Tag Archives: twitter

Be your customer’s #1 fan

24th October 2011

With Facebook’s recent changes emphasizing engagement vs fan count, it leaves me wondering, isn’t this the way it was designed all along? For social media to be inherently social, 1:1 dialog and communication should absolutely be the cornerstone.

Here at Engauge, we are constantly looking for ways to propel our brands to become champions for their consumers, connect the dots and be, well, social. Moving beyond Facebook and into the larger picture of digital, we know Facebook is merely a network, a powerful network, but a piece of the puzzle none the less.

If communication is the cornerstone of building relationships with consumers, loyalty is the foundation. Not loyalty in the sense that we often see it today, but the world of loyalty our digitally connected consumers are coming to expect.

Merriam-Webster defines loyal as “a strong feeling of support of allegiance.” When I use a coupon or offer card to make a purchase vs. visiting a competitor retailer, am I being loyal? Yes, I am loyal to that offer. No, I am not always loyal to the retailer. So how can we as marketers build loyalty to a brand in a world of coupon craziness? The answer is in the balance of experience and advocacy.

In order for a consumer to become loyal to your brand, they must first experience it. We all know the saying about first impressions, make that impression with something they can’t turn down: an offer. Welcome emails, Facebook Like-gated tabs and SMS welcome messages are all great mediums to welcome a consumer into your brand.

However, this is where many marketers end the conversation, when it’s just beginning. In order to drive advocacy and allegiance the consumer must build a relationship with a brand. This is where in today’s digital landscape we are perfectly primed to connect the dots.

What is the personal connection you want a consumer to have with your brand? What utility are you going to provide to them that the competitor won’t? What is exclusive to this channel that they can’t find anywhere else? This may be great customer service, a mobile app to scan items and specials in-store, intriguing information on Facebook and Twitter that sustain a conversation or behind the scenes photos on Instagram or Tumblr. Don’t let the conversation stop in one place.

The key: it must be a combination. If you want to have a relationship with your consumers, don’t end it when you open the door. Give them something to talk about, prime them to tell their friends about you, and when they do, be listening and ready to reward them for that behavior. Be your customer’s number one fan and you just might find they will become your’s too, and in the process, indispensably loyal to your brand.

SXSW Day 3: Reaching the People that Count

14th March 2011

Today I had the opportunity to attend a panel focused on influencers and how to reach them called “Influencer Throwdown: Proving Influence Once and For All.”

At Engauge we often find that building a one size fits all campaign does not reach its full potential. However, curate a community of influencers, and we just might unlock the doors to the right audience. The difficulty is defining, building and interacting with that audience – a task that is often times easier captured in a brief than accomplished.

When searching for influencers, it’s easy to focus on Klout score, follower count or the number of retweets a person may have, but is that the best way to derive action from your community?

At the end of the day influence is meant to do one thing: drive action, not impressions. Shiny celebrities online may present a message to a large audience, but if that influencer is not a authentic advocate of your brand, what good does it do?

Panelist Krista Neher described it best when she recounted having been solicited to try a new product on behalf of a bean bag company which she had previously raved about to followers. She accepted and was able to spread an authentic and real position on the brand. Her influence not only had to do with the size of her audience, but also an audience willing to listen and react.

While tools such as Klout or numbers such as following should always be a part of your brand’s influencer strategy, don’t let it define it. Look beyond counting people that reach and for the people that count and you’re sure to find new advocates along the way.

DIG: This Podcast: Wildfire Marketing and Interactive Promotions

24th February 2011

Running a promotion within social can get complicated fast. From guidelines between networks to development and budget, the requirements alone can be daunting.

Last week, Stacy Cohen and I were give the opportunity to chat on the DIG: This Podcast with Wildfire’s Senior Vice President Derek Draper and Southeastern Senior Account Executive Christien Louviere.

Wildfire is a marketing and interactive promotion platform which allows brands to quickly build & launch social media marketing campaigns within minutes. Campaign formats include quizzes, contests, coupons, virtual gifts and more.

As one of the first preferred developers of Facebook, Wildfire’s unique relationships with social media platforms allow for deep integration and successful campaigns from the moment they launch.

Listen in over on the DIG: This Podcast page as we learn more about the platform, its capabilities and where the team is heading in the future.