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Are You Targeting the Influencers for Your Social Media Campaigns?

nicolem — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 03:20:29 +0000

I did a speaking engagement last week to a group of Sr. Executive women. When asked my advice on what is most important when looking to engage your business with social media -” I said you need to understand who your target market is and then aptly find ways to understand what their social computing behavior is and go from there.” Using the right data and traffic analysis tools – to find out who your most influential followers are and how they utilize social media tools – is the key to connecting with them and all the people that follow them and so on. So many people as I wrote in an early post a few weeks ago – get focused on building thousands of fans and or followers -rather than focusing on who that early adopter and or influencer is – for their community and the best way to communicate with them and their many followers who are part of your target market.

Most people want to just dive in and side step this strategic planning – as it is so much easier and much cheaper to just put up your own pages and get started. Which by the way I advocate – if you do not dive in – you cannot understand how this social media, networking community building, engagement and collaboration works. This must not take away from the importance of the strategy to understand who those influencers are and how to connect directly with them. Relationships can mean profiling them and having them speak about your products, providing them with special offers or product trials prior to launch. Being true with the ways that you engage them and allowing them to provide their thoughts opinions and challenges – rather than “selling” them is an honest way to say – you appreciate their support.

Mashable.com provides some great examples which is why I feature their articles so often. Author Ben Straley gives some great ideas on how to connect with your top 1%. As I said in my speech understanding where they go and how they connect is vital – but it is also important to understand how they want to connect with you. Are the on Facebook, that now commands 41% of the social media traffic as reported by comscore media or are they on Twitter, Myspace or Linkedin? Are they spectators where they read blogs and newsletters or are they posting comments and engaging with the things they like to read?

This vital information will clearly allow you to tap into sourcing the influencer you are looking for. Your commitment to them will encourage them to galvanize their followers to your community and the followers -to whom follow them – do the same. This traffic boost can only lead to growth in sales for your business and better yet a vibrant community to which you can engage and connect with the people who love what you offer.

Have you identified your influencers and the ways that you are targeting them?

Best Nicole

our brand has 10,000 Twitter () followers and 2,000 fans on Facebook (). Does that mean your social media marketing efforts are paying off? Maybe not. As the old adage goes, it’s quality, not quantity, that counts.

Recent data that Meteor Solutions collected from across more than 20 brand marketer clients shows that the type of friends, fans and followers a brand amasses on social media sites matters more than the number. On average, approximately 1% of a site’s audience generates 20% of all its traffic through sharing of the brand’s content or site links with others. And these “influencers” drive an even higher share of conversion. These very important Internet users can directly influence 30% or more of overall end actions on brand websites by recommending the brand’s site, products or promotions to friends.

As this data shows, successful social media marketing isn’t simply about amassing thousands of followers, but instead precisely identifying the most influential members of your audience and recognizing them for their value. By directly engaging one influencer with exclusive opportunities, special offers, and unique content, you are indirectly engaging thousands of other people who are part of this influencer’s social sphere.

Sounds pretty enticing, right? But the challenge in crafting a successful marketing program that activates influencers is two-fold. First, you have to use the right data and traffic analysis tools to find out who your most influential followers are. Second, you have to connect with these people in an authentic, “non-salesy” way, and truly build a relationship with them –- because if you overly “sell” to your influencers, you’ll burn a bridge and potentially turn your biggest fans into your worst detractors.

Here are a few concrete tips brands can use to get started marketing with influencers.

Find Out Who Is In Your 1%

The first step in creating a marketing program that activates influencers is to find out who these passionate people are and where they hang out online. To find out, you need to use a social media analytics tracking and measurement tool that goes beyond “listening to the conversation,” measuring website traffic, clicks on campaign links, or conversions. There are new social media analytics platforms, such as Radian6 () and ObjectiveMarketer, that allow you to pinpoint with precision which individuals are most actively sharing your brand’s links.

Find Out What Your 1% Likes to Share

After you’ve identified these individuals, use your social media analytics platform to dig down into the content they like to share most often. Do they tend to share deals and discounts? Or do they prefer to share links to your branded entertainment content, like YouTube () videos, social games and contests, or informational articles? At this stage, you can separate your 1% into groups, such as “shopping mavens” who love to pass along deals and discounts; “experts” who love to share new research, top-10 lists, how-to articles, and other educational content; “gaming gurus” who like to share information about contests and games; or “entertainers” who like to share movie trailers, YouTube clips, and social media apps.

Find Out Where Your 1% Goes to Connect and Share

Now you need to identify which social networks, blogs, forums, and websites your 1% hangs out on, and which methods they use to share your content (e-mail, social updates, tweets, etc.). One thing you’re likely to find out is that while Facebook and Twitter undoubtedly play major roles in the spread of your brand’s content, major social networking sites are not where you’re likely to find and reach your 1%.

Think about it — if you are someone extremely passionate about cars, are you really going to bore and alienate your family and friends on Facebook? Some of them might (and lose friends and followers in the process), but for the rest, they have a blog, post comments on other blogs, and interact with niche communities of like-minded influencers, advocates, and fans.

Finding these sites and communities on the web requires some sleuthing. Aside from digging deep into the traffic data provided by your social media analytics platform, another way to find these niche sites is to follow a number of active “experts” on Twitter in your topic of choice. Ask them where they go to learn about and share the content that matters most to them.

Find Out What Motivates Your 1%

Do your influencers share content about your brand in pursuit of fame, fortune, or a bit of both? Understanding what motivates your 1% to share is key to finding out what makes them tick, and what types of content they will respond to favorably.

For most people that spend time creating and sharing content, it’s not about fortune, it’s about fame. They share links with friends and their wider social network because it makes them feel important, special, and useful. That doesn’t mean influential people don’t like deals as a rule — they’re just like the rest of us in that regard. But they respond most positively to the attention and recognition they get from sharing useful content and valuable information with others.

For example, we’ve seen on several marketing programs that the percent of incremental unique visitors to a site from shared links more than doubled when the names of the top sharers where posted on an online leader board, and top-sharers were given access to exclusive content.

Make ‘Em Famous

If your data does indeed show that your influentials are more motivated by fame rather than fortune, then it’s time to recognize and reward them with incentives that are aligned with this motivation.

Use your company’s Twitter and Facebook pages to call out public achievements, like funny or useful YouTube videos on relevant topics posted by your top 1%. Blog () about an interesting article, post, or tweet an influential member of your customer base has written, and let them know what you’ve done. And make sure to extend special offers or direct access to top company executives to your influential users. A big part of making these people feel special involves granting insider access to people, deals, or information that is limited to a select few.

Conclusion

By finding and reaching out to your brand’s biggest fans, you’ll get access to thousands of customers for the price of engaging a few. But remember that it’s a two-way street. Early on, engage these folks in a dialog around what they like about your brand and products, why they like it, what they’d like to see improved, and what types of opportunities and offers they’d be most interested in receiving. Give, and you shall receive.

Online Spending Continues to Rise – A Graphic Worth a Million Words!

nicolem — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:30:57 +0000

There are many retailers that are still not online. Many claim they are not ready. Some are dabbling—but even the dabblers are unsure of how to truly leverage the success that can be attained. A few weeks ago I attended a launch at a major retailer. They have done a 360 degree turn in their brand offering and are certainly looking to expand their old reputation for a new contemporary one in order to attract a broader more modern customer. At the launch, they had some laptops sitting out with the idea that people could go and tweet from the event at the computer stations. Great intentions but from my perspective here are some ideas about how they could have kicked it out of the park.

Firstly, they had models there that were wearing the clothes, who were mingling with guests and dancing to the cool dj beats. Those models could have had smartphones or PDA’s and circulated through the crowd—taking photos with the guests and uploading those photos with tweets from their phones. No one was standing next to the laptops to explain (to those that may have been unsure) how Twitter works or to ask people to come over and tweet. They could have engaged their twitter followers to come to the event and created a “tweet up” for those that came to the event via the tweet invite. They could have had a contest, with the entry being a mention and hash tag of the event for those that were attending, and selected the winner via their tweet profile name. Simple and easy ways to get started, engage and connect with your customers online and integrate the great offline and in-store milestones—using a simple but 21st digital strategy—to begin to build the community you want to engage, as these customers are online shoppers. Both for research as well as purchasing.

I came across and article today where a diagram is worth a million words. It comes from Fast Company and is written by Maccabee Montandon. It says that online sales continue to soar—and those that are looking to refresh, rebuild or expand their brand should be aiming their efforts to this eager and willing customer base that is looking to their favorite retailers to be engaging them to shop online!

Quoted from the article and most eye opening is the following: “Perhaps the most eye-opening figure of all is the average amount that an Internet shopper spent last year: $1,006.50. Sure buys a lot of Lady Gaga downloads.” Wowza! That’s worth getting in the game!

Best Nicole

Click, Buy, Repeat: Consumers Flocking to Virtual Shopping More Than Ever

BY Maccabee MontandonThu Mar 11, 2010

It’s been the retailing story for years–and new research says it still is! Yes, online sales continue to soar, recession be damned. We were all probably at least vaguely aware of this phenomenon but to see it in such stark numbers astounds anew. Perhaps the most eye-opening figure of all is the average amount that an Internet shopper spent last year: $1,006.50. Sure buys a lot of Lady Gaga downloads. Or these.

Virtual Domination Does Not Equal Millions of Fans

nicolem — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 05:26:52 +0000

I think for many now jumping on the social media bandwagon, one area of measurement is based on the number of fans that one has. In some cases, it’s great to have hundreds of thousands of fans—IF you can lead them to click throughs on your site or directly track them to retweets of products and services or sharing via Facebook (from all of your friends to their friends and so on…). But many are, as in life, “fair-weather friends”: they come, look around, sign up…but don’t really engage or connect. Especially when you don’t have a strategy that is going to ensure that you connect with them for a direct call to action. Yes. You want a call to action. One that includes a mutual passion for the give and take that is going to be SHARED by your business and the friends/customers you are going to friend and follow.

Seth Godin wrote a post on Monday Feb. 15/10, that speaks to just this very topic. He says, “A lot of these fans and followers are faux. Sunny day friends. In one experiment I did, 200,000 followers led to 25 clickthroughs. Ouch.” Eeeeeek and ouch is RIGHT! Some businesses and people are so busy trying to build an army of fans that they forget—or don’t even think about—the strategy for a call to action that would ensure more then the 25 clickthroughs that Seth received in is experiment.

The moral of his great story and of this post: make sure you spend the time on the great ideas and actions, rather than the army of followers. Let those great ideas do the SHARING!

Best Nicole

Viral growth trumps lots of faux followers

Many brands and idea promoters are in a hurry to rack up as many Facebook fans and Twitter followers as they possibly can. Hundreds of thousands if possible.

A lot of these fans and followers are faux. Sunny day friends. In one experiment I did, 200,000 followers led to 25 clickthroughs. Ouch.

Check out the graph on the left. The curves represent different ideas and different starting points. If you start with 10,000 fans and have an idea that on average nets .8 new people per generation, that means that 10,000 people will pass it on to 8000 people, and then 6400 people, etc. That’s yellow on the graph. Pretty soon, it dies out.

On the other hand, if you start with 100 people (99% less!) and the idea is twice as good (1.5 net passalong) it doesn’t take long before you overtake the other plan. (the green). That’s not even including the compounding of new people getting you people.

But wait! If your idea is just a little more viral, a 1.7 passalong, wow, huge results. Infinity, here we come. That’s the purple (of course.)

A slightly better idea defeats a much bigger but disconnected user base every time.

The lesson: spend your time coming up with better ideas, not with more (faux) followers.

Have You Started a Conversation With Your Customers?

nicolem — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:13:10 +0000

It’s a new year and I want to know how you plan to do things differently in 2010. As I write this, I am sure many of you are now well educated on the benefits of social media in your marketing efforts and are using some of the tools to further engage, connect or begin to connect with your customer. Have you thought about how you are going to start that conversation?

For the past year, I have written about how important it is to have that conversation. Customers are so eager to tell you what their ideas are, share their challenges with you and tell you what they like and or love about your products and services. They want you to know how they have spread the news about your brand—just what you need and want to hear. Are you listening? Are you taking action to engage in that conversation by offering them rewards for their dedication, interest, passion and time? Are you providing roles for them to partner with you in a marketing effort that will help spread the word about the personal experiences they have had with you? Are the other members of your team engaging with these key customers—who can help provide a perspective of experience from your company—that you and your team may not be able to see from the inside?

It all begins with finding ways to start that conversation. Media Post Insider, one of the trade publications I read daily, has written a post with 3 great ideas that outline how you can get that conversation started— today. Darrah MacLean, the author of the post, suggests that “in our status-update-obsessed culture, people want to have their opinions heard and valued. By being a good listener, you plant the seeds of loyalty.”

Don’t put off today what you need to do for tomorrow. There is no time like the present!

Best Nicole

When was the last time you asked your subscriber base to share their thoughts? Three months ago? Six months ago? 12 months ago? Never? (Say it isn’t so.) Staying current with your audience keeps you grounded in reality. It helps you know what’s really going on, not just what you “think” is going on.

In our status-update-obsessed culture, people want to have their opinions heard and valued. By being a good listener, you plant the seeds of loyalty. As you take a look at your plans for 2010, you might want to add in one (or all three) of the strategies below to help get the conversation started.

1) Survey Says. 2009 resolutions are history, but 2010 resolutions are just getting started. So, how will you do things differently this year? Better yet, how do your subscribers want you to do things differently? There’s no way to know for certain unless you ask. With your customers fresh off their holiday shopping sprees, now is the perfect time to tap into their online and in-store shopping experiences. To encourage participation, consider throwing in an incentive for taking a survey, as Moosejaw did. Another idea would be to tap into your Facebook fanbase and Twitter followers. Simply post a link to your hosted version of the survey email

2) Product Reviews. More and more consumers are turning to product reviews to help them make their purchasing decisions. Why not make a 2010 resolution to show your site’s product reviews some love. Zappos and Sephora get fancy by dynamically populating their review requests with photos of recently purchased products. An even fancier bonus would be the ability to post my recent product review and product shot to my Facebook page! To launch their product review push, Lululemon introduced a “we heart feedback” campaign in the middle of December. While we could debate the timing of the messaging, the branding of it is really inspiring.

(Sidebar: Adding a little copy like “Purchase this item for someone else? Forward this email so we can get their feedback.” is a great solve for when the product review email goes to the purchaser vs. the gift recipient.)

3) Preferences Please. As we move more towards personalizing content and creating meaningful social experiences, we’re going to have to put our preference centers and profile modules to work. Take Sephora, for example. I’ve heard from many sources that they truly use their preference center to help customize emails for subscribers. After receiving this Beauty Insider Update email, I now realize why I get the generic versions” I never filled out my beauty profile! I’ll be excited to see how my email experience changes now that I’ve given them all kinds of details to work with. Taking the update request a step further, Piperlime includes a preference center message in each and every email. Now that’s dedication.

Is Customer Loyalty Still Alive and Well?

nicolem — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:59:07 +0000

We want to hear your thoughts on how you feel about customer loyalty.

What are you doing to keep your current customers and let your dedication to customer service shine through when you gain new ones?

I saw this link, with the heading Is Customer Loyalty Dead, through one of the groups I belong to on Linkedin. It came from Ted L. Simon. The autor of the article is Mike Linton. I think the ever expanding opportunities for consumers to connect and engage with one another and share their thoughts on everything—including your brand—has made it necessary for your company to develop a new dynamic and approach. Not only to keep your loyal customers, but to gain others that will become loyal to your brand, products and services.

This article from Forbes.com, written by Mike Linton, can be the basis for a great conversation on how you are going to plan to maintain and, better yet, build your customer loyalty.

Best Nicole

Are you more loyal to brands than you were 10 years ago? Are there any businesses that provide such a great product or service that you would never price-shop, and you’ll declare your brand loyalty across your social networks? My guess is that you and your customers are much less loyal than you were in the ’90s.

Procter & Gamble taught me that it’s easier to sell more to people who are already using your brand than it is to convert them from a competitor. I still believe that theory. However, consumers are more demanding than ever and earning their loyalty gets more difficult every day.

The basics for loyalty used to be a good product or service, delivered reliably at a fair price with some advertising mixed in to remind consumers why they should choose your brand. Exceptional customer service and a good loyalty program could seal the deal by rewarding users with miles, cash back, special rewards or VIP treatment.

All of that is still important, just less so. Companies must do everything they used to do and also ensure that their value proposition remains attractive to a more cost-conscious population. Expedia, Travelocity and Kayak now show travel pricing that used to take hours to track down. If you’re dissatisfied with your in-home phone service, you can choose from a number of providers. Many industries–like autos, airlines and banks–built their models on the consolidation of products, services and information. They could use hidden profit margins from that chain to fund exceptional service and other loyalty efforts. But now consumers are disaggregating those bundles. Companies that funded loyalty via hidden prices or from post sale service have to change. What should you do?

First, acknowledge that this is the new world order. An auto salesperson recently explained that he had lost a sale after three meetings and numerous calls, because the customer used the Internet to find the same car for $100 less ten miles away. Was the selling expertise worth $100? Was the customer unreasonable? Either way, the customer’s ability to split his car buying into three phases (information, search and purchase) is clear.

Maybe you used to be able to carry a 15% premium to generic brands, but now generics are better and ingredients are on the package for every consumer to see and compare. If you don’t have the value proposition to back up your pricing, your marketing and loyalty programs had better be exceptional. Short those and you have nothing left but your reputation. And that won’t last forever. Get your value proposition right or prepare to compete as a commodity.

Iran’s cyber-revolution gets a hand from Canada

nicolem — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 03:34:53 +0000

One of the most spectacular things about the web, mobile technology and social media is the global reach and impact that it has. Right now in Iran, with the recent election uproar, the most precious commodity the Iranian people currently have is information. We take for granted our freedom of speech—the freedom to engage and the freedom to connect. It is ironic that I’m still trying to help customers, current and potential, understand the importance of connecting (something which many still look upon with trepidation). Yet for millions of people around the world, the struggle and difficulty to find a way to be heard makes this most basic right nearly impossible.

But there are those who are coming to the rescue: the “Canadian researchers behind Psiphon, an online censorship avoidance tool, have begun a massive grassroots campaign to give Iranians access to sites that the Iranian government has gone to great lengths to ban – including Facebook, Iranian opposition sites and international news networks. Psiphon has been “pushing” that content to Iranians, giving them a glimpse of the outside world that has been largely blocked since the elections began.” This exerpt comes from an article I am going to post from The Globe and Mail–Canada’s National Newspaper, posted by Omar El Akkad and Matt Hartley.

Sites like Twitter and Facebook allow real time freedom to message what is happening from the writers perspective and experience. For many news agencies, this is now part of how they share their information. The essence of the story is that not even the government sensors will be able to stop people from using technology to connect with the outside world. It is here to stay and has become a beacon of freedom for everyone—providing them with the chance to be finally be heard.

Best Nicole

At the heart of the disputed Iranian elections, a group of Canadians is helping Iranian activists gain access to what has become the most precious and tightly controlled commodity in Iran: information.

The Canadian researchers behind Psiphon, an online censorship avoidance tool, have begun a massive grassroots campaign to give Iranians access to sites that the Iranian government has gone to great lengths to ban – including Facebook, Iranian opposition sites and international news networks. Psiphon has been “pushing” that content to Iranians, giving them a glimpse of the outside world that has been largely blocked since the elections began.

But Psiphon’s founders are walking a tightrope in their attempts to empower Iranians, as they try to simultaneously offer activists unfettered access to the Internet and dissuade those same activists from launching cyberattacks on the government institutions that took that access away in the first place.

“Thousands of people are arguing for [cyberattacks against government infrastructure],” said Greg Walton, editor of the Information Warfare Monitor and a research fellow at the Citizen Lab in the University of Toronto’s Munk Centre, where Psiphon was first developed. “We’re concerned that if people launch [denial of service attacks] – the Iranian government is already throttling [down] bandwidth – this may take up the remaining bandwidth.”

Mr. Walton said some government sites have been defaced, including the site for a government-run radio station, and that others had gone down, possibly as a result of cyberattacks.

Iran’s biggest mass protest since the 1979 Islamic revolution – sparked by what is seen by many Iranians as a sham election – has become a full-fledged global movement, fought on and fuelled by the World Wide Web.

The cyberrevolution’s epicentre is the microblogging site Twitter. Often disparaged as trivial because of its 140-character limit on posts, the site has proved to be an extremely effective way for activists to post rapid-fire updates on the situation on the ground in Iran.

Among the thousands of posts popping up by the hour are descriptions of government raids and the date and location of planned protests.

Indeed, Twitter was supposed to go offline on Monday for prescheduled maintenance. However, the site’s founders delayed that shutdown because of “the role Twitter is currently playing as an important communication tool in Iran.” Washington officials reportedly also asked Twitter to postpone the maintenance.

Without tools such as Psiphon, most Iranians would still be unable to gain access to sites such as Twitter. The censorship avoidance tool essentially links “trusted members” together with members who have access to content, sending it to those who don’t, all under the authorities’ noses.

“When a people has no access to a free press, of course they have to get their words out there,” said Jaffer Sheyholislami, an Iranian-born assistant professor of linguistics at Carleton University who has been monitoring the election closely. “As soon as the election results were announced in Tehran, you could tell something was not right from the beginning and you could tell by the fact that the Internet services such as Facebook and many websites were shut down – especially … opposition-group websites.”

One Tweet in particular caught Mr. Sheyholislami’s attention. It was sent from Twitter account mousavi1388 (1388 is the year in the Persian calendar), and it read: “We have no national press coverage in Iran, everyone should help spread [Mir-Hossein] Mousavi’s message. One Person = One Broadcaster.”

Without tools such as Twitter and cellular technology, it would be much more difficult for Iranians to get information out of the country, said Jeff Jarvis, associate professor and director of the interactive journalism program at the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism.

“Once you have access to the Internet, information will flow around the despots,” he said. “It is now inevitable. It will be more and less efficient and they’ll be more and less smart about trying to stop it, but it will flow around tyranny and that is new and that is an absolute impact.”

Perspective – Opportunity in this New Economy

nicolem — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:43:22 +0000

I have had an interesting discussion with one of my group members from Linkedin. Yesterday, I posted a blog article regarding IBM’s upcoming social network—as a way to Share what I have to say with a professional audience and provide better exposure for our business bcad Group and our agency Share. For those that do not know Linkedin, it is a social networking community for professionals—where you can connect with business people and through those connections have access to their connections. It is a great way to create exposure for your business and your services. Gain new insights, network for knowledge and learn about other peoples experiences.

Our discussion revolved around social media and the fact that we in the marketing community need to ensure that we do not abandon traditional methods for a sole social media campaign. It is the integration of what you have done with these new methods, along with ongoing measurements and tracking of what works for you, that will ensure that you get the best results. I think that what social media provides you is a forum to listen to what peoples needs are in a way that traditional media just can’t do. A focus group is still great and important, but it’s success often relies upon the ability of the leader to get the participants to open up and be honest—without group bias. The new technology doesn’t control the environment so people can be free and honest.

In another discussion with a close friend of mine, who happens to be an executive with one of Canada’s largest firms, he said to me that their president stated at one of their annual meetings, that the economy is forever changed and will never go back to the way things were a few years ago. Though the comment relates to sales, it also implies other issues re: cutbacks in hours, staffing etc. This is a new economy. I believe that around the globe, the way that decisions will be made will be forever different. Value and bargin shopping are now important as everyone begins to live more authentically as it relates to who they are.

For myself as a consumer, I am going to be more cognisant of companies that clearly show me that they not only want to build a relationship with me because they value my business, but that they seriously and honestly consider the things that I need and want and how they will benefit me. Those choices are going to reflect the new way I approach all purchases. I notice that my friends are more eager to share info about where they purchase and why they appreciate some companies who have initiated new outlooks in comparison to others who have chosen to retreat or stopped engaging or changing the way they connect—whether it is through social media or traditional methods.

I have mentioned in past articles that everyone lives by the maven principle: that circle of influence made up of a close knit group of people to whom you rely on for advice, approval, ratings and reviews, deals, bargains and personal experiences. We all have this circle. The ability to access that circle and then move on to the next circle and so on will allow you to grow your business through viral means. No amount of “traditional push style advertising” wields this power.

I am thoroughly convinced that in every product and service sector there are people that want and need what you have. It is up to those businesses to tap into new ways to connect. This reflects the change that the global economy now has accepted. This will give access not only to re-gaining lost sales but, better yet, to increasing and adding new sales. Developing relationships that will help build relationships that will provide access to a huge circle of influence—thanks to the customers who are commited to your efforts.

There is wealth out there. Not only monetary—but wealth of information. The opportunity is to share, engage and connect with people clammering for what you have. Embrace this change and new world—get your SHARE!

Best Nicole

Mommy Bloggers are Your Target Market. Are You Tapped in and Listening?

bcadgroup — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:15:03 +0000

Share says on it’s home page that women are unique; we have have many voices and we want you to listen to us. Our goal and mission as a business is to engage everyone. And to make others realize the importance of focusing on, and incorporating into their marketing plans and strategy, ways to connect and engage one of the most important and lucrative target markets in this current economy. Women.

How are you incorporating women into your marketing plan? Are you connecting with them to find out how you can gain access to more of that .83¢ of every dollar that they now control?

Ad Age Digital has a video that is titled “Inside the Mommy Blogger Business”. This video shows you how some of North America’s largest retailers have got the picture and are leveraging relationships with women in conjunction with key products and services. They see how tapping into this target market will help them access the huge amount of buying power and sales opportunties that can be made.

In addition to the video, Ad Age Digital also states “Retailers, Publishers and Agencies Adjust to this new reality. Despite their light weight moniker, mommy bloggers have become heavyweight marketing business heavyweights. Now said to number in the millions these online women have cobbled together online networks that rival some mainstream media companies. And, they’re clearly a force that retailers under estimate at their own peril. In this “About Digital” report we talk to a retail giant, an analyst, major publisher and a pr agency to better understand how various segments of the industry are adjusting to this phenomenon.

Need I say more?

Best Nicole

Inside the Mommy Blogger Business

Retailers, Publishers and Agencies Adjust to a New Reality

Why Tribes—Not Money or Factories—Will Change the World

nicolem — Mon, 18 May 2009 23:50:19 +0000

I talk about and post many of Seth Godin’s blog posts quite regularly as he is truly one of my marketing gurus and teachers. He is very clear and concise about his explanations of how you can maximize technology for marketing success and always has a plethora of case studies of companies who have found success using the tactics of which he speaks.

I am sure that I have written about Seth’s latest book Tribes. I definately have it listed as one of the books I have read. There have been many that refer to the important lessons he writes about in his latest book. His theory is that if we all build a tribe around a movement, an idea, we can mobilize a group of people that will evangelize our products, services and causes—driving companies and committed supporters of causes towards the kind of vast success they’re aiming for. Creating and spreading an idea is key. The way that ideas that have been created and spread is the key to how we can make change. This success directly relates to LEADERSHIP. I say repeatedly that it is THE STORY that people are looking to connect with. The story clarifies your idea. And if you rally your tribe around an idea that they feel is valuable, they will commit and the opportunities to attain your goals will be limitless.

Please watch this video of Seth Godin from the most recent TED Talks in Long Beach in Feburary 2009. He so beautifully explains this concept. It is not the quantity but the value of the tribe that you create that will set you on your way. Your tribe is waiting for you. Create Your Movement and find YOUR true believers!

Best Nicole

New Mobile Ads—Benefits can Add Up

nicolem — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:09:23 +0000

One of the big questions I get at the end of many of the meetings I attend….is what is next—beyond social media in the next 12 to 24 months? I always answer mobile. The convienience of being able to access information on your phone that’s tailored to your needs—at any time, any place, whenever you want—really speaks to many.

As more people purchase a PDA or personal digital assistant, marketers now have the chance to be able to connect with their consumers in a way that is not invasive but more useful, by providing answers to challenges a customer may have in realtime. My blackberry has GPS, although the truth is I have not quite yet learned how to use it, and right there is a great opportunity to offer me info that extends beyond just telling me how to get somewhere. In addition to handy instructions on how to get from A to B, I can get information that relates to the search patterns of the places I go to on an ongoing basis. Offering me products and serivces that I might need, but may not be thinking about, is very clever messaging. Note to self: learn how to use it this weekend!

For those that have iPhones, the applications are bountiful and useful as well. For instance, you can download an app that will let you find a restaurant, when you are not sure where you want to go. Don’t like the options? Shake the phone to clear the screen and ask for more options.

It is this ready made availability of useful information from a customers perspective and from a businesses perspective—a great opportunity to provide the answers to the needs and challenges of their customers—that makes mobile an important benefit to be thinking about in your marketing planning. Read Write Web is a blog that provides technology news, reviews and analysis. I get a daily feed and am posting a good article that outlines some of the benefits of mobile.

The answers to reaching your target audience are closer and easier than every before. Are you ready?

Best Nicole

The Benefits of Mobile Ads

For advertisers, they know they’re also getting a more engaged user. Unlike print ads, where there’s no tracking available, or TV ads where users often fast forward or leave the room during commercials, a well-placed mobile ad often has a user’s undivided attention. Mobile users aren’t usually doing anything else when playing with the apps – the device has their complete attention.

And a “well-placed” ad isn’t referring to the physical location of the ad on the screen… it basically means the best time to show the ad within an application… a time which, for the record, is not during a pre-roll. People hate pre-rolls, especially when they’re itching to start using an app. But give those same users a fun and unique ad in between levels of their game and they’re usually happy to watch, shake, or whatever else the advertisers can come up with.

Because the ads can tap into iPhone features like the GPS while still having the power of analytics on the back-end, these new ads are quite different from the TV ads targeted towards a more general public audience. Instead of just hyping the latest movie with a trailer, they could show the trailer and let you check the show times at your local theater. Instead of just talking about the latest sale at a retail outlet, they could give you a mobile coupon to use when there. They could even pinpoint you as a poor college student looking to save money on your next pizza purchase or as a young, married professional looking for new restaurants to try for your Saturday night out. They know you, but in a non-creepy and actually sort of useful way.

No other advertising can apply that level of targeting and personalization… except perhaps online ads. But consumers have become nearly blind to the banners and AdSense sidebars on today’s websites… and then, of course, there’s the problem of your not being able to shake them.