5 Tips for Marketing on Niche Social Media Sites
Heather FletcherNot only is the copy in ServInt's display ad consistent with the copy on social media site DamnYouAutoCorrect.com, but so is its design. It probably helps that McLean, Va.-based enterprise Web hosting provider ServInt is DYAC's Web host, but other marketers are starting to comprehend social media, too.
Perhaps those marketers have oxytocin receptors that are more apt to lend themselves to empathetic responses, per recent research from the University of Oregon. Or, more likely, they're paying attention to marketing research such as "The State of Online Branded Communities" study released in November 2011 by Chicago-based social media marketing company ComBlu.
The study finds: "As the social ecosystem continues to expand, brands need to better understand how to engage across owned, paid, earned and mass social channels. They also need to continue to innovate the community model. Those brands that 'get it' will have a better foundation for future success. The stagnation observed in this year's study will impede brands as they attempt to build deeper and stronger relationships with stakeholders."
Where brands slipped in their own backyards was, according to the study: "only" 43 percent of the communities had rewards and recognition programs for the members; less than half had a "community manager," or an actual human representing the brand within the community; "only 20 percent of communities actively recruit, recognize and give [member] advocates special roles"; and adopting user reviews and content "had one of the lowest adoption rates at 27 percent, down from 54 percent last year. This is concerning as this type of content drives both consideration and preference."
On the positive end, among the branded communities ComBlu observed for the study, 96 percent were appropriately engaging with members of their owned social networks. That's opposed to what ComBlu observed for its 2010 study, which was a plethora of "one-off" activities.
Taking a closer look at how marketers can best present themselves on niche social media sites they don't own are: Brody Dorland, chief handshaker and strategy guy at Kansas City, Mo.-based marketing agency Allure New Media; and Glenn Gaudet, president and founder of Cambridge, Mass.-based social media marketing firm GaggleAMP. ServInt declined to comment for this article.
1. Start thinking about consumer engagement now, before social media sites become so self-contained that the learning curve needed to enter them looks like a wall. According to John Jantsch's Nov. 18 post on DuctTapemarketing.com titled "Social Networks Will Become Marketplaces": "As the level of social behavior continues to evolve and social networks grow more important in the lives of their users, they will become much more than outposts—they will move increasingly towards self-containment and wholly functioning marketplaces."
2. Listen first in order to not be seen as a party crasher. Dorland, for instance, is helping client RMI Golf Carts, a golf cart dealer in Olathe, Kan. that is looking to ramp up its online golf cart parts sales, to find the right niche site. "Social media monitoring has indicated that the online forum BuggiesGoneWild.com is the top site for golf cart owners looking for parts, so we're working with RMI to establish a genuine presence within that forum and test banner ads on the site," he says.
Dorland continues: "There are great social media monitoring platforms out there today to help companies identify niche sites/forums/blogs that house relevant conversations, large communities and wield influence within the particular niche."
His agency always listens before engaging, because "this initial research gives us a very clear picture, or roadmap, for how to steer future content marketing, social media engagement and online advertising."
3. Use both paid and organic approaches. Paid ads should be relevant to the content. But to truly be part of the community, be part of the community.
Dorland says, as far as personal engagement goes, "This is one thing that I think a lot of big brands struggle with. Using traditional, interruption-based ad models just don't work very well in these niche, social environments. Depending on a company's strategy and overall conversion goals for a particular site, we always recommend some form of personal engagement, either by an internal subject matter expert or community manager. In other words, we assign a person within the company to monitor and engage within the community site in a genuine way. We preach the 'give to get' mindset and focus on adding value to the conversation, regardless of whether the conversation is related to the company's products/services or not. Using the RMI example above, we've found several forum threads from golf cart owners who are struggling with dead golf cart batteries. Matt [Rogers], the owner of RMI, would have no problem chiming in with tips on how to jump start it without ever mentioning that he sells new golf cart batteries. This genuine, helpful participation builds trust and credibility, and a strategically placed hyperlink to his online parts store (within his forum signature) should start to generate sales."
4. Understand that, sometimes, niche sites can cater to a diverse audience. In the case of DYAC, Gaudet says billing system Recurly is letting its offer do the targeting, not the site.
"Ads like this are placed there because the sites cater to a very large general audience and the ads are specific enough that (hopefully) only people who are genuinely interested in them will click on them," Gaudet says. "The landing page on the Recurly site also weeds out irrelevant visitors—it's just a sales/marketing funnel with a really big top. To play in this game, companies need to do as much pre-qualification as they can with the ad messaging up front. It's all about an initial messaging—companies have to strike a balance between specific enough to weed out the irrelevant clicks (that they would have to pay for) and showing up with a completely irrelevant ad that would make people wonder what they are doing there. It shows an intelligence around lead acquisition strategy, go to less targeted sites that have lower rates and narrow the call to action to just what you want."
Gaudet's client, enterprise energy management provider JouleX, says GaggleAMP gives his company with insight in order to amplify the proper JouleX message across social media, which has tripled Web traffic quadrupled leads. JouleX Marketing Director Player Pate says: "Sharing messages and information across social media is a vital and growing part of the marketing mix. Ensuring that our employees, partners and customers can deliver our messages allows us to garner a larger audience and respondents than we can get just on our social accounts."
5. Test. Dorland says: "With the accessibility of Google Analytics, more and more companies are getting smarter about pulling insights from their analytics data. Minimal investments in time and money to test the productivity of ads or engagement can be easily be measured in the form of referring traffic and conversions from a given social site. When a site is showing signs of productivity, more resources can be dedicated to it. If a site is not bringing home the bacon, cut it and move on."
Best Online Marketing Practices For A 'Bionic' Business: Part II
Wendy Montes de Oca[Editor's note: This is the second installment in a series of three blog posts.]
My last post focused on real-life questions I've gotten from business owners, as well as my responses. Topics covered were free online press release distribution best practices, as well as some social marketing secrets for stronger visibility.
Today's post will continue with some more great tips to excel at social marketing. Happy reading!
Question: Which social marketing platform is better, Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook?
Answer: I have personally found that Facebook and LinkedIn convert better. And by that I mean the friends and followers interact more and take action by website traffic, ezine sign up or becoming a client/customer.
Facebook and LinkedIn have more character limitations (420 or so characters per post) as well as a variety of features so you can say more, bond more and sell more to your audience.
Twitter has very strict character limitations (140 characters) making it difficult to have more than a superficial relationship with your followers. With Twitter, you run the risk of getting more unqualified, irrelevant followers just looking for a reciprocal follow. Test them all to see what's right for you.
Question: What can I do in Twitter to help increase my presence?
Answer: Keep your Tweets useful, relevant and entertaining. This helps popularity and follower engagement. Tweet often, such as several times per day. Generally, the best time to tweet is 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. To find out when is the best time for you and when your followers are online, there's some great free tools such as: http://www.whentotweet.com, http://tweetwhen.com, or http://timely.is/#/. Select and use an eye-catching profile image so your tweets grab attention and stand out from all the other 'Timeline' background noise. Reply to people if they RT or mention you. This shows gratitude and helps with bonding and frequency of future RTs and mentions. Use hashtags (#) with targeted keywords, to help visibility in search results. Make sure you have a keyword rich and relevant Twitter bio so the 'right' people can find and follow you as well as you can show up in their 'Who To Follow' search results. Text is limited, so pick your descriptive keywords carefully in your Twitter bio. More free Twitter tools are at http://justtweetit.com/twitter-tools/.
Question: What are the success secrets to social marketing?
Answer: Social marketing is all about interaction with your community of like-minded individuals so for the best results, try to be:
- Aware—Know each social media community's law of the land.
- Active—Don't just go in a few times and hit members with your marketing message. Get involved. Participate in discussions.
- Relevant—Make sure you're posting in areas of the site that are relevant to the topic you're discussing.
- Genuine—Let the conversations flow organically. Contribute real, thought-provoking comments that members will find interesting.
- Useful—Make sure you're adding value to the site in some way.
- Subtle—Back-links should be relevant to the post (such as a great article that you want to share with members—then enclose the link so they can read for themselves). Use links sparingly.
- Balanced—Mix up your messages. Don't just go into a site and start spamming away with your marketing messages. Go in. Hang out for a few weeks. Get to really know the members and the site.
- Informative—Be aware of what's happening in your area of interest. Be able to have intelligent discussions about different news, events, and publications under your subject matter.
- Personable—Develop relationships with the community on both a "friend" and an expert level for your area of specialty.
- Respectful—Sending unwanted and unsolicited email to people in your network (through the email address posted on their profile page) is spam, plain and simple. Don't exploit community members' personal information.
A Web Analyst’s Perspective on Developing Your Privacy Policy with a Code of Ethics
Olga SpaicDo you remember the days when you couldn't target messages to customers in email campaigns, online advertising or tweets to your brand's followers? It hasn't been long since one-to-many mass marketing on TV, radio, print and other traditional media was the norm.
But with the rapid revolution in digital marketing, conversations between corporations and customers have increasingly become one-to-one exchanges. Why advertise via mass media when you can target customers on specialty websites or with targeted ads to customers who are most likely to be interested in your product? Why bombard existing customers with irrelevant messages when you can tap into the wealth of knowledge in your customer databases and offer products and services they want? This digital boon for marketing innovation offers a way to improve marketing ROI.
While they produce better results and ROI, digital marketing advances such as targeted ads, behavior tracking, analytics and hyper-customization have also raised a whole set of privacy-related issues. What rights do consumers relinquish when they agree to use your technology or service? How ready are companies to simultaneously use and protect customer data? The past several years have offered a steady stream of headlines warning users of possible incursions on privacy-location tracking by iPhones; hacked PlayStation accounts; and targeted advertising based on content in personal email communications or Facebook posts.
The marketing and IT industries face challenges on several fronts that threaten the fate of targeted marketing, including: pending government privacy legislation in the United States and abroad, consumer fear and backlash, and data security.
Addressing these challenges requires a cohesive and comprehensive privacy program that integrates Web professionals, marketers, salespeople, data security teams and others in your organization. In other words, your privacy policy and its implementation need to permeate your entire organization and include everyone with access to customer data.
This can be a daunting task, but there are methods to deploying an airtight, all-encompassing policy. One method of breaking down complex privacy issues and ensuring customer privacy is protected involves implementing a code of conduct. In fact, the Web Analyst's Code of Ethics from the Web Analytics Association explicitly states a commitment to privacy, transparency, consumer control, education and accountability. The Code of Ethics includes:
- Privacy by design within your customer interactions and CRM systems.
- Consumer choice by allowing customers easy ways to opt in or opt out.
- Transparency in your policies so that customers know exactly what type of data you are collecting.
These tenets are necessary to ensure a company's commitment to online privacy best practices. Addressing each of these components speaks to the industry challenges noted above and will ensure that your organization avoids the privacy-debate ruckus.
1. Privacy by Design. If you are a marketer, a marketing or Web analyst, or a sales person, think about the data you can access about your company's customers. How does privacy by design affect your day-to-day marketing activity? Do you know how to protect customer data? Are you accessing data on secure servers? Do you store information on your own laptop? If so, is your laptop secure and is data encrypted?
At its simplest, privacy by design is about data security. Companies should collect only the data they need from customers, maintain strict guidelines about who can access that information and in what manner, and use that information only for purposes agreed to by their customers.
Microsoft, for example, has integrated privacy by design throughout its entire organization. One critical component of this program is Privacy 101 training, which is required of all new employees, even those who will never touch a customer record. Employees with access to customer data must take additional training, clearly specify their business justification for access to customer lists and gain approval from management before accessing CRM databases.
As tracking tools get more sophisticated, it's important to update privacy policies and make sure that data security remains the paramount responsibility. In fact the Web Analyst's Code of Ethics includes a section with wording about data security and sharing data with third parties:
PRIVACY I agree to hold consumer data in the highest regard and will do everything in my power to keep personally identifiable consumer data safe, secure and private. To this end I will never knowingly transfer, release, or otherwise distribute personally identifiable information (PII) gathered through digital channels to any third-party without express permission from the consumer(s) who generated the data. I will also work with my clients/employer where applicable to enforce a cookie and user identification policy that is appropriate and respectful of the consumer experience.
The last line says it all—a policy that is "respectful of the consumer experience." Each of us is responsible for ensuring the integrity and safety of the data we collect about our customers. In an organization that practices privacy by design, marketers, sales people, IT administrators, financial professionals, senior management—everyone with access to customer data—share in that responsibility.
2. Consumer Choice. As with the CAN SPAM Act of 2003, which regulated online newsletters and promotional email, the government is urging "do not track" legislation for website tracking and targeting for online advertising. The FTC has recommended a browser-based opt-out solution, but perhaps a more explicit opt-in solution can complement these efforts.
Browsers have enabled features that allow users to designate their tracking preferences, but relying on browsers solely for "do not track" does not solve all problems. Rather, it puts the responsibility on consumers, when many consumers don't even know non-tracking options exist. Compounding the confusion is the fact that consumers use multiple Internet browsers, and each browser has a slightly different way of setting tracking preferences.
Instead of relying on consumers to set their privacy preferences in browsers, companies should develop systems for consumers to opt in or opt out of programs that aren't based on a browser. Such programs allow online users to opt out of the targeted ads that are the crux of much of the privacy controversy.
Giving consumers a choice is a step in the right direction. Most companies with email marketing programs already offer simple ways for consumers to opt out. Offer a similar option when it comes to online advertising, whether it is via a browser setting, an industry-wide opt-in or opt-out program, or some other mechanism. Again, the Web Analyst's Code of Ethics states that consumer control is an integral component of the Code:
CONSUMER CONTROL I agree to inform and empower consumers to opt out of my clients/employer data collection practices and to document ways to do this. To this end I will work to ensure that consumers have a means to opt out and to ensure that they are removed from tracking when requested. Further, I will do my best to use tracking and browser-based technologies in the way they were designed and not otherwise circumvent consumer control over their browsing experience.
Consumer control can be built into existing marketing systems by providing, for example, an easy-to-find opt-out link or button, a way to manage subscriptions via a profile, or a link at the bottom of an ad. These types of options (in addition to browser-based controls) should alleviate consumers' and legislators' concerns.
3. Transparency. The last tenet of a good privacy policy is transparency. FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz summed up transparency as follows: "Privacy notices should be clearer, shorter and more standardized, so people understand what's happening with their information and who's watching what they do online—and off." Additionally, consumers should be provided reasonable access to the data being maintained on them and ways to update that data.
Though it may sound simple, transparency can be one of the more difficult things to achieve when it comes to privacy. In addition to the vast difference between Web-savvy consumers and Internet newbies in terms of understanding privacy, there is also an increasing variety of ways that consumers interact with online and offline companies. This proliferation of channels can make it difficult for a consumer to understand them, or for a company even to fully list them. For example:
- A company may collect data on a consumer from a website visit.
- An advertising network running ads on that same site may already have information on this consumer's prior online activity on other websites.
- A mobile provider has telephone, name and other personal information on that same consumer when he or she accesses the website via a mobile browser.
- Various third-party data processors and aggregators might get data from each of these entities for further analysis in an attempt to improve future interactions with the customer.
What sounds like a simple scenario—user visits a website, sees an ad and downloads an application—is not simple at all. There are at least five different parties involved in collecting and accessing data on that consumer.
Transparency is about standardizing privacy statements and keeping them brief, and also about educating consumers about privacy statements' existence and meaning and speaking in non-technical terms that consumers will understand.
Per the Web Analyst's Code of Ethics on transparency:
TRANSPARENCY I agree to encourage full disclosure of my clients/employer consumer data collection practices and to encourage communication of how that data will be used in clear and understandable language. To this end, I will work with my clients/employer to ensure that the privacy policy is up-to-date and provides a clear and truthful reflection of our collection, use and storage policies towards digitally-collected data. Without divulging proprietary or competitive information, I will be transparent, honest and forthright regarding the data collected and how it is used to improve the overall consumer and customer experience online.
It isn't the Web analyst's job to educate the broader population about privacy statements and data usage. But Web analysts, marketers and others who have access to consumer data from online tracking tools should be part of the conversation on how to clarify privacy policies for their customers. Consumers will be more trusting of targeted marketing efforts if they understand how their data are used and how their online experiences can be improved when they share data.
The vast world of online privacy is complexity. Like any challenge, these issues can be deconstructed and solved piece by piece. Consumer choice, privacy by design and transparency are key components of building a robust and effective organizational privacy policy. Instilling a respect and commitment for your customers' privacy throughout the organization is the foundation for making sure these components produce a better customer relationship. The Web Analyst's Code of Ethics is one example of how an organization can focus its employees on customer privacy. Ethical use of customer data will reap benefits—a long-term relationship of trust. That's something that can directly enhance your company's bottom line.
Olga Spaic is the manager of analytics at the Seattle office of Metia, a digital marketing agency. In addition to her work at Metia, Olga co-chairs the Seattle Chapter of the Web Analytics Association. She can be reached at olga.spaic@metia.com.
A USPS Development that Is Truly Progressive: Carbon Calculations for Your Mail
Chet DalzellWhile the nation's postal-related headlines are dominated by USPS plans to optimize (consolidate) its mail processing network and to slash costs during the next three years as it fights for financial sustainability, a less known development is a new USPS service on behalf of postal customers that is truly insightful—and free of charge—and about to launch early next year, subject to some final testing.
Beginning 2012, mailers will be able to secure from the USPS a "carbon impact calculation" for their mail across various USPS products and classes, with the potential to purchase carbon offsets, too. Essentially, the calculation is the amount of carbon released in the atmosphere as a result of an organization's mail being in the domain of the USPS delivery infrastructure. The program was piloted earlier this year with business customers enrolled with the Postal Service's Electronic Verification System (eVS) for Domestic Competitive categories and is set to be extended to PostalOne! participants and all postal products shortly.
Why is this noteworthy?
Many of the world's leading brands and global enterprises—among them U.S. companies and household names—participate in a global transparency effort called the Carbon Disclosure Project. Many more seek to establish their carbon footprint as they participate in global carbon-trading schemes, designed to lessen greenhouse gases thought to be associated with global warming.
While the United States has yet to adopt formal national goals for carbon reduction for its part in the global economy, many brands that are either (1) global players or (2) environmentally sensitive or (3) both are already doing so in their own operations. These enterprises are acknowledging that managing carbon is a business-smart way to reduce waste and pollution and to optimize efficiency, while no doubt burnishing their own brand credentials. Sustainability isn't a feel-good pursuit, it's about the bottom line and intelligent materials management.
[Note: California—the U.S.'s largest state economy—has adopted carbon reduction goals as a matter of policy and practice.]
The USPS needs to be lauded here. Already, the USPS has conducted a lifecycle inventory regarding the delivery of the nation's mail, and has adopted aggressive waste reduction and recycling goals in its own operations—all in a bid to increase efficiency and revenue. It knows, more or less, the carbon footprint of each class of mail and is ready to share such information with its customers in a true "value-add" function that is specific to each customer's own use of the mail. Carbon calculations can be retrieved by month, by quarter and by year, or on an ad hoc reporting basis as requested by a customer.
To take advantage of the carbon calculation offer, mailers might look for an official announcement from the USPS at some point early next year, once final testing is completed on eVS and PostalOne!
By knowing the carbon footprint of their mailings, brands and companies that participate in carbon markets can derive more accurate readings of the direct mail portion of their marketing and operations activity.
Maybe then they can start tackling an even harder subject for direct marketers—how to reduce the carbon impact of their data centers and digital marketing.
Helpful Links
USPS 2010 Sustainability Report (see page 37)
Environmental Leader: Most Climate-Responsible Companies Revealed for 2011
Huffington Post: California's Drastic Carbon Reduction Goals are Achievable, Study Says
Direct Marketing Association: USPS Releases Report on Life Cycle Inventory of the Mail
4 Tips for Tracking DRTV-to-Web, and Why Doing So is Critical
By Irv BrechnerIt's no secret that many consumers who see a DRTV commercial go online to request more information or make a purchase. Yet, if you watch any number of DRTV spots and infomercials, the percentage of marketers who are tracking Web activity from DRTV is minuscule. As a result, marketers could be canceling profitable DRTV media placements because they appear to be unprofitable, simply because Web orders are not taken into account.
Here's what we learned by tracking almost 20 million DRTV-to-Web transactions during the past decade: The only sure way to track is by modifying the URL that appears on the TV screen. We've tried other ways, but none of them work consistently and accurately.
By creating a new URL structure, outside of your existing URL, you now have the ability to track DRTV without hurting your brand. Here's how:
1. Keep Branding in the Tracking URL. If your regular URL is www.SuperScanners.com, you can create a new URL that keeps your branding intact, such as: www.GetSuperScanners.com or www.SuperScannersTV.com. [These are examples, not working URLs.] By doing this, you segregate DRTV-to-Web traffic from other traffic, making it easier to manage and track.
2. Use Prefix Tracking Codes. You may have seen some DRTV advertisers use suffixes in an attempt to track. They look like this: www.company.com/tv/32. These suffix URLs don't work for several reasons:
- Most consumers don't type what comes after the ".com" because it's not necessary to get to the site;
- If the consumer types "33" instead of "32" they may get a "page not found" error; and
- You'd have to create a page for every single code number—a very time-consuming task if you have dozens or even hundreds of media placements.
3. Use One Tracking Code For Each Network or Station. Using this kind of technique, you don't need to create a different URL for every single media placement—you don't need one for 10 a.m. on Lifetime and another one for 11 a.m. on Lifetime, and so on. The reason you don't need one for every single media placement is you will use bursting techniques (Tip 4)—otherwise, you would have to produce a huge number of URLs and keep track of all of them.
4. Use Bursting Intelligence. Because responses to DRTV commercials come in bursts, the easiest way to track is based on when the short-forms or infomercials actually air. It's generally a safe assumption that most orders occur in a relatively short period of time following the airing. So if you are airing six spots per day on cable network "A" (i.e. 6 a.m., 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.), orders received between 6 a.m. and 8:59 a.m. are likely to be from the 6 a.m. spot, and so on. Even though all the spots are using the same code (i.e. 22), because the responses come in at different times based around airings, you don't need more than one code per network or station.
In conclusion, the importance of tracking DRTV-to-Web cannot be emphasized enough. And the only thing worse than not tracking at all is tracking incorrectly, leading to bad media decisions based on flawed tracking.
Irv Brechner is executive vice president of corporate communications at St. Petersburg, Fla.-based advertising agency Acquirgy, which specializes in customer acquisition. The creator of the Customer Acquisition Intel Center can be reached at: irv@acquirgy.com.