Social Media–It’s a Team Sport!

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Nancy Bohman

If your organization’s social media program isn’t yet in high gear, this post is for you. You wouldn’t enter a cycling team in a long-distance race without a great deal of preparation from planning to training, and ensuring you have the all the right gear to go the distance. Success with social media also requires a great deal of planning, preparation and of course flawless execution.  It takes a team to pull it off.

 Many business and marketing professionals have asked me where to focus their social media and how to make the most of it.  As mentioned in the past, I believe strongly in first developing a strategy and a plan, identifying who you want to reach, and with what message and call to action.  First find out what your target market is talking about online.  Listen and learn from conversations in your industry.

After you’ve developed a strategy, or worked with a professional outside firm to help you develop one, execution is critical.  A colleague one said “Execution Eats Plans for Breakfast”.  This is true in so many scenarios—of course in sports, and also when it comes to marketing through social media.  Even the best plan won’t garner results without a skilled team of experienced social media experts handling the execution.

Several times I’ve seen businesses assign team members with very little social media experience or training to implement their social media plan. The thinking goes something like this ….”Well, anyone can post on Facebook or Twitter.”  But this same group of business managers probably wouldn’t consider assigning ‘just anyone’ to developing key content for their sales messages, or their website.  They are typically disappointed with their social media results and find themselves wondering if it’s really an effective route for marketing.

 Social Media isn’t just about posting and activity, it’s about interacting with customers and potential customers on relevant information they are interested in discussing in a conversational way. It’s about positioning your organization as a ‘thought leader’ by serving up fantastic ideas and content that is helpful to your audience. And this takes an expert team approach.  If you want to manage your social media internally, plan to dedicate the hours necessary to win the race. Assign a team manager with lots of experience and understanding of social media. Gather a team of 3 – 4 people or more depending on the size of your organization, and offer continual training to keep them up to date on the constantly changing environment.  Set team goals and monitor results during execution.  Remember, ‘Execution Eats Plans for Breakfast’.

If you don’t have the internal resources available to dedicate to social media, talk to a professional about creating a social media team for your business.

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5 Costly Mistakes in B2B Social Media

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Nancy Bohman

1. Multiple ‘online voices’. Whether it’s a post on Facebook, a tweet, or an online article, lack of a consistent online voice that’s consistent with your brand can cause confusion. In order to continually curate great content, you’ll most likely have a team of people posting for your business. However, if each employee injects their own personality under one company account, the result can be very confusing to your audience.

Take time to think about your brand personality and how it translates into an online voice. How would someone with your brand attributes interact as a person? What is the culture of your organization? Your business’s online voice would be similar to how you want your sales team to interact with customers.

2. Using your business account for personal opinions. For example, many larger businesses have a policy not to ‘Like’ other pages on Facebook. By associating with particular religious affiliations or political groups you are making a statement about your brand. On Twitter, Android Community has over 20,000 followers and only follows 21 people. You know the old saying about ‘you can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep’. Keep this in mind when ‘Liking’ someone on Facebook or following people on Twitter—your associations make a statement about your brand.

3. Limiting your target audience. Of course social media is about sharing information with connections and often your connections will be your customers. Tools such as Twitter, Facebook and blogs can be used to build loyalty with customers and encourage them to refer you to others. However, don’t forget about potential customers. Don’t assume everyone reading your posts has a full understanding of what products or services you provide. By providing a simple and clear overview of the solutions you provide, you can bring in potential customers as followers too—and convert them to customers with a lead nurturing program.

4. Not understanding you’re audience interests. By now if you’re involved in social media, you probably know that blasting out product information through social media is ineffective. Making an assumption about what your audience wants to hear can be a costly mistake. Most likely you’re target market has a range of familiarity with your company and products and also a range of interests. Knowing who they are and engaging with them to find out what their interests are will save you from making the mistake of providing too much or too little detail on new products or services. This is best accomplished by posting thoughtful questions about customer needs – asking for feedback.

5. All work and no play. While mistake #3 warns about making personal posts on your business account, it’s okay to bring in a ‘personal’ approach to your business communications. As you develop your ‘online voice’ you’ll have more success if you communicate casually as you would in a conversation. It’s okay to interject lightheartedness into your posts. Perhaps a little humor about current events in your industry. Or consider including information about a customer event with photos. A freight company in Ohio asked customers to post their favorite bumper stickers on their Facebook page. You get the idea, just make sure it is related to your company or your industry.

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Content Marketing – The Core of Your Social Media Plan

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Nancy Bohman

Content Marketing - Social Media StrategyIn the last post “Segmenting Audiences for Online Marketing” I mentioned that different audiences are seeking different things from your online content.  For example, some potential customers are looking to improve their knowledge about products and services online, and others, particularly younger audiences want to be entertained while they also gather information and connect with others with their same interests. 

 If you are engaging in social media for your business without a strategy or plan, chances are you may not be getting the results you were hoping for.  An effective social media strategy should incorporate many things such as your goals and objectives, areas of interest among potential customers, a plan to position your organization or your CEO as a thought leader in your market, content strategy, tools you plan to use and online groups you will engage with and participate in, and of course a plan for measurement and evaluation.

In traditional marketing we may segment the audience by industry, title, or geography. While these segments sometimes still apply to social media and online marketing, considering what your potential customers are interested throughout the buying process is even more important.  For example, if you are targeting purchasers of technology in the healthcare market, one of the most important steps you can take is to ask your current and potential customers what information they are looking for when making a decision when buying a product like yours.  Are they looking for case studies, an analysis of potential ROI, or examples of successful implementation in other healthcare organizations?

The only way to find out what your audience values in terms of online content or social media content is to ask them. Utilizing a third party to gather the information often turns up more accurate information that a customer may not share with you directly.  A third party marketing expert may find out what your competitors were offering that your current customers found most helpful – even if they ended up buying from you.

First, determine the most important factors potential customers consider during the buying process and what influences them.  By using this as your guide, you are now ready to develop your ‘content marketing’ topics.

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Segmenting Audiences for Online Marketing

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Nancy Bohman

Segmenting Audience For Social MediaIf your business has been engaging in social media or online marketing as part of your marketing strategy, you probably already know that ‘blasting’ information to the masses isn’t effective. What are your goals for your social media plan? What specific audience do you want to reach? If you aren’t sure, it’s time to step back and take the time to develop a social media and online marketing strategy.

Just as ‘mass marketing’ through direct mail or email is ineffective, the same is true for social media. In the initial stages of a web marketing plan, many companies simply post announcements about what’s happening in their organization. While sometimes this may be appropriate after you’ve engaged your audience, the goal is to create two-way conversations with your customers and potential customers.

Social media is social. Think of it as an in-person networking event, or a business cocktail party. Posting general one-way communications online could be compared to standing on a chair at a business event and shouting about your latest product or service. First of all, not many people would hear you because they are engaging in conversations with others. Secondly, do you really want to be that person? The same rule can be applied to social media for businesses. The people you are trying to reach have come to ‘the party’ online to connect with others, to learn and be entertained.

Depending on your target market and the segments with in it, they probably have different expectations and needs online. For example, the GlobalWebIndex has reported that older customers seek to improve their knowledge online, while the younger audience wants to be entertained in addition to seeking knowledge and connecting with people. With this in mind, consider your target audience and what their expectations may be from your organization. If you aren’t sure, it’s best not to make an assumption and miss the mark. Take time to find out by asking them online, through conversation, or through third party market research.

So how might you go about segmenting your target audience for social media? Perhaps by vertical market, geographically, size of the business, by their role or position in a company, or customers vs. potential customers. Once you have determined your market segments, the next step is to find where they are connecting online. For example, if you are targeting healthcare professionals, there are many RSS feeds and online healthcare content sites for various areas of the highly segmented medical industry. If your goal is to reach alternative fuel companies in Ohio, you may want to locate Ohio business and technology or energy forums.

By engaging with your audience online and contributing helpful quality content, you will be on your way to positioning as a ‘thought leader’ in your industry. To learn more about how to use online marketing and social media effectively to grow your business, contact me for a complimentary one hour consultation.

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Are Your B2B Customers Using Social Media?

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Nancy Bohman

B2B Social MediaYes, and in higher numbers than you might think. Global Web Index just released a research report sharing that 60 percent of business to business (B2B) decision makers globally say they are engaged with social media and the report also revealed that B2B decision makers are more socially engaged than average internet users.1

When talking with clients and business leaders about social media as part of a marketing strategy, one of the most common questions I’m asked is, “Does our target market (senior decision makers), really use social media?” While it may have been true several years ago that the social media audience skewed towards younger, non-decision makers, this is certainly no longer the case. Senior level decision makers according to the Global Web Index study, are even more engaged in social media than other decision makers in general.

 Businesses that may still be holding out on social media marketing  are not only missing the opportunity to engage with potential customers online, but they risk losing market share to competitors who have been engaging potential customers online for years. So does this mean if you are ‘late to the game’ in terms of engaging with customers online you should immediately go out and start blogging or tweeting? Not necessarily. As with any marketing initiatives, starting with a strategy will increase your likelihood of success. You wouldn’t just blast out millions of emails without considering your target market and tailoring the message to your audience.

If you aren’t getting the results you want from your social media efforts, or if perhaps you aren’t sure what type of results to expect, or how to measure them, it’s time to develop a social media strategy with measurable goals. Social media is about engaging with customers in a conversation, while positioning yourself, and your organization as an expert or thought leader in your industry.

It’s possible to segment your market while marketing through social media. Look for my next post to learn more about how to engage target audiences online with tailored messages for better results.

1 Global Web Index, SlideShare: Tom Smith

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Time for a Marketing HealthCheck?

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Nancy Bohman

Marketing Strategy, BrandingToday, we had a wonderful group of business professionals at Tech Columbus for my presentation on “Marketing HealthCheck – Strategies for Growth”.  A big thank you to those of you who shared your marketing ideas with the group and contributed to the lively discussion!

 If you’ve had the opportunity to work with different organizations in your career like I have, you’ve probably noticed that they have varying levels and approaches to marketing.  In working with clients over the years, five key areas of marketing have bubbled to the top in terms of evaluating where a company is in terms of having an ‘evolved’ or ‘healthy’ marketing approach.

The five areas include strategy, brand and positioning, targeting, customer research and messaging.  The first question is, does your company have a marketing strategy? A strategy is not social media, or digital marketing, or a website.  A strategy is an approach or direction you may take to achieve a goal.  Is your marketing reactionary or proactive? Is your marketing strategy closely tied to the company objectives?

Branding and Positioning is also a key element to marketing.  A healthy marketing approach has a clearly defined brand that is based on customer research and customer’s needs and desires.  It also considers the competition and positions the company in a clear and unique niche.

 Defining a target market is something that most companies will say they’ve already handled.  However, by further defining and segmenting, you are likely to improve your results.  For example, ask yourself ‘what type of customers’ are our most profitable’?  Who are our ‘top 10 percent of customers in terms of revenue’?  I’m surprised by the number of business leaders who can’t answer this question.  By creating a profile describing your ‘ideal customer’ and using this profile as your target market, your marketing budget will go much further.

 Whether or not a business has taken the time to perform marketing and customer research is also a key indicator of their level of ‘marketing health’.  Often what clients believe is their key ‘differentiator’ turns out not to be rated as highly relevant or important by their customers.  Find out what your customers consider to be the most important factors in selecting a company in your industry. 

 Your marketing research will lead to ideas on messaging.  Customers will often use the same phrases or language to describe their ‘pain points’ or what they are looking for in a product or service.  Use this information as a key to what to include in your messaging.

 If you’d like to test your own organization’s Marketing Health – take this Marketing HealthCheck online and receive a complimentary report on where you are and how you can progress to the next step in strategic marketing.

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5 Myths of Marketing

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Nancy Bohman

Strategic Marketing Insights from Women in Science & Technology -Tech Columbus

Today I had the opportunity to be a part of a panel at the Women in Technology & Science event at Tech Columbus. I was accompanied by four smart, savvy business women from Central Ohio.  Ruth Milligan of ar.tic.u.la.tion inc. moderated our panel and helped to rein in our broad topic of “marketing’ and determine a few areas of focus. Strategic marketing learnings are shared from a few ‘successful’ case studies and some that weren’t so successful.

 

Myth #1:  A Conversation with Family and Friends is Market Research.

Joan Manter of Manter Consulting pointed out that while it’s okay to ask family and friends for their feedback on products or services, this doesn’t constitute market research.  Family, friends and basically anyone who knows us will most likely shy away from giving honest constructive criticism- which is exactly what is needed prior to a new product launch. Even discussion among an internal product or marketing team at a larger company isn’t enough.  Getting both quantitative and qualitative input from customers and potential customers is critical to bringing a product to the market if you want to have a better than average shot at succeeding

Myth #2:  We’ll Sell More with a Broader Target Market.

I addressed this myth along with Amy Marshall of Webbed Marketing. Many companies think they’ve clearly defined their target market — ‘small businesses’, people 20 – 40 in age, ‘businesses in a specific state or regional area’.  However, defining a target market as specifically as possible is necessary for success.  In working with clients, especially entrepreneurs and optimists, I’ve found that they are often reluctant to define a target market too narrowly.  Naturally, they don’t want to miss out on an opportunity.  However, really honing in on a niche market doesn’t exclude anyone from buying your product or service – it simply allows you to focus your marketing budget on reaching those ‘most likely to do business with you’ and ‘those who are the most profitable customers’. With limited marketing budgets, the more clearly and specifically we can define a target market – the better results we’ll see on marketing initiatives.

Recently, we worked with a client who targeted ‘small businesses in Ohio’ with technology services. Through several strategic planning sessions and customer and market research, we were able to more clearly define their target market as “serving as an IT Department to medical practices”.  Most of the clients were already in the healthcare field and the staff had a great deal of knowledge and expertise in healthcare technology.  Now clients feel like they are dealing with the ‘expert’ in their industry.

Amy Marshall gave the example of her own company, Webbed Marketing in their early years.  Initially, they offered a more broad range of services trying to be ‘everything to everyone’.  They quickly learned that they were better at some services than others and that some services weren’t all that profitable.  By adapting and paring down their services to what they did best, they were able to better highlight their core strengths.  This allowed them to become ‘thought leaders’ in the area of SEO and SEM.

Myth # 3:  Customers Don’t Know What They Need, But We Do.

Yes, it’s true; a technology business owner made this claim and asked if we could come up with a marketing plan to convince customers they needed their product.  Much easier to take time to do a little market research, both quantitative and qualitative to find out what the customer’s ‘pain points’ are and make sure your product offers a desirable solution.  We worked with a promotional apparel firm on their strategic marketing plan, branding, PR and marketing initiatives. They were certain that what set them apart from the competition was the fact that they had ‘the ‘largest showroom in the Midwest’. At the time, they were centering their branding and messaging around the showroom.  However, when surveyed, their customers ranked the ‘largest showroom in the Midwest’ as number eight on a list of attributes they were looking for in a promotional apparel firm.  Number one was ‘receiving updates on the status of their order’.  Who knew?!  If we don’t ask the customers we’ll never find out what is relevant to them. We worked with the firm to develop new branding and messaging – that would resonate with their potential customers.  They went on to win many business awards and were on the Inc. 500 list, and were recognized by the magazine Fast Company.

Myth # 4: Once We Have a Plan, Everything Else Will Fall Into Place.

Padma Sastry of Nationwide shared a favorite quote, “Execution Eats Plans for Breakfast”.  She would know, having spent most of her career as a leader in the technology world!  Padma’s advice was straightforward and memorable.  1.  Recruit the right team members to executive.  2.  Communicate to anyone who will be impacted.  3. Collaborate with the right team members.  4. Focus on the steps necessary for a successful execution.

Myth # 5: Keeping Information “Secret” Protects Us from the Competition.

Amy Marshall shared a story about a small ERP vendor in a crowded market space. They had recommended a strategy for the firm to create valuable online content, sharing white papers and case studies, thus positioning the company as ‘thought leaders’ in the ERP space for mid-sized businesses.  However, the ERP vendor’s management was not comfortable sharing case studies or successes online.  Amy’s team was unable to successfully implement the ‘thought leadership’ strategy due to the firm’s unwillingness to share information and as a result, competitors are more visible online.

Ruth Milligan closed by sharing the success Jeni’s “Splendid Ice Cream” is having online with their blog. Who else can blog about ‘beets’ and ‘berries’ in an interesting and engaging way and gain over 20,000 followers on Facebook?

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Balancing Patience and Results

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Nancy Bohman

Lily Buds - Bohman Marketing Blog

This week I received a very large bouquet of green buds. The florist included a card that said ‘the magic happens after they arrive’!  Patience to say the least is not one of my strong points. Although, as my week unfolded so did the lovely blooms.  Changing and growing each day.  And this reminded me of the importance of balancing patience and results.  I love results. Actually I thrive on results. Making things happen for our clients—‘creating results’ for businesses is very rewarding.

In today’s fast-paced world of information overload, business communications continue to evolve rapidly.  With social media as a communications tool, feedback and results may be instant. However, it’s important to have an overall goal, and a strategic plan for your social media program.  Tweeting and posting without a strategy or plan is sort of like tossing a few wildflower seeds into your backyard every day, month after month. It may turn into something, but then again, it may not.

For a better result in social media, take time to identify who you want to engage with. Find out what your audience is interested in talking about – learning about.  Take time to listen to what they are already saying online. Determine the best way to contribute helpful, valuable content to the conversation. Start new conversations. Determine where you will add value – and make sure your communication is in line with your brand message.

And while blogs, tweets, and posts are released instantly and often, the real value of social media happens over time as you engage and strengthen your relationships with customers.  Try setting mini measures of success along the way in terms numbers of followers or customer engagements, leads received, etc.  This will allow you to see fast results. The overall goal of your social media plan may be longer term increased brand awareness, increased leads and revenue, or customer loyalty. Of course this is brings us back to balancing results with patience.

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