Faith v. Science: In the Advertising World

 Faith and Science in advertising shows the differences between ads a business “believes” will bring in customers ads that are “Scientifically-proven” to bring in customers.

 …And I know what you are thinking… (“This discussion is going to try to sell me on a type of advertising to use, and induce my spiritual beliefs no less.”)

  I would be lying to you if I told you I do not have a dog in this fight.  On the other hand I have been a believer in both Faith-based and Science-based advertising in the past, so my writings are based strictly on experience.

 The comparison in this discussion between Faith in the religious world and in the advertising world may be frowned upon but in a literal sense the thought processes are very similar. This post certainly is not a referendum one way or another. This is not to say that Faith and Science are not mixed in the ad world.

 I just want to share with you how both forms of advertising stack up and you will decide whether to use both or stick with the one who got you here.

Today’s Post will be a brief discussion on Faith-based Advertising:

 When we talk about Faith-based advertising we mean these are forms of advertising where the advertiser has a “pretty good idea” of “belief that customers who buy come directly from their ads.

 While many agencies try to employ “scientific tactics” such as frequency, reach, comment cards, CPC, CPM, etc. in the end all the agency can tell an advertiser is that potential customers have seen/heard the message. The holy grail of advertising is in the ability to see that potential customer make the choice to become an “actual customer”.

The problem with these forms of media is they can be very expensive to produce and run. Furthermore upkeep is critical if you want your business to stay relevant. Compounding this is the issue of not really “knowing” whether the potential customers have made a purchase because of the ad.

 Don’t get me wrong, many Fortune 500 companies employed tried and true forms of faith based advertising to grow themselves from meager beginnings to the conglomerates they are today. As a veteran of traditional media, I know of many advertisers who strongly believe in their ad partners and creative teams who produce their TV commercials or radio spots.

 Overall I feel that these media forms are GREAT for branding and should be used especially if you have established your business in the market. If you are a new business, there are more effective ways to build your business.

Let me know what you think!

Tomorrow we will discuss pros and cons of Science-based Advertising.

Social Media's Silver Bullet: Group Coupon Sites Help Businesses Justify Costs - Social Media Marketing, livingsocial, groupon

Social Media's Silver Bullet: Group Coupon Sites Help Businesses Justify Costs - Social Media Marketing, livingsocial, groupon

Social Media Marketing is finally measurable. That is the word from Chris Mott, a social media consultant and trainer in the industry.

Why Social Media Marketing is not just about "Marketing"

Happy New Year Readers! I hope your first day back to work is not as dreadful as you thought it would be when you woke up this morning.

In 2011, more and more businesses will focus on using social media to market their products and services to potential customers. Some businesses will be effective in increasing sales through social media marketing and some businesses will not. As the social media buzz intensifies, remember that whether or not your are successful in finding new clients via social media it is as important for your business to actively be using social media to speak to the customers you already have.

It can be argued that the single most important function of social media usage for a business is the two-way communication with satisfied customers. The user that you have already done business with in the past is much more likely to comment on your post or create their own post on your social profile. Building relationships with past clients will generate more content for your social media pages and ideally your clients will share your page and posting with their connections.

Creating conversations directed at these users gives off the impression that your company excels in customer service (which you ought to anyways). Social CRM platforms such as Chatter allows businesses to collaborate on specific customer related issues that can surface on social networks.

Over the next 12 months, I hope that your business puts a larger emphasis on social media, not just to increase sales, but to improve client relations and service as well. Please leave positive and negative comments :)

SocialMediaMidAtlantic.com

LinkedIn for Losers?

Check out this post by Courtney Body Myers. I like the concept and some of her points, except for the section about LinkedIn. Is LinkedIn really for losers? REALLY?!!

New Media: Your Social Media Strategy in 60 Seconds

From The Next Web

Bad Behavior

This is an excellent blog post on the wrong way to handle a problem in Social Media. Thank you Chipotle!

What is Chipotle’s Social Media/PR Team THINKING?

MUST READ: Why Every Event In The World Should Allow Participant Live-Tweeting

Very Interesting Article by J.D. Rucker about live-event tweeting and its benefits. If you are a networking organization or a business that holds large events, this is a MUST READ!

The Link->
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/26h5bZ/soshable.com/why-every-event-in-the-world-should-allow-participant-live-tweeting/

How to Engage Your Customers:

As a business society we are now trying to engage ourselves and our businesses into social media, the question always is...What's Next? You have taken the 1st step by creating your business page on Facebook, or you have created a Twitter account and you wonder how you are supposed to use it to achieve your business goals which 99.99% of the time, to generate sales. 

I see people write questions everyday on LinkedIn such as: How can I get more Twitter followers or Facebook Fans? The idea here being the more followers you have the better chance you have of creating a sale. While sometimes this is true, social media does not necessarily follow this pattern. Whether you have 50 or 50,000 twitter followers, these "tweeters" do not mean very much if you are not engaging with them, answering questions or updating your pages regularly. 

Be wary of any Website who promises to get you 5,000 Facebook friends for just $60/month or some sales pitch like that. Many of these companies use a spam-type program which creates "fake friends" and does not target people that may actually be interested what you have to offer. It can be time-consuming and work intensive to find your loyal followers, but your prospects for business development using social networks will be better for it.

The key in social media is all in the content. If you are creating captivating content that interests your followers or fans, you stand a much better chance of having your company's message shared across social networks (going viral). In turn you have a better chance of finding potential customers that can't wait to hear about a new product that you are launching or read your next blog posting.

If you make it easy for your current customers to contact you on social media, they will be more likely to continue doing business with you and will refer you to their connections. Much like traditional customer service work, social media is an important medium in generating feedback from your customers. Transparency in business practices makes some industries cringe, and social media by its very nature forces businesses to put themselves out in the public eye for scrutiny. Answering questions and concerns out in the open not only pleases the customer with the issues,  but will also promote good will among your fans and potential customers.

Social Media in many ways acts as a tool for PR and customer service in your business. As you get more engaged with your customers and better at creating content, the fruits of your labor will be in full bloom.

More information at Social Media Mid Atlantic