Is Social Media REALLY the answer??

So I was having a flick through B and T (a media and advertising magazine in Australia) the other day and I came accross an article that may wake up some marketers planning on investing a vast proportion of their budget in social media.

According to this article 29% of people surveyed said that social media was one of their least trusted marketing channels. Now, yes this means that 71% of the people surveyed do not think this but if we make this 29% of the population of Australia that is 6.38 million people who don't trust social media.

So let's not forget all the knowledge of marketing we have learnt over the years just to jump into the social media buzz. We need to understand what we are trying to communicate and to who.

Yes, I understand the irony that I am saying this on a blog but in some cases Social Media (and the internet in general) is not the answer.

I sat in a lecture a few months ago and heard something that has stuck with me and should stick with every marketer. The dirty little secret of advertising; the old stuff works. When you want to build awareness of a product or brand you need to target the masses. The internet is highly fragmented allowing you to target very specific groups of people (but not millions at a time) TV and print (much to the disgust of an eMarketer) does.

So, the point I am trying to make is that proceed with caution when upping your expenditure on digital marketing or you may be losing 6.38 million customers.

What do you guys think? What cases is having an entire marketing budget in digital ventures the best option?

Here is a copy of the article and the link:

Consumers wary of brands on social media

• By Jessica Kennedy on  5 December 2011
• 0 comments

Marketers may be guilty of using a ‘one size fits all’ approach in social media as 29% of consumers ranked the medium as one of their least trusted marketing channels, a report by Experian Marketing Services found.

The ‘Future of multichannel marketing: marketer and consumer perspectives’ report found that social media, SMS and LinkedIn were the least trusted direct communication channels used by brands. Only 4% said they trusted the channels the most.

With 89% of marketers using customer segmentation and 58% planning to invest heavily in social media over the next 12 months, Matt Glasner, general manager Experian Marketing Services said: “The big opportunity over the coming year is to apply the clever consumer segmentation that is already being used, to create tailored social media campaigns which talk to the needs of their customers.”

“This is an important conversation for marketers to get right over the next 12 months which, in turn, will generate greater cut through and start to establish the channel as a truly valued and trusted information source.”

The report found 59% of consumers had stopped engaging with four or more brands as a result of poorly targeted communications while 8% no longer connect with 20 or more brands.

A further 27% of Australians said they have created separate email addresses to receive untargeted brand messaging in a bid to ensure other email accounts do not become inundated.

A majority of consumers (70%) said giveaways and incentives were one of their top three favourite ways to engage with brands. Direct mail followed as 60% ranked the method in their top three while 46% liked communication via email and 42% favour online and offline communication.
Both marketers (91%) and consumers (85%) view company websites as the most valuable source of brand and product information. But 70% of consumers value print media more highly than social media while 28% of marketers see print as one of the least important sources of brand information.

In addition to increasing social media spend 52% of marketers plan to increase investment in email marketing, 47% in online advertising, 41% in apps and another 41% plan to raise events spend.

Despite an increased digital focus marketers said they planned to increase investment in traditional channels with 36% planning to boost print advertising, 28% to increase TV and radio while 52% said they would keep the same budget.

The report surveyed 330 marketers and 1,000 consumers across Australia.

http://www.bandt.com.au/news/consumers-wary-of-brands-on-social-media

Small Businesses Take Note!

Now I have to tell you about how a business is using social media and the web in general to generate sales and really connect with customers. Its name is Jewelchic and is run by Megan Castran here in Melbourne.

Megan uses Facebook, Blogger, YouTube, Twitter, Google+ and many other social media sites I haven't even heard of before! The posts are constant and full of different and interesting content about not only the business but also Megan's life in general.

The best part of this whole eMarketing story is that there are so many marketing lessons within it (well I've thought of 3, can you guys think of more?).

1) Put a face to the small business
Virgin did it 30 years ago with Richard Branson, Steve Jobs did it with Apple and now Megan Castran is doing it with Jewelchic.
Having a face to a business allows customers to really connect to the business, it now has a human personality to it. People are no longer buying Virgin flights, Apple computers or Jewelry they are buying into the owner's lifestyle, a piece of Megan per se.

2) Keep the communication constant
Megan uses her social media platform daily. She finds friends all over the world and is always generating content and conversation. This further creates a relationship between the business and consumers. Think about it this way, if you only try to talk to customers in a quarterly newsletter do you think they will really listen?

3) Use different social media platforms
As much as people would hate to admit it, the sparkle of Facebook will not last forever. In my mind it will be come MySpace at some point in time. Facebook cannot be the only way you communicate digitally. You wouldn't put all of your marketing budget into advertising or PR so why put all of your digital eggs in one basket? As I said above Megan has profile, pages and feeds on just about every social media company you can think of! So when the next one takes off, she already has a presence.

So, after talking about it, it's probably time I show you the social media queen in action but before I let you explore what do you guys think? Should I find an eMarketing miss for my next entry?

YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/user/jewelchic?feature=chclk (Dare you to find my very small cameo in one of her videos!)



Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jewelchic/101745805212?ref=mf

Website -  http://www.jewelchic.com

Jewelchic Fitness Challenge - http://www.facebook.com/pages/JEWELCHICS-FITNESS-CHALLENG...

Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/jewelchic

Blog - http://jewelchic.blogspot.com

Google+ - https://plus.google.com/114551885173821788687#114551885173821788687/posts

You(Tube) and Home Depot

New day new post!

So last time was a bit of an eMarketing miss so I thought that I would talk about an eMarketing hit for my last assessed blog post (ending on a high note). So her is go... most people would know (from movies at least) about the American hardware chain Home Depot....

What people may not know about is the way Home Depot is using social media to connect to its consumers. The most successful of this social media campaign is its YouTube videos. These videos show how people can make improvements to their house without the help of tradesmen. This encourages conumers to do their own repair work and where would they buy all the tools for their new little project? Home Depot of course!

After watching some of them even I wanted to go to Home Depot online and get a new toilet shipped over to Australia so that I could replace it myself but of course knowing me that would end up in flooding the whole suburb let alone the house.

Here is an example of what I'm talking about;



Pretty cool huh?

And the best part is that they use real Home Depot employees in the videos which allows further engagement with consumers. If they see someone from their local Home Depot store on the video it is likely that the positive connections between organisation and brand will be reinforced stopping consumers from switching brands.

So what do you think? Is Home Depot doing it all right? Or should they improve something?

Telstra Tweet Fail

Well, I thought after learning a bit about he SPAM act I would talk a little about how companies are starting to not only break it but hide behind it.

Some of you would know how Aussie Telco Telstra copped a bit of flack after the responses on their Twitter account were quite impersonal. But it's what they did next that was a little silly.

Telstra released a statement saying that their Twitter responses were impersonal because otherwise they would violate the SPAM act. Guys, your customers have told you that they aren't happy, don't frustrate them by hiding behind legislation.

The customer relationship in the digital world can be a little different and can be a fine line between being personalised and SPAM.

Now I don't know the exact ins and outs of he SPAM act but I can safely say that having an impersonal tweet would not be violating it. This is what many Telstra customers thought too. The backlash was so big that Telstra finally saw the error of their ways. (Smart move).

Make this a lesson to all businesses even attmpting to communicate with their customers in the digital domain, MAKE IT PERSONAL! Make it seem like you're having a face to face conversation with the customer. If there is a face to the business that is communicating to them directly, a customer will have a greater sense of attachment and as we all know attachment = loyalty. Seems pretty logical to me.

What do you guys think? Personal or impersonal?

Mod(cloth) eMarketing

This week I thought I would talk about a company that has used eMarketing for a while now.

Modcloth is an internet based vintage clothing inspired retailer who ships clothing all over the world from its base in the US. I heard about this website through the most old fashioned of marketing techniques, word of mouth. However, over the past 4 years or so I have watched it evolve. Initially, Modcloth advertised on websites that the target market frequented (such as perez hilton) slowly however it has started to really adopt all forms of eMarketing including search engine optimisation, blogs, internet advertising and social media usage (including a facebbok page with over 300 000 likes)

Not bad for a business that's only been around since 2002.

The best part of this business is it's digital connection with customers through the be the buyer program. This is where potential products are listed on the website and if enough people vote for them they become available. I haven't heard of a business doing something quite like this. Other examples guys?????

Also, the owner Susan is sharing every detail of her life with her customers through blogs (how Richard Bransonesque) down to her pet. This shows the ways that the digital world can really allow that customer connection.

This connection even goes down to a YouTube channel with style tips;


Little suggestion though; maybe show current customers about the channel through the website (I didn't even know it existed until I was halfway through writing the blog and decided a video would be nice).

What do you guys think? Good use of eMarketing or have businesses done better? Is it closer to a miss rather than a hit? Maybe I'm a little biased....

An eMarketing GASP in horror

So my stats have said I have readers in the USA, Russia and Germany! Thanks for the support guys.

You probably won't know many of the references I will make in the post because i'm referring to a PR scandal in Australia but I'll do my best.

So, there is a chain of stores in Melbourne called GASP and many female readers will know the store (you either love it or hate it). This store has in the past week become known for its poor customer service as seen through an email exchange that wen't viral (I've left a copy of it down the bottom for you).

Not only is this a lesson for any business that the internet is not always a friend but it is also an example of a marketing fail!

Any 12 year old could tell you that the saying 'any publicity is good publicity' is not true. And yet there are clearly marketers out there who haven't realised this. A quick scan of the GASP official Facebook shows that GASP management has decided to promote the scandal thinking that it will boost sales and brand awareness.

(I'm sure brand awareness has been promoted but it's not POSITIVE brand awareness)

 I wasn't a GASP fan before and their bad customer service isn't the part that would make me never enter their store again, rather, it is the stupidity of their marketing department. I cannot make this anymore clear; GASP Marketers: Are you insane?!!

A simple apology on the part of the orgaisation and saying you will have a talk to the saff member in question would have made a little problem become a positive story. Even after the story went viral, showing the public that you are taking the situation seriously and at least trying to fix it would have been acceptable.

The fact that they have encouraged its promotion not only shows a lack of understanding of the power of the customer but also shows that GASP management is dellusional to think that such a scandal will have a positive effect.
What do you guys think? What would you have done?

And as promised the emails.....

EMAIL FROM THE CUSTOMER;

From: Keara O’Neil
Sent: Monday, 26 September 2011 3:14 PM
To: matt@gaspjeans.com.au
Subject: customer complaint-Chapel St store

Hi Chad,
I had the privilege of shopping at your brand new Chapel St store on Saturday 24^th September with my three bridesmaids in tow.  On the hunt for bridesmaids dresses and a hens dress for myself we walked into the store and were automatically pounced on by a male staff member, I understand that this is protocol for many retail outlets and ours is no different. The staff member was initially funny and extremely helpful with sizes etc.  I chose a bright pink dress to try on but was unable to do the zip up so asked for the size up, when I eventually got the correct size and came out of the change room I was unable to discuss the likes or dislikes of the dress with my bridesmaids as the sales assistant kept saying “you should just get it”, when I told him I would think about it, he pulled me aside and whispered “Is it the price your worried about”. By now I was extremely frustrated, and again told him I’d think about it, I walked back into the change room and closed the door behind me, only to have it pushed open with the sales assistant half standing in my change room, again whispering “I think you should just get it”, when I gave him attitude and said rudely, “I already told you I would think about it”, he then replied, “With your figure I really think you should buy it”.  I’m not sure exactly what he meant by that, but considering the attitude used to deliver such a statement I can only imagine that it was an immature dig in relation to my healthy size 12 frame.  I got changed in a hurry and walked right out of the change rooms and out of the store, I could hear the sales assistant yelling out to me, but I just ignored him and continued to leave, assuming my bridesmaids would follow.  After waiting down the road for my bridesmaids to come out of the store I was told by one of them that the sales assistant yelled out “Have fun finding something at Supre”, when one of them approached him in regards to his comments, he replied “I knew you girls were a joke the minute you walked in”.  When my bridesmaids walked out of the store another two customers walked out with them, they too could not believe the immaturity of the sales assistant.
I have worked in retail for 12 years and have come across an array of customer complaints over the years, none of which come even close to what I encountered on Saturday at your store, I wish I was exaggerating but unfortunately for your company this person actually exists and is working in one of your stores.  I am pretty laid back and was quite happy just leaving your store, it was my bridesmaids who felt the need to say something to him………I dread to think how many customers he has not only offended but how many customers have left your store due to the pressure placed on getting the sale, and then to be harassed when that sale hasn’t taken place.
Ring me, don’t ring, not fussed………I’m just one retailer notifying another of an extremely inappropriate sales assistant.
Keara O’Neill

RESPONSE EMAIL FROM GASP;

From: GASP Online Enquiries [mailto:enquiries@gaspjeans.com.au]
Sent: Wednesday, 28 September 2011 11:58 AM
To: Keara O’Neil
Subject: customer complaint-Chapel St store
Importance: High

Dear Keara O’Neil,
Having now had the privilege of having both version of events, I am now in a position to respond to your complaint.
From the very outset, one thing that you should be mindful of is; Our product offerings are very, very carefully selected, so to ensure that we do not appeal to a broad customer base. This is something which is always at the forefront of our minds when undertaking buying duties. The reason for this is to ensure that we only carry products which appeal to a very fashion forward consumer. This by default means that the customer whom is acclimatised to buying from “clothing for the masses” type retailers, is almost frightened by our range, sometimes we have found that this type of customer, almost finds our dresses funny, and on occasion noted comments such as ‘it looks like a dead flamingo’. When we receive comments like this, we like to give ourselves and our buyers, a big pat on the back, because we know we are doing our job right, and modus operandi is being upheld.
Our range is worn by A list celebrities to the likes of Kim Kardashian, Selena Gomez and Katy Perry to name only a few. Now, as one might appreciate, the style counsel for these types of celebrities are not ones to pick “run of the mill” type clothing, and they do so on the basis to ensure that the styles are cutting edge, and only worn by a select few. Similarly these items are priced such that they remain inaccessible to the undesirable.
Insofar as our employee goes; Similar to our product offerings, our employees are selected with a similar approach. Chris whom served you is a qualified stylist whom has a sixth sense for fashion, and Chris’s only problem is that he is too good at what he does, and as I am sure you are aware, people whom are talented, generally do not tolerate having their time wasted, which is the reason you were provoked to leave the store.
Whilst I concede that you work for chain retailer, unfortunately that does not make us like for like. It is probably fair to assume, a lot of what I have said in this email, either doesn’t make sense to you, or you totally disagree with it all, which is what I would expect (unless of course I have you totally wrong –which I doubt). Let me guess, you would never, ever hire Chris in the course of your duty, would you? This is the very reason, why your comment “from one retailer to another” is so disproportionate, it’s almost as though we are in a totally different industries. Chris is a retail superstar, who possess unparalleled  ability, and I am sorry you feel upset by him, but he knew you were not going to buy anything before you even left your house.
So if you would like to do us any favours, please do not waste our retail staff’s time, because as you have already seen, they will not tolerate it. I am sure there are plenty of shops that appease your taste, so I respectfully ask that you side step our store during future window shopping expeditions.

Thank you for your enquiry.

SOURCE - http://houseofturtle.net/2011/09/29/gaspfail-gasp-chapel-st-customer-service/

KLM Surprise? or KLM Stalker?

Ok so Blog post number 6. It's been a while!

In the past few weeks a certain campaign has kept popping up and like most people I'm not sure what to make of it. Here you go;



Part of me thinks ah that's a nice little idea at least they're trying to appear nice to their consumers. What some may not have realised is that the passengers targeted with "random" surprises were those with many facebook friends or twitter followers. Now this is to be expected really .. no successful marketer creates any campaign for a warm and fuzzy feeling it's to make money and the sole aim was to get them to retweet or mention how nice KLM are in an online platform. Smart guys, smart.

Now I can't go through an entire EMarketing blog lately without being a little creeped out by some of the methods companies have used in the online domain. This week it's the fact that KLM openly admitted to stalking the online profiles of their consumers. Just a little bit creepy guys.

It seems like not even a person getting a gift could get over the fact that they knew so much.
It begs the question, what companies are doing this sort of stuff behind closed doors?
How much information are we giving to large corporations without them even having to try overly hard to find it?

Funny how many Australian's were against the identity card a few years back and yet there are so many exceedingly public rofiles on social media sites.

What do you think? Will it only be a matter of time before companies won't need to buy your information, they will just need to do a google search?

And a note to KLM, we may have our information readily available, but finding it and telling us so publicly that you know so much is a little weird.