learn and improve

No hidden agenda. One of the primary objectives of social media is to produce advocacy and word of mouth marketing such that real customers promote your product/service to their family, friends, and colleagues. There is no denying the power of having “trusted agents’ stand behind a brand. Are you more likely to value a recommendation of a friend telling you where to go for a great latte or are you more likely to believe the neon sign on the diner window, “World’s Best Coffee” (as Will Farrell did in the movie Elf)?So it is no surprise that the use of reviews plays a strong … Read More

Marketing 101 – know your target market. Who is likely to buy your product or service? This is often answered by a definition of demographics. “Demographics are the statistical characteristics of a population … Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location.” (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics)You use demographics to define your target market segments. A segment is a set of prospects and customers with common needs, wants and preferences (solution requirements and buyer values) who reference each other when making buying decisions.

When I work with clients, I often suggest that they should evaluate their target market in groupings starting with … Read More

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Wouldn’t it be great if someone could do your marketing for you and actually succeed? And what if they actually did it better than you and accomplished more? If you heard that a restaurant had amazing food by their chef or a friend of yours, who would be more impacting and trustworthy?

OK – so you get the point. Word of mouth marketing is extremely successful at driving business – in any industry. And probably the best channel for marketers to do so is social media. So are your social media efforts designed to identify and capture influencers and advocates for your brand?

I wrote … Read More

There is no shortage of trending lists, reviews, and top 10 lists looking back at 2011. I know many are cynical and think they have seen enough of them, but frankly I like them. They give me an opportunity to learn some things I missed. The problem is that anyone can produce these lists and get them out in the public … the “power” of social media. Yes, there is some good stuff out there, and there is some garbage.

When I look back on 2011 and think about the social media takeaways from my perspective, it is simple … just look at what I have written … Read More

We have seen a handful of instances where social media was a key to the success of a social movement. But what about a social movement being the reason for success of social media? Confused? Let me explain.

I am sure you are familiar with what has been referred to as the “Arab Spring.” Social media played an important role in allowing a movement to spread and permit the oppressed majority to topple the dictatorial minority. From a marketing perspective, I am suggesting the reverse … that there should be a social movement strategy and execution within social media. Social media success depends on … Read More

As the year closes out, everyone (including me) will be looking back on the year and looking ahead to 2012 and stating their trends and predictions of social media. There is absolutely no doubt that the most common topic will be social media ROI.

So let’s get the reality on the table. Social media does provide a great value to organizations that take a well thought strategic approach and integrate it with other business and marketing programs. Measuring social media return on investment is very difficult to perform because of the inability to hardcode or hardwire social activities to a purchase. But there is no doubt socialization of a … Read More

Still a bit confused about social media? I understand. I see it day in and day out with clients I serve. While so many want to make it complicated, it really is nowhere close to rocket science. Heck, it is not even as hard to follow as my daughter’s sixth grade science. It’s just that those that try to explain it either really do not get it themselves or they want to make it so complicated to justify that they are social media experts.

So my answer to this ubiquitous question is to provide some simple education first. Since I often blog and share information, here is the presentation that I give to many clients. The name of the presentation is … Read More

BUT BLACK FRIDAY WEEKEND HURT RETAILERS

The statistics tell us the consumer retail holiday season has started off with a bang. Black Friday total four day weekend sales were $52.4 billion, up from $45 billion last year. That’s the best year over year sales increase since 2007. For Black Friday alone, sales of $11.4 billion, up 6.6% over last year, and foot traffic was up 5.1%, in part fueled by earlier openings this year and lots of promotional offers.

Additionally, Black Friday online sales we’re up even higher…a whopping 26% over last year, with $816 million online sales on Black Friday alone this year.

So, we asked catalogers a couple of simple questions: “How were Black Friday weekend and Cyber Monday sales for … Read More

Ten years ago, Jim Collins wrote the book “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t.” Collins book continues to be on just about every top business book list I see. “Good to Great” describes how companies go from just being an average company to accomplishing greatness.

And that folks is what I see an abundance of companies need to do today with regards to social media. So many are doing social media, so few are doing great social media. Which do you prefer for your brand?

I have long said that being great at social media is more about mentality than … Read More