Wed, 16 December 2015
At the foundation of business and life is people. At the core of people are hearts and minds that want to connect with other people. It is in our DNA to want to connect with other human beings in a communal way. We want to rub elbows, clink glasses, laugh, cry and celebrate with people who have the same goals, objectives, beliefs, and interests as we do. At the heart of social media is people. Social media is one big fat conversation that inspires, empowers, engages, delights, educates, and activates human beings when used for good. So given that people want to connect with other human beings at the core of their being, and that social media is about connecting humans, why is it that marketers struggle with connecting humans together, using social media? Do they struggle because.... they have self centered goals? We also know many brand leaders question the real value of social media. They struggle with connecting the dots from a social network to a human to a business goal or objective. They don't know how to prioritize where they spend their time or what social shiny object they should invest in. Are you confused as to what social networks you should be leveraging in 2016 and beyond to build community? Should you continue to focus on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? Or should you start integrating live streaming? If yes, then should you dig into Facebook mentions, Facebook live, Periscope, Meerkat or none of the above? The truth is you should not start with the technology. You should start with the people. You should start with your goal for building community. Why do you want to connect with other human beings? WHY do you want to connect other human beings together? What is in it for them and you? If these are some of the question you would like to answer as you finalize your social media and digital marketing strategies and plans then take a listen to the 194th episode of the Social Zoom Factor podcast. In this episode I provide 10 goals for building and nurturing community that you can leverage to help you select and prioritize the social networks and platforms you should invest in to build community for your business and brand. Take a listen and be sure to subscribe to the entire series on iTunes, Stitcher or SoundCloud! Episode Highlights 10 goals for building community
Direct download: SZF_194_Community_Goals_Final_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00pm EDT |
Tue, 15 December 2015
Is your marketing delivering promises that you can't keep? Are your websites, blogs, social profiles, Instagram photos, tweets and Facebook updates over promising? As marketers we are paid to build excitement, increase brand awareness and drive results. The social web is becoming more noisy by the day. It's difficult for even smart marketers to stand out from the crowd and rise above the noise. Many marketers fall into the frenzy of beautiful visual graphics, never ending sales pages, over exciting live video sessions and the list goes on. Before they know it they have made a long list of promises that are far outside the scope of what their websites, blog, content, or business can provide. Instead of helping their efforts, their over promising marketing messages and actions are hurting the brand. These broken promises lose trust, hurt relationships and decrease brand equity. Today, authenticity and transparency rules the social web. Customer experience is your brand, period. Customers, community and audience members demand that brands deliver on what they promise. Marketers must learn to stop over selling. They must stop over promising and under delivering. Smart and savvy digital marketers know they are better off under promising and over delivering. Why not surprise and delight vs oversell and then disappoint? Check out the 193rd episode of the Social Zoom Factor podcast for 7 ways social, digital and brand marketers can keep their promises. Included are strategies, tips and tactics to earn trust, create a conversion funnel that actually converts and ensure that marketing efforts are helping the brand, not hurting brand reputation.
Direct download: SZF_193_Keep_Promise_Website_Final_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:42pm EDT |
Mon, 14 December 2015
It is every marketer and business leaders dream to have crystal ball that can predict the future. Imagine having the knowledge to know exactly where to invest your time, resource and budget to bring the maximum return in all facets of product, service, digital, social and content marketing. Unfortunately the chances of any of us finding that digital marketing nirvana crystal ball are slim to zero. However, the fun part is we can predict what we believe can happen. We can base these predictions on data, experience and our gut feeling. Smart marketers know their audience and know how to selectively choose the right social and digital platforms, content channels, communication mediums to inspire their customers to connect with them. They know how to tap into the power of earned, owned and paid media to drive more than clicks, and to build community and grow brand awareness. They know how to invest in influencer marketing relationships, not just influencers who will tweet for them for a single one night show. So what will happen in 2016 in the world of digital and social marketing? The good news is even though I can't deliver you a magical digital marketing crystal ball, I can offer you my predictions based on experience working with brands ranging from well funded startups and entrepreneurs to Fortune 10 brands. Check out the 193rd episode of the Social Zoom Factor podcast for 12 Digital Marketing and Social Media Predictions for 2016. I provide insight, strategic direction and recommendations on tactics for you to embrace the new year and business planning with the knowledge you need to succeed. Check out the 190th episode of the Social Zoom Factor for 10 Top Content Marketing Mistakes that could be killing your marketing and business results. In this 30 minute podcast you will learn: Top 12 social media and digital marketing predictions for 2016.
Direct download: SZF_192_2016_Predictions_Final_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:29pm EDT |
Mon, 7 December 2015
Social media can be a powerful communication medium to enhance relationships, earn trust and build brand awareness. Delivering a solid and quality product or service is only part of the equation for brand success and serving the needs of the always on, always connected customer of today. What customer journey and experience are you designing for your customers and audience? Your customers do not just land on your website and then buy from you within 5 seconds. They have likely been on a journey and your website, blog or social platform is simply one of the stops on their journey. Communicating with your customers when, where and how they want you to communicate with them is critical. Today's mobile and connected customer requires you know not only the right time but the right place to communicate with them. If you don't, they will just go to someone else, to another brand who has taken the time to understand who they are and what they need. Smart brand leaders know that social media can help them differentiate and rise above the sea of status quo and leap frog their competition if implemented correctly and with goals that help improve user and customer experience. Social media can easily be used to provide the most positive experience possible. Social media can be leveraged to nurture relationships with customers, prospects, partners and their broader community. Every brand touch matters. From the first touch on your website, contact form to your Facebook page, Twitter communication, email marketing or phone conversation with your customer or sales support team, every brand touch requires thorough thought and planning. Did you know that it takes on average 6-7 brand touches before someone will remember your brand? You have less than 10 seconds when a person lands on your website or blog for the online visitor to determine if they are going to stick around to learn more about you or bounce right out. The same goes for when they land on your Facebook page, LinkedIn company page or your own personal social profile on any of the social networks. Your brand is not what you say it is or what you write for your corporate Twitter bio, Facebook profile or LinkedIn company page. Your brand is what people say about you. Your brand is what and how you make people feel. Your brand is the experience you deliver to customers, prospective customers, partners, your community and your audience online and offline. Your brand is how quickly you reply and answer questions. Your brand is the tone you use when communicating with your peers, thought leaders in your industry and niche, your employees and even competitors online. You brand is how you show gratitude. It's how you handle a public online, crisis. It's how you build and nurture community. Customer experience is your brand, period. What customer experience are you delivering your customers, audience, partners and community online? Is it positive? Is it human? Is it authentic? How transparent is it? Is it helping you build a lasting and meaningful impression? Is it inspiring people to connect with you, engage with you and buy from you today, tomorrow or next year? Or is it turning people off? Is it pushing them away or bringing them closer to you and your brand? Take a listen to the 191st episode of the Social Zoom Factor podcast to learn 10 easy ways you can start using social media today to provide an amazing customer experience for your audience, customers and broader online community! Learn how you can leverage social media to differentiate your brand and win in your specific industry and niche. Be sure to subscribe to this entire brand new series, "Get Fit Social Digital Business" on iTunes, Stitcher or SoundCloud! In this 25 minute podcast you will learn: 10 ways to improve customer experience using social media
Direct download: SZF_191_Customer_Experience_Social_Media_Final_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:07pm EDT |
Mon, 30 November 2015
Do you ever feel like you are spinning your wheels when it comes to developing and integrating your content marketing strategy and plan into your business and overall marketing initiatives and programs to achieve your business and marketing goals? Content marketing planned and executed properly can help you ignite not only online results but also true business results. You can increase sales, generate more leads, increase brand awareness, build and nurture communities, humanize your brand, and reach markets you simply couldn't reach with other mediums. Unfortunately many brand leaders are their own worst enemies when it comes to defining and executing a well laid out content marketing plan with strategies and tactics that delivers real results. Often times they get lazy and impatient. They want immediate results and don't understand it takes time and ongoing investment. Content marketing is not a "set it and forget it" type of initiative. You must constantly be feeding the content engine, inspiring and connecting with your audience to achieve desired objectives. Bottom line, content marketing for business requires work. Real work. The kind of work that may even make your head hurt from time to time. It may even keep you up at night. Could it be that you are making some basic content marketing mistakes that are holding you back from the success you deserve and expect? Sometimes we get so focused and stuck in our ways that we need to have a fresh eye, a fresh perspective, a fresh voice to help us acknowledge it could be one, two or a few silly things we are doing that are sabotaging our efforts. Check out the 190th episode of the Social Zoom Factor for 10 Top Content Marketing Mistakes that could be killing your marketing and business results. In this 25 minute podcast you will learn: Top 10 content mistakes killing your success and business results
Direct download: SZF_190_Content_Marketing_Mistakes_Final_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:01pm EDT |