social media marketing

Google+: a platform, not the message

Google+ is here — what do you need to change about your brand message to leverage this new tool?

Nothing!

Now more than ever, your brand message needs to remain strong and consistent, and your focus needs to stay on building relationships. Don’t let new tools (like Google+) distract you from your brand message! As I continue to say, successful social media marketing is all about relationships, and the tools simply facilitate those relationships. Without the people and connections, the tools are meaningless.

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Is your brand relevant to your social media audience?

Since social media makes it so simple (quick and easy) to post your message (content) in numerous social networks, it can be tempting to spray your message around the cybersphere as far and wide as possible.  However, that method keeps you at a surface level of connection… which gets you little more than a glance.  To go deeper and have ongoing consumer relationships that result in sales, you need to be relevant and stay relevant to your audience.

This might sound like Marketing 101, but with the introduction of social media and the exponentially increased capacity for one-too-many messaging, it bears repeating:  no matter how perfectly or brilliantly worded your message is, it will not make an impact if the content itself doesn’t matter to (isn’t relevant to) your audience.

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The science of social media marketing: experiment, experiment, experiment!

There are no true experts or gurus in this social media space – we are ALL still trying to figure this out. When I said that at the 140 Character’s Conference: New York City (#140conf) the audience applauded… because we all assume that someone else has all the answers to social media marketing success.

The truth is that social media is still too new as a serious business tool for any one of us to know all the best social media marketing tactics or even understand best how to leverage every platform.

So why am I (@TedRubin) the #1 followed CMO on Twitter (and been so for close to two years) with over 54,000 followers? Because I don’t assume I know everything about social media marketing, so I focus my time on building relationships. Because I pay attention, respond to, and interact with my followers… and I am not afraid to experiment publicly to see what topics are most relevant to my network(s), and what content is most useful to them.

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Don’t overlook the Baby Boomers!

If you think that the place to reach Baby Boomers (born between 1946 – 1964) is anywhere that does not include technology, think again!  Boomers in the U.S. are technology-savvy enough to comprise 1/3 of all TV viewers, online users, social media users and Twitter users.

If that’s not enough to make you think twice about where you’re putting your social media marketing dollars, consider that there are 78 million Boomers in the U.S., many who have “shown a willingness to try new brands and products.” In fact, they spend 38.5% of CPG dollars! (source: Nielsen).  You can’t afford to overlook them!

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It’s Time to Give Your Brand Advocates a Promotion

Marketers are starting to realize that Brand Advocates are important enough to be part of our marketing strategies… but in my view, we need to take this beyond our Advocates just being “a part” of what we do.  We need to value our Advocates enough to promote them – in both meanings of the word: to bring visibility to, and to raise up.

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The importance of brand “appeal”

More and more, I like the word “appeal” and its implications for marketing and facilitating the building of relationships.

The definition of “appeal” (according to the World English Dictionary) is “the power to attract, please, stimulate, or interest.” So, if we apply that to marketing, it means thatbrands that think in terms of “appeal” are more likely to try to attract, please, stimulate, and provide interest for the consumer — all behaviors of engagement, which is the foundation of relationships.

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Authenticity increases Return on Relationship (ROR)

“It’s not authentic if everyone loves you.” – Stephen Strong (Alberto Culver) at theChicago Brand Advocacy Series.

That is a message that every marketer needs to hear loud and clear, especially as the focus on social media gets stronger and recommendations carry more purchasing weight than ever before!  The term “authenticity” gets used a lot now, but how many brands actually subscribe to being authentic, not just saying they are?

True authenticity in marketing requires brands to change their public filters.  It used to be that a whitewashed image was the way to get consumers’ notice and buy-in (literally)…but now, if brands filter out any and all slight imperfections, consumers quickly get wary.  If the only product/service reviews you allow the public to hear are about how amazing your product/service is, you quickly lose authenticity points.

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What is Your Social ID?

Brand identification is changing right along with the other shifts social media has brought about.  It is no longer as much about  the company logo, the colors or whether we use our middle initial in visual materials or not; it is now about “Social I.D.” – our voice and the way we socially present ourselves online.

What is your Social I.D.?  What identifies your brand (personal or corporate) throughout your social media interactions and offerings? If your answer includes the colors of your website, you need to think very carefully about where you are focusing your brand identity efforts.  I am not suggesting that colors and logos and graphical elements are not important, but I am suggesting that the way you interact with others online is the identification that will catch the most attention… and hold it the longest.

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The Importance of Brand Humility

Even if you are absolutely certain that your product/service is one of the best on the market, what you think of your brand is not nearly as important as what your consumers think of it and say about it.  They are, after all, the market!

“Brand humility is the only response to a fast-changing and competitive marketplace. The humble brand understands that it needs to re-earn attention, re-earn loyalty and reconnect with its audience as if every day is the first day.” – Seth Godin (in a recent blog post)

In my opinion, Seth’s message is right on target.  Brands simply cannot compete in this marketplace if they don’t make an ongoing effort to put aside ego-driven campaigns in order to genuinely engage with their consumers and potential consumers.  Relationships require humility, whether it’s personal relationships, business relationships, or brand/consumer relationships.

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Recommendations Are the New Advertising

Visa gets it – that the marketing world has changed significantly, and even the big players need to change along with it.  In fact, Visa’s head of marketing, Antonio Lucia, reported that Visa has increased their digital media investment from about 11% to at least 36%.

But Visa not just putting their money into digital media, they are also changing their approach to marketing.  Lucia said last month in his keynote at ad:tech San Francisco that Visa is now guided by three principles of social media, with one of them being “recommendations are the new advertising.”

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