Crumbs from the Scone
You know it’s time for your company to enter the realm of social media, but perhaps you’re unsure of how to get started, or where to concentrate your efforts. You probably require outside help. And in a premium article at MarketingProfs, Mack Collier provides an in-depth primer on hiring a social-media consultant. Here’s a taste of his advice:
Google the potential candidate. When you enter Collier’s name, “you see that there are over 30,000 search results, and among the first 10 results you see my blog and my Blogger profile, as well as my Twitter account and my LinkedIn account. You can immediately tell that I am active on multiple social sites.” Be wary if a search returns only a few hundred results, especially if they aren’t related directly to the consultant.
Investigate expertise with specific social-media tools. If you need help with blogs, for instance, look for evidence of success at the consultant’s blog. Do posts appear at least once a week? Do visitors leave comments? Does the consultant publish statistics on the volume of traffic and subscribers? “Evaluating a consultant’s blog is important, because if a consultant appears to have a healthy and vibrant blog, then odds are he or she can help you improve your blogging efforts. Blog consultants will understand that their blog is a tool that can be used to sell potential customers on blog consulting.”
Don’t rule someone out only because their consultancy resume is thin. “Many successful bloggers begin consulting simply because potential clients begin inquiring about their availability to consult,” says Collier. “Also, since the field of social-media consulting is relatively new, many consultants wont yet have a robust package of client work. So, although a nice portfolio of client work is important, its not essential.”
Source: MarketingProfs.
Crumbs from the Scone
“In 2007, 9 million digital picture frames were sold, about 1 million of them Wi Fi-enabled,” writes Katy Bachman in an article for Brandweek. “By 2010, that’s expected to jump to more than 42 million, with the vast majority of them Wi-Fi equipped, according to data from IDC.” Can advertisers be far behind? Of course not.
With an eye to capitalizing on this emerging channel, reports Bachman, the Initiative agency has already formed a partnership with Frame Media to test advertising potential for clients like Dr. Pepper and Lionsgate. Instead of paying a fee, users of Frame Media’s free 400-channel service see banner ads rotated through content like news, traffic, weather and sports.
Snapple, another Initiative client, combines content and ads in its own channel displaying “fun facts” sourced from bottle caps. “Think of it as a Snapple fact-a-day,” says Bachman, “like a page-a-day calendar.”
“We believe we’ll see the emergence of a new category of information appliances that will become ubiquitous in the home or office replacing the alarm clock or kitchen calendar,” Frame Media CEO Alan Phillips told Bachman. “We’re trying to predict the future,” Marc Simon of Initiative says in the article. “This really feels like it could be another screen in the home or office.”
Source: BrandWeek.
Crumbs from the Scone
A new whitepaper from ExactTarget—cheekily titled No Executive Left Behind—argues in its subtitle that there are 10 things your C-Suite must know about email. “You cannot assume that your C-Suite understands the critical role played by email in facilitating sales and maintaining strong customer relationships,” ExactTarget’s Jeffrey Rohrs says. “You must take it upon yourself to educate your executives about email’s strengths.” Here are a few facts your leadership team might not know:
Email is everywhere. “You would think that 15+ years into the Internet revolution, the ubiquity of email would be widely acknowledged as an asset—even in the C-Suite,” says ExactTarget. “However, you make this assumption at your own risk.” They suggest you offer executives persuasive data like this: 99 percent of Internet users have email accounts, 96 percent check their inboxes weekly, and 60 percent check them daily.
Email is profitable. According to a DMA survey, email campaigns return $45.06 for each dollar spent. But be sure to clarify that the personal nature of an email inbox demands a different approach from direct mail. “Higher ROI comes from developing and executing a long-term email marketing strategy that builds relationships,” notes ExactTarget.
Email is measurable. “Thanks to the magic of the Internet and tracking pixels,” they say, “you can gain an immediate sense of who is receiving, opening, and responding to your email messages.”
Source: ExactTarget.
Crumbs from the Scone
It’s a recession, folks. They’ve brought out the “R” word. And everybody’s pulling back. Turning in. Acting just plain scared. Gone are the days when a B2B team could take risks, push creative boundaries. It’s time to get practical. But, hey, that doesn’t have to be all bad. In a past blog post that’s still popular today, Jon Miller listed Ten Practical Trends in B2B Marketing that offer a wealth of creative opportunities for your team right now—as long as they’re handled properly. Here are a few time-tested ideas to help keep your B2B outreach vital:
Practice attention marketing—and make it measurable. “Leverage the Internet and word-of-mouth to break through the attention barrier,” Miller advises.
Love your landing pages. “Sending traffic to a landing page can [always] improve conversions … and following best practices can raise them [even further],” he reminds us.
Help buyers research early in the sales cycle. Hesitant B2B buyers are researching online before they engage with sales. “By helping to educate the customer,” Miller says, “you can establish your company as a trusted advisor that understands their problems.”
Measure relationship depth. “Track the number and quality of marketing interactions with each prospect company, so you know the next best marketing action to take,” says Miller.
Source: Modern B2B Marketing.
Crumbs from the Scone
Once hubs for consumers seeking a little indulgence on a busy day, many specialty coffee shops are now searching for ways to keep customers coming back. Does this mean the days of the Half-Caff Iced Mocha Latte Grande with Whipped Crème and Sprinkles are behind us? In other words, should marketers simplify customer choices in confusing economic times? Well, at least one recent study says: Don’t you dare.
These researchers invited a range of consumers (17 to 66 years old) to sample “new” coffees at a food court. The menus listed 50 coffee names drawn from coffees offered at major chains and a local shop. But subjects received different versions: the coffee options were either uncategorized (just the name of the coffee), or divided into 10 categories. The most informative category labels specified attributes of the coffee flavors, such as “Complex,” “Spicy,” “Nutty,” “Mild” or “Earthy.”
The catch? All of the subjects were actually served the exact same coffee, regardless of the extensive categories describing their choice.
The result? Hold on to your Latte: Customers who received the most complicated options (the name of the coffee, divided into 10 categories) were most impressed with the “new” flavor. Researchers concluded that “the number of categories partitioning an assortment leads consumers to feel more satisfied with their chosen option.” This worked even when the categories were not informative at all.
Source: “The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers’ Perceptions of Assortment Variety and Outcome Satisfaction” by Cassie Mogilner, Tamar Rudnick and Sheena S. Iyengar.
Crumbs from the Scone
“While US consumers are fully embracing text messaging,” says Alan Berrey in an article at MarketingProfs, “very few enterprises have followed suit.” And when you consider that 80 percent of Americans own mobile phones, and send over one billion test messages each day, it makes sense to develop a strategy for this largely untapped channel. Here are some of Berrey’s pointers:
Join in. “Far too many companies do not support text messaging at all,” he says. “The key ingredient for most companies is simply to get started.”
Let people know you’re there. Demonstrate your texting proficiency early in the customer relationship, and you can fully employ the channel throughout the sub-processes of acquisition, support and retention.
Keep it short. Messages need to be relevant, timely and brief. “If you cannot convey the message in 160 characters,” he notes, “then the message is probably not well suited for text messaging.”
And be sure to integrate with other channels. “Text messaging rarely stands on its own,” reports Alan Berrey. “In most cases, [it] is used to augment other communications.”
Source: MarketingProfs.
