I am launching a new service at South By Southwest this year. I don’t have a name for it yet, but I am ready to describe the interwoven offerings. My highly customized introduction to Austin, Texas is a combination of concierge-like services, plus Marcom magic. I will pick you up in my Volvo wagon at […]
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Sharing our activities on social media for our “friends” isn’t a new phenomenon, however, it has recently been approached with a different angle. Brands have taken the power of social media and implemented giveaways solely via their online platforms. It can be a hassle trying to figure out the best approach when implementing a giveaway […]
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Heads up SFO. A small city of people are flying in for Dreamforce, the annual user conference put on by Salesforce.com in San Francisco this week.
According to reports, some of the Dreamforce badge wearers will be seeking information on how to incorporate social media marketing and social selling into their practice. Others may be looking for a good party to attend. I hear Green Day is performing at a VIP function. How punk rock is that?
According to USA TODAY’s preview piece on the conference, L’Oreal began using new marketing and analysis tools Salesforce rolled out this year.
The software helps automate the process of discovering the interests of existing customers, then deciding which promotions to send to their social media accounts, via text or video ads.
L’Oreal brand managers used it to sign up thousands of hair salon owners in the U.S., who in turn used it to create thousands of Facebook pages that were peppered with social media ads for shampoos and conditioners.
I am a huge fan of discovering the interests of existing customers. That’s the fuel on which marketing runs. But I will admit to getting hung up a bit with the idea that software will effectively automate the process. I’m not saying software does not work in this capacity, or that this particular software as a service is not needed. Rather, I want to question which sales and marketing processes can and should be automated, and which work best when done manually.
I know this much, an email does not equal a phone call and a phone call does not equal a face-to-face meeting. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter, and possibly include said thoughts in an upcoming feature article.
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What business goals can social media help your company achieve?
Brand exposure and increased engagement are workable goals. But what about customer service? Is this opportunity woven into your social marketing strategy?
Mike Proulx, senior vice president and director of social media at Hill Holliday, says, “Far beyond a clever tweet, people want great products and service, and they want to feel heard.”
I agree. But do we have any data on this? Decision makers need data!
Forrester’s Nate Elliott, for one, is lending a hand.
The average online American fits into Forrester’s ‘Social Snackers’ category — they don’t shy away from social interactions with brands and companies, but neither do they frequently seek out such interactions. Marketers targeting this audience should treat social tools as a secondary, rather than a primary, part of their marketing plan.
Are your customers and prospects social snackers? The probability is high. But they may fall into one of Forrester’s other categories: Skippers, Savvies or Stars.
Back to Proulx’s contention for a moment. I agree that people want to be heard and cared for by customer service reps, online and in person. But how does this jive with Forrester’s Snacker persona? Do Snackers, who are in the majority, want deep engagement with brands they follow online? I think the answer is yes, but only when it matters. When there’s a billing dispute or a service error of some sort, it matters.
Given how many of us are Snackers, what are brands are doing all day, every day in social media channels?
There’s no doubt that the chance to add value is there, staring every brand in the face. But effectively delivering on the promise of SMM means coming up with the perfect mix of social updates for your clearly identified audience (see above) — say 30% brand building, 50% conversational/relationship building, and 20% promotional, or whatever ratios your market situation calls for.
One pro who knows what the situation calls for is Pete Blackshaw, global head of digital marketing and social media at Nestlé.
People tend to romanticize social media, fans and followers, but there are some really difficult operational questions that need to be asked. How do you ensure you’re properly staffing and resourcing and responding, and doing so 24/7? And with nearly 170 million fans across over 750 brand pages on Facebook alone, this is no easy task.
…Social media is a reflection of brand love, or in some cases issues that people have with brands. It’s kind of a mirror into brand equity, brand performance, brand reputation. The question is, to what extent will the brands proactively manage it or seek to amplify it?
The big takeaway here is the need for rigor and discipline in social media marketing. That’s what clients like Nestlé who spend tens of millions on social media marketing demand and deserve.
Previously on AdPulp: Brand Babble Is Social Media Pollution
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Social selling is the focus of my new feature for The Content Strategist. I describe social selling in the article as the practice of leveraging social networks to enhance lead generation and boost conversions.
The point of the piece is to help determine content’s role in the sales process. We already know how content is the centerpiece of marketing campaigns, but how do sales teams leverage content to gain a competitive advantage?
For a good answer to this increasingly common question, I turned to Jill Rowley, social selling evangelist at Oracle.
“Content is the currency of the modern sales organization,” she says.
Rowley is currently busy educating 23,000 salespeople at Oracle on how to prospect and engage leads via social media channels. “The goal is to socially surround the buyer in a buyersphere of influence.”
We can make OPP (other people popular) by using OPC (other people’s content), she suggests.
I also spoke to a marketing director none too keen on the idea of using Twitter or Facebook for social selling.
Andy Tretiak, chief marketing officer for Sporting Kansas City, said, “We’ve put a large stake in brand and the last thing we want to do now is turn people off with the sales machine.”
Yet, clearly there is a time and place for social selling. For instance, if I turn to you now and suggest that you consider hiring Shawn, Dan, Wade or me to make ads for you, I am selling our services in this extremely content-rich environment of our own making.
And content’s role is clear here: it’s the price we pay to get on your radar and open doors to larger conversations.
Have you ever considered what the makers of AdPulp might help you achieve? Let me throw an idea your way. We research and write cogent articles everyday. You can hire us to do this for you or your clients.
After nine years on the AdPulp mic, one thing I have learned is the need to make a clear path from our offerings here to paid work. We continue to seek sponsors to fund the site, but the best way to support AdPulp is to work with us behind the scenes on a key project, or senior staffing need.
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This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
