Social Equity + Consumer Intelligence = Success

A great question to ask when creating a marketing message?

Am I creating Social Equity?

What is Social Equity you ask? Well, its the collective value that is placed on your marketing campaign by its intended target demographic.

Sounds easy to create right? Try again. Social Equity in my opinion is what helps a message to become viral, or to travel by Word of Mouth. We almost always build as many touch points into a message as possible, however, its these touch points where we can miss the opportunity to create Social Equity.

The touch points we create can also have a profound effect on "CI" or Consumer Intelligence". In any campaign that we create, we need to think about whether or not we can identify with the target, and whether the message that we create is worthy of talking about.

If we can get people talking, we've created Social Equity. If we can get them saying what we want them to say, we've created Consumer Intelligence.

So, are you getting people talking and are the saying what you want them to say?

Quit Sending Mass E-mails...

I always laugh when I get bulk mail, really, I do!

It's quite comical to think that after receiving 50 emails from the same company that I might actually open one.

My response is just as quick...

I use MS Outlook, so it goes like this- Right Click on message, Select Junk Mail, Add Sender to Blocked Senders, Done- See how easy that was.

The problem here is, this might be happening to you. Are you sending Mass E-mail? Did you know that Mass E-mail has become synonymous with Bulk Mail, and Telemarketers? It has, and its turning your clients and potential clients off. Its one thing to have permission, and another to just buy a list and shoot from the hip. In the cases of having permission- don't over do it! Getting a message once a week can be tough to swallow unless it has great information, but once every other day is down right stupid. Be smart and have a strategy for the messages you wish to send, and don't be afraid to ask your viewers for input.

In this day in age, you need to be more focused than ever before if you wish to reach your clients. You also have to be more creative, while being careful not to alienate clients through backfiring stealth marketing ideas or by totally missing the point because you wanted to have a cool advertisement.

Stop and think before you send another Mass E-mail- "Am I providing something of value, do my clients want it, or am I turning them off?"

I want RESULTS... NOW!!!

I want RESULTS... NOW!!!!

We've all heard it, and we all know that it's an unrealistic expectation. However, todays business owners and even some marketing managers have heard all of these great stories of how "Their friends" marketing campaign netted amazing results in only 3 days yada, yada, yada. Although it happens, its not the norm and should not be sold as so.

The marketing industry as a whole is in a paradox and needs to exercise restraint.

Regardless of how good our plans, strategies, products, or systems are, we can not go about making these unrealistic claims. The claims I speak of are alienating potential clients, and making us all look bad.

It comes down to a very simple point- Be honest, set reasonable expectations, and serve your clients right.

We all want to get people talking, but at what cost?

The Power of Friendly Buzz

How many times in a day do you make a recommendation of one kind or another to a friend?

I can assure you that the number is greater than you think! The relationships that we have with our friends are based on trust and respect and lets face it, it's highly unlikely that you'd recommend a product to a friend that you know nothing about. On the other hand, it is quite likely that your recommendation of a product or service could be made easily based on their inquisition and your knowledge of a solution. We all have a need to fit in, and the ability to provide that answer allows that to happen.

Now as Advertising and Marketing Experts, its our goal to see to it that the messages that we create for our clients facilitates this "Friendly" exchange.

It forces us to ask some questions:

• What do we want people to say
  
• What gets them to say it
• What can we do to ensure that they are saying it right?

Getting people talking is a tough, especially when you consider that you have to give control to the people when trying to get them to talk about you and your product or service. This is where we have to be very articulate and succinct at the same time. Dont give them so much information that the message get jaded, and at the same time, dont give them so little information that they start making blind assumptions.

Are you getting people talking, and are they saying what you want them to say?

In my future blogs, we'll visit these topics more in depth.

Are you creating Skeptics or Evangelists?

Today, as I was driving to my office, I listened to a Radio DJ give a testimonial of a product that he was supposedly using, really nice of him to do huh?

Well, if it didn't sound so contrived, I'd be very happy for the company whose product he was name dropping.

The question I raise is a matter of ethics, is this DJ actually using the product, or was he just reading off of a script as it sounded like he was? It's one thing to say that a product is great and be a great evangelist, but how many people do you know that try something for the first time and are strangely able to recite every benign fact about it? Not many right?

It's this type of marketing, a type of WOM or Word of Mouth that is completely outside of what any moral marketer should consider, besides all it did for me was raise my skepticism of the actual product and question the credibility of the radio station that I listen to every morning.

Are you creating skeptics or evangelists? Always take an outside in approach when creating any message, especially when trying to elicit Word of Mouth.

I want a Buzz Campaign...

So you want a "Buzz" Campaign do you, well get in line.

As marketing specialists and experts, we are getting used to hearing our clients say "I want a Buzz Campaign", "Cant you make a Buzz campaign for us".

Well, lets clear the air here. A campaign designed to be a "Buzz" campaign is just as likely of becoming a "Buzz Campaign" as a campaign that was just very well planned out. See, Buzz is something that a Campaign can become, not just be. Through a strategic planning process, any marketing campaign can be very successful. As of late, it's been the successful campaigns that are being called "Buzz" campaigns when in all reality, they were just done right.

So the next time you ask for a Buzz Campaign, or get asked for a Buzz Campaign- be reminded, that a good campaign is just that. Dont get distracted, just do it right.