As we near the end of 2014, I worked with my colleagues at Friend2Friend to take a look at what social media marketing trends brands need to be on the lookout for in the coming year. Check out the list at this ClickZ article: Top 5 Social Media Marketing Trends for Brands to Watch in 2015.
Category Archives: Marketing best practices
The best social strategy requires alignment with the customer journey
Once a brand has determined that social is an appropriate part of their marketing strategy, the next question is what exactly should that strategy be?
Without thought, brand can open up multiple social accounts and start posting. But what? And why?
Here are a few thoughts that may help start to frame the answer to that question.
Continue reading The best social strategy requires alignment with the customer journey
Airbnb’s growth hacking story
Growthackers.com presents some insight into Airbnb’s growth hacking experiences that I didn’t know before. Interesting article that can be read here.
Airbnb, like many successful ‘out of nowhere’ startups began its life by solving a problem that the founders had themselves in 2007 — they wanted to rent out their own San Francisco apartment. They soon found out that they were not just solving their own problem, they were solving a problem that people all over the world had too — a solution that is now worth $10B.
Here are the things that stood out for me about what Airbnb did:
Where is your startup in the Brand Relationship Arc?
Few brands make it all the way up to the ‘forgive’ and ‘defend’ area, but all of them start at the bottom.
The biggest challenge I see startups take on is figuring out what they should be ‘known’ for. It’s a common mistake to try to be many things to many people. Be known for something great and focus on that. It’s too easy to get distracted by the competition, sometimes even when really that competition is adjacent, and actually could even become complementary through partnerships.
To be successful, brands need to focus on being relevant to their chosen audience, on delivering contextual events and content that is meaningful and enriching, and being useful, entertaining and/or educational.
How Weird Al is “literally” everywhere…
Time was, that Weird Al was a thing I recalled from Madonna’s virginal days (yes, that long ago). But more recently he seems to be wherever I look. How and when did that happen?
Today I read an interesting piece in The Atlantic — “The Surprisingly Savvy Weird Al Internet Machine” — which offered some some answers. How Weird Al is managing to rise above the incredibly noisy world of video-tainment.
Here are some of the ways:
Re-discovering your social compass — old rules for the new digital world
“Social Media is lost without a social compass.” So says Brian Solis in a thoughtful, and thought-provoking article written as a foreword to the new book “The Ethical Practice of Social Media in Public Relations,” by Marcia W DiStaso and Denise Sevick Bortree.
Here’s the thing.
Just as you would advise any newcomer to the social (digital) world — from teenager to grandparent — not to say anything you wouldn’t say face-to-face, brands need to follow the same guidelines.
Don’t say anything you wouldn’t say to a consumer face-to-face.
Continue reading Re-discovering your social compass — old rules for the new digital world
How to get on with creating great content…
Thoughtful article from Siege Media about how to create great content in-house. For someone who does a lot of writing while doing 1,000 other things, his focus steps need to be followed:
- Turn off your cell phone
- Log out of social media
- Finish what you start (don’t let half finished drafts linger)
- Close your email
- Close your door
- Schedule a writing block
- Be true to your writing style
- Don’t covet what others are doing (focus on your writing rather than friends at the bar)
- Be accountable for your writing time (do what you say you’re going to do)
- Quantify your writing goals
Excellent. Yes. There are way too many things distracting us… I learned focus and discipline early in life. There simply weren’t the distractions of cell phones and social media then. Just a pencil and paper! Fortunately I can fall back on those focus skills whenever I want.
Can the new generation of digital natives? I hope so. Meantime, close the door, turn off email, turn off iMessage, turn off Skype, put your phone on DND or better still turn it OFF, and get on with it.
Skillshare: Art of the Start: Turning Ideas into High-Growth Businesses
Excellent advice from an expert team. Check out this series of lessons by Guy Kawasaki and Bill Reichert on Skillshare.
An Online Skillshare Class by Guy Kawasaki
Social Organic Reach Is Trending to Zero: How to Meet the Challenge
Social Organic Reach Is Trending to Zero: How to Meet the Challenge
Social networks are maturing and evolving by answering the need to monetize the value they are creating. Brands need to mature and evolve, too. Article just written and published for ClickZ this month.
70 Percent of digital users cross from device to device. Can your online biz handle it?
I just bought a new iPad. I can’t believe I’m saying that because when I bought my first iPad I thought it was the most expensive, frivolous toy I’d ever purchased. Then it became my new best friend. I became so attached that when my son began borrowing it regularly to use iMovie and watch […]
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