Relevancy is key when developing and maintaining brand relationships via social media

When developing a social marketing plan, it is important to not only be engaging and relevant in order to attract fans initially, but also to maintain relevance to keep fans engaged.

Guide them on a journey

Image courtesy of graur razvan ionut

Social marketing, like any other marketing is about taking people on a journey and influencing them along the way.  According to Jason Breed, Global Social Media Practice Lead for Accenture, in order to determine what to focus on, it is essential to have a deep understanding of the target market to not just make the initial connection, but to continue to remain relevant to each individual consumer.  Marketers must tap into data to uncover consumer insights.  They must behave like an online sales person and maintain the consumers attention by looking for data and signals.

It is essential to remember that a buying decision process occurs online in a similar fashion to offline.  With consumers at varying stages of the buying cycle, social media messaging must be relevant to all stages so that it appears to be in context.  Social marketing must appeal to not only those that aspire to a brand but also the frequent purchaser so that one segment isn’t alienated at the expense of the other.

Followers and fans need to be treated as potential and current customers - persuading them through each and every touchpoint by being relevant, engaging and understanding their interests, motivations and needs.

The ultimate goal: Relevant, personalised communications within social media

In order to be even more relevant, brands must create an engaging “human experience” within social networks in realtime.  The beauty of social marketing is two-way interaction between the community members and the brand, therefore marketers should use customer insights to ensure they are interesting and relevant to ensure community members continue to engage and develop a deeper relationship with the brand.

How can we take it to the next level?

Facebook is already providing functionality for brands to tailor status updates, messages, videos and photos based on location (based on IP address) and language to ensure their offer is relevant geographically.  The ideal scenario for marketers will be when we can also talk to audiences with even more relevance by tailoring messages and content according to interest, previous likes, friends, other brands they are associated with, age, gender and product preference.  Not doubt, it is only a matter of time before we will be able to do this.

References

Breed, J, 2012, Social Media Relevancy And Today's CMO, CMO.com, viewed on 25th April 2012, http://www.cmo.com/social-media/social-media-relevancy-todays-cmo

Chaffey, D, Ellis-Chadwick, F, Mayer, R, Johnston, K, 2009, Internet Marketing: Strategy, Implementation, and Practice, Pearson Education, England.

Kretchmer, J, 2011, Content vs. Community: How Online Publishers Can Nurture Both, Mashable.com,  viewed on 25th April 2012,  http://mashable.com/2011/08/19/community-content-publishers/

Winning in the modern market

A quick look on Facebook will show you that many companies have not yet discovered how to really leverage social media for the benefit of their target market.   I have to admit that whilst this all sounds good in theory, it can be hard to apply and get right.  If companies want to excel in this area, they need to remember that engaging and relevant content is key and they must therefore have the right resources dedicated to it.  

Not all content is king

As many of the social media “experts” state “content is king”.  However, we must remember that not all content is king.  Getting the right content to attract the right audience is key to your success online.

There is a tendency to not dedicate enough time or the right people to creating content and therefore ending up with half baked content, last minute posts and too many “offers”.  The wrong content can not only dilute your message, it can also confuse and frustrate your audience.  The example below shows what can happen when you create posts that are perceived as spam.

Taking your audience on a brand journey

Justin Cox, Sr., Brand Strategist, Pereira & O'Dell says that marketers need to remember that consumers want to be entertained and that we should “behave like an entertainer”. 

According to Anoop Sahgal, Executive Marketing, Adobe Systems the key to success is in becoming “a great storyteller, not just a traditional marketer”.  For many people, this requires a huge shift in mindset.  If the secret is now to become what people are interested in rather than interrupting what people are interested in (as per my previous post), this reinforces the need for brands to tell a story and take potential and current customers on a brand journey.  Developing relevant, original content that doesn’t just resonate with the audience but also search engine-optimised to ensure people can find you is logical, but not always as easy as it sounds.  Anoop suggests that we should bring these skills inside the organization so we can be quick and flexible.  Whilst I don’t necessarily think that the person has to be employed by the company, (they could potentially be contracted) I do think they need to spend a lot of time within the organisation uncovering stories and insights to share with audiences.  In my experience I have found that when the person developing content is in touch with the business, they are able to bring the brand to life.  

Analysing the results and adapting to the market

The rise of the internet and digital technology has brought increased accountability to marketing departments.  We now have the technology to gain insight into the behaviours of our target audience like never before.  There is now an over abundance of information and the challenge for marketers is in how to determine what is important and what actions need to be taken to adapt to the market.

Getting the team right

One of the most essential components in creating compelling, relevant, interesting stories seems to be having the right talent with the right skill set.  This is difficult when many of these roles didn’t exist until only recently.  Brand storytelling could be described as being similar to the skills of a journalist or editor whilst analyzing online behavioral data and creating dashboards may be more similar skill-set to a CRM specialist.  Once the team has been armed with the right skills, the next step is then ensuring all channels come together to tell a cohesive and compelling brand story - offline and online.

When determining our own team structures, many managers may spend a vast amount of time deliberating over how to set up the team for long term success.  Taking into consideration the shift away from traditional advertising towards brand storytelling, there is no doubt that new skills are required in many marketing departments. Rather than simply appointing an “online marketing specialist” to manage all online marketing, would it be better to have a “brand journalist” and instead incorporate “online marketing” into the entire marketing teams’ role?  At this point this seems to be the most logical thing to do considering the shift towards consumers researching and purchasing via online channels is only likely to continue. Technology is just the enabler, so perhaps we should be developing roles that are skill based rather than having “online” experts.

References

Chaffey, D, Ellis-Chadwick, F, Mayer, R, Johnston, K, 2009, Internet Marketing: Strategy, Implementation, and Practice, Pearson Education, England.

Cox, J, Sr, 2012, Rethinking the Marketing Department, CMO.com, viewed on 22nd April 2012, http://www.cmo.com/leadership/rethinking-marketing-department

Miller, M, 2010, The ultimate web marketing guide, Pearson Education, USA.

Reed, J, 2011, Get up to sped with online marketing, Pearson Education, England.

Sahgal, A, 2012, CMOs, Agencies Take Relationship To The Next Level, CMO.com,  viewed on 22nd April 2012, http://www.cmo.com/agencies/cmos-agencies-take-relationship-next-level

Engaging with modern consumers

Only a short time ago, brands were fighting the mass media war.  A large advertising and media budget was the solution for most companies wanting to generate brand awareness.

Fast forward to 2012 and consumers are more distracted than ever before.  They are spoiled with never-ending entertainment options thanks to modern technology.  Entertainment options now include traditional websites, YouTube, blogs, social media, itunes, smartphones, iPod and iPad apps, playstations, interactive TV, DVD recorders, Apple TV and the list goes on....   

In 2012, it certainly wouldn’t be unusual for a couple to sit together on a couch watching TV each with a tablet or phone in their hands. According to a Q4 2011 Nielsen survey of connected device owners in the U.S. , U.K., Germany and Italy, it is now common occurrence for people to be connected online whilst watching TV (both during the show and in the ad breaks).

Videos of people on their phones falling into fountains and walking into doors are plastered all over YouTube.  If consumers are accessing their smartphones and tablets whilst on the go and while sitting at home, how are they going to notice our billboards or TV ads?  

They probably won't....

Source: Hubspot.com (2011)

Skepticism is everywhere

A growing number of people have become skeptical.  Instead relying on the advice of sales staff and believing the over-promises made by brands in their advertising campaigns, many consumers are turning to advice from “friends” in their social networks, bloggers and independent review sites.

Fundamentally, consumers now have a choice. Technology has changed the landscape and the ball is now in the customers court. It is now even easier for customers to either find you or chose to ignore you. It’s getting harder and harder to reach them.

If we are interesting, believable, trustworthy and engaging they will find us.

In the words of Craig Davis, Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide.  J. Walter Thompson, “We need to stop interrupting what people are interested in & be what people are interested in.”

Whilst it can be a difficult task to “know” what our target markets are interested in,  technology now provides businesses with the ability to engage in two way dialogue. Online communities behave similarly to offline communities in that organisations who are able to demonstrate they are trustworthy, relevant and are engaging tend to have a more intimate relationship with customers which fosters loyalty and word of mouth recommendations.

We need to engage with individuals rather than on mass

Online communities allow us to gauge whether we are being “interesting” and resonating with our target market.  Where mass media allowed a scattergun approach when trying to  resonate with target audiences, online communities allow us to communicate with markets the way thy want to be communicated with.  Another benefit is that marketers now have the opportunity to adjust their approach if they find they are not attracting and engaging online community members.

According to Hubspot (2011),  Inbound Marketing costs 62% less per lead than traditional, outbound marketing.  

If it all makes sense, what is stopping some marketers?

Developing an online community allows businesses the opportunity to form longer term relationships and engage with customers in two way dialogue and is cheaper than traditional marketing. Why is it still that some marketers are resisting the transition?   Could it be that although many marketers are starting to realise that traditional marketing is less effective than inbound marketing, convincing traditional stakeholders can be rather challenging?  I've found that when the going gets tough, it's often suggested to do a quick, low budget short term "tactical" traditional advertising campaign to stimulate sales.  In my own experience this tactic hasn't proven to be effective over the last couple of years unless the campaign is based on some form of a discount.  Whilst driving brand awareness through traditional channels is still a necessity, short term advertising is rarely an efficient use of funds unless of course large budgets are attached or the offer is extremely compelling and unique.  Personally I'd rather leave the discounting to the low budget retailers and get back to creating compelling propositions and fostering brand loyal customers who are willing to pay the price tag.

References

Chaffey, D, Ellis-Chadwick, F, Mayer, R, Johnston, K, 2009, Internet Marketing: Strategy, Implementation, and Practice, Pearson Education, England.

Hubspot, 2011, 100 Awesome Marketing Stats, Charts and Graphs for You!, viewed on 7th April 2012, http://www.hubspot.com/download-100-awesome-marketing-stats-charts-and-graphs/

Miller, M, 2010, The ultimate web marketing guide, Pearson Education, USA.

Neilsen, 2012, Double Vision - Global Trends in Tablet and Smartphone Use while watching TV, viewed on 7th April 2012, http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/double-vision-global-trends-in-tablet-and-smartphone-use-while-watching-tv/

Reed, J, 2011, Get up to sped with online marketing, Pearson Education, England.

Vaczi, D, 2011, Is your marketing strategy annoying your customers? viewed on 7th April 2012, http://www.adherecreative.com/blog/bid/95662/Is-Your-Marketing-Strategy-Annoying-Your-Customers

Fashion retailing in 2012 and beyond

The future of well known fashion brands are likely to be dependent on how well they adapt and adopt new business strategies.  Many Australian retailers seem to be failing in their quest to remain relevant.

With the retailing landscape changing due to technological advancements resulting in globalisation,  many brands are suffering from active inertia.  Global players ASOS, Net-a-porter, Covetish.com and even sellers on Etsy and Ebay are proving to be tough competition for local Australian retailers.

In recent years, technology has become a focus for many fashion brands in the promotion and distributing garments.

The rise of the Fashion blogger

A recent article in The Age around L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival highlighted the growing influence of high profile fashion bloggers on fashion savvy consumers across the globe. Many designers acknowledged their influence at the recent runways shows with front row seats.  It seems that these blogs have an appeal to both consumers and brands. In comparison to fashion magazine editorial, blog photography is often slightly more attainable and easier to relate to.  Many brands have noticed spikes in sales based on comments and posts from influential fashion bloggers and celebrities.  In the age of inbound rather than outbound marketing, blogging, micro-blogging, real time content generation and curation is only likely to continue to rise in popularity.

Mobile in one hand, garment in the other

Interestingly, many smartphone users are accessing the web whilst shopping.  In some cases they are comparing items in the flesh against items online in terms of price and style. 

Diesel recently brought their offline store into the world of social media with their in-store like campaign.  They set up QR codes within the store and encouraged people to “like” the item in exchange for a discount.  It’s an interesting concept to reward for liking in store and encouraging your customers to advertise to their friends on your behalf.  Lorna Jane also adopted when they recently introduced technology into their store that allows customers to take a photo of themselves in an outfit and post it into their Facebook page or Twitter feed.  

Other examples of offline meets online are stores that provide iPads so that customers can scroll through online catalogues and order items that are in store.  This is an interesting concept as it could allow stores to  carry only one of each size and encourage visitors to buy online and have the item delivered to their home. 

Online tools to encourage cross-selling and instill confidence

Online fashion brands have been innovative in reassuring customers who may have had hesitations about purchasing online without being able to physically try products on.  To counteract this concern, many sites offer free returns or exchange within X number of days.  This reassures customers that they won’t be stuck with an ill fitting garment.  The new online virtual dressing rooms take this one step further with the ability to “try on” clothes using a web camera.

Many fashion brands have also adopted a range of tools to encourage cross-selling and upselling.  Recommendation engines have become extremely popular and when executed well, can have great success.  Brands like net-a-porter are doing a great job of utilising this tool while some brands haven’t been quite so successful.  

Many fashion brands are now starting to realise that they may need to embrace technology in order to survive in the global market.  What tools do you rely on when shopping online?

References

Breen, J, 2012, Bloggers indulge their passion for fashion, The Age Online edition, viewed on 14th April 2011, http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/bloggers-indulge-their-passion-for-fashion-20120313-1uyf4.html

Chaffey, D, Ellis-Chadwick, F, Mayer, R, Johnston, K, 2009, Internet Marketing: Strategy, Implementation, and Practice, Pearson Education, England.

Miller, M, 2010, The ultimate web marketing guide, Pearson Education, USA.

Reed, J, 2011, Get up to sped with online marketing, Pearson Education, England.

The Drum, 2012, Report: integration of online and offline crucial to success of online retailers, viewed on 14th April 2011, http://www.thedrum.co.uk/news/2012/04/30/report-integration-online-and-offline-crucial-success-online-retailers