Broadening your brand conversation

This TED talk, Listening to Global Voices by Ethan Zuckerman is something of wake-up call. It is very easy for us - especially the digital us - to imagine that a global internet infrastructure means that we are all somehow automatically connected and gaining a broader worldview.

'I follow 20,000 people on twitter. Could 20,000 people be wrong?'*

A popular way of constructing social media / Word of Mouth marketing campaigns is to first seek out and recruit consumers with large social networks. The implicit assumption seems to be that someone with 500 Facebook friends will spread your marketing message more effectively than someone with 100.

This has always caused me a smidgen of discomfort because it is so easy to create links in online social networks like Facebook. But having a link does not mean it commands mutual attention or that it will assist in the contagion of your marketing messages.

The power of change through the web

Every now and then a story presents itself that warms even the weariest of marketer’s hearts, and proves that individuals can still achieve change with the power of the internet.

Retail Loyalty Marketing - 5 lessons learned at the till

We have been lucky enough to work with a number of retailers recently and the research and campaign results have given us a start to a growing library of marketing 'rules of thumb' that are proven to get the tills ringing. 

A summary is below, but if you are interested in the details behind these learnings, please feel free to ask here, or directly through email, twitter etc...

Learnings

Social media and the new 30 second spot

As a direct marketer by inclination and a 1to1 marketing consultant increasingly involved with social media, I have a growing sense of unease.

This concern stems from a growing belief that the ‘new’ generation of marketers, those enamoured of social media, are ignoring a key lesson of the last 20 years of relationship marketing… The critical marketing asset for a company is the customer relationship and relationships are rarely anonymous.

The 10 notable incidents for Social Media in 2009 – a personal review

Here we are in the run-up to Christmas and the New Year, so I thought I would jot down the things that I found amusing, noteworthy or just plain strange about the business we are in for the past year. A personal list and personal opinions...

Want to retain customers? Asking them questions is a good start

Just find out what your customers want&do that. Sorted.
It has been known for some time now that the 'physics' of customer loyalty has an uncertainty principle - the act of measurement changes the event you are trying to measure.

The good news in relationship marketing is that the changes our measurement efforts cause in our customers... are generally positive.

Online Community Managers: Do you have the passion?

ReadWriteWeb's Guide to Online Community Management... is an interesting mashup of news, views and resources on the emerging role of Community Manager. Unfortunately not a free (open source) offering but interesting nonetheless.

I figure Community Management is one role worth keeping tabs on - afterall, we are the "least connected we will ever be" - as Don Peppers reminded several of us recently.

Social media strategy: not the Marketing Department alone

Forrester have published a pretty good taxonomy, based on the business objectives you have, for branded online communities. Communities can be set up for you to;

  1. Listen to your customers
  2. Talk to your customers
  3. Energise your advocates
  4. Support your customers (or let them support each other)

The Business of Believing

"The market for something to believe in is unlimited..." (Hugh McLeod)

And guess what, that new fangled thing - the internet and its social media offspring - just lowered the threshold on entry to that market!

Storytelling

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