Getting the most out of your Facebook Page
Just when I thought I knew all there was to know about Facebook marketing, a recent Facebook marketing webinar I sat in on, made me realize that I’ve only scratched the surface.
The webinar, The Ultimate Facebook Makeover: How to Turn Your Facebook Page into a Client-Generating Money Magnet, was led by Amy Porterfield, a social media strategist and co-author of Facebook Marketing All-In-One for Dummies. She presented a lot of great information, tips, tools, etc., but what stood out to me the most were her 12 Facebook marketing mistakes (aka: “The Dirty Dozen”).
But rather than list them all here, I would like to share only the ones that stood out to me the most:
1) There is a difference between a profile and a page, but you need both.
- Profile = personal persona
- Page = business persona (engage, promote, sell)
2) Don’t forget to link!
When you have both a profile and a page, it’s important to remember to link the two. One good way to do this is from “About” in your profile. Under “Current Place You Work”, include a link to your Facebook page.
3) Communicate with followers.
Check daily to see who has been writing on your wall by clicking “Highlights” and “Posts by Others” under custom applications. This will help you see if there are any worthy of responding to. If so, be sure to respond at least once a day.
4) Have a timeline strategy.
Facebook continues to enhance their features and the newest update is the timeline with a cover photo. One good way to get the most out of this is to have a couple cover photos ready to go: (1) create a static, generic cover photo to use when business is steady; (2) create a cover photo with a call-to-action when you have something new to sell/talk about.
5) Create strategic, custom apps.
Creating apps with catchy titles for your page can only add to your success on Facebook. They act as call-to-action buttons that engage your followers. For example, if you have a white paper you want to promote, you can create an app called “XYZ Whitepaper – Free!” and have it link to a contact form that users fill out to obtain your white paper.
A couple of online tools that will help you create customized apps for your Facebook page are www.lujure.com and www.customfanpagedesign.com.
6) Don’t ignore your “Insights”.
Insight statistics are a great way to see which of your posts get the most—or least amount of response from your followers. Are they sharing your posts, videos, photos, etc.? Or are they by-passing it? To monitor your Insights, go to your “Admin Panel” and click “See All” then “Insights” and you can scroll to see all of your past posts and whether people were sharing, ignoring or commenting on them. This will help you make adjustments with the content of your future posts.
What are some things you do to make sure your company Facebook page is outstanding? Tell us about them in the comments.
Epic Marketing Fails: Providing a Laugh and a Lesson (Part Three of Three)
FAIL #5: Coca-Cola trashes more than its image
Image source: http://www.searchinfluence.com/2012/04/memorable-marketing-fails/
As a sponsor for the NCAA Final Four, Coca-Cola thought it would be a good idea to graffiti its logo all along the French Quarter of New Orleans where the games were being hosted the weekend of March 30, 2012. Unfortunately, Coke soon learned that residents weren’t so receptive to their creative form of advertising. Their Twitter feed quickly began to explode with complaints from individuals who felt Coke had defaced their neighborhood. Receiving tweets like “way to trash our city,” from infuriated followers, Coke was forced to clean up the graffiti and apologize to residents of the city.
Lesson to be learned: Anticipate the fallout of your message.
Many companies favor using guerilla marketing techniques, which can have some hefty consequences if executed incorrectly. It’s best to make sure your idea won’t cause anyone or anything any kind of harm.
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FINAL TAKE-AWAY: Be strategic in your approach
You may be wondering at this point, what were these companies thinking? Well, as we all know, sometimes marketing campaigns get rushed. We may not have as much time to think our campaigns through as we’d like and mistakes can happen. However, it seems crazy to not give a campaign a critical review before putting it out for the masses. They call it strategic communication for a reason. Before you move a piece during a chess game, shouldn’t you think about all of the possible outcomes? Doesn’t it make sense that marketing be approached the same way? Before we make a marketing move, it would probably work best in our favor if we thought about all the possible outcomes.
Like a game of chess, too, we can learn from bad moves that ourselves and others have made. Hopefully this blog series has provided you with some good examples of moves not to make. Who knows? Perhaps having read this will someday save you from making that one bad move that would have put your company on a list like this one.
Are there any other interesting marketing/advertising fails that you can think of? Any creative marketing successes you can think of? Please share your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you!
Epic Marketing Fails: Providing a Laugh and a Lesson (Part Two of Three)
FAIL #3: Pepsi fails at Chinese translation
Image source: http://www.glantz.net/blog/campaigns-that-failed-to-translate
You may remember Pepsi’s old slogan, “Come alive with the Pepsi generation.” Well…Pepsi probably wishes they could forget this one. Only after taking the campaign and the slogan to China did they realize that in Chinese the slogan translated to “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave.”
Lesson to be learned: Do your research.
A marketing campaign that works perfectly on your home turf may be ineffective or even offensive in other cultures. Make sure the message you are translating will resonate with the different audience and that you follow the customs of the location where you intend to market.
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FAIL #4: Turner Broadcasting creates the appearance it’s bombing more than just its marketing campaign.
Image source: http://www.businesspundit.com/10-epic-advertising-fails-2/
One of, if not the biggest marketing fails of all time, occurred in 2007 when Turner Broadcasting attempted to market its television show, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, by placing blinking LED placards up across the city of Boston. Having hoped to draw the city’s curiosity, the campaign instead ended up drawing the city’s bomb squad when residents called to report suspicious wire filled devices that resembled explosives. Despite the panic it incited, no criminal charges were filed, but the company did have to pay millions to Homeland Security and city police to resolve the matter.
Lesson to be learned: Put yourself in the audience’s shoes.
Although the negative outcome of this campaign may have been a little harder to foresee, there were still plenty of reasons to suspect that such a reaction could occur. This campaign was occurring in a major city in a post 9/11 world. Whether they knew about the show or not, who wouldn’t be concerned by a device in the middle of a city block with wires sticking out of it? Lesson learned: always look at your marketing tactic from the perspective of the beholder. What will they think? How will they react?
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Enjoying this blog series? Don’t forget to check back on Wednesday for the third and final installment featuring one last hilarious marketing fail and a final take-away lesson.
Epic Marketing Fails: Providing a Laugh and a Lesson (Part One of Three)
Poorly thought out placards can unintentionally create a citywide bomb scare. Advertising with graffiti can enrage an entire town. A poorly translated slogan can make your company the laughingstock of a nation. They sound crazy, but these are some of the true and outrageous lessons that major companies have had to learn from failed attempts at creative marketing campaigns.
The clutter of marketing that exists today has created a tremendous need for creativity so that messages actually get the attention of their target audience. To keep up with this demand, companies have found themselves trying some very different marketing campaigns; some of which turned out to be true strokes of genius, while others….not so much (to put it politely). As long as there are going to be marketing campaign masterpieces, there are going to be the complete opposite as well. While these failures provide a good laugh, they can also provide us a good lesson of what NOT to do.
Stay tuned to our blog over the next week. On Monday we’ll be bringing you part two of this three part series, looking at some of the most embarrassing and most interesting marketing failures of all time and a lesson that you can learn from each.
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FAIL #1: Kentucky Fried Chicken gets grilled
Image source: http://www.businesspundit.com/10-epic-advertising-fails-2/
To market their newly revealed grilled chicken, KFC joined forces in 2009 with one of the most powerful forces on the planet; Oprah Winfrey. As a part of this business partnership, Oprah was to promote KFC’s offer of a free two-piece grilled chicken meal. Having underestimated Oprah’s influence, KFC was flabbergasted when an estimated 10 million people downloaded the coupon for the free meal online. Not having enough of the product to meet the demand, KFC had to actually turn customers away and in some locations, close early. With its tail tucked between its legs, KFC was forced to drop the deal and apologize to its frustrated clientele.
Lesson to be learned: Don’t promise something that you can’t deliver.
KFC customers felt cheated and infuriated when they were told they couldn’t receive the free chicken they were promised. The marketing strategy that was supposed to improve KFC’s relationship with its customers and positively promote its new chicken actually ended up doing the exact opposite. If this fiasco can teach us anything, it’s that if you’re going to offer something, you better actually be able to provide it.
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FAIL #2: No one’s drinking the Hacienda Kool-Aid
Image source: http://www.businesspundit.com/10-epic-advertising-fails-2/
Hacienda, a Mexican food chain in Indiana, posted billboards throughout the state, referencing the Jonestown Massacre, a mass suicide event where over 900 people died after drinking poisoned punch. The billboards, which showed a mixed drink and a caption reading “We’re like a cult with better Kool-Aid,” offended residents across the state. The billboards were taken down in a hurry, but not before providing the restaurants with a massive amount of negative publicity.
Lesson to be learned: Don’t associate your organization or product with something cynical.
As these billboards exemplify, it does not matter how unserious your message is, some people are always going to take it seriously. Even though you may find the humor in it, it is guaranteed that not everyone else will. Why risk association with something cynical? Wouldn’t it just be better to find a positive association?
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Like what you’ve read? Don’t forget to check back on Monday for part two of this series, with more interesting and funny marketing fails (and the lessons you can learn from them).
In the meantime, we’d love to hear your input on these first two marketing fiascos. What are your thoughts? Are you shocked these failures were able to occur? Could something, or has something like this, occurred at your company?
Company culture: What’s your icon?
Every company has a logo. But how many organizations have an icon that represents what it stands for? In my work helping companies articulate their culture, we often “personify” the company, using its personality and values to create a snapshot of who the company would be if it were a person. It is given a name and introduced to every employee (new and existing) as a guide to make decisions. “What Would (NAME) Do?” is the answer to “what should I do in this situation?” Because everyone in the organization has been exposed to the personification, it becomes a framework for consistent decision making.
I had the opportunity to talk with Cameron Mitchell about his culture, and he told me about the Milkshake icon. Every associate in the company knows the Milkshake story. It drives their behavior with each and every customer by reminding them, “The answer is YES. What’s the question?” Cameron chose this icon because he was once told at a restaurant (not his) that they didn’t have milkshakes on the menu. Cameron’s son really wanted one. The waiter’s answer was “No, we don’t have milkshakes.” Cameron asked if they had milk. “Yes” was the reply. Did they have ice cream? “Yes.” Chocolate? “Yes.” Then they had milkshakes.
Another company I have worked with, Elford Construction, has personified “Pop,” the founder of the 101-year old company. While every employee knows Pop and the mission, vision, and values of the company, the icon that brings it to life is a worn work boot. It signifies the way they do business — with their customers every step of the way, in the trenches working hard to get it done right, as dependable as the sunrise and sunset, as honest as the day is long. A worn work boot is on display in Elford’s lobby in a museum-like kiosk along with the original ledger sheet and a few other artifacts.
Both of these companies began their icon by articulating their mission, vision and core values. Both have enjoyed success because every team member LIVES those values. – It’s mandatory.
We’d like to hear about your company’s icon. And, we’d like to share an Up Close and Personal form with you that can help you bring your company to life. For more details on articulating your company’s culture and developing its icon, contact Sandy Fekete.
Visualizing Quantitative Data: A lesson in identifying untapped insight
Each week at Marketing Works, we try and feature a presentation at our staff meetings. This may be from a fellow worker, vendor or anyone that seems relevant to our development as a company. Last Monday it was my turn to present and I chose a topic related to a recent project.
At the beginning of the project we were presented with a great deal of information – most of it qualitative*. I was then assigned with the task of representing this qualitative information in graphic form. Roadblock. Visually representing words (or content) is a daunting task upfront. How else should I display a word other than in a sentence?
Refusing to succumb to defeat, I delved into research, focusing on the visualization of quantitative data. It’s an interesting subject, offering more than a few remarkable solutions to the given problem.
One of the best and most user friendly solutions I came across was Tagxedo. Self described as a service that “turns words into a visually stunning word cloud,” Tagxedo is an amazing resource. What is a word cloud you ask? A word cloud is an aggregation of content (say a speech) into a cloud of words. Words that occur more frequently in the content appear larger in the cloud. To give you an example, here is a word cloud of Abraham Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address.
The versatility of Tagxedo is amazing, as it allows you to customize font, color and even shape of your word cloud. Do you want your word cloud from the speech to actually look like Abraham Lincoln? Not a problem:
Now before you get sidetracked with how many cool pictures you can make, let’s take a step back and look at the value of the service.
The goals of visualization are as follows:
- Organization
- Exploration
- Interpretation
- Presentation
By creating this word cloud, we were able to quickly organize the content of the speech into single words. Exploring the cloud, we can see that certain words stand out in size, relating to their high frequency. We interpret these high frequency words as those that are highly important in the speech, allowing us to pull out caveats. Nation. War. People. Dead. Dedication. New. We are able to present this as a quick visual aid when trying to explain the themes within and purpose of the Gettysburg Address.
Ben Shneiderman was nothing but accurate when he said, “The purpose of visualization is insight, not pictures.”
But what does this all mean to me? Many don’t realize how much qualitative information they are actually exposed to. It’s an untapped resource for unparalleled insight. A couple examples you might run into are:
- Social Media content
- Webpage copy
- Notes
- Interviews
- Focus group feedback
- Open-ended survey responses
I challenge you to take your content and run it through Tagxedo. See what insights you can glean and turn into surprising feedback for your client.
*For those who are unaware, there are two general categorizations for information: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative information can most simply be described as “number” information. This includes any measurable data, such as temperature or weight. Qualitative information is more content driven. Categorization is not determined by numbers, but more intangible factors.
Learn the Art of Networking and What PRSA Offers to New Pros
Next Thursday (March 29), Marketing Works’ President, Brenda Stier-Anstine, will be presenting at the Columbus PRSA New Pros’ first open workshop at Camelot Cellars in the Short North. She will be sharing advice and tips to help make the most out of networking events. Do you know the proper placement of your nametag, successful conversation starters, how to properly end a conversation or which hand you should hold your drink? Leah Moon, PRSA’s National New Pros Section Chair, will also be present to discuss PRSA’s value for professionals with less than five years of experience.
All young pros are invited to come out, enjoy a glass of wine and learn useful tools for their career. Those interested in attending should RSVP to Jeana Harrington (jeana@gebencommunication.com) or Janelle Huelsman (janelle.huelsman@fahlgren.com) by Tuesday, March 27, 2012.
Who: Central Ohio PRSA New Pros Section
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, March 29, 2012
Where: Camelot Cellars, 958 North High Street. Free parking is available on 2nd Avenue, and metered parking is available on North High Street.
Cost: Free to all Central Ohio PRSA members, PRSSA students and non-members with less than five years of experience.
Twitter Retweet Best Practices in Four Easy Steps
RT @HubSpot- great article on how to retweet correctly (insert link here).
There are lots of informative tweets on Twitter these days that we want to share with our followers. But, there is a right way and a wrong way to retweet. I know that retweet icon makes it quick and easy to retweet something, but whatever you do, don’t use it!
Active tweeters consider the retweet button to be a coveted feature on Twitter, but ironically, Twitter didn’t develop or adopt this traditional form of retweet—its customers did! Trust me, this little icon will actually do you more harm than good.
The biggest and most obvious drawback is that you are unable to add your opinion to the tweet. You can’t say why you felt it was retweet-worthy or what you’d like to point out. Being able to add to the initial tweet is a really important aspect and something the retweet icon prohibits.
Another limitation is that it misses the important relationship-building role that retweets play. With automatic retweets, the person you’re retweeting won’t know it unless they routinely check their tab titled “Your Tweets, retweeted.” Retweeting the manual way, although old fashioned, has a lot of value. It allows you to incorporate your thoughts and the person you’re retweeting will know that you have retweeted them, which is likely to be taken as a compliment. A little compliment now and then can go a long way!
So, here are four easy steps to help you retweet manually:
1. Copy the entire tweet, including the Twitter username of the person who sent it, and paste it into the text box wherever you normally tweet.
2. Delete the user’s name and any unessential characters that came over when you copied and pasted. Type “RT @” at the very front of the tweet.
3. Edit the tweet down to fit 140 characters and/or allow comment space. Get rid of optional punctuation, change “and” to “&,” and abbreviate. Don’t forget to check link URLs carefully because Twitter’s handling can break them when you copy & paste. You may need to add “http://” back in.
4. Add your two cents either before or after the retweet.
Leave other Twitter best practices in the comments. Happy tweeting everyone!
Utica Shale Congress 2012 in Columbus
Heard the buzz about Utica Shale? As connectors and advocates for economic development, we’re passionate about sharing information and resources that may play a role in moving organizations forward. If you follow the news, the emergence of the Utica Shale boom, is one of the most exciting and potentially profitable opportunities to hit the mid-west since the gold rush.
Columbus is the host for the upcoming Utica Shale Congress. Have no clue what the Utica Shale is? Let us tell you about it.
2011 was an amazing year for Utica Shale, a rock found right here in Ohio which has the potential to become a massive natural gas resource. The precious rock made seven deals in the area worth $6.7 billion, up from only one billion the year before. The Utica Shale Congress 2012 is a chance for individuals to meet and discuss the amazing potential of what may be one of the last untapped Shales in North America.
As valued media partners of Utica Shale, we want to pass our 15% discount on admission to you. To claim the exclusive Marketing Works discount, contact info@american-business-conferences.com or call (1) 800 721 3915 and quote ‘MW12‘ upon registration (terms and conditions apply). As well, if you register before March 9, you save an additional $200.
Here’s a quick breakdown:
What is it?
The Utica Shale Congress is the first operator-oriented initiative dedicated entirely to unlocking Utica’s liquid-rich potential.
When is it? April 30 – May 1, 2012
Where is it? Right here in Columbus at the Sheraton Hotel located downtown at 75 East State Street.
Who will be there? VPs, Directors and technical experts from the leading Utica operators. Among those attending are Burleson LLP, Gold Spur Trucking LLC, Schlumberger, Hull & Associates, and over 25 senior industry speakers.
Why you should go: This is a great opportunity to take advantage of a new industry, meet new prospects, and become educated on emerging trends.
To learn more, visit http://www.utica-shale-congress.com/
Tell us how you will utilize the Utica Shale Congress coming to Columbus in the comments below.
As attendees ourselves, we look forward to seeing you there!
