Punctuation Essentials

We in communication marketing cannot escape putting pen to paper. Think of the numerous contents we have to write, aimed at appealing to our audience’s triggers to buy and or be our loyal customers. Words are our currency of trade.

In keeping with that, it bores our audience when we miss a comma. And or misuse punctuation marks in the course of relaying information. Since we all (I am keeping a copy for myself) fall victim to poor punctuation occasionally, Ragan’s PR daily have a download, which I think will come in handy when you sit down to craft that post, press releases, and or case study.

To receive your free download, click on the link. 

Social Communication

3 Steps To Becoming The Best Social Communicator

The world is moving at a steady pace. The advent of digital has revolutionised the way people do business. The way businesses do business. Digital has found its place of comfort in communication and marketing. Calling upon the need for business leaders/founders to socialize their businesses.

At the forefront of digital, we have the social web. According to PR daily, ‘In less than 10 years, social media has become communication professionals’ best friend and fickle foe. With relative ease, customers can be targeted, support can be organized, discussions can flourish, and grievances can be aired with ease.’

This creates the need for all of us in the discipline to hone our social communication skills. How do we deliver upon the promises of organizing support to customers having difficulty: contribute to discussions online and address customer grievances in real time? By learning how to be good social communicators.

To be one, you need to work on the following:

Creatively Respond To Positive Feedback

People like to be praised. It bolsters their self-esteem. The same is true of businesses in the social realm. Many a times, when all is said and done, we all expect good feedback. Especially when we have made the effort to reach out. It could be positive feedback, about your service delivery and or quality of products.

When it happens, take time to respond to that feedback. Bottom line:always respond. Be creative; mention the source in the post/comment. Acknowledge their contribution in pushing the brands equity a notch higher. Make them know that there contribution is valued.

Deal With Negative Feedback Quickly and Appropriately

This is what we fear most. Being put down. It happens to most of us during the course of our lives. In our personal lives, we are even allowed to take it personally. However, in a business set-up do not ever take this personally. Especially negative feedback.

Suppose, a customer posts a negative comment regarding your services: do not respond by telling him to go get the service elsewhere. As was the case with Kenya Power & Lighting Company (kplc) January 21st: during a total blackout in some counties. On one twitter handle, a user posted his frustration of staying in the dark. The social team at KPLC, response chose to respond by telling the user to try other lighting sources such as candles, lamps, etc. It was a nightmare, if no one noticed. Thanks to monopoly the user could not move. If there were other service providers, don’t you think the user could have jumped ship?

Instead, try something like promising to address the issue by either giving him a refund and or internally, find out what led to the negative feedback exactly. Give them assurance that something is being done to remedy and or rectify the situation to normalcy.

Remember, always be timely. A complaint responded to 3 days later would have done irreparable harm. Avoid this.

Make Social A Resource for Your Customers and Not Yourself

Go on the social web, with the intention to give, give and give some more. Make it you mission to give useful information to your audience, round the clock.

Post alert when you suspect the roads would flood. Notify users of the promotion going on and if possible give them a reward, such a coupon. Do not tire to give.

Offers, promotions, product launches, the whole shebang. By giving and giving some more, you increase your chances of not only getting deserving repeat customers but also, loyal customers who will go out of their own way to evangelize your product and or services.

Do you feel ready to go be the best social communicator on the social web? Give it a go and share your experience with me.

Five Things To Do, To Be On Top

Five Things to Boost Your Social Media Skills

Social media managers (communicators & marketers in general) need to sharpen their skills, now more than ever. As we continue to witness the immense growth of digital channels, it is incumbent that we continue to learn.

The question becomes, how do you stay up to date with changes happening this fast? How do you run with the giants and prevent a possible burnout, yet they keep changing and or adding features to the social sites, every single day?

It might seem daunting to stay on top of the game. Considering that social media is growing very fast, but we can do it.

All you need to do is, invest your time and a few shillings and you will be on your way to keeping your skills sharp. I read this piece of wisdom, somewhere and I am going to share it as I read it: ‘Make the time to invest in yourself.' Sometimes we are so caught up in doing our day to day jobs, that we forget the importance of learning new skills and practicing. Prioritize investing in yourself and your skills or you’ll quickly find that your skills are obsolete.’

To keep you on top of your game, here are five things you need to do:

1) Attend conferences/seminars

How many have you attended so far? Just the other day, an accountant friend of mine went to a seminar, on Corporate Tax, organized by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). In so doing, he shared with me, that he gathered valuable knowledge that he would not have, while at his desk.

This goes to show you, how important it is to refresh your knowledge. Conferences, and or seminars is where you will learn from experts and expand your knowledge repertoire. Conferences get you energized, allow you to network with other smart people and get the latest on industry trends, tools, strategies, and approaches.

2) Read a few books

Readers are leaders. I heard this way back, and I continue to hear it to date. In fact, among the 10 things that Warren Buffet does, before clocking out is he reads 500 pages every day. Moreover, this is a person the world, refers to as the Oracle of Omaha! Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and group are not far behind.

Reading a few good books about topics (social media) that you want to learn more about, will make you a leader in your field. Books tend to go into more depth than blog posts and are usually based on facts, data, and research vs. opinions. Brian Tracy says, if you read books on your field, it will take you 5 years to become a leader in your field.

3) Blog subscription

There are many blogs in the world, on any topic you think about. Choose a few blogs and subscribe to the RSS feed. Make it a priority to read a few blog posts or trade publications at least every other day. This will keep you up to date on new content and give you quick posts on new topics. Better yet, start your own blog. Share your work experiences.

4) Attend a training.

Formal training is great because it provides structure around learning something new. It is usually more comprehensive versus a conference or blog post, meaning that you will learn a topic from start to finish. Social Media Training is a great way to continue to advance your skills.

5) Follow great social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn)

It is a crime, if you do not have at least one social media account. If not at least three. With that in mind, where else can you connect and see what pioneers and or thought leaders in your field are doing than through their social media handles and or accounts? I get my best news from social media and enjoy seeing a mix of personal and professional content in my streams. Follow a few accounts to get breaking news and inspiration in your social media news feeds.

I am sure the list could be longer than this. Feel free to add your own to-do’s and share them with us. Until then, cheers to ever being on top of the game!

Would you like to connect with me on social media? Check out my accounts.

Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Google+

Sales ROI - Social Media

Social Media ROI Series Part 5: Sales

Members of the c-suite like this ultimate ROI. Will it boost our sales? They tend to ask immediately. Who wouldn’t? I mean, businesses exist to make sales. The more sales a business makes, the more profits it makes in that financial year. However, businesses involved in e-commerce, stand a better chance of reaping this rewards through social media efforts.

According to Peter Friedman, LiveWorld, ‘There are two types of sales ROI. Firstly, there is the direct revenue lift brands see when they push promotions through social.’

Direct revenue, because of direct sales; belong to the short-term category of sales ROI. In this category, all that businesses want is to sale, sale…sale! They will post a product, its price, and a bold call to action, prompting immediate sales. This is a characteristic of businesses in the e-commerce industry.

Through a social media program, a business can make direct sales (short-term) by offering their products up for sale and or through promotions. Through coupons and or sales promotions, products can indeed move. As we know, immediate sales, is what members of the c-suite want to see: making it quite a challenge.

‘Of course, short-term sales are not bad. They’re good—as long as the promotional push to make them happen doesn’t compromise building a social experience with committed, long-term customer relationships (and the revenue they create).’ says, Peter.

If your goal is to drive sales, it is advisable that you embed call to actions in your messages and or have some metric in place that will show you how you are doing in regards to making sales. For instance, having a link on social media that directs the visitor to a landing page and or sign-up to a newsletter page, and or build a mailing list. These are good places to start. The key is to have some way of measuring your sales efforts.

‘Long-term sales ROI generated from relationship-building ROI when customers become active with the brand community, form a deeper relationship, and build a space for the brand and its products in there and their friends’ everyday lives. Here is where we see increased loyalty, increased lifetime customer value, and enhanced revenue growth that is sustained overtime.’ says Peter.

Still on the path to making sales, businesses can decide to go the long route and or short route. Instead of hitting their visitors with hard selling messages, they choose to forge a relationship first. Then cultivate that relationship into a lifetime customer.

This is the best route businesses are always advised to take. In the process, they not only make sales but also, convert total strangers into loyal and lifetime customers. Who better to evangelize your products and or services other than your customers?

Research has shown that people will tend to buy more if they get recommendations from close relations, compared to advertising and or persuasions by a business. Then why not leverage this opportunity? Make her want to talk about your products and or services, wherever they are.

In the sales funnel, for which social media plays a critical part, its takes time to convert a prospect. Holding his hand all the way from awareness, interest, decision, and action needs patience. In addition, social media plays a pivotal role in taking a prospect through all the stages.

In conclusion, knowing social media ROI is key to knowing the value any social media program brings to the table. Without which, any social media efforts would be seen as throwing away money. Knowing which ROI to be on the lookout for helps in finding a way forward. Knowing what works and what does not.

If you missed my earlier posts on social media ROI, read them here. I would love to hear from you on this. Until then, happy reading.

Welcome to our place of business.

Social Media ROI Series Part 4: Relationship Building

We are all familiar with the business motto: ‘A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to do so.’

                                              

This motto has served many businesses in understanding that at the center of their operations is the customer. They (customers) determine the growth of a business. That is why organizations spend a fortune in recruiting new customers and still work round the clock to keep the old ones.

Knowing this, businesses then try to find ways to ensure that they build a formidable client base: which can be achieved through good customer relations. What businesses will realize is that social media can aid in cultivating good customer relationships, which will then lead to sustainable sales ROI.

“Delivering outstanding service [through social] creates impassioned advocates and can serve as a powerful marketing weapon for companies,” according to Jim Bush, Executive Vice President of American Express World Service, in a company press release. 

“For example, consumers who have used social media for service in the last year are willing to pay a 21 percent premium at companies that provide great service. They also tell three times as many people about positive service experiences compared to the general population. Ultimately, getting service right with these social media–savvy consumers can help a business grow.”  He adds.

Jim's testament, further proves the value of building relationships on the social web. On that note, social media delivers the following benefits:

• Customer Loyalty
• Brand Advocacy
•  Intent To Buy

Customer Loyalty

This is a result of consistently providing positive emotional experience, physical attribute-based satisfaction and perceived value of an experience, which includes the product or services.

According to beyondphilosophy, to build customer loyalty, customer experience management blends the physical, emotional and value elements of an experience into one cohesive experience.

It is said, retaining customers is less expensive than acquiring new ones, and customer experience management is the most cost-effective way to drive customer satisfaction, customer retention and customer loyalty.

Not only do loyal customers ensure sales, but also they are also more likely to purchase ancillary, high-margin supplemental products, and services. Loyal customers reduce costs associated with consumer education and marketing, especially when they become Net Promoters for your organization.

Brand Advocacy

The big and famous brands use brand advocates:  people who talk favourably about the brand and pass on positive word-of-mouth  messages to other people.

One thing a small business owner should know is that brand advocates are just as important to a small business as they are to the bigger corporations out there. People like to buy from companies or people that they know and trust, and they tend not to buy from those they do not.

However, how do you build that trust, particularly online? How do you get customers to come to you without spending a lot of money on advertising? By setting up a social site, and sharing topics that are of interest to your target audience.

Intent to buy

This is the ultimate goal of all business relationships. Yes, a business will feel good having a cohort of loyal customers. Having them (brand ambassadors) sell your business name, services and or products to their peers. 

However, building a relationship to the point that customers desire your products and or services and eventually decide to act on their desires, is the ultimate ROI.

For a business to walk the journey from building relationships and converting page visitors into loyal customers all the way to repeat buyers, takes good relationship building skills. Social media has provided a platform for which we can spend less, reach many people, and establish a connection. One that would eventually lead to sales. 

By monitoring the sales metric, you are able to quantify the value social media is bringing to the table. Understanding ROI helps us stand firm, and set our eyes on the prize.

If you missed by previous post, read it here.

Social Media ROI - Learning

Social Media ROI Series Part 3: Learning

As technology finds its way into the hearts of businesses, revolutionizing the way we do business, only the fittest brands will survive. Why not be among the fittest?

Those operating businesses, always feel their lungs crushing whenever there is a new player in the market. This is years after the pioneers thought that they had the only keys to the kingdom. Suddenly they realize people are willing to make their own keys and thus doors. Making it clear that the kingdom does not belong to them: and it never did in the first place. More can be said about competition: suffice it to say, it is alive and well.

How do you become fit? You listen. You research. You simply find all information available that will go towards improving the quality of services and products your business offers. It is at the precipice of succumbing to competition that social media comes in.

By supporting your social media team and efforts, you have created a 24/7 focus group which is rich in information. I will go a step further to say, information you will find useful.

Usually when businesses want to find out new information about the newly launched soap for instance, a team armed with questionnaires, surveys and any other research method is deployed to the field. After months of tedious work, long when the product is almost being phased out, results come in. Only to find a swift young blood with superior products at affordable prices. Rather one that meets the needs of his target market. But how, you ask. Social media.

Having a robust social media presence will help you gather this information within a day of dedicated listening. As Peter says, ‘What you’ll find is that what customers reveal when they talk to each other is even more authentic and useful than what they tell you directly.’ Paid focus groups. ‘The opinions they express there are apt to be more honest and less self-conscious than what they would have contributed in the structured, paid environment of traditional focus groups.’ He adds.

Therefore, how is this a return on investment (ROI) you wonder? Well, because you are getting quality useful information within the shortest time possible and at a lesser cost. Compared to the many months you would have spent tasking the marketing team and paying dearly for every piece of information you get in both human resource, time and money.

Here are Edward Stening thoughts on the value of social as a market research channel. “[Our social marketers] know what customers like, they know what they don’t like, what pisses them off, and they know how to get a reaction from them. They know what brand messages will or won’t excite them, what time of year to talk with them,” Stening said. “It used to be random; we’d send out a mailing, do a print ad and a TV ad, and we’d get research nine months after the fact. Now our marketers can get on our social pages and can learn more about their customers from a half an hour of looking through our engagement than what they would have learned from a market research document. We’ve tried to use this as a keyhole into the world of the customer.”

This cements the idea that those on the social media bandwagon stand to reap the rewards of social as a market research channel. By having, a 24/7 focus group, thus ready information, waiting for you to gather and analyse it you increase the chances of your business to compete. However, the key is to listen. Through listening, you learn about these insights, which then form the building blocks for any decision you make aimed at improving the products and or services rendered.

“It is important to leverage social media as a listening post. In one form, it is an extension of customer care, and in another form, it is giving you product feedback and suggestions. If you are engaged with customers, having a dialogue and an ongoing community, you will learn who the posters and the leaders are, and you can start to influence them. You can create calls to action and drive behaviour,” said Winell.

Now what information are you seeking? Go to your social media sites and go through the comments your audience has been posting. Listen. You will find the answers you are looking for. Good luck!

In case you missed my part 1 and 2 series, you can read them here.

Social Media ROI - Marketing Statistics

Marketing Statistics

Glad you could join me in this part 2 series. Hoping that part 1, proved valuable. I would like to hear from you on that. Today, lets look at some other ROI model.

Do you know that most organizations socialize their operations solely for marketing purposes? This happens to be the most important part of any social media program: thus the famous social media marketing discipline.

Then, what should you be on the lookout for? In as far as marketing statistics go brands should measure:

• Reach and awareness
•  Marketing equivalency

Reach and awareness

Find any social media strategy and you are bound to find, increasing brand awareness neatly written down as a goal. Brands (all) want prospective customers to know they exist. And not only that, but their ability to solve their (customers) day-to-day challenges. It is believed that the more people get to see or hear something about your brand, the more the likelihood of them seeking your brand’s services/products when a need strikes.

In the social realm, reach refers to the number of people who have seen your post. And just so you know content is what drives social media reach. Facebook’s algorithm takes your content and feeds it into your fans/followers newsfeed. The quality and freshness of your content determines if it will be seen or disappear into the content abyss.

Assuming that all factors are kept constant, then the total number of people who see your post, equals your social media reach.

This metric is categorised into paid and organic. According to Facebook, organic reach is the total number of unique people who were shown your post through unpaid distribution. Paid reach on the other hand is the total number of unique people who were shown your post because of ads. This implies that when you feel your content or page is not getting the desirable organic reach you set out for: you can always go the paid way.

Unfortunately, a study from Social@ogilvy explained how we are fast approaching the end of organic reach. And, true to their prediction: today before your content gains the traction it needs, you have to really…really offer value in every piece of content. Good news, you have a reason to explain your spend: paid reach.

Be careful not to lose out. Yes, you can get all the reach you want and in return awareness. But will you be pushing the brand goals forward? If you pair reach with key goals such as lead generation, you add value to the whole metric. Thus, reach in themselves do not count for much.

Marketing Equivalency

According to Liveworld, ‘Marketing equivalency ROI should reveal how social media costs compare to those of other media, ideally demonstrating that social achieves its goals more efficiently than other spend.’

In his book, Social Media Handbook, Peter explains how we can determine marketing equivalency. Simply measure your social reach and ask yourself how much money you would spend to reach the same number of people using traditional media.

Consider this: suppose a social media program runs 300,000 to reach 1 million people with 60 million impressions. You might calculate that it would cost 4 million to get the same results through advertising.

This is the value of calculating this equivalency. Once you calculate a campaign’s marketing equivalency ROI, you can go to your CEO and say, “Instead of spending 4 million on traditional marketing on that campaign, let’s spend 300,000 doing it through social channels, save a few million, and increase our overall social media budget!”

At the end of the day, companies are looking to save costs but achieve the same results. If you can prove value through minimal spend then what will prevent the management from giving you all the backing you need?

Brands spend a fortune on ads that might just not be as effective as social media programs. In addition, as all marketing objectives aim to drive more business, then why not be on the lookout for this metric.

What is your biggest challenge in as far as marketing statistics are concerned?