Rubbing elbows with the big boys & girls

As if creating a social media marketing plan isn’t stressful enough, you then have to take the time to convince the “C-suite” (the bosses) that the investment of a social media plan is a good idea and is beneficial for the company. There are a few tips on how to convince the big boys and girls to invest. They are as follows:

1. Identify with the mindset of these executives: Present a detailed big picture to the top executives; they want results not just rankings.

 

2. Show them the payoff: The first question that will be asked in a situation like this is what is the return on investment? A lot of the return on investment will be either strengthening brand loyalty or building customer relationships. Social media efforts take time, this is not a short time thing. It will pay off in the long run and has the potential of being big.

 

3. Present a detailed budget: It is important to tell the top executives how the company’s money will be spent. It is crucial to be specific and honest at this stage. Money is not joking matter.

 

4. Show them a timetable for reaching milestones: It is difficult to put a time on a marketing plan like this; however there should be milestone markers that indicate some type of progress that is worth noting. This is said alongside of key performance indicators (KPI) so it can be easily shown how much time it will take to reach a certain milestone.

 

5.     Close the deal:  This part is the most important- Touch base on all the key messages of how the plan will help the company and what results will come out of it. Be honest of the potential outcomes that could be both positive and negative. Make sure the executives understand that the company as a whole needs to be proactive instead of retroactive especially when dealing with a social media marketing plan.

 

If you have done all these steps, well you shouldn’t be reading this part and celebrating instead! Congratulations you have completed your first C-Suite Buy- In. That wasn’t stressful at all right? Just remember, nothing worth having comes easy.

 

By: Jillian Berger

Doin’ it right

Most people believe social media is the easy and free way to gain attention from your publics. But, for the brands that effectively use social media spend time and money perfecting their brand. Social media marketing is more than posting about your products and what they are used for. It is about creating a brand along with a story that connects with people on a deeper level.

 

http://www.business2community.com/social-media/social-media-marketing-5-things-great-brands-always-right-0856645#!FIrtN

 

1. Great brands start with a strategy

You would never host an event with out planning and organizing before hand. The same goes for a social media marketing plan. Determining what you want to get from social media will help develop the steps to receive it. Determining what social media platforms work best for your companies demographics will help create meaningful content for your audience.

2. They choose wisely when determining who should implement 

Successful brands make the decision on who will the voice of their social media plans. More and more organizations are creating social media jobs specifically for their company. But, if the employees do not qualify hiring an agency is always an option. Being able to use social media is the easy part. Creating a story for your brand through social media is a special skill if used correctly can take your company to the next level.

3. They value high quality content

Spending time on creating your social media marketing plan is the key to success. High quality content contains videos, photos and eye-catching posts that are unlike any other brand. All of the posts are a reflection of what your company represents. If your posts are dull and monotonous, the public will assume the same with your company.

4. They ensure consistent messaging 

All of the posts should reflect the strategy that was developed in the social media marketing plan. Whether it’s Facebook or Twitter the posts should have the same “voice”. Your company should be willing to stand by every post that is created.

5. They regularly audit the strategy and implementation 

Monitoring your social media success can only help your company. If you are receiving your desired results continue what you are doing while creating new posts that reflect your “story”. If you are not accomplishing what you initially planned figure out what is not working and make changes. Perhaps you are using the wrong social media for your companies demographics or maybe your posts are not creative enough. But you can not make progress if you are unsure of what the social media plan is accomplishing.

By: Katy Bruegenhemke

Twitter’s Effects on Your Love Life

 

So lately there has been a lot of talk on how social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are now leading to higher divorce rates and breakups. At first, I thought this sounded completely absurd, but then the more I thought about it and researched it, the more it made sense.

A study was conducted by Russell Clayton, a journalism major at the University of Missouri, on how the use of Twitter can directly lead to infidelity and eventually divorce. Clayton surveyed 581 Twitter users, asking them general questions about how much time they spend on Twitter and how much they interact on the site as well.

Clayton stated that “If high amounts of Twitter use does, indeed, lead to high amounts of Twitter-related conflict (i.e., arguments pertaining to a partner’s Twitter use, etc.) among romantic partners, it is plausible to speculate that such conflict could lead to unfavorable relationship outcomes such as cheating, breakup, or divorce,”

Outlets such as Time Magazine, The Washington Post, and CBS have already picked up on this story, but I think it’s completely crazy.

The Week Magazine happens to agree with me. They posted an article debunking the theory of Twitter leading to breakups and divorce.

Jon Terbush says “I’m not sure why those findings should be all too surprising. You should absolutely expect that people who use Twitter more often would have more “Twitter-related conflicts” since there are simply more opportunities for those problems to arise. Same goes for cheating: If you never engage with people on Twitter, you’re probably not going to hook up with anyone via Twitter either.”

So what do you think? Is it possible for a social networking site to tear apart the makings of a marriage? Is Twitter going to be the new Tinder? Just be cautious of what your spending your online time on, and who your spending it with.

By: Molli Hutcheson

 

Socially awkward…?

What makes us awkward? Could the answer be social media? There is no doubt social media helps us establish relationships outside the digital realm but could in fact social media have an opposite effect and be causing us a lower quality of life? It is crazy to think how much social media drives our daily lives. If it is hard for you to realize how much social media influences and is a part of our lives, consider this fact: 24% of people who answered a survey said they missed out on enjoying the special moments (in real time) because in fact they were too busy trying to document their experiences for the digital realm of online sharing. We shouldn’t have to remind ourselves to “live in the now” but it has come to the conclusion that it is indeed a reminder must. Take a look at some other shocking statistics in Mashable’s infographic. http://mashable.com/2012/06/14/social-media-real-world-infographic/ hopefully after reading these statistics you have a better grasp on how much social media truly is a major part of our daily lives. You decide if it’s good or bad!

 

By: Jillian Berger

Monitoring vs. Measurement

When your company is researching through all of the social media monitoring tools there are two crucial elements to search for. You need look for a program that monitors and measures your brand on social media. Yes, in social media those words are not used interchangeably.

Monitoring

In social media, this is a process of discovering and listening to your audiences conversations. Listening to your audience can lead help you engage, help and collaborate with them. Your social media audience could include customers, prospects, industry leaders and former customers.

How it works:

Monitoring is typically uses relevant key words such as your brand name or product name. Then you use those keywords to find relevant articles and messages with your social media monitoring systems. Monitoring your company is critical if you have a presence on social media. Maria Ogneva from Mashable uses this analogy for social media as, “the largest cocktail party in the world”. It is a room with people that have a common desire to communicate, share, digest and relate. Some of the conversations can be about your company, your competitors or people looking for a product like yours. Many social media monitoring tools are free. Therefore, your company can hear feedback, opinions and other news regarding your industry for free. Social media monitoring does nothing but benefit your company.

 

 

Measurement

Social media measurement is concerned with mentions in a specific time period. Monitoring involves what people are saying and who those people specifically are. Measurement analyzes the specifics. What did people say about my company in a specific period of time? How does my company compare to others on social media?

How it works: This is when the program looks for articles where that specific combination of keywords are present. It then turns those words into relevant data reports. You then can look at that data by source and date. Measurement is important because it allows to to be accountable for whats going on in social media. It gives you metrics based on your companies presence on social media. This allows you to measure how your company is doing and how you can make it better.

 

By: Katy Bruegenhemke

Equations don’t always=Headaches

Did you know that equations aren’t just used to give you a headache? They can actually be pretty useful when it comes to social media monitoring. There are many ways in which you can measure the monitoring of social media, but the most popular and simplest way is known as the Net Promoter Score (NPS). This is used to measure the loyalty of a company’s customer relationships. There are three classifications of NPS; they are Promoters, Passives, and Detractors. The score is found by asking customers to answer one question using a 0-10 rating scale. Depending on how you answer the question(s), results in what type of score you get and how you are categorized.

Scores of:

9-10= Promoters- Loyal customers, fuel further growth for the company, refer product or service to friends.

7-8= Passives- Satisfied customers but open to other competitive offerings.

6-0= Detractors- Unhappy customers, likely to damage the image of the company and share negative things with friends.

Overall the NPS is solved by taking the percentage of promoters and subtracting the percentage of detractors. It is indicated by a plus (+) or minus (-) sign.

Hopefully now you know that equations really aren’t that bad and are really quite beneficial. For further information about NPS, check out this helpful site! http://www.netpromoter.com/why-net-promoter/know/

 

By: Jillian Berger

Hootin’ for Hockey

Social media monitoring is undoubtedly a great tool for marketers and PR professionals when it comes to tracking their social media counts and impressions. Social media monitoring allows for companies to track their social media efforts when it comes to reaching their audiences.

There are plenty of sites and services now offered to individuals and companies that allow people to monitor and track their social media efforts. One in particualar, is Hootsuite. Targeted towards busniesses, Hootsuite Enterprise allows social media efforts and impressions to be tracked and monitored. The service isn’t free, but it has worked wonders for many subscribers. Hootsuite can be used through mobile devices, allows for engagement, increases social security and provides subscribers with analytics to help them understand their audience.

The LA Kings have taken a liking to Hootsuite.

It might come to a shock that a professional hockey team was in need of a social media makeover, but with the help of Hootsuite, the LA Kings aimed to build an army of followers to change the game. After using Hootsuite, the Kings gained 87,358 new followers on Twitter in just 2 short months.

The Kings are now known for their Twitter “voice”. Dewayne Hankins represents the Kings’ digital media team, and is also behind their Twitter account. He is known for his witty, sarcastic remarks that give the Twitter account personality.

This is just one example of how social media monitoring services can be used to anyone’s advantage. The Kings’ 224% increase proves these tools to be useful to any PR professional or marketer.

 

By: Molli Hutcheson

 

The basics of location-based marketing

Location-based marketing can create help a company connect with their customers on a more personal level. Location-based marketing is the ability to create a specific marketing message based on the person’s geographic location and interests. Entrepreneur.com provides a informative outline on location-based marketing and how companies can benefit from it.

 

Here are the different types of location-based marketing:

Location-based services (LBS): different apps that include foursquare and SCVNGER that publicize information on the customer based on their location.

Near-field communications (NFC): when two devices are between two and 20 centimeters apart are able to exchange information with each other.

Bluetooth marketing: this technique is similar to NFC. It allows information to transfer using Bluetooth.

Location-based advertising (LBA): marketers use GPS and geo-fencing to location potential customers and send them message based on their location.

 

Companies such as Subway, Zuma Fashions and Domino’s have used these different technologies to market their customers. In all of 3 of those cases the digital campaign was very successful. In the U.K., Subway had customers sign up for the program and used LBA and MMS technology to communicate with customers that within a close distance of a store. As the customer was walking near the store Subway would send a text to them offering a discount on their food to incise them to come into the store.  This program attracts customers to eat at Subway that possibly we not planning on visiting there to begin with. It also is convienient for the customers to get a discount to Subway at that time since they are close to the store anyway. You may think it is weird that your location can be found by where your cell phone is but you might as well take advantage of the perks offered  from your location.

By: Katy Bruegenhemke

Social Media on the Move

It’s no surprise that with today’s technological advances that we can now carry the power of a computer in the palm of our hand. As of nine months ago, 61 percent of Americans owned smartphones, and that number is undoubtedly much higher now. So with this fact, marketers and PR professionals need to keep in mind that their audience is most likely accessing their information and consuming their messages while on the go.

With social media platforms being accessed from mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones, it is important for businesses to understand where their audience is spending their time, what they’re doing there and how can this information be used to the business’ advantage.

Patricia Redsicker from the Social Media Examiner posted an article on how social media is changing due to the convenience of going mobile. She reveals five facts in regards to mobile social media, and I think these facts are extremely useful when it comes to marketing to an audience. You have to know your audience to reach them, and these facts provide great insights:

1. Facebook Mobile is the Largest Source of Traffic

It’s no shock here that Facebook is taking the social media lead, but when it comes to mobile use, Facebook has astronomical numbers. Just from September 2012 to September 2013, the amount of people using Facebook Mobile grew 253 percent. Over 393 million users hopped on the Facebook Mobile train, and the number just keeps growing.

From a marketing standpoint, it’s important for people trying to reach a Facebook Mobile audience to keep their posts short and sweet. No one wants an entire screen of text, and on smart phones and tablets, smaller content will result in higher viewership.

2. Geo-Targeting Enhances Mobile Media

By knowing the exact location of your audience at all times, marketers can use this to their advantage in great ways. It allows businesses to know exactly where their consumers are spending their time and in turn, allows them to deliver relevant advertisements.

3. Snapchat and Instagram Gain Social Currency

Over 350 million photos are shared through Snapchat every single day. That is HUGE! And what is great is businesses are taking advantage of this. Some businesses are using Snapchat to allow users to take a picture of them with their product and send it to the company. In return, the company will snap them back a picture of a coupon for them to redeem.

Instagram is also taking the mobile media by storm. 18 percent of cell phone users use Instagram, and this number is increasing dramatically as well. It would be strong for businesses to use Instagram as a PR or marketing tool to share events with their audience or to show sneak peaks of upcoming products and promotions.

4. Video is a Must

There’s no doubt that video is extremely powerful and useful in the social media world, but with sites like Vine, Instagram and Snapchat, businesses need to consider just how important videos can be to their business. For brand awareness, it would be smart to consider introducing your brand through a video to your audience. To continue your brand and reputation, engage with others through video and entertain them with your content.

5. Social Media Skills are Lacking

It is an absolute must these days that businesses and corporations need to have some sort of social media presence. However, most people aren’t trained in the social media field, especially when it comes to mobile media. It is pertinent that your business is savvy in mobile social media and understands how to use it to your audience’s advantage.

 

It is important to understand that social media is heading in a new direction and these facts can definitely help you to enhance the messages you are sending to your audience.

 

By: Molli Hutcheson

Got the whole world in my hands

We have always been “busy” people, constantly moving and doing things. The way technology has evolved over the last couple of years is making our “busy” lives even more stressful in ways that we have never thought about before. We never seem to have a moment just to relax and have “us” time alone or with friends and family. There is a great example of this in an article by the New York Times called “Who’s the boss? You or your gadget? http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/06/business/06limits.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 The one thing that really made an impact was a term called “mobile computing” which is the use of portable wireless devices to connect to the Internet. Basically, this is the main reason why we don’t have “us” time. Simply because mobile computing made it possible for us to always be connected with other people. This is not just a term anymore it is reality. It has changed our lives. Is it for the best or for the worst you may ask. Well, that is up to you to decide. Personally I believe it is a great thing; however, it has truly changed how we not only interact with people but how we find our information. It is crazy to think how much time we really spend on our phones. We do everything on our phones because they are convenient and are capable of doing almost everything. In a 2011 study by Pew Internet, it said that over one-third of American adults one own a smartphone and 87% of them say they use their smartphone to access the web or email. 25% of those people surveyed also stated that they even preferred using their smartphone rather than a computer. This is where I tend to see an issue, because we are “too connected” to this inescapable addition being not only the Internet but our smartphones in general. Don’t get me wrong, mobile computing is a great thing also. It provides some powerful marketing opportunities as well as the growth of social networks. As reported in the 60 second Marketer, “mobile is one of the fastest growing platforms in the world. With that being said, it has the chance to become even more useful and powerful than it already is. As quoted in a theme song by one of my favorite shows, I would just like say remember not to get yourself too wrapped up in your hand held device and take a little time to enjoy the view.

 

By: Jillian Berger