by Madi Secareanu | Jul 5, 2012 | Branding, Business Success, Creative, Interactive, Social Media
The Brand Follower Relationship is the modern day Love Story.
Social media has enabled the breakdown of walls between brands and consumers, so a true relationship can develop packed with emotion, trust and love. No longer can Brands push out their one-way communications to their consumers. Consumers expect to be seen, heard and listened to… in short, acknowledged. They want to be actively involved in the brand story and the conversations; they want to contribute but they need a good reason to do so. It’s not enough to just start a brand page, your brand must regularly engage its social media followers consistently with its <a< span=””> title=”Brand Voice: How to Create It. Build It. Maintain It.” href=”http://www.3h.ca/blog/branding/brand-voice-the-how-to/”>Brand Voice – always exercising new and creative ways to speak to followers… and engage them.
Since each social media platform is different, the way people engage is going to be different as well. Here are a few ways you can engage successfully with followers and keep your Brand Follower relationship strong on Facebook Pages, Twitter and Pinterest.
Facebook Pages
- Build momentum: Run contests. Running a contest won’t only increase the number of followers a brand has but it will keep current followers engaged and excited. Keep the buzz and momentum going by asking questions and generating content that revolves around the brand and the contest. Don’t just let the contest live on its on – make a lot of noise about it! Use Facebook ads to reach your demographic profile… and remember to further focus your efforts with the use of psychographics!
- Build a following: Get “Likes”. Followers want quick and easy ways to interact with brands. Asking them to “Like” a post is as quick as it gets but it still generates stories and gets the word out. Similar to commenting, when followers “Like” a post, it will show up on their friends’ news feeds giving your post the opportunity to go viral.
- Be Authentic: Keep it real. Followers don’t want to be sold to on Facebook. They follow a brand page because they are already sold on that brand and they are most likely already loyal customers. Speak with them not to them and don’t use traditional marketing speak. Finding a voice for your brand, an authentic voice, is essential to successfully engaging followers on Facebook
Twitter
- Keep talking: Talk to followers. Follow them back. Retweet them. Listen to them. It’s a sure way to keep them engaged and interested. The lifespan of a tweet is generally a few seconds, making them a thing of the past almost instantly, but if your brand acknowledges a follower’s tweet it adds value and gives them a reason to keep following and engaging with your brand.
- Generate excitement: Run contests. Twitter is great for running impromptu contests. It’s a quick and fun way to keep followers on their toes. Offer a free giveaway by asking them to tweet an answer or retweet a tweet or ask them to help you reach a certain follower milestone for a chance to win a prize.
- Just ask: Asking followers to retweet, mention or just help get the word out about a brand generally works very well. Communication is key – ask and you shall receive. Again, it’s a simple way but an effective way to engage with a brand and followers are quick to jump on board.
Pinterest
- Visual Momentum: Run Contests. Pinterest is a great place to run visual contests. Asking followers to create boards or repin a pin is an effective way to not only get your content out there , gain new followers and of course, to engage with existing followers.
- Give control: By allowing followers to create boards on your Pinterest profile, followers feel like they are contributing, again, to the brand story. It’s also a great way for a brand to diversify its content. A brand can also ask followers to share its content on Twitter and Facebook, creating a cross-platform campaign that generates engagement throughout a brand’s social media presence.
- Be exclusive: Pinterest is a great for a visual brand to get their followers engaged by giving them exclusive looks into the brand – a “behind-the-scenes”. Think about using Pinterest and the idea of exclusivity to run focus groups. For example, showing followers a product redesign on Pinterest before they see it anywhere else and asking for their input by commenting or repining can show followers and consumers that their input really matters to your brand.
Starting a social media platform can be a significant milestone for a Brand, but it involves more than just opening a new account or starting a new brand page on Facebook. Be sure to develop a holistic strategy and employ all the channels available in social media. Knowing the tactics and using the platform isn’t enough. Plus, like any other valuable relationship, the Brand Follower relationship needs work, passion and communication to endure and remain strong at heart.
Do you have a complete social media strategy with a strong Brand Follower relationship? Share what has worked and what hasn’t for your Brand and your followers.
by Miriam Hara | May 29, 2012 | Branding, Business Success, Interactive, Social Media
With mobile technology and the rapid integration of Social Media the world is speeding… no longer respecting any speed limit! In a blink of an eye the business landscape changes and many businesses are at a loss of what comes next. All business types are affected however it seems that B2B businesses are more at a loss of what solutions to employ. In a world that is speaking to each other 24/7, the lines are increasingly blurry on what is a B2B or a B2C strategy. It has been my experience that the strategies employed for B2B or B2C were always similar. It was the employment of tactics and the weight of each of those tactics that differed. In today’s environment I would say the tactics are now the same. Social Media and technology has allowed for niche marketing at a whole no new level.
Business resistant change is the symptom of change resistant individuals. Unfortunately or fortunately, a business in today’s world hinges on its ability to adapt, change and adopt new channels of communications. The market conditions have shifted and many who hold key roles in the B2B arena have no idea how the game is being played and what is the picture of success. So what to do?
1) Determine your objective. What will be your “picture of success”? How else will you measure?
2) Implement a strategy… one with a 360° degree viewpoint. Not one that does away with all traditional (classic) tactics just because everyone saying that print and direct mail are dead… but one that introduces some of the properties of social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, Mobile Apps, Blogging, Twitter, etc… The key word is some and not all…. there needs to be a good assessment of what will work for your business and what won’t.
3) Assess your web site. No longer is it enough to just have a brochure type of site. Your site needs to reflect your business’ social conscious and ability. You can’t create any sort of social metric if your site doesn’t support the initiatives. Remember, your strategy must be holistic.
4) Implement a 15-month plan with built in schedule measurement reports allowing for the possibility of changing, adding or modifying the existing creative properties to ensure success. Feedback is important for resonance. You need your marketing plan to reflect your audience as intimately as possible. The beauty of these new channels is the ability to adapt… to change… quickly!
5) This may sound like a Marketing 101, but here goes…. don’t do it yourself or in-house. You’re in the business of your business. You can’t assume to know everything, that is why community reach out, tests, surveys and all those old marketing tricks are important not only for accuracy, but for the growth of your strategy and a leg up on your competition. The business of branding, advertising and social media is a profession. At the risk of sounding like a rant: Just because you speak and write English, that doesn’t make you a writer… and just because you have a Facebook Page or a LinkedIn page, doesn’t make you a social media expert. Contact a Marketing Advertising agency and leave it to them to make your business shine. Your business will be their priority as opposed to fitting it in.
For any type of business an environment of much talk that “it” doesn’t own can be pretty scary. One of my Marketing Understood biz-ims (#23) is “Get bent!”… Yes! Flexibility is a must! There’s no use burying your head in the sand. That won’t help your business. At the speed of business and of life you need to get a handle (twitter) and a pulse (social engagement) before your target stops you or pulls your business over for not keeping your business up to speed.
by Miriam Hara | May 4, 2012 | Branding, Business Success
I like to think of Internal branding as mushy on the inside, solid on the outside… just like those chocolate coated marshmellow cookies! Businesses must realize that their internal brand must be a focus and it takes more than a positioning statement on t-shirts or jackets to make that happen. It is no longer viable for companies to rely on their external customer base to propagate the brand experience to their internal customers: their personnel. Gone are the days that the external message of brand is all that counts. In today’s environment, in order for an external brand to succeed, the internal organization, its employees, its processes all have to align themselves to the external brand…. if not, you’ll be short in offering your market base in brand experience, brand premise, brand promise and brand delivery.
Remember when offering friends and family discounts to your staff was the whole internal brand initiative companies employed? By doing this, companies provided employees with a way to “advertise” their product. In today’s social market, employees’ friends and families cast a wider net! Internal branding allows the potential of each employee becoming a proponent of your brand. They can and will be your best PR campaign. Word of mouth has taken on a whole new meaning.
Whether your business is in CPG (consumer packaged goods), b2b, medical, financial or non-profit… the ability to engage your personnel with your product, brand and service goes a long way in creating a complete brand experience. Organizations need to walk the talk. Today’s savvy consumers/customers expect and want more from their purchasing experience. In order to buy into a brand, to endorse it and select it, the complete 360 degree brand messaging must be consistent… and that includes your internal people. But how to do that?
To start, develop a clear company vision: Just like a brand positioning statement, this doesn’t have to be elaborate, however, it needs to be succinct. This isn’t anything new. Companies have always had a visions statement…. however, what you do with this company vision must be considerably more than framing it and placing it on the wall.
Identify key personnel to be the “internal brand ambassadors”, to motivate colleagues to embrace the vision: This is imperative. Identifying leaders within each department of your business will go a long way in creating a holistic experience for your brand. Empowering these ambassadors will ensure that within their department that the brand vision and premise stay strong and in line.
The company vision needs to be communicated to the internal team and “adopted” by senior management: The old adage “Do as I say…. not as I do” doesn’t work anymore. The culture of an organization needs to deliver on its brand promise. Actions speak louder than words. Management must get in line and be expected to tow the mantra.
Develop clear goals and measurement metrics, to assess along the way. (ie: sales mix % per sales person, customer service process and goals). This goes a long way in engaging employees and making them part of the process as “part of their job”. This assists in establishing the expectations and tying them up to the brand experience.
And lastly, but definitely very significant in the adoption of internal branding, is the ability to establish goals and reward personnel who demonstrate that they have embraced the culture.
In order to propel a cultural shift within an organization where employees are more client focused and more business focused, a developed and organized plan is essential in order to lead to the desired outcome. Just like everything else in business, a strategic plan identifying key goals is the first step. This will enable all key employees, and key stakeholders to be more engaged and relevant in the business process. I don’t remember where I read this but it did resonate with me: “There is a difference between communicating a message, and getting it understood, and changing behaviour.” So next time your are in a marketing meeting ready to establish your brand deliverables, don’t forget to bring those chocolate covered mashmallow cookies!
by Christine Marr | May 2, 2012 | Branding, Interactive
In today’s market environment we want information instantly and that goes hand in hand with web site performance. We increasingly have a shorter attention span and more and more the concept of brand loyalty is taking on a broader definition than, say, a decade ago. The most relevant reason for all of these to have occurred rests on the “internet”… and more specifically, web sites. It is a property that has taken its place in the brand conversation in junction with social media. No longer can you separate the two. Both combine to provide a stronger brand presence and brand premise. So how can you maximize your ROI on your web site performance and social media. How can you develop, build and maintain that elusive relationship with your consumers, audience and market.
The short answer is that it is no longer important only to get visitors to go to your site… your site is now the basis of the total social media umbrella. Enhancing your web site performance is key. Your web site should be the gateway and the destination through your other social media properties such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Branch Out, Pinterest…. How to do that?
Here’s a quick list:
1. Navigation should be intuitive and make sense. Make your visitor comfortable, it should be easy for them to find what they want from the home page. It goes without saying that you need to look at your competition and see what they are doing. However, you must determine what will provide optimal user experience for your target. The faster and easier the navigation, the more customers will return to your site and stay longer.
2. Content is king… it is important to address your customers’ pain. Do this visually for greatest impact…. and do this copy wise for clarity of position as well as keyword optimization. Find out what keywords are “key” to your industry and speak to them. I am not suggesting that you place every key word on every page… that’s not going to do well. Exercise judgement and common sense. Seasoned marketing professionals and writers will know how to do this well. Make sure you provide your target with a clear understanding of what their pain is, what their needs are and how you can help eliminate their pain. Connect with them on an emotional basis.
3. Again….content is king… it’s important to get in your target’s radar by providing them relevant and timely information. Gone is the the brochure-type of web site. Sites that don’t allow for fresh updates, new posts or tips are losing a huge opportunity in engaging with their customer base and developing a dialogue and relationship with customers. Write tips or mini articles…. share them on Facebook, tweet….regularly and consistently. This will to a long way in gaining the trust of your customers and convince them that you can answer their pain. Blogging is great for keeping your content fresh, so you are found more often.
4. One more time….content is king…. it is no longer important to only get visitors to go to your site… your site needs to motivate them to spend time browsing through your pages withe information that is relevant to them, so much so that they feel compelled to provide their information on your website so then you can engage them on a one to one, or digitally or as part of your community. This is what is called inbound marketing. Create relevant information that lives independently of your site… but still adds value to your potential customers… and adds value to your brand. Web sites need to be built integrating forums or blogs, and providing fresh and diverse information on the home page to continually improve SEO (Search engine optimization) and get found. More importantly this provides a very effective way to generate leads and integrate sales initiatives.
5. Create buzz and excitement driving people through facebook, LinkedIn and traditional and digital media. We are currently running a campaign for Kressmann Wines through Facebook, Twitter, digital and print ads. In less then 24 hours we received over 1400 likes on Facebook and have now started engaging with our community. We are constantly commenting and interfacing with our customers and of course, driving them to the web site as well! This can easily be done in the b2b arenas, niche markets and for community businesses. The digital arena allows for such precise slices of target segments so every dollar you spend is accounted for and relevant!
6. Information, not data, is key as success is in the measurement….! Track your site’s and social media progress and traffic, and respond accordingly. It’s not about just creating a promotion and just leaving it alone. You need to work it! It’s important to set your google analytics properly so you can respond and react to the information you are receiving. Metrics are important to evaluate where your visitors are coming from, why, and what actions they have taken once they land on the site.
7. Keep it fresh… is not only a good adage for food, but for web sites too. Monitor your site on a regular basis. Monitor every page of your site, catch broken links or improve on the elements, make sure pages load quickly. Revisit the site with fresh eyes and fine tune accordingly. Don’t let it go stale. Too often, sites get all the attention when they are being developed and then left alone. That’s a sure way of not being in harmony with the market!
Simple, compelling, engaging, fresh, exciting and trackable. Make your site work for you! Achieve inner peace with your site… Ohmmm.
by Madi Secareanu | Apr 16, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Creative, Interactive, Social Media
There’s no doubt that social media has changed the marketing landscape significantly within the last few years. There’s always something new; a new social networking site this year, a new app tomorrow, a new feature next week, a new enhancement next month…social media is constantly in flux. I think what makes it so successful is not only it’s ability to re-invent itself, but it’s ability to re-invent itself while keeping its core proposition intact – social media, for brands, for marketers, for individuals, helps tell a story.
What is social media storytelling?
The concept of brand storytelling is not a new one; it’s just also been re-invented to social media storytelling. Brands aim to take their consumers on an emotional journey by connecting with them, to create a demand by appealing to a consumer’s wants, needs and desires. That is the essence of social media storytelling. This connection is very important and partly the reason why social media has emerged as the ideal tool to tell the brand story and connect, more personally and more emotionally, with existing and potential customers.
Take a look at the new Facebook Timeline for example; it’s essentially a storyline. A storyline driven by the brand and enhanced by its followers. It’s about generating and amplifying stories, and because of this, timeline helps brands become better storytellers. How does it do this? Well getting people(followers) involved for one, they can help bring their own unique perspective to your brand, and helping facilitate that emotional bond between brand and consumer. But its layout is really what sets its ability to tell a story apart. Timeline speaks to a story about a brand’s history and its present but it’s designed with the future in mind. The bigger emphasis on visuals makes more impact – images often make better stories and the Millstones feature helps highlight important dates and facts that are essential to the brand’s (hi)story.
Pinterest, for example, is based on visuals. It tells a brand story through images, and how far can a brand go if the only images they feature are product images? With Pinterest, brands must show the bigger picture (pun intended). What inspires the brand? What type of lifestyle does the brand fit into? Pinterest is about going beyond the product and about creating a more complete story around a brand, visually.
Let’s not forget Twitter. It’s immediacy has been the reason brands have had such success with it – it helps brands tell quick and interesting stories while connecting with followers on a more personal level. I, for one, love when I tweet about a brand and they immediately acknowledge it by commenting or retweeting – I feel like they care about my story and how it fits into theirs.
Every brand has a story, and social media is here to help tell it in a more engaging way. How do you help contribute to the brand story through social media storytelling?
