Do you really need social media?

For most companies today, the answer is yes. Social media not just the "flavor of the day" for marketers. There are real opportunities to engage with your customers to build a loyalty and commitment to your brand or company that can differentiate you in an increasingly commodotized world. And we now have real world case studies in almost every business category that prove its power.

But surprisingly, there are still some Luddites who haven't at least explored parts of the social media scene. And, I've spoken with more than one marketing manager lately who is questioning the value of social media for their company.

Here's a news flash folks. Social media won't work without a real understanding of what it can do for your company, a realistic plan for implementation, and the patience (and passion) to make it happen.

With humblest apologies to Will Shakespeare for my play on Hamlet's famous words, "to blog or not to blog" is not the right question. Let's talk about the real questions you should be asking before you launch your corporate blog, draft your next tweet, upload that video to YouTube, or whatever social media you want to use. Even if you are already using social media, it's not a bad idea to stop, take a deep breath, and really think through what you want to accomplish with the new digital marketing tools that are available.

Here are the real questions you should be asking about social media:

1. What is my goal for social media?
It is certainly logical to start with the big picture, but you would be surprised at how many companies say "we need a Facebook page" without a clear understanding of its potential value for their company and its role in an integrated communications plan. Just because everyone else has a Facebook or Twitter account is not a good reason for opening one.

If you are already using or considering how to use new technologies like blogs, podcasts, online video, wikis, widgets, etc. you need to make sure you know what you want to accomplish or you may end up using the wrong tool.

2. Who do I want/need to reach? Can social media reach that audience?
Technology has added a new dimension to analyzing and defining the optimum target audience. In addition to understanding their demographics and their psychographics, we also need to factor their technographics into the evaluation. How comfortable are they with using the new technology tools? Do they use their smart phone or their home computer most often? What new technology tools are they currently using? How would they prefer to interact with your company?

Good marketing still requires the basics of understanding your target audience, their media consumption habits and the benefits you can deliver.

3. What are the best strategies and tactics to reach this target?
This seems so basic, but is still a critical question that must be answered in order to optimize your ROI. Notice that I used the plural "strategies and tactics", not the singular. In most cases, you should be considering multiple social vehicles, but before you jump in you should make sure you have mastered one vehicle before launching another.

I believe that many companies that are failing or disillusioned with social media are simply trying to do too much at one time. They've launched a blog, added a Facebook page, YouTube page and Twitter account and are trying to monitor and evaluate, etc. with limited resources or without a realistic understanding and appreciation for the time and effort it takes to mount a successful program.

I recommend that you stop what you are doing and take advantage of the many free reports and white papers on social media for guidance on who's doing what. For example, a 2010 study concluded that Facebook is more popular for B2C, while LinkedIn is used by more B2B companies. But is that still the case? The challenge, and beauty, of social media is that it is continuing to evolve. Some have described the social media scene in the past as the Wild West. In many ways, that is still the case. So take the time to read current case studies that show the effectiveness of different options. And decide what is best for your business.

Internet search can help you gain better understanding of the best strategies and tactics to consider for your social media program. Just type "social media research" into your search engine and see how many hits you get!

4. What resources do I have available or need in order to implement an effective, on-going program.
Contrary to popular belief among many companies, social media is not a free alternative to traditional media. It will take time, money and patience to use social media effectively. Too many companies jump into social media without understanding how much time it really takes. Unlike Kevin Costner, you cannot assume that "if you build it they will come". That may be the most misunderstood element of social marketing. You can just set up a Facebook account and expect people to automatically LIKE you and visit regularly. You've got to give them a reason. And in many cases an incentive to do so. There are many tools to help you post, share and monitor your efforts more efficiently, but it will still require time on some one's part.

And it will require someone who understands the company and the audience, as every social media "expert" will tell you that content is king. So if you think you can just hand it off to that recent college graduate who is more comfortable with technology than some of your older staff, you should make sure they not only understand the technology, but also know how to write well and can represent your company brand.


There are many other questions that come up along the way, but these are the basics for anyone who is considering starting or expanding their social media effort. And if you've been using social media for awhile, it never hurts to stop, take a deep breath, and analyze what you've been doing based on these questions. Whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of putting the cart before the horse, as my dad used to say. Know the basics of who you need to reach and what you want to accomplish before you decide which new technology to explore.

And keep this thought in mind. Most of your customers don't want to have a relationship with your company unless there is some value associated with the effort that is required on their part. It's up to you to figure out how to engage them and keep them engaged. Good marketing still requires good marketing.

Are You Taking Advantage of Online Video as an Advertising Tool?

Online video is one of the fastest growing advertising channels in the U.S., and several recent studies indicate that online video will continue to rise dramatically relative to other ad channels over the next few years. As an advertising tool, online video is expected to dramatically outpace growth in search, display ads and rich media.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project's major report on online video last year confirmed that the growing adoption of broadband has resulted in a dramatic increase in viewing online video. Fifty-seven percent of online adults have used the internet to watch or download video, and 19% say they watch some form of video every day. This number grows even more when respondents are qualified by connection speed. Three-quarters of broadband users (74%) who enjoy high-speed connections at both home and work watch or download video online.

While YouTube leads the way in online video adoption by a wide margin, many advertisers have been hesitant to use it as an advertising vehicle. National advertisers and agency heads have said that the user-generated content is too edgy or unprofessional to be considered a serious advertising medium, but that may be changing. Google CEO Eric Schmidt has admitted that YouTube has fallen short in ad revenues, but he has pledged to make monetizing the site one of Google's top priorities. YouTube has recently started airing long form independent films, which should raise its professionalism perception to prospective advertisers and agencies. Media analyst Mark Glazer predicts that “with the brains behind Google trying to solve the advertising problem at YouTube, there's a good chance they will find a breakthrough format or idea.”

We are beginning to see dramatic growth in viewership of premium content sites like Hulu, ESPN, Nickelodeon, CNN and ABC. Hulu now claims to have run 88 million videos. This is only a fraction compared to YouTube’s 4.2 billion, but many analysts suggest that Hulu will be the more successful business since Hulu can sell advertising in 100% of its inventory. According to one estimate, Hulu could generate $90 million in revenue in its first year, roughly the same U.S. revenue as YouTube.

Almost all industry analysts agree that professional-quality online-video content is particularly promising because it's what ad agencies, media agencies and media companies already know. Clients and agencies will feel more comfortable developing new content or re-purposing existing television content for the web.

It is particularly interesting to note that local retailers and other small and medium-sized businesses are beginning to use video to promote their services. Restaurants, legal practices and specialty retail shops are leading the charge, but local tourism attractions and financial services won’t be far behind. Their use is sparking the formation of yet another fast growth industry that specializes in online video production. Two startups to watch closely are http://www.pixelfish.com/ and http://www.turnhere.com/ . These sites offer high-impact, broadcast-quality video that is easy and affordable for even the smallest advertiser, and this is a natural area for local, independents and free-lancers to develop a new revenue stream.

Online video advertising is fast approaching a point to become a natural adjunct to any broadcast advertiser's media plan, as well as a lower entry cost medium for those who can’t afford traditional television. If you’re not using online video, it would definitely be in your best interest to evaluate its potential for your business.

Ten Marketing Trends You Can't Afford To Ignore

It will come as no surprise to marketers in almost every business category that 2008 will be a difficult year. The economy appears headed for a recession, whether we use the “r” word or not. The credit industry is facing the repercussions of too many years of questionable decisions on credit-worthiness, and we’ve all discovered that the keyword “sub-prime” doesn’t really have anything to do with the prime interest rate. Fuel prices continue to rise, with no relief in the immediate future, no matter how much more corn we grow. The healthcare industry continues to be a mess, and the current political discourse hasn’t revealed any plausible solutions to the issues.

But even with all of these caution flags waving high, opportunities are still available for marketers that are willing to try new things and take advantage of the changes that continue to occur in our media consumption habits and attitudes toward marketing.

Here are some of the key trends that we believe will play an important role in marketing during 2008 and beyond:

1. The shift from traditional media to online and other new media alternatives will accelerate to the point that online will become a traditional medium. For several years, marketing giants like P & G, Kraft and Unilever have simple dipped their toes in the water of online marketing, with less than 10% of their marketing budgets (and their marketing efforts) devoted to alternative media. I believe that advertising in traditional broadcast and print vehicles will continue to be a staple for many advertisers, but the astounding growth of social media and the availability of broadband connections in the home environment will shift online advertising from being a secondary, or even tertiary, afterthought to one of the most important elements of a marketing program. The Internet is now used extensively by every major demographic group for information, communication and entertainment. According to Forrester, online marketing spending will triple to $61 billion over the next few years, and experts predict that online spending will account for 25 -30% of all marketing dollars by 2015.

2. The integration of off-line support for online campaigns will continue, with television playing a major role in developing that synergy. Over the past two years, we have seen an increasing use of television and other off-line media to drive customers to a web site where they can find more in-depth information. Once there, a longer form sales message can be used to tell the story and build customer loyalty. A great example of this is the current Burger King Whopper Freakout campaign. Thirty second television commercials and selected print ads direct consumers to a special web site http://www.whopperfreakout.com/, where an eight-minute, documentary-style video tells the story of how real customers reacted to a staged situation of a Burger King that no longer offered the Whopper on its menu. It is a very creative way to demonstrate a taste preference for the Whopper versus the Big Mac and other alternatives, and according to Burger King has received over 1.5 million views in its first month, about five times what a company spokesman said is considered successful.

3. E-mail marketing will continue to grow in importance, but will evolve from its current context. Consumer fatigue from mailboxes overloaded with too many unsolicited and irrelevant offers will force marketers to focus their efforts on delivering relevant messages when they are most willing to listen to them. In order to avoid consumer shutdown and rejection, marketers will need to take advantage of increased use of behavioral targeting and other analytic tools to deliver e-mail that is triggered by consumer actions, not their own promotion activity.

4. Brand loyalty and customer retention will eclipse brand awareness and customer acquisition as primary marketing goals and evaluation metrics. Past marketing tactics have focused on building broad scale awareness with a resulting belief that the more people you reach, the greater chance you have of converting a sale and acquiring a new customer. In today’s multiple-choice world, simply knowing that a product or service exists isn’t enough. In this environment, product relevance to niche market segments is a much more powerful marketing tool, and marketers should focus their efforts on building loyalty and retaining the customers they already have.

5. Word-of-mouth marketing will become more intentional as a primary marketing tool. While marketers have always hoped to achieve positive word-of-mouth due to its presumed greater credibility, word-of-mouth can no longer be a happenstance event but rather an important part of an integrated marketing program. Deliberate efforts to generate beneficial consumer conversations through viral marketing and other buzz marketing tactics will grow in importance. WOMMA, the Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association, reported the results of a national survey in their November conference that identified word-of-mouth marketing as the "fastest-growing segment of the $254 billion marketing services sector," and reported that "Brand marketers are responding, and have begun to increase their WoM media budgets, moving from test phase to implementations that support their integrated marketing campaigns." We caution marketers, though, to be transparent and honest in their efforts, or they will face the wrath of the FTC who has announced they will pay close attention to "unfair or deceptive acts or practices" such as the recently reported scandal created by John P. Mackay, co-founder of Whole Foods Market. Mr. Mackay has admitted that he used a pseudonym to log more than 1,100 entries on Yahoo Finance’s bulletin board to champion his company’s stock and to blasting a rival – Wild Oats Market. In an era where corporate greed and ethics are so top-of-mind, this was not only illegal, it was stupid.

6. SEO and SEM will become SOP. A recent study by Anderson Analytics ranked search engine optimization as one of the more significant tools to create bottom line impact for a company. As more marketers become aware of the power of complementing organic search with a proactive use of keywords and keyword ads that link to specific landing pages on their website, this use of search engine optimization and search engine marketing will become standard elements of their marketing program.

7. Social marketing will continue to grow dramatically as targeted consumer networked communities become more popular. Web 2.0 has opened the door for unprecedented interaction and consumer-generated content, and marketers should pay attention to new ways that consumers are interfacing across the web. Facebook was the darling in 2007, grabbing attention from MySpace and YouTube, but the real growth in social marketing will come from social network sites that are targeted to consumer niches from teens (e.g. Pizco and Tagged) to seniors (e.g. Eons) to photographers (e.g. Flickr) to mothers with children (e.g. momseasychair) to business networking and job seekers (e.g. LinkedIn and Plaxo).

8. Blogging may be right for some companies, but only if they do it right and are willing to accept the consequences. As we noted earlier, transparency will be crucial to avoid any backlash from disgruntled consumers who can smell manipulation a mile away. Companies must be careful when using tools like blogs, vlogs and Podcasts or face the wrath of a networked audience that can love you one minute and hate you the next. Some forward-thinking companies have created a new executive position of Blog Monitor to be able to respond quickly to new issues as they arise, or to correct misinformation that can damage a company unfairly.

9. Going Green is no longer a luxury or an option; it must be addressed by every marketer in every category. Since the original Earth Day in 1967, marketing periodicals have been saying that green marketing was the next big thing. It wasn’t then, but it is now. Every day, another brand finds both direct and indirect ways to commit to a sustainable future. A recent national study among marketing executives at a VP-level or higher listed “green marketing” as one of the most important emerging concepts. Once again, we want to caution marketers to avoid over-hyping any half-hearted efforts. If you are committed, flaunt it. If you aren’t, don’t try to fake it.

10. Consumer engagement will displace the traditional interruption-disruption model as the order of the day in all categories. For decades, consumers have understood that if they wanted to experience free content in the form of television entertainment, radio broadcasts, and news and weather reports in their daily newspaper, they would have to put up with ads. Ads were seen as a necessary evil to support the content consumers really wanted to see. But the rise of broadband connections, satellite radio, cell-phones, TIVO, and other forms of digital communication now allow consumers to control their media content and easily avoid advertising they don’t want to see. When this is combined with less trust in advertisers and their messages, and a greater ability to create their own content with the help of blogs, social networks, wikis and other digital-communication platforms, irrelevant content will not be tolerated. This doesn’t mean that advertising is doomed. It simply means that as marketers we must do a better job of engaging consumers with content that is so compelling, relevant and entertaining that they will seek it out and even share it with others. As Geoff Ramsey, CEO and co-founder of New York-based eMarketer.com put it in a recent article, “the new ad model is about creating great content and finding clever ways to embed it in the fabric of communities and content platforms where consumers are hanging out and actively participating”.


Understanding and responding to the aforementioned trends will have little effect if we, as marketers, can’t find better ways to truly engage our customers. 2008 offers great challenges, but will also offer unprecedented opportunities. A.G. Lafley, chairman – CEO, Procter & Gamble had this to say about 2008, “We need to reinvent the way we market to consumers. We need a new model. It does not exist. No one else has one yet. But we need to get going now.”

For marketers to answer that call-to-action challenge, they must “get going now” to look for new ways to connect with their customers. The future belongs to those marketers who can out-smart their competition rather than out-spend them.


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