Monthly Archives:

January 2010

Social Media Strategy

Mobile Engagement

January 25, 2010

What questions are you asking regarding mobile engagement?

You are asking questions in this area, right?  If not, what are you waiting for?  Here are some thoughts to chew on that might help you steer your thinking toward mobile.  The recently released Morgan Stanley Mobile Internet Report suggests that web traffic will be greater on mobile browsers than desktop browsers within 5 years and that shipments of smartphones will outpace that of desktop PCs by 2012!  These are remarkable predictions that deserve some serious consideration.

Beyond the basics of having a presence on the mobile web, we must make sure that our presence there makes sense from the end user’s perspective.   The questions I believe we should ask when beginning to think about mobile strategy are ‘how can we provide value to the user’s experience while they are on the go’ and ‘can we provide this value with a unique proposition that our brand is best suited to deliver?’  These questions along with others that are customer-centric set the stage for a fruitful relationship between your brand and your customers.

Placing ourselves in the customers’ shoes

Placing ourselves in our customers’ shoes first allows us to be in a better position to meet their needs.  The needs will be different with each organization, but one thing is consistent across nearly all of them – the ability for users to access information that is readable, digestible, and actionable while on the go.  Don’t forget about that last point – if they can’t take action at the point of need, then the opportunity is missed.  The mobile web is critical territory, and if your customers are not able to get what they want from a mobile device, what does that say about the value you place on these interactions?

Have you developed a mobile site for your brand?  If so, is it just a repackaged version of your existing site or does it truly take into account the experience that a user has when consuming content on a mobile device?  What about mobile apps?  Have you developed a mobile app for Android, iPhone, Blackberry, etc.?  In either case, what needs are you satisfying for the customer?  Notice I didn’t say what needs are you satisfying for your internal marketing department.  This is the critical fork in the road.  Believe me, customers are not waiting around hoping for another way for you to market to them on their mobile phone.  However, many of them are no doubt longing for an easier way to access information, complete a task, discover new products and services that meet their needs, etc.  These are the desires that we need to pay attention to.

Focusing on the Point of Need

We should start with the customer’s point of need and work back into the tools to help from that perspective.  Peter Sells did a fantastic job of illustrating this in his recent speech at the Battle of Big Thinking.  Special thanks to Jonathan MacDonald for pointing out this video! In his talk, Peter mentions a positive experience that he had with British Airways that was facilitated by a mobile site accessed via iPhone.  Check it out if you have the time.  At the end of his presentation was a quote that I thought really nailed the idea of asking the right questions:

‘Instead of asking what we should be saying to the consumer, ask what we should be doing for the consumer.’  Exactly.

On the other hand, Steve Smith has recently documented countless missed opportunities from brands of all ilk that are simply not utilizing mobile to its potential or are ignoring it altogether.  Steve’s article left me scratching my head and wondering why so many brands have failed to realize the importance of providing a solid mobile experience with their brands.  There is no question where this is headed, but there is definitely a question of how well brands are going to be poised to capitalize on the opportunities to connect with millions of users who have the power of the web at their fingertips 24 hours a day, and virtually everywhere they go.

If you have physical locations that you need to drive traffic to, are you paying attention to mobile search placement?  If you sell products through mass distribution channels, is there an easy way for people to learn more about your products on a mobile device?  Better yet, does your packaging encourage this?  If a customer is browsing for more information about a specific product or service, do you provide a way for them to see who else has purchased or provided a review of that product or service on their social graph?  Could you?

Integrating Mobile and Social

It’s been said that mobile and social are close cousins, and I totally agree.  After all, being social is about connecting with others, and mobile devices are the quintessential connection points that are by our sides day and night.  Social and mobile are joined at the hip, and we should endeavor to connect the user experience in social channels to the experience on mobile platforms.  Services such as Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt, etc. are underscoring the desire for people to connect with each other and share experiences, tips, etc. with friends on the go.  Additionally, the adoption of mobile applications such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. reminds us that people are taking their social graph with them wherever they go and sharing more aspects of their lives than ever before.

How are you leveraging this for your benefit?  Do you encourage social sharing on your mobile site and/or apps?  Does your main website have functionality that allows customers to send reminders or product info to their mobile devices or create accounts they can access via your mobile site or mobile apps so that their shopping experience is easier when they are away from their computer?

Planting the Seeds

This post is all about planting the seeds for a renewed commitment to mobile engagement.  If you are exploring mobile, hopefully this has spurred some thought.  What do you think?  Does this resonate?  What questions do you think we should ask?

Social Media Strategy

Lessons in Simplicity, courtesy of the American Red Cross

January 15, 2010

You can text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross relief for Haiti.

The earthquake in Haiti this week has had a profound impact on people from all over the world, and it’s quite moving to see the outpouring of support that has taken place in the aftermath of this disaster.  One thing that occurred to me last night was how the American Red Cross has been able to engage people to donate money quickly using a very simple method – an SMS campaign.  As of Friday morning 1.15, they had raised $8 million from the campaign in $10 increments, and donations are still on an upward trajectory.

Let’s take a moment to think about this.  $8 million in less than 3 days.  This is big!  To put it into perspective, this is equal to the corporate cash donations of Microsoft, Kellogg, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Bank of America, Western Union, General Mills, Kraft, GoDaddy, Walmart, and Morgan Stanley combined!  And we’re only 3 days into this simple text-to-donate campaign.  This is a remarkable example of simplicity being the key to getting people to take action.  I can’t think of a better example of a successful, yet simple campaign that has taken off so quickly.

What is the lesson here for marketers?  I believe there are a couple of lessons actually.  Number one being that people have a desire to help others in need.  This goes back to the cause efforts that I’ve been writing about lately.  It’s obvious that we have a connection with our fellow humans that runs deeper than social classes or geographic boundaries.  I won’t beat this drum to death here, as I think it’s self explanatory that aligning with relevant causes can be an effective way for brands to connect with people.

The second lesson that inspired this post is that sometimes simplicity can be very effective at getting people to take a desired action.  I think sometimes we fall into a trap as marketers and digital pundits where we are so focused on the new tools that are out there that we forget some of the most effective tools have been around for quite a while.  The Red Cross could have probably created a much more elaborate donation mechanism using all kinds of fancy tools and tactics, but instead they set up a simple way for people to make a donation quickly and easily from their mobile phone (not just smartphones).  Simple.  Effective.  Viral.  Of course, the message went viral due to people posting the campaign on social channels and the exposure the campaign received in other media, but you have to wonder how this would have worked if there had not been such an easy path to donate.

Take a moment and think about programs you have coming up or goals you are trying to achieve as 2010 gets underway.  Are there things you can do to simplify the process for the people you are communicating with?  It’s worth taking a step back from time to time to evaluate what’s working and how things can be made easier for people.

What do you think?  Did simplicity play a part in the Red Cross achieving this level of support?

Also, if you are interested, here’s a great article from AdAge that details the efforts that some corporations are making to assist in the disaster recovery.

Social Media Strategy

Marketing that inspires

January 6, 2010

Now that 2010 is underway, I thought it would be nice to take a moment to acknowledge some great success stories, or at least success stories in the making.  There have been several programs that I’ve run across recently that grabbed my attention, and each of these can provide us with lessons in how we approach marketing in 2010 and beyond.

Disney
The other night I was with friends when a commercial for Disney came on that highlighted their promotion where they are giving away theme park tickets to people who volunteer for selected charitable organizations.  I’ve been thinking a lot about causes lately and how they can impact customer perception of brands, so this really resonated with me.

Of course, there are detractors that claim Disney is bribing people into doing service work and it’s not truly an altruistic gesture.  I see the glass half full here.  Disney is taking a stand and making it clear that they support service to the community and are rewarding those who are willing to give up their time and service for the greater good.  I believe this is a great example of aligning corporate values and goals with the bigger needs out in our communities.  Sounds like a win-win to me.

Domino’s Pizza
I’ll go ahead and say right now that I’m not a fan of Domino’s, or of pizza delivery as a whole, however they have made an astounding leap forward with their business recently that comes on the heels of an embarrassing PR fail back in 2009 (you may recall the YouTube video fiasco where employees of one of the local franchises made a video of some pretty gross things happening in the kitchen).  Most interesting about the Domino’s approach is that they actually LISTENED to their customers and ADAPTED to the reality of the situation (a lot of people didn’t like the pizza).  Instead of making excuses or paying for celebrity endorsements to make up for the lack of taste preference, they turned their whole business on its end and actually re-worked the recipe for their pizzas!  Watch the video that shows how and why they did it.  It’s a remarkable story, and this really gets to the heart of how the entire organization should be involved with ‘social’ – not just the marketing/PR/Customer service departments.

I wrote about this back in 2007, and it’s wonderful to see a major brand putting this kind of thinking into action.  As Amber Naslund recently cleverly articulated on her blog, when brands suffer a setback, it’s important to circle back around and determine what happened and why, but most importantly to ‘get back in the saddle’ and commit to understanding where it went wrong and to doing better next time.  Excellent metaphor here, and clearly one that Domino’s ‘gets.’

Pepsi
By now, I’m sure everyone is well aware of Pepsi’s daring move to pull out of Super Bowl advertising in 2010 and redirect that money into the Pepsi Refresh Project, which is a cause-based initiative that’s being promoted via social channels.  This is a bold statement from Pepsi, but it reinforces the idea that brands are finding new ways of connecting with their end-users outside of broadcast advertising.  Think about the incredible potential Pepsi has to connect with people and truly align the brand with their values.

I believe we’re going to see a lot more of this type of thinking in 2010 and the years ahead.  Let’s face it – Pepsi can’t advertise their way into market leadership.  Coke is too far in front.  What they can do is connect with people in a more meaningful way.  Will it work?  We will have to wait and see.  In the meantime, I’ve got to tip my hat to Pepsi for taking this approach.

Eight O’Clock Coffee
This is another example of a legacy brand that has really stepped out of the mainstream and taken a fresh approach to social media.  Denise McVey, who runs the Eight O’Clock Coffee Facebook page is interviewed in a video that shows people how to get started on Facebook.  Pretty cool, because the focus isn’t on the coffee or the brand – the focus is on helping the customer solve a problem.  I’d bet the target demographic for the brand is a bit older than the median Facebook user, and I’m sure there are plenty of their customers who would welcome a guiding voice to walk them through getting started on Facebook.  And if that’s not cool enough, you also get the added bonus of getting to know the person behind the brand on Facebook – love that!  Kudos to Eight O’Clock Coffee and their agency, S3 for this!

I’ll leave it at that for now, but I plan to share examples like these more often as 2010 gets into full swing.  Hopefully these spark some creative thinking for those who are planning their own social programs.

What about you?  What are some examples of programs or campaigns that you think are worth sharing?  Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by!

photo source: iStockPhoto