Marketing Mix

Traditional and Social Media: A Dynamic Duo

August 4th, 2010 | Posted in Blog | Comments Off
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Social media marketing is all the rage these days, but are you ready to take the plunge and ditch your tried and true marketing methods for Facebook pages and Twitter feeds?  Relax.  Here’s a three-pronged approach for combining the old with the new for maximum results.

Step 1: Listen to Your Customers to Create Effective Campaigns

The key to effective search, display, and email campaigns is making sure your message is targeted specifically to your audience.  If you already have an actively maintained Facebook page or Twitter feed, there is no need to make assumptions about what you think your customer wants to see when you can tap into their true feelings. Can you say free focus group?  This is an opportunity not to be missed.  Use it to turn this valuable information into effective ads that speak directly to the needs of your customers.

Step 2: Build Relationships with Prospects through Dead-on Content

You’ve heard it been said time and again that content is king, and this still rings true.  Content in the form of articles, white papers, webcasts, blog posts, etc. is what gains credibility, builds trust, and leads to the development of relationships that lead to sales. Why reinvent the wheel when you can use what works with your current customers to attract new ones?  By applying what you learned from the close observation of your customer’s social media interactions (what content was retweeted, clicked, Liked, and shared the most), you can create a relevant content  marketing campaign that makes prospects feel that you understand their problems and that your product is the best fit for them.

Step 3: Go for the Sale with Display Ads That Speak to Them

Now that you have a good handle on what your customers and prospects want, it’s time to update your messaging once more and hit them with new search or display ads that reflect what current customers actually believe. Since your prospects have been engaged with your content, they are already familiar with your brand, so go-ahead, ask for the sale now that you know what makes them click!

Need help creating a dynamic marketing campaign that pairs social media with traditional marketing to turn social media visitors and prospects into customers?  Look no further, contact us today!

Make Social Media Work For You

July 17th, 2010 | Posted in Blog | Comments Off
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Social media provides the perfect opportunity for companies to engage with their customers – a big plus for companies who are quickly learning that their brand is being determined by the conversations that are being had about their company. So how do you effectively incorporate social media into your marketing mix to ensure the biggest bang for your buck?

Three Tips to Ensure Social Media Success:

  • Be an active participant: If you’ve decided to use social media then you need to roll up your sleeves and get in the ring! Assign someone to be an active and consistent participant in the communication.
  • Be yourself: Lose the marketing fluff – a real voice will build trust and allow you to connect with your followers and fans and make them feel that they are part of an exclusive group with special insight into your company.
  • Be aware: The most active users of social media are the people who will carry your brand message for you. These influencers often retweet or post your messages to their followers and friends, so it’s a good idea to be aware of who they are.


How to Integrate Social Media and Measure Its Worth

First things first… Start by connecting your Facebook fans and Twitter followers to the customers in your marketing database using the email address – accessible via the application programming interfaces (APIs). Now you are ready to build social media into your marketing mix. A great way to start is to direct message your followers and/or place exclusive offers on your Facebook page. To keep fans and followers coming back for more make sure that when you do send an email or direct mail message that they are the first to receive it. Also be sure to advertise your social media presence on your website and by using the “forward-to” social features in email. Finally, you can measure the success of your social media efforts by turning to the APIs from Facebook and Twitter which contain valuable information such as who has posted your message, who has retweeted, who has clicked on your link, and more. This information can then be brought into your marketing database and measured.

While only time will tell the true marketing value of social media, one thing is for sure – this is definitely an area you don’t want to ignore. We can help you bring social media into the mix and maximize its value while enhancing the value of all your other marketing communications. Contact us today!