View the rest of the answers on LinkedIn here
Transcribed after the jump
On September 9, 2008, In Social Media, By Shauna Nicholson
Engaging your social media network can be tricky; without proper planning, it can be even worse. The good news is that simply using the tools is free or relatively cheap; the bad news is that it’s hard to understand when you need to hire a strategist versus having your teen post on their favorite network.
WARNING: This post is inspired by Tanya Ferrall’s “4 Types of Social Media Marketers and the 1 You Never Read About”. I insist to, not only be the “one you never read about” but, offer some insight as to why this type is crucial to your ROI.
Questions to ask your social media marketer:
- Why social media? Like everything else you do for your business, you need to consider the business case for using social media. Without one, your campaign will be less effective and difficult to justify.
- How will we be measuring the ROI? At what point should you measure an ROI? Whether it’s qualitative or quantitative, you’ll need this information to ensure that expectations are met (or exceeded!).
- How do you identify the tools we will be using? If the marketer starts listing off the names of the social media tools (Facebook, blogs, podcasts, etc), a red flag should go up. This question will help you decide whether or not the marketer has a grasp on marketing as a whole. There are many out there focused too much on the tools, rather than why the tools are effective. Solid social media strategies start with identifying relationships, then pairing tools that will be most effective for each.
- What role will I (or a representative) be playing in this campaign? To keep a campaign genuine, you should at least have a “check in” point to ensure the correct communication is being relayed and a personality is kept fresh.
- What are my competitors/What is my industry currently doing in this area? Excuse me, but duh? If they don’t know, don’t hire them.
- What will I do to differentiate myself from my competitors? If it’s the same, forget it-unless you have a plan to do it better, more effectively, and easily translatable.
- How will this strategy compliment my existing advertising and public relations initiatives? Social media is most successful when the strategy compliments existing mediums. This is why half of Biznet’s (where I work) business is dependent upon supporting advertising and public relations agencies. In fact, social media is an extension of the two and should be handled accordingly.
Just because you’re unfamiliar with a certain marketing medium doesn’t mean you should trust everything you hear. Maintain the same rules for using these tools as you do for all things business, while being willing to understand the way they work. If you need help getting started with social media, developing a network, or engaging a network, follow the links!
The most successful blogs include at least one really good graphic representation of their concept. Often, it’s humorous to compliment the headline; sometimes it’s simply an easier way to communicate the information. After all, your content is only as effective as it’s communicated.
Products and services are sometimes best illustrated with timelines, symbols, or flow charts. This might be pretty obvious, but you might be surprised at how much time people spend explaining ideas through text when a simple illustration might do.
There are 3 things I want you to put major consideration on when creating your illustrated idea:
- Message: text that appeals to the reader only (concept specific)
- Graphic Appeal: clean, familiar graphics are usually best (why I used a Venn Diagram)
- Marketing Motive: usually a call to action (ex: “buy” “apply” “sign up”)
In all online marketing, there is an overlying theme: It’s not about you or your product. It’s about your user/prospect/client. Forget that and you will fail.
On June 11, 2008, In Marketing, By Shauna Nicholson
An article I came across, here.
Friday, 06 Jun 2008 10:45The content included within marketing emails is a vital aspect of their success, a spokesman for the Internet Advertising Bureau has commented.
Ben Butler, a content manager with the body, explained that the information included in a message is “incredibly important”.
He urged marketers to ensure their copy is “concise, engaging and to the point”.
“Email marketing is easy to do but very hard to get right,” Mr Butler asserted.
The expert suggested that businesses spend time considering how they could change their marketing emails to make them more successful.
Changing the subject line or moving the content of an email around can make a big difference to the success it achieves, Mr Butler added.
A study recently published by Habeas revealed that almost seven out of ten consumers prefer receiving emails to any other online method of communication, such as instant messaging or video.
However, almost 90 per cent of those questioned by the organisation stated that they would like to have more control over the content of the messages and how often they receive them.
Meet Shauna Nicholson
Working exclusively in online business strategy, Shauna Nicholson is a Detroit-based secret weapon for positioning well-known clients to effectively secure digital ROI.
Nicholson’s strategies are used in both websites and online marketing campaigns for major retail, medical, and manufacturing brands. She is known for her insight on plugging in user experience planning and social media tools for hype-free, reality-based business and marketing strategies.
Shauna enjoys generic things that everyone else loves, such as spending time with her incredible, loving family and on warm, sunny beaches. But would rather you know her dog is pretty awesome, of her obsession with slurpees, and aversion to working while wearing shoes.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
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