When it comes to social media marketing, the measuring stick for success has been quantity up until this point. Quantity is still important, especially if you don't feel your at a high number yet which is the case with a brand I'm help manage presently.
But the case for quality is gaining ground as platforms mature. Having a massive number of likes or follows is important, but audience engagement remains the key for long term success.
On The Wall Street Journal's website today, Jeff Elder's article on social media hit home on a couple fronts. He profiles Ritz-Carlton, a brand I have deep admiration and their concerns over getting too many social media followers.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/companies-alter-social-media-strategies-1403499658
Rather than go for quantity, Ritz-Carlton has about 498,000 Facebook fans, they decided to listen more to what their audience was saying. By listening to that crowd, they are learning how to run their business better. Reputation management is inexpensive compared with the knowledge that can be gained from its use.
Facebook's new feed system is killing businesses trying to marketing heavily through the platform. EdgeRank Checker estimates that brands only reached 6.5% of their fans in March which is down from 16% in February 2012. From what I am reading, the reality is going to be even less reach in the coming months.
Listening to the audience is so important. You can learn what is REALLY happening in your business; what you want your customers to say but won't say it to your face. The good, bad and ugly are all being discussed about your business, so why not join the conversation? I love the approach Ritz-Carlton is taking, and think it can quickly and easily work for any business regardless of the size.
Reputation management is not that expensive. Any company that deals a lot with the general public should be doing something. Even if your company isn't using a service, at least monitor social media to hear what people are saying about your brand. And if they've commented, respond. A thank you for a compliment or reaching out to fix a problem does wonders for the image a business has in the public's eye.
Yelp has come out with a service upgrade, which allows businesses to communicate with customers that post on their platform. I personally haven't seen it in use yet, but it seems pretty obvious to me that businesses (especially restaurants who get the majority of traffic on Yelp) should enlist.
http://zite.to/1jI2ASF
At a conference last fall, a speaker made the comment then that has stuck with me ever since regarding social media engagement. A business would not install a phone line and publicize the number to the general public and then not answer the phone. The same needs to be true with social media. If your business is on social media, you have to respond to the posts, just like you would a phone call.
Monday, June 23, 2014
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Five key steps to gain audience through viral content
A recent article showed in detail how the New York Times was losing home page views, as how consumers surf the web continues to evolve. That article, and my blog post about it, also pointed out that total page views for the Times did not decline. The reason was the amount of traffic coming to their site through social media.
Creating content that goes viral use to be a nice plus for media. Now as thing change, it needs to become a core competency for every content generator. Unfortunately, too many newsrooms are still not thinking about audience growth.
The June issue of Editor and Publisher featured a very good article by Rob Tornoe. Tornoe's feature discusses BuzzSumo, which analyzes trends in social media, tracking influencers and sharers.
http://buzzsumo.com
This website allows you to search by topic, and will show you the social media buzz. This is a site that content editors should be reviewing on a daily basis, as they decide what stories to assign to reporters. For the first time ever, a newsroom can get a true sense for how much interest there is on a potential story before it is produced. And if the story is touching a nerve with its audience, then the likelihood the content will be shared and go viral is greatly enhanced.
In the article, Tornoe gives five key suggestions for editor to consider when it comes to sharing content on social media:
1. Long-form content is actually shared more than short-form content.
2. Images are vital to success in social media sharing
3. Invoke an emotion, whether it's awe, laugher, or amusement.
4. The beginning of the week is important for social media, with Monday and Tuesday being the best days to see social media shares.
5. Re-promote your evergreen content
Creating content that goes viral use to be a nice plus for media. Now as thing change, it needs to become a core competency for every content generator. Unfortunately, too many newsrooms are still not thinking about audience growth.
The June issue of Editor and Publisher featured a very good article by Rob Tornoe. Tornoe's feature discusses BuzzSumo, which analyzes trends in social media, tracking influencers and sharers.
http://buzzsumo.com
This website allows you to search by topic, and will show you the social media buzz. This is a site that content editors should be reviewing on a daily basis, as they decide what stories to assign to reporters. For the first time ever, a newsroom can get a true sense for how much interest there is on a potential story before it is produced. And if the story is touching a nerve with its audience, then the likelihood the content will be shared and go viral is greatly enhanced.
In the article, Tornoe gives five key suggestions for editor to consider when it comes to sharing content on social media:
1. Long-form content is actually shared more than short-form content.
2. Images are vital to success in social media sharing
3. Invoke an emotion, whether it's awe, laugher, or amusement.
4. The beginning of the week is important for social media, with Monday and Tuesday being the best days to see social media shares.
5. Re-promote your evergreen content
Sunday, June 8, 2014
More businesses need to think, act and market like minor league baseball teams
The weekend of the Super Bowl this past February, I was quite impressed with how the minor league baseball team in Bridgeport, Connecticut had managed to grab headlines. The independent minor league team, specifically their marketing department offered quarterback Peyton Manning money for his charity if he shouted out "Bridgeport Bluefish" instead of "Omaha"; something the future hall of famer was doing during the Broncos season.
http://www.bridgeportbluefish.com/blog/post/281/bluefish-ask-manning-to-call-audible-play
Maybe the most creative marketing department in sports, the Bluefish are at it again.
On my Facebook feed, I follow WLW radio in Cincinnati. I still think one of the best radio stations in the country, they are also the flagship station for the Cincinnati Reds, and hometown radio station for fallen baseball legend Pete Rose. WLW posted on Facebook the details of Rose's opportunity to once again manage a baseball team. Rose is able to do this through the Bluefish, who are in no way associated with Major League Baseball.
The Bridgeport Bluefish, in an effort to grab headlines, grab the attention of fans and their money have announced that Rose will manage the baseball team for one game. This is historic, in that Rose has been banned from baseball since the late 1980's for gambling.
http://www.bridgeportbluefish.com/blog/post/398/pete-rose-to-manage-bridgeport-bluefish-june-16
The latest stunt by the independent baseball team probably cost them a few dollars. I'm not sure what Pete Rose's appearance fee is, but I'm pretty sure Pete is not showing up without a pay day involved. The fee will most likely be covered by the sure to happen attendance boost that they will get that night. But this baseball team totally understands the value of a lifetime customer.
Let's say that Rose's appearance boosts attendance by 5,000 for that night. Those additional fans are not likely to be a part of the Bluefish core audience, and I would suspect that many are sampling the product for the first time. If the baseball team can convert even 5% of the crowd that night to return and become loyal customers, what does that do to the bottom line of that organization?
A 5% conversion rate on 5,000 fans would be 250 additional loyal customers. The ball club can then factor in what the typical person spends at the ball park, and then calculate a true ROI. As a regular attendee of minor league baseball in Indiana, I can tell you that I do not go to games alone (which is also a factor for the effectiveness of this campaign), and my family of three usually spends $30-40 on snacks, beer and souvenirs.
You do not have to have a big budget to make a big impact on your company's bottom line. If those 250 converts attended three more Bluefish games with two other people, attendance would grow an additional 2,250 this season. If those groups spent my average $35 at a game, the baseball team would see an additional $26,500 in ball park purchases. And that doesn't even calculate the free publicity and media that this marketing department is consistently generating.
More businesses need to think like minor league baseball teams.
http://www.bridgeportbluefish.com/blog/post/281/bluefish-ask-manning-to-call-audible-play
Maybe the most creative marketing department in sports, the Bluefish are at it again.
On my Facebook feed, I follow WLW radio in Cincinnati. I still think one of the best radio stations in the country, they are also the flagship station for the Cincinnati Reds, and hometown radio station for fallen baseball legend Pete Rose. WLW posted on Facebook the details of Rose's opportunity to once again manage a baseball team. Rose is able to do this through the Bluefish, who are in no way associated with Major League Baseball.
The Bridgeport Bluefish, in an effort to grab headlines, grab the attention of fans and their money have announced that Rose will manage the baseball team for one game. This is historic, in that Rose has been banned from baseball since the late 1980's for gambling.
http://www.bridgeportbluefish.com/blog/post/398/pete-rose-to-manage-bridgeport-bluefish-june-16
The latest stunt by the independent baseball team probably cost them a few dollars. I'm not sure what Pete Rose's appearance fee is, but I'm pretty sure Pete is not showing up without a pay day involved. The fee will most likely be covered by the sure to happen attendance boost that they will get that night. But this baseball team totally understands the value of a lifetime customer.
Let's say that Rose's appearance boosts attendance by 5,000 for that night. Those additional fans are not likely to be a part of the Bluefish core audience, and I would suspect that many are sampling the product for the first time. If the baseball team can convert even 5% of the crowd that night to return and become loyal customers, what does that do to the bottom line of that organization?
A 5% conversion rate on 5,000 fans would be 250 additional loyal customers. The ball club can then factor in what the typical person spends at the ball park, and then calculate a true ROI. As a regular attendee of minor league baseball in Indiana, I can tell you that I do not go to games alone (which is also a factor for the effectiveness of this campaign), and my family of three usually spends $30-40 on snacks, beer and souvenirs.
You do not have to have a big budget to make a big impact on your company's bottom line. If those 250 converts attended three more Bluefish games with two other people, attendance would grow an additional 2,250 this season. If those groups spent my average $35 at a game, the baseball team would see an additional $26,500 in ball park purchases. And that doesn't even calculate the free publicity and media that this marketing department is consistently generating.
More businesses need to think like minor league baseball teams.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Legacy media's attempts to create and maintain their audience's attention
A local radio station made a format change this past weekend, making the switch from classic rock to new country. That is not ground breaking by any stretch, but their approach to launch the station has the attention of some radio listeners I'm sure, but also has me scratching my head a little too.
The new "Blake FM" format was launch by announcing that they were playing 10,000 songs commercial free. It has been a few years since I was a music director at a radio station, but I can still tell you that will equal out to be roughly 20 days of music before the first commercial hits the airwaves. This is great for listeners, who will hopefully get hooked to the new station.
To me, this signals that those commercials are an annoyance, and something that the listeners will, eventually, have to deal with should they choose to continue listening. This sends the wrong signal to the listener, I believe, and has the potential to create negative impact to advertisers who break the commercial free marathon.
I joked today that a similar approach would be for a newspaper to stop running ads for the next three weeks. Crazy to suggest, financially as well as it relates to what the audience wants. You have to give that audience what they want, which is music. But you also have to be respectful of how that radio station stays on the air; commercials!
All legacy media types are losing audience attention. Radio is no different. I was at the Promotions Summit in St. Louis, MO this week hosted by Second Street Media. Gordon Borrell was the speaker, and he discussed this very topic.
Borrell's chart shows the decline in average time spent on media from 2008 to the present, and then the projected losses (or some gains) over the next five years. The decline is staggering, so I understand the pressure to secure audience at all cost; well, almost all costs.
All legacy media has to wrestle with the best promotions to attract and maintain their audience's attention. Even a 10,000 song marathon might make sense. But media companies must weigh the benefits of such a promotion with the unspoken message they are sending. In the case with this radio station, are they telling the audience that commercials are bad? I think perhaps so, which could drive that same audience away once those dirty 30 second commercials return.
One final note on that chart, that chart for radio includes several commercial free or nearly commercial free options such as Pandora and Apple Radio. And it doesn't include commercial free options like personal music devices and XM Radio.
The new "Blake FM" format was launch by announcing that they were playing 10,000 songs commercial free. It has been a few years since I was a music director at a radio station, but I can still tell you that will equal out to be roughly 20 days of music before the first commercial hits the airwaves. This is great for listeners, who will hopefully get hooked to the new station.
To me, this signals that those commercials are an annoyance, and something that the listeners will, eventually, have to deal with should they choose to continue listening. This sends the wrong signal to the listener, I believe, and has the potential to create negative impact to advertisers who break the commercial free marathon.
I joked today that a similar approach would be for a newspaper to stop running ads for the next three weeks. Crazy to suggest, financially as well as it relates to what the audience wants. You have to give that audience what they want, which is music. But you also have to be respectful of how that radio station stays on the air; commercials!
All legacy media types are losing audience attention. Radio is no different. I was at the Promotions Summit in St. Louis, MO this week hosted by Second Street Media. Gordon Borrell was the speaker, and he discussed this very topic.
All legacy media has to wrestle with the best promotions to attract and maintain their audience's attention. Even a 10,000 song marathon might make sense. But media companies must weigh the benefits of such a promotion with the unspoken message they are sending. In the case with this radio station, are they telling the audience that commercials are bad? I think perhaps so, which could drive that same audience away once those dirty 30 second commercials return.
One final note on that chart, that chart for radio includes several commercial free or nearly commercial free options such as Pandora and Apple Radio. And it doesn't include commercial free options like personal music devices and XM Radio.
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