Vision Graphics Inc. Connect Magazine Sept/Oct 2012

Vision Graphics Inc. Engaging Marketing Minds

TM

Vol 2, Issue 5, September/October 2012

Rubbernecking Using your brand to make an impactful first impression with potential customers

INSIDE Business Intelligence Back to Social Eat People: And Other Unapologetic Rules for Game-Changing Entrepreneurs

publisher ’s letter

The End of an Era

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s we have mentioned before in the pages of this magazine, there are some who believe the information age has come to an end. The idea stems from the fact that we have more information available to us than ever before. In addition, information is available at a moment’s notice. The surplus of information and the ease of accessibility will have major ramifications for all marketers and businesses in general.

Some would argue that there are no secrets anymore and that a lack of mystery exists. Great brands can have an aura about them – and a little mystery isn’t so bad. But with a level playing field, one where consumers have as much knowledge as sellers, trust will escalate. Today, we can do business without looking over our shoulders and wonder if we have been duped or not.

Honesty is one of the cornerstones to a solid relationship. In turn, when one party has more knowledge than the other, the chances for dishonesty increase. As a direct result of the overwhelming amount of data and the constant stream of communication in our faces, the job of today’s marketer has become even more challenging.

Developing a trusting relationship with a market demands great empathy and sincerity.

Fortunately, we’re stepping into a new age where marketers will rule. Your clients have the power. They can choose where, when, who and on what to use their resources. Chances are they will only spend their time and money with the companies and brands they love and trust.

Getting into the circle of trust of today’s consumer is difficult. Heck, holding someone’s attention today is a challenge. But we can’t begin to build those relationships or hold their attention until we grab their attention.

Honesty is one of the cornerstones to a solid relationship … Developing a trusting relationship with a market demands great empathy and sincerity.

Mark Steputis mark.steputis@visiongraphics-inc.com

Con tents

Managing Editor

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Art Direction

Tyson Polzkill Brent Cashman Connect is published bimonthly copyright 2012. All rights reserved

Enjoy our latest issue and all the best,

Mark Steputis Publisher

Publisher

Michele McCreath michele.mccreath@visiongraphics-inc.com

In our cover story, Rubbernecking, we delve into what it takes to stand out and make people take notice. Our hope is that your clients soon will be stretching their necks to notice you.

Our second feature, Business Intelligence, highlights some ideas around gathering data about your respective markets. Good marketers know that data provides insight and that it is the key to understanding.

And while it really is the end of an era, it is the beginning of a time where marketers will rule.

10 Business Intelligence

The End of an Era

Why data matters to you and your brand

14 Back to Social

04 Marketing Insights 06 Rubbernecking

5 ways to get your social media campaign rolling

15 Book Recommendation

Using your brand to make an impactful first impression with potential customers

Eat People: And Other Unapologetic Rules for Game-Changing Entrepreneurs

For more information contact Michele McCreath at michele.mccreath@visiongraphics-inc.com Vision Graphics Inc. – connect • September/October 2012

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marketing insights

That’s what he said … “ The most successful social media companies are the simplest ones you can think of. Complexity doesn’t really work in social media. People are trying to create this social engagement and turn it into this multi-tiered, multi-level challenge to get people to do X,Y,Z.” – Alex Iskold, CEO of the entertainment social network GetGlue, on the factors that make a social media site successful

Can’t you hear me knockin’? Show ‘em

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he “we’re-always-on” nature of social media means that customers expect to be engaged 24/7. So, with great power comes great responsibility, or so it goes. According to a recent Oracle study, customers tend to be unforgiving of companies that fail to stay on top of their social channels.

The “Consumer Views of Live Help Online 2012: Global Perspective” study reported that 50 percent of Facebook users and more than 80 percent of Twitter users expect to receive personal responses within a day of submitting questions or raising concerns via social networks.

50 percent of Facebook users and more than 80 percent of Twitter users expect to receive personal responses within a day.

Also important was the fact that respondents most often connected to a brand on a social network for news about products, and one-to-one customer service. In addition, almost 31 percent linked up with a brand to gain access to a customer service representative or product expert, while 43 percent connected with a company to get a direct response to their questions.

your tweets

About 15 percent of adult U.S. internet users are active on Twitter, and 8 percent use the service on a daily basis, according to the “Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project” study. Twitter was found to be the service particularly appealing to urban and younger users, as well as African-Americans, as compared with the general U.S. population, the study found. Growth in daily Twitter usage, by Pew’s measure, has grown 300 percent since November 2010 – outpacing growth in general Twitter usage, which increased 87.5 percent during the same time period. While men and women almost are equally likely to say they used the service, young adults, African Americans and urban residents have high rates of Twitter usage relative to their peers.

B2B companies missing out on social mentions When it comes to social media to track (and follow up on) what customers are saying about their brands, B2B companies are lagging behind their B2C counterparts. According to the “Worldwide Social Media for Business” study by Satmetrix, 27 percent of B2B companies are tracking and following up on social media comments, while 53 percent of B2C companies are doing both. In addition, 47 percent of B2B companies did not track or follow up on brand mentions on social media.

September/October 2012 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc.

The number of marketers who plan to use social media this year, according to the “Adobe 2012 Digital Marketing Optimization Survey.”

In addition, eight in 10 marketers surveyed plan to allocate 15 percent or less of their marketing budget to on-site optimization.

marketing insights

The percent of marketers who have integrated mobile elements into their marketing last year, against 39 percent who said their brands did not use mobile, and 3 percent who did not know, according to the “Chief Marketer Mobile Marketing Survey.”

In addition, 51 percent said they plan to run more mobile-only marketing this year, while 26 percent said they are undecided about whether to run a mobile-centric campaign in 2012, the survey reported.

Mobile me, maybe Thirty-five percent of mobile users say they don’t want brands communicating with them through mobile social networks, according to a poll by the Direct Marketing Association’s Mobile Marketing Council. An additional 31 percent don’t want to communicate with brands via mobile devices.

But the number of people who in fact interact with brands via mobile social media (43 percent) actually is higher than those who say they are happy doing so (23 percent).

He said it … “ My guess is you will see folks start to get better and better at using it to predict what is going to happen next or what markets will do next. I don’t know that anyone has really figured it out yet.”

– Twitter CEO Dick Costolo on the site’s power to act as a predictive instrument to map possible global events, and even predict the movement of financial markets

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7 tips to build your content marketing channel plan Once you create content, you must decide how to distribute it. Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute, outlines seven factors to consider while building your content marketing channel plan. For the whole story, check out http://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/07/ creating-a-content-marketing-channel-plan/.

Step No. 1: Situational analysis – This first step addresses every channel. This is where you use the information from your persona and engagement cycle mapping to look at your current “situation” to determine where you can have the most impact with your story. Obviously, some of your existing marketing efforts (blog or website) will come into play here. The idea is to map what you have to what you need to effectively tell your story. Ask yourself: What do we do that tells this story? What must change? What must stop (if anything)? This will help you prioritize and budget the tactical things that must get done.

Step No. 2: Channel objectives – This is where you map channel objectives to the engagement cycle. It’s okay if a channel only “contributes” to another channel.

For example, based on the goals of your content marketing and the story you’re telling, you may decide the primary objective of your Facebook page is to create increased and loyal traffic. To drive that traffic, you may need to create a following on Facebook. So your first “objective” will be to “build your Facebook “Likes” to create that community.

Step No. 3: Content plan – This is how you map the channel

to the larger story structure. This typically takes the form of an outline or narrative and is used to organize your content plan for the channel. For example, in the situation described in Step No. 2 – because your primary objective for the Facebook page is to increase loyal traffic to your blog, you want to build a community. So the first part of your content plan for Facebook might be a “contest,” email marketing program or some other type of community building action to build subscriptions. The second part might kick in once you’ve reached a “goal” (number of subscribers, etc.). Next, refocus your content to drive specific personas to your blog.

Step No. 4: Metrics – We use the word metrics here very specifically, as opposed to key performance indicators (KPIs) or “results.” With as many channels as you have working, against all the different campaigns – and as your content marketing inevitably will overlap into your channels – you want to track metrics here.

Here, metrics are “goals” that will align with your story.

Step No. 5: Personas addressed – Not every channel will address every persona.

So, for each channel you’re considering, identify which personas will be addressed.

Once you’re done with your channel plan, approach it holistically and make the needed adjustments. You may find you’ve done a great job of creating a channel plan that fails to address your most critical persona. Or, you may find you’re trying to address too many personas through one particular channel (so split them up).

Step No. 6: Content management process – For this stage, ensure that you have a method and process (e.g., people and tools) to manage the content and conversation for this particular channel.

What will you manage? Who will do it and how?

Step No. 7: Editorial plan – Lastly, you’ll need an editorial plan. This will be set to your global editorial calendar, but doesn’t identify dates or times yet. The editorial plan will help you define velocity, tone, desired action and structure for this channel’s content. For example, for your Facebook page, you might have the following: velocity (three posts per day); tone (friendly, funny, tongue-in-cheek attitude); desired action (we want them to click through to the blog); and structure (10 to 20-word post, plus pictures (if applicable) and a conversion link).

Vision Graphics Inc. – connect • September/October 2012

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Business Intelligence Why data matters to you and your brand

By Michael J. Pallerino

September/October 2012 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc.

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he latest numbers on obesity and physical activity are frightening. Check that – deadly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that a third of American adults are overweight, while another third are obese.

Combined, that means 68.8 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese. And it gets worse. The CDC also says that obesity is a contributing factor in five of the top 10 ways people die: heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.

These numbers make the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association’s Tom Cove a little uncomfortable. For the better part of the last 22 years, the past seven as president and CEO, Cove has been a relentless proponent of SGMA’s crusade to make these numbers matter. As one of the major supporters of organizations such as PE4Life, of which SGMA supports, Cove often recites these types of facts and figures in front of lobbyists and political leaders up and down Capitol Hill, and around the world.

It is the numbers – including the exhaustive research that SGMA compiles – that has helped the association build its credibility as the No. 1 resource for sport and fitness research for manufacturers, retailers and marketers in the sports products industry. The research helps SGMA promote favorable public policies, and deliver purposeful thought leadership and product promotion.

The data, you might say, is the SGMA brand.

“Companies of all shapes and sizes – inside and outside the sporting goods industry – have utilized our participation reports and annual sales studies to get a grasp of how big an industry is and where it’s headed,” Cove says. “Knowing that’s the case, our commitment to excellence and accuracy is paramount. For many companies, the biggest reason they decide to join SGMA is to get access to the research. We take our role as the provider of research very seriously.”

Data, data, data. When it comes to branding building and solidifying what your message means to the audiences it is intended for, nothing is more critical to your strategy than data.

Snapshot: How the process of gathering data has evolved “Twenty years ago, about 60 percent of data from interviews was gathered via phone. Today, about 60 percent of interviews are gathered via online data collection – only 20 percent is done by phone and 20 percent via mall intercepts.

Increasingly, companies are monitoring online behavior/purchases to collect data on customers/ potential customers.”

– Joe Hair, Ph.D, Senior Scholar, Professor of Marketing & Professional Sales, Founder of the DBA program in the Michael J. Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University

For example, one of SGMA’s latest reports – the Sports, Fitness, & R ecreational Activities Participation Topline Report (2012 edition) – was a joint effort of the Physical Activity Council, a collaboration of sports associations that includes SGMA, the Tennis Industry Association, National Golf Foundation, International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), Snowsports Industries America, The Outdoor Foundation and the United States Tennis Association (USTA). (See Snapshot on SGMA) “Maintaining the authenticity of the research is the key to our integrity as a resource of accurate research,” Cove says. “Over the years, we have continued to fine-tune our methodology in order to generate the best possible results. We want to accurately portray sports and activities that are ‘on the rise’ and those that are not.”

Matt Powell believes that a company must know where it stands in the marketplace to make strategic decisions and drive sales.

And data helps. “Without adequate market research, a company cannot know how it stacks up against its competitors,” says Powell, a member of Princeton Retail Analysis, a Scarborough, Maine consulting and independent research group that specializes in retail and consumer goods.

“Market research helps frame your decision-making,” Powell says. “Data can help evaluate the effectiveness of a marketing campaign. Without adequate knowledge of the marketplace, you may over or underestimate your market potential. Companies do not exist in a vacuum. Understanding your own (and your competitors’) strengths and weaknesses are keys to success.”

Princeton Retail Analysis mines its data through focus groups, independent data and research providers, industry statistics and lots of surveys. “The internet has made the process more sophisticated,” Powell says. “Marketers now have the ability to mine data and collect information quickly and accurately. Powerful software also enables a marketer to sift through the data and understand it on several levels. I believe we will get even more sophisticated over time. We’ll get richer information even faster. We’ll be able to create feedback loops with the end consumer to improve the customer experience.”

Vision Graphics Inc. – connect • September/October 2012

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Business Intelligence

Details, Data, Details Quiz time: Try to remember a major decision your company made. The decision may have compelled you to devour everything and anything you could get your hands on – endlessly sifting through reams of data.

Keith Hickerson, principal of Evans Continental in Signal Mountain, Tenn., knows that knowledge is power. He understands that having more information drives smarter decisions, and that the more details you absorb; the better off you are in the long run. A nationally respected business and branding strategist, Hickerson has more than 25 years of experience in branding, marketing, public policy and operational results for Fortune 500, non-profit and professional firms.

“At the brand level, research is vital on two fronts: determining the current perceptions of customers and prospects; and determining what brand positioning is capturable, sustainable and differentiating,” he says.

“Branding is always a judicious mix of leading and reflecting, and elevating the best elements of the brand’s core to build a compelling vision of the future.”

At the product and service level, Hickerson says that while research is important for improving current offerings, it may not always be the best way to identify big innovations. “Relying too heavily on research from current customers can lead businesses toward incremental change, but rarely to reinvention.”

Hickerson believes that directional data is helpful for companies looking to secure their

brand moat, as maintaining brand relevance is vital to compete well. “Insight is just as important as information,” he says. “Companies must find that ‘aha moment’ from the trends they’re seeing and be able to translate that opportunity to their brand and operational capabilities.”

Data-Driven Segmentation & Messaging When it comes to data, Jeff Hayes is the man with the numbers. As president of InfoTrends, a leading worldwide market research and strategic consulting firm, he has conducted numerous strategic market and product planning assignments for a host of firms in the consumer imaging, office equipment and production printing industries.

Brands such as Adobe Systems, Canon, Eastman Kodak, Hewlett Packard, IBM, International Paper, Lexmark, Ricoh, Sony, Toshiba and Xerox all have turned to Hayes for research, analysis, forecasts and advice to help understand their market trends, identify opportunities and develop strategies to grow their businesses.

“Two of the most important ways that market research and data can help enhance a company’s sales and branding efforts are to guide targeting and messaging,” Hayes says. “Companies have scarce resources, and must focus on the best customer segments and deliver relevant messages through preferred channels to drive sales.”

Hayes says that customer data from your website, CRM or other operations systems (e.g. field maintenance logs, customer support

ways you can start mining for data While you may aspire to have the marketing sophistication of a P&G or an Amazon.com, there are steps you can take to get started right now.

Jeff Hayes, president of InfoTrends, shows you how.

1. Make an inventory of your customer touch points 2. Figure out what data you have, what data you need and how best to collect it 3. Connect and compile your data for on-going analysis 4. Analyze your data and develop a market segmentation scheme 5. Test various messages and promotional offers, and measure the impact 6. Continue to refine your data collection, analysis and messaging 7. Get senior management involved – there will be costs and may be some internal “turf” issues that need to be resolved, plus you want their buy in when the data challenges traditional assumptions 8. Consider working with an agency or consulting firm, especially to help you get started

Snapshot: What the future holds for mining data “ Data gathering is going mobile. The future will combine ‘just in time’ data with “just in place” data collected through mobile devices to bring a valuable local component to marketing information and analysis. We’ll see brand diaries kept on mobile devices, tracking interactions and impressions of various brands, and generating feedback when the brands are top of mind.”

– Keith Hickerson, Principal, Evans Continental

September/October 2012 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc.

9 arket research helps frame your decision-making. Without adequate knowledge of the marketplace, you may over or underestimate your market potential.”

– Matt Powell, Member, Princeton Retail Analysis

calls), along with data from occasional surveys and third-party sources (think Dun & Bradstreet, ZoomInfo, social media) are essential to segment your customer based on various behavioral, attitudinal and, what he calls, “firmographic” attributes (industry, location, company size, credit score).

“All this data must be organized and analyzed to develop insights that can drive actions,” Hayes says. “Depending on the amount of information and rigor of your analysis, you may use simple spreadsheets or more advanced data tabulations, regression analysis, and segmentation modeling software to characterize your customer base and identify high value prospects. Some companies prefer to develop in-house expertise to gather and analyze this information, while others look to outside experts that have the appropriate tools and experience to create a program and deliver results.”

In either case, Hayes says it is critical for senior management to be involved so they can articulate their requirements, understand the process and have confidence in the results and recommendations. He believes that insights from this type of program can help determine whether you should make a promotional offer to a customer and what type of offer has the highest probability for success. “This approach has its roots in business-to-consumer (B2C) markets, but can be applied to some businessto-business (B2B) markets, too,” he says.

“There will always be an art to marketing and sales, but increasingly these processes are being driven by data,” Hayes says. “The most successful firms of the future will have a strong proficiency in collecting, analyzing, and applying data to optimize their sales and marketing resources.”

Snapshot on SGMA Inside how a study is done

During January and February of 2012, a total of 38,172 online interviews were carried out with a nationwide sample of individuals and households from the U.S. Online Panel of more than one million people operated by Synovate. The results were included in the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association’s (SGMA) Sports, Fitness, & Recreational Activities Participation Topline Report (2012 edition).

A total of 15,113 individual and 23,059 household surveys were completed.

The total panel is maintained to be representative of the U.S. population for people ages 6 and older. Over sampling of ethnic groups took place to boost response from typically under responding groups.

The 2011 participation survey sample size of 38,172 completed interviews provides a high degree of statistical accuracy. All surveys are subject to some level of standard error – that is, the degree to which the results might differ from those obtained by a complete census of every person in the United States. A sport with a participation rate of 5 percent has a confidence interval of plus or minus 0.21 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. This translates to plus or minus 4 percent of participants.

A weighting technique was used to balance the data to reflect the total U.S. population ages 6 and above. The following variables were used: gender, age, income, household size, region and population density. The total population figure used was 285,753,000 people ages 6 and older.

Vision Graphics Inc. – connect • September/October 2012

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September/October 2012 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc.

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By Graham Garrison

Using your brand to make an impactful first impression with potential customers

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oo often, the cart comes before the horse. When creating a brand, a company spends all of its creative energy on a visual, rather than what will make them viable to a customer.

“People are tempted to start with something like a sexy tagline,” says Lisa Earle McLeod, a sales leadership expert who works with organizations such as Apple, Kimberly-Clark and Pfizer to help create passionate, purpose driven sales forces. “We need to think a little more earnestly, and factually, about how we really make a difference in the lives of our customers.”

Here are branding experts’ takes on creating and delivering a brand that will make a lasting impression on customers and potential clients.

Vision Graphics Inc. – connect • September/October 2012

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Rubbernecking

“ People think they’re having a brand problem, when in fact they’re having a customer problem, and the customer problem is causing you the brand problem.”

– Sales leadership expert Lisa Earle McLeod

‘Noble Sales Purpose’ In order to effectively communicate one’s brand, McLeod encourages customers to develop a Noble Sales Purpose. “It is a declarative statement in how you make a difference to your customers,” she says. “That is the linchpin of your brand, as well as all of your sales activity.

People think they must have this sexy brand with a great tagline, but it doesn’t mean anything. Customers are going to be a lot more interested if you have something simple that says, ‘We help our customers become more effective and successful, here is how we do it.’

Especially in a B2B sale, you’re not buying an ‘aspirational’ quality, you’re buying results.”

There are three steps to help customers identify their “Noble Sales Purpose.” The first step is to identify how you make a difference to your customers, McLeod says. Do you help them be more efficient? Do you help them be faster? Do you help them reduce costs? Do you help them bring service to their customers?

The second piece involves identifying how you are different from your competitors. “How you’re different from your competition might be that your products last longer or you give better service,” McLeod says. “It might be that you care more and you’re more fun to work with.”

The final piece is a more personal question. “On your best day, what do you love about your job?” McLeod says.

“Those three things speak very factually and emotionally to your brand,” she adds.

“You identify how you impact your customers, it speaks to differentiators and it also has this inspirational quality to it. We use those three areas with clients and brainstorm around those, and that helps us establish their Noble Sales Purpose.”

September/October 2012 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc.

The Noble Sales Purpose will look different for each industry and each company. For example, one of McLeod’s clients is a manufacturer of component parts for railroads, and their Noble Sales Purpose is, “We make transportation safer, faster and more reliable.” “It’s not the sexiest thing in the world, but if you think about their industry, it’s huge,” McLeod says. “If you want your transportation safer, faster and more reliable, well, you better buy your stuff from them.”

Another one of her clients does project management software, with the Noble Sales Purpose: “We help people build a better world.”

Finding the audience, setting the hook Jenna Lebel, VP of global marketing for Likeable Media, says researching who you are delivering the message to is just as important as the message itself. Likeable Media leverages social media and word of mouth marketing to create more transparent, responsive and likeable companies, organizations and governments. It has consulted and helped developed plans for brands such as 1800-Flowers.com, Verizon FiOS, Neutrogena and Stride Rite.

“Know your audience,” Lebel says. “If you want to grab someone’s attention, you really need to know the audience you’re trying to attract and really understand them, not just a profile of them, but insight into their behavior, psychographics instead of just demographics.”

Lebel recommends companies figure out their core message, and then how best to adapt that to certain audiences. Coca-Cola is a great example, she says. The Coca-Cola brand has a long history across many demographics, but the core remains intact. “They’ve never really

13 gone too far from that core message they’ve always had. Once you have the core, you can just adapt it to different audiences, but the core values are still prominent in that message.”

When it’s time to deliver the message from the brand side, you must disrupt “schemas,” or mental models used to make the world work, a term coined by marketing guru Steve Knox.

“Basically, we all have a prewired way of thinking about things,” Lebel says. “We can predict certain outcomes. An effective brand can come in and completely disrupt that and put something outside of what we would normally think to grab attention. Anything that will connect with people on an emotional level, or motivate them, can be powerful in grabbing someone’s attention. There always needs to be that hook. Whether it’s an emotional hook, or motivational hook, it needs to be the right message to reach that audience.”

Hello, you may have heard of me Companies that do branding right Apple:

“We think about the cool factor of Apple, the reality is that at a basic level, it’s very practical,” says sales leadership expert Lisa Earle McLeod. “They make products for the way people live.

The cool stuff is the periphery.”

Nike:

“Nike’s ambush marketing campaign during the Olympics really grabbed people’s attention,” says Jenna Lebel, VP of global marketing for Likeable Media. ”They weren’t even an official Olympic sponsor and they were still able to capitalize on the Games by taking a local approach (local athletes from small towns named London were highlighted).

“If you want to grab someone’s attention, you really need to know the audience you’re trying to attract and really understand them.”

– Jenna Lebel, VP, Global Marketing, Likeable Media

Using mistakes With the rise of the digital and social media world, mistakes are discussed more than brands would like them to be, Lebel says. Mistakes are inevitable. Luggage is lost. Cars break down. Restaurants don’t deliver service on par with customer expectations. And print solution providers will find product quality or service slips through the cracks on a project.

“If that brand can just be human – if it’s a mistake, own up to it,” Lebel says. “If it’s coming into the spotlight for business reasons (i.e., Chapter 11), disclose. Keep everybody informed. People always think of a brand as so far from an actual human being, but if you can illicit some of those human characteristics and values into a brand, you’ll connect more deeply with consumers.”

“People think they’re having a brand problem, when in fact they’re having a customer problem, and the customer problem is causing you the brand problem,” McLeod says. “You don’t fix the brand problem until you fix the customer problem.

In a lot of situations, when a company does have a problem with a customer, it is a huge opportunity for the brand. The way you respond to that will distinguish you. Every airline loses luggage, everybody misses a ship date, but it’s your response, and the way you articulate that response.”

make a difference with their customers. They are very clear on how they affect people’s lives. The second piece is they’re creative in how they communicate that. One of the mistakes we make is that we assume their success lies in their hocus pocus art form. When really, that’s step two.”

Square one With branding, whether it’s the creation stage, implementation or damage control, customers – not gimmicks – come first. “The companies that do it well have two things going for them,” McLeod says. “They really do focus on how to

Vision Graphics Inc. – connect • September/October 2012

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columnist

Back to Social 5 ways to get your social media campaign rolling

ocial networks began on college campuses. It didn’t take long for them to become part of our daily lives. A few years later, we were connected with friends on the other side of the world. The networks then went through a commercial revolution, where companies realized their connectivity, and how many prospective customers they could reach.

The brains behind social networks realized companies would pay to place advertisements on their networks. This led to the marriage of social networks and business. That marriage led to the birth of social media marketing.

Social media marketing has grown up from the awkwardness of adolescence.

Gone are the days of lamenting about adolescent issues (like competition for popularity and learning who can be trusted).

Social media marketing now is into adulthood. It knows its role among its peers (print marketing, websites, etc.), is aware of its importance in society, and knows that it has expectations to live up to.

But how does all of this impact companies?

Here’s a little secret – social media has always been social. For years, many companies bypassed this unspoken principle. They simply repeated a strategy they’ve used in other forms of marketing – promoting the company, its products and services. This strategy worked for a short time on social networks.

But social media currently is undergoing a renaissance, returning to why social networks started in the first place.

Social media is getting back to social.

It sounds sexy – renaissance. But to companies still trying to understand social media, it’s probably intimidating. Why should your company be more social on social media? Social media helps companies connect on a personal level to gain the trust and loyalty of their customers.

You must have a social media marketing plan that includes the who, what, when, where and why of your company.

By Julie Bee

Rhetorical question alert: Does your company want more trusting, loyal customers?

The good news: A social media marketing strategy that gets your company “back to social” can be implemented with just a little time and a few tweaks to an existing social media campaign.

Here are five ways to get you started.

No. 1: First, step back — Look at your current strategy. If you’re posting information only about your company, you’ll need new content. Some ideas for getting back to social: • Pictures from a company social event • Blogs about client accomplishments • Videos of your staff doing volunteer work in your community • Information about community social events No. 2: Plan — You must have a social media marketing plan that includes the who, what, when, where and why of your company. Who will your company target and who will implement the plan? What content will you post? Where will this content come from? Where will you engage with your audience? When will you post? Why are you doing social media marketing?

No. 3: Have some fun — Just like social gatherings, social networks are built for fun. Social media is the place to shake the corporate jargon and use terms like “LOL.” Sometimes a situation will arise that requires a more serious response, but most of the time, have fun.

Julie Bee is president and chief connector at BeeSmart Social Media (beesmartsocialmedia.com). The Charlotte, N.C., company is designed to help small companies get engaged in social media. She can be reached at 704-3616805 or via email at julie@juliebeeinc.com.

September/October 2012 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc.

No. 4: Engage — If your company only talks about itself on social media, congratulations, you’re officially on a Soap Box. Instead of telling your social media followers about your company, ask them questions, listen, and then respond. It’s a great way to get to know your followers, and it makes your company seem more personable. People buy from brands they connect with on a personal level.

No. 5: If they don’t come to you, go to them — Social networks are filled with gatherings of people with similar interests (LinkedIn Groups, Facebook pages, etc.). If your company finds it difficult to attain social media followers, go out and get them. Begin with geographic groups based on your home city. Start conversations with your target audience where they already hang out online, and they’ll come to you online.

The social media renaissance has begun. Get your company back to social and experience the opportunities and rewards of social media marketing.

book recommendation

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Eat People:

And O ther Unapologetic Rules for Game-Changing Entrepreneurs Authored by Andy Kessler

W

e have entered a time of risk, and the people who cannot only handle risk, but can embrace it, will win. With a somewhat divisive tone, Andy Kessler delivers a thought-provoking and

passionate presentation for the people who consider themselves game changers in his new book, Eat People.

Honestly, everyone will not love this book.

It may even turn some people off politically.

But Eat People does cut to some real truths, which will make you do a little soul searching.

Kessler believes the era of easy money is over, and that entrepreneurial spirits – Free Radicals, as he refers to them – will be the ones who build wealth. Taking risks is the name of the game and Kessler doesn’t sugarcoat it.

A best–selling author and successful investment banker, Kessler says the

Kessler believes the era of easy money is over, and that entrepreneurial spirits – Free Radicals, as he refers to them – will be the ones who build wealth.

world’s greatest entrepreneurs don’t just start successful companies – they overturn entire industries. With twelve surprising and controversial rules for these radical entrepreneurs, Eat People really delivers.

Whether you’re at a big corporation or running a small business, you’re now an entrepreneur. Will you see change coming and grab on to opportunity or miss the boat? Kessler has views about the modern economy, even if the ones that work best may irritate and confuse many people.

Kessler writes from his real world experience, so he has lots of interesting and humorous anecdotes to illustrate his points – which are pretty darn good.

We think you’ll find this an entertaining and worthwhile read, whether or not you ultimately agree with everything he says.

Eat People provides rules for people whose ideas are so timely, and so full of energy, that they can change the world. But not every business is suitable for his approach.

If your business depends on extracting the most value from society, or uses regulation and business models that limit competition and restrict innovation, you aren’t going to find anything of value here. But if you want to use technology to radically change an industry, these rules will show you how.

Vision Graphics Inc. – connect • September/October 2012

Vision Graphics, Inc. 5610 Boeing Drive Loveland, CO 80538

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