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Supplementing Social Media Marketing is Crucial to Success (Part 2.)For the first part of this series, please see Supplementing Social Media Marketing is Crucial to Success (Part 1.) In order to maximize return on any social media investment, it is critical to supplement the social campaign with alternative forms of media. Social media marketing campaigns can include a variety of components and platforms, but it is important to remember you can’t simply launch a social marketing campaign and assume your core audience will find you and engage in a conversation. This sentiment was reiterated in a recent article in the Summer 2008 edition of Search Marketing Standard entitled Marketing on Facebook. In the article, SMS correspondent Grant Crowell interviewed Rodney Rumford- CEO/founder of FaceReviews & Gravitational Media. When asked about common mistakes of marketing on Facebook, Rumford cited a problem in the perception of marketers that “if I build it they will come”. Yes, there is a huge viral component involved with social media marketing; however, marketers still need to take steps to ensure their social campaigns are supplemented with other forms of media in order to fully capitalize on the social marketing opportunity. Getting back to BMW’s social campaign surrounding a car customizer application, it is clear that supplemental marketing efforts were not a well thought out component of the social campaign, and this detracted from the overall performance of the campaign. BMW clearly fell into the common trap of thinking “we built it- they will come”, but this is not the case. So what specific supplemental tactics could BMW have utilized to maximize the return on their social campaign? Here are a few ideas.
After reading about this campaign in the press, I attempted to find the custom application, but I was not successful. For a very modest fee, BMW could have developed a small paid search campaign with terms like “BMW customizer”, “BMW Facebook page”, “BMW MySpace profile” etc… This would be very inexpensive as there would be virtually no advertiser competition on these terms. Ad copy should include calls to action such as “add us to your friends/become our fan” or “check out our new application” to encourage users to interact with the social profile and/or social campaign.
The same keyword list running in the PPC search campaign should also be launched on the Google Content network. This will generate tons of free impressions, and more importantly, MySpace pages fall under the Google Content network, so text ads running within MySpace could direct users BMW’s MySpace profile (assuming this was one of the networks utilized). Click costs on the content network would likely be even cheaper than search clicks, and the high level of relevance related to seeing ads for BMW’s MySpace page when already in MySpace should help drive comparatively high click through rates for the Content Network.
It also makes sense to invest in online media to drive additional traffic to a social profile, campaign, or application. It is unclear if BMW supplemented their social campaigns with display, but it is certainly a good idea. In addition to standard media buys with various targeting options, it is also worth investigating media buys that would run on the social sites themselves, which would also increase relevance, and therefore would hopefully also increase performance. Social sites are constantly coming up with new advertising solutions as well. Case in point- Facebook’s new Social Ads which utilize the Facebook News Feed to serve hyper-targeted ads to relevant users. One unique targeting example would be the ability serve ads to users whose friends have recently engaged with the advertiser's Facebook profile.
BMW had an opportunity to develop a short press release describing the campaign/custom social application that could be distributed to targeted audiences via RSS. The release should have several anchor text links pointing back to the profile page where the application resides. The anchor text should include copy like “BMW customizer application” or “BMW virtual joyride”. The RSS feed should also include a screen grab or short video of the application to maximize performance in terms of press release reads and the number of times the story is republished on blogs, forums, etc… The RSS component is very cost-effective as well, and there are multiple benefits to this specific tactic. The RSS feed will drive traffic to the profile page, but in addition, there will now be several links out on the web that will point back to the profile page. The additional links will help gain SEO traction in the natural search results in the search engines, but the links will also help the profile pages show up higher in search results within social sites like MySpace and Facebook.
Another important tactic involves continuing the conversation with your core audience in the social space. If BMW is hosting their application on Facebook or MySpace, then a blast should be sent out to the fans/friends of the brand. In addition to telling fans and friends about the new customizer application and “virtual joyride”, the content on the profiles should be updated on a regular basis to encourage users to return. Every time an update is made, friends and fans should be notified. Some social sites will automatically inform users when profiles are updated, but this is likely not enough in most cases.
The blogosphere also offers a huge opportunity in relation to supplementing a social media marketing campaign. BMW had an opportunity to launch a blog outreach campaign in conjunction with the social media campaign/customizer application. Putting your ear to the ground to find out what bloggers think of your brand is helpful, but it isn’t enough. Bloggers can significantly influence thought, feeling, and general perception of a brand, particularly in the automotive category in which emotion plays such a large role in the perception of a brand. Cars could be considered more of an extension of an individual’s personality than a preference in transportation. So if listening is not enough, what should BMW do? Reach out and initiate a conversation with the influential brand ambassadors in the blogosphere. Find out who is talking, select the most active and influential blogs, initiate a conversation, and provide something of value- even if it is just the right to use images of a new model on their site. BMW should also make sure that the conversation includes a quick pitch of the social app that BMW is promoting, as this will create awareness, drive traffic to the application, and will likely result in additional links back to the campaign which provides additional SEO benefits. The list of supplemental tactics above is by no means all-inclusive. Each campaign has a unique set of goals and challenges. The most effective may to maximize the return on a social campaign is to develop a well planned, multi-faceted, integrated promotional strategy to supplement the efforts of the core social campaign. BMW clearly missed a big opportunity to maximize the return on their social campaign- so be sure not to make the same mistake. Labels: Integration, Social Media, Strategy Maximize Return By Supplementing Social Media Marketing Campaigns (Part 1.)Social media marketing is all the buzz today- you can't read any online marketing newsletter or industry publication without coming across an article about the next frontier in the world of interactive marketing- social media.
The lack of integrated efforts to promote the social campaign has certainly impacted the return on investment for BMW. Even though the majority of traffic hitting the social campaign is viral, a huge opportunity was wasted by not driving additional traffic through integrated marketing efforts. So, what should BMW have done? Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series to find out. Labels: Integration, Online Media Daily, Social Media, Strategy, web 2.0 Extending the Reach and Effectiveness of Your Marketing Efforts with Paid SearchMuch has been said about Paid Search and its effectiveness as a direct marketing medium. It’s targeted, cost effective and generates tremendous results.However, an often overlooked aspect of Paid Search is its effectiveness as a complimentary medium to other forms of media being deployed to market various products and services. For example, when a prospective customer sees an ad on TV or in a magazine, it is highly unlikely that they are going to stop what they are doing and act on the message or offer right there and then. More likely they are going to continue watching the program or reading that magazine. In fact, to assume that your target will be completely captivated by your ad and stop what they are currently doing to act on it, is a big assumption. And you know what they say about assumptions. So is all lost? Not at all. While your prospect might not be able to recall the entire message word for word, it’s very likely that they can recall a portion of it. They might not know your company name, but remember the product name. They might not recall the headline, but remember a part of the concept. So, once they have finished doing what they are doing, where is this prospect going to go in order to turn this fragmented piece of information into a complete idea? The Search Engines. Yes, as we all know, search engines are a great place to take an idea or big piece of information and turn it into something more. Therefore a user who is interested in what you have to offer, but does not necessarily have enough information to go directly to the source, is likely going to turn to the search engines in hope of finding the necessary information needed to access your product or service. This is where Paid Search Engine Marketing can step in and really act as a means to extend the life of your other marketing efforts. By dissecting the message and thinking of all the various ways a user might react to or apply it to their lives, you can build a list of terms that, when searched on, will ensure that the prospect will be able to find your product or service, even if they can only recall a small portion of what was actually said in the advertisement. Additionally, with Paid Search, you have the ability to choose which terms you want your product or service to be associated with, and assuming you have enough budget allocated, secure a high profile and very visible placement. You can also control the message that appears when users search on these terms to complement the message associated with your other marketing efforts and direct the user to a destination that provides them with everything they need to access or purchase your product and service. Additionally, the fact that you can turn it on and off based on the needs and timing associated with your other marketing efforts provides a huge degree of flexibility that ensures your message is placed exactly where and when you want it to be accessed. Sounds pretty easy and basic enough doesn’t it? I mean, you’d think that all companies would take advantage of this strategy. Unfortunately this is not always the case. In fact, more often than not, companies see Paid Search as an island; not something that can be tied into and extend the life of their other marketing or PR efforts. A Case of Missed Opportunity - Bag, Borrow or Steal & Sex and the City Movie To support this claim, just take a look at the company Bag, Borrow or Steal. This company received a huge boost – a direct mention in one of the of most hyped movie releases of the summer - Sex and the City, as well as a huge article in the May 27th edition of the Wall Street Journal. This is press and publicity that almost any company would kill for! The focus of the Wall Street Journal was how Bag, Borrow or Steal was planning to leverage the mention in the movie to grow their business. So what has Bag, Borrow or Steal done to capitalize on their 10 seconds of movie fame? Well, according to the Wall Street Journal article they have trumpeted its affiliation with the movie on their website as well as launched a contest on YouTube. Now this is all great, but it really assumes that you are already somewhat familiar with the company or are going to remember this line from the movie. My guess is that people will remember bits and pieces from the movie, such as the handbags being carried by the characters, but are they really going to remember a specific line from one particular scene? Not likely. Therefore, by buying terms such as “Sex and the City Movie” or “Sex and the City Handbag”, Bag, Borrow or Steal could really extend the life of this mention in the movie and procure additional traffic and sales. Additionally, my guess is that via PR they are pushing their YouTube contest and people are writing about it, just like we saw with the Wall Street Journal article. While this is nice, users still have to go and search out the contest. Therefore, people are likely going to turn to the search engines to search for the contest using terms such as “Sex and the City YouTube Contest” or “Sex and the City You Tube Contest”. However, after reading this article, I decided to do some searching on my own, and much to my surprise, when I searched on all of the aforementioned terms, Bag, Borrow or Steal was nowhere to be found in the Paid Search results. Talk about a huge missed opportunity. Here is a company that received national press in the second most widely circulated paper in America, and you could not find them. Now this may have changed by now, but below are screen grabs of search results taken the day after the Wall Street Journal Article was published. Search Result for "Sex and the City movie"
Search Result for "Sex and the City handbag"
In short, whether they knew when the article was being published or not, once it was printed they should have had a plan of action in place. Therefore, by having a Paid Search campaign ready to go, they could have started capitalizing on their affiliation with the movie some time ago, or at least immediately after the article was published. The moral of the story here is that Paid Search should not be looked at just as an isolated medium or silo in your online marketing program. Rather it should be closely integrated into all of your marketing efforts as it can really work to extend their reach and life. By considering how people use the search engines to complete ideas and to find what they are looking for based on what they have seen elsewhere, you can really garner tremendous added value from your marketing investment. Labels: Integration, Paid Search, Search, SEO, Strategy Using Meta Search to Make Intelligent Travel ChoicesEveryone who has ever spent any time traveling for business or for pleasure has an airline horror story: “They lost my luggage and I had to buy all new stuff when I got to the hotel!” ‘We sat on the tarmac for three hours and then they canceled the flight!” “My plane was so small you couldn’t even stand up in the aisles!” What if you could find out which flights were almost always late? Or see the type of aircraft you were going fly? Or access what the load factor was for a particular flight before you purchased that non-refundable ticket? You can get this information now if you’re willing to spend a fair amount of time on multiple web sites to ferret it out but wouldn’t it be nice to find everything related to the speed, comfort, and ease of your flight in one spot? Take a look at InsideTrip.com (http://www.insidetrip.com) when you’re planning your next flight. The site is still in Beta so there are limits on the carriers listed and the type of passengers (adults only for now) but the real value here is in the depth and breadth of useful information available to the average airline traveler. The interface is simple and very familiar to anyone who has ever booked a flight on any of the major travel sites or through an individual carrier’s site. Pick your departure and arrival cities, enter your travel dates, and decide on the time of day you want to fly. Click on the search button and in addition to seeing the results of your search in a listing of carriers, flight times, and connecting flight numbers you get a flight dashboard that assigns a quality score to each flight. The quality score is determined by a dozen preset variables you can modify to ensure that the flight you choose matches your preferences. Always carry on your bags and never check anything? De-select the “Lost Bags” variable and ask InsideTrip.com to recalculate the trip quality score. Know that you get habitually get to the airport more than an hour ahead of the time the airline recommends so security wait time isn’t an issue for you? Again, a simple mouse click removes that variable from the quality score calculation. This redefinition of meta-search for the travel industry has implications for search marketing as well. The move away from simple text listings and toward more all-inclusive results for searches is already well underway: Google’s Universal Search now includes images, videos, and other items in their search results while Ask.com and other search engines provide site thumbnails as a standard part of their results listings. This expansion of types of data in search results means sites need to implement a consistent approach to tagging their site content because being “search-friendly” now applies to more than text-only keywords. Imagine you’re searching for a software tool to help make your sales force more productive and when the results come up, one company’s listing shows only a few of lines of text describing their product while another company offers not only the few lines of product text but also access to their deployment metrics, pricing matrix, and a few customer testimonials relevant to your industry? Which site do you think you'd click on first? Labels: Integration, Paid Search, SEO Google Subscribed Links Offers Powerful Branding Opportunity in Search ResultsThere are a few things constant about Google - frequent acquisitions of cool companies, an increasing stock price, and an ever expanding catalog of products. Google Subscribed Links, the latest tool to roll off the Google widget assembly line, allows webmasters to connect with previous visitors to their site through search results.Google Subscribed Links works like this:
 Of course, designing and managing the site feed requires at least a minimal command of XML and HTML. Additionally, you’re going have to induce your visitors to subscribe to the link (market the marketing tool); however, the potential opportunity for visitor retention and branding is just too good to pass up, particularly if your website ranks highly for frequently searched keywords. View examples of Google Subscribed Links. One application of this new product that springs to mind is to serve as a complement to paid search campaigns. You could post a Subscription Link button on a landing page for a pay-per-click campaign. A visitor in the early stages of their search may not be prepared to convert right away, but assuming your site ranks organically, e-marketers could conceivably push customized natural listings to the prospect at every stage of their search and entice a conversion at a later time. Labels: Google, Industry, Integration, Paid Search, SEO Superbowl Spots on Agency ComPileI just got this email from Agency ComPile with most of the Super Bowl spots. You will need to sign up for access but when you are in you a) get access to Agency ComPile which is a good thing to have anyway and b) the videos are very high quality.About Agency ComPile Agency ComPile is the most comprehensive, up-to-date and powerful directory of marketing communications agencies on the Web. The searchable directory includes the world’s leading advertising, public relations, direct marketing, interactive, design, sales promotion, yellow pages, recruitment and media buying agencies. Information that can be found on agencies includes in-depth profiles, work samples and case histories. Email from Agency ComPile: If you haven't had a chance to see last Sunday's Super Bowl commercials, we've got 'em on Agency ComPile! For easy access, just click on the spot below that you want to view. Anheuser-Busch, Bud Light's "Ability to Fly" by DDB Chicago Anheuser-Busch, Bud Light's "Breathe Fire" by DDB Chicago Anheuser-Busch, Bud Light's "Endorsement Ferrell" by DDB Chicago Anheuser-Busch, Bud Light's "Wheel Suck Opener" by DDB Chicago Anheuser-Busch, Bud Light's "Wine and Cheese Party" by DDB Chicago Anheuser-Busch, Budweiser's "Clydesdale Team" by DDB Chicago Bridgestone's "Scream" by The Richards Group Bridgestone's "Unexpected Obstacles" by The Richards Group Careerbuilder.com's "Firefly" by Wieden+Kennedy Careerbuilder.com's "Queen" by Wieden+Kennedy Cars.com's "Stone Circle" by DDB Chicago Cars.com's "Witch Doctor" by DDB Chicago Coca-Cola's "It's Mine" by Wieden+Kennedy Coca-Cola's "Jinx" by Wieden+Kennedy Comcast's "Dinner - Andrea True 'More, More, More'" by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners Comcast's "Kitchen - Patty Labelle 'Lady Marmalade'" by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners Comcast's "Party - Billy Idol 'Rebel Yell'" by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners eTrade's "Baby Trading 1" by Grey Worldwide New York eTrade's "Baby Trading 2" by Grey Worldwide New York Frito-Lay, Doritos's "Kina Grannis 'Message From Your Heart'" by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners Frito-Lay, Doritos's "Mousetrap" by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners Gatorade's "Jeter Footsteps" by Element 79 Partners Glaceau, Vitamin Water's "Jockey" by Berlin Cameron United Hewlett-Packard's "Serena Williams" by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners Hyundai's "Big Twist" by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners Hyundai's "Tomorrow" by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners Kraft/Nabisco, Oreo's "DSRL" by Draftfcb Kraft/Nabisco, Planters's "Perfume" by Draftfcb McDonald's USA's "First Step" by DDB Chicago Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)'s "Drug Dealer Testimonial" by Draftfcb T-Mobile's "NBA" by Publicis West Taco Bell's "Fiesta Platter" by Draftfcb The Procter & Gamble Company, Tide's "Interview" by Saatchi & Saatchi Not only are these spots readily available under the credited agency's listing but they are also shown on the Featured Creative section of the new Agency Compile. While you are there, you can see other creative work showcased from the top agencies in the country. Check out the new site coming soon! www.agencycompile.com/new Enjoy! The Agency ComPile Team Labels: Agency News, Integration, Video Remote Control to Mouse: TV and Web IntegrationFor years, we've been hearing about how one day television and the Internet will come together and your set-top box will act as a gateway to Web-based content and services in addition to your favorite shows. That day is much closer than you think, and for many people, including myself, it's already here and has been for quite a while. If it's not happening for you yet, it will. You're most likely already being trained to use your remote control as a mouse. Do you have cable? Just look at the remote. A typical remote these days has buttons that include "up," "down," "left," "right," and "OK" (great for navigating a menu screen), as well as selections that include "menu," "guide," and more.Read more at http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3628155 Labels: ClickZ, Integration, Online Media Playing the Game, Part 2A year ago, Cory Van Arsdale was named CEO of Massive, an in-game advertising network with more than 40 publisher partners. Its network includes Xbox and PC video game titles such as Electronic Art's "Madden NFL 08," Funcom's Anarchy Online, and Activision's "Guitar Hero III."In part one, Van Arsdale discussed online gaming's potential, Massive network's audience, and the different types of game advertising. Here, he describes marketers doing a good job advertising in online games and outlines some best practices. Read more at http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3627839 Labels: ClickZ, Integration, Online Media Playing the Game, Part 1The definitions of online and digital marketing are broadening, blurring the lines between online, in-game, and in-content advertising. Content digitally delivered and consumed through many different vehicles brings together video, gaming, and ads through a range of platforms, from desktops to set-tops and game consoles. Labels: ClickZ, Integration, Online Media Get Value-Added Online Placements From Offline BuysBoth full-service and exclusive online firms constantly use the term "integration." Typically what's meant by "integration" is that online is fully integrated with off-. Full-service firms say their online teams are fully integrated with their offline teams, from creative to media buying. Online firms claim they play well in the same sandbox with their client's offline agencies and that an advertising-like state of nirvana is easily achieved.The reality is though some agencies manage to pull off fully integrated campaigns, most fall short. When agencies fall short on campaign integration, the impact of the creative and the efficiencies from doing multiplatform media buys (especially from the value-added front) can be seriously decreased. Today, I'll focus on the efficiencies in media buying an agency can achieve by creating a "conversion crew."Both full-service and exclusive online firms constantly use the term "integration." Typically what's meant by "integration" is that online is fully integrated with off-. Full-service firms say their online teams are fully integrated with their offline teams, from creative to media buying. Online firms claim they play well in the same sandbox with their client's offline agencies and that an advertising-like state of nirvana is easily achieved. The reality is though some agencies manage to pull off fully integrated campaigns, most fall short. When agencies fall short on campaign integration, the impact of the creative and the efficiencies from doing multiplatform media buys (especially from the value-added front) can be seriously decreased. Today, I'll focus on the efficiencies in media buying an agency can achieve by creating a "conversion crew." Read more at http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3625980 Labels: ClickZ, Integration, Online Media Why Online Must Lead Offline CampaignsThe push for integrated on- and offline communications is as strong as ever. Yet integration still usually means all campaign components are managed by one firm and the integration occurs on the creative level.The next level of integration will be with data, where integration can truly have the most effect. In the spirit of the hottest buzzword craze, I call this "Integration 2.0." Read more at http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3625278 Labels: Analytics, ClickZ, Integration, Online Media 2-D vs. 3-D CampaignsAs on online media professional, I pay special attention to the major brand ads I see flashing, popping, streaming, and inserting themselves into my online experience. The difference between 2-D and 3-D campaigns becomes very clear through this. The 2-D creative unit is offline creative that was simply resized to fit into the banner space. The 3-D unit is creative that was either conceived or redesigned to take advantage of the data capture, meaningful brand interaction, and customer analytic possibilities online media have to offer.It's really the difference between campaigns that are simply trying to get you to think, feel, or know something in which a click might be an added benefit and campaigns that accomplish all that plus encourage some sort of measurable desired behavior that escalates purchase intent or moves prospects down the sales funnel. Read more at http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3625011 Labels: ClickZ, Integration, Online Media |
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