Facebook is becoming more than a place to track down those people you do not really keep in touch with. Now Facebook wants to take word-of-mouth marketing to a whole new level. Their new approach is to pay for ads that have your profile picture attached to it. It is another way to market your brand preferences. By getting Facebook users to recommend products to friends, they are narrowing down their targeted audiences.
Not only does Facebook allow you to post your interests on your personal profile, but now whenever you make a purchase or a rental, it will ask you if you would like to attach your picture to the brand or type of product that you just ordered. They will basically try to partner with companies and keep up with the activity of Facebook users on those sites. Facebook is not giving the information to marketers and they are just letting it roll.
It is true that nothing means more than when it comes from a friend. This is the easiest, and smartest way to market a brand and to easily target those that will most likely be interested in the same things. By accompanying the ads with friends’ comments, this takes away a largely commercial feel from the Facebook site as well. This concept is social marketing at work.
However, is this really what we want our future to look like? I mean yeah, marketers will be getting a gain out of it and your friends will be able to see what you are interested in. But it could turn your face and comment into an advertisement. Like most social network dealings, you must be careful what information you have made available about yourself and who you offer it to. You could become a “brand ambassador.”
This sounds like an effective marketing idea, but will it really hold out this way without marketers eventually getting involved?
I sat in on my first initial marketing meeting today as an intern. The meeting was a chance for me to gain some insight into the marketing process. The client came in to describe what he wants to do to market his upcoming event. The event that will bring together D.C.’s digital economy. So, the first question that was asked in the meeting was: who is D.C.’s digital economy?
The conference will be an opportunity for technology professionals in the D.C. community to connect. We spent the meeting narrowing down specific audiences and brainstorming the best ways to reach them. Each target requires slightly altered messages and mediums, whether it’s print, radio, or otherwise.
In today’s crowded marketplace, it is vital to find your niche and target your advertising directly to them. Although today’s technology makes it easy to potentially reach every single person, it is not cost effective. While some people may be excited to hear about using technology in education, others won’t care. They may want to hear about technology in marketing and advertising (like me).
Now I’m looking forward to helping with the next step: creating a formal proposal for the client. I’m sure I’ll learn many more marketing lessons along the way, but in the meantime, any suggestions for a beginner?
I like everyone else in the social media world loves twitter. I use it daily to communicate with friends, find out about my business and just keep up on gossip. I tend to write more personal stuff than business stuff and I have a decent number of followers. Not like some of those crazy people with thousands upon thousands of followers.
This makes me wonder about the professional stuff I put out on twitter. To a certain degree many of the pr/marketing types out there are spamming twitter with links and professional information. On one hand you can say that if a person doesn’t want to follow a pr/marketing pro they don’t have to, but on the other hand it makes me wonder if when I put professional stuff out on twitter does it devalue my online presence.
I have begun to wonder if pr/marketing people need to put a label on their twitter handle. Something along the lines of “I will spam you every now and then,” or “read my stuff.” I certainly don’t fell what I write, or what I twitter, is spam but I am certain there are people who join twitter just to send out professional information.
As a professional I find twitter an amazing tool for connecting to people who share similar ideas. As a fan of social media I find twitter to be a fun tool for staying on top of my friends lives. Finding the perfect balance seems to be a problem. I feel that if I were to start a second twitter account I would be setting up a false persona.
I am confident that the people who follow me on twitter don’t think I am spamming them, but sometimes I worry. Do you feel that you spam or get spammed too much on twitter? Have you ever stopped following someone because you felt their tweets were too spammy? Let me know
Money is always on the top of every company’s mind, both making it and spending it. Having direct contact with clients I hear their concerns and I am constantly working with them to stretch their market dollars.
Sure every client is different but the basics of making your money work for you are always the same. We are not trying to re-invent the wheel here, we are trying to gain exposure in the most effective way. The basics of good marketing and pr can be summed up in five tips:
Have a Target:
Demographics are key for creating messaging. Sure, there might be an upfront cost to doing a little market research but your returns will be massive compared to a non-targeted campaign.
Target your Targets:
Once you have identified your targets find the best channels to reach them. Keep your ancillary communications to a minimum and really target the market you want.
Talk to a Pro:
I can hear everyone now, “here comes your sales pitch…” No really reach out to a pro and talk with them. Marketing and PR folks love to talk about what they do. I am constantly giving away market advice and just talk with people looking for help. I would prefer to help you grow your business so we can work together in the future.
Stick to the Plan:
I have seen it happen before, I have worked with a client and created a great marketing/PR plan only to have them deviate from the plan the second the ink has dried.
Track and Review:
Ever dollar you spend on marketing and PR will be wasted if you fail to track things like cost, exposures, sales and value. Having good strong analytics will let you know if your marketing plan was a good value.
These are the basics for creating a less expensive communications plan. Do you think I am on point with these suggestions or did I miss the mark? Let me know.
Frugal Fridays is going to be a regular contribution to our blog. The idea is that we are looking to provide information to our readers who are looking for inexpensive ways to improve their marketing and pr. If you have a topic or question you would like answered feel free to give me call or email me.
Stretching your marketing and pr budget is key when you run a small business. One thing I can never understand is why small business don’t take a page from big business and learn. Coca-Cola has always been one of the best brands when it comes to creating marketing campaigns.
Sure your business might not have the dollars as Coke, who does besides Coke, but using some the same techniques you can help create a brand tie in that will make your customers think of you when hear of the Olympics.
1. Discounts and Rewards
When ever an athlete or country wins a medal offer a discount to your customers.
2. Updates
Offer a news or updates through a social media site or from your home page to your customers.
3. Brand Tie In
If you sell pizza you can make an Olympic pie, if you sell widgets you can offer and Olympic widget. I think you get the idea.
4. Talk About It
Add the Olympics to your email signature or find a gold medal counter and put that widget on your website. Simple things like a congratulations to someone via your Facebook tag line or putting a banner on your site to help marry your presence and the Olympics.
5. Be Excited
Let your marketing be about the Olympics, try to think of it as support not selling something. If your customers see that you are actually interested in supporting the Olympics your customers will be more likely to support you.
These are just a few ideas on what you can do to help marry your brand and the brand of the Olympics. Brand marriage is a great way to help your company or service stay current and grow. If you want to see how Coke does it or get some more ideas on how to help your brand out check these blogs:
Donna’s Promo Talk
Wall Street Journal: Independent Street
These are just five quick tips on how you can tie your brand to the Olympics. Can you think of any other? Let me know.
