Shere Marketing Blog

Twitter Stalking or Intelligence Gathering?

28 Oct 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Deciding who to follow on Twitter

ID chosen. Tick. Profile set up. Tick. Now what? You have got this great Twitter profile, you might even have customised the page a little, chosen your own background, and added a photo (hopefully). Now what?

You’ve got tonnes of stuff you want to say, but you are all alone with no followers. We’ve all been there. It can seem quite daunting deciding who to follow....

Are you the Twitter company you keep?

27 Oct 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Twitter Follower or Twitter Leader?

We’ve all heard the saying “You may know a man by the company he keeps”. Not only is the same true on Twitter, but ignore it at your peril.

Generally (as in life there are exceptions to the rule), if you have more followers than you are following you look like a leader, someone who is popular, someone who has something useful to say, therefore you look like someone who others should follow. People with positive follower to following ratios generally tweet useful insightful relevant snippets regularly. They don’t just talk about themselves and they don’t try to sell something to you all the time. They are the one’s everyone ...

Your logo is NOT your brand!

29 Sep 2010 12:00:00 GMT

WHAT IS A BRAND?

Ask what a brand is and you will get as many different answers as the number of people you ask.

The original definition of course is:
A mark made by burning with a hot iron (branding iron) to designate ownership (e.g. of cattle).
Over time, brands became associated with the quality of the cattle and the value of the cattle reflected this.

Life has moved on.

The Dictionary of Business and Management defines a brand as:
"A name, sign or symbol used to identify items or services of the seller(s) and to differentiate them from goods of competitors."
But this is incomplete. It does not explain how a strong brand can become more valuable than an otherwise equivalent product or service.

Walter Landor, a leading light in the marketing world says...

Manage Business Uncertainty

09 Jan 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Make a New Year’s resolution – to manage uncertainty

Here we stand once again at the beginning of a new year. What will it have in store?

12 months ago no-one could foresee all that 2011 would bring. Some events were expected: the royal wedding; the rugby world cup. Others, if not expected, might reasonably have been foreseeable to some extent: bailouts of the weaker Eurozone economies; the spread of Tunisian unrest across the Arab world. And of course many were neither expected nor foreseen: the Japanese tsunami; the death of Osama bin Laden; riots in Britain; Manchester United being trounced 6-1 at home by Manchester City…

Businesses face similar uncertainties in 2012. Much of what will happen to them this year will be unexpected, and some will be unforeseeable. But there are two key steps you can take to manage the impact of uncertainty on your business and even turn it to your advantage:

Social Media is not free!

27 Sep 2010 12:00:00 GMT

SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT FREE!

Another point I’ve been thinking about after reading the “B2B Barometer” reports produced by the Institute of Direct Marketing and the Association of B2B Agencies. They noted that 86% of ‘client-side’ respondents expect their spending on social media to increase during the next 12 months.

Well that does not surprise me in the least! One of social media’s big hooks for businesses facing the prospect of a recession was that it was supposed to be ‘free’. That wasn’t strictly true. It was only free in the same way that a PR campaign is ‘free’. You might not have to pay a title to print your content but the costs of researching, developing, producing and distributing that content all have to be met. It can be a time-consuming task that requires a specialist skill set. Social media is exactly the same. Looks like businesses have just woken up to the fact that sometimes you have to pay to get lucky. No intentional reference to Wayne Rooney intended!

Smartphones - seriously good for marketing

22 Jun 2011 12:00:00 GMT

There are now over 11 million Smartphone users in the UK and according to Google, 74% of these make a purchase as a result of using their phone to review marketing information. And research by Deloitte reveals that 88% of those who look for local information on their Smartphone take action within a day.

The key thing about Smartphones as a marketing tool is the ability for marketers to get intimate with the consumer. We can engage with the individual, and by using softer messages we can seduce, simply because the Smartphone user is already in the palm of our hand – literally!

The Smartphone is usually the primary source of information and entertainment for the user. They are absorbed by it for hours every day reviewing trends and topics of interest. Therefore search, context advertising and product association are the best ways to reach them. Straight display type ads are too brusque. Be more subtle and generous for greater success. The research shows that the most popular ways to encourage Smartphone users to respond is through ads offering bargains, free apps or games.

The Smartphone is very different to other media because rather than being a casual observer, flicking through a magazine, opening a mail piece, half hearing a radio advert or glancing at a sales brochure, the Smartphone user actually craves the content their Smartphone delivers. So when the advertiser’s message is blended with this content, it goes straight into the consciousness, deeper and more persuasively than ever before.

For many their Smartphone has become their drug of choice. They cannot go more than a few minutes without a fix. And the shards of information delivered are tiny moments of satisfaction embedded in the brain, creating interest, desire, perceived need.

And we all know what this is: The Sales Process.

What's there to Tweet about?

13 Jun 2010 12:00:00 GMT

TWITER FOR B2B MARKETING

Now that you have established that you want to say something – what can you say?

Everyone likes to be thanked, right?
Include the “@” symbol before the Twitter name, e.g. Thanks @sheremarketing for attending our webinar on “How to Tweet for Business”. You can strengthen a relationship, show others you have a relationship with this person and promote something that your business offers at the same time.

Here are several other ways to...

Is B2B Social Media in decline?

20 Sep 2010 12:00:00 GMT

IS B2B SOCIAL MEDIA IN DECLINE?

Last week saw the publication of the latest in a series of “B2B Barometer” reports produced by the Institute of Direct Marketing and the Association of B2B Agencies. Most of the trends uncovered were pretty typical of the logical, recession-driven activity we’ve come to expect: reduced outlay on advertising, more focus on brand development and a shift towards tactics that are proven to be cost-effective and easily measurable, i.e. online and database driven marketing.

Far more interesting was what the report had to say concerning attitudes towards social media....

Press releases must always be newsworthy

22 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT

WHAT IS NEWS?

“Dog bites man” is not news……… “Man bites dog” is!

Press releases must always be newsworthy, so create material which is: New, Relevant to the audience, Surprising, Controversial, Amusing.

Good press releases answer Who?, What?, Why?, Where?, When?, How?
...but the most important question remains: So what?

Journalists expect to see the following elements in your press release...

Measure the ROI of your Marketing

07 Apr 2010 12:00:00 GMT

CAN'T MEASURE ROI? YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

Recent research of B2B marketers found:

Only 58% work from a marketing plan with predetermined, measurable goals.
Only 22% measure ROI for most of their marketing communications and 8% confess to measuring none at all.
44% couldn't define "good" marketing ROI.
Just 6% do before-and-after research.

ROI is difficult to measure. To do it you must have a ‘without fail’ accounting process and formal annual review on all marketing activity. Clear and agreed metrics are vital.

Benchmark these things to set realistic objectives and methods of tracking...

No change in the weather�

14 May 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Looking out of my window today at yet more rain, while musing about how small and medium-sized businesses should be managing the “double dip” recession, I was struck by how little the macro-economic environment has changed over the last 2-3 years. Consider:

UK Official Bank Rate has been unchanged for over 3 years since March 2009, the longest period of stability in its 37-year history.
In the 3½ years since October 2008, monthly average sterling exchange rates against the Euro and US dollar have fluctuated by no more than 6% and 8% respectively above and below central values which are relatively competitive in historical terms.
Despite a succession of bailouts, the Eurozone crisis which emerged in late 2009 with concerns about Greek debt is still smouldering on 2½ years later, with no end in sight.
Inflation-adjusted GDP has been stubbornly stalled at about 4% below its pre-recession peak for almost the last 2 years.

Research Measure Manage

29 Jan 2010 12:00:00 GMT

IF YOU CAN'T MEASURE IT - YOU CAN'T MANAGE IT

1. Things that make your organisation better to do business with. These are the outcomes and benefits for your customers. To be able to measure here you need to be 100% clear about what customers really value (not necessarily what you believe they value).

2. Transactional. Visible measures that are crucial to the running of your business i.e. cash flow, the time it takes to deliver or support what you do, staff turnover.

3. Measures that give your organisation stronger relationships, with staff, customers, the community and other stakeholders. These include the success of your organisational values or of environmental and community based initiatives.

Get the measurements right and you will experience the following...

The Secret of Online Marketing?

10 Sep 2010 12:00:00 GMT

INTEGRATE EVERYTHING to OPTIMISE EVERYTHING!

Why? – because online, joined up means you are truly creating a web of interaction - and: “the whole… really is, …greater than the sum of the parts”.

The search engines evaluate how relevant to a given search each page of your website is (based on complex scoring systems). To appear at the top of search results requires Search Engine Optimisation (keyword analysis and correct implementation of: the website meta content: the website structure: what you say on every page: how many relevant inbound links, directory listings, blog entries, social media buzz, media articles there are).

An individual arriving at your website within 4 seconds will decide if they stay to find out more, or seek their answer elsewhere.

What next? Here is a step-by-step 10 point prioritised list...

10 ways to increase your followers on Twitter

28 Jan 2011 12:00:00 GMT

10 ways to increase your followers on Twitter

No one wants to have no Twitter followers, but how do you grow your followers? Here are some simple techniques to increase your followers on Twitter.

Add a photo to your profile.
Add a bio – include buzz words which will attract the right type of followers. What are you interested in?
Tweet – if you don’t tweet anything – no one can find you! Use Hashtags # to make it easier for people to find your tweets.
Tweet regularly (in less than 127 characters makes it easier for other people to retweet your tweets) – think of at least 3 things you can tweet about each day. Be careful not to appear spammy only tweet relevant interesting content that is the key.
Re-tweet other people’s tweets. They are more likely to follow you.
Create Twitter lists – if you look organised and are a font of knowledge or information, people will follow you.
Get listed – think of a reason why people should list you. Your job, hobby, what sort of list should you be on? Is this clear from your bio? Your tweets?
Have you integrated your social media profiles? Do your Facebook or LinkedIn friends know you are also on Twitter? Let them know.
Add your Twitter ID or a link to your Twitter profile to your email signature, and your website.
Be interesting, original and consistent. Don’t start and stop tweeting.

Do you have any other ways to increase your followers on Twitter?

10 ways to find people to follow on Twitter

25 Jan 2011 12:00:00 GMT

10 ways to find people to follow on Twitter

You need to grow your Twitter circle by following people, letting people know you are in the neighbourhood, but how do you do this? Here 10 ways to find people on Twitter.

To find which of your friends/contacts are already using Twitter, upload your contacts from email address books (Yahoo, Hotmail & Messenger, Gmail, AOL supported).
Upload your contacts from LinkedIn
Find Twitter lists to follow using Twitter Directories, E.g. TweetDeck Directory http://www.tweetdeck.com/directory/, and Listorious http://listorious.com
Using “Who to Follow” navigation – view suggestions.
Using “Who to Follow” navigation - browse interests.
Using “Who to Follow” navigation - find users by name.
Use Search field to find out who is tweeting about the topics you are interested in, or what your target followers will be interested in.
Search Google site:twitter.com/*/YOUR TAG – Eg. Site.twitter.com/*/sports
Use Justtweetit or Wefollow.
View the following/follower lists of the Twitter accounts you are following to see who they are following/who is following them.

Do you have any other ways to find people on Twitter?

Anyone following you?

10 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

HOW TO BUILD A TWITTER FOLLOWING

You could try following hundreds of thousands of Twitter users and hope some of those automatically follow back. You’d obviously want to delete the ones who don’t follow you back! But I doubt very much whether this group of followers will actually pay any attention to what you are tweeting?

If you have tried to use Twitter for business and have found establishing your existing Twitter presence an uphill struggle, or if you are thinking about how best to tackle your entry into using Twitter for business here are some thoughts...

5 Tips to Get More From Your Press Releases

11 Nov 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Technological advances have had a big impact on how stories are issued to the press, but people often fail to take advantage of the latest developments when it comes to creating their release and exploiting alternative methods to get it noticed.

Here are 5 tips for sprucing up your press releases and leveraging some of what modern technology has to offer...

Gap Logo Incident is a 'Watershed Moment' for Social Media

25 Oct 2010 12:00:00 GMT

BRANDING MISTAKE!

It’s now a couple of weeks since the events that folks at Gap HQ will probably remember forever as ‘The Logo Incident’. In case you missed it, here’s a brief synopsis.

Gap, the clothing retail giant, decided to shake up their stagnant sales by shaking off their reputation as a purveyor of bland wardrobe staples for supersized, middle-income Americans. Their solution was to launch a new logo that would spearhead the metamorphosis of their brand into something ‘more contemporary and current’, which is retail-speak for saying that they were going after a younger market. Unfortunately the key issues of branding were simply not followed.

Gap’s online followers were less than impressed with the new logo and made their opinions known by flooding the company’s Facebook profile with negative feedback. After a week of squirm-inducing commentary from Gap’s North American President (in which she pretended to be delighted that the logo was receiving so much attention whilst conveniently ignoring the fact that it was uniformly negative) the announcement came: the old logo was coming back. Victory to the loud minority!

The cynic in me wonders...

Do all your outgoing communications promote your brand?

07 Jan 2010 12:00:00 GMT

EVERY INTERACTION WITH YOUR AUDIENCES IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONVEY YOUR BRAND PROPOSITION

Do your outgoing emails, invoices and general communications contain subtle selling messages?

Did you know that email messages related to purchase or request for information are excluded from the legal opt-out and opt-in requirements?

Based on a 2003 report by ‘MarketingSherpa’, transaction confirmations and account status emails are viewed most positively by customers, scoring 4.2 out of a possible 5.0.

Campaign statistics support these findings with average open rates of transactional email messages above 70% and click rates above 50% when the message includes a redeemable discount offer.

The most obvious use of transactional messages is to offer other, hopefully relevant, products to your customers.

Examples of transactional messages include...

Writing email copy is different.

23 Feb 2010 12:00:00 GMT

SIMMER IT DOWN - THEN SIMMER AGAIN

Having your ‘call-to-action’ at the top of the email will achieve better results. Add hyperlinks within the body to take people into your website and to respond.

Here are 7 things to do to make your emails more effective...

History will show that the financial crisis saved our planet.

05 Jan 2009 12:00:00 GMT

WILL THE BANKING CRISIS TEACH US ANYTHING?

Business will never be quite the same again, and a whole generation's attitude to wasteful consumption will be changed as a consequence.

Businesses drive consumption. And businesses are being forced to change what they produce. Just like the US auto industry, as one example, businesses are finding that they can only move forward if they change what they produce. Many companies must now comply with government criteria to qualify for bail-out money, or to win new work. Others are finding that they have to prove their sustainability credentials just to have a chance of qualifying for their next contract. This criteria, on which the choice of supplier is based, will increasingly be designed to mirror public opinion and therefore be grounded in sustainability.

This will change behaviour - not through choice, but to survive.

And it has only just begun...

Making Business Presentations more successful

15 Sep 2010 12:00:00 GMT

BUSINESS PRESENTATIONS NEED NOT BE BORING!

No matter how great your marketing and direct selling, if you are not involving your audience then your level of success will be less than it could be.

People are naturally less able to absorb (and therefore be influenced by) information when they are not required to participate in the learning process

Can you remember anything much from those boring lectures at school?

Research has shown that people retain, on average, 18% of what they hear, 32% of what they see, over 50% of what they see and hear, but over 75% of what they also interact with!

So to improve the effectiveness of your handouts at exhibitions and your presentations you need to...

B2B Email Marketing

25 Aug 2010 12:00:00 GMT

TIPS FOR SUCCESS IN B2B EMAIL MARKETING

Despite all the buzz about social media, email marketing is still very relevant for B2B marketing. To achieve the best results, here are my top 5 tips for B2B email marketing...