Posts filed under ‘Advertising’
Word of Mouth From the Inside Out
Navel Marketing helps create organizations worth talking about and then arm customers to spread the word. On the surface, this may seem like a simple enough task, but too many companies today focus the majority of their efforts on how to get the word out with little thought as to why someone would care. Whether you choose to use more traditional tactics, such as advertising, or new methods, such as social media, your target market needs to know why you matter before they invest any time or emotion in your brand.
Marketing today is about meaning. Customers buy products but evangelists buy causes. You have to mean something in the marketplace before someone will take notice of your communications and, most importantly, tell others about them. Navel Marketing helps you develop the inner tools that create meaning for your customer, such as a cause, a unique and compelling position, a culture that reflects your cause, a simple repeatable message, a viral customer experience, and more. We then implement word-of-mouth marketing tools to help arm your customers spread the word.
How to Arm Customers to Spread the Word
Up to this point, I have emphasized the Navel Model for creating a company worth talking about. It is critical that you do this piece first. As the great military strategist, Sun Tzu, once said, “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” Most literature in the marketing realm is about tactics. In social media, people go right to Twitter and Facebook. In advertising they go right to the 30 second spot or the full page print ad. However, in order to have successful tactics, the strategic pieces need to be in place first.
Once you have created an organization worth talking about, the next step is to arm your customers to spread the word. It doesn’t matter what the medium is, the process remains the same. The six steps below work especially well in social media, but also work in public relations, advertising, direct marketing, or any other medium. The six steps below are also not linear but are circular because they are not always done in order. By implementing the steps below, you can better find your target influencers, arm them with tools to spread the word, and amplify their efforts.
- Publish – There is an argument in the social media space about whether content is king or conversation is king. The reality is that both are important for successful word-of-mouth. Content without conversation is advertising – it’s one way. Conversation with content is chatter. It is social media strictly for the social benefit. The first step is to publish great content. With all of the tools available today, there are many mediums you can use – it simply depends on your audience. If they have time to read and revisit often, then right a blog. If they are more inclined to download content and listen at a later date, then a podcast may be the best option. If they learn visually and your content is meant to be demonstrated, then produce a video series, or vidcast. For tools, check out WordPress, Libsyn, and YouTube. If you want to know what to write your content about, always think “educate and advocate.” Provide educational insights, how to’s, or insider information. When advocating, look to the cause you created in your Navel Model.
- Syndicate – Now that you have produced great content, step 2 is to find all the places you can share that content. Obviously, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or other online communities are a natural fit, however, also consider how you can share this content in your advertising, PR, and direct marketing efforts. Link to it within your social communities. Use snippets in advertising. Use it to pitch editors to cover important topics about your company or industry.
- Integrate – The amazing thing about where technology has come from in the recent past is that today, everything talks to each other. That means you can spend less time and get better results from your efforts. By integrating your blog utility with your social communities, every time a new post is created on the blog, it can automatically be posted to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more. Every time you Tweet it can update your status in Facebook, both your personal profile and your business pages. The key with integration is to amplify your efforts.
- Converse – Referring back to the argument under “Publish”, once you have great content, the next step is to talk about it. Talk about your content. Talk about others’ content. Talk about a recent lesson you learned in your business. The key is to talk. Dare to be human; to be more than just a brand. The more personal you can be, the more others will grow in affinity for your brand and share it with others.
- Help - This is the concept upon which social media was built – people helping people. The Golden Rule is as applicable in social media as anywhere else. The more that you help others, the more benefit you receive in return. This is where you solidify your customer evangelists. It can be something as simple as re-Tweeting their Tweets or something more complex, like writing a blog post about them. You can answer questions on LinkedIn (and syndicate by linking to your content) or you can comment on another person’s blog. These are all forms of help.
- Monitor – Lastly, one of the most powerful aspects of social media is that it is infinitely searchable. I can monitor conversations going on almost anywhere in the social web and (politely) engage in the conversation. I can measure how much chatter there is online about a particular brand. I can even automate monitoring so that I am instantly notified when a conversation is taking place. The ability to monitor online conversations is one of the most important aspects of the social web and the reason it is one of the fastest growing marketing mediums today.
With the six steps above, you create great content, share it in as many places as you can, make your technologies talk to each other, engage with others, be helpful, and monitor conversations in order to start the cycle all over again. If you have done your previous work, such as creating a position, cause, culture, and message, you’ll know what to share and converse about. While you may go through the Navel Model only once in a while, the above steps will be a daily to do list.
With the six steps above, you can adequately arm your customers to quickly spread your message for you. Which do you do already and which could you improve upon?
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Marketing From The Navel
I often get asked about our strange name. Many times I even get blank stares when I explain the term “navel-gazing”. However, I chose the name of my company and my book very carefully, and it wasn’t just because I wanted to make people giggle (OK, it was partly that).
For those who know me, they know I have worked with dozens of companies all over the world. Through my experiences, I have seen both amazing successes and giant failures (and been involved in both). Throughout these experiences, I identified a pattern. For a while, I couldn’t put it into words. I tried “Honest Marketing” or “Transparent Marketing”, but none of those really fit.
I finally realized that each of the companies who were successful marketed from the inside out, where the ones who failed miserably were the ones who marketed from the outside in. In other words, the companies who succeeded developed their internal tools, processes, and culture and used marketing tactics to simply communicate what they had already become. THe companies that failed wanted their communications to reflect an image of what they wish they were or what the customer wanted them to be – they wanted to put lipstick on the pig.
There are many who come to Navel Marketing for our social media marketing services. Without fail, however, they have missed many of the steps it takes to create a company worth talking about. So we start at the beginning. We start by creating a cause, identifying what truly makes them unique, and creating a culture that reflects their vision (for a complete list of steps to create a “buzz-worthy” company, see the Navel Model). Once these steps are completed, the tactics are the easy part.
I have seen a lot written lately about what constitutes a true “social media marketer”. I even wrote about this fact a month or so ago myself. Many base it on their knowledge of the tools or their proprensity to approach marketing as a conversation. However, it is my belief that they are all still lacking core component – what are you going to converse about? What about you is worth talking about?
Whether you use social media, advertising, public relations, direct response, or any other form of marketing, it all starts with strategy. It all starts with creating a company worth talking about. Once you’ve done that, the rest falls into place.
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When Advertising Can Make You a Mockery
Those of you who live outside of Idaho may not quite understand the college football environment in the state, so let me give you a quick recap.
Boise State hates the University of Idaho (long story). The University of Idaho hates Boise State with the passion of hell fire. Boise State has had one of the winningest football programs in the country since about the year 2000. Idaho has had one of the worst football programs in the country since the same time.
Let me also preface this opinion with the fact that I am a Boise State alum, although I would really like to see 2 great football teams in the State of Idaho. However, we have here a great case study on how not to use advertising.
The Idaho Vandals recently put out a poster of their football team that is… interesting, to say the least. It features the entire football team with their shirts off, oiled up muscles, and the word “Toughness” above them.
However, the case study lies in what the intention was behind the poster. As you know, most teams try to come up with some slogan every year. Boise State has run through a few like “Leave no Doubt”, “Amp it Up”, and one that I created that they stole – “Keep it Rollin’”. It gets the team and the fan base motivated.
However, creating a poster that says “Toughness” above a team that has gone 10-37 in the last 4 seasons is simply an oxymoron. At the very least, the goal of motivating the team and the fan base has had the opposite effect. They are getting plenty of buzz, but for all of the wrong reasons. They have been scoffed at on talk radio, in blogs (and here and here), and even some coverage on GayWired.com.
A lot of companies take this same approach. They think by simply creating a catchy new tagline, consumers will forget all of the horrible experiences they have had in the past (i.e. Qwest’s Spirit of Service). This is what you call putting lipstick on the pig. Sorry my oily friends, but the burger has to look like the picture.
The reality is that the University of Idaho Vandals need to earn the word “Toughness” by giving their fans a great experience (a single winning season would be a start). In the meantime, maybe a tagline like “We’re not Going to Take it Anymore” or “One Step at a Time” would be more appropriate.
And for heaven’s sake, put your shirts on!
An Ad Campaign I Actually Like
There has been much written on the effectiveness of the Mac vs. PC campaign. Both critics and supporters alike have lauded the campaign for its effectiveness in highlighting the differences between the two products. It is entertaining, informative, and hip.
Enter Whopper Freakout. While I am not particularly a huge fan of fast food, this ad campaign did an incredible job of showcasing impassioned fans of the Burger King Whopper. Part reality show, part testimonial, this campaign does a great job of exhibiting real customers in a situation where their favorite burger is taken away from them.
In an interesting twist, the producer of the campaign has begun switching the Whopper with burgers from various competitors. This solicits even more passionate pleas. Some customers can be heard shouting things like “I hate Wendy’s!”. The agency who executed this campaign has even implemented a new media campaign by creating a microsite at whopperfreakout.com and have even posted extended versions of the hidden camera segments on YouTube.
It’s real, it’s raw, and it’s passionate. It also ties the viewer into an online community. That is the way that advertising was meant to be done. Kudos to Burger King.
Advertising is Not Dead!
How many times have you heard that from a word-of-mouth marketer? We tend to take aim at advertising and shoot holes through advertisers and their campaigns. The reality is that the big kid is typically the easiest target.
Advertising is definitely waning in its effectiveness, especially the irrelevant creativity we see today. In addition, advertising fits perfectly the quote by Abraham Maslow who said, “To a man who only has a hammer, every problems tends to look like a nail.” Almost every problem you take to an advertising agency will be solved with advertising.
Where is advertising effective, then? Al Ries one of the grandfathers of modern marketing – tends to think advertising is effective as a reminder of a brand you are already familiar with and a poor tool for introducing a new brand. I also believe advertising works well for event based marketing – meaning there is a time and a place you are announcing. My friend and fellow word-of-mouth marketer, Justin Foster, points out a few other areas where he thinks advertising can be effective.
Word-of-mouth marketers tend to carry the banner of transparency and authenticity. That is why blogging and podcasting have become such a staple of that world. However, can advertising be transparent and authentic? Think of Dove’s “real women” campaign. I must admit, I am one of those who likes watching the Superbowl for its commercials, however, that was the commercial that stuck out the most to me because I have 4 daughters and that is how I want them to see themselves.
The rebuttal from most buzz marketers will be that there is no conversation in advertising; that it’s only a one-way communication. However, can you couple advertising with a conversation technology to create interaction? Can advertising evolve into an effective tool in a social networking society? YouTube has shown us some possibilities and there are new technologies popping up like Firebrand that treat commercials as the creative content that they are, not as just an interruption. With Firebrand, advertising becomes the destination not the speed bump.
I believe that advertising does have a time and place. I believe that the agencies that learn how to adapt this medium to the new reality and couple it with conversation will find a way to create great results. Advertising simply gives you an audience. However, its effectiveness has been on the decline because companies do a poor job of engaging that audience.
Marketing Doesn’t Happen in Campaigns!
We have been trained by our universities, advertising agencies, and corporate America to think about marketing in terms of campaigns. We need a “spring promotion” or a “Christmas sale”.
It’s amazing how many companies have approached me asking if I can implement a campaign that will give them word of mouth among their customers. Collectively, we believe that, like an ad campaign, marketing can be turned on and turned off at will. Unfortunately, consumers are like children – they often don’t do what they are told.
Marketing doesn’t happen in campaigns. Word of mouth doesn’t happen in campaigns. The choice to implement a word of mouth strategy means a fundamental, long-term shift in the way you do business. It means, first, producing a product or service worth talking about, delivering a premium and unique customer experience, and then helping your customer base tell other people about it. It is not a strategy that bumps up your quarterly earnings reports, but increases your long-term profitability and brand.
Stephen Covey’s analogy of the goose and the golden egg is especially applicable. You take care of the goose (your customer) and it will take care of the golden eggs for you. If your goose is sick, it may take a little while to nurse it back to health before it is well on its way to becoming an egg producer for you.
Just ask Fisher’s Document Systems if 2006 was easy for them. They almost completely turned over their sales department. They completely overhauled how they service their customers. They even went back to having a live person answer the phone. Add it all together and it equals a significant increase in not only revenue, but bottom line profit.
That is what word of mouth “marketing” can do for you. It only works if you are willing to fundamentally change how you think about your customers and how you do business. It only works if you give people something to talk about.
