Archive for the 'Digital Branding' Category
Brand advocates are more important than ever.
The growth of the social web has meant one thing to a lot of people: information overload. So much so that folks are regularly sharing content without consuming it — we’ve all been guilty of this at one time or another. You get a headlined Tweet or Facebook post from a particular writer or brand X and you pass it along, never bothering to click through and actually read or view the content.
David Spark makes some interesting observations about this in a recent Mashable article titled “Why Sharing Online Content Might Be Too Easy”:
None of this “sharing without consumption” behavior surprised me, but I thought these users were in the minority, and that it would never be pronounced enough to be noticeable. That was until I saw one of my own posted videos receive more shares than views. It was a low discrepancy, 52 shares and 48 views, and I didn’t see any bot-like behavior. Still, it was clear to me that sharers were more interested in being seen as someone sharing my video, entitled “How do you get everyone to watch your video,” rather than actually watching it.
My situation is not an anomaly. SocMetrics, an influencer identification service, was able to uncover 100 more similar cases of shares exceeding views.
So how does a brand rise above the content clutter and stand out? How do marketers get their customers to actually read an article or view a video? Rob Fuggetta, CEO for Zuberance, a company that helps brands leverage word–of–mouth, says look to your brand advocates — energize those folks and encourage them to share your brand’s content.
“There’s a trend that has been taken place whereby consumers don’t trust marketers and advertising, but they do trust their peers and friends,” says Fuggetta. “What traditional media channels and advertisers continue to face is a loss of trust between brand creator and consumer. That’s why brands need to be building relationships with brand advocates to act as marketing partnership with friends.”
Before rallying your advocates, though, you’ve got to first identify who they are. And surprisingly, a brand’s best advocates are not always the customers who buy the most. They are the customers whose word–of–mouth brings the most profitable new customers to your door, regardless of how much they themselves buy. Identify those people by sending inquiries to your CRM database on their likelihood to recommend your brand on a scale of 0 to 10 (Fuggetta calls this the “ultimate question”) with 0 being low and 10 being high. Those who answer 9 or 10 are the ones you want to energize.
You can also scan the social web for evidence of brand advocacy – like testimonials on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networks.
Once you’ve identified your advocates, give them what they need to go out and spread the word. Keep in mind, though, that not all brand advocates are alike. Some are willing to create content, while others may prefer to share offers and still others may only be willing to give a testimonial. Brands, therefore, need to develop some kind of learning system that helps them figure out what their advocates are willing to do. And by all means, don’t annoy people by asking them to do something multiple times they haven’t responded to in the past.
Also, find ways to identify with your advocates and build a strong sense of community. Reinforce their brand experience and reward engagement by showing genuine appreciation for the work they do on your behalf. This gives them a stake in the brand and will encourage advocates to share on your behalf. And — at least in theory — that sharing gives you a better chance of actually getting others to read or view your content. After all, wouldn’t you be much more likely to click through something a friend or colleague sends versus what’s coming directly from a marketer?
We’d love to hear from you. Share your thoughts and comments on how to get people to actually engage with branded content.
1 commentAlfredo Muccino to speak at GlobalShop09.
Alfredo Muccino, Liquid Agency’s CCO, is scheduled to deliver a seminar about using technology to drive sales at retail.
GlobalShop is the largest annual tradeshow of its kind in the world, featuring more than 800 exhibitors of fixtures, digital signage, visual merchandising and in-store marketing products. GlobalShop’s conference program which has hosted more than 50,000 attendees features experts in store design and shopper marketing…and Alfredo Muccino, the Chief Creative Officer is amongst the speakers at this year’s conference.
As part of GlobalShop 09, Alfredo will be delivering a presentation on March 24th at The Sands Expo in Las Vegas titled “Technology, Brands and Retail: The New Landscape”. The one hour seminar will address the many different ways that brands are leveraging technology to make a bigger impact at retail. Using real case studies and current examples, Alfredo will explore how savvy brands are connecting with customers online and in-store using new technologies—ranging from social media to mobile devices. The presentation will focus on how brand managers and retailers can leverage the opportunities inherent in this new marketing landscape to create traffic, drive sales and build more loyalty from customers.
Last year Alfredo delivered a seminar on “Building Brands at Retail”, which was very well received and was attended by over 300 retail professionals, including retailers, brand marketers, creative agencies and merchandising fabricators.
Due to the difficult economic landscape, everyone expects that attendance at this year’s show will not be as high as last year’s event – however the folks that will attend will be the ones that are serious about their business. According to Alfredo, “The retail industry is being gravely affected by the economic downturn, and every brand and every retailer is interested in ways to drive sales. This seminar will help people understand how they can leverage technology to do just that – and do it cost-effectively”.
For more information visit www.globalshop.com
No commentsTen Principles of Consumer Generated Advertising Campaigns
I was recently reading Max Kalehoff’s blog about Consumer Generated Advertising Campaigns and really think he hits the nail on the head. Many of his comments echo the outcomes of the module from our Brand Summit moderated by Colin Decker. I encourage you to read it and take heed when thinking about using CGM (Consumer Generated Media) in your next campaign.
Important to note that a CGM campaign must be connected to larger business goals (otherwise why bother?) and that CGM is not necessarily a less costly alternative than traditional production as this avenue can be very resource intensive. Finally, item ten in his list is a big winner in my book. Move from campaign to platform. One of Colin’s points during our session and echoed by Max is that the big mistake marketers make is producing a successful CGM campaign, and not “letting it live.” As Max says, “prepare a platform to facilitate and leverage sustained engagement and brand return.”
What do you think?
2 commentsSocial Media & Conversation Marketing
A new book on Social Media covers the biggest trend in marketing.
Derek Gordon, VP of Marketing at Technorati suggests taking a look at a new book titled “The New Influencers” by Paul Gillin. The book is mentioned in an article by Dean Takahashi who covers the technology business for the Mercury News. The book covers the relatively new trend of “conversation marketing”, which has been facilitated through blogs and social media. The author shares many viewpoints with Derek Gordon, who facilitated a session on “Blogs and Social Media” at the Liquid Brand Summit 2007, including the notion that companies need to be more transparent, stop trying to control messages, and start joining the conversation in a meaningful manner. Now you have something to read poolside!
