Social Media

Social Media is a Shelter Dog

June 2, 2011 By Chris Sietsema 4 Comments

This story seems to resonate in client presentations and trainings, so I wanted to include it here as well.

See that look of innocence below? It hasn’t always been that way. To be honest, this dog used to be a throbbing nuisance. A real pain in the ass. Her name is Trixy. Many would refer to her as a “rescue”, but I think that term is a slight to those who do actually bring others out of harm’s way. We didn’t chopper in past enemy lines. No shots were fired. My two-year-old may have been wearing camouflage shorts, but that’s more out of necessity to be cute rather than unseen. So, I’ll just say we picked her up from a local animal shelter.

Looking back, we now refer to the first several days with this dog as Hell Week. She was a total bitch. Our living room carpet transformed into a giant pee pad. She made a few escape attempts running with reckless abandon throughout the neighborhood leaving frightened children and irritated lawn care professionals in her wake. She even nipped at that two-year-old with the camo pants, and my five-year-old was severely annoyed by all things Trixy.

Prior to simply throwing our arms up and giving up completely, I made a call to a friend of mine – also our veterinarian. I explained all our troubles, and he quickly diagnosed the problem. It wasn’t Trixy. It was us. We weren’t walking her twice a day. We weren’t making any attempt to train her how to behave in the house. We weren’t playing with her often enough. Simply put, we weren’t taking the time necessary to love the newest member of our family.

Many business owners and social media managers express the same kinds of frustrations with their social media program. A common scenario looks a little like this: A few accounts are set up on some popular tools (Facebook, Twitter, et al). Those given responsibility for the program make an attempt to create content. This (often minimal) effort does not bear fruit, and a once promising campaign goes into hibernation.

Sound familiar? If so, here are a few tips to creating or reviving your social media program.
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Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: content marketing, facebook, Social Media, twitter

Finding & Creating Relevant Content

February 16, 2011 By Chris Sietsema 2 Comments

Over the past year, dozens of public relations and marketing agencies are using a new phrase to more aptly describe what they offer to clients: Content Marketing. Essentially content marketing is the art of storytelling with the consumer as the audience and the brand as the muse. Content marketing involves the development of sharable, multiformat, multimodal assets to attract new customers and retain existing ones. For some, the end product of this effort could come in the form of a video, press release, tutorial, informative list, blog post, infographic, opinion paper, original research document, microsite, etc. etc.

However, content marketing that is worthy of positive mention and imitation cannot be likened to throwing a handful of noodles on the wall in the hopes it will stick. Good content should be:

oriented to a specific marketing objective,
relevant to consumer needs and questions,
unique amongst content developed by competitors,
appropriate for the distribution channels utilized, and
executed in a manner that supports the brand message and builds trust.

Why is Content Marketing Important?
It plays nice with Sales. Relevance and meaning spurs on motivation.
It works well with Search. Content marketing possesses excellent attraction components and link building opportunities.
It has a reciprocated crush on Social Media. Good stories are told over and over again.
It leads to More Content. Good content breeds better content in time with proper testing and measurement.

Content marketing does not overtly sell a product or service. It demonstrates, educates and assists. Often times it ties a product/service to related themes that have meaning and impact on our everyday experiences. Here are just some examples:

Man of the House – a site created by Proctor & Gamble chock full of compelling articles for married men and fathers.

Personal Budget Planner – a free tool from Mint that helps individuals create and manage a personal budget.

Photo Tips from Kodak – a comprehensive collection of photography tips that mentions nothing of buying a camera but rather teaches people how to use their cameras better.

Where Does Great Content Come From?
How can your organization identify those unique storytelling elements that will resonate with all your consumers from the most loyal to the oft fleeting? Here are a few suggestions:

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Filed Under: Analytics, Email, Search, Social Media Tagged With: content marketing, Internet Marketing

Five Digital Options for Local Store Marketing

January 23, 2011 By Chris Sietsema 2 Comments

Local merchants aiming to promote their businesses are presented with almost too many options. Several small business owners jump at offline tactics like direct mailers, advertising in neighborhood circulars, door-to-door flier distribution, inclusion in coupon “value packs”, etc. While these offline tactics can be effective in driving eyeballs and awareness, measurement of their ability to generate long-term customers can sometimes be a chore.

For the local store marketer looking to mix a little digital flavor into her playbook, here are five options to consider.

Brief Caveats:

Local businesses are encouraged to create a marketing plan, not just a list of tactics.
Consider how your company is different than others in your area, and identify your unique message.
Incorporate analytics & measurement into everything you do. Rely on numbers as a guide when crafting and modifying your local marketing strategy.

1. Search
Search engine optimization is not just a viable tactic for behemoth, corporate juggernauts with staffs larger than your hometown. People are searching for your shop too. Use the keyword research tools to determine the exact terms for which people are searching. Focus on your niche and your small patch on the globe. Be smart about targeting and budget allocation and use search to your advantage.

Some Tips:

Remember that search engine optimization equates to the art and science of getting your site ranked well in natural search. This is determined in part by your site design, the number of links coming to your site and the degree to which your site incorporates relevant keyword terms. To clarify further, check out this SEO analogy.
Every page on your site is a possible entry point. Conduct research and match keyword terms with pages on your site. Incorporate those terms artfully into titles, meta descriptions, headlines and text without stuffing.
Think locally, act … well, locally. If you own a barber shop in Casper, Wyoming, utilize keywords like “casper wyoming barber shop” as opposed to “barber shop” that has relevance for every business dedicated to cutting hair in the English-speaking world.
Experiment with search engine marketing or pay per click campaigns. Your business can create geo-targeted campaigns that show text ads just to those searching in your area. Ads are sold and displayed in an auction-like environment so you can control how much you are willing to spend per click and per day. Start small and have a specific consumer end-goal in mind with your pay per click campaigns (e.g. “get directions”, “download this coupon”, “sign up for our newsletter”). Don’t spend money for eyeballs; encourage visitors to take action.

2. Local Listings
Natural and paid search take up only a piece of the search results page. Other real estate is dedicated to local listings. Google allows small business owners to create an account to manage their place online. Fittingly, this program is called Google Places. Other opportunities exist to list your business on several popular websites where potential customers are likely to find you.
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Filed Under: Email, Search, Social Media

Social Media Management & Fear

August 30, 2010 By Chris Sietsema 5 Comments

"The Scream" / Edvard Munch

Many of my newer clients or those that attend educational sessions in which I am a speaker often talk to me about some concerns they have about social media. Some of them are not sure where to start, several wonder which social media venues are right for them, and others question whether they should have a presence in social media at all. All these questions are valid, and they all boil down to one single element with which we are all familiar: fear. We fear what we do not yet know. We fear making mistakes. We fear the prospect of looking like a dope in public.

Based on the dozens of discussions I’ve had with accomplished and promising social media managers, I’ve collected a list of items native to social media campaigns that should not be feared.

Fear Not

The Negative Customer
This is the guy who loves to gripe. He is the constant jeer. He complains incessantly for all to hear. He can transform a mood from pleasant to pissed in less than 5 seconds. Many companies avoid him like a spoonful of Robitussin, a necessary confrontation, or a 30-minute cardio workout. Here are three reasons why the negative customer is good for your business:

1. He’s Honest : When a customer complaint happens online, please do not fret. At least now you know. Complaints empower you to gain visibility to the pieces of your business that are most important – the same ones that are closest to your customer. The negative customer will tell you what is wrong in public so in turn you can fix it in public. Sure, we all want to adorn our walls with pretty pictures and beautiful photographs, but mirrors are important too.

2. He’s Often Misinformed : Sometimes the negative customer is just plain wrong. There may be few or many misconceptions about your business practices or individuals within your organization. A carefully worded response to a negative review can help to set the record straight for the malcontent and potentially many others who didn’t know the whole truth either. Use caution, however, as you do not want a response to a negative customer to ignite a flame war. Sometimes the best course of action is to take the conversation offline. Crazy people are everywhere, but they run rampant on the interwebs.

3. He’s Not Always Popular : When I worked at Off Madison Ave, we had a client that was opening a new public venue. There were some unforeseen construction delays which forced us to push back the opening, and many customers started voicing their displeasure. Before we could respond, several other customers did so on our behalf. For every complainer, there were at least three “defender” customers. Soon enough the argument was squelched by the populace. We sat back, watched and smiled.
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Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: Social Media