Category: social media

More Than a Budget

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Marketing is so much more than a budget. In a pre-social media world, it may have been easier to convince a consumer to buy through splashy campaigns and endorsements. Today, consumers control the conversation and if you aren’t making a product that they want, you won’t be able to convince them otherwise.

Even if you do, they now have a worldwide reach and they can tell the whole world what they think of your product. It’s much more rewarding (though definitely not easier) spending time, effort, (and yes) money researching and developing products that resonate with consumers. When you have a product that you are proud of and that fits the market – then take it to the world.

Social Media Is (Not) The Answer

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Have a conversation about marketing today and I bet the subject of social media will be raised. Some people even capitalize it – Social Media!

While social media has changed the game, it’s important to emphasize that it is not the answer. It is (get ready to have your mind blown) part of the equation.

Too many folks dive head first into every social media site they can find without a clear reason for doing so. Because these sites are “free” what harm can it do? That’s a bit like buying every car on the lot just because you can. In reality, though social sites may not cost a monetary amount, they do cost time and effort. Each of those cars needs to be driven, washed, and maintained if you want to get the most out of them.

Make sure you have a plan before you jump in the driver’s seat. Know where you want to go and how you plan to get there, otherwise, you’re probably “gonna have a bad time.”

This Is Your Wake-Up Call

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Lifehacker has a story today on WakeupDialer. If you couldn’t guess by the name, this is a service that wakes you up with a phone call that plays a recorded message. This got me thinking about a roommate I once had that asked his mom to call him every day to wake him up for work.

Why not just use an alarm clock? The theory at work here is based on decades (depending on your age) of Pavlovian-style programming. We’ve been programmed for years to jump when the phone rings. Until the advent of caller ID (and to a lesser extent answering machines), you had to answer the phone.

Why? Because. Because it could have been an emergency or it could have been that special someone – or it could have been that special someone with an emergency (note: did drunk dialing occur before cell phones?). In the end, this was a very targeted affair. Chances were (fairly) good that you knew the person on the other end and what they had to say was actually meant for you. When it wasn’t (telemarketers) we got very angry.

People respond to wake-up calls because of the inherent social connection. My roommate responded because he did not want his mom to think he was letting her down.

Now, think about your marketing. Is your marketing more like a personalized wake-up call from Mom or is it the generic, easily-ignored, and just plain annoying noise generated from the bedside clock radio? Which one do you think gets a better response?

3 Ways Netflix Could Have Handled Pricing-Gate Differently

MattLeave a Comment on 3 Ways Netflix Could Have Handled Pricing-Gate Differently

By now, I’m sure you have heard, Netflix intends to split its streaming and DVD services in two. Customers that were once receiving DVDs and streaming, will now how to pay for both. Not so bad on its surface, right? It actually sounds like a smart move, separating the company into dedicated segments allows employees to specialize and deliver more expertise. The problem is not what Netflix is doing. It’s how it did it.

Netflix has grown a loyal following through the years by over-delivering when other carriers under-performed. Blockbuster charged way too much on the way out the door and the way back in (late fees). Netflix charged an acceptable amount and made going to the mailbox fun again. When most other streaming services suffered from frequent buffering and only allowed us to watch on our computers, Netflix delivered a strong, reliable solution that made consumers overlook the dearth of content.

Instead of building on this brand equity Netflix  under-delivered AND under-performed. The brand began by alienating the enablers of its tremendous growth, its customers. Some customers (like me) did not receive notification of the change in a timely manner. The news exploded on social media and some customers had to find out from friends and the Twitterverse before hearing directly from the provider.

Recommendation Number One: The Customer Comes First
No matter what the message, it’s important that the first news of the change comes from the brand. Otherwise, the noise from social channels amplifies the negative and drowns out the positive. If your brand can get the first word in, it’s at least a building block towards understanding. Be proactive with the message.

Recommendation Number Two: Be Honest
The blog message that Netflix used to announce the pricing changes was informational in nature but I’m still questioning if the “Lowest Price Ever” angle is the best way to go. Consumers in this digital age are smart, and if they aren’t all smart, they’re probably friends with somebody that is. So let’s not try to spin this in such a positive light. Let’s be honest. What if Netflix were to lead off by saying thank you to all the customers for the tremendous growth. Then explain that in order to continue offering a strong selection and incredible service, we have to make changes. The low price angle just doesn’t resonate when, for most customers, it’s actually a price hike (to continue the same service(s)).

Recommendation Number Three: The Customer Always Comes First (and Last)
Now, let’s consider how Netflix is implementing these pricing changes. They go into effect immediately for new customers and in September for existing. Most of the posts I’ve read felt like this treatment was a slap in the face for existing, heretofore, loyal customers. These customers have helped fuel the company’s meteoric growth and they get a 60 percent price hike and a 45 day respite for their efforts? Why not reward those that have been with the company by grandfathering them in or offering special loyalty rates? In an age where competition is high and switching services is as easy as downloading a new app, customer appreciation is key. Verizon recently moved to tiered data plans but avoided similar outrage by grandfathering in current unlimited plans.

The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that Netflix has built its brand around convenience. A price hike is not convenient and finding out about it from second-hand sources is also not convenient. Be proactive, be honest, be consistent, and always think of the customer – or someone else will.

What Oprah Can Teach Us About Social Media

MattLeave a Comment on What Oprah Can Teach Us About Social Media

A few weeks ago, I set out on the great Twitter adventure. As much as I like to call myself a marketing professional, I was pretty late to the game with that. Nonetheless, I dove in head first trying to read, click, and absorb everything I could about what works and what doesn’t in the Twitterverse.

I’m still very much a novice and if you count followers as success, I’m pretty far down the chain, but I did learn a few things. Mainly, I’ve learned that a lot of people claim to have “steps” for social media success. My timeline is filled with “5 things” and “3 things” and “how NOT to’s” but after further observation, I realized that everybody is really just following the same formula — Oprah’s.

Yep, Oprah. She has succeeded by doing a few things very well. Not coincidentally, building a social media following is strikingly similar to building a media empire.

    • Listen to Your Audience – This is probably the hardest of the steps to prove with anecdotal evidence. But I think it’s fairly plain to see that Oprah has achieved success by listening to the audience. This helps keep the show focused on issues that matter to that audience. By taking the pulse of the audience, Oprah had the ability to deliver what the audience wanted. Use searches or just browse your follower’s profiles to see what everyone is talking about.
    • Be Authentic – One of Oprah’s greatest talents is the ability to relate to her audience as a normal person. She asks questions as a lay person, not as a celebrity. She also has very publicly struggled with weight issues. By publicly enduring these ups and downs (whatever they may be), she proved to her audience that they are all struggling with the same things. Common experiences help form relationships. This is Twitter’s real draw, we get to see behind the curtain. While it certainly can go too far, it’s important to let your audience know that you are human.
    • Deliver Valuable Content – After listening to your audience to find out what they like and what they’re like; It’s time to deliver the goods. Convince the audience that you have something worth listening to, or reading, or talking about. Oprah does this by selecting  experts that deliver no-nonsense advice for the problems that every day people are going through. This is interesting because Oprah isn’t necessarily developing the initial content herself, she is playing editor-in-chief and selecting which articles to publish to her audience. We can do the same thing.
    • Be Consistent – Now I have to clarify, I’m not actually an Oprah watcher, but just about every woman I know is at least a fan and an occasional viewer. By delivering high quality content every weekday, Oprah has become a reliable, resource for day-to-day life. She will be hard to replace simply because it is so hard to deliver value on such a consistent basis.  So the next time you think it’s too much work to send out an @reply or compose a blog, just be thankful you aren’t producing a one hour talk show. If you aren’t there delivering content every day, someone else is.
    • Syndicate – Oprah is a very wealthy lady and part of the reason is because of the syndicated nature of her show. Her show is available in every market, every day, sometimes at two different times in the same market. This means her viewers simply have the opportunity to stay abreast of her content wherever they are. In recent years she has taken the syndication farther with O Magazine and yes, even Twitter! We have the same opportunity with social media. Take the content you create and syndicate it throughout your social networks.