Matt's Marketing Digest

Social Media Strategy – key considerations & techniques

Why does good marketing planning process go out the window when it comes to social media?

Picture the scenario: boss meets a friend whose business is having a positive effect on its target audience on Facebook. Next morning, boss comes in and says "we need to be on Facebook". No thought as to objectives, strategy or content. But Facebook it is. Ever heard of cart leading the horse? Tail wagging the dog?

Last time I looked, good marketing planning starts with research, situational analysis and setting objectives; not choosing the tactics. Too many organisations select the technologies without giving prior consideration to the people they are trying to address. So here’s a few considerations as you venture into social media and explore ways to engage your target audience.

People

Find out where your customers are online using online research methods. Identify your search keywords and then employ a little role play… Imagine you are your customer and navigate the web to find out where target prospects might land up when using your key search terms. Setting up Google Alerts will help to direct you to new content on trade or competitor websites, communities, social networks etc. Where are your customers online? What is their social influence? How do they behave? What social information do they rely on?

Objectives

Once you know answers to the above and other related questions, you’ll be in a better position to decide what your online goals will be. Bear in mind, online is an active medium, not a passive one so objectives will be broadly around increasing engagement, deepening understanding. The digital toolset should be used to drive greater engagement which if mapped correctly will assist with navigating the online funnel, help to retain customers and significantly contribute to creating loyalty.

Strategy

Try to go beyond the first three months. Imagine a scenario where you have been listening on Twitter and have loads of followers. What then? What do you want social media to achieve? How can you use social media to change customer behaviour? How can you use it to increase brand relevance or resonance? (a far better metric than measuring brand awareness). How can you use it to build social proof by creating customer advocates? The strategy is the collection of tools you’ll use over a longer period to start to deliver real business value.

Technology

What should we build? Now you get to the bit most companies start with. But you’ll arrive at this point with a far better knowledge and understanding as to why you are choosing a certain technology, what you are using it to achieve and what content will be most effective in engaging customer groups. You won’t waste time and resources focussed on building technologies only to find out it has been a waste of time because actually your customers are somewhere else. Finally, you’ll be the horse leading the cart and you’re boss won’t be wagging your tail!

To learn more follow me on Twitter @matthewking or to join one of my social media workshops email mattk@mediasafari.co.uk

[POST strategy redacted from Groundswell]

 

ALL MARKETERS ARE LIARS

I am of course referring to the Godin book and not casting aspersions on my fellow marketers. I am guessing that if Seth Godin had entitled the book ‘All Marketers tell the truth’ then the eye-catching title may have lost some of its impact and you wouldn’t be reading this. 

So what’s the lie? The lie is what we ALL tell ourselves because we don’t tell ourselves the WHOLE truth – we tell ourselves a selected version of the facts or truth [the story as Godin puts it] to make sense of complex matters in a world of overwhelming data overload. So the lie is not from the marketer, it’s the consumer’s lie to themselves. 

This is therefore a book about how to tell stories that spread; hinged to the idea that people pass on stories, they don’t spread all the facts for the simple reason that those we tell them to don’t remember everything, it is passed via a selected and packaged version of the truth. So successful marketers are just the providers of stories that consumers choose to believe. 

At its core then this book to me is about two of marketing’s core elements; the process of segmentation, targeting and positioning [STP] and the principle of translating features to benefits. Godin describes his book as being about the ‘psychology of satisfaction,’ satisfaction being the main driver behind Godin’s ‘ideavirus.’ He talks of how marketers should frame their story according to the worldview of those that you are telling it to. 

You’ll be able to identify evidence of the early stages of ideas that Godin further develops in his next book Meatball Sundae [see earlier blog] which is also worthy of a read. One of those being the changing shape or role of the marketer [in the internet age] and the increased responsibility the marketing industry has in a branded and more competitive world. Godin’s book is actually more about TELLING and LIVING the truth, and he isn’t suggesting we all start telling lies.

 

#Timeout - I loved these ads! Take 5 to remember my favourite 3 ads from 2010...

We must remember to celebrate once in a while our amazing advertising industry. True works or art can easily be forgotten as attentions are diverted to the next big thing. But I recommend you review these ads for the sheer enjoyment, music and classic perfomances! Enjoy.

 

#3 - Visa - Racey, energetic, passion!

 

#2 John Lewis - just beautiful!

 

#1 Stella Artois - I need a cool beer!

 

2011: As brand communications converge digital sings its tune…

I’ll avoid the temptation to add my own take on New Year predictions for 2011 and focus on the one aspect of company communications that I’d like to see more of this year…

As organisations are now more versed in digital communications the challenge now will be to better integrate it with the core communications objectives and focus more on message and content rather than the medium. Campaigns should be centred around one focused, big idea for the brand.

Think of integration as a symphony or orchestra: better orchestration of the message where each channel (instrument) has its own unique tune (segment) collectively contributing to the overall sound (brand message).

In the age of the splinternet organisations need to seek to not only use multiple media to tell a brand story, but also that each media channel communicates a unique, complementary piece of that story. This unfolds across multiple media platforms, with each new media channel making a distinctive and valuable contribution to the whole. Think of Comparethemarket’s Meerkat campaign and how each channel (both on and off line) contribute to the story of Aleksandr.

Whilst traditional (offline) communications provides breadth of coverage (awareness), digital (online) provides the depth to deepen the understanding and level of engagement. Integration lies in the measure that the two operate in harmony with each other to generate and build relationships that result in tangible outcomes.

So, the three things you should think about when considering integration are:

1/ Consider one big idea for the brand that can be adapted to any offline/online medium without significant changes and without losing its effectiveness

2/ Map the target customer’s journey and leverage the particular strength of that medium to communicate a unique, distinct message that forms part of the brand story

3/ Focus more on the relationships (message and content), not the technology (medium)

Happy New Year.

 

Santa decided enough was enough...

Wishing you a warm and relaxing Christmas...

With the social Christmas season upon us, we wanted to give you a few ideas of how to build greater interaction into your PR and marketing campaigns. Media Safari has been pretty busy this year developing digital marketing strategy and implementing social media tactics on behalf of a wide range of organisations.

Having an active social network or joining the conversation on Twitter is not only a great platform for knowledge sharing and thought leadership but also, perhaps more importantly, it shows your customers and stakeholders that as an organisation you are listening. This is very complementary to ongoing PR and marcomms campaigns and makes sure that communication is two-way.

We've a number of digital channels including our technology and healthcare blogs, social bookmarks on Delicious and our YouTube channel to learn, share and converse. To join our conversation click on the links below or get in touch about how we can help you collaborate in 2011.

Wishing you a relaxing Christmas and a Happy New Year.

 

Warm regards,

Media Safari

(The office will be closed from 24 December 2010 to 3 January 2011 inclusive)

 

One man’s rubbish (domain) can be another man’s gold

Having been really sceptical of domain auction houses as yet another online scam I wanted to share my recent experience and endorse services from those players like Snapnames.com which offer some valuable help to recover or get hold of valued domains…

 

The background: My company’s .com domain was taken when we started our tech PR company in 2002 which was a frustrating but normal consequence of missing the domain gold rush all those years ago. We registered the .co.uk equivalent but wanted the .com which was registered by a cyber squatter who did nothing with it. Adding to the annoyance.

I then received a random email out of the blue from a Arthur Simmons telling me that this .com domain was about to come up for auction. Having put this down to spam and ignoring the links in the email, I soon after started to get similar emails from other service providers and began to look into it. I then did a search and found this blog recounting a similar experience – this proved useful to me so may be of use to you.

 

http://www.asiteaboutnothing.net/c_catching-domains.html

 

I then registered with Snapnames and entered my bid for the .com domain which has a closing date of some days later. In a familiar way to eBay you can see the other bidders and put a maximum bid. Still being sceptical, I wasn’t sure what would happen. As it turned out, I then received an email from Snapnames telling me that it has secured mediasafari.com – I then received a further email from answerable.com where I could go in and manage my new domain. All this cost me $63.

 

So if you’re looking to recover a domain or get hold of a valued domain make sure you check out Snapnames.com – if you rely on domain registration sites, your preferred domain may never appear as available as it exchanges hands from registrant to registrant in the background.

 

I gave a very enjoyable speech this week on digital marketing and social media to approximately 90 of AXA Life's marketing department at their head office in Bristol...

We covered the basic principles of digital marketing summed up in the 4Cs model (collaboration, conversation, context and convergence); we then looked at social media techniques and how to select the best tools for the business. Thanks to all those who attended and for the excellent Q&A session that followed. One feedback comment from one of the delegates was very gratefully received:

“Also, thank you very much for the presentation today – the initial feedback has been immensely positive (a lot of people who were there tracking me down afterwards to say how great it was, plus in all of this afternoon’s meetings people were saying the same thing – both about the content and delivery). So, thank you – a huge success in terms of making people focus on marketing …. Again, thank you – it really is of great value to our marketing community to come away with the kind of “buzz” that you have delivered today.”
[Proposition Lifecycle Development Manager, AXA Life]

Feeling like USB 2.0 could do with a boost? USB 3.0 to the rescue

It’s been a busy start to 2010 with the launch of USB 3.0 and a number of related devices from IT peripherals company Nanopoint. The new ICY BOX range of HDD enclosures and PCI-E card means that UK consumers can now access transfer speeds that are ten times faster than USB 2.0.

 

USB has become unquestionably the preferred method of connecting external computer peripherals and devices to a personal computer. However, as new technologies prove popular that require more bandwidth such as high definition video, demand for greater transfer speeds has increased. As most computers are still only readied for USB 2.0, Nanopoint has released a PCI-E card to enable users to access USB 3.0 capability now with a small upgrade to your existing PC.

 

This is bound to become a standard before very long so keep an eye out for the ICY BOX range of USB 3.0 enclosures (Nanopoint ICY BOX USB3.0 2.5 HDD pictured below).

 

What is Web 3.0?

I have been asked several times recently what Web 3.0 is all about. So here’s an attempt to shed some light on this perplexing topic.

 

The next generation of the World Wide Web, commonly referred to as Web 3.0 or the semantic web, represents a new phase in the web’s development towards more personalised intelligent search and response. Essentially it’s a web in which data is linked to allow more meaningful, actionable insight to be extracted resulting in a Web that understands.

 

In a practical sense this means that when users search, it will understand your location, habits and behaviour and provide tailored search results based on what it knows about you. The more a user searches using Web 3.0, the more it knows. It can track data which then enables it to analyse the user’s previous searches and responses, collate them, and provide more precise answers for the user each time.

 

Although still in its infancy, 2010 will see more emerging technologies which will significantly improve personal search response making your use of the Web more meaningful and personal. This of course has enormous implications for how marketers are able to reach their audience and how companies distribute their information.

 

How does this explanation grab you?

This new Dixons ad speaks volumes…

I like this. A recent ad campaign (M&C Saatchi) that is airing in London is a daring approach by Dixons to pique the British conscious. It’s clever because it hones in our own recognisable customer behaviour, which we might all feel a little guilty about. It goes something like this:

 

Discover you need or want to buy a product; Google it to find out more; visit department store to get more information and help to refine your selection; go home and buy online for less.

 

Sound familiar? And that’s why this is clever, and daring at the same time. It recognises that Dixons is not necessarily the destination store of choice and is not shy in letting us know that it sees that. You may also identify that the fonts have changed to mirror other familiar brand identities (Harrods, Selfridges, John Lewis etc.)

 

The issues that this highlights though are serious. They are 1/ our fast changing behaviour as a result of rapidly changing market dynamics exacerbated by new technologies; and 2/ in being so honest, it is also admitting to competing on price alone rather than other associated brand values such as customer support etc.

 

John Lewis we all know competes on price ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ but it does it in a way that supports other essential brand values. By admitting to competing on price alone may have an impact on longer term brand value and force the stores into a redundant position.