Insight Categories: Marketing

I am in the advertising industry. I know the power of getting your message across in both traditional and online media. I grasp the power of PR. I make my money off of advertising.  Yet for the life of me I do not understand why banking and insurance giants are placing full page ads proclaiming how great they are, how they are smart choices for the new era in finance, etc ad nauseum. What in God’s name do they expect viewers to feel as they write empty ads all while the press and the Prez are all pointing to spending excesses, exec bonuses, and money from the TARP ear-marked for acquisitions? Just this one time, I want to cry, “Stop the advertising and start the lending…. NOW!”

Inside Facebook had a great post yesterday about marketing on Facebook that I recommend taking a few minutes to read. While some of the recommendations may make sense for your business, others may not. As with any marketing strategy, the right solution depends on your audience, their needs, and your business objectives.
Of the ten things that are listed in the article, the 5 that stood out the most to me, particularly for any business new to Facebook, are:

 

1. Create a Facebook page – Somewhat related to my post the other day, create a page with the understanding that it will require a commitment and investment of your time to maintain. If you are willing to make the effort, then this step is a no-brainer and a must have.

 

1. Create Facebook events – If you are a business that has frequent events (i.e. open houses, tours, happy hours, public meetings, etc.) then creating Facebook events is a low effort action you can take to get the word out. When someone agrees to “attend” your event, that action will show up in the news feed of their friends virally extending your event to others.

 

1. Add Facebook share links to your website – Again, a low effort action that should be a part of any good design process (it is certainly a part of ours). Assuming the content of your site is appropriate for “sharing” then a share link makes complete sense.

 

1. Publish fresh photos, videos, and updates – I want to emphasize that it’s not just posting fresh photos and videos, it’s consistently posting content that your intended audience perceives as valuable. But this also circles back to #1… if you cannot commit to posting content consistently, hold off on jumping into the social media waters.

 

1. Talk to your customers – This is a no brainer. It would not be called social media if it did not require you to be social. Facebook and other platforms allow you the opportunity to hear what your customers are saying, and a chance to respond. While you must be prepared to take the bad commentary with the good, I view that negative feedback as an opportunity to turn a bad brand experience into a good one and through social media, that opportunity has become even easier than it was before.

 

 
So, start with these five, and then based on how successful you are in taking these steps and how committed you are to marketing your brand on social media platforms decide whether or not social ads and applications make sense for you. As I said before, when we (or you) develop a social media strategy, the platform and mechanisms should be determined by the audience, the message, and your business objective.

Check out the whole article here.

This is an interesting way to get a good sense of how Twitter is being utilized amongst online audiences.

The best producers of short* content in 2008
*140 characters or less, on Twitter

The Shorty Awards honor the world’s top Twitterers. You can nominate as many people for as many categories as you’d like until midnight December 31st.

There will be an awards ceremony in New York in late January, where the winners can deliver their 140-character acceptance speeches.

shortyawards.com

Top nominees include categories such as:

• advertising
• apps
• brand
• business
• design
• entertainment
• finance
• food
• green
• humor
• music
• news
• nonprofits
• personal
• politics
• science
• sports
• startups
• tech
• weird

Grafik is pleased to announce that our marketing initiatives for EYA have earned two MAME (Major Achievement in Marketing Excellence) Awards. Grafik received “Best Community Brochure” for work with Arts District Hyattsville and National Park Seminary. The 2007 MAME awards include those involved with the marketing of homes, communities, and rental apartments in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia counties. The awards honor outstanding achievements in sales, marketing, and construction of new homes. In addition, Grafik congratulates EYA for taking home two additional awards that include “Salesperson of the Year” and “Community of the Year.”

Grafik is pleased to announce that we have recently been awarded a contract by the Economic Census Bureau to develop an advertising and promotional campaign for the upcoming 2007 Economic Census. Over the past year, Grafik has worked closely with the organization to develop a communications strategy geared towards raising awareness and increasing response for the Economic Census, a survey conducted every five years that provides a detailed portrait of the Nation’s economy on both the national and local levels. According to Lance Wain, Vice President of Business Development, “We are excited to keep the momentum going with the Economic Census Bureau and look forward to implementing the strategies we have recommended”.