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Sustainability, Brittany and Corporate Greed

Three_little_pigs_-_third_pig_builds_a_house_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_15661Once upon a time there were three little piggies, and their names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter.  And they lived with their crotchety old grandmother underneath the mushroom at the bottom of your neighbour’s garden.

Well, as the start to a fairy tale it has some merit, even if it lacks a certain originality.  Still, it’s more believable than “once upon a time, all companies traded fairly and equally with one another in a society based upon values rather than status.”

And then, so this fairy tale goes, the Big Bad Wolf came along and-he-huffed-and-he-puffed and he destroyed this value based society by pointing out that if you were mean, mendacious and plain greedy you could make more money than your competitors.

This is the fairy tale that those who advocate compulsory sustainability and CSR measures would have us believe.  But are they right?

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The Effects of Corporate Blog Marketing

In today’s current business climate, many companies are opting to find smarter and more frugal methods of marketing, and forgoing the mistaken idea that corporations have to spend a lot of money on their marketing ideas. Although frugal does not equate to “cheap” or “poor quality”, it does require that the company be creative and savvy in choosing how they will advertise their product or services.

Marketing encompasses more than just “selling” a customer. It involves relationship-building and networking so as to establish a foundation for future interaction. If there’s anything customers dislike more than hard-selling it’s to be told that they’re “sold” to. They know the difference, and count it as an insult if they are told otherwise.

Securing customers and clients work best when the interaction is genuine and forthright. Clients tend to lean more towards those corporations who can readily admit their mistakes and take a clear stand in correcting any mishaps. However, it’s also a plus when the corporation is doing well and has the confidence to admit so.

Take for example, the Whole Foods Market blog that talks about and promotes a healthy lifestyle and green living. Their blog is very user-friendly, not overwhelming and gives a wealth of information to the customer. Consumers want and love the idea of good, wholesome foods and often need direction in where to find this fare and various ways to prepare it. This information is on their blog and can also be enjoyed by customers when they visit one of their numerous stores in the chain of markets. However, Whole Foods goes a step further by including business news on the blog that also promotes the chain’s philosophy and their stand on environmental issues. So not only do they get the chance to connect with the customers and provide valuable information, they also share, promote and encourage customers to participate in the causes that they support and promote. Rarely will you see commercials for the store, yet their presence is in many major cities across the United States as well as the United Kingdom and Canada.

The benefits of corporate blog marketing are endless, but many companies fail to embrace the positive things that it can do for their corporations, often because they just aren’t fully aware of the end-result benefits that it can bring to their businesses.

Exposure

Although this is an idea that is preached across the Internet tirelessly, many corporations still fail to see the benefit of exposure that a corporate blog can provide for their corporations. The blog serves as more than just a presence on the Internet, but gives the business a working platform to have a voice and to connect with customers in that genuine way that was mentioned earlier.

The Fastlane GM blog [now closed: see this post on some of the most significant Fastlane articles] is one such example of a blog that offers a company a wealth of exposure. Not that General Motors would need any additional name recognition, but their blog presence is a strong marketing tool because it keeps the customers connected to what’s going on in the automobile maker’s world. Each step that this car manufacturer makes significantly impacts the economy, and in turn, affects the consumer. On the blog, everything is discussed from upcoming projects to their political and social stand on various topics. The consumer is affected by this since very often, these issues affect the prices of vehicles, costs associated with production and even insurance issues. Why in the world would the consumer not be interested?

Interaction

Interaction runs the gamut from writing an email to a customer, to offering sales and discounts on Facebook. It is a very important element for any business, which is why social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter have become so enormously popular. Customers want to know and feel like they’re dealing with real humans and not machines; blogs offer a glimpse into the driving minds in a corporation and how they’re making things tick.

Corporate blogs pick up a lot of marketing momentum when they are well-written, offer value to the customers and do a good job of engaging their readers. When the blog loses the idea of “selling” to their customers they fare far better, and position themselves better when they don’t try so hard. Also, the shelf-life of blogs is longer for those who treat the blog presence as more of an enhancement than their main method of client/customer pooling. Over time, the blog not only increases their marketing potential and worth, but it stands a better chance of positioning the corporation as a product of longevity. Customers reap the benefits almost immediately, and the company can set tangible, workable methods around the blog to increase its productivity.


Brands Try Stickybits for Creative Promotions through Mobile Apps

stickybitsMobile marketing is so hot right now that every brand should be looking at how to integrate mobile into its marketing plan, particularly using mobile apps to drive consumer engagement with brands.  Stickybits is gaining traction among leading brands as a mobile app that can do exactly that.

When people download the newest version of the Stickybits app (version 2) to their iPhones (a new version for Android devices is in the works), they can scan barcodes and QR codes using the built-in iPhone camera.  Branded promotions kick in when certain barcodes or QR codes are scanned.  Stickybits includes social web sharing features and varied check-in and leaderboard features that consumers are accustomed to from mobile apps like foursquare.

Brands and advertisers can use Stickybits for free with access to a content management system and analytics.  In simplest terms, you can claim your brand’s barcodes and append media to them then track scans, response rates, location data, and demographic data from Stickybits user profiles.  For an undisclosed fee, advertisers can also access promotion management features.

Currently, 10 well-known brands are running promotions through the Stickybits app, including Ben & Jerry’s, Pepsi, Fiji Water, Elmer’s Glue, the Chicago Tribune, NakedPizza, Polydor Records, Wonderful Pistachios, the NHL’s Washington Capitols, Don Q Rum, and Harper Collins publishing.  You can get the details about these varied promotions from this article on Clickz.

Right now, there is no recipe for success in mobile app marketing, so brands are testing sweepstakes, discounts, giveaways, and more in an attempt to learn what works.  Branded promotions through Stickybits require their own promotion at this point with traditional advertising currently driving consumers to the Stickybits app rather than the other way around — something brands would certainly like to see happen in the future.  Stickybits only had 50,000 active users in October 2010, but if the current branded promotions are successful, you can bet that number will grow quickly.

What do you think of branded mobile promotions like those available through Stickybits?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Should Your Branded Content Have a Fee?

the_times_ukThe publishing industry has been struggling to figure out how to stay afloat since print advertisers have migrated en masse over the past several years to the online space.  Online advertising dollars are the source of the money needed to keep online publications running and throughout the past decade, most online publishers (including media giants) have moved from paid subscription models where content is only offered behind a paywall to a freely available model in an attempt to boost page views and advertisers’ investments.

Interestingly, a couple of publications have been experimenting with a return to the paywall model they abandoned years ago.  The Times of London and the Sunday Times are examples of such a publication.

According to a report from Nielsen, The Times websites attracted over 3.09 million U.K. visitors each month during the second quarter of 2010 when all content was available for free.  A paywall was put in place at the beginning of the third quarter of 2010.  During that period, paywall visitors (which includes people who are using a free trial, print subscribers who automatically get free online access, and people who paid specifically to access the online content behind the paywall) amounted to just 362,000 visitors per month, but overall traffic to The Times websites dropped to just 1.78 million (which includes the paywall visitors).

That means the number of visitors to The Times websites nearly dropped in half after the paywall was put in place.  Furthermore, after the paywall was put in place, just 20% of visitors accessed the information behind that paywall.

The Times actually views these results positively saying that the paywall customers are statistically more affluent, more targeted, and more engaged (3rd quarter results showed a 42% increase in page views per person –17– compared to 2nd quarter results — 12).  For The Times the paywall audience can drive a premium rate from advertisers who want to connect with those consumers.  Top it off with a subscription fee that many of those paywall customers are paying, and The Times is optimistic about how charging consumers a fee to access some or all of a site’s content will affect their business in the long-term.

Where do you stand on the free content vs. paid subscription content debate?  Branded content is a bit different since it’s usually a marketing tool, but what about premium branded content?  Where do you think that fits in?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Consumers Want Incentives from Brands to Become and Stay Fans

In a September 2010 survey conducted by Cone, U.S. consumers identified what they look for when they engage with brands and companies online and what makes them stop following brands and companies online. 

The results aren’t very surprising, but it’s good to see hard numbers that prove that companies and brands can find great success through social media marketing if they listen to consumers and actually give them what they want and need.

When asked what types of interactions new media users look for when they engage with brands and companies online, the response breakdown was as follows with a single tactic far exceeding the rest:

  • 77% = Offer incentives such as free products, coupons, and discounts
  • 46% = Solve problems and provide product or service information such as customer service
  • 39% = Solicit feedback on products and services
  • 28% = Entertain me or provide access to premium content
  • 26% = Develop new ways for me to interact with their brands, such as widgets, mobile apps, online games, and contests.
  • 21% = Market to me through banner ads, targeted ads, and so on.

Is your brand offering incentives through social media in order to attract fans and followers and to keep those fans and followers engaged?  Three out of four new media users are looking for those incentives!

When asked what the reasons are that new media users stop following companies and brands online, the results were primarily spread fairly evenly among three annoying activities:

  • 58% = The company or brand acted irresponsibly toward me or other consumers and I’m no longer a fan of it.
  • 58% = The company or brand over-communicates with me by sending spam, sending too many messages, or offering too much content to sift through.
  • 53% = The company or brand provides irrelevant content.
  • 36% = The company or brand doesn’t communicate enough, meaning it doesn’t respond to comments, publish fresh content, offer incentives, or offer interesting content.
  • 28% = The company or brand censors the content consumers post on its new media channels such as deleting negative blog post comments or wall posts.

The above results follow the tips I always give related to social media and content marketing.  You have to offer relevant content and conversations that are meaningful to your target audience and add value to their lives.  However, people are very busy and don’t have time to weed through clutter or extraneous information to find the content that is relevant to them.  You need to be clear, concise, personable, honest, and real to succeed in attracting and keeping social media fans and followers to your brand.

How many of the things listed above are you doing the right way?  How many are you doing the wrong way?  Consumers are very clear about what they want from brands and companies on the social web.  The trick for companies is to forget about marketing and focus on listening and building relationships that lead to long-term sustainable growth.