Drip Campaigns Ruined Me

Most marketers know we are not the target consumer. If you've ever been in a marketing department and someone says, "Well, I..." you know you're dealing with a newbie, they still see their experiences and preferences as relatable to the average consumer's world. Yes, we have our own personal preferences but we can't let those get in the way of good marketing.

For instance, I hate pop-ups on sites. If I'm reading a blog post, enjoying the content and then a light box pops up with all of the surprise of a great white shark (and none of the catchy music) it annoys the bejeezles out of me. I will "x" out of it without even reading. That's my personal bias and action - I never click on it. However, I cannot argue their effectiveness rate in conversions. Adding them to my company site is not about my preferences or what I would like or do. It's about what's good for business and that's lead acquisition.

But just as my own preferences must not override what works for my company's audience (public service announcement: I reference the effectiveness on an individual audience because if your audience is comprised of marketers you can use yourself as a guinea pig. The only way to test what works with your audience or not is by testing and testing often.), my experience in marketing has jaded me as a consumer. When I'm hit with an email offer, on a product or service I'm interested in, I will click on the link but stop short of buying. I do this because many drip campaigns are scored from an interest level on whether a link was clicked. Marketers view this as the same as having a fish on the line (momentarily). This excites and confuses the average marketer (I know. I am one.). Most of the time, they rebait their hook and recast. Many sweeten the offer in this stage. After all, you were interested. You clicked.  But that's my dirty secret on getting a nicer offer.

But the bigger application here is not that I am a consumer of questionable practices, but that there are aspects of our profession that keep us from understanding the real consumer or member's needs. If you're applying your own personal preferences to your audience and marketing you're not thinking of them. Separating yourself from your audience is the first step to understanding (and hearing) what they've been trying to tell you.

It's the Middle of The Night. What Do Your Customers Want?

I saw a brilliant tweet last night. It spoke to the audience and addressed a need that was undoubtedly timed perfectly. It was in the wee, blurry-eyed hours that a promoted tweet by Wendy's welcomed night owls and "suggested" they stop in for a burger because many locations were open late. Who doesn't want a burger at 3 a.m.? The only thing they could've done to entice me further (since Willy Wonka is still working on Smellivision) was change their branded, red-headed icon into a double-stack of deliciousness.

Wendy's gave some thought about their late night customers. What are they doing before they come in? How could they reach them? Social media and specifically Twitter gave them the perfect entry into their customers' lives/minds (in the middle of the night). Wendy's reminded their audience about their late night cravings and how easy it was to satisfy them. Strong, targeted, content marketing.

What do you think? Is this an effective use of social media?

Are Case Studies Dead?

If you're into promoting a service, product or membership of some kind, you understand the value of online reviews. In the recent Local Consumer Review Survey, and blogged about by Search Engine Land, 72% of consumers located in US, Canada and the UK admitted to trusting online reviews (even if they were written by strangers). This was the second iteration of the survey, the original being conducted in 2010. The comparison of changes in consumer trust in just two years is interesting and worth the read.

But whether you decide to select, purchase or join because of an online review may be more based on what kind of product, service or organization you're looking into. Buying a skirt or going to a restaurant based on a rating may be sufficient but basing the choice of a roommate on social media stranger-penned reviews may not be ideal.

What about when you're buying a high ticket item for business purposes? Do you still find peer/consumer reviews relevant? Do you need to be acquainted with the person before your trust their opinion? Does it matter whether it's posted on an independent site like a LinkedIn group or the organization's website? Are case studies driven by the marketing department just another form of TPS Reporting?

Love to hear your thoughts. 

Has Social Taken the Magic out of Marketing?

This past week I watched the season premier of Mad Men. I've been waiting a long time for its return. My fascination with the show is partly due to the smart writing and partly due to the historical depiction (accurate or not) of an era long gone.

Today's advertising people can no more imagine hand-drawn story boards than I can not including social media in a marketing plan. Sadly, things will never revert back that way either.

Advertising and marketing used to be hand and hand; the more creative types went ad agency and the rest of us became marketers. There was a certain amount of magic to what we were doing, trickery if you must. We were convincing people to buy products and services in any way we could. Nowadays, word of mouth has become more valuable than slogans and campaigns and CEOs want to see the analytics behind our efforts. Marketing has become the annoying tag-a-long sibling of sales. A lot of marketers have lost their way and they might as well hang out in the doghouse with the ineffectual journalists.

But for those of us willing to have conversations with our customers (instead of using our old marketing bullhorn); for the bravest of us who are willing to continually be in flux and pursuing new opportunities and learning new things, it can be a very exciting time to be in marketing. It seems infinitely harder in some ways with the analytics and the drip campaigns, the conversations and transparency required. But in many ways, we have it easier too. We can communicate with our customers and potential customers. No more focus groups and what if situations. There's legitimate A/B testing that can help you decide which is the more effective campaign. If you're willing to learn the tools and how to use them,

What do you think? Do you miss the old days of smoke and mirrors or are you happy to embrace this new social cosmos? 

What a Writer Brings to Your Brand

Having a fiction writer (or at least someone who fancies herself/himself as one) is a great boon to your marketing department. The art of storytelling is ingrained in writers. Who better to capture your business' story or mission? We understand tone and don't become overwhelmed when you suggest we blog daily or write an article in ten minutes. We're writers. We write.

My one difficulty in entering marketing has been telling the same story over and over again. Marketers believe in the Rule of Seven that you must bludgeon your prospect with the same marketing message seven times before they act upon it. As a writer, I have no problem sticking with a voice or branding, or even conveying a consistent tone but saying the same thing over and over again in the exact same way can be challenging.

The beauty of social is that this is beginning to change. Content marketing is starting to receive the publicity it needs and is becoming the way marketing is done. (Again a writer would've known you should always write for your audience. Not sure why this is being billed as something new among marketers.) Content marketing has us providing content our audience craves, at the time that they want it, in a form they find palatable, in a way that is easily shared. Marketers are now trying to create magnetic content that will spur their audience to action. Since our audience is mobile and evolving (with many taking to the Interwebs to research products before purchase) it is possible that marketers will slowly move away from the Rule of Seven. After all, consistent messaging and repeating verbatim your same value proposition are not the same.