How a Proactive Social Media Strategy Helps Business

Consumers are now spending more time on social media networks than any other form of the web. It is amazing how fast social media sites and new ideas are spreading on line. What is your business doing to take advantage of a proactive social media strategy?

Related post: Find your Content Marketing Creative Ideas

Facebook has a monthly audience of nearly a billion visitors.  That’s a B as in billion. Other top sites, like Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn, attract hundreds of millions.  By now, nobody doubts the power of social platforms, although few marketers have been able to exploit them as fully as they desire.

As Harvard’s Mikołaj Piskorski makes clear in his new book, A Social Strategy, businesses have a long way to go before they truly begin to unlock the potential of the social web.  Most marketers, in fact, use social media much as they would ordinary media—to broadcast messages. We are still not working as hard as we can on engagement and building relationships.

And the real potential lies in building relationships and utilizing social platforms to create solutions for customers’ social problems.  While consumers are understandably skittish about corporations interjecting themselves their personal conversations, they appreciate the opportunity to meet and build relationships with others.  And that, it turns out, this is an enormous opportunity.

That’s why it’s important to make the distinction between a digital strategy that involves social platforms and a true social strategy.  For a social strategy to succeed, simply joining the conversation is not enough.  You must lead it.

Here are some good ways you can capitalize on social media and improve your customer engagement and relationship building. Put these seven social elements to use in your business’s social media strategy:

Market Research

Nothing new here, as this was always important to a business. What is new is the access to millions of consumer communications, which represents a gold mine of data, available at the low cost of your ability to mine it.

Public Relations

Social networks represent a direct channel into consumers. You need to craft new, compelling messages for them, without selling.

Brand Marketing

Increase the value of your brand through this communications channel. Reinforce old relationships, build new ones, and stretch the real lifetime of both with the value utilities you can provide.

Related post: Social Media Campaigns to Stimulate Learning

Customer Support

Many ways to add value to the products and services you provide, while increasing your image.

New Product / Service / Business Model Development

Leverage the public pool of ‘collective brain’ to define and test new market opportunities.

Consumer Education

Create valuable discussion boards and other means to respond to ‘asks the expert’ type of information. Ask your customers for information / education they would like to see.

Promotions

Reach more customers with added communications channels. Integrate all of your channels to improve on the information and messages you provide.

Social Listening

Social media gives us a great opportunity to listen in on what people are saying (with lots of emphasis on listening).  It has been long known that word of mouth is incredibly powerful, and I’d say it is the best marketing technique in one’s arsenal.

 Social listening tools are still somewhat primitive, but they are improving quickly and are already being deployed to help monitor conventional marketing efforts in real time.

Rishad Tobaccowala, on his blog, gives a nice overview of social listening.  Among his insights is that you shouldn’t keep your efforts sequestered in an isolated social unit any more than you would wall off other types of research.  Rather, you need to make sure to integrate social listening into your overall marketing and customer service efforts.

He also makes the apt observation that heavy influencers are not necessarily heavy users (in fact, they don’t need to consume your product at all).  So social media may be the only real shot you have to interact with some of those who can affect how your brand is perceived.

Another nice thing about social listening is how easy it is to integrate it into the rest of your marketing intelligence.  It can help shape and augment focus groups, monitor mass media campaigns and combine with other real time resources such as Google Insights.

The bottom line

Social media is a ‘pull’ and not a ‘push’ medium. It is two way conversations … where response time is very important.

By creating a social media mindset and culture within your business, you will be amazed at how your customer base and relationships can grow.

Being social with a great positive engagement isn’t a new way of marketing; it’s a way of doing business. Follow these simple tips and you will be leading the way.

How many of these strategies have you tried in your business? Please share a story or two about some of your social media campaigns.

Utilize These Tips on Brand Marketing and Never Worry About It Again

Brands are verbs. What they do matters much more than what they say. So says these tips on brand marketing.

tips on brand marketing
Tips on brand marketing.

Is your business doing very well, but you are still wondering whether you should be making changes for continuous improvement?
Like improving effective brand marketing? We recently received that question from Grace at Fresh Books. It is a frequent question we receive from clients.
Check out our thoughts on creative marketing.
Related: How to Frame Marketing Messages for Optimum Engagement
First, a word about Freshbooks. They are a cloud-based accounting software service designed for owners of the types of small client-service businesses that send invoices to clients and get paid for their time and expertise.
From my research online, they appear to be doing incredibly well. And so I would conclude that their brand, branding, and brand marketing must be doing well also.
Let me point out that Freshbooks is not a client of ours. Grace simply asked me to take a look at their online presence and answer this question for them in the way of a blog that I post on my consultancy’s website.
This is what I agreed to do because I believe it is such a pertinent topic for many businesses. I will do this task by simply studying their online presence, with no further discussion with them.

What is branding in business?

But first, let’s first be sure we share a common understanding of brands and branding. There is a brand, and there is branding. One is a noun, and one is a verb.
But the funny thing is that when it comes to what defines a brand and what defines your branding, the noun and the verb are switched.
Branding is defined by things like a logo, the look and feel of website copy, and all the visual details that go into managing the brand. It sends out a vibe, and it’s made up of many things.
A brand, on the other hand, is defined by a company’s actions. How do you serve the customer? What interesting service do you offer?
How do you approach relationships with business partners and vendors? A brand is also by what you want to stand for.
The most important thing to remember, it’s not about you in the sense that you are in control. You are not. But you can influence.
Your brand represents a collection of your customers’ perceptions of how they see you, how they feel about you, and what they say about you. It communicates and influences every time it touches a customer.
In a world of abundant choice, such influence is crucial for business success. So despite Freshbooks’ brand marketing success, there are always ways to be better.
Let’s examine some ideas on this subject:

Tips on brand marketing … purpose

The objective here is to define the company’s existence above and beyond making money. What does Freshbooks stand for beyond being a successful software company?
None really visible. As they step up their game, now would be a great time to build and market this brand’s purpose.

 

Tips on brand marketing … compelling value propositions

Freshbooks does a very good job of defining several very good value propositions, such as a user-friendly interface, ease of use, and award-winning support team.
We suggest going deeper with these statements by validating details from customer users. A great way to do this would be to use customer stories to extend the value propositions beyond the products and services.
Become defined by what you make happen, focusing on the customer’s end state resulting metrics.

make a difference
Can you make a difference?

Make a difference

Making a difference builds on your value propositions. Strong value shows the difference that the customers see.
We recommend adding to your list of value propositions and supporting them with details of proof from customer results.

 

Tips on brand marketing … deliver on promises

Freshbooks uses many great customer testimonials and referrals. However, they could do a better job of pointing back to brand promises.
We believe Freshbooks could make explicit promises in their value propositions. Feature metrics and offer guarantees behind the promises.
They should use actual customer experience to find the best metrics.

Brand marketing strategy … engage customers

Great brands drive greater engagement by creating emotional responses. They make learning about their products and services fun.
Freshbooks offers free 30 day trials of their products, which is excellent.
They can make this more engaging by offering a customer support team to work with these potential new customers.

Brand marketing
Brand marketing.

Customer trust

Customer trust in this world is everything, isn’t it? Freshbooks must be doing it pretty well.
We suggest Freshbooks take a page from the FedEx brand by becoming synonymous with “reliability.”
Define your reliability benefit to customers in the most straightforward terms possible.
Offer reliability in everything you do — from your products and services to your website and communications.
Make your promise peace of mind for your customers.

 Help consumers help themselves

The best brands offer lots of help/advice …giving value in every interaction. You see this very often with online brand marketing and Freshbooks does this well also.
We believe our earlier idea of using customer support heavily in the free trial could be an excellent way to highlight the customer support team.

 

Highest quality customer service

We don’t have any results to examine here, but we recommend Freshbooks steal a page from the Zappos Brand.
There is no secret here. Zappos became Zappos because of the fanatical customer support it offered. That is the company’s brand.
As Tony Hsieh, the Zappos CEO, put it, back in 2003, we thought of ourselves as a shoe company that offered great service.
Today, we really think of the Zappos brand as about great service, and we just happen to sell shoes. Freshbooks could easily do the same to strengthen its brand marketing

 

Tips on brand marketing … website design

 For the best brands, the design is more than a shiny wrapper. It is the brand. Freshbooks needs more emphasis in this area with visuals and more professional visual influence.

Takeaways

There can never be enough focus on continuous improvement of brand marketing, independent of how well the business is doing. It seems Freshbooks is looking to take its success to a new level.
This is an excellent time to make a statement about their brand marketing. Changing before you have to is always a good idea.
Would you like to participate in a free evaluation of your business marketing where our output is published on our blog like Freshbooks? If you are interested, please send us an email at Mike@digitalsparkmarketing.com.
 
Need some help in capturing more customers from your brand marketing design strategies?
 
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your marketing, branding, and advertising?
Do you have a lesson about making your marketing strategy better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
 
Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+Twitter, and LinkedIn.  
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change.  We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. 
  
More reading on marketing strategy from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Case Studies to Evaluate New World Marketing Concepts
How to Frame Marketing Messages for Optimum Engagement
Some Great Story and Storytelling Examples to Study
Jaw-Dropping Guerrilla Marketing Lessons and Examples 
Like this short blog? Follow Digital Spark Marketing on LinkedIn or add us to your circles for 3-4 short, interesting blogs, stories per week.
 

Learn Market Penetration Branding from the Gorilla Glue Brand

Before I get into my story on the market penetration branding from the Gorilla Glue Brand, let me introduce the topic of start-up branding.

Gorilla Glue Brand
Using market penetration branding?

There are certainly many new start-ups looking to take advantage of change driven by the internet, yes?
And there are many looking to win the online branding battle also. And if your business is looking to improve its online branding, where should you turn?
The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity.
Peter Drucker
Before we continue, let me ask you a question. 
What works best for branding design in your business? We would love to hear what it was. Would you do us a favor and post it in the comments section below? Be the one who starts a conversation.
With the advent of the Internet, the number of marketing options available to both budding and experienced entrepreneurs has become staggering.
It was over eleven years ago when Mark Zuckerberg and his college roommates were checking out the cute girls on campus with a “hot or not” approach on a program called “Facemash.”
Today, millions of people like me can be watching their distant grandchildren, nieces and nephew come of age online through pictures and videoes.
They were posted on the internet, thus dubbing them cute or adorable. Sometimes it is difficult to remember what life was like before the World Wide Web gave birth to the many social media networking sites.
When it came to launching a new social scene online, buddies Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger knocked one out of the ballpark when they created a photo-sharing app called Instagram.
Just after midnight on October 6, 2010, Kevin put their creation in Apple’s online app store. Their picturesque creation exploded on the internet with over 10,000 downloads in the first few hours.
The duo scrambled to keep up with that massive internet traffic. Less than two years later, Facebook acquired Instagram for a cool $1 billion in cash and stock.
So what do those examples have to do with branding? Let’s go back to Gorilla Glue to connect the thoughts.

Gorilla Glue brand … market penetration branding

To establish itself as a new brand in a commodity market, Gorilla Glue differentiated its product with unique features and benefits.
However, competing with a strong market leader like Elmer as an unknown brand wasn’t enough.
To strengthen their marketing campaign, they came up with a highly engaging online retail experience to engage customers and create memorable experiences with the brand.
Much like Facebook and Instagram.

 

Gorilla Glue brand … market penetration strategy example

Don’t think a branding strategy is necessary? Check out the Gorilla Glue image below and check out their website at www.gorillaglue.com.

brand marketing
Pay attention to brand marketing.

Remarkable is a word many marketers are familiar with. Especially those that are fans of Seth Godin. Seth has written a lot about remarkable branding design.
Remarkable … it’s something brands around the world are trying to be.
Being noticed is not the same thing as being remarkable. Seth Godin talks about how running down the street naked will get you noticed, but it won’t accomplish much. It’s easy to pull off a stunt, but it’s not useful.
Your brand doesn’t need to do crazy things to grab attention. And certainly not to be remarkable.  You don’t want to border the line of insane and outlandish.

Coca Cola Marketing: 14 Ways They Create the Perfect Brand

In his book, Purple Cow, Seth Godin talks about how remarkability lies in the edges. The biggest, fastest, slowest, richest, easiest, most difficult. It doesn’t usually matter which edge; it matters more that you’re at (or beyond) the edge.
Here is the thing: don’t follow in the footsteps of other businesses. If you do, you’ll find that your brand marketing is boring. So Gorilla Glue went a step beyond. They made some very good promises about their product.

market development strategy
Market development strategy.

At the heart of all brands is the promise they commit to delivering to their clients. No matter how clever or memorable their brand image, if they fail to deliver on that promise, they fail.
And those promises represent what the brand stands for. Feelings and emotion are critical in the way customers are influenced.
Failure to deliver on your promise or to be what you stand for is like a politician promising no new taxes.
Mark my words. Those kinds of promises are a prescription for a marketing disaster.

 

The bottom line

 

A significant portion of a company’s value is intangible, so a strong brand is a significant competitive advantage. As Philip Kotler wrote:
The art of marketing is the art of brand building. If you are not a brand, you are a commodity. Then the price is everything, and the low-cost producer is the only winner.
Brands, marketing, and communication have long been highly related. From TV ads and press releases to events and endorsements, the way consumers view a brand will influence their decision making.
Crafting and reinforcing a brand image has long been a top priority for marketers.
To be effective in this new era, we as marketers need to see our jobs differently. No more just focusing on metrics like clicks, video views or social media shares.
We must successfully integrate our function with other business functions to create entire brand experiences. These experiences need to serve the customer all the way through their experiences throughout the business.
We can do better. Much better. But first, we need to stop seeing ourselves as crafters of clever brand messages. We need to become creators of positive brand experiences.
 

 

SMASHING BRAND IMAGE
Looking to create a smashing brand image?

 

What is your business doing to engage customers online and create a WOW experience? Do you have any examples that you would like to share?
 
Need some help in capturing more customers from your branding design strategies? Such as creative branding ideas to help the differentiation with potential customers?
 
Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job.
Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your continuous learning for yourself and your team?
Do you have a lesson about making your brand marketing better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
 
Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+Twitter, and LinkedIn.  
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change.  We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.
  
More reading on brands and branding from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
What the Lego Brand Teaches About Branding a Business
What 10 Killer Brands Stand for; It’s Personal
Building Key Requirements for a Strong Brand Identity
Branding Your Business … Examples from the Zappos Culture
 
Like this short blog? Follow Digital Spark Marketing on LinkedIn or add us to your circles for 3-4 short, interesting blogs, stories per week.