Branding Through Social Media

 Let me put it this way -- remember the classic #1 rule in internet marketing? "The money is in the list." Well, this is that rule on steroids because your list can grow exponentially and fast as the speed of sound with social media. "Branding" simply means getting your name/product/service known. In the old days that meant using "outbound marketing." This includes any type of marketing activity that "pushes" the message to consumers. This could be television advertisements, direct mail, cold calling (door-to-door or by phone), banner ads, radio ads, etc. 

Today, with so many media sources competing for our attention, outbound marketing is considered intrusive and largely ignored. In fact, a recent study showed that 86% of people skip television ads and 44% of all direct mail is thrown out without being opened. While the response to outbound marketing is better among older consumers, 84% of 25-to-34-year-olds have left a favorite website due to intrusive or irrelevant ads and 91% of email users have unsubscribed from a company’s email they initially opted in to. (Although email is beginning to be seen as outbound marketing, blogs are considered inbound marketing.) Consumers prefer "inbound marketing" today. This marketing strategy focuses on having consumers find companies/ products/services. With this method, you capture viewers with informative or humorous, or interesting content and then slowly lead them toward your products or services when they have come to "know, like, and trust" you through the value you give them. You would use the media we discuss in this ebook as well as video on YouTube, smartphones, tablets, or blogs, and other media vehicles.

Branding through social media gives you the ability to do many things at once with many people and at a minimal cost. It means

• Offering your products and services

• Obtaining maximum visibility

• Building trust

• Establishing your credibility

• Being perceived as an expert

• Strengthening familiarity

All of this leads to

• Obtaining referrals

• Building new relationships

• Making more sales

• Being able to demand higher prices

Inbound marketing is the future for branding due to all the above reasons, but there is still a place for outbound marketing, especially if it is currently working for you. The key is to measure your results with each type of media you use.

Compare your results to the amount you are spending per type (your return on investment). Consider combining types. For instance, if you are accustomed to taking out a print ad, consider doing twitter messages to point to it. Look at what your competitors are doing. Can you tell me what works for them? Would it work for you? If your brand is good (quality products and services presented well), this process will widen and deepen so that you are offering more and more products/services to more and more people. 

Increasing Your Reach with Facebook

Facebook receives more visits than any other website in the world. It has over one billion users worldwide, a number that's increasing daily and certainly includes customers for you. A Facebook fan page for business will open many connections with bloggers, smartphone users, tweeters, and others, depending on what social media you choose for building your brand and engaging your customers. Four Seasons Resort/Dressed Case Study In April 2013, four seasons resort the Biltmore in Santa Barbara, California, partnered with a local boutique, Dressed, to give Facebook friends a chance to win a two-night stay during its," dressed at four seasons" fashion campaign. The campaign consisted of giving away a two-night stay and a $500 gift card to a local boutique along with offering fashion tips from fashion bloggers. So, the campaign cross-promoted the bloggers, the boutique, and the hotel. As Gena Downey, Director of Public Relations at the Santa Barbara Four Seasons said, the campaign helped them expand their reach on Facebook around the idea of a weekend getaway. They exposed a luxury lifestyle audience who loved fashion to view more of the resort, and they introduced their travel-focused audience to an incredible local designer boutique. It was an excellent partnership. During the campaign, Facebook users had to 'like' the hotel's Facebook page to access the contest. After entering their information, consumers were given a choice to either go to a little book for the local boutique, Dressed, or go to the hotel's website.

To promote the contest further, the hotel partnered with fashion bloggers. The participating blogs were Damsel in Dior, Tobruk Avenue, SnakesNest, Walk in Wonderland, and Could I Have That? These bloggers promoted the contest on their Facebook pages. They gave their own style tips for shopping at Dressed and for staying at the Four Seasons. They were also photographed in Dressed products. According to Gina Downey, they chose to present the campaign on Facebook because it's an extremely visually driven space, and it is the area where they have the most engagement currently and see the most opportunity for growth. In addition, there's lots of room for conversations, which will encourage followers to book future trips to the four seasons or shop for clothing on Dressed's website. 

Facebook has a history of successful contests such as this one with other luxury marketers. For instance, Neiman Marcus held a contest to find a perfect Cusp customer among fashion bloggers.

Toyota's Lexus raised awareness for its highest-end LFA during an end-of-summer sale event/Facebook contest which showed its full range of models and price points.

Marketing through Facebook can be hugely entertaining and far-reaching. Here are some tips:

• Post often and consistently so that you are visible to your viewers, but don't spam them. If you're doing something like a contest, you could post as often as two or three times a day. The minimum you should post in general is a few times a week.

• Pay special attention to your most ardent fans, the ones who follow you and participate. Keep track of what updates these people like and target some of your content directly toward them.

• Encourage fans to start posting on your wall by asking questions of them and started discussions. These questions and discussions can be about your product or service, a related topic, or even a general topic.

• Repost excellent content and even repurpose old content if it is evergreen and extremely valuable.

• Maintain your brand's personality consistently. Even if your product is serious, it's okay to have a lighter tone here to go along with the lighter tone of Facebook.

• Don’t be afraid to ask for ‘likes' and 'shares.' Buddy media found that using words like “post,” “comment,” “take,” “submit,” “like” or “tell us” are the most effective words to use when asking followers to take action. 

• Keep your messages short for mobile media. Studies have shown that 80 characters or less is an effective message size. A study by Buddy Media showed that posts with 80 characters or fewer received 27% higher engagement rates than those with more characters.

• Occasionally ask for testimonials or reviews and then highlight them on your Facebook wall.

• Make your Facebook fan page an extension of your website in terms of branding. This unifies your brand. Branding with Facebook can be fun – fun for you and fun for your users.

Building Your Brand with Twitter Marketing

Twitter has recently exploded, becoming possibly the greatest success on the Internet. Almost everyone has a Twitter account and Twitter is one of the most highly recommended social media sites in existence. If you only have one social media site, it should probably be Twitter. If you've watched any television lately, you know that all kinds of shows from entertainment shows to news shows like CNN have Twitter accounts and encourage watchers to tweak into the show regularly. Even President Obama has a Twitter account with hundreds of thousands of followers. 

Here's what Twitter has to say about itself: 

"Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to the latest stories, ideas, opinions and news about what you find interesting. Simply find the accounts you find most compelling and follow the conversations." At the heart of Twitter are small bursts of information called Tweets. Each Tweet is 140 characters long, but don’t let the small size fool you— you can discover a lot in a little space. You can see photos, videos, and conversations directly in Tweets to get the whole story at a glance, and all in one place. See it in action." Case Study: Twitter Extends Reach in Real-Time In a powerful two-minute YouTube presentation, Ron Medlin shows us twitter’s capabilities. In" Twitter marketing_how to drive traffic to your sites using Twitter" Medlin takes us step by- step through the process he uses to build his twitter base.

First, Medlin goes to his website and copies the website URL, including the name of the post he wants to track, "Creating sales funnels based on attraction marketing." He then goes to a website, HTTP://TR.IM, which shortens his long URL and allows him to track how many people will click on his shortened URL. Next, Medlin includes a small message about attraction marketing along with the shortened URL and sends the message out to Twitter. Tr.im immediately begins tracking clicks on the message.

Ron's goal, of course, is to get as many clicks as possible. If the people who click like what he has to say in his article, they may become followers, customers, or even partners. He directs people to his blog where he offers his product, has many informative posts for them to read, and gives away a free report.

In less than 60 seconds of real-time, Ron’s message got five clicks. This shows you the immense power of Twitter. It's completely free and instantaneous. Amazing. Twitter attracts a more diverse mix of active consumers who want to learn about the newest products and latest trends. A casual atmosphere works on Twitter. Your customers will engage with you often if you set up an informal yet personable relationship with them.

People on Twitter follow influencers and key experts in the niches they are interested in. Find out who the influencers (important people) are in your niche, begin to follow them, and make comments on their blogs. Twitter followers are early adopters and tend to be the first to purchase the newest products, which is why they depend on influencers and key experts. That's also why it's important for you to know who they are and be following them yourself. The bonus when you do this is that it will give you key information for excellent content creation, as well as a chance to get in touch with active consumers in your industry. 

Even though the atmosphere is casual, present yourself as an expert – show that you have some authority and expertise in your niche. People who fill out their bio on Twitter have six times as many followers as those who do not, and those who put links to their blog, company website, or other social networks have six times more followers than those who don't. Twitter etiquette: don't pester people and be casual. When you do pitch, be brief and concise. Twitter followers are lightning-fast with comments and complaints. Your job is to let people know about the positive comments and reviews you get and to

address problems and complaints as quickly as you can. Some stats you might not know: you can generate four times more retweets by just requesting them. The average Twitter user sends out 22 tweets per day. 50% of tweets contain links. If you answer people's questions, they are 59% more likely to follow you. A Few Final Tips

• If you want your content to be re-tweeted, you need to leave enough space in your original tweet so that RT@yourusername can be added. Probably 120 characters or so is good since that leaves 20 characters for re-tweeting.

• Always shorten your links with Bit.ly – this will save you valuable space and it will customize your links to help brand you. Bit.ly also allows you to analyze your click-through rate with things that you share. This is quite useful in helping you determine what appeals to your followers as well. Remember to always check your link before you send anything out.

• Maintain a balance between tweets, replies, and retweets. Of course, you know by now not to overpromote yourself. In fact, promoting other tweeters’ messages is very productive, though you might not think so. Reciprocal action is alive and well.

• Share photos and videos when you can. It keeps things interesting and followers love them. But, on the other hand, don't overdo it – choose things that you really believe have value.

• Remember to aim for quality, not quantity. People love tweeting, but even that can be overdone.

• Don't do text speak. Spelling, punctuation, and grammar all count, even when you only have 140 characters to communicate your point. It's better to say what you want to say with fewer words than to use abbreviations that no one can understand.

• Use hashtags. Tweets that include hashtags receive twice the engagement of other tweets, according to a study by RadiumOne. Twitter is a more powerful tool than most people realize. You can go there to talk about the weather, but you can also find new clients, customers, and even joint venture opportunities. When you treat Twitter followers right, they can be powerful allies.