3 steps to integrating ratings and reviews into social media marketing
(via MarketingProfs )
Decisions to de-activate Facebook accounts aren’t necessarily permanent. Over half of people who do so return to Facebook. People who permanently delete accounts, on the other hand, generally don’t look back.
“We had people who were direct mail specialists but now are specialists in how best to use Twitter. It’s the evolution of marketing.”
- Ed Abrams, VP marketing for midmarket, IBM
To succeed in social business, organizations need to talk to customers as though they are sitting directly across from them and scale these conversations to reach a broader audience than ever before. To set up social programs for this purpose, focus on 3 steps:
Connect with individuals. Start thinking about what your consumer is doing on social channels – why they are there – and develop programs to those folks based on what they want from that channel
Scale personal interactions. Do not rush in scaling social marketing to gain new customers. Create open, engaging dialogue with a few and you will open your doors to others who take note of not only what you say, but how you say it. (Which is why lurkers are as valuable as the vocal minority.)
Build your social business based on individual conversations and gradual scaling, Over time, you will make decisions to adapt to your audience, drive new programs, or add resources to make this model work.
Via Todd Wilms in Forbes BrandVoice
“Product testing is moving out of the lab and into the home.”
Study of Consumer Electronics Purchase Decisions in the Engagement Era by Weber Shandwick. A survey of US consumer electronics buyers finds people are paying more attention to reviews by peers than those by professional journalists.
To help address skepticism about authenticity, companies should adopt, and publicly announce, a policy restricting employees from commenting or contributing to customer reviews. Infographic
— Problem customers reveal their true colors as they continue to rant and rave. The more you stick to the high road the better: the complainer’s problems are likely to end up appearing insignificant. When social media managers calmly listen and help, inveterate complainers, not the brand, become the problem.
— Check out sites such as Reddit to see trolls in action (transgressive, anonymous, anything goes) and understand how they work. Don’t “feed the trolls” on your own site, but provide opportunities for people to sound off in a way that you can control.
![Whither the corporate brand site? 48% of shoppers trust corporate brand sites, more than double the score for mainstream news. That is one reason why marketers shouldn’t be too quick to move content from a trusted web site to social media. Amanda Mahan, Clorox’s creative director for digital and content, describes her experience:
With Hidden Valley Ranch, recipes are the most popular content on our website. So, naturally, we thought we’d just put them on Facebook. It turns out they are the worst performing piece of content that we do there.”
Turns out, it’s a question of context. “It’s a different mindset when [our fans] are on Facebook,” Mahan said. “When they come to social channels, they want to have fun and share. When they come to our website, they’re looking to solve a problem.”
Via eMarketer](http://25.media.tumblr.com/f38fa8481d42d551af0be4c669f26772/tumblr_mg9vmrEV9S1qb4yizo1_400.gif)
Whither the corporate brand site? 48% of shoppers trust corporate brand sites, more than double the score for mainstream news. That is one reason why marketers shouldn’t be too quick to move content from a trusted web site to social media. Amanda Mahan, Clorox’s creative director for digital and content, describes her experience:
With Hidden Valley Ranch, recipes are the most popular content on our website. So, naturally, we thought we’d just put them on Facebook. It turns out they are the worst performing piece of content that we do there.”
Turns out, it’s a question of context. “It’s a different mindset when [our fans] are on Facebook,” Mahan said. “When they come to social channels, they want to have fun and share. When they come to our website, they’re looking to solve a problem.”
Understand: Explicitly associate your brand with fundamental human values. A study of 50,000 brands found those that grew the most explicitly linked to values such as joy, connection with other people, exploration, pride, and societal improvement. Starbucks for example linked perceptions of the chain with ideals of universalism and benevolence by encouraging customers to take action on their values.
Listen: Gain insight to go beyond what people say to better understand their emotional experience with your brand. 3M Company collects thousands of reviews and comments from more than a dozen retail sites, mobile apps and Facebook postings. It uses that data to improve marketing campaigns. One product was selling below expectations until 3M changed its product copy, quoting the language consumers used online.
Engage: Enlist the entire company—not just marketing and advertising—to take part in brand advocacy.With customers demanding authenticity, companies must “walk the talk” by creating cultures where brand values are expressed every day. Embassy Suites Hotels created a multi-pronged initiative to influence employee behavior. For example, new team members receive a booklet introducing them to goals and expectations for a distinctive brand experience.
Join us for a FREE live virtual panel discussion to learn about the obstacles facing chief marketing officers, including control over marketing mix and access to customer data, and how to overcome the obstacles to gain greatest marketing influence and control.
Sign up now and get a free PDF download of the research briefing “The Gap Between the Vision for Marketing and the Reality.”
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
12:30 - 1:30 p.m. EST
Peter J. Korsten
IBM Institute for Business Value
Bobby J. Calder
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Martha Mangelsdorf
MIT Sloan Management Review
Edward C. Malthouse
Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern
Join us for a FREE live virtual panel discussion to learn about the obstacles facing chief marketing officers, including control over marketing mix and access to customer data, and how to overcome the obstacles to gain greatest marketing influence and control.
Sign up now and get a free PDF download of the research briefing “The Gap Between the Vision for Marketing and the Reality.”
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
12:30 - 1:30 p.m. ESTPANELISTS
Peter J. Korsten
IBM Institute for Business ValueBobby J. Calder
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern UniversityMartha Mangelsdorf
MIT Sloan Management ReviewEdward C. Malthouse
Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern
