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Trust as the New Currency in Brand Marketing

Posté par Cynthia Fedor le August 10, 2009 – 3:32 pm

dans Leadership & Innovation, Marketing Strategy

I recently heard about new book, “Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation and Earn Trust,” co-authored by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith. I can’t wait to read it. As I understand it from my quick research, the book explains how brands can use the web – specifically social networks on the web – to engage in honest, reciprocal relationships with potential clients and partners in order to build groups of loyal brand evangelists.

Lisa Barone, chief branding officer of Outspoken Media, offers a great rundown of the different concepts covered in the book. You can read it on her blog.

I think the concepts that Chris and Julien have to offer in their book are universally useful. They are guidelines that not only apply to social media, but have relevancy in other types of marketing as well. Ultimately, people want to have meaningful relationships with the products, services and people they come in contact with. And, if that relationship is nurtured properly, it will lead to trust. Trust leads to social capital which leads to referral which leads to, potentially, growing profits for a company.

By offering relevant content of value and by listening to your audience, you as a brand can begin to build your own network of brand evangelists. Think about how you can do this not only via social media, but through all of your corporate marketing communications, direct marketing, advertising, and personal interactions.

There’s a powerful currency that’s always been stronger than the dollar (or whatever you call it depending on location). It’s called trust and it can take you further that any paper dollar or coin ever could.

Online Retailers Rely on Personalized Direct Mail to Boost Sales

Posté par Cynthia Fedor le July 27, 2009 – 1:59 pm

I read a great article posted on DMNews today that reinforced what many direct marketers have been saying for quite a while. Despite emerging marketing channels and trends – such as social networking sites, mobile marketing and online advertising venues – personalized direct mail containing relevant content is extremely effective in driving traffic online, generating higher conversion rates and increasing shopping cart totals.

In the article, Joslin Warren, director of commerce and development for Shop.NHL.com, noted a direct correlation between the amount and sophistication of personalization on direct mail catalogs and purchase behavior:

[When they] get a catalog and see their team on the cover, it makes them more likely to buy… We find the more that we customize the catalog, the more they are going to purchase.

Also highlighted in the article is the importance of integrating personalized direct mail with other media such as email and web. Using personalized direct mail as part of a companion marketing campaign gives marketers a better chance at reaching target audiences and motivating action on the part of the consumer.

The key point that I gleaned from this article is that the standards for all marketing communication have changed. Now more then ever, personalization of content is critical – whatever medium is used to reach the consumer.

For more statistics, tips and advice on direct mail and how to best use personalization in your direct mail campaigns, visit QuantumDigital’s whitepaper download page. (The whitepapers are free!)

The Direct Marketing Voice Links 7-27-2009

Posté par admin le July 27, 2009 – 10:38 am

dans News & Trends

Mail’s multichannel power

via dmnews.com Despite rising postage and paper costs, direct mail remains an important part of apparel marketers’ multichannel mix. Developments in variable data printing and database marketing enable these marketers to send targeted messages to their best customers that feature high-quality imagery and creative that attracts buyers.

Social Media Won’t Work if You Aren’t Social

via mpdailyfix.com What I’m noticing, and surprisingly this comes from the so-called ‘experts’ as well, is that many people can be decidedly anti-social in the way they use social media. I’ve seen company representatives get snippy and angry if they are challenged even mildly in blog comments.

Publications shift ad focus away from print

via dmnews.com In a sign of the hard times faced by print businesses today, two major newspaper companies, the New York Times Co.-owned Boston Globe Media and Washington Post Co., have launched new business divisions that are decidedly not focused on ink and paper. In fact, both companies have decided to focus on marketing services as a growth area.

Why You Need to Build your Social Capital

via mpdailyfix.com What currently looks like islands of Social activity in various Social Networks will begin to control your life – the jobs you get, the schools you go to. Those that have weak Social Capital will become the equivalent of Social Outcasts – not able to get the killer job at the financial institution or accepted into Harvard because they have very low Social Capital.

Hosting an Online Open House

Posté par Jamie Matusek le May 21, 2009 – 1:15 pm

dans Digital & Social Media, Real Estate Marketing

I came across a real estate web site this week started by a Vancouver Realtor®, Kye Grace. Kye is using new technologies to show his personality and to create a dialog with his existing customer base and potential clients.

I keep hearing about what some are calling, “the new agent.” My opinion, based on what I am seeing on our real estate Twitter account, @RealEstate_QD, and what I am experiencing by getting involved in discussions on ActiveRain, is that the “new agent” isn’t necessarily the early 20’s agent straight out of school, but rather well-established real estate professionals who are now tapping into social media and enhancing their web presence to create lasting relationships with past clients.

They have also recognized that adding some type of social networking is just another part of their marketing mix — targeted direct mail campaigns to highlight a Just Listed or celebrate a Just Sold success in their local market, email as a follow-up to interested prospects and a consistent way to send information to their past customer base, and now social networks and their web site as a connection tool that they can use as a relationship building mechanism.

I think the down economy has forced us back to basics, meaning we have to focus on relationship building; creating a dialog and truly connecting on a personal level. The difference? Back in the day, we had a phone and a car and our own two feet to connect personally. Now we have mobile devices, social media, email, direct mail, video, instant Twitter updates, etc., etc.

Kye was recently featured for hosting an online open house. Now this is taking creativity and marketing to an entirely new level. He has a web site, a web cam, phone and a cell phone. But don’t take my word for it. Check out his video and see the success for yourself: Kye Grace’s 72-hour open house.

So, here’s an idea: Schedule an open house and plan to host it online via a web cam. Advertise your event with a direct mail piece targeted to prospects that would be most interested in the property, along with an email reminder and a posting out to your social network. Give it a try and share how it worked for you. Who knows… maybe you’ll be the next big story on the news!

Social Media Tips for Real Estate

Posté par Jamie Matusek le May 7, 2009 – 4:15 pm

dans Digital & Social Media, Real Estate Marketing

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Oh my! We are all looking at ways to use these tools for business — successfully that is. But don’t panic, as the initial “buzz” is starting to calm, I, along with other top marketers in many industries, am seeing that social networks are just another marketing avenue to add to your current marketing mix. If you have outlined your marketing strategy for this year, don’t deviate just because new waves of communication methods are emerging. Instead, review which social networks make the most sense for your current marketing plan and for your company.

So, time to get down to some nuts and bolts. I wrote a post in April called, “3 Tips on Using Social Networks in Real Estate.” At the time, I couldn’t find many resources to pull from, other than feedback we had collected from our real estate clients and other business owners. There were but a few articles. However, companies are now being formed to serve specific niches, like real estate for example. And I’ll tell ya, there are some great tips out there on how to get started and even more information for those of you who may consider yourselves closer to the “expert” level. This collection of resources is housed at AgentGenius.com. (Visit the site, bookmark it and refer to it often. It is a great resource!)

The first article I came across provides some very basic information on getting started on the major platforms, “How Your Business Can Benefit from Social Media Right Now.” The reason I loved this article so much is it gives an explanation of the social network, a tip on how to use it and a tip on how NOT to use it. Genius. An example:

How to use Facebook: Use it to establish yourself as an expert in your community and build relationships with people you already know and also with potential clients. If you are looking for great ways to use Facebook for business, you can find some here, and some real estate-specific possibilities here and here.

How NOT to use Facebook: Remember that if you are going to use one Facebook profile for both business and personal use, anything that you put in your profile should be appropriate. You may have had a great time at that party the other night, but do you want your real estate clients and prospects viewing that photo of you with a lampshade on your head?

In my hunt for compelling information, I also came across an article announcing the launch of the Social Media Marketing Institute. The founders, Jeff Turner and Bill Lublin, both have extensive experience in the Real Estate industry (Lublin being the CEO of a Century 21 affiliate in Philadelphia and Turner better known as the founder and president of the virtual tour company Real Estate Shows) and offer a new designation for real estate professionals upon completion of their social media marketing course, Certified Social Media Marketer (CSM).

Here is another quick tip. There isn’t much use establishing a great blog, website or social page if you aren’t getting the “eyes” to it. I am sure you’ve all heard of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This is a core component of marketing plans that help direct prospects to your web site “organically” or through a natural Google search. You don’t pay for SEO, but there are companies that you can pay to help you understand how to better optimize your website. These experts can also help you determine how to gain organic search results to your blog and your Facebook pages (or other social platforms.)

For example, QuantumDigital uses an online publishing platform called WordPress for our blog and I just learned yesterday that there are ways to optimize WordPress pages to help increase your natural or organic search. Leverage Marketing shared this helpful little tip.

If you want more great tips, here are a few straight from Matt Cutts, the head of Google’s anti-webspam team: “SEO Tips from Google to You.”

Whomever you decide to use to help assist you with social networks, SEO or structuring your marketing plan to include pay-per-click advertising, be sure to choose a company that gives you the full picture — Initial strategy, reviewing your goals, outlining a plan to match your goals and budget, and a company that will give you full reporting on the analytics to your campaigns so you can tweak your plan for success.

Next on the agenda? Using targeted direct mail to drive prospects to your website and social pages.