Against the Grain: Marketing

For the past few years, advancements in social media have taken the marketing world by storm. Who’s reading my blog? Who’s reading my Facebook posts? Should I even be on Twitter? Why check into places? What’s Google+?

To answer your questions, we pulled together social media statistics with the help of Arik Hanson, APR’s blog.

Why are there so many blogs? Are people reading them?

• According to Tom Webster, The Social Habit, 57 million people read and follow blogs.
• More than 12 million adults maintain a blog.

You can reach out to influential bloggers who write about topics that would interest your audience. They can help promote your services and products in their posts. However, it is important to treat bloggers like journalists — respect their time and really understand their blog’s purpose and community.

Tell me a little bit about Facebook. How can my company benefit? (Source: Tom Webster, The Social Habit)

• Facebook is used by more than half of Americans (older than 52 years old).
• One in four social media users follow brands, products or services. Eighty percent of those people said Facebook is the platform they use to follow companies.
• Twenty-five percent of social media users said Facebook is the platform that influences their buying decisions the most.

Use Facebook to help tell your company’s story. Facebook is a great place to share photos, videos or links that are relevant to your audience. Build a fan base, interact with your audience and listen to what your customers are saying.

How can 140 characters even make an impact?

• We understand. Let’s talk Twitter. According to Twitter’s blog, 200 million tweets are sent per day.
• There were 460,000 new accounts created per day in the beginning of 2011.
• Currently, the TPS (tweet per second) rate is 7,196. This record occurred during the United States vs. Japan Women’s World Cup championship game on July 17, 2011.

Twitter is basically a micro-blogging platform. Use it to share links (use a link shortener, such as bit.ly, so you can conserve characters and track your analytics), updates or even photos. It’s a great tool to spark conversation and engagement between customers or other businesses.

What platform are people using to check into my business? (Source: Dan Zarella, Hubspot)

• Fifty-five percent of mass consumers said they would check-in using Facebook places.
• Six percent of mass consumers said they would check-in using Foursquare.
• Ninety percent of “early adopters” said they would check-in using Facebook places.
• Twenty-two percent of “early adopters” said they would check-in using Foursquare.

Set up a venue on Foursquare, Facebook pages or any location-based social media platform for your business. Offer “specials” for the Mayor and other loyal customers. Allowing people to check into your business can help you understand who your audience is and why they are visiting you.

What is Google+? (Source: Stan Schroeder – Mashable.com)

• Google+ is a new social media platform that was launched just on June 28, 2011.
• It is the fastest-growing social network of all time with more than 10 million members already.
• A few key features include: Circles (friends), Spark’s (recommendations based on your interests), Hangouts (video chat), Photos and a Profile (very similar to all other profile pages).

Google+ is rapidly growing users and they are adding new features, like verified profiles for brands every day.

My company has just one social media platform. Should we be using more? (Source: Tom Webster, The Social Habit)

• Yes. Social media reaches the majority of Americans (older than 12 years old).
• Fifty-two percent of those Americans have more than one social media platform.

Using multiple social media platforms allows you to reach different audiences. Formulate a social media plan for your brand to make sure that your messaging and visual branding are consistent across every platform.

We hope this helps you understand how you can use social media to promote your brand, business or company. If you have questions, feel free to contact us, and we’ll help guide your social media efforts.

In our day-to-day life at Trilix, we all do some form of writing or designing. Today, Trilix sat down with production manager (also known as proofreading extraordinaire), Leng Vong, to gather some of her editing knowledge.

Trilix: What is your process for proofing something?
Leng: First, I prioritize the projects. Then, I look at the piece as one big picture. I ask myself, “What is the purpose of this piece?” “Who is the audience?” “What is the message trying to convey?” Once I figure out the big picture, I read over the whole piece once to look for obvious errors. Then, I make sure to look at it once more to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

Trilix: Why is proofing something so important in our business?
Leng: In our business, we are helping our clients tell their message to their audience. We need to make sure that nothing goes out of our doors with errors, typos or inconsistency.

Trilix: What advice would you give a PR professional, designer or copywriter?
Leng: I would tell them to look over their own work and double check everything. Sometimes it helps to take a step back from the project and come back to it later. Also, people need to make sure to research the client, projects and previous examples. It’s also important to know the messaging, language and tones to provide consistency.

Trilix: What are your biggest pet-peeves in proofing?
Leng: Misused hyphens, the wrong use of dashes and extra spaces!

Trilix: What error do you see the most?
Leng: I see the wrong use of dashes, extra spaces, the wrong forms of words and run on sentences the most when I proof something.

Leng’s other tips –

• Try reading the sentence backwards. It helps misspelled words stand out.
• Read one word at a time, instead of the whole sentence. This trick also helps misspelled words stand out.

Thanks, Leng! I think we can all say we learned a lot today.

Companies frequently come to Trilix seeking an updated website and better content management system. A professional website should have a consistent look, be organized for easy navigation, contain professionally written content, and key functions should be accessible within two to three clicks.

If your company is considering refreshing your online presence or building a new website, Trilix’s interactive team can walk you through the process to identify which content and functionalities your site needs to meet your marketing goals.

Here are some things to consider:

• Do you want your website to generate sales, educate visitors about your products, capture contact information for sales leads, increase visitor traffic and/or increase the average time spent on your site?
• Do you want administrative functions? What content would you like to control?
• Do you want multimedia elements, like a video player, embedded in your site?
• Do you want to host your company’s blog?
• Do you want web analytics to monitor site traffic, the average time spent on each page and keyword searches? 

Trilix’s interactive team uses the goals and objectives outlined by the client to develop a site map that highlights frequently visited pages, creates logical navigational headings and organizes the flow of information for improved usability. Web traffic can be generated by referral sites, like Facebook, Google, or Twitter, so you shouldn’t assume visitors are landing on your homepage. It’s important that your link structure clearly defines where content is located and how users can access it from any page on the site.

Associate Interactive Director Paul Burger says consistency is king. It’s important that each page of your website has a consistent design, clear and concise primary navigation, secondary and footer navigations, breadcrumbs and a keyword search to make it easy to use. The look of your website should be based upon your brand guidelines to ensure the images and messages are consistent with your company’s identity.

Your website should be compatible with multiple browsers, including Mozilla-based browsers and Internet Explorer. Your site should also be accessible from mobile devices. Optimize homepage content so the site loads quickly, and avoid using splash pages or navigational features built with Flash. Make sure your website helps you reach your marketing goals, appeals to your target audience and accurately represents your brand.

Trilix’s interactive team can provide customized, proprietary solutions to meet your company’s digital needs. You can view samples of their award-winning work at www.trilixgroup.com/interactive.

While most manufacturers focus exclusively on building share-of-market, smart manufacturers understand the value of building share-of-heart — connecting with customers in a more personal and meaningful manner. One of the best ways to do that is to develop a random acts of kindness strategy.

Your customers want to know you care about them and their world. A random acts of kindness strategy does just that.

Use social media or traditional research to gain a better understanding of what's happening in your customers' lives. Get involved in those organizations or initiate your own program to positively impact their lives. Then, use public relations and social media to let customers participate in your random acts of kindness. As a result, they'll have a greater affinity for you and your products.

Trilix is a full-service advertising agency headquartered in the Midwest with expertise in helping businesses market effectively and drive sales success. Learn more at www.trilixgroup.com or email Todd Senne at tsenne@trilixgroup.com.

I love blogs. I could get lost in my Google Reader for hours. I discovered some of my favorite entertainment venues, foods and restaurants based on recommendations from bloggers.

Local blogger Emily Beckmann’s energy and positive attitude are contagious, and TheDishOnDesMoines.com is filled with opportunities to get involved and give back to the community. Pete Jones’ “Why Eat at a Chain Wednesday” blog series inspired me to try dozens of local restaurants. Pete and the seven talented contributors at DesMoinesIsNotBoring.com are young professionals who live and work in Des Moines – just like me! Their blog is my go-to guide for dining, entertainment and events happening in the Metro. Kristin Porter from IowaGirlEats.com introduced me to the wonders of Chobani Greek yogurt and her intense treadmill routines helped me survive the treacherous holiday season unscathed. Surely, she would never lead me astray.

I admire bloggers and their ability to build strong online communities. I respect their willingness to let me eavesdrop on the daily happenings in their lives. I admire their commitment to providing valuable content and the time they dedicate to posting on a regular basis. I’m very receptive to events, products and services recommended by bloggers because I can easily relate to them.

If you are opening a new business, hosting an event, introducing a product or launching a service, you should reach out to influential bloggers in your market. The most successful public relations campaigns use a mix of traditional and social tactics. You should share newsworthy information with bloggers just as you would with your local papers, radio stations and television affiliates. Bloggers have an uncanny ability to reach large segments of your target audience, and they have a lot of credibility with their readers. Most bloggers are PR-friendly and they are happy to write about your business, event, product or service, if they think it will benefit their readers.

Here are some tips for incorporating bloggers into your public relations strategy:

• Identify influential bloggers in your community and/or industry.
• Do your research. Read some posts and familiarize yourself with the blogger’s mission before you approach him/her. “Don’t send mass email pitches,” advises Beckmann. “Address each blogger by name and show a personal interest in their blog.”
• Get to know the online community. Read the comments posted on the blog. Identify the blogger’s target audience and make sure it’s similar to yours.
• Make a connection. Take the time to develop a relationship with the blogger. Leave a comment on a post, or engage with him/her on Facebook or Twitter. “Try and build a mutually beneficial relationship with the blogger. It's nice to make a personal connection and engage in two-way conversations,” says Beckmann. “I enjoy blogging because I get to meet new people and learn new things. It's important to me to establish and build relationships in the process.” 
• Be respectful. Bloggers deserve as much courtesy as a traditional journalist. “My advice is to treat a blogger like you would any other media outlet,” says Jones. “But please understand that many of us do this for fun and are not professionals in the industry.” 
• Plan ahead. Most bloggers have full-time jobs and their editorial calendars are planned weeks in advance. Give them adequate notice about your announcement or upcoming event.
• Provide background information. You can send a press release or talking points to share details about your announcement, but most bloggers prefer to write their own posts. Give the author the creative license to tell your story in their own voice.

It’s also important to decide if you’re willing—and determine if your company is legally able—to compensate the blogger for their efforts. Bloggers are required by the FCC to disclose if they were paid or received freebies for their posts, so make sure these transactions comply with your company’s ethical and legal guidelines.

Most bloggers do not expect anything in exchange for the publicity, but Beckmann explains that it’s easier to write about things like events and restaurants, if you’ve experienced them first-hand. Remember that most bloggers write as a hobby and they are doing you a favor, so whenever possible, it’s a nice gesture to help cover their expenses by waiving their ticket fees or giving them a free sample of your product.

Porter sites Blue Bunny as a company that has a great blogger-outreach program. Last summer, they invited her and a handful of other foodies to tour their facility and sample their new products. Then they dedicated a portion of the afternoon to teaching the bloggers how they can grow their online brands and communities, so it was a mutually beneficial experience for the bloggers, their readers and the company. Porter says she appreciates Blue Bunny’s approach because it gives her an “insider’s look” at the company and the chance to test their ice cream without feeling pressured to write product reviews.

So the next time you’re formulating a marketing campaign, include bloggers in your PR plan. You may just create a brand advocate — or find a new subscription for your Google Reader.