Online marketing allows small-medium sized business to leverage events, awards, training programs, and more without breaking the bank.
Read more posts about online marketing and leverage
There has been a lot of buzz lately about a sci-fi movie called District 9. The movie has received one of the highest ratings on IMDB.com and has received rave reviews from movie critics. Even more surprising is that there are no A list actors in the movie and the director has only directed 2 low budget movies.
How do you leverage the fact that the movie director, Neill Blomkamp, graduated from your school's film program?
This was the question that VFS had to ask themselves. Most large companies, who tend not to think outside the box, would send out a generic press release to traditional media. This strategy would work for about 3 days. The problem with this is that it is short-term, and VFS's target audience spend more time reading blogs and on Twitter than reading newspapers.
So VFS decided to create their own microsite highlighting all the VFS graduates who worked on the district 9 movie.
"Neill Blomkamp, director of this summer's must-see sci-fi thriller District 9, got his start at Vancouver Film School. That's not all: much of the talent behind District 9 originates at VFS, including co-writer Terri Tatchell, Visual Effects Executive Producer Shawn Walsh, and 40 other members of District 9's visual effects team."
The microsite is filled with facts about the movie and video on the behind the scenes of District 9. The site also incorporates the VFS twitter and Facebook page, encouraging viewers to follow and become a fan of VFS.
From the microsite viewers can learn more about VFS and the programs they provide. There is even a competition for visitors to input their email for a chance to win District 9 merchandise.
Why this strategy works?
This strategy provides VFS with long term leverage of the District 9 movie. The site will always be on the Internet and can be viewed by potential students from all over the world. Technology, and movie blogs picked up the site and promoted it on their sites to viewers that fit perfectly with VFS's target market. The strategy can be measured easily. VFS can see how many visitors go to the microsite and from there how many visitors view more info about VFS. They can measure engagement through the sign-up form, Twitter and Facebook page.
Is your business doing great things in the local community? Do you have a training program superior to your competition? Have your employees accomplished outstanding feats in their industry?
Make sure you leverage by using online marketing tools. To learn more contact MarketR
Leverage - VFS District 9
If you thought social media was a fad. Think again.
Facebook.com/yournamehere - Vanity URL
We know we said the next few posts would be all about Twitter, but we felt this could not wait.
Facebook has announced that it will be issuing vanity URLs for Facebook accounts.
You may be asking, what is a vanity URL? It is your chance to claim your very own piece of Facebook.
In the past Facebook URLs would be made up of what looks like random numbers. This was very inconvenient for brands who wanted to promote their Facebook page offline, because who would remember "www.Faceboook.com/profile.php?id=123456789" ?
So Facebook has finally followed Twitter, and MySpace and offered a personalized "vanity url" that can now look like this www.facebook.com/brandname
Because nobody can have the same Facebook URL this space is going to go quick, this means you need to move fast. If you have an existing Facebook page, log-in to Facebook and visit the Facebook.com/username website. From there you are given suggestions for your custom Facebook URL. Click the more option to input your own choice. Note: This also works for Facebook brand pages, however you must have over 1000 fans.
If you do not already have a Facebook page for yourself or brand, you are out of luck. New Facebook accounts are not eligible.
Now for my rant.
For brands who have recognized the potential for social media, the new vanity URL is great news. For brands who thought it would be a fad, the news is irrelevant because these brands are not eligible for a custom Facebook URL. Which means by the time they get 1000 Facebook fans, the URL they want will not be available.
Let this be a lesson to those brands still on the social media sidelines. Get out and play! Because if you don't you might never get a chance to.
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*Note: You may have noticed the blog has not been updated regularly. The MarketR team is currently in Europe facilitating online marketing workshops for brands wanting to play the social media game.
The team will be back on June 22nd.
Twitter, Tweets, Twestival, Tweetheart... pt1
Everyone is using and talking about Twitter. From talk show host Ellen, to dictators in North Korea. Twitter is an amazing communication tool with endless possibilities, however brands are still unsure how to use Twitter effectively.
The next few posts will be all about how your company can use Twitter to build relationships with potential and existing customers.
*For a list of Twitter terms as seen in the title of this post visit the Twitterspeak page on Mashable.
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Definition of Tweetheart: that special tweeter who makes your heart skip a beat.
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Step 1: People don't enjoy talking or listening to robots.
Example: From the youngrepublicans.tv twitter account (I apologize for using a political website as an example, however it was the best example of how not to use twitter.)
"CIA Deputy Chief Visits Yemen for Talks on Fighting Terrorism: Steven Kappes made an unannounced visit to the co.. http://bit.ly/12TJh4"
If you visit the youngrepublicans twitter account you will notice every message includes a link to a website they want you to visit. There are no thoughts, emotions, or questions in any of the messages. There is no indication that there is a real person behind these messages. Even worse it seems the youngrepublicans have a serious problem interacting with other Twitter users.
How can the youngrepublicans use twitter more effectively?
Set-up twitter accounts as an actual human being representing the youngrepublicans brand.
Example:
Twitter name: John Doe
website: youngrepublicans.tv
Bio: Senior Director for youngrepublicans.tv...
Now John Doe can express how he feels about anything going on in regards to the youngrepublicans brand.
Posts can now read like this:
"Just read a great article on the CIA Deputy Chief's Visit to Yemen where he talks about fighting terrorism. http://bit.ly/12TJh4. Let me know what you think."
What do these words mean?
It means consumers want relationships and they can't have relationships with brands that act like robots.
Twitter robot characteristics.
-All talk and no listening
-Never engaging in conversations with other Twitter users
-Automated messages when you receive followers.
-No human attached to the Twitter account
-Generic posts with no opinion, or emotion
The next post will talk about how you can use tools such as Twitter Search and #tags to listen to your existing and potential customers.
Follow me on Twitter @ray kanani
PR 2.0 - Crazy Haired Eggs and the Power of Twitter
MarketR and Toni&Guy Vancouver teamed up to deliver one of the most exciting egg hunts Vancouver has seen.
Toni&Guy Vancouver is one of MarketR's largest clients. This means almost all marketing, events, promotions, and PR is handled by the MarketR team.
After the success of the Toni&Guy Declares W.A.R. event, we were very excited to come up with another affair that was going to attract a lot of buzz.
After taking a look at the Calendar we immediately saw an opportunity during Easter. Egg hunts have been around for many years, but over time have become dull and are mostly geared towards young children.
The MarketR team came up with a way Toni&Guy could rejuvenate the Easter egg hunt in a way that was unique to Toni&Guy.
The 1st Annual Crazy Hair Toni&Guy Egg Hunt.
The Objective
Raising brand awareness while building upon the existing branding that Toni&Guy is a fun, and creative salon that is constantly thinking outside the box.
The Campaign
Over 40 plastic eggs were decorated with crazy hair by the Toni&Guy team and placed around the city. Inside each egg was chocolate and a Toni&Guy gift card valued at up to $100. (Values ranged from $5-$100).
Samples of the eggs:
Visit the Toni&Guy Egg Hunt FlickR page for pictures of all the eggs.
Results:
The Toni&Guy Crazy Hair Egg Hunt created large amounts of buzz for the salon.
People were talking about the egg hunt over Twitter.
(Twitter Screenshot) The egg hunt was featured on multiple local blogs.
MartiniBoys.com
TinyBites.ca
"This was the coolest egg hunt I’ve heard about this year! 40 coiffed Easter eggs will be hidden all over Kitsilano and downtown Vancouver. Each contains the requisite chocolate plus a T&G gift card ranging in value from $5 - $100.
To join in on the scavenger hunt, follow the clues that will be tossed out Friday afternoon and Saturday morning on the Tony & Guy blog and their Twitter account."
FashionMagazine.comMiss604.com
TheStyleSpy.com
People who found the eggs started posting pictures online.
The Toni&Guy Vancouver website doubled in traffic and the Toni&Guy Twitter account acquired 70 new followers. Because of the websites dynamic content, traffic continues to grow everyday.
(The first spike in traffic was when the campaign launched. Twitter, and Facebook messages drove traffic to the site. The second spike was organic traffic from referring sites talking about the campaign. The third spike was when the egg hunt actually happened. Community involvement such as conversations on twitter and users posting pictures of their egg finds drove traffic to the website.)-If you want your brand to be perceived as fun and creative, make sure your events and promotions are fun and creative. (Sounds simple, but so many companies don't follow this rule)
-Utilize your staff: We were able to harness the talent of the Toni&Guy team to decorate the eggs. Instead of paying a street team to promote the event on Robson St, we used the Toni&Guy staff who were already enthusiastic about the event and loved showing off the eggs they decorated.
-Do not underestimate the power of Twitter: All communications to local bloggers was done through Twitter. Once the event was covered by one popular blog the event was quickly covered by many others. By engaging Twitter users, conversations about the event grew organically both before and after the event.
Social Media - Join The Party
Social media is like a big party. People are catching up with old friends, or friends they just saw that day. People are sharing stories, getting to know new people with similar interests, and being introduced to people by their friends.
Everything that is talked about at a party is talked about using social media.
-How good the movie was that just came out.
-Who went out on a date with Kate.
-What happened in the hockey game that just ended.
Why does this information matter?
The reason why most social media marketing fails is because marketers fail to realize why people use Twitter, and Facebook.
Twitter is a party for people who are too busy to stay for long and just want to keep updated.
Imagine someone shows up to the party and doesn't stop talking. This person doesn't listen to what other are saying. Instead he keeps talking about how cool he is and why people should be friends with him. Guess what? He is quickly kicked out of the party. Now imagine someone shows up pretending to be someone they are not. Check out the post on Brittney Spears and Twitter. We all know what happens then.
Facebook is a party for people who have too much time on their hands and want to know everything about everyone.
The problem is that if your not interesting then nobody cares to get to know you. Meaning if your content is not updated daily with video, pictures and conversations with others nobody cares if you are at the party or not. Another big problem related to Facebook is that the older generation are starting to show up to the party. Imagine peoples relatives and even worse, parents showing up. It will be interesting to see if the younger core group of Facebook users will start to find a party somewhere else.
Don't be the party crasher. Listen to what people are talking about and engage in the conversation. Keep your content fresh and genuine. If your brand is aimed at the younger generation use Facebook. If not, find something else. Remember that social media is a two-way conversation. It is not about talking, it is about listening and engaging.
Leverage = Doing More With Less
MarketR was featured once again on a popular PR blog. Check out the post about leveraging social media.
Again this shows why the internet is so powerful. When done right, publicity about your company can spread like wild fire.
When we developed the marketing strategy for Toni&Guy's W.A.R. show, we knew it was going to be a huge success. We had no idea about the publicity MarketR would get.
The key is to leverage everything. Turn something small that your company does, into something big.
I just had a meeting with a client who donates to local charities on a regular basis. I asked who knew about their donations? The client replied, the company's staff know about the donations and clients when they come visit the store. This is great initiative, as it builds company moral and clients feel great about patronizing a store that gives back to the community.
The internet allows you to take it one step further. By posting the annual donations on a company's twitter account, blog and e-mail newsletter you take it to the next level. Now thousands of people know about your great contributions. Potential clients are more likely to patronize your store and individuals looking for a job in a company that values giving back are likely to give you a call.
Where it gets really good, is when other bloggers and twitter users start talking about your contribution. Now thousands more people are talking about your company's donations and thousand more potential clients know why your company is different from others.
You never know what is going to be picked up by people on the internet, but there is only one way to find out. Remember to leverage everything!
Twestival & Generation G
Last week was Twesitival, a initiative to raise money for charity: water. The initiative leveraged the power of Twitter, and encouraged Twitter users to hold local fund raisers on February 12 2009.
charity: water for Twestival
Twesitival was a huge success, and Vancouver had its very own event called yvrtwestival. Vancouver raised $4,000 by holding an event at the Opus hotel, with a raffle and silent auction. No money was spent on traditional marketing. Instead they focused on Twitter, blogs, social media and PR, which of course was all free.
Generation G
An interesting report from friends over at trendwatching.com talks about a growing trend towards giving. This is a big reason why Twestival was so successful and more importantly a great marketing tool for small-medium sized businesses.
The current economic situation has caused huge changes in consumer preferences. Reports show that consumers blame the huge losses in the stock market, jobs and pension funds on big business. Companies such as General Motors, and Citi Bank have lost huge amounts of consumer trust.
Some (U.S.) stats from Reputation Garage:
-As few as 13% of American consumers place their trust in big business.
-Only 39% of employees said they trust senior leadership
-Three quarters of consumers feel that companies don't tell the truth in advertising
-Three quarters of employees in big companies observed violations of the law or company standards in a 12 month period.
Consumers want to support local, small-medium sized businesses that are dedicated to giving back.
Tips:
-Support a local charity that is related to the industry you are in.
-Let customers and potential customers know how much give back.
-Giving doesn't have to be about money. Volunteer your time and services.
-Don't give the impression that you are a big business. Keep it local.
Innovate or Die
I am constantly writing about how the internet has revolutionized so many things. From electoral campaigns to the way we communicate with others. The internet has changed the game in every aspect of our lives.
Unfortunately some people decide to fight this revolution, and it becomes quite obvious that they are fighting a losing battle. Usually the reason they fight the internet, is because they don't know how to use it. They are scared of losing control and the negative affects it may bring their brand. The problem is that by fighting the internet, your brand receives more negative attention then if you had embraced it.
For Example: If you read the Vancouver Metro newspaper today, you would have read that a BC Transit bus driver was fired for having a blog. The blog chronicled his daily activities of being a bus driver in Vancouver. He said he started the blog because his family was interested in what an average day was like for him. Eventually his blog started to get more traffic, as more and more people were interested in the same topic. His blog was even linked to from the official BC Transit blog.
*Note: His blog was rarely negative towards BC Transit. In fact he often empathized with the company in when it came to poor bus service during bad weather.
How cool is that. Your employee takes the time to write a blog about working for your company. There are so many ways BC Transit could have utilized this blog.
Here are a few.
-Free advertising for hiring bus drivers
-A great feedback mechanism for ways to improve and to recognize what they are doing well
-Free advertising for the joys of taking the bus
-Build company moral
But instead they chose to fight it.
This is a perfect example of a company who is scared. They are scared of losing control and having proactive employees market the company. After all this employee is not paid to be a marketer, he is not restrained by any contract saying he can't say and do certain things, he is free to write whatever he likes. This is why personal blogs are so affective! People trust them.
When MarketR sets up Twitter accounts for companies, we make sure to set up a company account and personal accounts. Guess which accounts are more successful. Who wants to listen to the candy coated jargon a company spits out?
I love public transit. I think it is our responsibility to take public transit whenever possible. I do not like the company BC Transit.
The strategy to fight the internet has caused many more people to dislike BC Transit. Check out this forum about the incident. Now BC Transit has got people on other sites, that they have no control over, talking about how wrong the company is. They have got forums discussing the topic and how it was wrongful dismissal. Even worse they had over 100,000 people reading a front page story about the event.
Now they have something to fear. Why would anyone want to work for a company that mistreats their employees.
If you fight the internet, or put your head in the sand and pretend it doesn't exist, you will lose! I have seen it happen so many times, and it is not pretty.
If you have trouble embracing change, don't call MarketR, because we are change. Instead read the book, Who Moved My Cheese.
Oops She Did It Again
It seems there is no stopping social media and the power of the internet. Twitter is continuing to grow at a phenomenal rate. Facebook is developing innovative ways to integrate the social network into other websites and even TV.
Because of this, more and more brands are jumping onto the social media bandwagon. It seems like a no-brainer for a brand to have a twitter account or page on Facebook, however if done incorrectly it can go horribly wrong.
Take the case of Brittany Spears. When it was announced that Brittany would be using Twitter, there was a huge buzz and many people started to follow her. It soon became obvious that this was not Brittany using Twitter, instead it was her PR people. This is a big no no in the social media scene. Especially automated direct Twitter messages. Brittany was quickly shunned by hardcore Twitter fans , and was even the victim of a Twitter hack attack. The plan to use Twitter as a means of creating buzz and publicity quickly backfired for the Brittany camp.
So what can we learn from Brittany's mistakes?
Say who you really are. Instead of trying to convince people that it was Brittany Spears using Twitter, just say you are Lauren Kozak, Brittany's social media manager. Would it have created as much media buzz? Probably not. Would it have got as many followers? Probably.
Keep it personal. Having a brand Twitter account is affective, however having a personal Twitter account is 10 times more affective. You can still be affiliated with a brand and promote what the brand is doing in a personal account. The most popular Twitter accounts are personal accounts, however the writers are constantly talking about their website or what their company is doing.
Transparency = Trust. Companies that try to hide things from consumers will almost always get burned. I am constantly reading about companies cutting costs by having automated social media accounts. This is not what Web 2.0 is all about. Trust is easily lost and increasingly difficult to earn. If you use social media the right way your brand can be one of the most recognized and successful in the world. Use it the wrong way and suffer the consequences.
Obama Mania - The Power Of Listening and Engagement
I was originally going to call this post "The Power Of Social Media." However, I don't want people to get the wrong idea about why brand Obama has been so successful.
When I meet with a client to discuss online marketing strategies, I am occasionally met with a very enthusiastic individual who says "we want a blog, Facebook page, twitter account, Myspace, and E-Mail newsletter."
This is great. The individual is definitely aware of the different communication mediums available online. However, I always ask "what's the plan once you get these established." Unfortunately I always get the same response. A blank face.
People who are used to traditional advertising, newspaper, tv, etc, have a tendency to set it and forget it. Meaning lets establish a really good looking Facebook page and wait for people to come visit.
Online marketing is powerful because you can listen to your audience and engage them. The Obama campaign is a perfect example of listening and engagement.
Facebook Obama.
-3,949,867 supporters
-554,711 Wall Posts
Facebook is one of the hardest communication outlets to utilize. Partly because Facebook users care more about what their friends are doing and talking about, rather than what brands are doing.
Instead of constantly saying Vote Obama, the Obama campaign focused more on just getting to know Obama. By doing this the votes came naturally.
How can you learn from Obama? The first step is to redefine your goals. Most companies will say my goal is to convert as many people on Facebook into customers to my business. Makes sense right? Not so fast. With this being your goal, you end up having a facebook page that looks more like a promo flyer.
How many of you have friends that are always trying to sell you stuff? Do you enjoy being around this person? Do you plan on being friends with this person for much longer? Exactly.
Your goal on Facebook should be to allow users to get to know your brand. Facebook pages are great for getting across the personality of your brand, what it stands for and what community events it has planned.
The Obama Facebook page did all of these.
Most politicians would never think of putting their favorite music, or videos on Facebook. Fortunately the Obama camp knew better.
Twitter Obama
-144,00 followers
-168,148 following
Twitter is also a hard tool to use because you need to commit time to it. Twitter is a communication tool and the potential for marketers is huge. However if you never update your twitter status, never check to see what others are talking about and never engage in any conversations, then there is no point using it.
*Note: Obama follows more people then follow him. Unfortunately or fortunately, Hillary Clinton didn't understand the importance of following others on Twitter, and inevitably her Twitter strategy was a big flop.
So remember, social media marketing is not about selling. Instead it is about building relationships. Letting people know that your business exists and this is what it stands for. If you do this successfully, sales will come naturally.
Listen To Your Audience
[Click Through Rate: The number of clicks an ad receives in comparison to the number of times the ad is shown. Example, an ad shown 100 times receiving 10 clicks has a 10% click through rate.]
Facebook advertising has an average click through rate of 0.04% to put that in perspective for every 7,451 impressions your ad will receive 3 clicks
MarketR decided to do some market research, to understand what ads Facebook users in Vancouver remembered the most. Not surprisingly the answer was not many. A few random ads came up such as jewlerry stores in Vancouver and club events, however one consistent ad was Donald Trump. The ad was for a motivation seminar with one of the guests being Donald Trump. None of the respondents claimed they clicked on the ad, however they did remember the ad quite well.
For one of our larger clients we decided to do some test ads to see if we could increase the click through rate.
Test ad 1
Test ad 2
As you can see the biggest difference is the picture. The text stayed the same and the segmentation of viewers stayed the same.
Results: Test ad 1 received a click through rate of 0.07% in the first 3 days. Test ad 2 received a click through rate of 0.10% in the first 3 days. Pretty respectful for both ad tests. However after 3 days the Donald Trump ad went down to 0.05% and the test ad 1 stayed at 0.07%
Social Network Advertising is still being perfected. At MarketR we play around with Facebook Advertising, however we understand that the best use of social networks is to build relationships.
It's Not Business, It's Personal - Pt.1
If you have not read "It's Not Business, It's Personal - Pt.0" do not pass GO! Read it first then come back to this post.
Whenever I am with a client talking about how we can open up lines of communication online, the first thing the client says is, "What about individuals who leave negative comments?" It is a valid concern. Negative comments can be harmful to a business. However negative comments can become a huge positive if dealt with correctly.
The first step is to listen. Fail to listen and negative comments can get out of control.
For example, before one of our clients found MarketR, the first website that came up for the brands search term was "[brand x] is a complete rip off." Suddenly more posts sprang up such as, "Yeah I never go to [brand x] I go here instead." What is worse is that this forum was at the number one spot of the brand's search term for almost 3 years. Think of how many potential customers saw this forum and were swayed to go elsewhere.
[We are happy to say that our client no longer has to worry about this forum. In fact our client has some of the best real estate on Google and receives a constant flow of new clients because of it.]
So How Do You Listen To What People Are Saying?
Well where do people talk?
-Google, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Yahoo Answers, Blogs and many others. Did I mention the internet is a big place?
-Listening to what people are saying on Google, is quite simple, type in your company name and see what pops ups. Remember to check different ways of spelling your company.
-Facebook and Myspace is much harder. You have to establish your own page and dedicate lots of time in order to establish a strong network and monitor what people are talking about.
-Twitter is simple. Check out the Twitter search page and see who is talking about you. Remember to use the advanced search tool, to segment to a specific location.
-Yahoo Answers usually gets picked up by Google. However, if you would like to make sure Google didn't miss anything visit Yahoo Answers and search your company.
-Finally for Blogs you can use Google's Blog Search. It won't pick up everything but it is pretty good.
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Sounds like a lot of work? Call or e-mail MarketR, we do this for a living.
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How Can You Turn A Negative Comment Into A Positive.
Take our client with the Google page claiming they are a complete rip off! Imagine if they had seen the comment before anyone replied. Instead, our client replied on the forum and said,
"I am sorry to hear that you feel our prices are expensive. To clarify we charge $45-$95 for our services. These prices include x, y and z. We justify our prices because of ..., however if you visit on our training nights we charge $25 and we still guarantee our service. For more information visit our website at www.brandx.com."
Now anyone concerned about how much our client charges has a better understanding of the price range and can make an informed decision.
It's Not Business, It's Personal - Pt.0
This is the first post, in a multi-post series about using social networks to promote your business.
It is clear that social networks are here to stay. Just look at the following search trend for Facebook in Canada.
And it looks even better worldwide.
Why can't my stock portfolio look like that? (Try Google Insights yourself using the terms Myspace vs Facebook.) Hopefully you can see why I am a big fan of Facebook.
Anyway back to the important stuff! As I was saying, these posts are designed to assist you in your online social marketing/networking. This post is probably the MOST IMPORTANT out of them all. Because if you don't remember this, everything you do to promote your business on social networks will fail.
If you remember only one thing about social marketing online, remember this. "It's not business, It's Personal."
Social Marketing Online is about being personal.
-Listen to what your potential and existing customers are saying about you, and more importantly show them that you are listening.
-Keep your posts relevant. Nobody wants to know about your sale on merchandise that you need to shift asap. People do want to hear about how they can look great this new years for a lot less then they thought.
-Remember that you are not pushing your business. Instead you are building relationships. As soon as you become pushy people will stop listening.
These 3 tips will help you in achieving a successful online social networking strategy.
Keep posted to the blog for "It's not business, It's Personal - Part 1," where we will answer the question. How do I listen to what people are saying about my business?
