Selling Frappuccino in the 21st Century

by T.C. Brown

There’s a whole lot of hubbub in the digital universe these days.

Here’s a question.  Has your business embraced social media?  If the answer is yes, would a social media guru give you an A, or are you in need of serious tutoring?

One more question. If you don’t use social media, have you set a date yet to join the 21^st century?

Evidence abounds that businesses are spending more time with social media to market their products and services, and many are starting to realize some serious ROI.  Best of all, benefits are greater than ever for small businesses.

There is, however, another side to that coin – companies continue to cling to the “old ways” of marketing, and are turning a deaf ear to their social media sages.

That according to a recent IBM survey, which showed that many firms use these digital tools as PR platforms instead of thinking of them as magnets to attract more viewers, aka potential customers.

Maybe your company is the best thing since a double chocolate frappuccino, but a majority of consumers told IBM they don’t visit corporate websites.  Of the ones who do, 60 percent said they must first have “complete” trust in that company.

It’s not complicated, folks.  People want free stuff, or at minimum a bargain. Or they want helpful advice for their needs or concerns.  In short, build a community.  It’s that simple.

Meanwhile, while several surveys show companies devoting more time to social media, it is small businesses reaping the greatest results.  More than 90 percent of the 3,342 small business owners who responded to the 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report said social media plays a key role for them.

This stuff works. Firms that spend at least six hours a week in the digital world are nearly twice as likely to get leads generated as those who spend less time.

Just remember: stay fresh, be relevant and take measurement.

Basically, your company has two choices.  You can climb aboard the train, or wave bye-bye as it leaves the station.

TC Brown is a partner at Web Face, a communication and marketing company helping clients climb aboard the train.

Women Make the Social Media World Go 'Round

By Martha Wilson

Men have long lorded over the remote in the home, but move over Rover, there's a new in-house sheriff when it comes to social media.

Arguably women have always been the better networkers, so a recent Digital Year in Review whitepaper that showed females making leaps and bounds in time spent on social media was not exactly a bombshell.

Link that with Pew Research Center findings that men make choices in only about 26 percent of all couples, and you're left with one conclusion--women make the social media world go 'round by being the deciders. That bodes very well for businesses doing social media marketing to the X chromosomes gender.

For most women, social media is a fabulous tool to connect with like-minded individuals, to locate needed products and to speed up multitasking in order to gain more time with the people they love.

“Companies looking to reach women — whether as consumers, entrepreneurs, employees, or advocates — have an unprecedented opportunity through social media to engage them,” says Jessica Faye Carter, author of the Technicultr blog. “For women, social media presents abundant opportunities to lead, effect change, innovate, and build relationships across sectors, locally, nationally, and globally.”

Conversations between companies and female consumers are moving beyond “what do you want?” types of questions to getting real-time feedback from women on products, services, and marketing campaigns—sometimes before they go to market.

For instance, in China, Unilever, the makers of Pond’s Age Miracle moisturizer, asked bloggers to try the cream and share findings. That risk paid off. Consumers gave the moisturizer a big thumbs up, leading to the adoption of social media strategies by other Unilever offices in Asia.

And Kmart launched a new program, Smart Shoppers Unite, which mixes deals with shopping advice and lifestyle discussions. Features include tips from The Frugalista, a popular bargain-shopping blogger, coupon section and games. This network is interest-based — anyone interested in budget-conscious shopping can join.

No doubt, social media is becoming a major tool for women of all interests, says JoAnn Bamberger, author of Mothers of Intention: How Women and the Social Media are Revolutionizing Politics in America.

“I think we love our villages and we love reaching out to the people we know and interacting with them and sharing our stories and experiences,” Bamberger says. “I think that's something that the world of social media has allowed women to do in a way as never before.”

So, what’s the bottom line? The research is clear. Go after the deciders – women buyers – using social media platforms to boost your bottom line.



Social media helps women spend more time with the ones they love.

 Martha Wilson is an associate at Web Face, www.web-face-solutions.com

Dressing for Social Media Success

by TC Brown

Lady Gaga wore a dress made of meat when she appeared at MTV’s Music Video Awards last year.

That was so yesterday.

Icelandic pop sensation Kali one upped Gaga when she donned a dress made of QR Codes recently.

Fans could photograph Kali and scan the dress with their smartphones, leading them to videos of her band, Steed Lord. The designer called it a “super self-promotional dress.”

QR’s, short for quick response codes, are those odd, jumbo stamp-like boxes that are a cross between grocery bar codes, a miniature maze and modern art.

Consumers with smartphones or tablet computers use apps to scan these codes to open a web page, capture video, get detailed product information or grab coupons. They are an advertiser’s dream, and they’re popping up everywhere – restaurants, real estate signs, department stores, billboards and in publication ads.  Miller Beer is using them for a summer promotion.

The Japanese developed QR’s in the mid-1990s, but they have been slow to catch on here.  Many remain clueless, even tech-savvy youngsters.

Ignorance, however, is no reason to ignore what many observers say is a coming boon for small businesses, especially as more and more people get smartphones and tablet computers.  QR scanning traffic has increased 49 percent since the first quarter of 2010.

So, businesses would be wise to look forward and embrace this trend. Should your company choose to adopt QR codes, follow some basic rules:

·       Define the target audience and your goals 

·       Remember scans will mostly be seen on small, mobile screens

·       Give easy instructions on which QR app is needed for download

·       When possible, provide rewards to viewers

·       Test it before releasing it

·       Measure you analytics

You can be sure QRs are here to stay. These days, you can even eat them. The worlds’ first QR wedding cake was created in Manitoba, Canada this year.  Last year, someone built a QR code from a 56-ounce bag of M&Ms that took viewers to the company’s website. Yum!

And though Lady Gaga has not slipped into a QR dress, she gets it. Gaga partnered with Starbucks in May to promote her new album, letting fans scan QR codes provided by the coffee shop for clues to a puzzle involving a two week digital scavenger hunt. 

Recently, a whiskey company hired a Paris-based tattoo artist to ink a QR code on someone that led to an animated live stream on the company’s Facebook page. Here’s the story:  http://mashable.com/2011/07/08/qr-code-tattoo/

How creative can your company get?

TC Brown is a partner at Web Face, a communications and marketing company helping businesses stand out.

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The Illusion of Facebook Friends

By John McGory

Today’s world of social media is an illusion.  Facebook and Twitter deceive us with the promise of unlimited friendship and business connections.  Unfortunately, our brains are not wired for infinite associations.

It is true we can have 5,000 “friends” on Facebook and unlimited numbers of followers on Twitter.  But Robin Dunbar, English anthropologist, says the size of the “tribe” we can handle is around 150. 

Our brains are hardwired to handle only so much input.  Think about it.  You may have 500 friends on Facebook, but how many would you actually sit down with for a cup of coffee?  Certainly not 500.

A recent Indiana University study bolstered Dunbar’s Rule of 150.  They studied 1.7 million Twitter accounts over six month and analyzed 380 million tweets.  The average Twitter account had real ongoing conversations with just 150 people. 

The study also concluded that our brains are not changing.  Technology is not going to give us the power to turn into social super freaks.  We are simply reorganizing and selecting who we want to be in our tribe.  So, out with the weird cousin and in with the business associate from Bismarck. 

Social network companies are beginning to see the need to help users organize friends.  The new Google+ project attempts to deal with this by encouraging users to categorize friends. This soon-to-be-released social network will allow users to create “circles” of friends. 

Wrap your brain around the idea of your digital tribe and consider the impact of this as it relates to how you handle your business and social life.  Here are a few suggestions on implementing the Dunbar Rule of 150 into your life:

*Know who those 150 friends are.  You don’t have to start “de-friending” people on Facebook, but think about who is important in your business or social life.

*Win them over.  Go out of your way to pay attention to their needs, understand their problems and be there when they need it.  Talk to them as individuals, not as a single drop in a sea of “friends.”

*Don’t get caught up in following the next shining star that pops up on the Internet.  Match.com veterans know what I am talking about.  Focus on the people who have been there for you.  Maybe better things will happen if you focus on them instead of chasing happiness.

*Listen and then try to respond thoughtfully.

These simple rules apply to business or personal relationships.  The Indiana University study said it best when it compared social media and calculators.  Calculators did not make us math geniuses.  Our brains can only do so much.  Facebook and Twitter are not going to make us social rock stars.  Focus on who is important and chances are you will find Internet peace and success.

_____________________________________________________

Web Face is a communications and marketing company helping businesses focus on the people who really matter. 

Chillicothe and LeBron

June 21, 2011

Chillicothe Gets It 

      

The Chillicothe Gazette ran an editorial by Web Face's John McGory on the need for The Ohio State University to go to school to brush up on today's new marketing rules.  The university and its football program got caught up using old school crisis management tactics in today's hyperactive media world.  Not surprisingly, the university took a public relations beating.    Read the story here http://www.chillicothegazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201106190730/OPINION02/106190309

LeBron and the Real World                            

George Vecsey wrote an excellent article in the June 18 New York Times focused on LeBron James' rant about fans getting back to the real world.  Vecsey said LeBron did his best Richard Nixon imitation ("You won't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore") in venting his frustration over fans' glee over his failures.  Vecsey discusses social media and its role in the growing nastiness between sports stars and the people who pay the freight.  He even quotes a Tom T. Hall song.  Got to love it.   Read it here 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/sports/basketball/george-vecsey-lebron-jamess-words-and-a-deeper-meaning.html

7-Step Business Social Media Plan

Pam Moore provides a seven-step social media plan for business http://zite.to/m9hYpn in this article.  Beware, it is more than slapping up a Facebook page and waiting for your new customers to come rolling in the door.  The plan requires integration of your business and marketing objectives into your social media efforts.  But for those who persevere, it will be worth the effort. 

She recommends hiring a consultant like Web Face to help devise a custom program that fits your business goals.  She cautions that the plan must be designed specifically for your business and its objectives.  Web Face customizes all of its social media plans.  Go here to learn more about how Web Face can help you with custom Internet services http://web-face-solutions.com/internet.html.

Webface 
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Sex, Lies and Videotape

 June 8, 2011

    

Congressman Anthony Weiner's admission that he sent lewd pictures of himself to women on Facebook and Twitter is another sign of the Apocalypse.  The story is too weird to be fiction.   No one would believe a congressman would do such a knucklehead thing.  Well, maybe a few people would.   Here is the BBC's video report http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13677635

Lessons from the congressman's antics?  
1. Don't go trolling on Facebook and Twitter expecting to score with strangers. 
2. Don't send compromising pictures of yourself on the Internet to anyone.
3. Social media has changed the world but people are still the same.  
4. Don't lie about social media use. 
5. Don't hold a press conference to lie your way out of trouble. 
6. Get professional help (that includes social media experts such as Web Face and/or psychologists) before failing the first 5 lessons.

Seek professional help....redux                                               

Let's go from one lie to the next.  Ohio State University and its football program received some harsh criticism for its handling of the problems surrounding former Coach Jim Tressel.  Coach Tressel got caught up in deceiving the NCAA for violations of rules by star players. 

The university held a poorly planned press conference in March to try and deflect criticism.  It backfired.  Here is the AP coverage http://youtu.be/egY96nbIziA of the conference.  Note to Gene Smith...be very careful what you say when cameras are around.

Today's new marketing rules are:

1.  Reality matters, your image (or brand) doesn't.
2.  Collaboration over control
3.  You can't buy attention, you earn it.

Ohio State failed (as did Rep. Weiner) in adapting to the new marketing rules.  Again, seek professional help if you have the uncontrollable urge to hold a press conference to defend yourself. 

Don't go off half cocked

If you run into a little scrape, Web Face is here to help.  We are experienced, truth-seeking social media and video experts who will not let you go off half-cocked..... The marketing rules are changing.  Don't get caught on tape with your pants down (or your shirt off!).   Social media and video are like other tools.  They are great when used properly.  If not, then danger ensues. 

Webface 

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Taco Bell and the Magnetic Boy

How about that Taco Bell baby shower?       

Facebook has introduced brand tags that let users promote products in their photo posts.  "Hey did you really have your baby shower at Taco Bell?"  Stephen Colbert finds this all too creepy as he skewers the social media giant in this video.  Check it out here.   http://on.mash.to/lZKM5M

Junior is coming over, hide the silverware

In Web Face's never-ending effort to show you the world is even stranger than you thought we introduce the magnetic kid.   Yes, this six-year-old Croatian boy has forks, cans and even 50-lb objects sticking to him.  Now skeptics abound saying the kid is only sticky as a typical six-year-old.  Watch the video here and decide for yourself.  http://huff.to/kD2W8p

In God we trust..All others bring statistics

If someone is whispering in your ear "Psst..you wanna buy some newspaper advertising space cheap"  then maybe you should read this post: "100 Awesome Marketing Stats, Charts and Graphs."  Social media is not this year's Pet Rock and here are the stats to prove it.  Check it out here http://zite.to/mEVFW2

Vitameatavegamin-It's tasty too!

Is your web site tired and listless?  Does it poop out at parties?  Do you need video to add vitality to your site?  Then reach for a dose of Web Face to put some pep back into your internet presence.   Check out our new and improved web site to see how Web Face can bring your social media efforts back to life.  You got questions???  Give us a call and arrange for a Complete Social Media Check Up today. 

http://web-face-solutions.com/

And if you want to see one of the funniest skits in the history of recorded film check out Lucille Ball in Vitameatavegamin at http://youtu.be/jVfBRRm7RgI

Web Face 
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