by Miriam Hara | Aug 3, 2013 | Business Success, Latest, Marketing, Social Media
At the risk of stating the obvious, social Media is social. It’s social and because it needs to be interactive it’s high maintenance. It’s a new way of networking….for brands and businesses. As such, there should be a considerable amount of investment earmarked to be successful in this arena. The definition of social media differs from every business’ perspective. For some it’s Facebook and Twitter, others it’s LinkedIn or Google+, or YouTube and Pinterest…. to name only a few. Regardless of perspective, social media impact on brands and business is building significant momentum. It has grown and there’s no sign of that momentum capping any time soon.
You already know that if you are managing a brand, a business, local or international, you must find and exercise your voice within this channel. Now that you have your space in the social media environment, you can now exercise social media influence. Building a solid community is a must. It’s important that you create a community that is relevant for your brand and business.
Here’s a short list of what you should consider when establishing a social media presence for your brand or business:
1) Determine the why. Understand why your brand or business needs to be in the social media space. And no, you guessed it, “because everyone else is there” isn’t enough of a good reason. It’ll help if you write the pros and cons of participating in this channel. Note, I did say participate. Social Media isn’t complacent.
2) Establish goals. Don’t just go at it! Is it important to build a 10,000 strong community? If s,o understand why it’s important. Establishing how your brand or business will define success in this channel is important to get future support and budget allocation towards this channel.
3) Be strategic. Don’t go for broke! If you can’t do all the properties, then just do 1 or 2 very well. Social Media demands time… and each property you engage in, needs attention and initiatives to build a community. Investigate the different properties (ie: Facebook, Pinterest, podcast, blogging), and understand how each of them can or can not benefit your brand and business. Like with every advertising budget, understanding the efficiencies of a property and its associated costs will offer direction on what to do and not do .
4) Engage Regularly! There’s a rhythm to any social media property you choose to take part in. You must walk the talk. Too many brands and businesses have a Facebook Page and don’t post regularly (and that is the key). That’s why you must not only intend to post consistently… you must plan it. If you don’t, then save yours business money; don’t be on Facebook! Same goes with having a Business Page on LinkedIn and not leveraging it. If you decide to create a forum, or blog, of newsletter, but don’t regularly post… then what’s the point? Social Media isn’t about observing, it’s about engaging!
5) Set Initiatives and Budgets. Have a realistic plan… and stick to it. It’s important to earmark funds to build momentum to set up a worthwhile community for your brand or business. It takes effort, time and dollars to build “critical mass” in order for your brand to get social!
Marketers know that social media is a staple in the new media subset and should be considered as much an advertising channel as billboards, TV, print, radio and direct mail– with the distinctive advantage of enabling a continuous dialogue flow with a brand’s market… providing information, insights and influence. To my point of view, high maintenance or not, social media for brands and business is no longer a nice to have, but a need to have.
by Miriam Hara | Aug 1, 2013 | Advertising, Branding, Latest, Marketing
During the course of my marketing career, I have seen many brands change their marketing strategy, marketing direction and marketing definition on an annual basis or even worse, more often than that! For those of us who have professed the art of marketing, it becomes second nature – even an unconscious behaviour – to resist jumping ship when the water gets rough. It’s crucial for a marketer to support a marketing strategy, position, a brand persona or brand style. A marketer has to stay focused on the chosen strategic direction, even when there’s a storm brewing – and stay the course.
There’s always a new idea, a new marketing strategy or a different approach available for a brand to take.
It may not be wrong, but the true question should be: Is it right for the brand at this time? Marketing is all about putting a stake in the sand. This doesn’t mean being rigid. In fact, for a brand to grow it must be fluid, it must evolve and move in a certain direction. At the same time, a marketer must allow for seamless transitions that will add to its positioning.
There are a few behaviours you can count on when you roll out a brand marketing initiative and determine your marketing strategy. It doesn’t matter if its packaging design (or redesign), an advertising campaign, product positioning or a marketing concept – here are a couple of things you can be sure of:
- Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Respectfully though, not everyone’s opinion should have equal weight.
- Many people, including colleagues, don’t like change. Just as everyone has an opinion, most resist change and will sometimes criticize what’s new or different. Change often makes people uncomfortable.
For any marketer to put a stake in the sand with their marketing strategy, and stand behind it when the going gets tough, they must do their marketing homework beforehand. Here’s how:
- Investigate! Know your market. Know who plays in your market. Know what competitive brands are out there, and what marketing strategies they use. Get out there and do store checks, get price comparisons, look at promotional initiatives, and say yes, even to a one-time Nielsen three-year trend of the market category and segment you are considering.
- Evaluate what you have now. Don’t assume it is wrong. Do your research. Talk to your target audience. Get their take on your brand and on your brand’s positioning. It doesn’t matter what you think, it matters how your brand communicates with its audience. Say yes to market research! It’s well worth the investment. (Notice I didn’t say cost!)
- Quantify the potential. Know what marketing strategy works and what doesn’t. Measure it on a scale that will allow you to accurately assess your marketing stance.
After you do your homework, you can launch your marketing initiative stocked with objective, “non-personalized” rationales. This will give you the tools you need to ward off those nay-sayers and the ones that resist change! Furthermore, you need to wait it out. It’s amazing how with a little time, a revolutionary idea, or funky package can become comfortable and the good old standby!
by Miriam Hara | Jul 24, 2013 | Advertising, Branding, Latest, Marketing
Sales makes money and marketing spends money. It’s usually said in a snotty way and the person saying it usually acts all superior as if they have the secret to life and anyone who doesn’t understand is low, low down on the food chain. Say what you will, those of us in the advertising and marketing business we understand what’s behind the comment. We know where the truth lies. Let’s clear up a major misconception. Marketing and the advertising it propels gets customers and clients in the door, sales closes the deal. There’s different types of marketing for different types of business. But regardless of what business you’re in, there are considerations that should be part of the equation when you decide to go the do it yourself route.
Cutting Costs: Bring marketing tactics in-house
Since sales generates money, there are times when the marketing support areas feels that they are looked upon as an expense… not an investment. Therefore, the quick and superficial analysis says…cut costs by bringing design and media planning in house. You say the media commission and you don’t have to pay agency premiums of simple design. Bright idea in theory. But not so bright in application. There are two very real impacts to this decisions.
1. In-house marketing doesn’t cut costs
Hard to believe? But time will tell. Consider this.For you accountant types out there… outsourced marketing doesn’t require vacation pay, pensions, statutory holidays, office space, computers….think of the savings!!! All kidding aside… look at it from this perspective. Chances are in house marketing creative staff are not as skilled as specialists in an outside agency. The real aspect of a design is being challenged creatively. That ceases to become an option once they have been working on the same business of over a year. An outside agency works on many business, thereby creating a natural environment of creativity and growth. It wouldn’t be fair to expect your in house marketing creative team to be as nimble. They have little exposure to other creative talents. They must rely on themselves for inspiration. Isolated, tucked away in some remote area, creativity comes hard in this type of situation. Time drags on. And no, a marketing coordinator can’t do the media strategy and planning…nor should they. There’s an artform to strategically choosing which media to go to and what the benefits and results are going to be . A handful of people can’t be experts in graphic design, copywriting, social media, web design, packaging, advertising, television, radio… do I need to go on. In house staff will give their best efforts but their efforts will take longer and they can make costly mistakes.
2. In-house marketing can cost money
Mediocrity becomes the norm. Breakthrough thinking becomes a thing on the past.This will, over time, weaken sales. Unfortunately lack of inspiration, creativity and lack of expertise will slowly destroy your brand. It’s an insidious degradation, hard to detect and even harder to understand. Sales weaken and everyone wonders why. Some will say it’s the economy, the company needs restructuring, let’s burn the sales manager but few will look at their marketing department. Take this recommendation. Rather than try to staff for a department that is a vertical business to your business, take the time to choose the right agency. Agencies provide a new perspective. An outside perspective and will stand and fight for the right solution for your business and brand. Based on expertise and experience that is vast and varied. To make sound analogies and fair business assessments to grow your business. It’s important to choose the right agency for your business. Before you bring your marketing in house find and talk to a few advertising and marketing businesses and discuss your needs.Instead of bringing your marketing in house consider outsourcing your advertising and marketing. Let’s see, you want to know if we can give you a referral? Oh yes… a company called 3H comes to mind. 🙂
by Miriam Hara | Jul 15, 2013 | Branding, Business Success, Latest
Brand naming…why it’s important.
More to the point, what is required for a brand to become like the much covet name brands like Coca Cola, Nike and Apple? It seems that brand names explode in the market…and yet, most take years until they become visible and reach the market consciousness. It’s important to state here that the term brand naming refers to products, service businesses and retail stores.
There are many brand naming agencies and writers who boast of their ability of being name generators. However, whether the business that your are seeking to name is a service or a product or even a retail store, the process of naming should not be taken lightly. Once you settle on a name for your business, it’s with you for a very long time. The process of brand naming is often difficult and should at least include some sort of market research.
Brand naming is only the very first, tiny step in developing a brand. Just as a logo isn’t branding… well, becoming a brand sensation doesn’t happen because you just name it. So what do the most popular brands out there do in order to penetrate the market consciousness? Here’s my take:
1) Create a brand definition. A brand name , especially an awesome one, needs to create an emotional connection. This may be in the form of visual tonality, a tagline, a promise. Make sure that brand definition appears or is stated whenever your brand appears…each and every time.
2) Create sensation: Brand needs to ‘be’. It needs to reach far and wide. After all what’s the use having an awesome brand and you’re 1 of 3 people who know about it. If you’re not out there… then you’re winking in the dark. If you are local retail store, then you need to promote locally, sponsor events, create hype with traditional and social media campaigns such as billboard, radio or print.These, of course, are only a few suggestions.
3) Develop a connection…. or rather community: It’s becoming increasingly easier to create brand connections with your audience. Easier doesn’t make it easy or quick but it is doable. It’s important to have a long term view in developing that brand community… it has to be strategic . With the use of a succinct social media plan, your awesome brand can reach your very select target group…and yes, talk to them. Develop connections that transcends the sell cycle…
4) Be awesome! Whether it’s a business, a product or a service, being branded means that you must deliver on its promise. No brand becomes any name brand unless it speaks, acts and delivers on what it says it will.
We all know that overnight successes often takes years to happen and brands are no different. Developing and creating a brand with a brand name that has market equity takes time and strategy. It’s all in the how to create a brand, that makes it a brand name… and that’s why brand naming is important.
by Miriam Hara | Jul 5, 2013 | Advertising, Creative, Latest
What does a career in advertising really mean?
Advertising has always held some mystic for many creative and marketing types wannabes. Many people on the outside looking in think of the world of advertising as being the ultimate career in creativity. I’ll let you in on secret… in many cases, depending on what your creative type happens to be, it’s true! Advertising is the most creative aspect in marketing communications… even more so than public relations (PR) and brand marketing. Add to that, the very popular TV series of Mad Men to this caché… well, then you may very well have a rose coloured view of this career choice.
Those of us in the the field have a different and more realistic definition of advertising and what it means to be “working in” this crazy, hectic, exciting field. Through my 25 years of running a marketing creative agency, I have been fortunate to meet many interesting people and I have come to the realization that we all have certain traits and characteristics in common.
See if you too belong to the wonderful industry of advertising… can you can identify with any one of these character traits?
1) You love being around creative and the creative process: You don’t have to draw or write…You can easily be an advertising account executive.Just as long as you are part of “creating” something.
2) Passion rules the day: You love your job. In fact you can’t wait to get out of bed and to greet the day! You love the challenge of newness that every marketing mandate brings…and working out the issues. You love that what you do can potentially reach millions of people.
3) You’re an adrenaline junkie: Not death defying tricks here… only true and pure rush. Rush to meet impossible deadlines put out by most if not all advertisers…. and to ultimately excel in your creativity and performance while meeting those said impossible deadlines.
4) You think ‘What if”…constantly! Never mind about inside or outside the box. You’re a natural problem solver that always looks at the marketing brief differently. Innovation is your mind’s middle name whether it’s comes to coining a phrase or conceptualizing a storyboard or ad… you simply strive on creating breakthrough creative.
5) Work…. what’s that?: Not exactly like Character Trait #3, more like an extension. You actually have fun at what you do? In fact it’s like a calling. You think about projects, ideas and products all the time. Grocery shopping isn’t just about filling up the pantry. Rather it becomes a store-check to see what’s new and innovative in products or POP or contest promotions. If you do a lot of TV advertising, you can’t see a movie without acknowledging the camera angles,the lighting, the propping. It’s about you driving your car, noticing billboards and trying to ascertain what the brief was and if if the creative was well executed.
If you see yourself in any one of the above character traits, then advertising is in your future! I’d love to hear from any and all of you who share in the passion of creativity and advertising.
Live creatively and prosper!
