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Brands Realize There Is More to Social Media Marketing Than Twitter and Facebook

Brands Realize There Is More to Social Media Marketing Than Twitter and Facebook

More eyeballs doesn’t always equate to better return on marketing investments, and that applies to social media marketing just as it does to more traditional forms of marketing. Sure 800 million people are on Facebook, so it’s not surprising that 94% of marketers surveyed during a December 2011 study conducted by Awareness Inc. indicated they would use Facebook to market their brands in 2012.

However, marketers are finally starting to realize that bigger isn’t necessarily better. In 2012, marketers are finally branching out and trying to catch up to consumers by following them to more diverse social sites.

First, let’s take a look at the leading areas that U.S. marketers plan to invest social media marketing budget dollars in during 2012 as reported by eMarketer:

  1. Increased presence across social media platforms = 70%
  2. Increased frequency of content publishing = 59%
  3. More robust social media marketing management = 50%
  4. More robust social media monitoring = 45%
  5. More social media presence = 33%
  6. Other = 6%

At the risk of sounding like a broken record by repeating things I say and write all the time, the power of social media marketing as a brand building tool (which leads to word-of-mouth marketing, loyalty, and increased sales) comes from surrounding consumers with useful and meaningful content so they can self-select how they want to interact with your brand. Not everyone likes to read long blog posts or keep up with Facebook. Increasing a brand’s presence across social media platforms should be a strategic imperative, so I’m glad to see 70% of respondents to this survey at the very least plan to throw some more money toward it in 2012. Let’s hope they also plan to prioritize it near the top of their 2012 goals.

So where do marketers plan to spread their presences to on the social web in 2012? According to the survey, the biggest growth will be for blogs, forums, YouTube, SlideShare, Foursquare and Tumblr. Here’s the breakdown of social media platforms that survey respondents used in 2011 compared to what they plan to use in 2012:

  • Facebook: 88% in 2011 vs. 94% in 2012
  • Twitter: 83% in 2011 vs. 91% in 2012
  • LinkedIn: 76% in 2011 vs. 86% in 2012
  • Blogs: 57% in 2011 vs. 85% in 2012
  • YouTube: 66% in 2011 vs. 84% in 2012
  • Forums: 29% in 2011 vs. 48% in 2012
  • Flickr: 30% in 2011 vs. 41% in 2012
  • SlideShare: 22% in 2011 vs. 38% in 2012
  • Foursquare: 23% in 2011 vs. 33% in 2012
  • Tumblr: 15% in 2011 vs. 25% in 2012

Blogs are definitely the big winner for 2012. Even marketers that are well-established in social media plan to increase investments in blogs in 2012. According to the study, 91% of those experienced social media marketers expected to increase their use of blogs.

I have a fairly simple reaction to the results of this study — it’s about time. However, only time will tell if those increased investments are enough and targeted to the right strategic decisions rather than focused on tactical catch-up efforts.

What do you think? Will marketers catch up to consumers in social media in 2012? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Simon Q.

Advertising Options Icon Puts Positive Spin on Behavioral Targeting

Behavioral targeting is a lifeline for advertisers who want to make sure their ads are seen by the right audiences and drive the highest return on investment. However, consumers aren’t on board with behavioral targeting. They see it as an invasion of privacy. The Digital Advertising Alliance is trying to change that negative consumer perception with a new campaign, website, and “Advertising Options” icon pictured to the left.

The series of ads show a banner ad trying to find the right customers who actually want to find him, too. You can see one of those ads below.

The new Advertising Options icon will appear in all partner ads where behavioral targeting is used. The icon is described on the new AdChoices.com website as follows:

“It’s a clear sign that companies are trying to make the Web ads you see better reflect your online interests. It’s there to keep you informed about how and why ads are being made more relevant for you.”

The new icon is being promoted as a way for consumers to control whether they see ads that use behavioral targeting or not. If a consumer sees the Advertising Options icon on an online ad, he can click on it to get information about the companies that provide “interest-based ads” on that website. If the consumer doesn’t want to see interest-based ads, he can click through to a special consumer choice page where he can opt out of interest-based ads from the companies that participate in the Advertising Options program. Consumers can also navigate directly to AboutAds.info/choices to review the status of their choices. Unfortunately, consumers won’t be able to opt out of behavioral targeting from advertisers that don’t participate in the Advertising Options icon program using the website or icon.

A clever series of YouTube videos further explains what the icon is, what interest-based advertising is, and how to use the icon. In the latter video, which you can watch here, an important message is hyped within the first 15 seconds — online advertising pays for all the free content and tools people get on the Internet. It’s another clever way to spin interest-based advertising as a positive thing for consumers.

Hundreds of advertisers are already participating in the program (you can see them all in the online directory here) and more are likely to join. The question is how effective the Digital Advertising Alliance’s attempt at spinning behavioral targeting into a benefit for consumers rather than a privacy violation will be. It’s a good idea but this is a battle that’s likely to continue for years to come. What do you think?

Cannes Recognizes Branded Content is Hot with New Award Category

Branded content is at the top of every brand manager’s to do list in 2012, and this year, branded content will get its own category for recognition at the week-long Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. For the first time, Branded Content & Entertainment Lions will be awarded at the festival as will Mobile Lions for mobile creative work.

The world of branded content has evolved significantly over the past few years, and the Branded Content & Entertainment Lions competition should include some great creative that can inspire other brands and will likely draw attention to specific trends guiding branded content in 2012.

For example, original branded web series programming has been gaining more attention over the past couple of years. Back in 2010, the 7-Eleven Road Trip Rally original web series, distributed by Blip.tv, followed two teams as they traveled across the United States. The teams had to purchase all items they needed during the trip from 7-Eleven stores and participate in challenges at 7-Eleven stores along the way.

In 2011, Denny’s scored celebrity help from Jason Bateman and David Koechner in its own web series, “Always Open,” where the actors conducted casual interviews while sitting in a booth and sharing a meal at a Denny’s restaurant. Last week, Yahoo! announced it’s partnering with Electus and CollegeHumor for its own original web series called Blindsided which will feature sports stars pulling pranks on teammates.

The growing interest in branded content from the creative world further establishes it as a marketing strategy that’s here to stay. By owning the content, brands can control messages in a much better way than traditional digital advertising or television product placement allow. Original web series programming gives brands the best of both worlds — reaching an audience looking for entertainment they can enjoy, share and talk about while controlling the brand experience. What’s not to love from a brand perspective?

What do you think about the growing trend toward original branded web programming and the focus on branded content as a creative art? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Flickr

New CSR Regulation Coming Your Way

As has been stated many times, I’m a firm believer that the EU will introduce mandatory CSR regulation in the very near future.

This is not an article of faith (or want), simply a fact which springs from what the EU has said that it’s going to do.  In the timetable for implementing on the Single Market Act (PDF), passed in late 2011, the EU said the Single Market would include a “legislative proposal on the transparency of the social and environmental information provided by businesses”.

You can’t really get much clearer than that, can you? [Read more…] about New CSR Regulation Coming Your Way

Corporate Branding Online: Interview with Adrian Day

In the latest of our series of expert interviews, Paul (Corporate Eye CEO) talked to Adrian Day about corporate brand, and how companies can express this online – via their own websites, but also via social media.

Maybe retailers do have an advantage: but how do you communicate your bricks-and-mortar brand online? And how do you communicate your brand in an online space which you don’t control?

Do listen: Adrian and Paul consider the websites of a variety of different companies—from Iceland and John Lewis, RyanAir and Greene King to Rolls-Royce and British Airways—and discuss how your corporate brand values are communicated by the things you do (or don’t do) online, whether intentionally or not.

I’ve broken the interview down into smaller pieces, so that you can quickly find particular points you’d like to hear about. I’ve also included the whole interview and a transcript.

Part 1: Brand expression online

Key topics:

  • brand and brand expression
  • need for a clearly defined brand
  • parallels with retail: it’s the detail – look, feel, engagement

Soundbites:

“[The brand is] the positioning, the proposition and the personality… the expression is how that positioning, proposition and personality is then expressed verbally and visually”

“Firms have to have a clearly defined brand and a clearly defined sense of self – then it is much easier to express it”

[audio:https://www.corporate-eye.com/main/audio/adrian-day-interview-01.mp3] Length: 4:13
Download: Adrian Day interview: part 1

Part 2: Making it explicit

Key topics:

  • the website and the brand
  • providing brand expression tools

Soundbites:

“Those organisations that really understand their customer and are used to engaging with their customer are better at translating their brand into the online community”

“If you look at John Lewis, Tesco and Iceland… each one of the brand experiences delivered by those websites is in line with what I would expect, knowing about those brands”

[audio:https://www.corporate-eye.com/main/audio/adrian-day-interview-02.mp3] Length: 5:38
Download: Adrian Day interview: part 2

Part 3: Brand across the web estate

Key topics

  • corporate site vs retail site
  • consumer vs B2B

Soundbites:

“Companies can afford to be a bit braver because people who shop in Sainsburys for example are also shareholders and analysts and we don’t necessarily have these sharp divisions in our lives. I think the messaging can be slightly different, and I think there may be some subtleties in the tone of voice”

“Some of the corporate and the B2B sites are behind some of the more communicative consumer sites”

[audio:https://www.corporate-eye.com/main/audio/adrian-day-interview-03.mp3] Length: 7:04
Download: Adrian Day interview: part 3

Part 4: Getting it right

Key topics:

  • getting it right: content, social media and tone of voice
  • managing the site for an audience
  • demonstrating corporate values in practice

Soundbites:

“The most successful web-only brands – or digital brands, if you like – have been founded on a function… I just wonder if that trends gone too far… and that not enough of the brand comes through in the experience”

“Sometimes website content is overly controlled and you end up with something that is kind of bland, and you don’t notice the difference between one company or another”

“A lot of these corporate sites… you don’t get the sense they’re being actively managed for an audience.”

[audio:https://www.corporate-eye.com/main/audio/adrian-day-interview-04.mp3] Length: 12:33
Download: Adrian Day interview: part 4

Part 5: Branding in a difficult economic climate

Key topics:

  • rebranding in an economic downturn
  • repositioning the brand for customers and for staff
  • repositioning for emerging markets

Soundbites:

“The time to look at your brand is when your market’s changing dramatically, when the organisation is changing dramatically, or in particular when your brand is out of sync with the business strategy and out of sync with consumers”

“Do you take a different approach because there’s a downturn? Only insofar as you take a different approach to your business. I mean the purpose of brand is to reflect the business strategy.”

“The number of organisations that have looked at their branding [in the last year] has gone up exponentially.”

[audio:https://www.corporate-eye.com/main/audio/adrian-day-interview-05.mp3] Length: 6:33
Download: Adrian Day interview: part 5

Part 6: Brand, social media and mobile

Key topics:

  • being there as branding: making the deliberate choice
  • brand and employee behaviour
  • blogger engagement
  • mobile content: less is more

Soundbites:

“Those firms that really have strong brands: in the sense of brand, their people will do the right thing.

“Social media is only an amplification of what always went on… but I think organisations do need to embrace it”

“If you can get the American constitution on one page of paper and the Ten Commandments on one page of paper then why can’t you get the key points about an organisation on X number of mobile pages? I think it helps focus the mind and could be an aid to getting stronger brand presence online”

[audio:https://www.corporate-eye.com/main/audio/adrian-day-interview-06.mp3] Length: 12:09
Download: Adrian Day interview: part 6

Part 7: Making the emotional connection

Key topics:

  • future of brand experience
  • learning from other digital disciplines
  • importance of alignment with values and personality

Soundbites:

“There is an opportunity for better use of sound and video and colour and pacing… when you look at what television and cinema achieve in emotional connections through visual and sound stimuli I think there’s quite a way for websites to go”

“Don’t just update the website because you think you need a sort of image makeover; it needs to be founded in the organisational change and the organisation’s values and personality”

[audio:https://www.corporate-eye.com/main/audio/adrian-day-interview-07.mp3] Length: 7:52
Download: Adrian Day interview: part 7

Here’s the whole interview, in case you’d rather listen to it end-to-end; and the transcript, for those who prefer to read.

[audio:https://www.corporate-eye.com/main/audio/adrian-day-interview-full.mp3] Length: 56:10
Download: Adrian Day interview (whole interview)
Download: Transcript

Many thanks to Adrian for taking the time to talk to Paul.

Who were we speaking to?

Adrian is an experienced brand consultant and client director with many years experience working at leading firms such as Landor, Siegel & Gale, Ziggurat and Uffindell. He is now an independent brand consultant.

Adrian is experienced in conducting brand research, brand positioning, brand architecture, naming and creative briefing projects together with brand implementation programmes.

He has developed brand strategies and architecture solutions for a wide range of international clients including BP, RBS, National Bank of Dubai, Swiss Re, Telstra, and British Airways.

Facebook CPC Ads Are Looking Better to Brands but YouTube is Stealing Visit Market Share

Facebook cost per click is going down in the U.K. while click-through rates are trending up. That’s according to the latest quarterly report from TBG Digital as reported by Brand Republic which showed Facebook cost per click ad prices dropped by 11% between the third and fourth quarters of 2011.

It’s important to point out that these results are for ads that led directly to another page on Facebook rather than offsite.

During the fourth quarter of 2011, the finance category accounted for the highest number of Facebook ad impressions but the food and drink category experienced the highest click-through rates.

For brands, the lowered cost per click for Facebook advertising mean lower investments and more testing. However, the story isn’t all positive. Facebook’s explosive growth hasn’t just slowed down in the U.K. According to Experian Hitwise, Facebook lost social networking visit opportunities to Google’s YouTube during December 2011 with its total share of social networking visits dropping from 58.5% in December 2010 to 51.5% in December 2011. However, Facebook’s overall number of visits in the U.K. remained stable during 2011 at 1.3 billion.

During the same time period, visits to YouTube grew by 45% from 417 million in December 2010 to 606 million in December 2011, and YouTube’s social networking market share grew from 23.6% to 25% during that time.

What do all these numbers mean for brands?

First, people are diversifying the way they consume content more than ever, and the idea that Facebook could be a one-stop shop for all content isn’t happening.

Second, the Facebook vs. Google battle is still in its early stages. With the launch of Google+ last year, this battle is likely to get far more heated in 2012.

Third, brands should diversify their social media marketing and advertising efforts to take advantage of lower Facebook advertising costs without placing too much focus on the social networking leader. Once you get executive buy-in to acquire a social media marketing budget, another challenge arises — convincing executives that there is more to the social web than Facebook. Diversification has always been the foundation for a successful marketing plan, and that should apply to your brand social media marketing efforts, too.

What do you think? What percentage of your brand’s marketing budget it allocated to Facebook in 2012? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Flickr