SGW Blog

Social Media Budgeting

 

 

A recent report from The Altimeter Group asks the question: "How much should I spend on social media?"

They make three salient points. The first is that the amount you spend on social media depends entirely on what your social media strategy is. All too often, companies use social media to look "current" and feel that they should use lest they be called old fashioned. This is nonsensical. If you are going to use social media, find out enough about it from a pro and determine ways that will be most productive and effective for you to get the needed messages out to the right channels. Social media is also an excellent way to build your brand, in addition to knowing what your customers want and say about you.

The second point is that companies should invest in training their people on how social media can help the company or organization. A little investment here can go a long, long way. Their third point is to make sure you build a firm social media foundation based on a long term strategic approach. Regarding how much you should budget for a social media approach is something with which we can be most helpful. We may be able to even save you money in the long run...if you spend a little more in the short term planning stages.

What’s super about the advertising on this year’s Super Bowl?

 

Every year, I do media interviews on the subject of “Super Bowl Advertising.” This year is no different, except that I have more to talk about than whether the Clydesdales will be back.

For one thing, there is a lot of buzz about whether it’s the Year of the Women or the Year of the Automakers. With the appearance of Kim Kardashian for Skechers and Faith Hill for Teleflora (along with the regulars, Danica Patrick and Jillian Michaels, the Go Daddy Girls…and a new one to boot!), people will see more female celebs in Big Game commercials than ever before. More importantly, the new arrivals have been tested to be “crossover girls”, which means that they appeal to women viewers as well as men. I think it will be a big success and set a new trend for future spots.

As for the car makers, GM is back after two years with renewed vigor and sort of admitting that they were wrong to drop out in the first place. But, with the increased amount of advertising from American auto manufacturers, foreign car advertising will also be at an all time high split between cars made by Asian and German automakers.

As for the rest of the pack, look for the regulars to be back, the first-time appearance of Groupon (in the pre-Game show because they were too late to get into the Game) and the Doritos home-made spots. Lest we not forget, that famous beer advertiser will back as usual, taking advantage of their multi-year category exclusivity contract. As for now, let’s hope the Game lives up to the advertising!

Why hire a Corporate Social Strategist?

The world of social media has grown to the point where business is now dramatically getting into these sites for purposes of building “social commerce”.  Along with the growth is the rise of a new “C” level executive position called the Corporate Social Strategist.  The position is starting to become popular as a result of the fact that so many businesses and corporations have been too slow in getting on board with social media. 

The rise of social commerce gives advertisers new opportunities to anticipate, humanize and personalize the customer experience.  It takes a selective combination of the right social media outlets, key online linkage and blogging to develop the relationship in an effective and efficient manner.

The future of social commerce is clear.  More and more commerce is being promoted online than ever and there appears to be no slowdown in sight.  The main reason is that it is so economical and efficient versus traditional media, especially disciplines like direct response or DM/DR!

I think, however, hiring a Corporate Social Strategist may be a good idea but is perhaps a bit premature and expensive as well.  We have been providing this kind of social commerce planning and a social media “help desk” on a monthly fee basis that is very affordable for most businesses.  Obviously, my answer to the question at the top of this post is “Don’t hire now.  Outsource your social commerce planning and monitoring to keep your costs low while figuring out the right ways to use social media to grow your business.” 

 

 

Social media is not just in the news...it is making the news!

I recently read an article in The Crimson Hexagon which talks about social media in terms of being a newsmaker.  I couldn't agree more with the author's conclusions.  For example who can argue with the following statement?  "Now social media sources like the millions of Tweets posted each day are being mined for the actual news, trends and opinions that are becoming significant social, political and business headlines."  And for today's mid-term elections, more people have gone to social media sites to help get information about the candidates than anywhere else.

So, why is it still taking so long for so many businesses to get on board with social media?  Certainly, the numbers are there; and so, conseguently is are the efficiencies when compared to traditional media.  Some research studies conclude that B2B penetration is still somewhere around the lower 30 percentile level. 

I guess the answer is one of credibility.  Many companies and corporations still don't know how to use social media for commercial purposes, nor do they believe that business people use these sites to do business.  Well, they have to agree that businesses use these sites for valuable information about their industries and the competition.  They have to agree that no where can trend information be made available at low or almost no cost.  And, they have to agree that their competition can find out more about what they are up to without having to resort to industrial espionage.

It amazes me that the cultures of these companies and corporations can be so slow to adapt.  E-mail today ranks second to Facebook in written communications.  Over a half billion people have signed up for a Facebook account.  Plus, the fastest growth in signups is coming from people who are 40 and older.  I could go on, but the message I am making here should be pretty clear:  "Get social soon or you may not be invited to the table!"

 

 

 

 

Even the best of plans....

 
I was just about to began my class at Seton Hall's grad school of communications when the phone rang.  It was WCBS-TV's Late News Assignment Editor and it was about 6:45 PM when she called.  She wanted to know if I could go to their studios "right away" to do a segment on the announcement by Frito-Lay that they were eliminating their biodegradable packaging on five of their six SunChips flavors because consumers felt the bag was too "noisy".  I am not kidding.  It seems that what they refer to as their compostable bag which is environmentally friendly actually bothered people because it made so much noise when it was crinkled. 

I told CBS that I could do the segment, but that I had a class to teach and couldn't go to their studios on West 57th Street in time for them to do the taping and get it edited in time for the Late News that night.  When asked if I would be willing to do it from my classroom at 8:00, I naturally said I could.  And, that's what happened!

My class got to see the whole interview and now they think of me as a celebrity!  More importantly, this issue got a lot of attention, especially from a branding standpoint.  It seems some 44,000 folks complained about the noisy bags on Facebook.  The company said it was not the Facebook complaints but the great number of calls, letters and e-mails they received that made them decide to take most of those bags off the market.  You see, even it you are trying to do a good thing for your brand's image if something like the packaging (which has nothing to do with the main benefit of the product) can create tarnishment, you must protect the brand.  The decision was correct and it didn't hurt the company to issue a press release announcing that they will be working on a "quieter bag" to replace the one they have obviously had a lot of problems with from a marketing standpoint.  Amazing story, but true nevertheless.

 

 

The Best and Worst Logos Ever?

A freelance journalist contacted me to talk about logos, specifically not brands. He wanted to know what I thought the three best logos of all time are as well as the worst. Here’s what I told him:

Well, among the best logos of all time would have to be McDonald’s arches, the Mercedes Tri-Star in a Circle, plus Coca-Cola and Apple (with the bite marks). And, does one need to say anything more about the NIKE swosh? For my set of criteria as to what makes a logo stand out, I think the most important criterion would be memorability. If upon seeing the logo once or twice and I can remember it (and what it stands for), it’s a winner in my book. Of course, it should also be relevant, flexible, ageless and simple, but elegant.

Among the top of the worst heap is definitely the logo for Edsel. They did nothing right with that car from the start. The weird-shaped E with the name of the brand tucked more than half way down the letter did absolutely nothing to stand out. Occasionally, they used it without the brand name showing just the “E” with six (hard-to-count ‘em) circles around it. I never understood what the circles were for or why you would take the risk of thinking people would remember the car’s name from just the first letter. There are so many forgettable logos out there that it’s hard to comment on them. I do, however, appreciate it when a company has a not-so-great logo and decides to update it as AT&T did so well. It’s the “ageless” criterion that at times is hard to maintain, yet it has to be done without destroying the basic integrity of the original logo. Maxwell House has also done this well.

How do you think your company’s logo stands up to the criteria contained above?

Dallas is a strong brand, but look out for the double edge!

 

I recently responded to comments from a Dallas Morning News reporter about the double-edged nature of Dallas as a brand and what a branding expert would do to remove the negatives and build the positives.

My experience in trying to brand the state of NJ is somewhat akin to the question about Dallas. No matter what the tourism and commerce people in the state try to do in PR, advertising and social media to improve the image of NJ, it will never happen. How can the state's budgets and efforts overcome the power of "Jersey Shore", "The Sopranos", the NJ Turnpike, "Housewives of NJ", and on and on? The only saving grace is that when the brand image gets so bad, some people will think it has to be better than that or why would so many people continue to live there? At least, Dallas has the Cowboys. Our teams play here but they belong to New York!

The only way I can think of on the positive side and to prevent Dallas from sinking to a low brand image level is to link the city into the State of Texas, the great history of the Old West and The Alamo.

Whenever I go abroad and people learn that I am an American, I always get asked if I know any cowboys! Especially the ones from Texas. People (especially over in Europe) love the image of Texas and the big ranches and the gunslingers! So, my answer would be: "Onward with the past!"

Whither goest technology and marketing?

I was doing some thinking regarding new communications technology and how it may be affecting the marketing heads at agencies and elsewhere.

First of all, not many marketing people know much about technology software; or, for that matter, can't keep up with it if they try. The onslaught of social media sites, widgets, wikis, apps and rapidly changing software has obviously been somewhat overwhelming to marketing people in general. The effect that these new approaches has had on marketing budgets is also enormous. Marketing people, then, have had to approach technology with caution as a result. Certainly, metrics for monitoring and evaluation purposes and how they are derived have to be understood before a marketer will recommend a new tool or medium. The problem is the jury is still out on how effective all the new media is with regard to return-on-investment. Factoring in the lack of knowing the best ways to provide creative executions for some of these programs makes things just as critical. We are only at the early stages of so much untested, untried communications that it is difficult to learn more than one or two at a time in order to gain some insight and personal experience as to how to use them effectively and efficiently.

Most of what I have seen is that the tech guys are more aligned with the Web development groups than with the CMOs. This may not be a good thing in the long run since the marketing "generalists" can often be "out of the loop" on recommendations relating to marketing executions and strategic planning. Right now, if I had to say what the level of penetration technology has made into the world of CMOs, I would say it's more limited to the more popular social media networks and some basic mobile marketing approaches.

But, things will soon change as expenditures in non-traditional media keep growing at a huge rate (currently estimated to be over $2.0 billion. In short, change in this business was never swift…even when it had to be.

Mobile Marketing and Social Media Will Merge

I am responding to a recent media query about how mobile marketing and social media will come together. As many of you know, I am also an advertising professor who teaches graduate students at Seton Hall University in adding to running Insight|SGW, the branding and strategic communicaitons unit of SGW.

Now, the answer the question, it is inevitable that these two forms of marketing will eventually converge. One reason has to do with what I believe will happen to communications in general in the future. I believe that iPads and the wannabe's will replace PCs and cell phones because they are already mobile and offer larger screens. The apps are already in the thousands. Marketers are just starting to learn how to use social media in ways in which a return on the investment can be measured. That is not an easy thing to do right now. It requires using a lot of traditional direct response techniques.

It will be a lot easier to measure interactivity (click throughs, time spent, where the respondent actually received the call, who that person is without having to optin, etc.) when social media is used on a mobile (iPad) basis. It is my opinion, for example, that Coke is getting more measurement from its mobile marketing (Coke Rewards) than it is from social media. That does not mean, however, that social media is not being used to promote the mobile campaign. At the present time, that is precisely the way social media is being used with regard to mobile marketing campaigns from the same company.

When the convergence to iPads takes place, the interaction will be much easier to measure and will provide more forecastable data.

Here are some thoughts I recently have developed about Twitter and Facebook with regard to communicating to business audiences.  SGW has certainly done its fair share of B2B communications in the past and is now including social media programs for these clients as well.  It has been our experience so far that Facebook is a much easier sell to our clients than Twitter.  Even when we make a strong case for using both, Twitter has more of an image of being a "texting vehicle" and is not taken as seriously as it should be.  There is also a greater fear that being on Twitter is riskier from the standpoint of getting greater contrary feedback than on Facebook.  I really don't know why, but the fact that the messages are so limited seems to play a part in many folks thinking of it as a"gossip site".  

 

On the other hand, Facebook also is often referred to in the same way, but once we get to explain Facebook's Fan Page feature, many clients can see the difference (as well as the advantages) immediately.  This is true in spite of the fact that there still may be some residual negatives about putting their companies on Facebook in the first place.  I think eventually Twitter will be more accepted over time.  It has been great for some major corporate clients (e.g. Kodak and Dell).  Twitter has also had some success that they can talk about with regard to retail clients.  For example, one car dealer in California has well over a thousand followers!

 

While Facebook has now surpassed e-mail in terms of total daily messages, there is a lot more to be said for using it for business in the future.  As for Twitter, it has an "immediacy effect" that makes it a great tool for breaking news which sets it apart.  It's still too early to predict how big a role either of these social media will play in business, but one thing is for certain.  They cannot be ignored.

Online Commercials - Annoying?

  
 

 

I am responding to a question that was recently asked on the topic of which are the most annoying online commercials and which ones work best.  We have seen over the past couple of years a move from simple Flash ads (usually in rotation) to fully produced spots that are streamed on your screen without warning. 

 

In my opinion, the ones that work best have several things in common:  they are short in length (usually 10-20 seconds), they are relevant in some way to the type of audience visiting the site (so they don't come out of the blue) and they are not loud and jarring!  Most people try to get rid of them as fast as they can and consider them an annoyance.  However, there are times when folks will be interested in what's being said if it bears relevance to why they went to a given site in the first place.  For example, you might expect to see a bit of a movie trailer when visiting People magazine's web site.

 

The real problem is that when someone does not expect to see a spot "forced" on them, it is hard to remove the initial negative thoughts.  The jury's still out on how effective these commercials are, but there's no doubt that we have only begun to be barraged more in the future.