Digital revolution brings us back to basics
May 30th
By Gregory Pouy, {grow} Community Member
A lot has been said about the digital transformation and in fact, newspapers, magazines and blogs are writing about this revolution every single day.
I don’t think it is revolutionary in at least one sense. I think it is helping us connect with customers in a deeper way and re-discover our marketing basics. I think a lot of people are making this more complicated than it has to be (maybe to get you to pay them for their help!) but I am a blogger who likes to put things in a simple way.
Let’s look at the basic truths we have re-discovered with our digital marketing:
1. Brand value
We are living in a world where people have lost many of their real connections to each other!
We are not going to church as much as we used to, we are not concerned with family as much as we were before, and we are living in huge cities that make us all anonymous.
But the truth is that people do want to be part of something … and in part, they are seeking this in brands.
Harley Davidson is a great example of such a brand as they are working hard to always be true to themselves and connect deeply with their customers.
The problem is that most brands can’t really tell what their true personal values are (please don’t check in the brand book that an agency wrote for you).
2. Sense of Purpose (What are you trying to achieve?)
Sense of purpose is something that needs to be behind every single thing you do.
The definition that you can find on the Internet is “the quality of having intent, resolve, or ambition which results in great value or significance.”
In order not to lose customers, it is crucially important to remain connected with who you are.
3. The utility of the brand
This is a tricky one, because if you say “my utility is to produce _____ (fill in the blank),” you might be very wrong.
In 2013, people don’t expect you to tell them that you know how to build a product … they assume that already.
Your brand mission should be way beyond that.
Think about this “Kodak example”– the brand utility was defined in the 19th Century: “make the photo accessible to a maximum number of people.”
So what happened when Kodak (having 90% of worldwide marketshare) invented the digital camera in 1975?
Well the answer at that time was: We are serious photographers, we have nothing to do with the digital camera … that’s not us….” How can you be more wrong?
4. Eliminate friction
So what is the true nature of “digital?”
If your answer is, “it’s a great tool to communicate,” I will send you back to 2004. Same with “being social” (anyways, how can communication not be social anyway?).
If you tell me “we are on our way to develop an amazing mobile app,” I will tell you “do you know that 80% of brand apps are downloaded less than 1,000 times?”
In 2013, digital is more than anything a great tool to erase consumer friction. A consumer friction is a tension, and that is not always easy to find.
You should think about digital as a consumer tool that you can use. Uber is deleting the friction of searching for a taxi; Nest, the friction of adjusting your Thermostat; Spotify puts all music in your hands
That’s what digital is really about!
Establish value. Connect with a sense of purpose. Provide utility. Eliminate friction. See, it’s not too hard, is it?
What are are your thoughts on getting back to basics?
Note: Gregory has graciously provided to {grow} readers a slide show illustrating his ideas about digital marketing:
Gregory Pouy is based in Paris and one of France’s leading marketing bloggers. You can learn more about his work on Slideshare and by following him on Twitter @gregfromparis . He founded @LaMercatique, helping brands to better understand and integrate digital in their marketing strategy
Illustration courtesy Flickr Creative Commons via wvrobyn
Five ideas to re-build your personal brand after a move
May 29th
By Barbara Fowler, {grow} Community Member
Moving is never easy, especially when it affects your personal brand and business. I just moved nearly a thousand miles from New Jersey to Charleston and wanted to share how I used social media and Internet connections before and after the move to get my personal brand off to a fast, productive start!
1) Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest
- Send a note to all of your Linkedin contacts, telling them about your move. Request help in getting new contacts in the new location. An interesting observation — Some people who you are close to don’t respond at all while others who you can’t entirely remember give you great contacts. Don’t judge anyone, just appreciate those who reached out and remember this in the future if you are asked. Pay it forward.
- Join local Linkedin Groups. For example, in this area, there are several local LinkedIn groups like Charleston, South Carolina Professionals and The LowCountry Business Network. Reach out to them to ask for advice and recommendations. Find related groups on Twitter.
- Do a search of your target market in the local area. My target is CMOs of mid-sized companies so you can use Linkedin search to find them. You can’t find everyone on Linkedin unless you have connections in common but if they are in one of your Linkedin groups, you can reach out and ask to connect. Again, ask for advice and recommendations, don’t ask for business. Do the same on Twitter.
- Look for Alumni from your University. I happen to have gone to a couple of universities: Wittenberg, Wake Forest and NYU and I looked up local graduates and reached out. Many responded and were willing to meet.
2. Business Organizations
- Look at the organizations you are currently in. Determine if they have a chapter in the new location. If so, reach out. If not, see if one is needed and think about starting it. I belonged to several groups in New Jersey: ACG( Association for Corporate Growth), MENG,(Marketing Executives Networking Group), and Vistage ( An organization designed to help CEOs of mid-size companies grow their businesses). The local Vistage chairperson has asked me to join his group and has given me a lot of valuable counsel.
3. Community Organizations
- What organizations are you involved with now? If you are active with a charity or university, reach out to your contacts there, ask them to send a letter to chapter contacts in the new location. Draft the letter yourself to make it convenient for them to send and to highlight what you want them to share. Look at the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary. Lions Club and groups like that.
- Do members of your target market belong to these groups? If so, join and become active. If not, look for other groups where your target market is active. These could be church groups, volunteer groups, neighborhood groups. Do not join the group unless you are interested. No one wants to meet someone who has only joined a group like this to get business. But when you have interests in common, you can make good friends and connections over time.
4. Events and Publications
- Subscribe to the local business journal and local newspapers. Check their websites for events and activities. Often, people make the mistake of going to events for people just like them and hoping for business. Go to different events targeted for your potential clients. I went to Knoxville and attended Social Slam and met Rosemary O’Neill, who sat down with me, shared her experiences and asked me to write a blog post on the topic. Charleston has a harbor and so had a world trade event recently. There was a technology event last weekend. Go, check out the booths, see if you can volunteer, be there, meet people.
- When you read the periodicals, check for people you want to meet. Keep a list of them and ask others you meet if they can introduce you. For example, if one of your target markets is professional service companies and you are meeting a lawyer, have a list of several accountants, lawyers and other professionals. When you meet your lawyer, share the list, tell him or her you are planning to contact them and ask who they might be able to introduce you to-then ask for people similar who aren’t on your list yet.
5. People You Meet During Move
- You meet a lot of people when you move, including mortgage brokers, real estate agents, real estate repair people, home inspectors etc. Make sure everyone knows what business you are in and ask for their help. My real estate agent helped. My mortgage broker added his support. The man renovating our house gave his advice.
Has it all been successful? I have been here two months and am making rapid progress. This is a work in progress. I am meeting people and working hard. However, with this move, I was effectively able to use Social Media and the Internet. It makes a big difference!
Barbara Fowler is a CMO and Partner with Chief Outsiders in the Charleston, S.C. area. Follow Barbara on Twitter at @barbfow50 or on Linkedin
Is it time to choose a social media specialty?
May 28th
Click here if you cannot view my interview with Facebook Analytics guru Jon Loomer
Is it time for you to specialize?
This is probably a relevant topic for anyone who is struggling with the enormous time suck that is social media. And trying to cover everything is becoming increasingly difficult. Not only are the platforms changing continuously, the rules of engagement are changing too!
You can’t become known for “everything.”
I got a chance to catch up with a bright young marketing star — Jon Loomer — who has taken the leap and narrowly focused his marketing consultancy on Facebook. Have you been thinking about specializing and narrowing your focus? If so, this video is for you.
In my discusssion with Jon, he talks about …
- Finding your passion
- The risk of a topic getting boring.
- Do you pick your topic of specialization, or does your topic pick you?
Plus, Jon give us one mega bonus tip on how to be effective on Facebook. Enjoy, and visit Jon at www.jonloomer.com
10 Maxims of Successful Blogging
May 26th
I enjoy coaching people with their blogging efforts and there are 10 pieces of advice I seem to dispense the most often. So I thought you might be interested in these ideas. Whether you are blogging for your business or for the pure joy of it, I think these ideas will help you:
1. We live in an increasingly information-dense world. The only way to stand out is to dig down deep and bring your own story to the world. Your point of differentiation is you. You have no competitors. Write a blog post that only you could write.
2. The biggest challenge to blogging isn’t having the time, the ideas, or the resources to do it. It’s having the courage to do it. It takes guts to put yourself out there in front of the world. You can’t learn that. You just have to do it.
3. Stick to a theme. You don’t want to confuse your readers. It’s possible to use your other interests to tell your story but pick to a theme and build an audience around it.
4. There is no greater gift than when somebody takes their precious time to leave a comment on your blog. Never take that for granted. Love on your readers.
5. Be positive. Lift people up. Negative blog posts are like seeing a car wreck. You might peek out of curiosity once in awhile but you certainly don’t want to see that every day.
6. Even the most talented and popular people in the world get criticized. If you attract criticism, you’re provoking thought … you’re doing your job. Stay centered. Overall, the people in the blogosphere are very kind and supportive. If you do good work, you will be rewarded.
7. If you consistently create content that is RITE — Relevant, Interesting, Timely and Entertaining — you will be creating shareable, conversational blog posts. Of these, I believe the most important over time is “interesting.” Boring is death to a blog.
8. The most important part of the blog post is the headline. As people scan headlines, it better be a great one that gets attention or nobody will even make it to your first sentence. The second most important part is the first sentence. Don’t waste people’s time. Tell them why they are there with you today.
9. The most effective way to build community is to become part of other communities. You have to give to get. Find a few other like-minded bloggers who are just starting out and support each other through sharing and comments. You have to actively work to build community, just as you work actively to build content. Spend some time building your network.
10. The hardest part of blogging is beginning. Think about any difficult work task you have faced. It may have seemed daunting at first but over time you built a competency and it becomes easier. Blogging is no different. You just have to start and commit to it and it will become easier (and more fun) over time!
Is that helpful? What would you add to this list?
This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. I’ve been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.
Welcome to {grow}
You’re in marketing for one reason: Grow.
Grow your company, reputation, customers, impact, profits. Grow yourself. This is a community that will help. It will stretch your mind, connect you to fascinating people, and provide some fun along the way. I am so glad you’re here.
-Mark SchaeferFollow Mark
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