Social Media Marketing Tactics Help A&E's Duck Dynasty

The cable network A&E has assembled a staff of marketing people to promote their hit reality show, Duck Dynasty. Promoting a cable TV show is nothing new, but the way it is marketed is something that is new to the 21st century. Social media has proven to be effective for Duck Dynasty, especially Twitter. I saw a story on OMG/Insider about this marketing team tweeting in real time while the show was airing. One good thing about this is that people are watching it live if they want to participate online. That is becoming more and more important since many people are time shifting their viewing habits, watching shows via DVR, skipping through commercials. Networks want people to watch when the show is live so they can see the commercials as they air. This real time marketing strategy has helped Duck Dynasty to be a runaway hit, with 6.5 million viewers watching last season's finale. The A&E staff rewards viewers who use the various hash tags used on the show. The goal is to get Duck Dynasty as one of the trending topics on Twitter, signifying plenty of online chatter. Humorous pictures with captions, or memes, are tweeted and the number of likes on the Facebook page are tracked to gauge the effectiveness of social media efforts. The above picture shows a screen from a contest where viewers need to follow the Duck Dynasty cast on Twitter. When they see a Duck Dynasty member tweet the hashtag #QUACK, then they need to tweet #DUCK to win. It's interesting how social media has opened up a whole new world when it comes to marketing. Check out this article for more information: http://adage.com/article/media/inside-social-response-lab-a-e-s-duck-dynasty/240073/

Social media in Brazil

Spending time on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can be time wasters if used too much for personal use. But, as we have mentioned here, they can be effective tools for internet marketing. Worldwide, the average social media user spends 5.5 hours per month on these sites. Brazil has witnessed epic growth in social media usage from 2010 to 2012. The average social media user in that country spends almost twice the amount of time per month on these sites, at 9.7 hours. Comparing September 2010 to September 2012, the millions of unique Brazilian visitors rose from 10.9 million to 43.3 million. You Tube usage also grew, but not by the same margin as Facebook. Concerning Facebook and You Tube usage, Brazil is second only to the US. The sites do well since Brazilians are passionate about sharing information and photos. Over the next 4 years, online ad spending in Brazil is expected to double. *Information from The Wall Street Journal at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323301104578257950857891898.html?mod=e2fb.

What brands are people talking about?

In this day and age, you want your brand to be discussed online, whether it's on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, news sites and the like. Lots of chatter about your brand online can translate into increased sales and a good reputation for your brand. So, what brands are people talking about on the web? For 2012, here are the top 10 most social brands according to Infergy, a social media analytics firm. 1. Twitter 2. Apple 3. Facebook 4. Google 5. Disney 6. LG 7. You Tube 8. Microsoft 9. Amazon 10. BBC So, while Facebook has more users, more people are talking about Twitter than Facebook. I'm sure that Mark Zuckerberg would like to change that. Anyway, these top 10 brand will not be going away any time soon. Information for this post came from: http://adage.com/article/digital/twitter-tops-list-2012-s-social-brands/239254/.

Establish the brand, grow the brand, nurture the brand

If you are a business owner, the reputation of your brand is of the utmost importance. You want customers to be brand loyal. Have them seek out your product, and choose it over competitors. The goal is to forge an emotional connection with your customers. Build trust and communicate your message through the brand. Think about your brand's personality. What does it say? Think of the brands you choose and why you prefer them over others. The most successful brands will fulfill the brand promise. Think about Apple, Nike, Starbucks and other iconic brands that have been successful. Marketing strategy has helped them to establish brands that are rock-solid. They are companies that people turn to when they need computers, athletic shoes and coffee. Apple products are more expensive than Microsoft products but their customers are fiercely brand loyal. They know that paying more money is worth it since the product gives them more bang for their buck. One could buy a pair of athletic shoes for $20, but many choose to spend $75 for a pair made by Nike. The extra cost is worth it to them to have the right shoes. One can buy coffee for a lower price than they pay at Starbucks, but the customer chooses Starbucks because of ideas conveyed about the product through marketing efforts. The elements of a brand are promise, personality, image and USP (unique selling proposition), mentioned in a previous blog. What is the promise of your brand? Do you deliver? Ask the same questions about brand personality, image and USP. *Some information from "Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools & Methods for Web Developers" by Jason Miletsky.

Social media marketing for your business---it's worth it!

Many business owners seem to have misconceptions about social media marketing. They might think it is too time consuming, or too expensive or it would not be effective. Different social media sites have varying pros and cons, and marketing on Facebook is not the same as Twitter, Pinterest, You Tube, Four Square, Google+ or others. Nevertheless, in this day and age, business owners who do not use these sites are missing out on ways to promote their products or services. Many times the promotion via these sites is free. Sure, one can buy paid advertisements, but a lot can be accomplished with zero cost to the business owner. It doesn't have to be time consuming either. A site such as hootsuite.com can automate posts to appear on many social media platforms. A whole week of messages could be scheduled in advance. It does require some effort and creativity though. Companies need to post frequently and the messages need to be well written, so they will get the attention of followers. Posting photos and videos can be effective to keep people engaged. The biggest companies use social media for marketing. Look at the auto industry for example. The Facebook page for General Motors has 450,000 likes. Ford's Facebook page has 1.7 million likes. Chrysler has 634,000 likes on their Facebook page. Would companies like these waste time and resources with social media if it was not effective? I have been impressed with how LEGO uses You Tube to promote their products. They make original videos to put on their site, that show off their products effectively. The LEGO You Tube channel has over 50,000 subscribers and over 23 million video views. Here's a link to their channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/LEGO.

Advertisers love Facebook

Marketers want to maximize their targeting of their messages. Why advertise to someone who is not likely to use your product? Get the most bang for your buck. Don't waste your marketing budget on ads that do not work. Facebook has been successful for many reasons. People like it for sharing information about their lives and finding out about others. They like it for the games and interesting fan pages. Those in advertising love it since they can find out so much about people from their profiles, and target their ads to them. Plus, many people visit Facebook several times per day and often spend a lot of time on the site each time they visit. The more time on the site, the more ads they see. For instance, let's say you own a company that has a product that is purchased by white females who are living in rural areas, between 25 and 40 years old, who enjoy romantic comedies, fashion and travel. They can be targeted via Facebook by looking at their profiles. Sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest provide information about their users, but not to the extent that Facebook does. Here is a great quote from Konstantin Guericke, co-founder of LinkedIn. "The Internet provides more precise targeting opportunities, so marketers can put the right ads in front of the right people and acquire customers for less money. It's about precise targeting-finding the right sites that can provide you with the audience you're looking for and then very quickly acting on the results of the ads because you have a lot more data and can track things all the way to the product purchase." Quote from "Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools & Methods for Web Developers" by Jason Miletsky, 2010

The evolution of TV advertising

People watch TV much different than they used to 20 or 30 years ago. So many people do not watch their shows live. They watch them via DVR or streaming online from the network's sites or from services like Netflix. For example, I watch Curb Your Enthusiasm via DVDs only since I do not have an HBO subscription. It used to be that prime time television would garner huge viewership night after night. Therefore, advertising rates would be the highest for that period. But now, many people skip commercials with their DVRs, so does the old method of charging more depending on time of day make sense? A show that airs Monday at 8 pm might be watched on Wednesday at 6 pm. Product placement within shows is common since TV executives know that viewers are skipping commercials. There is an art to doing this. You don't want to make it too obvious since viewers would be turned off if it is too blatant. Anyone who has watched Undercover Boss on CBS has experienced a full hour of product placement. Often times, the best shows are on networks with zero advertising such as HBO or Showtime. Also, some of the best shows are on the minor cable channels, such as the critically acclaimed Mad Men on AMC. The viewership on AMC is small when compared to ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. Networks like AMC have small numbers of viewers but those who watch are loyal to the shows they enjoy. More on this topic is explored in this article from Advertising Age: http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/time-kill-day-part-tv-advertising/239045/.

Bright future for Pinterest?

Entering the world of social media and going up against Facebook and Twitter is not easy. But, Pinterest is doing it. It is kind of like an online photo album where users can "pin" pictures they like to their virtual bulletin boards in their profile. The good news is that once people log into Pinterest they stay there for awhile, which advertisers love. Pinterest is #3 in time spent on site, behind only Facebook and Tumblr. Pinterest users are 68% female. If they can find ways to attract males to their site, that would be a good move. Many well-known brands are jumping on board, finding that Pinterest is a good marketing tool. Information for this post came from the following link: http://adage.com/article/special-report-digital-alist-2012/ad-age-digital-a-list-pinterest/232932/.

The power of marketing

The right marketing strategy can help to sell a product or service, even if it's inferior to the competition. It's all about convincing the public that your product is the best. People want to get the most bang for their buck. One obvious example is the market for sub sandwiches. Subway has locations everywhere and their marketing strategy has worked well. I think that the "Eat Fresh" slogan along with the "Five Dollar Foot Long" campaign have been keys to their success. Do Subway sandwiches taste better or are they more distinctive than Quizno's, Jimmy John's or Potbelly? Some might say yes, but I don't think that that is the case. I think that their marketing efforts have helped their product to stand out from the rest, so when people think about buying a sub, they go to Subway.

Google + takes on Facebook

Marketers always want more information about their audience so that they can target advertising more effectively. Facebook has been successful for a variety of reasons. One of their keys to success is to have a site where they can target their ads due to their wealth of information about their users. In mid-2011, the social network Google + debuted. They have struggled to find their way and secure users that will be loyal to spending time on the site. People spend an average of 3 minutes each month on Google +. That number for Facebook is 400 minutes. The longer that people spend on a site, the more chances they will see an advertisement and click on it. Google has been trying to gain ground on not only Facebook, but also Twitter, Linked In and Pinterest. If you have ever been on Google + it is obvious that not many people have embraced the site. It's kind of the like the ghost town of social networks. But now Google is integrating its social network into its other properties such as You Tube, G Mail, their Google search engine, Blogger and more. Some see this as a good move, whereas others see it as a sign of desperation. Taking on Facebook is a daunting task, but if anyone can do it, it may be Google. Some information from the following article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324731304578193781852024980.html?mod=e2tw

Use a USP to entice customers

Whether you are selling face-to-face or selling via advertising or public relations efforts, the objective is to attract customers. Influencing people that your product or service is the one to choose has to be your main goal. Doing this involves coming up with a USP or unique selling proposition. Think about your brand. What do you offer people? Why should they choose you over your competitors? How can you show people that your product is superior? People need to be convinced to pull the trigger and make the purchase. Once they take action, you can be confident that your marketing approach has worked. People are exchanging money for goods or services. They need to know that their money is well spent. The book "Reality in Advertising" (by Reeves, 1961), sums up the USP in three steps: 1. Each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer. Not just words, not just product puffery, not just show-window advertising. Each advertisement must say to each reader: "Buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit." 2. The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot, or does not, offer. It must be unique—either a uniqueness of the brand or a claim not otherwise made in that particular field of advertising. 3. The proposition must be so strong that it can move the mass millions, i.e., pull over new customers to your product...! Often times the USP can be communicated in a slogan, such as "M&Ms melt in your mouth, not in your hand". Some information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unique_selling_proposition.

You get what you pay for? With marketing strategy, not always.

Marketing tactics that are the most expensive will not necessarily yield the best results. Sometimes the free marketing through word-of-mouth and/or public relations efforts can be the most effective. My wife started her own business about 16 months ago. Her most effective promotion has come with a nice price tag---free. Things like TV, radio and newspaper interviews, and even social media efforts have yielded great results. It depends on the product though. TV advertising might work well for one business, whereas advertising on the radio might work well for someone else. For example, Apple and Microsoft seem to advertise a lot on TV, but have you ever heard a radio ad for their products? Me neither. TV ads make sense for those companies since their products can be promoted most effectively through demonstrating visually what they do. So, one size does not fit all when it comes to marketing. Examine the product or service and evaluate the pros and cons of different ways to reach your customers most effectively. Marketing that does not reach the target audience, and influence them to take action is a waste of money.