Social Media Campaigns Part 1

Do you know the saying, "Doctors make the worst patients"?
Well, this Internet Marketer has been so busy marketing as of late, that I fear I haven't set a very good example for my readers and have neglected to update my blog in some time.

Many of you know that I am the Marketing Director for the Lady of the Lakes Renaissance Faire.
The Faire will be held in Tavares, Florida November 5-8 of this year so the last month or so found me engaged in dedicated, focused, target marketing. The Faire doesn't appeal just to one demographic. We actually have several, very distinct groups that we market to. These groups are varied in their interests and activities and they aren't all reached via the same communication tools, so it has been both challenging and rewarding to research where to find these individuals and how to best communicate with them.

I am happy to report that if advance online ticket sales for the Faire are any indication, we will have record-breaking attendance this year. I believe strongly that this increase is due to our efforts to establish and maintain a strong presence on social media sites and to frequently monitor them to respond to comments, answer questions and correct misinformation when necessary.

Curious as to what we did? Wondering if you can achieve the same results? While YMMV based on a number of different factors, following these guidelines can help your social media campaign get off to a great start:

1) Set goals

A lot of companies feel pressured to get on the social media bandwagon and don't stop to develop a strategy before diving in. What are you hoping to achieve from having a social media presence? Do you understand the differences and purposes between Twitter and Facebook? What about LinkedIn and MySpace? Do you need to be on ALL of them? How much time do you realistically have to monitor the conversation on these sites?

2) Spam much?

The old model of advertising is based on interruption. TV commercials interrupt your favorite show. Print ads interrupt your reading. Radio ads interrupt your music.
"Buy me!", They would shout. "I'm great. I'm the best. I'm better than the competitor because I ______."

In a word association study performed recently, do you know what the number one word was that people associated with the word "advertising"? It was the word "false".

The social media generation doesn't take kindly to the use of these methods anymore. They don't have to put up with interruption. They can DVR their favorite shows and fast forward through the commercials. They can listen to music all day long via Internet radio or iTunes and never have to hear a single radio ad.
If your intention is to log onto social media sites and talk AT your customers instead of WITH them, please save yourself the trouble and don't bother.
They will revolt. They will accuse you of spamming them (sending them unwanted messages) and they will block you and shut you out of their lives forever.

The primary value of social media is relational, NOT transactional!

Can you profit from having an online presence? Absolutely. Can you enjoy a large ROI on your social media investment? No question.
But you can't do it using the old methods.

3) Find the Influencers

Did you know that there is a social media site designed just for moms? How about one designed exclusively for senior citizens? African Americans? Ren Faire Geeks like me?
I read so often abou the supposed importance of Ashton Kutcher having over a million Twitter followers and what an "influence" he has as a result of those numbers. Ashton has a wide audience. If you could catch his ear and ask him to tweet about your company, that would certainly help build awareness- but it wouldn't necessarily result in a huge increase in sales. If however, you found an individual with say, only 300 followers, but every last one of those followers were positively RABID about the type of product you sold, you could easily sell more via that person's influence than Ashton's.
Find your target audience's influencers. Partner with them. Repeat.

More ideas and tips in Part II!

Communication Revolution

Internet Marketing is a relatively new field. New enough, in fact, that when I tell people what I'm majoring in, they frequently need me to define what it is exactly that I'm studying.
In the past, I have attempted to explain that I am becoming educated in traditional marketing methodology but am also learning how to use these methods more effectively via new technologies like the Internet.
The way the world communicates is changing. Social media and the Internet are not a fad; they are, in fact, the key players in a communication revolution.
This video, which has gone "viral" since its release (meaning that it has been shared widely by millions of viewers), clearly demonstrates the effect that the Internet and social media has had on the ways we exchange information, make purchases, search for answers to our questions and form relationships. Are you learning the language of social media and the Internet?
As author David Meerman Scott says, "We are what we publish." In this increasingly digital age, if you're not maintaining a presence on these new media channels, you don't exist to many of your potential customers.

The Importance of Authenticity

Jack Neff posted this article
in Advertising Age in which he writes about Unilever’s use of social media to communicate their brand message. Some of you may remember reading about Unilever’s video campaign for Dove entitled, “Onslaught” that I wrote about a few posts back.

Unilever got the attention they were looking for - and more than they bargained for in the process.

Among the viewers of the Onslaught campaign were certain members of Greenpeace who produced a parody of the “Onslaught” video entitled Onslaughter
that criticized Dove and Unilever for their purported involvement in razing Indonesian rainforests through their purchases of palm oil.

Their complaint, according to the Greenpeace website states, “Unilever pretends to be an environmentally responsible company, but what it is actually responsible for is destroying areas of rainforest, driving species extinction and speeding up global warming. Being one of the biggest users of palm oil on the planet, Unilever must stop buying palm oil from these companies and call for a halt on the destruction of Indonesian forests to grow palm oil.

This is not the first time Unilever has been the focus of controversy. At approximately the same time the “Onslaught” campaign was launched, a campaign for another of Unilever’s brands, “Axe” was also released. Remember the scantily clad women that Unilever warned us about in the Onslaught video? They were all over the Axe campaign.

A mashup video of the two ads mockingly advised viewers to “Talk to your daughters before Unilever does.”

For years, manufacturers made false promises and invented fake identities and got away with it.

But no more.

Too many eyes are upon you. Too many ears are listening. Web 2.0 has made it so that all of us live in the proverbial fish bowl.

Try to be something you’re not in today’s Internet age and you WILL be exposed!

Authenticity is your only hope.

1) Don’t tell your customers that you care about things you don’t really care about. (Or that you care about them a lot when you only care about them a little bit.)

2) Don’t make promises you can’t deliver.

3) Once you've made promises on which you CAN deliver, don’t go back on them.

4) Don’t pretend to be something that you’re not.

To their credit, Unilever has entered into talks with Greenpeace and is now planning to adopt new targets for sustainable palm-oil sourcing.

They've learned the hard way the value of authenticity.

What about you?

Pimp This Bum

Internet Marketing doesn't have to cost a fortune. In fact, you can reap tremendous profits with just a cardboard sign, a sharpie, an engaging figure and an important cause. Don't believe me? Just ask Tim Edwards, a homeless man who is the subject of an Internet marketing campaign designed to help the homeless. Controversially titled "Pimp This Bum" the campaign's website:

Pimp This Bum

uses personal interviews with Tim and several of his friends to chronicle his slow fall from office manager with a home, a car, and a future to an outcast short of hope and with little prospect of help. Visitors can also use the site to donate money or services to assist Tim in his recovery. The site has already inspired many to donate, including a drug and alcohol treatment center which has provided a 35 day alcohol abuse treatment program valued at $13, 800 to Tim at no charge.

Why is this working?

Let's start with the name. The two Internet Marketers who are the creators of the campaign chose the controversial name purposely in order to generate "buzz". The more people talk about your site, the more exposure it gets. If they'd named the site something more generic like "Help the Homeless" many web surfers would've never noticed it or just passed it over.

Secondly, the site directs viewers to take a specific action. Every message you send to a potential customer, investor, or supporter of your cause should end in a clear call to action for the visitor such as, "Click here for more information", "Buy now", "Donate", etc.

Thirdly, and most importantly, tell your story. Consumers and supporters want to know WHY?

Why should they buy your product? Why should they donate to your cause?

I'll be sharing more examples of Internet marketers who are using their influence for good in future postings. If you come across any interesting or powerful online campaigns, please share them with me!