by Miriam Hara | Dec 4, 2014 | Communications, Latest, Social Media
Social Media blogging has become very accessible for businesses. With the advent of easy to implement content management site systems such as WordPress, the business blog is now a staple on many business’s websites – ours included! The business blog has provided one way to make that first impression count on many levels.
With the introduction of social media blogging, digital first impressions took on a more dimensional tone. Businesses created a voice and personality through the content creation on their blog. However this content didn’t necessarily have to be in the form of words. Blogging included videos, how-to demonstrations, photos, instagram pics, infographics and of course written posts. It’s safe to say that the blog has taken over the “consciousness” of many businesses, propelling thought leadership, significant and qualified content and delivering a new way to develop relationships with potential clients. This has allowed for the first impression to have more dimension and interaction.
A decade after it began, social media blogging is undergoing a shift in its perception and its fundamental measurement of success.
Having had its day in the sun, social media blogging, like everything new, is no longer as “in” as it once was. Being “on-trend” and the “must-do” initiative for many businesses may have contributed to the demise of the popularity of social media blogging. It could also be that there is now just too much information online, too much good content (and still loads of not-so-good content) that people are simply overwhelmed.
Much like the introduction of digital ads, which in their infancy experienced double-digit click-through rates, only to spiral down to less than 1% and are now selling on “impression counts” – social media blogging is now maturing and is experiencing a growth adjustment. The same thing can also be said for the emergence of websites. Many early adopters of the social media blog enjoyed robust conversations with their subscribers/viewers/readers. Although now, site visits to blogs in general and comments on posts are slowly ebbing and are no longer touting the excellent traction rates they once had. This may be the result of blog sharing via other sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook or Reddit etc.
Does this mean that social media blogging is over and done? My feeling is no. People are still searching for information and are still reading, so the business blog is still very viable. It just has to work harder to attain the numbers and the feedback it once took for granted. Like everything new, the “craze phase” is over. Now the real work begins: to refine, to hone, to stay the course and achieve the long term objectives originally set forth. Ultimately, like everything else in business and marketing, a long term view is necessary. Consistent application is the only sure way of achieving success, no matter how it’s defined.
What do you think about social media blogging? Is it here to stay? If you can spare the time, I would like to hear your views and opinions.
by Miriam Hara | Nov 30, 2014 | Latest, Marketing, Social Media
Your business or brand has been an early adopter or late adopter on social media… good for you! It goes without saying that today social media is and should be part of any marketing and sales strategy mix and rightly so. Along with its popularity, from a marketing perspective, social media has opened the depth and breathe of niche market strategies. No longer is defining target groups as gender and age group sufficient or effective…marketing teams must now get into social media profiling.
Amidst the race to build healthy and hearty communities and following on Facebook and Twitter, there’s a false perception among many in marketing that social media is about mass. But it is quite the contrary. While it is true that with many brand communities the strength of communities is an objective, it is not the only achievable result of indicator of success nor is it the only tell tale sign of social media initiatives’ success.
Consider this, marketing started with demographic targets and then started withe very psychographics profiling to get a clearer handle on what motivated their demographics. With the popularity of the social media channel, social media profiling is quickly emerging as a much needed tool in determining the success of any social media initiative by not only defining the demographics of a target but also by defining their motivations.
With social media profiling… niche is where it is at.
Many businesses have recognized that establishing a target market, demographically speaking (age, gender, location) is not enough and will no longer result in successful performances of initiatives. Let’s take the demographic target of Women 25-54 as an example, which in traditional advertising and communications was all that was required to plan out the media strategy, on TV, radio, magazine selections, and early on, online properties. We can all agree that there’s a significant diversity within the target segment of Women 25-54.
To illustrate that the use of traditional demographics is diminishing; meaning, the importance of age and gender as the significant attribute of a target, is not as relevant when conceptualizing campaigns and establishing strategic initiatives, here are some questions you should ask:
Where are they in their life journey: Are they single, having babies, raising kids, divorced, empty-nesters? This is key in establishing mindset and their motivation triggers.
How do they inform themselves: Online, friends, family, magazines? This will establish the mix of channels to reach them as well as the language to use.
What are their hobbies? This will provide depth to any profile, allowing brand to start developing a relationship that will resonate with their target.
Which, if any, communities are they involved in? Both online and traditional should be evaluated as there currently exists a need for both.
Social media profiling starts with these basic questions and answering them will assist in avoiding the use of stereotypes, which is key and developing an enriched plan of reaching your audiences. Determining niche segments within a target through social media profiling will allow marketing to establish the various customer personas that are relevant for their brands and businesses.
Does your marketing take into account social media profiling? I’d like to hear your thoughts here.
by Miriam Hara | Nov 18, 2014 | Interactive, Latest, Social Media
Is the almighty business website a thing of the past? Many are saying Social Media is where it’s at today. Actually anything social media, including content creation, content sharing, reaching out and blogging are all the new must haves for business. With all the hoopla about social media and the introduction of so many social media platforms, many businesses are questioning the point of keeping a business website. However, there is still a need for it and it all has to do with first impressions.
It goes without saying that there are many advantages to social media but there are equally if not stronger advantages for businesses to also maintain their website. This is the place where prospective clients will go to get their first impression of your business. Who are you? What do you do? What services do you provide? How easy is it to connect with a sales representative? These questions are all part of the first impression equation. Also, it’s the only place online where you have 100% control over the content and ultimately how potential clients perceive you. Additionally, your business website must be up to par with all the current methods of social sharing and sales lead generation. Gone is the static brochure business website that provided no dialogue and no potential conversation.
A business website is about making a good first impression but the new business website also needs to leverage the demands of sales needs for the evolutionary digital landscape.
In today’s very competitive digital and sales environments, it’s important to get found and it’s important to be “there” when potential clients are looking for your product or service. As mentioned previously, brochure websites are a thing of the past. Planning and SEO strategies are essential when implementing a website. Here are 3 additional simple must-dos in order to augment the performance of a business website:
1) Articulate the objectives for your business website. This is necessary in achieving ROI on the investment.
2) Establish key strategies to keep your website fresh. It’s important to provide relevant and timely content on your site so potential clients have a reason to keep coming back.
3) Facilitate dialogue and contact. Enabling several touch points for visitors to comment or reach out is essential for developing relationships and sales lead generation. Identify key pages within the site that will prompt a call to action. Also having sharing tools is key.
The business website is still necessary and very viable. The danger is placing all your energy on social media platforms while neglecting your business website. Both have to work in tandem and be supportive of one another. If created properly, the business website should act as the central point for all other digital initiatives created for social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc), eNewsletters and of course sales lead generation.
Let me know what you think. I invite you to go to our site and see how we’ve designed an integrated business website.
by Miriam Hara | Nov 13, 2014 | Business Success, Communications, Latest, Social Media
Social Media isn’t single and it isn’t a couple either. It isn’t accurate to describe the Social Media space as one thing. Yet we are all guilty of doing so. Many of us, when speaking about Social Media, refer to it as if it were a singular item – even though all of us know that isn’t the case. There are many different Social Media platforms that make up what we all call “Social Media“.
The Social Media platforms that make up the space are as diverse as radio stations or TV channels in any given market.
There’s a tendency to generalize and paint all these channels with the same brush – no matter how broad it is – and that’s not a valid way of thinking about the channel. Every platform on Social Media, from those that started the momentum like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube to those that have followed are all unique and deliver very different experiences to their audiences. That’s a beautiful thing. These Social Media platforms that “make up” this exciting channel are not the same. They also don’t deliver on the same set of objectives, and any business entrepreneur and marketer needs to keep this in mind.
The Social Media platforms are beautiful things.
The individual qualities, audiences and engagement experiences enable each platform to be viewed as a unique marketing channel, able to deliver on specific objectives and on niche target markets. Each platform has its specific “state of being”, offering its audience a unique type of experience. That is why Social Media platforms should not be lumped together. It would be like saying all TV shows speak to the same audience and in the same way. You wouldn’t air a TV ad for a women’s product on a channel that only targets men. But that’s where the comparison to TV and radio ends.
Social Media platforms make up a very complex marketing channel and that’s a good thing.
It provides marketers with the ability to really dig deep and speak intimately to their niche segments. It allows marketers to propel brand tone and persona visually with movement and words. Social Media is a very diverse space. Here are just a few of the many platforms and what they each deliver:
Facebook: Well what can I say that hasn’t been already said. It was the beginning and now it is still a staple. Facebook evolved from a youth cult channel to now a parent and grandparent channel. You can find any target segment on Facebook. It’s social at its best. It’s fun. It’s personal. It’s connective. And, it’s relationship forming.
Pinterest: Originally designed for brides to organize their weddings, Pinterest can’t help but be a very visual and organized platform. Yet, it’s playful. It’s also full of appetite appeal, high fashion, design and decor. It’s the visual expression of anything on the planet. It transcends language, culture and borders.
Twitter: How can you achieve critical mass? Just tweet. It’s fast. It’s short and sweet. It’s consensus. It’s voyeurism. It’s immediate. It’s visual. And it’s especially powerful when coupled with traditional media and star power. It was during the 2014 Academy Awards, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, that the most popular tweet in the History of Twitter was shared.
LinkedIn: It’s professional. It’s networking. It’s engaging. It’s helpful. And it’s a soapbox. How professionals use it varies depending on whether they’re a job seeker, a head hunter or just trying to connect with like-minded professionals. LinkedIn allows for everything from sharing opinions and asking questions to hearing new points of view. It’s an amazing platform for professionals.
YouTube: It’s film. It’s humour. It’s emotional. It’s trendy. It’s video and it’s viral. It doesn’t require high production value, but it does need high impact messaging. It’s a free channel. And it’s up to marketers to leverage it.
Instagram: It’s visual. It’s a showcase. It’s artistic. It’s popular. It’s cool. It’s shareable on other social platforms. It’s power lies in it’s ability to integrate with other platforms, making it very viable for marketers to combine photos or videos into their promotional context.
So now when you think about Social Media, don’t refer to it as singular, think of it as plural. When it comes to business or branding, it’s important for marketers not to lump all the varied Social Media platforms together. A brand doesn’t have to be a hit on all Social Media platforms especially if it doesn’t make sense for the brand. Instead, a brand needs to define it’s objectives and simply be a hit on the Social Media platforms or platform that will assist it in achieving it’s objective.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that blogs are a significant part of the Social Media space. As such, my business objective is to drive people to the 3H hoopla blog and have them register, comment and subscribe. I hope you’ll do all three, but I would be happy with just two!
by Miriam Hara | Nov 5, 2014 | Business Success, Latest, Social Media
The Social Media evolution has enabled people to think differently and perhaps quicker! We at 3H, spend a great deal of our time and energy in the Social Media Channel. It is an exciting channel that is evolving beyond our wildest dreams.
Social Media shouldn’t be intimidating to any business and should be leveraged in marketing and business initiatives. It’s been our experience that with client initiatives the Social Media Channel plays an active role in propelling brand. It’s my hope that by the end of this post, the use of the Social Media Channel will become a clearer and more viable option for you and your business.
In step with the Social Media evolution, Canadians are evolving too.
Consider this: Gen Y is now coming up to bat as they are at the helm of senior roles in business. What they bring with them are very compelling attitudes towards Social Media.
So what does that mean? Both Gen Y and Gen Z are largely responsible for changing the marketing landscape – not only about how to communicate with them but also who is best suited to provide relevant information.
But it’s not just Gen Y and Z who are responsible for this shift. Baby boomers and Gen X are also taking part in this Social Media evolution. How? Think about it, how many of us say “Google it” in one day?
The internet as a platform has enabled us to find answers, to offer solutions and give advice – instantly. The Social Media evolution has propelled content creation and the sharing of content.
Facebook was designed on the premise of building relationships through sharing content via thoughts, photos, comments, links, etc. Now with blogging, Social Media’s cornerstone is content creation. Social Media is the product of this way of thinking – for this social way of thinking. There are so many opportunities for any business to provide information and create a continuous dialogue with Canadians – when and how they want it.
For Canadians the traditional valued sources of information are changing due to the Social Media evolution. The evolution of Social Media has occurred and is now a part of everyday life. It will continue to change, but the evolution of communications now has a new order or a different channel. Social Media is now being fine tuned and we will probably see added bells and whistles. All this to say, in business we must face this new channel openly and strategically. What opportunity! Business needs to get ready for the future now.
Social Media is perfectly poised for companies to start speaking socially to their consumers about their products; while providing value by informing and educating them on their product benefits. Ultimately, to assist them in their “purchasing” journey. Its a marketing media channel that can successfully assist in achieving a number of objectives, one of them is developing relationships with current and future customers. This is the upside and the ROI of developing a social media footprint for business and brands.
It’s time to get out there and be a part of the conversation, today!
by Miriam Hara | Oct 29, 2014 | Latest, Social Media
The Social Media space understandably generates a lot of buzz. There are a lot of opinions about what it’s all about and with that come many misconceptions. I would like to share some of those misconceptions with you here.
In keeping with the timing of Halloween, here is a few “trick or truths?” about the Social Media space.
The Social Media space is all about popularity – TRICK
Social Media isn’t a popularity contest – unless being popular is the objective or the definition of popularity is specified. There are many objectives that the Social Media space can assist with, one of which is counting the likes on a Facebook page. So defining your goals is crucial to evaluating the success of a Social Media campaign.
The Social Media space takes commitment – TRUTH
Social Media shouldn’t be another task on the brand manager’s desk. Social Media is comprised of many segments of a business: Communications, PR, customer service, marketing and sales. It takes a dedicated team that makes Social Media “their” priority – bringing other people into the mix to assist in growing the Social Media footprint. It also takes real-time management to measure the efforts and shift priorities if need be.
The Social Media space is about taking risks – TRICK
B
e risk informed, not risk adverse. Social Media is an emerging channel, so like it or not, there are a lot of unknowns – so there are going to be errors. Understanding the consumer’s journey and being present when the consumer needs information is key. But understanding the potential pitfalls of Social Media initiatives is equally as important. In addition to strategic planning and execution tactics, you need to be prepared. This allows for the development of contingency plans. Risk informed, in any business or industry, is expected – in Social Media, it’s the norm.
The Social Media space is about adding value – TRUTH
The Social Media space is the perfect forum to shift Canadians’ perception and to dialogue with consumers, today. Any business or brand needs to have a voice on Social Media. I view Social Media as a marketing media channel that can assist in achieving any number of objectives.
In summary, the premise of Social Media is about adding value to people’s lives. This is achieved by providing information, advice or opinions without the expectation of anything in return. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t an upside or ROI. Providing information, engaging with consumers and as a result, creating and facilitating relationships is something that can be achieved through the Social Media space – and that can be of extreme value to business.
Click here to download the Social Media eBook.
