Albert Einstein defined insanity as, “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” In this economy, you need to make sound, rational marketing decisions or risk the health of your business. Our MarketSmart Academy classes are designed to help mid-sized business owners and marketing managers of larger corporations capitalize on current trends, and maximize their use of budget-friendly promotional channels.
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QR codes, short for Quick Response codes, have been steadily incorporated into business cards, magazines and print advertisements since their re-invention in 2006.
With hundreds of search engines, social media outlets and new sources around the web, it can seem overwhelming to gather the relevant information your blog or website needs. A tool I recently discovered (although it’s been around since 2008) is Addict-o-matic™: a search tool that takes the guesswork out of searching.
How much time do you spend keeping up with social media marketing trends? What new tools can help you make the best use of your time? What are the “must haves” for your 2012 strategy? MarketSmart Academy presents its Creating a Social Media Plan class on Thursday, December 8 from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Register online now to get started on your 2012 plan.
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Our team will attend the Minneapolis/St. Paul Social Media Breakfast hosted by Thomson Reuters on November 18 to learn about real-time information. Mobile devices are a constant in daily life for more than just communication; they allow us to find places, check our bank accounts, order meals and make purchases. So how is this real-time information changing the world?
If your social media campaign is off the ground and starting to gain followers, it may be time to explore the other platforms offered around the web. Although they are not often talked about, there is a range of useful and popular social media sites outside of the big three: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Give these platforms a try and see what you should be using for your brand:
We’re thrilled to announce that Jeri Meola will lead our next MarketSmart Academy class Marketing Research 101. Jeri is an accomplished businesswoman dedicated to helping companies discover and implement their ‘Voice of the Customer’ insights. Register now for this class to be held on Tuesday, November 15.
Reaching out to your target audience is the best way to get comments and encourage customer interactions with your brand. Here are seven tips to increase the volume of comments you recieve:
Some of our social media team will attend the Minneapolis/St. Paul Social Media Breakfast on October 28th to learn about the evolving role of community management. The featured speakers are Meg Knodl, a communications and community engagement librarian, and Lisa Grimm, a Digital Brand Manager and Social Media Strategist for the Mall of America.
In addition to owning and running a marketing company for over twenty years, I teach marketing at the college level as a way of staying sharp academically.
Marketing is complex, and there are so many terms and concepts that it’s impossible to hold them all in your head at one time.
One thing that irks me is when people refer to their product as a brand before anyone knows about it. When this happens, one of two things are going on: either the person knows diddly about marketing and couldn’t find their ass with both hands or they are a bullshitter.
It’s like some skinny kid who lifts weights for the first time and brags he’s a weightlifter. People see him as a joke.
A product can rightfully be referred to as a brand when most of the people who make up your market can explain your product correctly. And anyone who has created a brand knows what a long and expensive trip that can be.
I use this simple stick drawing as a starting point for teaching people about a brand.
I point out that the market often has to hear your key messages many times before they sink in. If your product is in the introductory or growth stages of the product life cycle, you’ve got a lot of teaching ahead of you.
When you think about teaching people, look for wide promotional channels. By wide I mean channels that give you the time and space to fully explain your product. And don’t speak to a distracted audience. Make sure the audience is listening. The exception to this is a product that can be fully explained and understood in 30 seconds by someone who is only half listening. You can’t do that with many products but there are a few, like a wristwatch for instance.
The other thing to consider is cost. It’s expensive and time consuming to teach the masses about a product so you need to be aware of both.
So what are some wide, inexpensive promotional channels where people pay attention?
There are three good areas to consider and wouldn’t you know it, we sell them all: publicity, Internet and events. You may think I’m selling these products because I want you to buy them but you’d be wrong. We sell these products because we’ve learned that’s what customers want us to sell. And for good reason; they work.
Just think about where you spend your time learning about stuff. You use the media: TV, radio, magazines and newspapers. You spend a ton of time on the Internet, and you are a social creature so you like to go do stuff like attend seminars, and go to events and expos.
These are all fairly inexpensive promotional channels where you can reach people who are engaged in actively listening and learning.
I used to call these channels a branding shortcut. I don’t anymore because the truth is, it still takes a tremendous effort to reach the point where most people can repeat what you want them to repeat about your product.
Most of these channels take advance planning so you need to budget ahead. We are currently executing on last year’s plans and our clients are planning their 2012 spring and summer projects with us right now. The early birds get the worm … and lots of media coverage.
There’s still time for us to get started on your spring project. Call us at 612-798-7200.
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