We talk about social media and engagement on our SHARE blog – as key touch points – to understanding how to best leverage social media tools for your customer while building- honest and truthful mutually beneficial relationships. We talk regularly to our clients both new, current and potential about understanding your target market. One size does not fit all. It is understanding who you want to connect with and how they want to connect with you that is vital in serving your customer via social media. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most important things for all advertising and marketing strategies is to keep in mind – your circle of influence. That is the “circle of people” that you and your customers go to for advice, opinions, support, criticism, research and so much more. The goal of all marketers should be to reach out first to your circle of influence and that of your target customers. Read the rest of this entry »

Lets face it we all want sales. Social media is a magnificent vehicle to build relationships with your customers, engage and connect with them – with the goal of creating a long term relationship - their part is to purchase your products and services and your part is to provide for them the products and services they need and those things that will solve their problems. Read the rest of this entry »

The best way to show our readers that a serious, planned approach to social media as a key marketing channel can lead to success (when integrated with offline channels), is to provide case studies or corporate examples of triumph and prosperity.

Today’s post is going to do just that. In 2008, Starbucks (YES, I am one of their devotees ) found themselves in some serious hot water. Sales were down, there were major corporate management changes (which included Starbucks former CEO Howard Shultz returning and some management being let go), store closings, and some of the rapid rate expansion was slowed so that the company could go back to basics. The challenge? “How do they get back their relationship with their customer — the one they had when they first began?” Shultz claimed that, “Starbucks had lost its soul.”
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I was chatting with a new client today about social media and how it can be utilized to elicit a positve and engaging response from your customers—especially when they are uphappy. In our discussion, we talked about companies who are getting it right—and Domino’s pizza came to mind for us both. Have you seen their recent TV spot about how they “say that customers complained that their crust was like cardboard and their sauce had no taste.” They continue on to mention how they were listening and have made changes to those EXACT things! Bravo Domino’s. Well it gets better…
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When I began my education into the world of social media a few years ago, my beacon of expertise and guidence was the book I have spoken of often, “Groundswell”. In the book, Josh Bernoff and Christine Li talk about understanding social computing behaviours in order to be able to engage your target market and connect in a way that is in line with the goals that you plan to reach by implementing a digital strategy.
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It is no secret or surprise to our readers that I am a fan of Josh Bernoff. He made social media for me. Really made it make sense in a context that I could use for our clients in order to provide them with a social way to engage and connect with their consumers—no matter the type of business, size, service, industry or country.
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Almost everyone out there in the world has sent or received a postcard at some point. The traditional postcard is 100 years old. That being said, some of the best ideas come when you blend the old with the new. Technology moves so quickly that it’s hard to keep up, difficult to catch on, and by the time many businesses make a decision to hop on the digital band wagon, the idea they finally commit to is old news and something else is now the next big thing.
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I spent the day with one of our favorite clients in an all day meeting yesterday. We are currently building a new website with a customized e-commerce store and supplementing the build with a new brand look and strategy. Very exciting. In the strategic and planning phase we are always assessing the current site and all of the challenges that will help us build a new and profitable site. In this case the site is a significant portion of their sales.
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I have been watching Whole Foods for a while now and have used their example in the world of social media to many clients. As a fan of the Whole Foods grocery store (even when those delicate personal conversations have touched a nerve), it is a  place where you can get organic foods—both prepared and fresh—with a sense of community attached in the shopping experience. And as a business model, Whole Foods lends itself to social media quite beautifully.
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