Marketing trends reveal themselves fairly quickly if you read more than 3 to 4 marketing related e-newsletters a day. The trend I've seen lately, that I find surprising, is the advice to keep social media in-house.
As social media has matured we've learned it is a marketing tool and belongs in the marketing department. Some companies have tried to have their in-house marketing departments develop daily content, respond to customers and be the easy to talk to voice of the company. The problem has been there isn't always a person in the department who can write both casually and professionally. It also requires a significant time investment and the learning of new tools. In response, companies have begun to hire social media professionals to assist them.
Outsourcing in marketing is nothing new. We do it all the time with designers, copy writers and research companies. We are comfortable relying on experts to help us best deliver our message. So why balk at outsourcing social media? It's being written that outsourcers aren't capable of producing content that fits your marketing brand, speaks to your customers as you would or that it comes across sounding like an ad. They don't understand your passion point so how can they convey it to your customers?
Bollocks I say.
If we can clearly communicate our brand to copy writers, designers, heck to our own customers, then we can communicate it to social media professionals. Why would you not hire a professional that can bring more value to your company? They will offer advice on setting up social media campaigns to meet your goals and then track the effectiveness of the campaigns. They are experts at generating content, identifying communities, putting a personal face on your company, listening to your customer base and letting you know what's being said.
Social media marketing requires a special skill set we may not have in our own marketing department. We may simply not even have the time. I see no reason why social media marketing can't be outsourced just like any other marketing activity. Take the time to find the right social media professional to meet your companies needs, whether it be in-house or out.
Tuesday
Social media
Social media. It's the name of the game currently and everyone is trying to figure out the angles. In truth it's a tool. When you market your small business you use a variety of tools. The excitement over the latest tool, social media, is that it allows you to have immediate and direct contact to your customers. It has the advantage of allowing two way communication between you and your customers. That's the angle.
If you are using social media to broadcast your marketing message you're missing the point. Stop telling your customers what you offer, why you're the best and why they need to shop with you. Instead start conversations, listen to responses and then respond. You'll learn more about your customer base, what interests them, why they do business with you, who matters in their world and how they interact with others. All of this information allows you to create a closer connection with your customers. If you're sincere, honest and if you listen and respond you'll become part of your customers' group, their community.
But you must be willing to take the time to engage. If you don't respond to posts, questions or complaints and don't post questions or conversation engaging posts then you are wasting your time on social media. If you use it like a broadcast email you're missing the angle. You may even be alienating your customer base who understand that social media is meant to be...well social.
Here's a profile www.facebook.com/#!/SecretsStJames I've been following for awhile on Facebook. I hope to take an island vacation some day and thought I'd follow this resort to see what I could expect. They aren't perfect, but they do try to respond to posts. They post pictures, ask questions and post about events at the resort. They've encouraged open communication from visitors and potential visitors. They are working the social media angle.
There is still discussion on how effective social media is at driving sales, but if you want to be part of your customers' community social media is an excellent start. Just work the angle.
If you are using social media to broadcast your marketing message you're missing the point. Stop telling your customers what you offer, why you're the best and why they need to shop with you. Instead start conversations, listen to responses and then respond. You'll learn more about your customer base, what interests them, why they do business with you, who matters in their world and how they interact with others. All of this information allows you to create a closer connection with your customers. If you're sincere, honest and if you listen and respond you'll become part of your customers' group, their community.
But you must be willing to take the time to engage. If you don't respond to posts, questions or complaints and don't post questions or conversation engaging posts then you are wasting your time on social media. If you use it like a broadcast email you're missing the angle. You may even be alienating your customer base who understand that social media is meant to be...well social.
Here's a profile www.facebook.com/#!/SecretsStJames I've been following for awhile on Facebook. I hope to take an island vacation some day and thought I'd follow this resort to see what I could expect. They aren't perfect, but they do try to respond to posts. They post pictures, ask questions and post about events at the resort. They've encouraged open communication from visitors and potential visitors. They are working the social media angle.
There is still discussion on how effective social media is at driving sales, but if you want to be part of your customers' community social media is an excellent start. Just work the angle.
Friday
A Pleasant Surprise - Raising a Confident Daughter
I’ve recently rekindled my love affair with fitness. I was ready to start making fitness part of my daily routine, but worried that my hour an evening working out would be taking time away from my 11 year old daughter.
Even so, I couldn’t let worries keep me from bettering myself. I needed to be strong and healthy. So the evening workouts began. While my husband and I worked out our daughter played or read, but always near-by. I noticed that she would “peek in” on us and once found her reading my Oxygen magazine. Next came her questions:
“Mom, can I try your yoga work out?”
“Sure!”
Followed by,
“Can I do your warm up with you?”
“You bet!”
And then last week she asked if she could try our chest and back routine.
“Wow! Really? Ok!”
I was excited at her interest in fitness and her desire to work-out. She didn’t see it as time spent away from her as I had worried. That’s not to say we don’t have our ups and downs. She does get annoyed that mom can do more push- ups, but she’s also delighted that she’s the only one in the family that can do reclining bound angle pose. It’s my hope that the lessons she’s learning in fitness will carry over to other aspects in her life.
1. Do what you can and don’t worry what everyone else is doing.
2. Even when you think you can’t do anymore try to do one more- you may surprise yourself.
3. Change happens a lot slower than we would like.
4. A positive attitude allows you to achieve much more than a negative one.
5. Being good to yourself allows you to be good to others.
As moms and maybe even as humans we often resist doing things in life because we worry about how it will affect others. But what a pleasant surprise, by doing something for myself, by being good to myself I’ve given something good to my daughter.
Even so, I couldn’t let worries keep me from bettering myself. I needed to be strong and healthy. So the evening workouts began. While my husband and I worked out our daughter played or read, but always near-by. I noticed that she would “peek in” on us and once found her reading my Oxygen magazine. Next came her questions:
“Mom, can I try your yoga work out?”
“Sure!”
Followed by,
“Can I do your warm up with you?”
“You bet!”
And then last week she asked if she could try our chest and back routine.
“Wow! Really? Ok!”
I was excited at her interest in fitness and her desire to work-out. She didn’t see it as time spent away from her as I had worried. That’s not to say we don’t have our ups and downs. She does get annoyed that mom can do more push- ups, but she’s also delighted that she’s the only one in the family that can do reclining bound angle pose. It’s my hope that the lessons she’s learning in fitness will carry over to other aspects in her life.
1. Do what you can and don’t worry what everyone else is doing.
2. Even when you think you can’t do anymore try to do one more- you may surprise yourself.
3. Change happens a lot slower than we would like.
4. A positive attitude allows you to achieve much more than a negative one.
5. Being good to yourself allows you to be good to others.
As moms and maybe even as humans we often resist doing things in life because we worry about how it will affect others. But what a pleasant surprise, by doing something for myself, by being good to myself I’ve given something good to my daughter.
Tuesday
It's from who?
Do you e-mail your customers? I'm guessing you do, at least occasionally. I know you take the time to create interesting content, add links to your web site, perhaps even include an engaging photo. That is important and you should be doing it, but have you considered your subject line and your from line?
Imagine your customer sitting at their computer scanning their in box. They come across an email and they don't recognize the name in the from line and the subject line is non-specific. They're thinking, spam or they may be worried it contains a virus especially if you added an attachment.
After you've created your email sit back and think of a four to eight word summary for the content. Yes, it should be appealing but it should also be clear. If you send a weekly email consider having a name for it to create consistency. The from line is also important. It is fine to have your name as the from, but somewhere either in the from or the subject line, you should list your business name.
Here are a few examples of good from and subject lines. I opened all these emails.
From: Manhattan 24/7
Subject: St. Patrick's Day Celebration in Manhattan
From: Lisa-Marie at Emily Rose
Subject: Pick of the Week - Purple Passion (these arrive weekly and the subject line always begins "Pick of the Week" and is followed by a description.)
From: Michael Katz | Blue Penguin E-Newsletter
Subject: Publish or Perish
All three of these examples tell me who the email is from and give me an idea of the content in three different ways.
You spend a lot of time creating your emails, make sure they have a chance for success. Let your customers know up front the email is from you and what's in it for them.
Imagine your customer sitting at their computer scanning their in box. They come across an email and they don't recognize the name in the from line and the subject line is non-specific. They're thinking, spam or they may be worried it contains a virus especially if you added an attachment.
After you've created your email sit back and think of a four to eight word summary for the content. Yes, it should be appealing but it should also be clear. If you send a weekly email consider having a name for it to create consistency. The from line is also important. It is fine to have your name as the from, but somewhere either in the from or the subject line, you should list your business name.
Here are a few examples of good from and subject lines. I opened all these emails.
From: Manhattan 24/7
Subject: St. Patrick's Day Celebration in Manhattan
From: Lisa-Marie at Emily Rose
Subject: Pick of the Week - Purple Passion (these arrive weekly and the subject line always begins "Pick of the Week" and is followed by a description.)
From: Michael Katz | Blue Penguin E-Newsletter
Subject: Publish or Perish
All three of these examples tell me who the email is from and give me an idea of the content in three different ways.
You spend a lot of time creating your emails, make sure they have a chance for success. Let your customers know up front the email is from you and what's in it for them.
Thursday
Emily Rose Gets It Right.
I get happy when I come across a company who “gets it”; one that understands their products, their customers and then markets the company honestly and authentically. I love watching such a company succeed. Here’s an example for you.
Emily Rose at www.dollsclothes-emilyrose.com
I first discovered this company 2 years ago while searching for American Girl doll clothes for my daughter. Emily Rose came up just below AmericanGirl.com in my search. Nice SEO job. The site itself was clean, easy to navigate, lots of detailed photos of the clothes, customer reviews and icons indicating it was a trust worthy site. Two of my biggest concerns were addressed up front.
So I purchased clothes from Emily Rose. Next I found out their customer service was excellent and they exceed my expectations. Each outfit came neatly folded in tissue paper, inside a custom Emily Rose box. Even the pair of jeans and a t-shirt it arrived as if it were a special gift.
I’ve watched the company grow and succeed as they continue to hit the mark with all their marketing efforts. They’ve added a Facebook page where they engage customers and have expanded the business model to include home parties with the heartfelt wish that other moms can work from home. Free trading cards arrive with each outfit and include the beginning of a story to get girls excited about imaginary play. Now a blog is in the works which will no doubt speak directly to customer interests. Each time they introduce a new aspect of the company it always feels right. Because they understand their customers, reach out and engage those customers and continue to deliver beyond expectations.
Would you like to see an example of how Emily Rose gets it right? Check out this dress
https://www.dollsclothes-emilyrose.com /ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=INS81
5
I love this dress. My daughter loves this dress. It’s medieval fantasy fun. When I got the dress I couldn’t help but wish I had one just like it. Seriously. I was a little girl again myself, dreaming of knights and castles. And this isn’t some slopped together, fall apart in a week play thing. It’s unbelievably well made, as if it was expected clumsy little hands would be pulling it on and off. And remember the detailed photos I mentioned earlier. Use the zoom feature, the dress looks exactly like that in person.
I’m going to continue to be loyal customer of Emily Rose because they’ve given me every reason to be and no reasons not to be. They provide great products at reasonable prices and continue to add value with contests, free trading cards and other items of interest to doll owners. They keep me engaged by posting specials and updates to Facebook. As far as I can tell this is not a huge company. It started with one woman with a passion who is transferring her passion to others. It’s obvious in how she runs her company and engages her customers. Bravo.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)