Social Media Wonderland

When I Was Your Age I Walked 5 Miles to School in the Snow (A Marketing Tale)

ldigrado — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 18:50:41 +0000

Remember when your parents would lament their childhood trials and tribulations (i.e. walking uphill in the snow – both ways of course – to school, only getting 2 pairs of shoes a year, etc.) ? It usually would go hand in hand with “and hot dogs were a nickel”, “10 people lived in a 2 bedroom house”, or something like that. I was a generation removed from growing up with the internet, cell phones, not to mention digital cameras (I had to take the 35MM roll in and wait a WEEK!!!), but I’ve found already that children today are more and more electronically savvy earlier and earlier, which creates new inroads for marketing to parents in new and innovative ways.

Children are now exposed to brands through multiple channels, all the time. Though brand integration is not new, I remember as a child that I would see a cartoon, and there would be a stuffed animal of that character, and maybe a coloring book, and that was it. Today, digital integration is more prevalent than ever, and with children able to surf the ‘net before they’re out of diapers, being smart about ways to create early brand loyalty (with parents and children) can be a win for marketers.

New channels don’t make it easier however, with more touch points comes more competition for eyeballs, and ultimately wallet share. Especially with the real-time nature of social media, brands need to be able to both market traditionally through new channels, but also be able to be available to their customers day and night. If a child loves X Character, has all the movies, merchandise, etc., but the website where they play interactive games keeps crashing, or the app they use on their iPod touch freezes, then there’s potential for that brand experience to go sour, quickly. Moral of the story, things may have been simpler 20, 30, or 40 years ago, but with the complexity of the digital age comes the opportunity to allow both children and their parents to have a more robust experience with a brand, but exactly what that experience is, is up to the brand.

When the Music’s Over, Turn Out the Lights (and Buy a Gift Card, or Shop Online)

ldigrado — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 20:37:35 +0000

Okay, cheesy Doors reference aside, for retailers, what happens once the doors close to your store (unless you’re 7-11 or another 24-hour establishment), is when the real marketing fun begins. I think every marketer now knows that for any service or product, it’s a 24/7 world, however many CPG or retail brands are just scratching the surface of what’s possible during and after normal business hours. Allowing your customers to easily find information, or actually purchase your product when it’s convenient for them (beyond a pure e-tail website) is where you build loyalty, retention and oh yes, revenue.

A recent blog from eMarketer talks to the Director of the Starbucks Card, Ryan Records, about how Starbucks’ new gift cards are infused with social media. What I found the most interesting here is that Records discusses how they’ve changed up the way people can gift a drink to their friends and family. He specifically notes that e-gifting picks up once the doors close to the store. Another insight is that contrary to what they had done in the past (and many other brands still do on Facebook), this was not embedded within an app on Facebook, but was a more seamless way to give a gift to someone via e-mail without having to allow an app, have a card, register the card, and so on.

The main lesson here is that your customers want to be able to access your products or service (even in the form of purchasing a gift) at any time, anywhere, and as EASILY as possible. I know I’ve seen a tempting trial program or offer, take the plunge into entering a form, only to be confronted with multiple gating items (even before the paywall), where I quickly tire and abandon the site. At every additional step there’s drop off people, so employ KISS whenever possible (Keep It Simple Stupid), and remember, just because someone isn’t browsing your location physically, doesn’t mean they don’t want to be “wowed” by your online marketing prowess via your website, Facebook or another digital platform.

Who You Should Really be Marketing To – Moms

ldigrado — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 16:08:16 +0000

Okay, a somewhat narcissistic post as I am joining the ranks of motherhood in a few short weeks, but my impending change in life (and sleep), also got me thinking about how this changes my mindset as a consumer. As evidenced by the re-targeted display ads splashed all over the internet just for me, touting the benefits of X stroller, Y formula or Z diaper, I’m actually PAYING ATTENTION to these advertisements as I never have before (thought maybe this is the new parent “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing” syndrome). What I have noticed however, is that to find valuable sharable content on the web, I rely much more heavily on social media now than I ever have for tips, commiseration, or overall good deals.

This article from Technorati cites a study conducted for Child’s Play Communications by The NPD Group Inc. confirms the high activity of moms in social media. The study found that found that 79 percent of mothers in the United States with children under age 18 are active in social media. Purchasing decisions by nearly one-fourth of “social media moms” are influenced by social networking sites or blogs, the study showed.

Though some brands and companies are already all over this - if you haven’t seen it yet, the Pampers Facebook Page integration to allow purchase is genius – many haven’t quite realized that for many brands, CPG and non-CPG alike, these moms are waiting, purchasing and moreover, paying attention to your ads unlike many other demographics you may be targeting.

Okay, now back to the boards for coupons, I hear newborns go through a LOT of diapers.

The Value of a Brand (may not be what your mktg prof told you…)

ldigrado — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 16:10:01 +0000

For even the most non-brand loyal people out there (you know them – “X house brand is EXACTLY the same as X brand name – they even make it at the same factory!”), there is some brand value in something they buy, somewhere, at sometime, throughout their life. You may not even realize it (brand value can be sneaky!), but when it comes down to it, we’re all products of brands. Ever know someone who “only” buys Hondas (or insert any other car company here) because they’re “always reliable”, or because they are a “Honda family”. I don’t know about you, but unless the vehicle pulls up a chair at Thanksgiving dinner, they’re not part of your family.

In a sea of “what’s the value of a brand” articles and research, I found the following article from Mashable particularly interesting. The article “What’s the Value in a Brand Name”, sets out to explain how brand value is determined by the extent to which is can sell its goods and services at a premium price, and has as much to do with advertising as it does with luck. They use Coca-Cola vs. RC Cola as a prime example. Are these two products that dissimilar? The author argues that branding accounts for 80% of Coca-Cola’s branding. Makes sense considering after 100-plus years, Coca-Cola still spends millions if not billions on brand advertising.

I agree that premium pricing does account for a large part of a brand’s value, but what the article doesn’t point out is the brand value of entry brands, or “value” brands. For instance, though Tide may have high market share, there are plenty of consumers who are staunch brand loyalists to Cheer because they like the scent, their mom used it growing up, etc. (nevermind that most consumers don’t realize that P&G gets your share of wallet regardless). I would argue there’s inherent value in these brands beyond the price premium. The same goes for any consumer good, from toothpaste to autos.

I think it’s important to remember in any calculation of brand value however, it’s ultimately determined by a number of variables, including state of the economy, household income, big box retailers ad push towards house brands, etc. OK, I’m now going to have a diet Coke – I’m just not a Pepsi kind of person.

Don’t be That Guy at the Party

ldigrado — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 21:40:26 +0000

While doing some industry reading, I came across this article on iMedia by Ari Savar today that reiterates some really good, fundamental principles about social media. The basics are that social media is a conversation - a party - and just as you wouldn’t go into a party and start shouting “BUY MY PRODUCT” (and probably never be invited back again), you wouldn’t and shouldn’t do this online. First, it’s completely creepy and people just don’t like to be sold to when they’re already in a conversation, but also, it’s just the wrong way to go about educating a potential or existing consumer of your product or service about what you have to offer (even if what you have to offer is awesome).

Savar points out the following for social media campaigns that bear repeating:

Pretend like you’re getting dressed up for a giant party.

Lead with people stories, not your product stories.

Use content to make connections.

Try to align yourself with the “in crowd” so people will want to talk to you.

Don’t just make eye content; shake hands with the people you want to meet

Another point I would add is how to “read a room”. You (should) do this in real life, and the social media conversation isn’t any different. If you want to talk to young families shopping for a new car, you should listen to the conversation that demographic is having about buying cars. What features do they want or need, what don’t they need, how much do they want to spend, what brands are and aren’t in their consideration set already, and so on. Once you spend time listening to these consumers, then starting a conversation with them makes sense, but jumping in head-first because you *think* you know what they want and need is foolish (and a waste of time, frankly).

Marketers are so used to pushing their message out via the traditional channels, it takes some level of comfort to be able to actually (god forbid) talk to the consumer, but it’s absolutely vital, since they’ll be talking about you anyway.

Social Media in an Offline World

ldigrado — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:36:49 +0000

Though we are all so much more reliant on the web than ever before, we still live our day-to-day lives in an offline world. I still want to test drive a car, try on a pair of jeans, and make sure the apples I buy are fresh – in person. Even though I have my 200+ “friends” on Facebook, I still want to meet the gang for a dinner party once a month. That being said, marketers are getting smarter about how to interweave our online personas with our offline ones. With brands just getting their feet wet with QR codes, as seen in an article on Mashable yesterday, we will soon, more than ever, be able to make better, more informed choices about our offline purchases in real-time, online. AllFacebook noted that Facebook will sell credits gift cards in Target stores this weekend, in addition to ventures with Coinstar. It makes sense, a lot of sense. As marketers from CPG and retail realize that I’m standing at the drugstore, with my smartphone, looking up reviews for that shampoo/energy drink/sweater, etc., the better they can smartly educate me (or at least try to) about why their product is superior. It will be interesting to see how this plays out not only on a general level, but especially in the case of Facebook credits, if consumers will vote with their offline dollars for their online activities.

The Wild Wild West of Social Media Campaign ROI

ldigrado — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 22:04:09 +0000

True or false – social media campaigns are measurable.

The answer is both true and false, and here’s why. People who say they can’t measure social media are probably trying to measure social media on the basis of other online campaigns which they *think* are comparable, but just aren’t. Social media can be measured, and there is ROI, but you have to think about it differently. There’s no CPM’s for a Facebook fan, or a Twitter follower. Now that doesn’t mean there won’t be in the coming years, but it’s apples and oranges, friends. The best way to measure anything is measure it the way it should be measured, with the tools, metrics and KPI’s that make sense for the specific channel. If I capitalize on a great community of people on Facebook, for instance, who have decided to “like” my brand, using those fans as brand advocates is invaluable. Now, ROI gets tricky. What is the “I” in ROI? Is it investment dollars, time, resources, headcount etc? Throwing money at campaigns may be the answer, but having a dedicated resource ready to answer customer questions and concerns across multiple social media channels and turning what may have been a poor consumer experience into a positive one brings far more dollars and lifetime value than selling one customer one product. Can I measure that today, tomorrow, a month from now? I don’t know, but I do know not every brand’s consumers will take the initiative to call in to a call center or e-mail. If the brand goes to where the people are (the old “fish where the fishes are” theory), consumers are more likely to feel that the brand really cares and is listening to them, whether they bought toothpaste or a new vehicle. This article from Media Post expands a bit on how social media campaigns fail to achieve goals, but my first question is, were the goals even achievable to begin with?

If You Can’t Take the Complaints, Don’t Tweet

ldigrado — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:10:21 +0000

People like to complain, this is not news. Social media specifically gives people an outlet to complain anonymously, with little recourse, and in many cases, without really asking for a response or solution. Many brands deal with this, from CPG to insurance to everything in between. For the legitimate complaints or concerns, having a team in place to reply in a timely manner to issues that customers have is invaluable. The real key is discerning who’s complaining just to complain, and who is really seeking help. Jumping into every conversation in social media is not only not your team’s best use of time, but in a lot of cases, just spinning your wheels. Obviously, giving key players on your team the autonomy to respond in a thoughtful way can only help engagement, and hopefully push some of those detractors over the edge into advocates (or at least, less damaging detractors). This article from Mashable gives great tips on how to deal with complaints on Twitter specifically, where the short micro-blogging format lends itself to rapid-fire complaining, and real-time news feed traction if a brand doesn’t jump in.

Newsflash: Women are Major Decisionmakers, Especially in Social

ldigrado — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 22:52:02 +0000

This post from Media Post notes that “Men are from Hulu, Women are from Facebook”. What’s interesting here is that this is not an American phenomenon. The article notes that in Latin America, social networking reached 94.1% of females online, and in Europe, 85.6%, compared to 91% in the U.S. Does this mean that social networking is inherently more “female”? Do females across the globe spend more time online because they are more social? Though I’ve never been to one (I swear), I’ve heard about virtual Sorority Life parties that women throw. There was a study earlier in the year by Gigaom that stated that the average social gamer was a 43-year-old woman, which only validates the study by Media Post. I hope that brands are taking notice to this as they both develop brand platforms on social networks, but also in development of applications and social games. One great example is the Sauza tequila campaign via Redbook targeting women. It’s a little known fact that women are major decision makers when it comes to tequila, and consume 74% of all margaritas. My thought is that “tequila” could be swapped for “automobile”, or “major appliance” in this instance. Hopefully more brands will understand this, and plan their campaigns accordingly.

Social Media is Not a Marketing Buffet

ldigrado — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:51:27 +0000

Marketing may be seen as “sexy”, but it sure isn’t easy, or “free”, especially in social media. I’m seeing more and more articles about not only how to measure ROI on social media marketing efforts, but also, what social media is right for your brand? Social media is no different from any other marketing channel, and what makes sense for one brand may be totally irrelevant for another. It’s identifying which is which that the strategy comes in. Frankly, this is exacerbated by the fact that social media is still evolving as a channel, so there aren’t hundreds of case studies over years of research to go by (though a few brand snafus this year have definitely told us what NOT to do). This article by Media Post today talks about one facet of this, in that there is a disconnect on Twitter and marketers and consumers. Twitter is valuable, for real-time news, trending topics, and some brand association, but this channel is NOT a “push-marketing” channel where conversation doesn’t exist. That’s just not what it does. Taking the “social” out of social media doesn’t really make sense, though it’s done every day. We’ll figure it out, but like anything else (TV, radio, print, out of home, search), ascertaining the appropriate channel is key to make sure YOUR consumer is getting the message to get them to act. Read more here:

http://bit.ly/dyxkRU