Advertising Today

With markets being so fragmented these days, and media always changing, why do some folks want to stick to the same old solutions?

As marketers, we sometimes make simple assumptions about how something should be done, where we should advertise, tactics that should be used, or targets that should be targeted simply because it was done that way before. Not only does this usually end up with an uninspired result, but it frustrates the people working on the project and the outcome is often less than predicted. This overly structured method eliminates any possibility of doing something better. Something unexpected. Or something that might be off the beaten path and could make a big impact just by being a little different.

I recently read an article on a blog called Leading Creatives written by Nigel Collin where he made a very interesting point that when you tell a creative person HOW to do something, the thinking and creativity stops and all your likely to end up with is an execution. And not a bit more than that. No passion, no dedication, no enthusiasm, and no creative solutions. Just execution.

Guidance, direction and suggestions are always great, just leave the door open to new possible solutions. Nigel suggested that the next time you have a marketing goal, don’t tell your team or agency HOW TO DO it, tell them WHAT YOU NEED TO ACCOMPLISH and you’ll get back more than you expected.

Claude Hopkins

They say, “if you wait long enough, everything old is new again”. That’s certainly true of Social Marketing.

People are talking about Social Media Marketing as though it’s brand new. It seems that SMM and Inbound Marketing in it’s purist sense, dates back almost to the beginning of the study of advertising itself. In 1923, Claude Hopkins wrote “Scientific Advertising”, a highly regarded advertising how-to described by advertising notables like David Ogilvy and Gary Halbert as a “must read”.

So what’s the connection? While reading through “Scientific Advertising” I came across several stories of circa 1920′s salesmen and their door-to-door marketing tactics. They offered housewives free samples, gadgets and advice — and would not take any payment. That same salesman might visit again days later to ask the housewife about what she thought of the sample he left — still not selling anything or asking for payment, just being helpful.

Because the salesman had begun a relationship, and the housewife had the opportunity to develop some level of trust with the salesman, these prospects began ASKING to buy products and sales dramatically increased. As a matter of fact, Hopkins cites at least 3 examples of similar tactics where he says “such offers were reistless, and about nine in ten of the trials led to sales”.

Let me repeat that, “9 in 10 trials lead to sales”!

This 90% conversion rate is not nearly as surprising to me as the fact that these are the exact same basic principles that make Inbound Marketing so powerful today. By engaging with prospects in order to develop a simple relationship, the marketer was able to first create a level of trust, and create an interest or need where one may not have existed before, so when the prospect was ready to buy, there was no question about WHO she would buy from. The purchase decision was not about price, but about the relationship.

Now I ask you to imagine that story again, but now add in amazing reach and effectiveness of today’s social internet so your talking to thousands of these prospects at once, and combine it with the low cost of entry — like offering simple helpful information instead of actual free samples, and I think you’ll see why I was impressed.

I think the similarity to Inbound Marketing is unmistakable. It’s fascinating that while this proven marketing practice dates back to 1923, some marketers still think Social Media Marketing is a fad and deny it’s value as an effective marketing tactic.

We’ve all been to trade shows or similar events with rows and rows of exhibitors each with gimmicks, chachkas, and big bowls of candy and pens  that exhibitors somehow think will attract qualified prospects. Then there is at least one person in each row that tries to draw you over with some cheesy line about how their product is just what you needed. And while you’ll usually find something of interest at these events, they’re usually very over stimulating, don’t provide me a great deal of business benefit, and cause my feet to ache while I carry around bags of literature that I usually end up picking through just before throwing out.

But now I’ve changed my mind! Today I attended Marketing Prof’s Digital Marketing World. An all day event jam packed with all the things I find interesting about these shows, but all from the comfort of my desk. Admission was free, there were far fewer and more relevant booths to navigate through, and all of the literature was downloadable so I didn’t dislocate a shoulder carrying them home.

Kudos to InXpo who provided the virtual event environment. It was one of the most seamless and well executed virtual events I have attended with intuitive areas for presentations, gathering literature, chatting and even business card drops for prize drawings.

As my cursor rolled over a booth in the main interface, a small pop-up quickly told me what the firm did. Wow! One click and I was inside the booth where I could get more info, see a video, or leave without being hassled if I wasn’t interested. A pet peeve at trade shows has always been seeing something that catches my eye, but not knowing what the company does — so it’s really hard to ask an intelligent question.

Just this week I was a show for the packaging industry. Booth after booth was filled with a variety of packaging samples, many for the cosmetics industry. Some exhibitors were printers, some made dyes and did color matching, while others made plastics used in the packages. The problem was that I couldn’t tell from their booths, who did what. Exhibitors can’t expect folks to walk into every booth to find what they’re looking for.

Two of my favorite exhibits at this virtual event were Hubspot, because of their ongoing suburb ability to engage their audience, and Emma because of the clarity and simplicity of their message, despite the volume of information they offered.

My favorite part of the virtual show was the fact that it was actually pretty easy to meet other attendees, something that I usually don’t get to do a lot of. There were chat rooms where you could meet folks with similar interests and get a peek at their profile….. if they filled it in.

Not every exhibitor took full advantage of the interactive or communication advantages available, but overall the experience was far less stressful and more rewarding for me than any “real life” trade show that I have gone to recently.

1. Traditional advertising can only talk. SM can talk, ask questions, and most importantly, listen.

2. People are likely to be more loyal to a brand when they can interact with it. According to a study by Anderson Analytics, 52% of social network users
had become a fan or follower of a company or brand.

3. Companies learn a great deal from the direct feedback they get from their customers.

4. Audiences are increasingly more fragmented making it harder to cost effectively reach them.

5. People are tired of being interrupted by ads and are largely ignoring or avoiding mass advertising

6. New ideas can quickly and inexpensively be tested before committing to expensive mass advertising production.

7. Traditional advertising is a time limited event. When it’s done, it’s done. Social media is ongoing and often takes on a life of it’s own.

8. SMM can address negative word-of-mouth before it becomes a rebellion or destructive to your brand.

9. Traditional marketing ROI can be difficult to measure. Lessons learned from social marketing can be used to guide traditional efforts.

10. It’s hard to get a sense of belonging from a TV screen or magazine page.

Now tell me what you think.

Go to the comments on almost any social media blog and you’ll find two opposing opinions emerging.

One says that to be truly “social” in social media, it’s inappropriate to even attempt to deliver any type of marketing message. Social media is all about being helpful, authentic and human and about people connecting on like-minded topics. It’s not about selling or marketing and corporate messages of any kind should be rejected.

On the other hand, since marketing is the beginning of the sales process and social media offers the perfect opportunity for any business to find, attract and inform new prospects, businesses naturally want to be involved to make sure their brands are part of the conversation. If the chatter about their brand turns negative, they want to be there to address the issue quickly.

Marketers know the social media creed: to be part of the conversation means they have to be honest, authentic and personal and not push any sales message — or risk the consequences. Most brands recognize the value in social media, are willing to forgo any sales push and play by the rules. Actually, most of the companies I have spoken to, embrace the honesty social media offers and feel it fits well with their own corporate philosphy. They benefit from the exposure, interaction, relationships and idea swapping they share with their community.

So why do some social media purists balk when the words “social media” and “marketing” are used in the same sentence, and then cringe at the thought of measuring it’s value? Don’t social media community members benefit from corporate involvement with the addition of trustworthy information, valued entertainment and worthwhile resources? How many social media venues would exist if not for corporate participation?

Even if a business does their SMM entirely in-house, it takes the investment of time, knowledge, overhead and creativity to do it well, and those things equate to money. So, despite what some may think, social media is not free and therefor from a business perspective, needs to be measured against return, just like traditional marketing.

So why do some social media purists still reject the notion that a business involved in social media, is actually doing social media marketing?

Tell me what you think. I’d like to know.

By Rena Bernstein

In a recent article at SmallBizTrends.com, Lisa Barone asked if it was “appropriate to hire outside people to be social for you”. I thought it was a terrific question, but there were several major issues that weren’t addressed so I thought I would discuss them here.

I personally feel that if you’re a small business owner that either doesn’t have time to engage in social media or who, is not familiar enough with the medium, then the best solution is to bring in a consultant that can get you started, help you form a strategy and organize a program as well as execute and or train others in you organization to manage your social media efforts.

Too many small business owners think that starting a Twitter account and having someone tweet the company web site a few times a day, is social marketing. Guess what? It’s neither Social or Marketing!

Very often full time employees either do not have the time or interest to get involved. For many, even if the interest is there, after a short while the novelty wears off and your social presence becomes abandoned — a fate worse than never have begun the process at all.

Honesty is still paramount in SMM if you want to gain trust, however there is no reason at all that you can’t hire someone to represent you authentically. Remember though, there are a few strings attached….

1) The person should be a pro. A professional inbound marketing consultant knows the ropes, will get the businesses complete background before beginning, will understand your market as well as the medium and can represent your company in the best and most authentic possible way.

2) A reputable social media consultant will be honest in terms of their name and will present themselves as a representative of the firm just like any other employee should, and not some made up alias. In the interest of full disclosure, I am a certified inbound marketing consultant so I admit that I am biased.

3) They should be completely familiar with your business, customers, products and any issues before going online. Anything they do should dovetail with all of your other marketing and branding efforts as well.

The biggest mistake that any small business can make is to hand over their social marketing responsibilities to an employee with little available time and no experience or knowledge in the medium. Worse yet, is to give the responsibility to some intern or low level assistant with too much time, insufficient knowledge of the audience, business or medium, and little long term vested interest in the outcome.

At very least, I suggest to clients that they bring in a consultant at least to get them started, organize the program and make sure that everyone involved within the firm is onboard and marching to the same drummer. They can also work with a few designated employees to train them in the appropriate and most effective SMM techniques.

Those are my thoughts. Now tell me what you think.

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.