Category: Brand Strategy

5 Companies Rocking Social Media

2 Comments

Social media has become one of the greatest tools for companies to build relationships with their customers. While some companies are hesitant to use social media because of the inability to control negative comments, others realize that the benefits extremely outweigh the risks.

The infographic below breaks down how 5 companies were able to leverage the best features in social media and are rocking it!

Check out the social media strategies for:

  • Dell – focused on using social media to listen to what their customer’s wanted
  • Morton’s Steakhouse – used social media to surprise their customers
  • Unisys – focused on the resource sharing benefits of social media
  • KLM – used social media to provide 24/7 customer care
  • ABC – used social media to promote new shows & enhance the entertainment experience

Check out more about social media strategy creation and the future of social media.

Created by Voltier Digital for ScottMonty.com

Design in Business

Check out this great blog on how thinking like a designer leads to business success. This article breaks down the very interesting relationship between design and business. Have you ever thought that design could impact your business strategy or organization structure. The way that design can spark innovation is they same way it can impact how you make decisions and evolve as a company. This article definitely has inspired be to try breaking away from the way I normally work and take more of a “design” perspective.

Benefits of Social Media Marketing Graph Social Media Examiner 2012

Social Media Industry Report – 2012

The Social Media Examiner recently published their 4th annual social media marketing industry report. Each year they interview marketers about how they are using social media to grow and promote their businesses.

For the 2012 report, they interviewed over 3,800 marketers to determine:

  • The top 10 social media questions marketers want answered
  • The time commitment
  • The benefits of social media marketing
  • Commonly used social media services
  • Social media sites people want to learn more out
  • How B2B vs. B2C companies use social media
  • How marketers are using other forms of marketing
  • Outsourcing of social media management

Benefits of Social Media Marketing

One section of the report that I found most interesting was the benefits of social media section. The top 5 benefits of social media marketing that marketers have seen are:

  1. Increased exposure
  2. Increased traffic
  3. Provided marketplace insight
  4. Generated leads
  5. Developed loyal fans

Below is a graph from the annual report that shows the percent of marketers who have seen specific benefits from using social media marketing.

Benefits of Social Media Marketing Graph Social Media Examiner 2012

An interesting change from the 2011 to 2012 report is the percent of marketers who said social media marketing helped to improve search rankings. In 2011 62% of the marketers interviewed said that their search rankings improved, but only 55% of the marketers interviewed in this year’s report saw a benefit. I found this change very interesting since I have experienced improvements in search rankings using social media campaigns in the past. After examining the report further, it appears that those who saw improved search rankings were investing more than 10 hours a week in social media, have at least 3 years experience, or are selling to other businesses (B2B companies). There appears to be a direct correlation between the amount of time invested and experience on search ranking. However, industry is a large factor, as only 50% of businesses who sell to consumers saw a significant increase in their search rankings.

Benefits of Social Media Takeaways:

  • B2B companies are more likely to grow business partnerships using social media than B2C companies.
  • Spending 6 hours or more a week on social media shows a significant increase in lead generation.
  • Small business are more likely to see an increase in lead generation than large companies.
  • Those with 3 and more years experience managing social media see a significant increase in all the measured benefits compared to those with less experience.
  • Over a third of all mid-sized and large companies have not seen a reduction in their marketing expenses. This is very interesting, I wonder if social media is seen as an additional marketing effort not a replacement for other marketing at this time.
  • A not surprising find, social media is great for generating site traffic. 74% of marketers saw increases in site traffic when investing minimum 6 hours a week in social media.
  • B2B companies use social media for gaining marketplace insight much more than B2C companies.
  • B2C companies have a much larger increase in their loyal fan base when using social media than B2B companies.
  • There is a direct correlation between amount of time invested in social media and acquiring loyal fans. More Time Invested = Increase in Loyal Fans

Check out the full 2012 Social Media Marketing Industry report on the Social Media Examiner site.

Related articles

The Future of Blogging

2 Comments

What should your focus be for your online marketing strategy? The infographic below breaks down what online medias companies will be using in 2012.

Takeaways 2012

  • Start or increase blogging – 43% of companies will have active blogs in 2012, up from 39% in 2011
  • Create an email newsletter – 77% of companies will use email marketing in 2012
  • Find your next superstar- 57% of companies will use social media to find new employees

The Future of Blogging Infographic

Interview With the Head of Social Media at Ford

Check out this interview Scott Monty, head of social media at Ford Motor Company.
During the interview, Scott discusses how to connect and engage with customers through social media. Scott also discusses:

  • How Ford uses Google+ and why creating a conversation on Google+ is different compared to other platforms
  • How they measure the sales impact of their blog
  • Why social media is about creating a story
  • Using humor in your social media marketing
  • Upcoming trends in social media

How Ford Engages Customers With Social Media (socialmediaexaminer.com)

Who Does B2B Marketing Better: Facebook vs. LinkedIn

2 Comments

Facebook is the go to social media platform for advertising to consumers. Whether it is an ad in the side bar or creating customer relationships through posts on company pages, Facebook reaches the final customer. The great thing about Facebook ads, is that it allows businesses to create a custom targeted campaign to reach their customers regardless of company size.

While Facebook can target a select group of people for an ad to be shown to, LinkedIn is a unique group of business. LinkedIn is a specialized network for the business world, which is composed of users who are passionate about their industry and are looking to network. For companies looking to utilize social media to reach their customers, the platform they choose to use will be based on which site their customers are already using. If a company is looking reach women looking for a great summer dress, Facebook would be the way to go. However,  interactive agency would have much better luck using LinkedIn to connect with potential clients than Facebook.

The infographic below from San Diego Web Design & Marketing Agency breakdowns the differences between the two social networking powerhouses.

B2B Marketing Facebook Vs. LinkedIn Infographic

Work Lessons From the Hunger Games

 

Love, love, love this blog post! “Work Lessons From the Hunger Games”
Find out how the following rules will help you to survive at work and “win” your dream career.

  1. Get people to like you, or you’ll die
  2. Be yourself so that people like you so you don’t die
  3. Be memorable or you’ll die
  4. Some people will like your guts but others won’t
  5. A good mentor will help increase your chances of survival

I definitely recommend checking it out!

Related articles

Why Your Klout Score is Important

6 Comments

So what is a Klout score and why should you care?

Klout.com is becoming one of the most popular sites for understanding and growing your online network successfully. Klout was created to measure and understand, as well as leverage your brand’s influence online.

A recent article on Forbes.com by Dorie Clark breaks down why your Klout score is important for your brand. It also includes great tips from Alex Lightman, a high ranking Klout member, on how to increase your score.

Why You Should Care About Your Klout Score – Forbes.com

Your brand’s online influence can not truly be measured solely by the number of Twitter followers or likes on Facebook you have. True influence (Klout) is measured by the content you share and how frequently you interact with your community, as well how often they interact with you. Klout has created a process to convert your brand’s online influence into a number on a scale of 1 – 100. Some of the factors that influence your Klout score are:

  • Twitter: Retweets and Mentions
  • Facebook: Comments, Wall-Posts, Likes
  • LinkedIn: Comments, Likes
  • Foursquare: Tips, To-Do’s, Done
  • Google+: Comments, Reshares, +1

Even though the list above mentions “likes” and posts, Klout is not measuring your level of “activity” it is measuring your level of influence!

My favorite feature on Klout is the “Klout Style” report. The report measures:

  • Whether you share or create content
  • If the information you share is focused or broad
  • If you are more of a listener or if you participate in online conversations
  • Who you influence and who influences you

Based on these factors and more, your brand is categorized into one of 16 categories, including:Wendy's Facebook Page Timeline Format

  • Curator
  • Broadcaster
  • Dabbler
  • Conversationalist
  • Networker
  • Observer
  • Specialist

For example, Klout categorizes me as a Networker. Klout defines a Networker as:

“You know how to connect to the right people and share what’s important to your audience. You generously share your network to help your followers. You have a high level of engagement and an influential audience.”

Also, you can find out what topics you are most influential on, compared to those you assume interest your followers. Klout helps you better understand your brand and determine if your strategy is successful. Check out my Klout profile to find out more about what you can learn about your online community Being Your Brand Klout Score

Have you already signed up for Klout? If so, where you surprised by your score or how Klout categorized you? Leave a comment below, I always appreciate your thoughts.

Related articles

Future of Branding – What Goes into a Branding Framework

“The future of branding is marketing with people and not at them.” This is one of the great quotes included in this new article from BrandGrowth. This post is based around the book Brand Against the Machine (which I am definitely downloading onto my Kindle when I get home).
This article does a great job explaining the 6 Steps to Building a Branding Framework from the book and how they apply to your brand:

  1. Know your audience
  2. Define your position
  3. Create a solution
  4. Content
  5. Promotion
  6. Over-deliver your value

I highly recommend checking out the full article, and I can’t wait to write about what I learn from this book as well.

Related articles