by Belinda Lui | Nov 24, 2013 | Latest, Management
In some professions, it is discouraged to get attached to your patient/client/business relationships. In Marketing and Advertising, however, I would encourage the opposite. A good client relationship management strategy is crucial to maintaining not only a healthy balance for your ROI but also for your professional relationships.
The line can be blurry when it comes to how close and how much is too close.There is such a thing as too much in client relationship management– but hopefully this guide can help you navigate the professional relationship waters to ensure smooth sailing:
1. Communication
Like any other kind of relationship, communication is a fundamental building block to a healthy and long-lasting business partnership. This can come in the form of an e-mail, phone call, newsletter, or better yet, face-to-face. Just keep it flowing and keep the conversation open.
2. Trust
It is important that your clients not only know that you will deliver on your promises, but that you are also the best at what you do. Reinforcing this trust isn’t always easy but can be done by way of blogging, e-newsletters highlighting recent accomplishments, and even maintaining a current, trendy website.
3. Personal
We all get a lot of spam mail in our inbox and the last thing we need (or look forward to) is another impersonal message blasted to a general e-mail list. Alternately, consider personalizing your messages to your clients – addressing them by name and mentioning a specific memory or topics previously discussed to show you care.
4. Time
Like most other things in life, building successful client relationships can sometimes take time. Some people’s shells are harder to penetrate than others. Just be patient, consistent, and in most cases, the client will eventually come around.
5. Integrity
This comes in the form of always delivering on your promises. Things happen that you may not have anticipated – like being unable to make a deadline, but keeping communication open and being honest about expectations will keep you in the clear 9 times out of 10.
How do you keep your client relationship management in healthy balance?
by Belinda Lui | Nov 22, 2013 | Latest, Social Media
In light of all the Rob Ford news that has gone viral (making international headlines), I thought it would be a good opportunity to shed light on some videos/stories that have also gained international traction on today’s post. Viral Marketing campaigns usually involve a story or cause that has the effect of evoking emotion or that the mass community can relate to. This can be beneficial to your business if the emotion evoked is a positive one – consequently reflecting well on your brand.
Here are a few examples of videos that spread a great message:
1. Dove:
Dove’s Beauty Campaign is one of my favourites. They started their campaign with using real women to model for their advertisements, suggesting that beauty can come in all shapes and sizes. This year, they launched a video called “Beauty Sketches” that spoke to women and the, often misguided, way we see ourselves.
2. Pharell Williams: “Happy”
The U.S. musician/producer/fashion icon released a 24-hour music video that promotes being happy and has gained close to 1M views. Now, that’s something to be cheerful of.
3. The Right To Love:
In March, the Human Rights Campaign had a redesign of their logo and encouraged users on Facebook to change their profile picture to support it. It is a red square box with two thick pink horizontal lines and was used among the online community as a way to support the right to same-sex marriage.
These are just a few ways that companies and people have used viral marketing to increase awareness of a cause or their brand. In some ways, viral marketing campaigns are an excellent tool in comparison to traditional forms of advertising. This method is measurable with social metrics, regardless of which platform you choose to use.
What are some of the viral marketing campaigns that you liked most this year?
by Belinda Lui | Nov 6, 2013 | Communications, Latest
Communication is key.
In all of our relationships, the ability to effectively communicate is crucial to the success of overcoming obstacles. So what do we do when the forms of communication have changed drastically over the past two decades: from conversations over the phone to text messaging; from physical photo albums to sharing images on Instagram; from scrapbooking to repinning on Pinterest; from breaking news at 6pm to getting information at rapid speeds on Twitter.
This shift in communication has changed the way that people communicate but also the way businesses reach their audience.
And in the same way we approach the improvement of our relationships, it is important to outline the key points to effectively communicating to our target audience:
1. Understand your audience:
Never begin a marketing project without first understanding who you’re marketing to. Learn their interests, purchasing behaviour, modes of communication, etc. It is a waste of time to develop any strategy based on assumptions. Knowing your audience gives you the advantage of effectively strategizing the optimal methods in which your audience will be most receptive to. There is never a one-size-fits-all method.
2. Communicate in a way that your audience is comfortable with – not in the way that you are:
There are a lot of companies that prefer the traditional ways of marketing without as much as a hint of interest in learning new methods. The reality is that the world keeps changing around us; and to keep up, we need to change with it. Hashtags, digital media, Smartphone applications – to name a few – are all new additions to the way we market. The Internet has provided businesses with limitless opportunities to reach almost anyone, anywhere, and at anytime. Why wouldn’t you take advantage of this marketing tool?
3. Content, content, content:
In real estate, it’s all about location. In marketing, it’s all about content. How relevant is the material you are using to the consumer in which you are targeting? The Internet serves as an excellent medium to connecting with your audience but with the over-saturation of available information, relevance is also key. The popularity of your posts and the virality of it depend heavily on how relatable they are and the stick factor. Create memorable content – but be sure to integrate relevance into your design.
4. Analysis:
You’ve posted a memorable and relevant message to your Facebook page – now what? It isn’t enough to just post riveting material: we must also gauge the way our audience responds to it. Which types of posts are generating the most buzz? What are the optimal times to post? Are your posts being liked and shared, or is it engaging your followers to comment? Ideally, you will design activations that connect with your audience in all ways (like, share, comment).
5. Follow-up:
Creating posts that allow your followers to create a community amongst themselves is beneficial to your brand – but it is equally important for you to be a part of that community. It is easy for things to slip through the cracks, so it is crucial that you’re paying attention to what your customers are saying (to you and to each other). All comments (good or bad) should be addressed within 24 hours.
In summation, a solid and effective communications strategy can benefit your brand in more ways than you can imagine: keep it simple, open, and relevant. Deliver on your brand promise and in a timely manner. These are just five ways to help improve your communications strategy. In the world of marketing and business development, the options are ever-changing; but the principles remain the same.
Which methods have you found to be effective?
by Miriam Hara | Nov 5, 2013 | Latest, Social Media
There’s much ado about content management these days. In fact, it’s the new buzz word in the social media and marketing landscape. With so many business and brand managers just grappling with the ever-changing dynamics of the worldwide internet and what it means for their business and brand portfolios, content management is yet another aspect of this evolving channel that they need to understand. Content Management is the umbrella of the social media marketing landscape, where content creation strategy plays a significant role under that umbrella.
Like all initiatives in marketing, and more specifically, advertising, achieving critical mass is extremely important in social media. By now, I believe many businesses have come to terms with the fact that social media takes a lot of time and effort. In business terms, that means it’s not free, but nor is it inexpensive. In order for social media initiatives to work, clear goals need to be defined and closely tied into clear and precise strategy. This is what we, at 3H, refer to as Content Creation Strategy. In the social media arena, being without a plan that outlines specific strategy means that businesses are essentially just shooting at random.
Here’s a quick overview of a Content Creation Strategy.
Define your audience: As with marketing, a clear and concise statement of who your target is, is essential. Without it, you are just pushing out content without intent. The beauty of social media is that you can aim… very specifically. Hallelujah! Niche marketing is where it’s at, especially in social media. Why not take advantage of it? Mine the internet and find other like-minded and complementary sites that also speak to your target audience. Define your target: not only by where they go, but by what they do and what they like.
Create a plan: Content creation, like advertising, needs to have a plan. What are the relevant topics for your brand or business? Are there key cycles that you need to build up to and are important? In traditional advertising, if February was Heart Health month, then all the major brands with something to “sell” in heart health would be advertising in February. In the social media environment, there’s no need for that. Slow builds to peak event activity garners greater rewards. At 3H, we establish social media calendars, months in advance. This doesn’t mean that it is set in stone, but the ability to be nimble and flexible on a moment’s notice is key.
Mix it up: Content creation doesn’t only speak to words, blog posts, posts on Facebook, or discussion comments on LinkedIn. Make sure that you blend in a mix of visual(photos) and if possible, video as well. Once you engage in the social media platform, you’ll be surprised how many consumers you have that are your advocates already; sending photos, testimonials and videos and allowing you to share them on your social media properties.
Know where to be: Part of any solid strategy is knowing where to be seen. Assessing the true value of each social media property is essential as well as understanding the must-have versus the nice-to-have. There are so many properties… yet, so little budget. Assess the need to be on every social media property versus the key properties; building towards achieving a broader range and greater reach. That’s what strategy is all about.
If you haven’t established a content creation strategy for your brand or business, then stop what you’re doing… and do it now. Marketing is all about efficiencies, and a content creation strategy plays right into that. Content creation does reap rewards and does provide ROI, but only if, there’s clear objectives and strategy behind the content.
by Miriam Hara | Oct 31, 2013 | Latest, Social Media
In today’s competitive market, businesses must get found. Once found they must be perceived as keeping up with the ever-changing business environment. Business content marketing enables businesses to have the right first impression.
Striving for top of mind business and brand awareness is critical within an increasingly fragmented media space. Social Media has allowed everyone to become a publisher of content. So to keep pace within this competitive environment, businesses must publish content.
However, it’s difficult for most businesses that offer services to feel “comfortable” creating content that provides a valuable ROI. Business content marketing is no easy task. More often than not, it requires skill sets that some businesses don’t typically use.
Here’s a 5 step process that will help you maximize your efforts for business content marketing:
- Think about your business.
Yes, this sounds simple. But the actual process of writing down the services you offer and why clients should choose your business will help provide you with a business platform. This platform will be the basis for all your business content creation.
- Think about your sales process.
What are the concerns and questions that your potential clients and customers ask? What are the major roadblocks that your sales process currently faces? Often, the day-to-day sales operations offer a wealth of relevant subject material. When broken down, it can provide content creation ideas. It has been my experience that just one question can garner two or three different content references on the same subject.
- Find the key phrases and keywords.
Within the questions that potential clients ask, there are a substantial number of keywords that you can access for search engine efficiency. Armed with these keywords or key phrases, assess them with Google Keyword Planner or other keyword search tools. Google Keyword Planner, or Market Samurai (which is the one 3H uses), provide information on monthly keyword searches as well as other related, relevant keywords on the subject. Choose a maximum of five words to be included in each article written.
- Hire a writer to create content.
It is essential to have a well written article to place your business above that of your competition. It’s about all about establishing credibility and expertise. Remember to enrich business content creation with keywords to increase the efficiency of your efforts. Not only will you be providing good content, but you’ll be adding strength to your SEO initiatives. In order to create relevant business content that also promotes SEO, hire a professional.
- Double up on your efforts.
Make sure that the article written aims to establish a rapport with those reading your business content. Lastly, be sure to include a call to action at the end of each article. This will aid in lead generation and creating an integrated sales approach.
So here’s my call to action: I would like to invite you to download some of my “quick read” ebooks: Branding Understood, Social Media Understood or Marketing Understood. I look forward to hearing what you think!
