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How to pro-actively manage your online reputation
Recently I was talking to a rather large brand who had just been sold on an Online Reputation monitoring system. They were looking for a solution to start responding to people’s questions online.
The first word that came up in the conversation was ‘web-rep’. These are folks who go online and respond to comments on behalf of the company. But as you get more visibility, more market share of voice, it’s not economical to keep scaling up the number of web reps.
Read full article here: "They are talking about you. Now what?"
Getting started in social media
In an interview with PR Week, John Bell, from Ogilvy’s 360 Digital Influence, notes that more and more clients are asking for pilot programs rather than ‘full scale’ marketing campaigns.
So, is a pilot program a good thing? It’s a valid question. I’m often being asked this as well.
Read full article here: "The pros & cons of social media pilot campaigns".
How to give great content away. Without being a charity!
More and more companies are starting to see the value of publishing great content such as tutorial videos, white papers, how-to guides, case studies, trend reports or market research documents.
However, I notice that many managers and marketers are not comfortable with giving this content away for free online. Usually a lot of time and resources have gone into creating it. I therefore often hear the argument that this content is too valuable to give away for free.
Read full article here: "The value of content publishing".
4 Step social media strategy framework
In his latest blog post my business partner Steve Seager provides a basic four step framework for business leaders to set social media strategy.
Steve had his first taste of strategy when he was rock climbing as a kid with his stepdad. There he learned to think about his finishing point, set direction and plan the moves needed to secure success step by step.
Read full article here: "Free paper for business leaders: 4 Step social media strategy framework"
Break it down into easy chunks
Many marketers are hesitant to start investing in social media, because they struggle with the metrics. Before they start they would like to know what the potential ROI is of their Facebook group, Twitter chats, blog posts and activities in forums and discussion groups.
Read full article: "Getting a grip on the metrics of social media"
In my blog post ‘It’s all about them, not you’, I suggest a little check to see how consumer oriented your website is: just by grabbing a pen and counting the number of times you use the word ‘we’ on your website as oppose to the word ‘you’. It really helps you get a feel of how consumer centric your organisation is.
Read full article here: "Do the Wordle!".
The art of selling through informing
Throughout my career as a product marketer I tended to view Public Relations as a promotion activity. And with promotion I mean free publicity in media. As such PR is usually seen as a welcome addition to advertising.
Read full article here: "Public Relations sells!".
Getting in a targeted messaging headset
Many businesses see the biggest advantage of social media as simply reaching more people. Is it true?
Well, yes, you do reach more people, but if you don’t also adapt your messaging for these people, you end up with what Seth Godin calls a ‘meatball sundae’: an unfortunate mixing of two good ideas.
Read full article: "Did I mention mass communications doesn’t work in social media?".
Everyone knows the purchase funnel gets narrower towards the end, right? The entire marketing process has been aligned to this principle for more than forty years.
Well, now we can think again. McKinsey’s recent global study shows a definite change in the way consumers research and buy products. And that opens up ways of smarter marketing.
Read full article here: "Smarter marketing: don’t advertise, help inform!!".
Depending on which source you prefer, the average person is exposed to anywhere from 2 to 3,000 advertising messages each day. That’s an awful lot of noise, an awful lot of people shouting about their product.
Read full article: "It’s all about them. Not you.".
Want to harvest emails? Then don’t ask for people’s email address. Not just yet. Instead, try giving them some great free content first.
It’s pretty amazing to see how much valuable stuff one can obtain via the World Wide Web. I’m talking not only about valuable content you can find on websites, blogs and forums, but also downloadable documents such white papers, e-books, case studies, trend reports and market research to name but a few.
Read full article here: "Harvesting emails the social way".
Unfortunately some media outlets especially in The Netherlands all gave it their own spin, leading to misleading headlines such as ‘Consumers are more sensitive to email marketing than to social media marketing’.
OK. Now I’m angry. Let’s look at the facts here:
Read full article here: "Is email marketing better than social media marketing".
My last blog post talking about the benefits of an independent blogging platform and url as opposed to putting your blog on the root corporate web domain. My advice was catered towards small business blogs with a desire to establish thought leadership, build links, gain advocates and encourage conversations.
Read full article here: "Independent blog helps to keep corporate website on Google page one".
OK, you decided to start a blog for the benefit of your business. While you are developing your blogging strategy you will hopefully stop and think for a moment about where to host the blog. I sometimes have the feeling that many companies automatically place their blog on the domain of their own corporate website. But is this the right choice?
Read full article here: "Should I host my blog on my company website?"
Twitter. Some love it, some hate it. Some say it’s a great platform to share your interests, reach new customers, promote your blog or voice your opinion. Others don’t see the value of telling the world what they’re up to in 140 characters.
Read full article here: "Not convinced about Twitter yet? Why not start by listening?"
In nearly all the organisations I visit, I hear people actively debating a more effective use of online communication as a means to reach business objectives. One of the biggest challenges here is to convert the collective ‘mass communication’ headset to a headset that embraces the new communication rules of the web.
Read full article here: "Getting your organisation on the same page".
Their skills versus your needs
In my previous blog post I talked about the difference between Online publicity and Online PR. I argued it had to do with the difference between making noise and building relationships.
Read full article here: "Choosing the ultimate online agency".
Once upon a time marketers had two main ways of getting their product or services noticed by consumers: advertising and publicity.
The principle of advertising is based on interruption. In order to get people’s attention you need a large degree of creativity or even humour. This helps people absorb your message and makes it stick.
Read full article here: "Making noise or building relationships".
1 + 1 = 11
The last few posts, especially the ones on Dell made me realise that engaging in online communications on the social web is not something you do on a late Friday afternoon. It takes effort and commitment.
Read full article here: "The Power Of Scale".
Social media and direct revenue
Hmmm. Still talking about Dell. And this time it sounds like a Harry Potter title. The only difference is that this actually happened!
The company that initially got engaged in social media to repair the Dell Hell reputation damage, has now produced $1 million in revenue directly through Twitter! Dell’s Twitter followers receive messages when discounted products become available in the company’s Home Outlet Store.
Read full article here: "'Dell Hell and the $1 million Twitter revenue".
The ‘Best job in the world’ story broke on January 12, 2009. As a result, more than 30.000 people posted their one-minute job application video in a bid to become caretaker of
But how many people will remember ‘
Read full article here: "Best job in the world at errr… which Island?"
Or why brand building beats crisis communications
Now here’s a company that learned about engaging in online communications the hard way. This is a classic case study that dates back to 2005/2006.
What started with a blog post of one person, caught fire on the Internet and ended up with ‘Dell Hell’ as the most highly ranked Google search term associated with Dell for some time.
Read full article here: "The 'Dell Hell' wake up call".
Creating buy-in through education
Last month Ad Week reported on the departure of Dell’s Social Media Chief Bob Pearson. He left the company to take a position with the Blog Council, an industry group focused on social media.
Read full article here: "Educating the antibodies in your organisation".
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