Online Marketing for Local Business
Posts tagged Social Badging
Special Guest Post – Buy, Buy, Buy = Bye, Bye, Bye… Derek Weber
13 years
by admin
in Uncategorized
If you haven’t noticed, the way consumers make purchasing decisions has drastically changed over the last few years. With all of the information available with Google searches, ratings, reviews, and smart phones, the consumer is now extremely educated about nearly every major purchasing decision. I mean, you can literally download an app on your iPhone that will scan the bar code of an item in a store and give you consumer ratings and price comparisons of every store that carries that item within 50 miles of you…now that is a well-informed shopper. So, what does that mean for you?
It means you have to stop selling and start teaching, or as my good friend Scott Ginsberg would say, “Don’t sell, enable them to buy.” You might be able to get a one time purchase through the old manipulative marketing efforts or trying to compete on price and features alone, but as our society’s interaction with one another is being reduced by technology, consumers are looking for more than just a transaction, they are looking for a business relationship with a company they like, a company they trust…a company they can personally identify with.
I was having lunch a while back with Steve Hughes of Hit Your Stride fame, and he asked me my opinion on social media and if it could be effectively monetized. My response was that social media, as popular as it is right now, is not necessarily for everyone. Social media is best used for businesses and organizations that can truly develop a community around it’s brand and service. More importantly, I don’t think social media necessarily needs be used as a tool for direct monetization, it should instead be used as a forum for businesses to interact and educate their “fans” (or ‘likes’ now) about who they are, what they are doing, and most importantly why they do what they do. If you try pushing your product or service, screaming “Buy! Buy! Buy!” from every possible location, including social media, your prospects will emphatically respond with the “Bye, Bye, Bye”.
So, take the time to give some valuable information to your customers and prospects. Take the time to let them know who you are and what you are all about, get to know more about them, and stop having every message coming out of your organization only being about good-buys from you or you’ll end up getting a lot of good-byes from them.
Derek Weber derek@goBRANDgo.com www.goBRANDgo.com 314.754.8712
More Social Statistics – 101
13 years
by admin
in Uncategorized
As social networks grow and mature, new data has begun to surface that show the behaviors and preferences of its users that could prove invaluable to businesses in the future.
Business owners and marketing professionals are of course quite interested to learn more about how consumers on Facebook and other social media become motivated to connect with companies and brands, and their preferences in interacting with organizations.
Some of the latest statistics:
Many users of social media initially displayed a resistance to connecting directly with businesses from their personal pages, in effect showing a desire to keep “business separate from pleasure”, or their personal lives. A fear of being inundated with advertising pitches surely helped shape this mentality. However, new research shows that 43% of Facebook users now “Like” at least one brand or official company page, and this number is rapidly growing.
Of these, 38% of consumers “Like” a company on Facebook so they can publicly display their brand affiliation to friends. This new trend is being called “Social Badging”, and can be a very powerful motivation for affiliation. These users want to display their connection to brands and organizations that they believe represent them, their personal beliefs, are “cutting edge”, say something unique or valuable about them.
42% become fans so that they can receive special discounts and promotions. Many companies have begun to offer Social-specific sales and announcements, which can give their followers the sense that they are part of an intimate online community…even if they are one of tens of thousands of followers; and that they have the privilege of being included in exclusive, “members-only” specials.
35% say they follow companies and brands to stay current about the organization’s activities, public initiatives, or new products. Once again, the ability to connect with your brand’s following directly when announcing new initiatives, events, products and services can be a quite effective method to roll out your new marketing programs, sales and specials.
Only 23% of respondents said they follow brands on Twitter. Twitter has become more of a “news aggregator” for many users; a large number of new Twitter users have sent fewer than 20 personal tweets, but instead are using the service to gather news and opinions on brands, products and stay up-to-date on cultural trends in general.