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Child’s Play?

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I had a consultation with a small business owner who was looking for advice on reaching his market through social media. A trusted colleague had advised him to “find a kid 18 – 22 years old” to manage it.

I suppressed a groan as I explained that unless the “kid” was a marketing professional that could develop strategies aligned with his business goals it was not a good idea.

Smart business professionals are willing to turn over mission critical business tasks to those they assume know more than they do. Expertise does not have an age limit, but age alone is not a qualification.

There is a huge difference between having knowledge of social media tools and having the knowledge on how to implement those tools in business strategy. This is true whether you are 15 or 45. Business development, ROI, governance, engagement and communications strategies are essential to effectively deploying social media marketing for your brand.

This particular company has much to lose. Launching a half-baked strategy could damage their brand in an industry that has a long memory. Their target market demands credible professionals who are knowledgeable about solutions and truly engaged in their causes.

I can understand the confusion about the value of social media.  When discussed in the mainstream it is presented as a frivolous entertainment tool rather than a business tool that can be used for brand building, and customer support.

However, a lack of knowledge is not an excuse for mismanaging the effort by failing to get educated on how it can be used. Social media platforms may be the shiny new tools in the toolbox but the building process has not changed. There is no need to be so intimidated by the technology that you fail to apply good old fashioned business sense.

Facebook may have Farmville but using it as a business tool is definitely not kid stuff.

How do you manage the knowledge gaps in your business? Have you ever outsourced something that you did not understand? What were the results?

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Is Your Brand the Man in the Mirror?

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Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009)
Image by lukas lehmann via Flickr

The Michael Jackson memorial service was a celebration of his music and a collective mourning of the loss of the man, father, son, brother and friend. I watched as a marketer, mourner and the little girl whose first concert at age 5 was the Jackson 5.

In life and death, Michael Jackson is a global brand and we have only come to grasp the magnitude of what he truly accomplished.

As I watched, listened, and participated in social media discussions I was acutely aware that in Michael’s case the man in the mirror was also his brand.  Michael Jackson created a global base of customers and fans who so closely identified with his brand that it was interwoven into the fabric of their own lives. His brand story became a backdrop of their own history.

Brand evangelists are the holy grail for many in business. We diligently work to deeply engage our customers and build brand affinity. We look upon the attainment of such as marketing heaven but in the business world the trip from marketing heaven to the nether regions is not that far.

Passion and intimacy go hand in hand and your raving fans can direct that passion for or against you.  We saw this in action earlier this year when long time brand Tropicana redesigned its packaging and their consumers revolted. Tropicana is a multi million dollar corporation and they changed their packaging and survived the ordeal. But how do you handle it when you are your brand?

Michael Jackson created a level of intimacy with his fans that made them feel that he was part of the family (and he was incredibly gracious to fans). That family never let him rest and in death it appears this will continue. For Michael Jackson the market did not separate the man from the brand, and they unleashed their passion both for and against him during his lifetime.

In marketing, it is wise to decide on your relationship strategy with your customers. Will you casually date or embark on a fiery love affair? Will you be friends for a season or join together till death do you part? Know your strategy and be prepared to embrace the good, bad and ugly because in marketing heaven and hell are in very close proximity.

What are your thoughts? Are there boundaries in personal branding or do your customers have open access? Have you ever lost control of your brand message? How did you handle it?

As my friend Rosa Say would invite, let’s huddle and learn together.

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You’ve Got the Sizzle Baby but Where’s the Steak?

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Written by Karen D. Swim

Last week we talked about improving your marketing by adding a little sizzle. The combination of sizzle and substance will satisfy your market and entice them back for seconds.  The market can be forgiving of a lack of sizzle when the company has substance and high visibility.  Consider Google, who from the inception has focused on technical savvy and functionality rather than visually pleasing aesthetics. Craigslist is a visual nightmare but that has not stood in the way of worldwide use of the site.  Sizzle combined with substance provides a competitive advantage. On the other hand, a lack of substance is a guaranteed way to leave your readers hungry and searching for fulfillment elsewhere.

Here are three tips to help you fill your customer’s plate:

Pay attention to your content. You may believe that in this day when everyone skims rather than reads that you can let your content slide. Wrong! I visited a site last week that was breathtaking in its design aesthetics. Wanting to learn more about the company, I made the mistake of reading the content. I had to force myself not to rip my eyes out of my head.  The grammatical errors made me cringe. Instead of articulate, easy to read sentences there were run on paragraphs of buzzwords. It was obvious the company had intended to appeal to their market with “inside” language but the words hung together like puzzle pieces that were not in their proper place.  Even the press releases were a disaster! Please realize that your website, brochure or one-sheet may be your potential customer’s introduction to you and your company. Take the time to ensure that it is well written because many wil take time to actually read it.

Consider your market, and not your personal preferences. I recently worked with a client on a re-branding effort. His previous marketing materials including his website reflected his own personal tastes. The problem, however is that the marketing messages and images were completely unaligned with his company’s brand. The messages did not appeal to his target audience and the images clashed with the content. The result was an ineffective mess.  Your marketing should reflect some personality but ensure that you do so in a way that is not out of line with your market or brand image.

Tell them what, why and how in simple language.  When your potential customers read your words, they are essentially having a conversation with your company.  As you write, think of what you would say to Joe The Plumber or Shawna the Soccer Mom if they asked “What does your company do?” Will you answer them with industry acronyms or search optimized phrases? Or will you give than an easy to understand  explanation of how you help your market?  If you sell Pizza don’t tell them that you take dough, shape it into a sphere and lovingly cover it with freshly pureed tomatoes. Tell them you make pizza!

Your marketing does not have to be perfect to be effective.  A reader may forgive a typo (it happens in spite of our best efforts) but is unlikely to forgive unintentional grammatical errors, or wordy sentences that say nothing.  Treat your market with respect by delivering substance.

Have you ever made a purchase based on sizzle and been disappointed with the results?  Did it change the way you evaluate purchases?  Feel free to share your experiences, insights, or questions in the comments.  If you have specific questions you would like to see answered in a future post, shoot me an email at karenswim [at] gmail [dot] com.

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5 Sizzling Tips to Fire Up Your Marketing

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Written by Karen D. Swim

Have you heard the expression “All sizzle and no steak?” It is an old saying that means lots of flash or style but no substance.  Sales people are admonished to sell the sizzle not the steak! However, in business, sizzle may attract initial interest but you have to back it up with steak or you will not be able to keep your customers at the dinner table!

However all steak and no sizzle is just as bad! Steak without the presentation can come across as dry and boring. Many educators have learned this lesson and find ways to add a little entertainment and relevance to difficult material to engage their students. The substance does not change but adding style enhances the content and draws in the reader or listener.

Let’s face it packaging matters. You can put pretty words on a dull package and buyers are likely to pass it by for the more attractive package. A highly credentialed job seeker with a flat, boring resume is unlikely to get an interview. Sizzle matters folks. Purists may try to sell the value of substance and having the right stuff but without the packaging, your marketing is going nowhere.

So how do you dress it up without “dumbing” it down? Glad you asked!

  1. Use images. Powerful images tell a story and evoke an emotional response. An image that aligns with your brand can leave a powerful, positive impression. Have you ever viewed a photo in a travel brochure that made you sigh aloud with desire? How often has a delectable food photo awakened a sudden craving? This is sizzle baby at its finest! An image that gets the senses firing until the reader is touching, tasting and feeling the experience.
  2. Make it visually appealing. A visually appealing layout will enhance your marketing message. The key is to make the layout attractive but not distracting. The use of white space, clean lines and clear focal points can make your message dazzling rather than dizzying.
  3. Seduce them with words.  Your words can wrap themselves around the reader like a cashmere wrap causing them to purr with delight. Food, travel and luxury writers have a deep understanding about the art of seduction in writing. They romance you with words that melt your insides. They paint a picture with words: “A storm had come through the night I arrived, and the following morning was brilliant—hard cornflower blue sky, light that brought out the folds and pleats of the landscape, and a wind like the wake of a wide-body.” (Walther, Gary, New Tuscan Trio, May/June 2008)
  4. Engage your audience with storytelling. Wrap your facts and benefits in a story that makes your audience experience your product or service on a deeper level.  Make them laugh, cry, giggle or get angry but by golly lead them to action with a good story.
  5. Tastefully accessorize. A pair of jeans can from ho hum to hot with a great belt and a sizzling pair of shoes. You may not have a Madison Avenue marketing budget but you can add sizzle with the right accessory.  Your accessory can become your signature touch and can be as simple as a decorative font for your name, a signature sign-off or even a color. Accessories can personalize your marketing and enforce your brand even on a shoe-string budget.

So go ahead and add a little sass and flash, you can never go wrong when you serve up your steak with a little sizzle!

Have you ever been enticed to buy something because of the sizzle? How do you add sizzle to your own marketing efforts? Please feel free to share your comments, questions or tips in the comment box. If you have a marketing issue and need one-on-one help contact me by email at karenswim at gmail dot com.

Resources:

Bob Younce’s Series on Food Bloggers – Helpful tips and techniques that you can apply to any writing style

Joe Vitale – Industry expert in hypnotic marketing techniques

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