When you think about how to engage an audience, you have to first focus on the message you want to get across. Toms shoes focuses on their message of helping children. Zappos focuses on their superior services and the value of people, both their own staff and their customers.
Apple focuses on selling superior products to their fans. Apple fans are not just repeat consumers but feel they are a part of something bigger. They feel a sense of belonging to the Apple family. The focus of Burberry is to provide high quality luxury products. Burberry fans feel a connection to the historic brand that other luxury brands cannot seem to replicate.
There is no formula in building an affinity through social media with your customers. It takes hard work, committment and real engagement. The message has to be clear and real. How is your brand, product, service perceived? What can you do to change the perception? Consumers are looking for increased value. You neeed to raise your brand's perceived value. For example, you may have a wonderful product but consumers are asking, what have you done for the environment, charities, non profit organizations,etc.
What do your customers value? Is it price, quality, availability, after sale service, etc? What is the most important parameters for your clients? For a dry cleaner it may be extending your hours to accommodate your clients. For a Doctor it may be returning phone calls personally. For a new brand of footwear it may be comfort and style.
Once you know what your customers value you can take steps to reach your audience through social media marketing. You may announce through Facebook your new extended hours or the fact that you personally return all calls. Once you have the perceived value down you need to express it.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Social Media Marketing - Finding Your Audience
The first step in social media marketing is identifying your product or service. If you have done your homework and a business plan, you should already have a clear definition of what you are selling, whether it be legal services, shoe repairs, leather handbags or cooking classes. If you cannot put in simple words what your business is, then you need to go back and work on your business plan. This is key to continuing.
The next step and all so equally important is defining who your audience, consumer, potential customer is. It sounds like a clichè but you really have to think outside the box and research this point fully. For instance, you may have an eyeglass store in a small town and think your potential customer is the average person who needs eye glasses. Well this may not be the case. In fact if you do your research, you will find out that when people get their prescriptions filled by eye doctors, they usually ask the eye doctor to recommend where to buy the glasses. So in this case your leads are coming from eye doctors and not the average person who walks into your store.
Another example could be a cooking school who wants to promote its gourmet cooking classes for children. This cooking school's audience is not the children but their parents and not just any parents but parents from a specific income level that can afford these type of classes. One would waste resources of time and money trying to engage all children or all parents in this instance. A better step would be to find through blogs and forums for instance parents who enroll their children in other classes (sports, music, dance, etc) in your area.
Why is it so important to know exactly who your audience is? If you don't know exactly who it is, you will not be able to locate the audience in social media communities. The average Joe does not "hang out" in the same social media communities as Dr.X, the eye doctor.Once you know who these people are and where they are, you can create content that is specific to that target audience.
The next step and all so equally important is defining who your audience, consumer, potential customer is. It sounds like a clichè but you really have to think outside the box and research this point fully. For instance, you may have an eyeglass store in a small town and think your potential customer is the average person who needs eye glasses. Well this may not be the case. In fact if you do your research, you will find out that when people get their prescriptions filled by eye doctors, they usually ask the eye doctor to recommend where to buy the glasses. So in this case your leads are coming from eye doctors and not the average person who walks into your store.
Another example could be a cooking school who wants to promote its gourmet cooking classes for children. This cooking school's audience is not the children but their parents and not just any parents but parents from a specific income level that can afford these type of classes. One would waste resources of time and money trying to engage all children or all parents in this instance. A better step would be to find through blogs and forums for instance parents who enroll their children in other classes (sports, music, dance, etc) in your area.
Why is it so important to know exactly who your audience is? If you don't know exactly who it is, you will not be able to locate the audience in social media communities. The average Joe does not "hang out" in the same social media communities as Dr.X, the eye doctor.Once you know who these people are and where they are, you can create content that is specific to that target audience.
Friday, December 10, 2010
What Luxury Brands Should Be Doing Now With Social Media Marketing
I write a lot about luxury brands mostly because I reside partially in Italy, am surrounded by fashion everyday, work with luxury brands and ... am a fan myself of some of the beautifully made, high quality items with the designer labels. I am only human.
I also have a passion for social media because I like people and I am always curious about consumer behavior and personalities. I have written about what some of the luxury brands are doing with social media and have even listed the top brands. However I am shocked that more steps have not been taken by even the giants. I see a lot of copying eachother. One brand (Burberry) does acoustics on their FB page and another luxury brand (Bulgari) does the BZero1 video. One brand is doing events on FB (Dolce & Gabbana) and almost instantaneously its competitor is doing events as well on FB. Where is the creativity? Where is the wanting to really outreach to its fans making them feel special and a part of their "family?" There seems to be a lot of fear especially with the luxury brands in doing something that won't be fitting to the image. Instead I believe the more human the brands look, the more they will gain a feeling of affinity with its fans. I am really surprised that luxury brands have not already done the following but maybe after reading this post they will ;) :
1) Build forums where inside staff answers questions.
2) Build blogs where brand designers actually give advice how to wear particular items, what styles look best on what body build, upcoming trends,etc.
3) Use blogs where the sourcing or manufacturers that the luxury brands use around the world show and discuss what goes into making an item. The general audience has no idea what fine handcrafted work goes into making a leather handbag or boots or sweater, etc.
4) Use same blogs as in n.2 above to get the manufacturers on board, make them feel part of the brand "family" as well.
5) Build social network where consumers not just upload their picture wearing the brand item but the consumer gives some more detailed info of where the consumer is going, his/her profession, etc. This is what personalizes it. I love Burberry's social networking site http://www.artofthetrench.com/ . I would however enhance it in the detail's section. On this site, fans are encouraged to upload their pictures wearing their Burberry trench coats and include their name and location. To personalize it more it would be better to have "Anna, a journalist in London, late for work."rather than just "Anna photographed in London."
6) Link everything to a "How do I get this look" idea to the brand's ecommerce site.
Come on luxury brands, catch up!
I also have a passion for social media because I like people and I am always curious about consumer behavior and personalities. I have written about what some of the luxury brands are doing with social media and have even listed the top brands. However I am shocked that more steps have not been taken by even the giants. I see a lot of copying eachother. One brand (Burberry) does acoustics on their FB page and another luxury brand (Bulgari) does the BZero1 video. One brand is doing events on FB (Dolce & Gabbana) and almost instantaneously its competitor is doing events as well on FB. Where is the creativity? Where is the wanting to really outreach to its fans making them feel special and a part of their "family?" There seems to be a lot of fear especially with the luxury brands in doing something that won't be fitting to the image. Instead I believe the more human the brands look, the more they will gain a feeling of affinity with its fans. I am really surprised that luxury brands have not already done the following but maybe after reading this post they will ;) :
1) Build forums where inside staff answers questions.
2) Build blogs where brand designers actually give advice how to wear particular items, what styles look best on what body build, upcoming trends,etc.
3) Use blogs where the sourcing or manufacturers that the luxury brands use around the world show and discuss what goes into making an item. The general audience has no idea what fine handcrafted work goes into making a leather handbag or boots or sweater, etc.
4) Use same blogs as in n.2 above to get the manufacturers on board, make them feel part of the brand "family" as well.
5) Build social network where consumers not just upload their picture wearing the brand item but the consumer gives some more detailed info of where the consumer is going, his/her profession, etc. This is what personalizes it. I love Burberry's social networking site http://www.artofthetrench.com/ . I would however enhance it in the detail's section. On this site, fans are encouraged to upload their pictures wearing their Burberry trench coats and include their name and location. To personalize it more it would be better to have "Anna, a journalist in London, late for work."rather than just "Anna photographed in London."
6) Link everything to a "How do I get this look" idea to the brand's ecommerce site.
Come on luxury brands, catch up!
Monday, December 6, 2010
Burberry, Social Media and Sales
Before entering the store on a freezing Saturday afternoon (the Mall is outdoors), we strolled passed Valentino, Gucci, Ferragamo surprised to see mostly vacant stores with salespeople twirling their thumbs. Instead at the Burberry store, you could hardly get through and had to hold on for dear life to those items you wanted to purchase for fear they would be snapped away. Men, women, children of different nationalities looking through items to purchase, standing in lines, trying to look in mirrors without being trampled on....this was the scene at the Burberry store in (Leccio Reggello) Florence Italy last Saturday.
Myself? I ran away happily with a new delicious Burberry trench in hand. My husband? A beautiful new Burberry winter coat. Thanks Burberry. You made my birthday.
Friday, December 3, 2010
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IN ITALY
In any industry you really have to know a culture well to be successful in a foreign market. I have to say I am putting to use pretty much everything I learned during my Graduate studies of International Marketing and Consumer Behavior when working with the Italian market. However social media marketing complicates things even more. Let's take Italy for instance:
Social media networking is alive and well in Italy. It has been embraced by not only teenagers but also men and women of all ages, demographic groups, income levels, professionals, and non professionals. It has been embraced on a friendship use primarily. It is a great place to post photos, make arrangements to see eachother, stay in touch with friends, lovers, etc. Even the majority of businesses while on Facebook for instance or MySpace are still not taking advantage of their full business generating potential.
Most of the brick and mortar businesses owned by couples whose children are now old enough to use the Internet are utilizing social networking. The same is true for large, medium and small family owned companies. In house someone (usually the child of the owner who is old enough to understand Internet) mostly sets up the business profile page and then sends it out to the family's friends and friends of friends and that's about as far as it goes. They wonder why they are not getting any increased income from the social network. They did not do any research to even find out if that social network is appropriate for their business. In Italy, it is the standard to follow a fad and social media is a part of that ideology. Many Italian business owners join a network because everyone else is on it and therefore it must be the new "it" thing like buying the latest Gucci handbag.
Is this changing? There is not a lot of education being diffused in Italy on how social media can really be utilized to create increased engagement and revenue. You receive a lot of blank stares from business people when you talk about return on conversation, sharing valuable content, etc. Italians are social by nature but with people they already know. It is not like an average Italian person to strike up a conversation with a total stranger and the virtual world is no different. Even Italian business people have a difficult time networking in the traditional sense. It is just not part of their culture. They usually will converse with someone if they have already been introduced and even then the conversation is not so free flowing.
So how will social media pan out in Italy?Great, fantastic on a friendship use level. With regard to business and aside from the Italian giants like Buitoni, Gucci, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, etc I believe Italian businesses have a long way to go! Comments??
Social media networking is alive and well in Italy. It has been embraced by not only teenagers but also men and women of all ages, demographic groups, income levels, professionals, and non professionals. It has been embraced on a friendship use primarily. It is a great place to post photos, make arrangements to see eachother, stay in touch with friends, lovers, etc. Even the majority of businesses while on Facebook for instance or MySpace are still not taking advantage of their full business generating potential.
Most of the brick and mortar businesses owned by couples whose children are now old enough to use the Internet are utilizing social networking. The same is true for large, medium and small family owned companies. In house someone (usually the child of the owner who is old enough to understand Internet) mostly sets up the business profile page and then sends it out to the family's friends and friends of friends and that's about as far as it goes. They wonder why they are not getting any increased income from the social network. They did not do any research to even find out if that social network is appropriate for their business. In Italy, it is the standard to follow a fad and social media is a part of that ideology. Many Italian business owners join a network because everyone else is on it and therefore it must be the new "it" thing like buying the latest Gucci handbag.
Is this changing? There is not a lot of education being diffused in Italy on how social media can really be utilized to create increased engagement and revenue. You receive a lot of blank stares from business people when you talk about return on conversation, sharing valuable content, etc. Italians are social by nature but with people they already know. It is not like an average Italian person to strike up a conversation with a total stranger and the virtual world is no different. Even Italian business people have a difficult time networking in the traditional sense. It is just not part of their culture. They usually will converse with someone if they have already been introduced and even then the conversation is not so free flowing.
So how will social media pan out in Italy?Great, fantastic on a friendship use level. With regard to business and aside from the Italian giants like Buitoni, Gucci, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, etc I believe Italian businesses have a long way to go! Comments??
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
SOCIAL MEDIA: LUXURY BRANDS & CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
A female affluent consumer walks into a Saks' shoe department. She tries on several luxury brand shoes and then has to decide between two designer brands. The prices are the same. The look, heel, color are all the same. The shoe's comfort is the same. What is the deciding factor?
Another female affluent consumer is internet savvy and has no problem purchasing luxury items online. She is a keen follower or fan of two luxury brands. She is also an evangelist of both brands. She is in the market to buy luxury brand shoes and must decide between the two. The prices are the same. The look, heel, color are all the same. She has owned both brands before and is satisfied with the quality and comfort of both. What is the deciding factor?
How is social media and digital platforms affecting consumer behavior with luxury brands? There is a lot of information, research, studies on how these are changing the way consumers purchase. Does the female affluent consumer feel an affinity toward one luxury brand in particular because she is a "fan" of that brand? Does she purchase luxury brand X instead of Y because X has done a better job with its digital presence? Is she more apt to buy brand X because she saw today an image on X's facebook page of actress Angelina Jolie wearing X shoes? What exactly is the deciding factor that pushes the consumer to purchase X rather than Y and what then can luxury brands do to harness these changes in consumer behavior?
Below is the 2010 Luxury Lab Index which ranks the top luxury brands according to digital excellence:
http://www.l2thinktank.com/luxury2010digitaliq/luxury2010digitaliq.pdf
Another female affluent consumer is internet savvy and has no problem purchasing luxury items online. She is a keen follower or fan of two luxury brands. She is also an evangelist of both brands. She is in the market to buy luxury brand shoes and must decide between the two. The prices are the same. The look, heel, color are all the same. She has owned both brands before and is satisfied with the quality and comfort of both. What is the deciding factor?
How is social media and digital platforms affecting consumer behavior with luxury brands? There is a lot of information, research, studies on how these are changing the way consumers purchase. Does the female affluent consumer feel an affinity toward one luxury brand in particular because she is a "fan" of that brand? Does she purchase luxury brand X instead of Y because X has done a better job with its digital presence? Is she more apt to buy brand X because she saw today an image on X's facebook page of actress Angelina Jolie wearing X shoes? What exactly is the deciding factor that pushes the consumer to purchase X rather than Y and what then can luxury brands do to harness these changes in consumer behavior?
Below is the 2010 Luxury Lab Index which ranks the top luxury brands according to digital excellence:
http://www.l2thinktank.com/luxury2010digitaliq/luxury2010digitaliq.pdf
Top Ten Luxury Brands with the highest digital IQ (as ranked by Luxury Lab):
1. Coach
2. Ralph Lauren
3. Louis Vuitton
4. Gucci
5. Hugo Boss
6. Burberry
7. Dolce & Gabbana
8. Giorgio Armani
9. Swarovski
10. Tiffany
According to L2 Founder Scott Galloway,
"... 2010 has been a seminal year for the luxury industry, some brands have put the weight of their organization behind digital, while others have stood still and have been left behind.” “The ‘it’ product in luxury is not a handbag or watch, but innovative social media programs.”
REPORT FINDINGS:
- "Traffic to brand sites from Facebook more than doubled in 2010, growing from 3.4 percent to 7.1 percent with 73 percent of luxury brands registering the social media giant as a top eight source of traffic. Traffic from Twitter and YouTube decreased.
- Brand sites with social sharing recorded annual traffic growth of 42 percent versus 18 percent for brands without social sharing suggesting the increasing importance of social media optimization.
- Digital competence leads to more site traffic. The 21 brands that increased their Digital IQ demonstrated annual traffic growth of 52 percent versus traffic growth of just 8 percent for brands that registered IQ decreases.
- The 39 brands that sell online boast a Digital IQ of 117 versus an average IQ of 79 for the 33 brands that are not e-commerce-enabled.
- Only half of brands engage in email marketing, only two in five are purchasing search terms and only 10% have mobile sites. "
Saturday, November 27, 2010
What Is Social Media Marketing?
More and more people are asking "What Is Social Media Marketing? What is all the excitement about? What happened to traditional Marketing activities and how are they changing? What can I do with my business to really promote my product or service? What can I do right now for my business?
Social Media defined from Wikipedia encyclopedia:
"Social media are media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses web-based technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogues. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein also define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, which allows the creation and exchange of user-generated content." Businesses also refer to social media as consumer-generated media (CGM). A common thread running through all definitions of social media is a blending of technology and social interaction for the co-creation of value."
The buzz around social media marketing is based on the fact that it is the consumer's influence that is either promoting or killing the product or service. It is no longer a PR firm, a banner or blatant advertisement. Traditional marketing activities have changed.
The main problem with social media marketing from a business perspective is that it can be incredibly time-consuming and the ROI is difficult to measure. It is based on Return on Conversation. Social media marketing campaigns are not one time deals. They need to be nurtured over time. Even small businesses and organizations however can truly benefit from social media.
The first suggestion I give anyone who wants to start with social media activities is to begin to listen and research where their audience is. Get comfortable with social networks that have to do with your product. Visit forums and message boards. Read blogs. Read tweets. Join groups. Have an active and real interest in these. Do your research. Look at what your competitors are doing. Look at what companies of your complimentary services or products are doing. Are they on Facebook, Myspace, Linkedin? Are they tweeting? Do they have blogs? What are they saying and better yet, what are their clients saying or complaining about?
The second suggestion I give is to really keep a clean, detailed and updated databank of your clients. Your satisfied customers will be your first step to outreaching to new potential clients. They will provide the word of mouth you will need as a jumpstart.
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