Lack of Engagement is like Giving a Customer the Cold Shoulder

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I feel that it is very important for businesses that market in the digital arena to be engaging with their audience.  If you use social media, respond and interact with your audience as opposed to just posting.  If you use your blog as a marketing vehicle, respond to comments and shares of your posts.  If you are listed on review sites like Angie’s List, Yelp or Kudzu and you receive a bad review, try to reach out to that consumer to see how you can make things better.

Sometimes people see digital marketing methods or business practices as a bit impersonal and cold, but it does not have to be.  I truly believe that it is possible to show a human side, engage, interact and really connect with people without physical contact.  Maybe I feel this way because I am an introvert and consider myself to be pretty good at forming strong bonds digitally.  Too me, the digital sphere is no different than the physical one.  If someone said “hi, I like your blouse” to me in real life, in the physical world; I would respond kindly with a “thank you” and probably a bunch of gibberish about how I found it at a thrift store, which one, on which sale day…I digress.  The point is that I would engage with them.  They took a moment of their time to reach out and pay me a compliment, to let me know that they noticed something about me and they liked it.  They did not have to do this.

If I had ignored them, I would have been giving them the cold shoulder and probably a negative impression as to who I am as a person.  This is the same for businesses and anyone that markets in the digital spectrum.  Respond, comment, connect and engage.  My (digital) friend Tracy over at Tracyville, wrote a post on responding to blog comments here that I thought was pretty good (check her out!).  She hit the nail on the head when she mentioned how it makes people feel to be responded to or not responded to.  We as marketers, have to be mindful to stay “human” and practice the same principles of physical interactions with our digital ones.

Brand Marketing Trend: Inclusion

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I’m noticing that brands are really trying to dial in to their customers and are crafting messages that subtly speak to them.  I say subtly because most are doing it in ways that are not bold enough to alienate or piss off customers (at least in some cases).  I’m seeing it more with the visuals that are presented along with their sales pitches.  The demographics of the actors in commercials and visual graphics; the make-up of a family unit; the ages, shapes and sizes of characters being used to promote the brand…even the language used.

The message is inclusion.  Brands are trying to say, “yes, we serve everyone; including you.”  However, it seems to be a very fine and tricky line to navigate.  Marketing to the masses and including everyone within that mass, is difficult to do without alienating large groups that may not like the inclusive message.  An example of this would be the Coca Cola Superbowl ad that featured Americans singing “America the Beautiful” in different languages that were a part of their culture.  A large number of people were upset to hear the song sung and featured in languages other than English.  It was a topic of debate on the local news in Atlanta for a few days and at the end of the day, was utterly ridiculous.  Coke’s message was inclusion and a celebration of the melting pot of cultures that is America.  In this case, it was viewed as bold and pissed off many.

Cheerios faced some wrath about a year ago with a commercial that featured a bi-racial family.  Again, inclusion; Cheerios created a visual that did not just speak to one group of people.  They were also acknowledging that families do not all have the same make-up.  The new Chevrolet Cruze commercial, points out that it’s a “new world” and that we are not all so different after all.  I think brands’ realize that consumers no longer seem to fall into just one bracket set of interests and demographics.  Their customers fall across a range and to better reach them; the advertising has to be more inclusive.

Have you noticed more of a trend for inclusion in advertising?

 

Coke Superbowl Ad

http://youtu.be/443Vy3I0gJs

 

Cheerios’ Ad

http://youtu.be/kYofm5d5Xdw

 

Chevrolet’s Ad

What Is Your Brainstorming Process?

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I am always curious to learn what other people do to brainstorm ideas.  Whether it is for a creative, design project; a new business concept/idea; or a marketing strategy.  So, I want to know.  What is your process for brainstorming new ideas and concepts?

Do you embark on this endeavor on your own or do you seek out a group of people to bounce ideas off of?  Which way do you think is better, and why?

Do you look for or engage in activities that help to spark creativity?  What helps to spark your creativity?

How do you determine if a brainstorming session has been fruitful or not?  How do you make your decision on what you will do or use from your brainstorming session?

Burning questions, I know, but I am really curious.  Indulge me a bit. 🙂

All Aboard the Email Train

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Recently I have been inundated with emails. They are from retailers that I have made purchases from in the past and present; sites that I signed up to and sites that I have no recollection of ever giving my email address to, but that are reputable. It is absolutely driving me crazy and feels a bit desperate. I am an avid online shopper. I feel I find the best deals for home and business on the web, but if I get one more “we noticed you looked at product X, can we interest you in this too,” email; I am going to scream. As a business owner, I understand the logic behind these types of transactional emails and as a marketer, I understand why so many brands are turning to email for their marketing purposes. I suppose this will be the marketing trend for 2014.

Social media marketing has gone from being “free,” to market and engage your customer to more of a “pay to play” environment. Granted, it was never entirely free to begin with if you factor in the cost of the time, effort and thought that goes into a successful campaign. Outside of that, the cost was free to minimal. Now these social networks are looking for ways to effectively monetize the audience and in a sense, power that they own. You want to put yourself in front of a large or targeted audience on social media networks? You now have to pay to do so. Facebook in particular has admitted that it’s algorithm works against you, but if you pay to promote, you can be in front of millions. Wink, wink.

For the past few months, marketers have been experimenting with some of the smaller and lesser known social media networks in an effort to migrate away from Facebook. It makes business sense from a budget perspective to not pay for something that was once free before, if you can get the same results elsewhere for free.

Social media networks have to look out for themselves and their shareholders (if they have them). At the end of the day, although we may enjoy using them and sharing on them, they are a business and they have to eat to make money. They are going to make changes that will benefit them and possibly not you and we have no control over that. Because of this, brands are looking to real estate, data and leverage that they do have control over. Websites and…ah, email lists… It’s very smart thinking. Brands that may have slacked off on email marketing before, are now dusting off and reviving those lists and their emails are filling my inbox.

This migration towards capitalizing on real estate that you own for marketing efforts, probably means that we will start seeing articles and posts about social media marketing being dead. We will see. I wrote a post a few months ago about whether email marketing was dead and then Facebook changed its algorithm (again), so it may die, but it also may be resurrected again. I do predict that if you aren’t already seeing an increase in marketing emails flooding your inbox, you will soon. It’s the next new trend. 🙂

Taking a Leap and Shouting it from the Mountaintops

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Deciding to go into business for yourself is taking a leap, a risky leap.  It could be a leap into a deep pit of pooh, or a leap on to a floating cloud.  Unfortunately, you will not know where your leap will land until you take that leap.  Taking a leap in life is scary, but the act of taking the leap is freeing.  Fear was faced and a fear was conquered because you took the leap.  Whether the leap ends badly or not, the act of taking the leap was a win.  Now you know.  Knowing what could be instead of wondering what could be, helps you move forward in life.  Wondering holds you back.

Every time I take a leap, I feel free, euphoric and a bit scared.  Each time, I ask myself, “why didn’t I do this before?”  Then, I want to shout it to the mountaintops because I want everyone around me to feel free and euphoric.  Anyone that I talk to that hints at having a dream, receives an earful of encouragement.  I notice this to be true with most entrepreneurs or anyone that has taken a bold leap in their life.  I cannot say that I know an entrepreneur that does not have a leap of faith story attached to their business’ beginning.

Outside of business, you hear story’s of triumph when someone decides to take a leap and take control of their health, weight, mental health and personal relationship woes.  They shout their triumphs from the mountaintops and we applaud, praise and admire them.  My point?  Take a leap.  Everyone has something that they have always dreamed of doing or trying.  Take that leap and join those that have leapt, on the mountaintop.