Archive for August, 2009

1. Not everyone is online and involved in social media.

2. Traditional media spreads brand awareness with a broader brush.

3. Traditional media has guaranteed placement. Social marketing messages may or may not catch on.

4. Some messages such as product specs need to be controlled and not left to a third party.

5. Without some traditional branding, it’s very hard to gain significant recognition.

6. Social media marketing should never try to sell. Traditional media gets to ask for the sale.

7. Traditional media can deliver a message to the most receptive part of your market faster.

8. Traditional media offers structure and consistency that social media can reference.

9. Traditional marketing builds awareness, social marketing builds trust.

10. Traditional marketing can be very effective at driving traffic to engage with a brand socially.

Now tell me what you think.

Social Media Marketing is easy.
As a small business owner, you may not be aware that you probably already know a lot about Social Marketing. You just haven’t been doing it online until now. Successful Social Marketing is all about being a good neighbor, being helpful and interacting. It’s not about direct selling. Most small businesses are already good at adding that “personal touch” and it’s one of the things that often makes them successful. Social Media is more about creating that “personal touch” than it is about the tactics.

Social Media Marketing is very inexpensive.
Because there is no cost for most of the media that is used in Social Media Marketing, people think of it as free. There are a bunch of costs to keep in mind and keep track of. Most importantly is the time it takes to maintain your online presence. It is far more involved than it looks and the hours add up quickly. The cost is more obvious if you are paying an employee to create content such as articles, images, videos etc., but even if you do it yourself, you still need to consider the time it takes as an expense. There is also the cost of setting up and maintaining your website and/or blog — an important component in Social Media Marketing. While SMM is still the most inexpensive type of marketing media I know, just remember, it’s not really free.

Social Media Marketing is very accessible.
If you have an internet connection, you already have the most important part. Unlike traditional media, Social Media transcends geography, economics and industry. It’s one of the simplest ways to identify a niche and find out who’s talking about your subject.

Let’s say you manufacture a certain material for use in the dental industry. You can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to travel around the world to participate in industry trade shows, so you could listen to and connect with people that by your product. Or, for the cost of your time, you could find where they have interests online and become part of their conversation. Just as you would if you were at a reception at the trade show itself.

Social Media Marketing lets you listen in.
If you have ever overheard a conversation between two customers when they talk about your category or product, then you know how valuable hearing a candid conversation like that can be. Understanding what your audience thinks and what is important to them lets you react effectively and in a timely manner.

Information gathered can include anything from how customers feel about your brand — or a weakness they see in your competitors. You could learn what they feel is lacking in the category or maybe discover a need you didn’t know existed.

Social Media Integrates well with other online and traditional advertising.
Social Media is as much a learning opportunity as it is a marketing vehicle. When integrated with traditional marketing in an comprehensive marketing plan, it can provide a wealth of information and research, immediate feedback, and additional support to drive traffic. On the other side, traditional advertising can help to drive traffic to an online location where you can create an ongoing and authentic interaction that leads to a committed and loyal customer.

So tell me what you think?

A quick glance at any of the recent marketing forecasts will show that more and more advertising budgets are allocating a bigger slice of the pie for online.

The assumption has been that online marketing offers better metrics, the ability for marketers to respond faster and is a more cost effective marketing solution. But are we as marketers being self centered again? Are we looking at this from the wrong angle? Most professionals are talking about how online marketing benefits the marketer, but shouldn’t we be talking about is how it helps the consumer, and how marketers can join in.

The way I look at it, the change in marketing is not as much from offline to online, but rather from outbound marketing tactics to inbound. And in my opinion, the change is not being driven by marketers, but by consumers themselves.

We have seen consumers who were fed up with being interrupted during dinner by telemarketers legally strike back at an entire industry. People who wanted to relax in front of their TV but felt berated with annoying self-serving commercials, gladly fork over hundred of dollars for a Tivo just so they could fast forward through the ads. And folks that were once easily targeted with drive time radio now are listening to their downloaded MP3s so they have more control over what they hear.

When running a direct mail campaign, most advertisers would be pleased with anything over a 2% response rate. How many marketers have given any real thought to the 98% of recipients that are not interested and are now asked to make that daily trip to the trash to dispose of the handful of unwanted envelopes and catalogs that arrived with their name on it?

There has been a change not just in consumer behavior, but in consumer thinking. Consumers have discovered that their free time and attention are both limited and valuable. And just like money, they want to use it wisely, not just give it away. I think it’s consumers that have changed and now marketing is trying to catch up.

Traditional outbound marketing theory presumes that by spending money on media where people are focusing their attention, a marketers message will get through as well. If that message is repeated enough times and has some connection to the viewer, a small percentage might remember or consider the message.

Inbound marketing on the other hand is based on the idea that people’s time and attention has value. By offering something of value in return with no strings attached, such as information or entertainment in an honest and personal way, people will be willing to listen. More importantly, they sometimes engage and influence others. But it’s on their terms, not yours.

So the next time you get an un-requested credit card application, have to sift through unsolicited email or have to wait to hear the weather on the news because that Sham-wow guy is back, think about what your time and attention are worth.

Do you agree?

In a recent survey, 85% of mothers said that having a baby “changed their purchasing habits” and 62% said as Moms, they “changed the brands they bought”. These women are not just purchasing with different criteria in mind, they are also making their decisions and purchases in different ways. Understanding their purchase decision methods is critical for almost any marketer targeting consumers.

Less time to shop turns into more time to compare
Since having children, women have far less time available to do their shopping. They have found different ways to address their often-hectic lifestyle. Many have embraced the big box stores where they can stock up and reduce their shopping frequency. Others prefer online shopping where they can find virtually anything they need, research competitors, and make a purchase and at any time of the day or night.
As care givers, Moms have become far more discriminating. They focus heavily on value, and try to stretch the family budget. It’s been estimated that mothers in fact, shop for and buy about 4 times as much as a married male of the same age. Moms are also very focused on product safety, health and environmental issues, which cause them to do more research than their male counterparts. Mothers don’t just buy the food, but also clothing, entertainment products, personal and healthcare items and household goods for her entire family. She is usually the influencer or final decision maker on almost all major as well as minor household purchases including cars and houses.

Almost half of Moms surveyed look to Social Media for advice
As the family gatekeeper, mothers search for information and compare quality and value for the products they need. They trust online comparison sites, chat rooms and social media centers for advice far more than the television and magazine ads where they gained their initial awareness, and still rely heavily on the advice of friends. Recent statistics from a survey by U.S. BabyCenter.com show that 44% of respondents used social media for recommendations on brands and products before making a purchase.
Since many women also use the Internet to share their own opinions on review sites, in blog comments or start blogs of their own, some marketers have enlisted the help of “mommy blogers in order to help introduce others to their product.” People have been overwhelmed with too much information and need some way to sort through the choices. They seek out recommendations, preferably from someone they know or trust. Next to recommendations from trusted friends, it seems that the Internet has replaced neighborhood chit-chat as the primary source of information on product and service related topics that are important to mothers.