Social Media on a Shoestring

In order to not become a marketing dinosaur I decided to develop a thoughtful social media strategy for my B2B clients.  This is not an easy task as the benefits are not as readily apparent as in consumer marketing.   In B2B the key decision-maker is likely to be an executive in their company (sometimes the CEO) often in their 40s or 50s.  It is hard to imagine this type of person taking the time to read tweets or Facebook in order to decide what partner they will select to work with in their business. 

And then you have the cost.  Initially my reserach indicated that you would need at least one full-time person to devote to social media to keep up with the inbound and outbound side of things.  I began to discover that you can "try" social media with less of an investment if you have a willing team of participants. First priority is to develop a blog.  This is very important in the ability to move your company up in organic search. But here is where the team comes in.  You need at least 4-6 people who are willing to post once a month.  There is nothing like frequency in blogging.  This will take some time on the part of the team members so sign up people who are willing to commit one hour per month to the project -- and, of course, people who have something interesting to say.  Then find a young staff member who is already participating in social media and have them as the point person on the other vehicles like Twitter and Facebook.

And try to put some "social" in social media.  If you have fun with it people will be more engaged in helping out for the long haul.   

Four Ways to Improve Your Brand Strategy

You might remember the classic 1979 movie Being There with Peter Sellers and Shirley MacLaine.  When working on brand strategies I like to focus on four ways of "being there" --  Befing different, Being seen, Being where customers are, Being where competitors are not. 

Being different requires a unique point of view and differentiation from competitors. Being seen includes public relations, an on-line presence, social media strategies and traditional media like advertising and promotions. Being where customers aremeans knowing where, when and how to reach customers.  If your clients or customers use Facebook and Twitter, be there.  If not, don’t follow a fad.  Being where competitors are not.This may include expansion into new markets, developing new products or services or simply finding unique avenues to reach customers and developing ideas that can be ownable.

Blogging for Fame and Fortune

In doing research for a technology client of mine I discovered that with corporate blogs marketers seem to get blogging for “fame” but not blogging for “fortune.”

My research suggested that people who read corporate blogs tend to skew toward first-time visitors (think prospects.)  Prospects start a search looking to enhance their subject matter knowledge or solve a problem.  Relevant blog content that seems likely to fit their request goes to the top of the organic search list. Those prospects then have a reason to contact the content provider and perhaps continue on to become a customer. 

And people, in general, like blog data – they think it is more honest, educational and not as hard-sell as corporate websites can be.  So it turns out, as in most things marketing-related, relevant content that provides a tangible value is the most important aspect for corporate blogs to contribute to business success.

Berlin needs a new brand strategy

I am heading off for a week in Berlin.  As I have shared my vacations plans with friends and colleagues the first question that is always asked is "Why Berlin?"  I actually have a reason.  I attended a Retail Congress a few years ago and happened to sit next to a young reporter who had spent a year in Berlin.  He told me that the former East Berlin is still very cheap to live in and so Berlin has once again become the mecca for struggling artists.  It is attracting quality and talent as it did in its former glory days during the 20s and 30s.  I also watched how areas of burgeoning creativity can quickly turn commercial (can you say SOHO?) so I thought I had better get over there pronto.  But clearly Berlin needs a better marketing strategy.  Young people know its cheap and tour books say it is a must-do if you are going to Germany but that doesn't sound like much of a differentiator to me.  Upon my return I will have more to add to "Why Berlin?"

Brand strategy and the automotive industry

In the classic "no good deed goes unpunished" I let my step-daughter borrow my car for one day. She gets in an accident (not her fault) but my car is totaled.  My wonderful little Toyota Matrix, which was completely paid off and the car I was planning to drive until the wheels fell off, was gone.  So this is where the brand strategy part comes in.  I have to get a car so I start looking at brands on the highway - they all look alike to me.  They have different logos, but they do not have a distinctive look.  I am in a quandary.  Nothing shouts "buy me."  In selection and timeline frenzy I narrow it down to a used Mini-cooper and a used Acura (odd I know.)   Here is where the brand experience comes in.  The people at Mini-Cooper were great at the dealership but then they were too busy to call me back with a final price.  I went with the Acura.  It came through a Lexus Dealer who treated me like a new car buyer and has been pretty much first-rate ever since including free car washes.  In our undifferentiated, homogenized world brands really do need to focus on creating a great customer experience.  Brand strategy delivered on an individual basis - what a concept!