Popular Articles on Business 2 Community |
- The Business Case for Cheating Your Way to Social Media Superstardom
- How To Empower Your Employees, And Why You Should Do It
- 5 Tips to Grow Your Facebook Business Page
- 10 Things Customer-Obsessed Companies Do Differently
- Why Big Data is a Big Deal for Digital Marketers
- How Twitter uses Twitter for Recruiting
- Did You Know? The Collaborative Economy is a $110B Market
- How To Deliver On Your Brand Promise
- Why Should I Learn Social Media When I Can Do It?
- Google+ for Brands in 2014
- Mobile SEO: The Future is Now
| The Business Case for Cheating Your Way to Social Media Superstardom Posted: 20 Jan 2014 05:05 AM PST On a recent post examining the bribery that is going on over at Empire Avenue, reader Shawn Manaher asks: "Do you feel paying for any kind of traffic to a website or social media post is appropriate at any time or any level? Just wondering if you feel that there is something inherently wrong with that or not?" If you care about marketing and love social media, you are probably raising the roof with a resounding "NOOO!" And, as much as I would like that to be the answer, I owe you intellectual honesty on this blog and the answer is YES — it might make sense to cheat the system — in one situation. Faking your way to superstardomBuying fake followers or bribing people for traffic will not provide long-term sustainable business benefits, but it can effectively do one thing: Build a short-term image of power, authority and popularity. Several years ago, a social media celebrity confessed to me that he was a fake. He had purchased more than 100,000 empty Twitter followers on eBay. He organized a scheme on Empire Avenue to "like" his Facebook page and share his blog post. He even lied about having a book contract to create a facade of importance. He built a profitable speaking career on the foundation of pure fabrication. So, faking it worked … but we'll return to his story in a minute. Numbers matterTruth is, people may perceive the value of an individual (or even a business) based only on the numbers — followers, friends, tweets, likes. Why? Because in our hurried world, these numbers are shortcuts to help us decide what to do and who to listen to. This is a well-known psychological concept – people believe something because there is a signal that other people are thinking something or doing something and that gives the content, idea, or individual credibility. It's a fundamental human process to assign legitimacy, validity, and value to those things we believe that other people are assigning value to, whether it is true or not. It's easy to be a fake Perhaps you're upset by people blatantly cheating their way to fame. The Internet offers an unprecedented opportunity to manufacture social proof through tricks and devices. It's possible to market your own prominence through strategies that don't have anything to do with the real insight, authority or value. Because of the Internet's vast ability to grant social proof, and our willingness to accept that evidence as truth, the talent to create and distribute meaningful content can be a legitimate source of online influence – even apart from an individual's actual experience, ability, or personal accomplishments. That might sound icky, but the answer to my blog reader is "yes." There is some value to bribing or paying for social proof because on one level that might be all that people care about. In the short term. Let's go back to my friend's story. The reason he was telling me that he was a fake was because he was also saying farewell. In the short-term he was able to fake his legitimacy through lies but eventually, his customers expected him to deliver the goods. Real value. Real insight. The pressure to keep his real world in line with his fake world became unbearable. He was beginning to fail so miserably that he decided to drop off the Internet altogether. He folded up his fake tent and got a "real job." The courage to be realI would like to end this post with an appeal for you to stay strong, stay centered, and avoid the easy temptation of faking it. Yes, being honest is the right thing to do, but there are solid business reasons for this, too:
At least that's what I'm counting on. And I know I'm right. So hang tough {grow} people. Let's support each other and grow our businesses the honest way. Agree? Mark Schaefer is an educator and marketing consultant specializing in social media workshops. He blogs at {grow} and is the author of several best-selling marketing books including Return On Influence.  |
| How To Empower Your Employees, And Why You Should Do It Posted: 19 Jan 2014 08:24 PM PST Do you empower your employees? If not, you’re missing out on several opportunities to improve your business and your life. The following presents ways you can empower your employees and why you should do it. Why you should empower your employees Empowered employees care more about the success of your company. They want to do a good job, and they have a sense of ownership in your goals. In fact, many of your goals become their goals. Empowered employees require less supervision, develop outstanding business ideas, work smarter and more efficiently, and are happy – which means they’re extremely loyal. Study after study has shown that employees would rather work somewhere they feel happy and appreciated than somewhere they don’t, even if the latter pays more or offers better benefits. Employees are keenly aware of the effect their work environment has on quality of life, and when they feel important – even needed – they’re willing to compromise on salary without comprising performance. What does all this mean? You’re able to profit more and deal with far fewer employee and customer service related hassles. You get more time off, a better business and brand, and a better quality of life yourself, as well.
How to empower your employees There are many ways you can empower your employees; some might represent major changes in your business operations, while others might have more subtle effects. Here are some of my favorite suggestions for empowering employees. Ask for suggestions: Your employees are on the "front line," working directly with customers and experiencing how efficiently (or not) your business processes are. They know how your business can improve; listen to their ideas and implement those that make sense. For those that do not, explain why you can’t implement those ideas and encourage idea originators to keep the good ideas coming. Give credit where it's due: When an employee does an outstanding job or makes a great suggestion, call them out for it in front other employees. Make them feel valued and appreciated and make sure everyone else knows it, too. Delegate responsibility: Have your employees take charge of projects, departments, tasks and other business operations. Don’t meddle – rather, give them full control (contingent on regular status updates, of course). This is an especially strong way to implement employee-generated ideas; if you like an idea, have the employee who came up with it manage its implementation. Give freedom: Let your top employees choose when and where they work to whatever extent possible. Give project deadlines and maintain accountability, of course, but otherwise allow your employees to dictate their own schedules whenever possible.
What other tips are great for employee empowerment?  |
| 5 Tips to Grow Your Facebook Business Page Posted: 19 Jan 2014 12:00 PM PST Small businesses need to be actively marketing on Facebook. That's the long and the short of it. Clients often ask – slightly wary tone in their voice – if they need to be on Facebook. My answer usually boils down to this: Facebook has 1.9billion users. Your customers are there – and you should be too. The question then is not whether you should be on it, but what you should do once you're there. Growing your Facebook page – both the number of people who 'like' it, and those who engage with it – should be a fundamental part of your marketing strategy, and like the other elements of it, should be approached strategically and methodically. This article will look at how to go about doing just that. Step 1: Tell EveryoneThis is not the time to be shy. Tell everyone you know about your page – give them a clear instruction: to like your page. You want your friends, colleagues and contacts to take the positive action of visiting your Facebook page and clicking the 'Like' button. These people – the people you already know – will form the base of your Facebook page – they are the people most likely (currently) to act as evangelists for your products or services and you need to leverage that.
Step 2: Strategic Management of your Facebook PageYour Facebook page is only going to grow – is only going to be useful to your fans – if you're sharing genuinely useful content with them. Value. Every time you're adding content to that page, you should be providing value. The focus is on your readers not on you, and so with every item you put there think of your users: is your post answering a common question, is your post solving a common problem, what other value could your post provide? Consistency. And it's not enough to do it once … this is something you need to do again and again. So, what processes do you have in place for finding useful content for your fans, and what tools do you want to use to help facilitate this process? I have three principle ways in which I source, curate and distribute content socially: i) To find relevant content I subscribe (via RSS) to a number of blogs that share a target market with mine. Daily, I receive maybe 20 – 30 links to articles which should then be beneficial to my readership. ii) I also follow a number of people on Twitter who consistently produce, or link to, content that my target market would be interested in. I have these people stored in a private Twitter list, so their posts are easily identifiable in my Twitter client. iii) I then use Buffer to schedule the posts. If you don't know it, Buffer App is a wonderful tool (there's a free plan and a $10 per month plan) which allows you to add articles to an online 'queue', and then to post links to those articles on your various social profiles. My Buffer is linked to my Facebook page, my Twitter account, my LinkedIn account and my Google Plus account. At any time I aim to have between 10 – 20 posts in my buffer – which I post out 4 – 5 times a day. I know I normally have a week's worth of social activity planned with minimal effort. There's a great post here – by the folks at Buffer – explaining how they themselves use it to consistently post 15 articles a day! Mix it up. Yes, consistency is important – consistently providing value. But don't be dull. You can mix it up – sometimes post a link, others an image, maybe a video. Keeping it interesting will help you gauge what types of content engage your visitors the most – which they find most useful, which they are more likely to comment on, and which they're most likely to ignore. Using this information to influence your ongoing activity on Facebook is all part of being strategic: understanding what works, what doesn't, and reacting accordingly. Step 3. Facebook AdsAdvertising your page using Facebook Ads is the surest way to add new fans. It's cheap (a minimum spend of £4 per day, currently), it's targeted (there's a great range of demographic criteria you can target your ad by), and it works. In essence, you're advertising your page to a select section of Facebook's 1.19billion users. A slice that should be most interested in your services. But, just like in the offline world, your ad will remain ineffective if you don't offer a compelling reason for people to take the action you'd like them to. Incentivise with a compelling, original, offer: can you offer a free e-book, a half hour consult for free, entrance into an exclusive weekly draw, whatever it is – if you can offer something compelling, something a user cannot get elsewhere, you will generate far more fans than otherwise. Step 4. Integration with your WebsiteDo not separate your Facebook strategy from your website strategy. The two should be tightly integrated. When I write for my blog (or other blogs), I'm generating content that could be shared on my Facebook page – so that will boost traffic back to my website. When I'm sharing shorter pieces of content on my Facebook page, together they might form the basis of a post for my blog. The articles in my Buffer may well serve as a framework for future, longer form, content on my blog. My blog gets more traffic than my Facebook page – and then drives people to my Facebook page. Each blog post has a 'like' button, the sidebar on each page has links through to my Facebook page. The aim is to decrease the 'distance' between the content on my website, and sharing on Facebook. Step 5. Keep on Keeping on… and don't stop. Once you have processes in place, it is important to keep going. Your efforts are focused on two key areas: fan growth, and fan engagement. For fan growth, keep looking at the Facebook ads, contests, website integration … for fan engagement you'll want to understand the impact of your content better – Facebook insights give you information on the reach and engagement of your posts, and you should mix up the content you share accordingly. The important thing is to keep on analysing, to keep on trying new things – new offers, new incentives, new content and new ways of sharing. Facebook is a great way to extend your brands reach – and a great way to offer value to your fans and customers; if you're not using it to it's fullest, just remember this: 1.19billion people. That's all.  |
| 10 Things Customer-Obsessed Companies Do Differently Posted: 19 Jan 2014 09:05 AM PST
Forrester Research marks the beginning of the Age of the Customer at 2010, and over the last few years, we've seen numerous brands acting on this age, putting the customer first in all that they do. Think Zappos: "We decided that we wanted our brand to not be about shoes, but about delivering the very best customer experience," said Tony Hsieh. "That's our brand and I'm pretty confident we can sell any item with that as our foundation." Or take Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos as an example, moving beyond retail and now to media with a customer focus: "We've had three big ideas at Amazon that we've stuck with for 18 years, and they're the reason we're successful: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient. If you replace 'customer' with 'reader,' that approach, that point of view, can be successful at the Post, too." While many brands pay lip service to customer-centricity, it's those that truly are "customer-obsessed" that are already seeing positive results. According to Bain & Company, a 5% increase in customer retention can increase profits by 25% to 95%. A Watermark Consulting analysis also supports the customer satisfaction focus. Taking five years of data from Forrester's Customer Experience Index, the analysis shows that the brands at the top of Forrester's Customer Experience Index show far better stock market and revenue performance than customer experience laggards. So what do customer-obsessed companies do differently than most? Here are 10 top differentiators: 1. They focus on customer satisfaction retention over customer acquisition. In a 2013 Forrester survey of global CMOs, 63% listed acquiring new customers as their top priority, while just 22% said retaining current customers was their top goal. Customer-obsessed companies don't obsess over wanting more; they appreciate and take care of what they've got, letting the brand advocates drive new customer acquisition. 2. They align brand strategy with the customer experience. Customer-obsessed companies don't just talk the talk on being focused on their customers; they walk the walk. A poll of Forrester's Customer Experience Council reveals that just 18% align customer experience with the brand strategy, a necessity in creating consistent positive customer/brand interactions and conformational messaging. 3. They are nimble and connected. Customer-obsessed companies break down siloes and create seamless service experiences and customer experiences across the standard and emerging channels their customers are using every day. 4. They use multiple sources of customer data to respond in customer-friendly ways and predict next actions. Customer-obsessed companies create a relationship of trust. They use data to get to know and show that they know each customer, and then they go beyond this to predict and suggest best next actions and purchases. 5. They use customer intelligence to gain insight at scale that leads to better products over time. Customer-obsessed companies don't just listen to and solicit feedback; they act upon it to develop the products, services and brand their customers desire. 6. They don't just talk about the customer experience; they invest in it. Notes David Cooperstein in the Forrester report, Competitive Strategy in the Age of the Customer, "a customer-obsessed enterprise focuses its strategy, its energy and its budget on processes that enhance knowledge of and engagement with customers and prioritizes these over maintaining traditional competitive barriers." 7. They recognize that the customer journey is almost never a straight line. Customer-obsessed companies don't just deliver on omni-channel service and support, they invest in creating a 360-degree view of the customer that maps the customer journey and details customer history and feedback across all channels. Then they use this in real-time service. 8. They create a connection with the customer post-transaction. Customer-obsessed companies focus on customer engagement both shortly and long after the sale. They communicate proactively and personally in an authentic way. 9. They invest in content creation over advertising. Customer-obsessed companies develop and deliver helpful, shareable content rather than pushing promotional content and advertising. 10. They are flexible to customers' needs. Customer-obsessed companies realize that customer service and the customer experience is not one-size-fits all and align their processes and empower their staff to make sure that each customer interaction is personalized and satisfying. The Age of the Customer is upon us. Is your brand becoming customer-obsessed?  |
| Why Big Data is a Big Deal for Digital Marketers Posted: 19 Jan 2014 08:45 AM PST Big data. It's a phrase everybody throws around, but with meaning that nobody can fully agree on. Definitions usually include some combination of massive amounts of information, structured data, unstructured data, too much data to process, complex data, or data that is beyond our computing power. While this is interesting, it's not necessarily helpful. And what does it mean for digital marketers? The idea of big data really kicked off when analyst Doug Laney published an article on data management challenges way back in 2001. He framed the discussion using three Vs:
Since then, others have added any number of additional Vs including veracity (data quality), viability (how useful the data is), and value (what the data helps us learn or do). So while we can't 100% agree on the definition of big data, the real takeaway is that you should know what big data means for you and your industry. Which brings us to digital marketing! Big data is absolutely critical in our field because it makes data-driven marketing possible. It reveals intent and gives us a picture of our audiences. It allows us to be simultaneously more global and more local. It allows us to work across channels, and in real time. It keeps us competitive, and it can reap big profits. All these perks are great, but dealing with big data is no simple task. The data must be organized in a way such that we can glean actionable insight. Scale is a big challenge, across millions of customers and keywords. And when we have really powerful data, it can also be a struggle to trust and act upon it when it's not in line with our basic intuition and judgment. Some companies – not just search marketers – are getting it right in a big way. Consider how the United States Marine Corps enlists big data in its recruitment efforts, described by AdAge. Or take a look at how some other big companies, from Netflix to Walmart, have enhanced their offerings with data-informed decisions here in this great Mashable article. Marin Software is essentially a big data product, helping digital marketers make sense of and act on massive sets of really cool data. We encourage a data-driven approach of understanding audiences, predicting, and optimizing. Now for the fun part. According to a recent McKinsey report, big data leaders have, on average, 5% higher productivity and 6% higher profits than other companies. In other words, marketers who capture the power of big data are making a sizeable impact on their bottom lines. So if you're ever overwhelmed by all that is "big data," remember that everyone else is on a journey to figure it out too, and that the possibilities and payoff are certainly worth the effort.  |
| How Twitter uses Twitter for Recruiting Posted: 19 Jan 2014 07:35 AM PST Before sharing what Twitter's Ms. Collins had to say, here findings from SoftwareAdvice's Social Recruiting Survey: "Twitter's Twitter StrategyFirst of all, if you're going to use Twitter to recruit, you should create a clear and executable strategy. Twitter should be used for more than just blasting out job postings. Sure, creating awareness about new positions is one part of the strategy. But there's another side to the coin that Twitter capitalizes on: you can create a real-time view into your company's culture, making people want to work for you. As Ms. Collins says of the @JoinTheFlock handle, "We offer more than just job listings; we also share news about events happening within the company, external events we attend and insights from our executives. The handle gives our followers a look into what's happening inside of the company and a bit about what makes Twitter a great place to work." There are several ways Twitter uses Twitter to get the word out about open positions, grow its following and, ultimately, source and attract great talent. Here a few of the Twitter recruiting team's tips that will be covered in more detail below:
1. Use Employees to Tweet JobsUsing the tools available—hashtags, current employees, notable personalities (an advantage perhaps specific to big brands like Twitter) and other multimedia—Collins and the rest of the recruiting team have created an enormous following for the @JoinTheFlock account: to be exact, 361,888 at the time of writing. How do they keep all those followers engaged, as well as add new followers daily? By Tweeting compelling content, of course. But here's the kicker– Ms. Collins and the recruiting team at Twitter make a concerted effort to re-Tweet job posts from current employees', interns' and other company handles. As she says, "We get the help of our hiring managers to Tweet out job listings to their followers for extra visibility." For instance, re-Tweeting calls for applicants from the company's Director of Engineering: 2. Share News and Events to Expose Your CultureAllowing potential candidates a glimpse into company culture keeps them interested, and might pique the interest of passive candidates, as well. Check out this re-Tweet from a current employee: Even the lower rungs of the company get in on the action (read, interns): If your strategy includes involving this cultural component, you'll need to do more than have one person Tweet out new jobs once a day. Instead, you'll need to have a multi-pronged approach–and that's just what Twitter has done. 3. Harness the Power of the HashtagAs you've probably noticed, hashtags pop up all the time on the @JoinTheFlock account. There are several advantages to using them.
For instance, if someone is looking for a job in software development, they might search certain tags, such as #hadoop, #CMS, #UX or #TechTalent. By including hashtags in a job post, these candidates can find the job, even if they don't follow the @JoinTheFlock account already. Hashtags are also a great means to source new talent at industry-specific conferences. As Collins says, when looking to fill niche roles, hashtags are a lifesaver: "To fill a specific role, we might look at the hashtags for a conference taking place in that field, and look at the profiles of the attendees who are Tweeting or on a Twitter list." 4. Leverage VideoPerhaps what separates Twitter's recruiting presence from other companies is its clever use of various media channels. "We are in the process of developing Vine videos to share, and of course we point to our Twitter YouTube channel when we have something new," says Collins. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a video is just, well, better. It makes the candidate feel like they're in the office–and Twitter has a really cool office. There are multiple instances of the Vine video app being used on the @JoinTheFlock account, and all serve to showcase what a wonderful place Twitter is to work. One employee took a six second video of the new yoga studio in the office: Within the header of the @JoinTheFlock profile, you will find a link to what might be the page's most effective recruiting tactic: a link to the YouTube video "At Twitter, The Future is You." As Collins says, the video "was created to be 'the worst recruiting video ever' by our internal team." The tongue-in-cheek tone of the video worked. Collins notes that it "drew a lot of applicants, and showed our style and humor—our CEO [Dick Costello] even participated. 5. Connect with CandidatesTwitter's approach, as you can see, is multi-pronged. They showcase their culture in a way that makes the company look attractive to prospective employees, by sharing current employees and hiring managers' Tweets and using multimedia to allow a glimpse into the day-to-day life at the company. All these tactics highlight Twitter's openness to potential applicants. But do they follow through and respond directly to applicants who Tweet at the @JoinTheFlock handle? According to Collins, "Yes, we do Tweet directly at candidates who appear qualified, point them to our current listings. These exchanges make the process much more personal." In addition to connecting with candidates personally, Twitter's recruiters also use the platform to garner information about candidates that would otherwise be unavailable through traditional recruiting processes. "Many times, we look on Twitter to vet candidates for their style, their communicative prowess, their approach to the world," says Collins. "It gives a great lens into one's personality and interests, and adds a lot of texture and sensibility—things you can't see easily on a resume." In the end, Twitter is a great way to expose new people to what your company has to offer. If you follow these tips from Twitter's own recruiting team, your company has the potential to grow its following and its talent pool—and at an astounding rate. Just in the course of this writing, @JoinTheFlock has gained 200 new followers. So, get Tweeting!" MY PERSPECTIVE: It's not Quite that Simple I'd like to add some perspective to this interview with Twitter. Something to keep in mind is that social media recruiting works well for active but less for passive candidates, who are often in highest demand. Having a well-known brand does not hurt either. There is ample proof that social media can help fill jobs; but it depends on what kind of job you are trying to hire for. Step one is to be very clear on what exactly you are looking for. Social media works better for recruiting active than passive talent It seems relatively straightforward to recruit active employees via social media, i.e. people who are actively searching for a new role. Brands like Taco Bell and UPS have created Pinterest boards, Twitter handles and Facebook pages, dedicated exclusively to this purpose. Obviously, they frequently hire for jobs that don't require a high-level of education and have many seekers. But this approach might not work if you are looking for a highly qualified super star; somebody who is currently employed and might not even be thinking about making a move. In this case, posting your job on LinkedIn or Twitter is unlikely to have much impact. Combine social and traditional for passive recruiting Jim Coughlin, Executive Recruiter at Dynamic says that for passive talent, a social media strategy alone might not work, especially if your business is not a well-known brand. Ask yourself: Why would somebody who is in high-demand leave their current job to join your company? The Jobvite Social Recruiting Survey found that: "Recruiting passive candidates is the most popular tactic in competitive recruiting." One way to do that is with LinkedIn Recruiter, one of LinkedIn's Talent Solutions. Targets can be qualified and then contacted via LinkedIn InMails, which is where the skill of the recruiter comes in. You'll either need a qualified in-house resource or outsource the process, as talking somebody out of a job and into a new job is neither quick nor easy. The best way to get the highest quality candidates is to encourage your (happy) employees to promote your job openings on their own social media channels and in-person. Referrals trump everything else!  |
| Did You Know? The Collaborative Economy is a $110B Market Posted: 19 Jan 2014 07:15 AM PST Statistics and expert opinions alike support the idea that the collaborative economy has the potential to be exceptionally profitable for vendors and buyers alike. And, because profits are so closely linked to an organization's innovation efforts, it's imperative that businesses keep a focused ear to the ground as new data and trends surface about the expanding peer-to-peer marketplace. An Emerging GoldmineAccording to MIT Sloan Expert Jaime Contreras, the collaborative economy is far more than just a rapidly growing, nouveau approach to business; it could actually turn out to be a billion-dollar cash cow. A 110-billion-dollar cash cow, to be exact. From MITS: "Today the sharing economy — the peer-to-peer exchange of goods and services — is being called next big trend in social commerce, and represents what some analysts say is a potential $110 billion market. Internet technology and access to information allow us to share our belongings with others more easily than ever before and wring value out of stuff we already own. That, coupled with many people's desire to lead greener, less consumptive lives, is driving this trend." Tapping into your company's potential to participate in the sharing economy will likely prove to be a critical component of business strategy going forward; it's yet another distinguishing factor between sustainable growth and market irrelevance. The Proof is in the PurposeWith innovation consistently top-of-mind for business leaders everywhere, identifying where products and services fit into a collaborative economy is a challenge that must be faced with expenditures in mind, risks vetted, and a close look at industry trends. Says James Bradfield Moody, Founder and CEO of Tushare: "Collaborative consumption and the sharing economy is now where social media was a few years ago and is fast growing. Time named collaborative consumption one of the '10 Ideas that will change the world'. A World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders study points to projections suggesting the 'sharing' and 'rental' economies will generate $US3.5 billion in revenue in 2013, and grow to as big as $US110 billion over the next few years, demonstrating that a collaborative economy can transform the way we live, work and consume. Although financial and environmental factors are two key pillars of the sharing economy, happiness and a genuine intent of spreading joy is linked strongly to the growth of sharing platforms. In a master's research project more than 84% of the Dutch respondents expressed interest in participating in collaborative consumption of some sort…Businesses can learn from the sharing economy [through its] strong ability to deliver purpose. For businesses and marketers, the opportunity exists to embrace the sharing economy's model's pillars – cost, environment and happiness, as change agents to create a sense of value and build brand equity amongst consumers. Brands that successfully sell their purpose, rather than their services, have much more potential to success in driving loyalty and building community over the long term. And a clear and compelling purpose has the potential to give a brand the opportunity to more effectively connect with its core audience and market."  |
| How To Deliver On Your Brand Promise Posted: 19 Jan 2014 05:15 AM PST Brand Promise Must Be EarnedIf brands are to be human than they cannot expect a single statement or look to define their identity. Just as people are defined not by one instance, but by a way life, brands must live and breathe their values consistently over time to earn the trust of consumers. The Gap Between Statements and Performance It's a lot easier to say something than it is to actually do it. Almost anyone can make declarative statements. Only some will actually follow through. The gap between what we say and do can be wide. As a culture, we've come up with a lot of sayings that describe this situation:
The Importance of Brand Promise The same concepts apply to brands. It's not enough for brands to make statements. They have to follow through. They must communicate values through actions. Building a strong brand identity requires proving a brand promise through the entire collection of brand experiences. When brands don't follow through, a lot is at stake. If you don't deliver on your brand promise, you risk losing credibility, trust, and loyalty.
When people trust a brand: 83% will recommend it to other people. 82% will use its products and services frequently. 78% will look to it first for the things they want. 78% will give its new products and services a chance. 50% will pay more for its products and services. 47% believe it will inform them about products and services they will like. (Source: Concerto Marketing Group)
Strong Brands and Believability – Google vs. Microsoft Think about Microsoft's "Bing it On" campaign, which tried to persuade people to believe that real people chose Bing's search results over Google. It didn't work. Google's brand is just too strong. Search Engine Land's Greg Stirling described the immunity of Google's brand in an article titled, "Better Than Google" Claims: Why Doesn't Anyone Believe Them?" "The combination of Google's brand strength, the perception that nobody can match its search R&D, as well as the public's comfort with the Google UX ("the Google habit") make assailing Google with any sort of "evidence" extremely difficult. Indeed, the majority of the public (perhaps especially bloggers and the tech press) seem all but immune to the notion that anything could possibly outperform Google." Managing Healthcare Brand Touchpoints But how can healthcare brands learn from this? You might be saying to yourself, "oh that's easy for Google to do," or, "those are consumer-facing brands with products that are easier to sell, I have a more complicated buying process and more stakeholders to please." Resist the temptation to come up with excuses about why a healthcare brand could somehow evade the rules for trust, loyalty, and credibility. These principles hold age-old truths. Many companies mistakenly think that one campaign, one website, or one ad can define the brand. Each communication is one piece of a mosaic. To have a true brand identity, companies need to be dedicated to creating and maintaining the brand across all touch points with a mindset toward the greater picture. Healthcare companies must remember to focus on brand by aligning the brand promise with the brand experience at all touch points. Companies need brand strategies to ensure that every marketing interaction delivers on brand promise and is aligned with overall business objectives. Key Takeaways Strong brands build brand identity and deliver on the brand promise through:
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| Why Should I Learn Social Media When I Can Do It? Posted: 18 Jan 2014 10:09 AM PST Social Media is easy right? You just set up an account on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and all the other Social Media platforms start posting and you're away – wrong! You can't simply read a few articles about being a Lawyer, Accountant or Business Professional and simply become an expert, so why is Social Media any different? So many people think that gaining certificates or learning Social Media courses isn't necessary – well that's a slap in the face for the Social Media industry and the professionals within. In fact it's an insult to the entire concept of education. Let's explore why learning Social Media helps to compliment on the job experience. Decision Making Whether you're a Marketing Professional or Business Owner you must avoid making mistakes at all costs. Whilst it's true that people learn by making mistakes it should be noted that making mistakes on Social Media negatively impacts your customers and business. Why would you risk gambling with your clients business by refusing to learn about Social Media? – that's just arrogant and dangerous. Mistakes can be prevented and decision making improved if people take the time to learn about Social Media from accrediting bodies and companies. Trial and error isn't an effective or advisable method of decision making. Timeless Fundamentals of Social Media Social Media isn't a stand-alone discipline, it incorporates SEO, Content Marketing, Lead Generation, Sales, HR, Customer Service, Advertising, Marketing Integration and so much more. To understand the multi-functional use of Social Media one must firstly learn the basic fundamentals. The most common complaint about learning Social Media is that the design of courses can't keep up with the rapidly changing pace of Social Media. Yes platforms change, new ones appear and older ones evolve but there remains a set of fundamentals which can stand the test of time. Social Media is a place to connect and engage with human beings, building relationships and being social is the key to success on Social Media. Once you've formed relationships with your target audience the concept of sharing relevant, useful and informative information will always be an area of importance regardless of how fast Social Media changes. Analysing your Social Media activity and customer responses require the use of on-site or 3rd party tools making the concept of testing and measuring timeless. New tools and apps are constantly being created, you don't need to know them all – simply how they should be used and the benefits they reap. The fact that Social Media changes so frequently, this should encourage educators to provide fresh material and certainly cannot be accused on being static or out of date. Experience I spent the 1st 30 years of my life with a somewhat anti-academic approach to work and my career until I realised that I couldn't gain the experience I needed so much as I lacked the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed. It's a classic example of the chicken and egg, how can you gain experience unless my skills are in demand? Of course you need experience to prove you can apply what you've learned, but you need to learn 1st. Do you think Social Media certificates and courses are a waste of time?  |
| Posted: 18 Jan 2014 06:50 AM PST Google+ has been with us for more than 2 years now, and still many brands consider it as a secondary fiddle to Facebook and Twitter.However, Google+ has improved a lot in the past 2 years adding and getting rid of a lot of features to make the user experience more immersive in the vast layer of Google services we use everyday. Many Brands had jumped on the Google+ bandwagon when the service was just introduced and their pages have been a barren land since then due to lack of vision/improper planning.If you are a Business or a Brand who is still looking to harness the power of Google+, you can look at the below aspects to ensure you have the right Google+ strategy from 2014 onwards for your Brand. Google+ Branding: Now a days, your social media owned pages create your Brand's online identity.The last thing a Google+ active user would want is a non branded & empty Google+ Brand page which was created 2 years ago and has no posts since. The Google+ Branding includes making use of all the features which Google+ provides for Business Pages. Make sure your domain is linked with your Google+ page. Tagline and Introduction is also provided which acts as a gateway for new fans to find out more about you (Works like Facebook Pages 'Info' Tab). However, the Introduction Panel in Google+ offers Rich Text formatting options (including linkbacks to your websites for reference) which can be used to your advantage.The 'Links' section on the other hand can be highlighted for letting the Fans know that your Brand can also be followed on other social media networks and enable discovery about new products and offerings. Below is a good example of how 'Zomato' uses Google+ to highlight it's offerings and enable discovery of their platform to the new audience who are visiting their Page for the first time. Engage Differently: Many of the Indian Brands i have seen are pasting the same content from Facebook (Some have even auto-scheduled tweets posted on their Google+ Pages) and lack any engagement strategy as far as Google+ is concerned. However, one thing which can be utilised if crafted perfectly and are exclusive for the Google+ users are .gif formats. According to the latest Social Media Statistics , over 300 Million active Users are reported on Google+ and animated GIF's are the most engaging types of post found on Google+. You can always see one or the other .gif format post in the 'Whats Hot' section on Google+. If inline with the Brand messaging and humor, GIF's can serve a hot topic of discussion revolving your brand (can be something on the current topic or your niche with a touch of humor added)
Utilize 'Circles' Intelligently: Shared Circles can act as a discovery feature for your Business followers to connect not only with your Brand but also with people of similar interests. You can create a Circle highlighting your 'Team Members' who are managing your social media presence so that your customers can get in personal contact with them for some emergency issues and have a personal connect. You can segment your 'Customers' from 'Potential Influencers' and use the feature during public events of your Brand (If you are hosting a Hangout, distribute the circle of attendees for the event enabling a platform for them to know each other (via your Brand event) Use Hangouts to Connect:
Flipkart is one Brand which extensively uses Hangouts to connect customers to celebrities and utilise Google+ to it's potential. However, they could have cross promoted their recent hangouts to their other social platforms (They do have a sizeable audience on Facebook & Twitter, so it makes sense to leverage those platforms accordingly) as well to increase the hype surrounding the same. Participation in Google+ Communities: Google+ Communities serve a great platform to connect and discuss over similar interests.There are two types of Communities on Google+ (Very Active or Very Much dead). You have to ensure that you choose the earlier one and participate in such communities (or create your own if there is no community relating to your niche of products). Crowdsourcing Ideas can be a great concept via your Google+ Community (Maybe a topic for the next Hangout you can organise on a specific subject). Just ensure you just don't spam your links (as many of SEO guys still DO in Google+) but converse with others on a community Ford which was one of the early adopters of the Platform has created a Ford Community where Ford owners can post photos of the Ford Cars they own (or love) and has an active participation for all the Brand enthusiasts. SEO is going Social: SEO and Social Media is being used interchangeably regularly as the days go by and Google+ being the brainchild of the largest search engine, it is being integrated in all of their services. Google Search is encapsulating Google+ factors in their results. Below is an example when you search for a Brand on Google and their respective recent Google+ posts are displayed along with the option to 'Follow' the brand on Google+ People who +1 the Brand or any content related to the website, their Circles are more likely to see the content/website rank higher in the search results. Here is a great piece by Mark Traphagen on how he achieved higher ranks in search for his consistent Google+ presence. Bonus Tips:
Google has reiterated many times, that they are treating Google+ as a social layer to their services and it is here to stay. And with a host of new features and integration with Google Services (Search,Android,Drive,YouTube) it would be criminal for Brands to not jump in and reap profits out of this social platform. With Facebook making it difficult for Brands to reach out to their own Fans and letting them pay for it, it would be interesting to see if Brands do go for a Google choice social network. What methodologies would you recommend for Brands to succeed in Google+ starting 2014? Thoughts and Feedback welcome on the article  |
| Posted: 18 Jan 2014 06:45 AM PST Google's Eric Schmidt says the mobile versus desktop war is over, and mobile has won. Businesses looking to find new customers and build awareness need include mobile SEO efforts in their marketing strategy, or get left behind. Forrester Research, Inc., estimates that the mobile paid search market will reach $3.8 billion by the end of 2013, but businesses looking ahead need to invest even more into mobile. Mobile Usage in 2014 and Beyond Take a walk around any mall in America and it is easy to notice people staring down at their smartphones instead of the carefully designed and meticulously tested displays at the front of stores. Smart phones are no longer a rarity; they're a constant companion for a large and growing segment of the population who searches, shops and makes decisions on the go. As of right now, at least 72 percent of mobile phone owners in the U.S. are carrying smartphones. That number is expected to rise to 86 percent by 2017. To put that in perspective, that's more than the number of people with internet access at home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. As the chart below shows, mobile search is commonplace today among U.S. online adult smartphone users in the U.S. and EU-7, and the percentage of tablet and smartphone searchers is nearly as high as PC searchers. Adjusting to the Mobile Medium For years, businesses looking for an edge have been working to get their business on the top of the rankings, but the strategies that yielded positive returns when applied to desktop searches don't necessarily translate to success on a mobile platform. Businesses need to adjust tactics to the mobile medium in order to capitalize on the power of local search. First, because people use their phones differently than desktops, mobile SEO keywords should be adjusted to meet the types of content that mobile users seek. One example cited by Forrester Research, Inc., is that an auto insurance company updated its mobile ad copy and landing page to address roadside assistance needs after discovering that many mobile clicks were from people with immediate service needs, such as drivers with flat tires. The result? A 61.4 percent increase in service calls in the first month. Forrester Research, Inc. argues that those results were not a fluke, and that they are repeatable for marketers who use mobile strategically as part of their digital marketing efforts. Consumers use different keywords on the go compared to at home because they have different needs, they're searching on a smaller screen and because they don't have a keyboard. To find the keywords that work for a specific business, marketers need to think like consumers and use the analytics already at their disposal, which may have the ability to break down what search terms mobile users use to find a specific site. Shrinking Screen Means Shrinking Margin of Error Search engine rankings mean more in the mobile world because of the size of the screen. Take a look at the image below. The visibility on the first page of a desktop is almost equal to two pages worth of results on a mobile device. Website design, structure, usability and speed are also factors in mobile search. For example, Google ranks mobile sites poorly if they have faulty redirects, Flash-enabled content, or a page-load time of longer than one second. Businesses looking to optimize for mobile should also design websites specifically for mobile users. For example, Chico's has a mobile site with its own, unique URL and information architecture to suit a mobile user's needs; such as locating a nearby-store, calling or requesting mobile purchase support. Customers use a mobile website for different reasons than they do on their desktop computer, so marketers should cater to those users, in order to provide them the most relevant content. Conclusion Mobile optimization is a must for any business looking to take advantage of the growing number of potential customers searching and buying on smartphones and other mobile devices. As the number of people using their mobile devices continues to grow, marketers need to adapt their practices and their digital offers to accommodate the mobile platform, which may include two separate lists of SEO keywords or a separate mobile website optimized specifically for what mobile users want.  |
The 1900s through 1960s was known as the Age of Manufacturing. The 1990s through 2000s was called the Age of Information. For the next several decades, businesses will be adapting to the Age of the Customer, a new business cycle where the power has shifted back to the people, and engagement will mean everything.
Seminars can be hosted using 'Hangouts' feature on a niche subject relevant to your Brand (Be it B2B or B2C). This without the expense of Travel and lodging will obviously be a cost effective solution which can work for you and help your community make relevant discussions and knowledge transfer. The 'Hangouts on Air' (HOA) feature can be used for live streaming your product demos and launches. The streaming can then be re-used on your YouTube Channel for distribution. The Reddit type 'AMA' (Ask Me Anything) can also be a feature which can be embedded with Google Hangouts where you can tie up with a well know celebrity in your niche (or it can be the CEO of your own company) and help users directly connect & engage with your Brand.
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