Social Media & Its Use for Marketing

With all the different Social Media websites out there it is easy to feel overwhelmed with what to use, or trying to use a mix of all that's available.  When in doubt a small survey to family and friends to find out who has accounts with what can assist you in making a good selection of what sites to use, but you may also want to consider any features that Social Media sites may have to aid you in your Social Media Marketing Campaign.  When you have decided on what to use you then need to figure out what your campaign will be, and how you will roll it out.  For our purposes we will look at 3 Organizations pages that are using Facebook for their Social Media Marketing.

Facebook Pages For Social Media Marketing

The following pages are a few examples of Facebook Marketing pages by Organizations.  I've listed these in order of what I perceive to be their effectiveness, both by design and activity.  The first listing will be the most effective, the second the next most effective, etc., etc., etc.  

1. Lorain County Community College - The Facebook Page for Lorain County Community College.  This page is well maintained and includes lots of photos of different happenings and going ons around their campus.
    
2.  FreshHops - A facebook page for FreshHops.com, a Hops website that sells Hops Rhizomes, Merchandise and Homebrewing gear.  Most of the activity on this page is seasonal and happens more in the Hops Growing Season, opposed to the off season.
   
3. Flight Of Dragons Live Action Movie - Normally I wouldn't really consider this, however I'm intrigued by the cause and the involvement of different parties.  This is a Social Media Campaign that has a short lifespan that will probably only last a year or two at most, if the studios do not shut it down.  Aside from the short span of the project, it is almost solely going to be based on awareness and donation, most of which I imagine will be garnered from social media.  I know that this campaign is going back and fourth with Copyright fights with the Studio, and if it is truly a labor of love I wish them luck, however I do believe that this could probably be managed better than what it has thus far.  There appears to be less news and awareness on this page with what is going on with the project than we would expect, but with their website being recently redone only time will tell if they manage their page better going forward.

Google + Vs. FaceBook

The gloves are off and we are in a judging mood.  So which ones the best?  Well lets take a look at our competitors.

In  the Blue Shorts we have our Reigning Champion....

Facebook:  The social Media Giant that toppled MySpace, to a near death fall from grace.  One of the most popular services that is offered, Facebook offers a free service that many have flocked to as a way to connect, express and communicate.  Facebook offers its users Games to play, photo and video sharing and check in services that allow people to stay in the "know."  With this type of allure its not wonder Facebook has the usage and popularity it has.  Facebook also allows pages that can be created for Organizations, People and Businesses.  One can then "Like" this page and view the content on this page, which when managed properly may contain photos, information and other various media potentially including a web address for their official website. 

And in the Red Shorts we have our new comer.....

Google +:  Google, we all use it to some degree, and Gmail is probably one of the most popular services that is available.  To top that, with the introduction of Android and its popularity, Google just appears to be more and more integrated in our lifestyle, but has Google joined the Social Media game too late?  With the introduction of Google+ Google is looking at the very least to join the Social Media Game, if not head it.  One nice feature about Google+ is that even though it is another Social Media site it is one that incorporates all of their free service offerings, including their web blog and their e-mail.   Aside from these free services, Google+ also offers Google+ Pages, which works in a similar fashion to Facebook Pages, allowing entities to create pages.  

With similar features it really does beg the question as to which one is better?  I'd like to say time will tell, but I rather think that we may be at somewhat of a stand still.  With Facebook slaying Myspace, many are tired of the jumping game, from one Social Media Network to another, and many new users are almost more likely to join Google+ over Facebook because of its centrality with its email and Android account services.  Yet we still see a draw to Facebook with the Draw of its Active users.  Sadly Time will tell who is the better overall, at the moment a safe bet is the use of both.

Effective Marketing Tools

Effective marketing tools is something of a quandary.  It can be as elusive as the white whale or as prominent as a mountain range.  An important step to using effective marketing tools, opposed to marketing tools in general, is knowing your clientele, brand and product.  When you have decided on your product there are a couple of things that you must first do to determine if it is a good idea to go to the next step with it.

 Market Research  

 

You wouldn't want to advertise for Jet Ski's in a desert area like Nevada, unless there was a lake or body of water nearby where it could be utilized.  It is important to do your market research first, before investing your time and money.  Things to consider with Market Research:

• Is there a need for your product?
• Who are your competitors?
• How do they advertise?
• What is their online presence?
• What is their pricing? 

In looking at these questions they should be relatively simple to answer, but extremely vital to the success of your Marketing plan and potentially your business.  When asking these questions you should not only be answering them, but also asking other questions to get a more precise idea of what exactly your trying to market and to whom your trying to market it to.  Also, your Market Research should be a tool that helps you in determining the following things:

• How will you advertise?
• Traditional Advertising:
• Flyers and Business Cards
• Word Of Mouth
• TV Ads
• Radio Ads
• Newspaper Ads
• Non-Traditional Advertising
• Social Media
• Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.
• Blogs
• Website
• Online Advertisement
• Banner Ads, Non-Organic (Paid) Search Results\Listing
  
• How will you price your product?
• Competitor Prices comparison
• Are you going to charge more or less than your competitor?
• Fair Market Value of Product
• What is your product worth?  
• How do your prices compare to the products worth?
• Key Differentiators 
• Why you?  What makes you special?  
• What makes your product better?
  
• What type of engagement will you have for your clientele?
• Will you have instore/inoffice engagement?
• Will you offer any sort of phone support?
• Will you offer any kind of email support?
• Will you have any kind of live chat support?
• Will you utilize social media for support?
• Will you have any sort of blog?

These questions are ways to consider connecting and serving your clientele; before, during and after the sale.  When answered and put into some sort of applicable action to your particular case these questions can assist you in finding additional ways that you may not have considered in better servicing your clientele.  Some companies that have found ways to service their clientele through some of these methods include:

• Joann Fabrics
• A Nice blog that gives creative projects, as well as the products needed to perform these projects.  Also features News and Interviews with various creative individuals as well as contests.
• B & H Photo
• A blog that contains interviews with Photographers as well as information on upcoming products in the photographic world.  This also includes company announcements and tips, all related to the world of photography.
• Cupcakes by Cheryl Porro
• A blog for a Software Engineer/Pastry Chef (Sugar Faery) for hire.  Not only is this Pastry Chef getting a place to share her love of passion for cupcakes, she is getting a place to share her experiences and knowledge.  Her willingness to share the information makes it intriguing, as she is not selling the cupcake any more, but her skill to make it, at least better than those of us who would attempt and fail.

These blogs are successful and yet very different in what they are marketing.  I believe that what makes these blogs successful is their level of involvement with their audiences.  

These blogs have a very "Can Do" attitude that quite frankly is a little infectious.  Yet at the same time these blogs are all selling something, a product, a service or a brand.  They are making themselves a "One-Stop-Shop" for their product.  With Joann's its the knowledge base and the collection of products they carry to perform their projects, B & H is their amazing selection of Photographic Equipment that I dare say is rivaled by none and Ms. Porro is marketing her ability to make seemingly delicious pastries with skill.

Follow you into the dark

If your still looking for a way to "find your way" through the darkness to create an effective Marketing Campaign I would suggest heading on over to Social Media Examiner and checking out Micheal Stelzner's blog.  His blogs give you previews, giving a general message, as well as a podcast, and allow you to sort through and then choose to engage more by either reading the full blog, or listening to his podcast.  Two big take away's that Stelzner provides is growing your e-mail lists from social media and the use of videos to promote an event.

Closing Thoughts

In Addition to Mr. Stelzner's blog, I would also like to call attention to Justin Yoder's blog, particularly his effective guidelines post from February 11, 2013.  In this blog Mr. Yoder is able effectively lays out a few very simple rules that plainly state what the plan you should follow is, followed by the reasoning behind it.  Another interesting blog to look at is Ian Burleigh's blog.  Though not as polished as the Yoder's, Burleigh's blog does incorporate some nice visual that aid and assist the message, truly transforming the medium to become the message.

Social Media Marketing Policy for Employees

Social Media Policies for Employees

Butterfly Effect - Chaos Theory

The theory that the smallest event, 

such as a flap of a butterflies wings, can cause a major event,

 such as a hurricane on the opposite side of the world.

Often times there is a contradiction between internal information, meant just for employees, and public information.  There are times when employees do not always distinguish between the two, and will share information that isn't necessarily for the general public, or could potentially harm a company's public image.  Often times this comes from no malicious intentions on the employees end, maybe they just say a comment that creates a ripple effect, without ever thinking of what the comment is that they are saying, or the effect it could have.  In this day and age there are few things that we can say that do not come back to haunt us, especially with Social Media and the internet, once it's out there it has potentially "gone viral" as it were.  Below are a few of the does and don'ts that can be applied to most businesses.

Some things that employees should not put on Social Media include:

Any bad experiences with customers or clients

Any personal information about customers or clients

No mention of finances, good or bad, of a business

Any sort of work problem or work related issue

Any information that is not readily and easily available to the general public

Personal Opinions on what they feel their company is doing wrong

Things that employees can mention on their Social Media sites include:

Positive published or announced information, sans negative opinions

Job Openings that have been posted publicly by the company for External Candidates

Events that the company is hosting or partaking in that are open to the General Public

Charities that the company is working with, so long as the campaigns are public

Again, these are just a few items from each side to give an idea of the kinds of things that should, and should not, be put out there by the employees of a company.  Depending on the size and type of company, as well as the marketing plan and transparency with the public there may be additional online behaviors that the company may want to institute to avoid public relations and marketing nightmares.  One of the most important things that can be done by a company in this age is to create awareness with their employees as to what information is being put out there, and the ripple effect that it can cause. 

 The road to hell is paved with good intentions

 

Often times we forget that it is sometimes better to be seen and thought to be stupid then to open our mouths and remove all doubt.  In today's world with the Facebook's, Pinterest's, LinkedIn, Twitter's, MySpace's, etc., etc. etc. it is hard to adhere or even pay notice to this simple philosophy.  This is true in business as well.  There are times when a employee may try to say something with the best intentions, and it can be taken in the wrong way, maybe it was a statement that wasn't fully formulated, saying too much or too little when it would have perhaps been better to say nothing at all.  Another scenario is that it was perhaps an employee commenting on something that was public information, a personal opinion that perhaps conflicted with the direction that the company was going in, or with the information that was presented to the public.  The best policy for any employee is to not post something on Social Media if it contains a personal opinion, good or bad, and not a published, public message from the company, and even then, it is often better to not make any kind of public statement about the matter and leave it to the PR Reps, as they will often have official company backed statements giving the information that the company deems pertinent to release to the public.

Awareness is the best tool that a company can impress upon their employees.  By creating a culture that involves actively engaged and aware employees the company can ensure that information that is put out there is handled in a proper way.  When information is deemed to be shared by a company they need to be clear as to the methods, and channels, that the information is going to be shared as well as the role that the employees will take in sharing this message.  That role needs to include appropriate responses and inappropriate responses to that message that may be carried out by all employees.  When handled in a professional manner that keeps everyone informed a culture that feeds off knowledge is formed which leaves no one to feel left out or slighted and helps to minimize off the cuff comments that lead to ripple effects and butterfly wings.