Marketing glass half full

The Importance of Marketing During a Recession

by PR-inside.com

June 22, 2009

I've become so accustomed to hearing businesses should cut marketing and advertising during a recession that finding an article encouraging businesses to invest in this threw me a bit of a curve ball.

Cohen and Company Creative, Inc., located in Fort Lauderdale, alerts readers that now is the time businesses need to step up and invest in marketing and advertising in order to "forge" ahead.

"This is a great opportunity to pick up market share and stand out from the competition instead of fade away," said Michael Cohen, president of one of South Florida's leading full-service advertising agencies. 

Just as we've learned, if done effectively, investing in marketing now can lead to some flourishing results in the future. But is Cohen only saying this because he runs an ad agency? 

One of his supporting points is that without marketing, customers cannot find you as easily. To avoid playing  catch-up, he suggests maintaining an advertising budget. But I disagree with him when referring to brands that have customer loyalty and a strong following. 

A good brand shouldn't have to depend on marketing and advertising for its consumers to learn of its where abouts. 

I do, however, agree with Cohen's point that not all marketing has to be expensive in order to push the best results- which backs up my guerilla marketing posting below. "Smart marketing," as Cohen refers to it as, is far more superior than costly marketing. 

Cohen closes his article by mentioning that people are indeed still spending. To ensure business, companies need  to make sure these people think of their business first prior to purchasing. 

I think his optimistic perspective on how smart marketing acts as an excellent investing is definitely worth thinking about. He's right in some aspects. I only wish he had specific examples backing his points that when companies lack marketing initiatives, consumers have tough times locating their businesses. 

Baking with PR consultant of Baker Communication

Who: Glenn Rossman

Of: Baker Communications Group

Twitter: GlennRman

Background: I’m in my fourth year as a p.r. consultant at Baker Communications Group (www.bakercg.com) where we work with young technology companies. I’ve had many years experience working at technology giants IBM and HP, plus start-up StorageApps (which was acquired by HP), plus p.r. agency giant, Hill & Knowlton. Working with smaller companies, I get to see direct results and it keeps me fresh staying on top of things like emerging social networks.

How have you see social networking affect the industry? What tools have you used to keep up to date with target audiences? I’ll answer in the context of “the industry,” being p.r. and our clients in high tech. Right now, we’re all: 1- gaining experience with social media – like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter (along with Plaxo, Xing, maybe even YouTube and blogs) – by signing up and using these ourselves; 2-learning by participating in seminars/webinars; 3- experimenting by trial and error. A good summary is something I picked up on one webinar: “How do you measure success? Try things. See if they work. Try again.” We’re really at the beginning of the wave here and that really says it all, I think.

 

In terms of “tools,” we have our own WordPress blog (www.bakercg.com/blog), plus I use TweetDeck and am looking at all kinds of programs like TweetLater (has keywords and reporting, identifies people to follow), Twellow (Yellow Pages of Twitter - classifies by industry), MrTweet.net (an agent that suggest “Follows” and helps link to others), along with wefollow.com. Also, I’ve been evaluating new offerings like “Social Media Metrics” from PR Newswire and VocusNews On-Demand, which has added social media tracking capabilities. These help us track what is being said in social media perform analytics to make sense of it all and do a better job of directing our messages.

Do you think it's becoming easier or harder to reach consumers? “Consumers” in my work are typically other businesses that purchase technology. I would say it is “easier” and “harder”. It is easier because we have many more ways to reach consumers (our target audience) and now we are better able to reach consumers directly – not only through media. That is also why it is harder because there are so many outlets and they are growing so fast. Before the emergence of social media (and blogs), there were a pretty finite number of media outlets and reporters. Now, the number of potential “influencers” is almost infinite (bloggers, Twitterers, etc.).

 Does Baker Communications use Twitter? Our agency and our clients are using Twitter. Why? There is no upfront cost and momentum has built to the point where it has proven to us to be another useful way to reach our target audiences.

What do you see for the future of social networking? We have one client (Open-Xchange) at the front of the social networking wave, which next week will introduce a trial that begins to assimilate information on the different social networks. For example, taking my LinkedIn contacts information and integrating that with my e-mail address book so that they are not two totally separate places with my contacts information. (As an example, Kelly, right now you are in my LinkedIn but if I want to send you an e-mail I have to manually add you to that address book.) Also, they’re working on sharing Profile information so that I maintain one bio/profile, which can be published to multiple sites (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, for example). The idea is that in both cases – integrating address books and maintaining profiles – are dynamic and continually update. In the future, we’ll see far more integration of social networks than the standalone, isolated islands we have today.

 

Do you think social networking sites are successful? Yes, and the proof is the number of users and vibrancy of each of those. I believe we’ll see maturing and maybe some go away or, more likely, they find their niche. MySpace is the best example where maybe its peak is past, but it is settling into a good niche (artists, musicians).

For more information on Baker Communication visit the company website

Stuntin' like my daddy did- Guerilla Marketing

(courtesy of weburbanist.com)

Other than having an outside party sponsor your business 100 percent, I can't think of a more cost-effective marketing technique than guerilla marketing. With the economy gone to the crapper (hopefully not for much longer!) guerilla marketing techniques should be used by those businesses that need the publicity, the awareness, the following, and have a skinny wallet.  It has proved to work extremely well when budgets are low and goals are high.

Defined, guerilla marketing means any form of unconventional promotions that moves away from a dependency on budget and instead relies on time, thinking "outside of the box" and effort put forth. Most often these tactics are unexpected and unconventional. By catching the consumers off guard, the idea being marketed becomes memorable and a topic of conversation--- ultimately transforming into a viral campaign. 

This article from weburbanist.com lists 13 guerilla stunts that were deemed "extremely effective" by the authors.

While many convey a sense of humor-- something all of us could use in struggling times like these-- others use powerful images to evoke emotions that connect the viewer to the meaning of the message.

Like Amnesty International's humanitarian-awareness campaign. Amnesty is the world's largest grassroots human rights organization. And together with the arts and entertainment industries, the organization works to raise awareness about human rights abuses throughout the globe to motivate people to take a stand. In the ad featured in this article it shows two hands reaching over the bars of a sewer top in a street with Wrong printed on one hand and Faith on the other. This disturbing yet meaningful image created buzz and served the purpose for why it was created: to get people talking about human rights.

The article made a point to mention the reversal of guerilla marketing that can result. In New York City, a band of street artists worked together to replace corporate ads that used public space without license with "clever guerrilla protestations" against the assumed injustice. One of these ads was replaced by a giant "delete" computer button. 

Some larger brands that have used humorous guerilla tactics successfully include: Volkswagen that placed one of its vehicles parked beside a curb with a giant brick that eared to have split upon landing on the non-damaged vehicle; FHM who used a mini coop's curvy front frame to compliment a feminine body; or Careerbuilder.com covered the top of a truck trailer with "Don't Jump carreerbuilder.com" to be seen by people working in tall buildings or those contemplating suicide. 

The reason I chose this brief article to discuss is to mention the importance of guerilla marketing. Not only is it cost effective, but it's a great way to stand out in a very cluttered and polluted marketplace. The stats are remarkable regarding how much information we receive daily, and how much of that we actually remember. Unless we as marketers do something memorable, our ideas will not stand out or be recognizable.  

An informal social networking discussion with Troy Smith

Troy Smith
Entertainment reporter, Democrat & Chronicle newspaper
Rochester, NY

* If you'd be so kind to describe the type of work you do, where you work, how long you have worked there, etc.
I am an entertainment reporter for the Democrat & Chronicle newspaper in Rochester, NY. I write primarily for the paper's features section and its weekly Young Reader Publication called Insider magazine. I cover everything from music and arts to people profiles and nightlife.

* Also, how have you seen social networking affect the industry? What tools have you used to keep up to date with target audiences?
Social networking has really brought personality back into the news/communications industry. Where as mainy people think traditional news is dying (newspapers, radio, etc.), those type of industries that can make a better transition to the online components will survive. We have a Twitter, Facebook and MySpace page for Insider magazine. Each is pretty active and each, especially the MySpace page, serves as a great way to get story ideas. On top of that all of our reporters have our own personal social networking pages and it allows the readers to connect with us more. Basically, the communications industry's biggest challenge is getting young people to by in to it. Our target audience is ages 18 to 35. We can't just expect people to pick up the magazine or the paper just because it's there. You have to be out there. A part of your community and nowadays that means the online community as well. If they care about you as a person, they'll read your stuff.

*Do you think it's becoming easier or harder to reach consumers? Why?
It's always becoming harder, especially since older people are running most communication companies. Baby boomers are dying, yet baby boomers are running newspapers and radio stations. So now you have these late 40 and 50-something trying to sit around at a table and come up with ways to reach 20-somethings. That's never gonna work. To me, that's why newspapers are dying. When the technology is going to video, we're just beginning to do Podcasts. When Twitter blows up, we don't even know what Facebook is. I think a lot of communications companies are going to have to swallow their pride are start letting younger, more innovative people show them the new wave of reaching out to consumers.

*Twitter is really beginning to take off, does your business Twitter? Why or why not?
We tweet. You'll notice that anything that's hot and popular, every company will jump on that. I'm not sure our paper really understands social networking, but God knows they're trying.

*What do you see for the future of social networking?
The future of social networking is that it'll continue to get older and more mature. The average age on Facebook and Twitter continues to go up. It's because people are finally realizing that they can use something once considered to only be for college and high-school kids, to help further their business or career. However, the people that will succeed at it are the ones who can bring everything together. The ones who can offer services and products while offering news and entertainment at the same time.

*Do you think social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, blogging, etc.) are successful? Why, why not?
Well, Facebook and MySpace are two fo the most visited sites on teh Internet. Blogging has become the new journalism and Twitter is the fatest way I've ever seen to get straight news. I'd say social networking sites are as successful, because people are talking about them and using them. That's all that matters.

For more information on Troy or the Democrat and Chronicle Newspaper visit www.democratandchronicle.com/

PR "Oopsies"

To stick with a similar theme of "mistakes" (please reference my business social networking mistakes entry), I chose to share and evaluate an article I came across on AllBusiness.com highlighting the top 10 Public Relations Mistakes.

I feel it necessary to first establish the key point of difference between PR and Advertising: 

***You don't pay for the space in the media; You instead find ways to earn the media space. As a newspaper reporter, I often cover many events that are PR-created to help organizations, whether it be non-profit or for-profit. I've seen it done right, and I've also seen it done poorly.

My example of right: A privately owned beauty salon donates 100 percent of a day's earnings to a WNY charity that offers support to abused female teens.

Wrong: A new holistic center opens and offers a free week of classes. Instead of discussing what the classes will offer, the directors focus on the corrupted medical industry.

Moving forward, here are the 10 Public Relations Mistakes that the authors at AllBusiness.com have established, and I personally have witnessed.

 1. Poor Timing: Lead time for magazines, newspapers and other media is crucial.

            * I’ve seen this over and over again when PR representatives have forwarded me information about an event the day of the event. The last-minute “Oops, I just remembered” to contact the media doesn’t work. Those are the releases or the e-mails that get deleted the fastest.

 2. Poor Choice of Language: Omit the fluff and buzz.

            * We don’t print the press releases untouched. In fact many times we re-write the entire announcement because of all the non-sense in it. Trying to figure out what the actual news of the press release is should be easy, but unfortunately the press releases we see rarely use simple language or get to the point.

 3. Poorly Written Press Releases: I judge you when you use poor grammar.

            * When press releases arrive on my desk that have fragments, poor grammar, spelling errors, etc., I immediately laugh about it and make fun of the business who forwarded it to me to my co-workers sitting in the area. If I have space issues with my section of the paper and have to choose between two re-written press releases I will always choose the more professional, properly written release.

 4. Poor Follow-up: Be prepared with follow up question

            * Earlier this week I was writing a story based on a  press release I received about an insurance company that will hold a food drive to benefit the Food Bank of WNY. It was the business’s first summer charity event, and when I called the contact number, the woman had not much to say. She didn’t know much about it, other than that they were excited about doing it. My story now will lack the depth and personal appeal to make it a good-size story. Instead of have a nice byline story, it will only run as a small brief.

 5. Too Much Hype: Use support facts, not generalizations and exaggerations

            * Even yesterday a press release I had to retype about a professional theater company joining with a local college included exaggerations. The release was very positive for the future, which was good… but it was too positive. It came across as wishful thinking and extremely exaggerated.

 6. Press Releases Without Purpose: The more press releases sent out, the less the media will pay attention

            * Don’t try to make stories where they do not exist!!! Why force it? I sometimes run into this as a reporter… You can’t report on things just to fill the paper; there has to be a reason for why the readers will care.

 7. No Newspaper Knowledge: Don’t live in a bubble

            * When writing a press release, it’s important to know what’s going on in local and world news. By doing so you can tie in timely examples in your news release plus you can avoid poorly timed releases.  Also, if the writers at the newspaper know you’re reading the paper, that will give them more incentive to include your release. They know you’ll be looking for it.

 

8. Lack of Plan: Don’t wing it!

            * It’s hard to know what to do next when lacking a plan of action. Determine When, Where, and How you will proceed. Back up plans aren’t such bad ideas too.

 9. No Help: The happy medium between doing it all yourself or hiring someone to do it for you

            * For a large story I was writing on Dining Out for Life earlier this year, the organization hired one woman to handle the event’s public relations. I worked through her to get to the people I needed to interview. Unfortunately, because I couldn’t contact the people I needed to speak with directly, I had to depend on her to make sure the information was passed along. This would then explain why I showed up to the restaurant  at 4 p.m. for an interview and the man I was meeting with had no idea I was coming. Great work (sike.) 

10. Staying Inside the Box: Sticking with the same media outlets and the same press releases

* Use pitch letters to give media outlets ideas for story. Now, with social networking spreading like wild fire, using Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Blogs, etc. to give updates on the businesses, people will catch on and become interested in what all of the commotion is. It's easy, and it will force the PR writers to become more created with their words in order to gain their viewers' attention. 

When public relations is done correctly, I've really seen it work well for businesses. At the paper, some businesses have earned some great story coverage based on what they've submitted.

New Era Twitter Use

INTERVIEW:

For my IMC class we were asked to interview someone using Twitter for business purposes. I had the opportunity to ask Brian Wheeler of New Era Cap Corp. (based out of Buffalo) a few questions...

Company- New Era
Who- Brian Wheeler, Web Marketing Manager
Twitter- New_Era_Buffalo

How long have you been involved in marketing?

-I’ve been working in the public relations / marketing for the past 10 years. Previously, I’ve worked for the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres in internet marketing.

When did you join New Era and what's a typical day like for you?

-I joined New Era in July 2008 after spending five years running Sabres.com. My day-to-day responsibilities include overseeing all email marketing campaigns, all e-commerce operations on NewEraCap.com and all Social Media networks where New Era has a presence.

What is your biggest challenge working for New Era in this field?

-The biggest challenge is always staying active with current trends and web technologies. Strategies, tactics, best practices and user expectations change on a day-to-day basis. What was accepted as standard practice in internet marketing just three years ago is outdated by today’s standards. The challenge has always been to try and stay in front of the curve.

How long have you used a Twitter account for New Era?

-We began tweeting about six months ago, but didn’t increase our activity until about two months ago.

Why did you create one?

- Two reasons really. 1) Twitter is the fastest growing social media network on the web, and as a brand, you have to go where people are. 2) The application allows us to converse with fans or consumers on a one-to-one basis. It also serves as a vehicle for quick communication of corporate messages and selling opportunities, while being very cost effective.

How has Twitter helped New Era?

-Pretty much what I said in the previous question. It’s a communication tool and a way for us to get our message out to a mass audience.

What other social networking devices does New Era utilize to get in touch with its clients?

-We use a variety. Facebook, Myspace, YouTube, Metacafe, Coolspotters, etc.

Brian J. Wheeler

Web Marketing Manager
New Era Cap Co.

Proceed With Caution

The Top 5 Mistakes of Social Media Marketing

- Pam Lontos and Maurice Ramirez, Ph. D

http://callcenterinfo.tmcnet.com/analysis/articles/57249-top-5-mistakes-social-media-marketing.htm

We've heard about the mistakes of posting inappropriate things on our social networking pages. How they can work against us with employment opportunities, and how too much information provided can get in the hands of the wrong people.

Now, as businesses begin to latch on social networking sites, the mistakes companies make using these networks have become as frequent as the mistakes people use on their own pages.

In this article, the authors offer the top 5 mistakes business owners or directors make. The mistakes mentioned seem to be the result of a misconception in the mind of the person running the networking page or account. For instance, a very common mistake not only businesses make, but people as well, is the friend count.

1. For Ashton Kutcher, collecting 1 million followers on Twitter may be cool. But for businesses? Not so much. Businesses shouldn't attempt to win the popularity contest, because according to this article... it will backfire--and I agree. No business can appeal to absolutely everybody, so why would it want everybody following it on Twitter? The authors look at each follower or friend as a business contact.

"When you collect a contact, you're supposed to be opening the door to exchange information and build a relationship" (Lontos and Ramirez).

2. The second mistake businesses make we've talked about several times in past classes: having too many faces of a brand. Just as it is confusing for a brand sending different images of itself and different messages, the same holds true for brands on social networking sites. The authors mention that the goal of using Social Marketing Media is to virally spread parts of your images across the web that form a framework to develop a whole, complete image of the brand. Everything out there needs to match and make sense with what the business is about.

3. Using the same networking sites as personal users is fine. But according to the authors, businesses must be strategic about what is posted, as opposed to personal users who talk about what they just ate for dinner or read in a book, etc. To spread messages virally, business leaders need to post messages that are useful to its readers so those readers post it to their sites. "The key is to keep your messages consistent. Remember that people are subscribing to various feeds in order to get your information" (Lontos and Ramirez.)

Although I agree with this, I wish the authors would've mentioned the importance of showing some type of personality- or flare- through postings. We as readers want to see what the business is really like. Show us something real rather than just try text.

4. Posting inappropriate information... the authors shared a bite-you-in-the-ass example of a CEO who posted on his private Facebook a photo of he and a woman whom he was vacationing with at a nude beach. A friend saw the photo, thought it was great and posted it on his Facebook. Then it went private, and his wife found out. Soon he was fired. (That's a spark notes version of the example-but it shows the caliber of one stupid decision.) "Never post anything on any site that you wouldn't personally show your own grandmother" (Lontos and Ramirez.)

I can see what the authors mean by this statement, but this piece of advice won't sit the same with every reader. Employers and grandmothers may not share the same feelings about a drunk picture of me mooning the photographer. Grandma would think it's funny... someone else though probably wouldn't.

5. The last mistake so often made is the wrong assumption that it is better to have your message in only one place on the Internet. Once believed to ruin credibility and diminish the unique factor,the more your message can appear simultaneously, the more effective the message will be. Spread the news. And spread it all over.

"Think of it as constructing a funnel. You want to lay several trails of information, all of which leads to your main site" (Lontos and Ramirez).

The theory of selling out is no longer valid. Be everywhere and as accessible as possible to anyone looking to learn about your brand.

If used effectively, Social Media Marketing can work in ways that help businesses connect with their consumers easier than ever, not to mention break into the marketplace faster than ever. This new form of PR is slowly eliminating traditional PR methods. Without the proper social network etiquette, businesses could flop just as quickly as the time it took to establish a footprint in the marketplace.