content.

What do they look for?

Load up your Facebook Business Page with special offers and discounts to tap into this powerful tool.