Oscars – What are they really about?

Posted on March 1, 2019March 28, 2019 by Rob

OSCARS – WHAT ARE THEY REALLY ABOUT?

I was watching the Oscars… well I didn’t watch the actual Oscars, I was streaming the funny bits of the Oscars (eg the hilarious triumvirate of Tina, Amy and Maya); and some of the acceptance speeches: Olivia Colman’s and Spike Lee’s, most notably.

And I was thinking, the TV audience of the awards is currently trending down year on year but does that meant the advertising strength of the awards is also down?

If we look at the numbers, it would appear the Oscars hasn’t lost any of its relevancy – as the cultural zeitgeist is still very much aware, and the streaming and social media mentions number in their millions. Last year after the La La Land/Moonlight there were “635,000 social engagements in the minutes following the fiasco”

Not only is streaming and mentions are still going strong but many do not realise that advertising and marketing is so entrenched in the Oscars telecast.

From the self-promotion of actors/auteurs delivering their own personal brand from clothing like Trey and Matt…

or political/social awareness see Spike Lee, Susan Sarandon or Richard Gere:

There’s fashion designers and jewellers calling in favours from A-Listers to wear their wares. Sarah Paulson fell into the Maria Von Trapp with this dress that was formerly a curtain.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Christopher Polk/REX/Shutterstock (10113255jq) Sarah Paulson 91st Annual Academy Awards, Arrivals, Los Angeles, USA – 24 Feb 2019

This was linda cardelini.

The women aren’t alone either – Pharell I’m not sure the designer listened when he said clean cut like a military man:

Mandatory Credit: Photo by David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock (10112734kp) Pharrell Williams and Helen Lasichanh 91st Annual Academy Awards, Arrivals, Los Angeles, USA – 24 Feb 2019

The nominated people, producers and movies get free advertising
a) To the public to go see the film
b) To their peers when they are going for their next job.
If it wasn’t the case studios wouldn’t resort to paid advertising “in for your consideration” ads in digital, print and billboards among others – Harvey Weinstein was notorious for just this (among other things).

Poehler, Rudolph and Fey mentioned the advertising in the actual speeches jokingly although it hasn’t got that far just yet, there is still many smart ways to align yourself throughout the broadcast whether it is social media pouncing on #tags or buying media on the telecast, but not only buying but showcasing your product in a very Oscars way.

Google killed it this year

Walmart last year was on point as well

You can also blitz digital media for the week after the Oscars if your spokeperson was lucky enough to win a gold statuette. I saw this ad pop up quite a few times after Rami’s big win:

The above approach really works for any major moment in the social calendar and whilst the Oscars are a HUGE event, every industry, and often even local areas will have some sort of nod to themselves or the businesses in that region. So you can use these tactics to similar effect in 2 main ways:

Preparation – thinking and executing before the event like Google, Walmart and this amazingly pre-planned bit from Seth Myers’ show

(but on a tinier scale)

On The Ball – observing the live event and being quick and prescient to post and give your followers some cheer.

I dunno something like “Rami would have preferred our trips” for a travel company.

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The Oscars are a publicity behemoth for any and every one. Self-promotion isn’t a naughty word. There ‘s the old adage about going to everything – even the opening of an envelope. Once upon a time that would have been a very tactile concept, and yet remember, today you can “be there” and connect with these events even without an invitation.

Featured image Prayitno

OUR WORK

Written By: Rob

6 things to do to get your business out of a funk

Posted on February 15, 2019February 15, 2019 by Michael Menzies

6 things to do to get your business out of a funk.

Bring your business back to life

We are a marketing business, and when you think about that concept, essentially, we have to find the positive aspects of a product or service and we have to use that to showcase the most positive effect your product, business or service can have on the life your desired customer.

We often get called in when there’s a problem (although you should be marketing even when everything is going well) whether it is a dip in sales or completely rethinking tried and tested strategies because the market has changed. And naturally, with all this extra stress at work, they can find themselves in a funk and that’s when we meet them.

Now, I’m not a psychologist (not that you needed to be told that) but being in the “finding the positives” business and the fact that we regularly meet business owners and account managers who are stressed and in a funk at work, we often find ourselves in mock counselling session with a client – before they have even signed on the dotted line.

So, if you need to make some changes in mentality at work (and beyond) here are my tips on telling the FUNK to F-off and in doing so prepare your business to better sell itself.

1. Wake up earlier…

This is not one of those work longer or work harder concepts. No. Wake up earlier and make some more time for yourself.

One of the worst things about being a business professional is that you devote so much of your time to the business and in the end, you grow tired and resentful because it takes up all your time.

But this advice goes beyond just giving yourself back a bit of time for you. This down time where you lift some weights, go for a run, or have a latte at the café, gives your brain some downtime. And believe it or not this is when the best ideas will manifest themselves.

2. Get out there and meet people.

If you find yourself constantly engaging a certain type of client and they are draining (physically and time), not profitable or not really fulfilling to service, the likelihood is (by virtue of your current marketing activities, referrals etc.) you will continue to attract more of these types of clients.

So, take a moment, have a think about who your perfect client might be and then try and figure out where they are, what networking groups they are in, what events they go to, where they have a beer after work and get there. This is not the promotion of stalking. It is the targeting environments where customers you want to work with are.

And if you can hone in on this, the marketing initiatives we help you with will be greatly improved by your understanding of these customers, where they are and their pain points.

3. Shake it up a bit

Most jobs are repetitive, we become good at them the longer we do them because we become more effective and efficient at doing the same task repeatedly.

But over time, for some, this repetition can be quite monotonous. So, shake it up. Change meeting times. Only respond to emails at certain time during the day so you remain more focussed, vary your hours.

Changing little things can alter the way we perceive even what we have grown tired of.

This could be setting aside some time to really work on your thinking around marketing. Be hands on with your agency and inject some new energy into an otherwise repetitive scenario.

4. Declutter

Maria Kondo’s is a smash hit on Netflix (great watch if you haven’t seen it) and her show is all about decluttering your home.

Decluttering can go beyond the physical. Declutter your schedule, if you do 4 meetings a day do 3 and take that additional time to focus in on improving one aspect of your work life.

Don’t eat lunch at your desk – go out and have a walk.

Set a time each day to pack up your desk, clean your desk top and be ready for the next day so you can approach it with a clear mind.

Decluttering your time and mind will have a dramatic impact on your performance.

You can also declutter your products, seek out the highest performing products, declutter your messaging – work with an agency like us to make your marketing approach more streamlined and direct.

5. Stop focussing on money.

Money, ah, that old chestnut! – We all work or own a business to make it. It’s a prerequisite of life to some degree. Hell, even not for profit doesn’t mean not for money, look at the balance sheets of some major charities and you will see what I mean.

But if you think about the dollars and cents every minute of every day you may overlook the simple joy of service.

Now this isn’t some spiritual humdrum, nor is it overlooking the need to make money. But I sometimes think it’s like this: If you never take your eyes off the GPS whilst driving, there is no doubt you will have a very clear picture of the destination but I highly doubt you will get there.

Your marketing I think could benefit from similar thinking. People often think of marketing as a chore, an expense.

If you change your focus and become part of the process, own it and find joy in it. Make it part of your service delivery as opposed to an external function, I think you will find your marketing will improve greatly. This doesn’t mean you need to become a marketing expert, or do it all yourself, rather it suggests working with trusted marketing partners and together making great things happen

6. Be positive.

You know on a personal level, my business has taken some big hits over the years, we’ve been screwed a few times, we’ve made mistakes and we haven’t always been where we want to be.

It can be quite painful at times when things don’t go right.

But, I think you must be positive. After all everything that is wonderful in this world can have a dark side. And so too can your career or your business.

Take stock of the things that have gone wrong and assess the lessons that can be learned, there is so much we can take from tough times.

And this is a key lesson for marketing your business too, SH!T happens, but when you present your business, present the best it can be. Take the learnings, take the bits that aren’t perfect and use your marketing to make a public commitment that as a business you will do things better… customers respond to positive words, even more so positive action.

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This little list has helped me manage the pitfalls of having my own business, they keep me sane and in the long run help my business run smoothly. They also help me focus on how I externally promote our business. Many of these personal activities can be reflected in the way you market both yourself and your business.

Give them a go and tell me what you think?

OUR WORK

Written By: Michael Menzies

Hungry Vegans… Hungry Jack’s

Posted on October 25, 2018November 8, 2018 by Michael Menzies

Hungry Vegans… Hungry Jack’s

There are approximately 11.5% of Aussie’s who now identify as vegetarian/vegan (I do recognise the difference – but they were the stats I had)… and my wife happens to be one of them. And I can tell you, as a meat eating cannibal, that your vego types can be hard to cater for in a world besotted by meat.

Now, in saying that, there are some sensational vegetable dishes that even the most dedicated meat eaters would really enjoy if they were more aware of them.

But let’s face it the vego/vegan thing is in some ways still seen as an obscure sub culture by many. And so, with just 11.5% of Aussies it is easy to understand why this market is often overlooked.

But Hungry Jack’s recently launched a new Vegan Burger and the subsequent ad campaign and media coverage is for me a masterstroke and no doubt McDonalds will be closely monitoring its success if not desperately trying to conceive their own vegetarian options.

There is a tremendous lesson in this for business. Hungry Jack’s have combined product planning and marketing to effectively own a space. With Australia, the third fast growing Vegan market and them getting a run on their key competition, Hungry Jack’s get to own the space and the narrative. They get to build traction around them and for a time at least have a genuine point of difference.

There is risk in this strategy, but whilst many businesses would overlook the trend or wait to see if there was genuine interest in this vegan thing. Hungry Jack’s have taken a considered gamble that, whilst genuine vegetarians/vegans may only be 11% of the market currently, the trend for healthier choices is growing and whilst many may baulk at the idea of a vegan burger from Hungry Jack’s resembling anything like a healthy option, there may be a few out there sitting on the fringes who will see what Hungry Jack’s have done and give it a go.

And in a market where there are few alternatives (as in “healthy” or vegetarian fast food) and at a time where your key competitor isn’t even in the game yet, these are moments where businesses can redefine their market position and even gain market share by changing it up.

…your key competitor isn’t even in the game yet, these are moments where businesses can redefine their market position and even gain market share by changing it up….

And your marketing and marketing team can play a big role in this too…

Marketing is often overlooked in terms of its role in product development, but in a modern context – user or customer experience is both driven and communicated by marketing. Great marketing should reflect a genuine insight into your customer and those insights can have a tremendous influence on understanding the needs and expectations of your customers. A well-integrated marketing team should be seeing the emerging trends and opportunities for your brand across the broader market place and then suggesting ideas like improvements to service or new products.

Once these recommendations have been assessed and implemented through the various areas of the business that bring them to life – marketing then plays a huge role in communicating that to the customer.

It doesn’t matter how big or small your organisation integrating these functions of your business will better connect it to your customers’ needs, so be sure to get your marketing team or agency in on your planning for future products and service delivery changes, because it could change the way you do business.

Well done, Hungry Jack’s.

Image Credit Hungry Jacks via Fashion Journal

OUR WORK

Written By: Michael Menzies

Employee Advocacy On Social Media

Posted on March 2, 2017March 9, 2017 by Rob

Employee Advocacy on Social Media

Employee Advocacy = Social Gold

Quiz: Employees of our company like working there because:
a) They are respected
b) They are doing fulfilling work
c) They are part of a great team
d) They are compensated fairly
e) They are afforded the opportunity to improve their skills
f) All of the above

If the answer is “f”, firstly, congratulations and secondly you could be sitting on more than just good workers.

Just a few short years ago employers tried to block employees from going on to social networks during work hours – internet monitoring, site blockers, firewalls, using Julie from accounts as a spy/mole, setting up elaborate false flag operations, propaganda… wait a sec… where was I… oh yes…
Hopefully you are hiring employees that are (a) autonomous enough that they can be trusted to do their jobs but (b), and more importantly, social media can be a friend in the employer/employee hand book.

Your team are proud to be part of your organisation and usually are willing participants in spreading the good word – which is the basis of an Employee Advocacy Program (EAP).

An EAP is an effective (and cheap) way to cast your net wider after you have went to the effort of creating content a bigger audience is always welcome.

It can be as simple as “Hey Jo, can you paste this article on the FaceBook for me?”*

*Pro tip: If you are using terms like paste and the FaceBook there is a good chance that Jo’s social reach is further than your own.

like the rest of your marketing and sales strategy you can have a considered approach to employee advocacy and really engender ownership of the brand amongst employees.

I shouldn’t need to say this but do not enforce employee participation a) because you can’t and b) this process will hopefully lead to follow ups and that same disaffected employee will probably be the first point of contact for someone reacting to their share.

Have some guidelines
Didn’t he just say cast a wide net and now we have to have guidelines?
In the beginning have a mentor for the employees that want to help out can be a great benefit – train them in what is an appropriate tag to the share; your mentors should give pointers into where, when and how often as well.

Bonus
Your employees will want to give their networks special content as well, do not stifle it – whether it is a bespoke piece of content or a special offer – have at it.

Software
Proving ROI on an employee advocacy program can be hard but there are many programs that can make your life easier from the big boys to more niche products like, Trapit (formerly Addvocate) or Circulate.it for example.

Goals
So the above will help with proving the ROI but what are your goals for the program? Be sure to have a clear KPI and be ready to move the goal posts or content around as you learn to understand your new audiences – their likes and dislikes.

This should set you on the right track but if you need more guidance on this or other social marketing ideas drop us a line – info@remembercreative.com

OUR WORK

Written By: Rob

4 questions to start you on your social media journey

Posted on October 6, 2016December 21, 2016 by Rob

The 4 questions businesses should ask before starting social media

Social Media: Where do I start?

Starting a social media strategy for your business can be a daunting prospect. After all, there’s a stack of information out there – much of it written in jargon or going into intricate detail about things that really aren’t that important.

So if information overload means you’re struggling to know where to start, you’re not alone. That’s why we created a simple guide to the 4 questions you need to ask before you start using social media.

Answer these and you’ll have a pretty good idea of the way forward for your business.

Which platform should you use?

There’s no point trying to master every platform. You usually won’t have the time or budget to do it all and you’ll end up spreading yourself way too thin.

Instead, think about the purpose of your content and who you’re trying to connect with.

Facebook is the biggest social media platform in Australia – over 60% of Australians have an active account. It’s focus is largely personal but it can be a great platform for any business: especially if you have a consumer focus or you can create content that people engage with and are happy to share with their friends.

LinkedIn is often seen as the corporate facing social media platform and is a natural fit for B2B businesses such as professional services. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a place to find new clients for B2C businesses too.

Instagram is highly visual. If you’re prepared to invest in top notch imagery it can be a perfect fit. Insta has been used to devastating effect by many lifestyle brands, which lend themselves to this kind of “picture is worth a thousand words” marketing.

Twitter has over 2.8million active users but it’s a tough one to master and requires almost constant attention. Some businesses use it well but it’s not for the time poor.

Snapchat is the young’un of the group, quite literally. It has the youngest user base and can be particularly useful if your target audience is under 30.

Pinterest may not be as popular in Australia as it is in other countries but its users tend to be more engaged and it has the highest percentage of online shoppers out of the platforms. It also skews female” around two-thirds of Pinterest users are women, again the highest of all platforms.

The right platform for you will depend on who you’re targeting. And, just because the majority of users on a platform like Pintrest are women, that doesn’t mean they can’t also be used with devastating effect to target men too.

How often should you post?

This is something of a loaded question. You don’t want to bore your audience by bombarding them with constant content. But you don’t want them to forget about you either. Getting the balance right usually involves trial and error and a bit of tweaking until you find out what works best for you.

We know it’s not perfect but the answer to “how often” might just be as much as your time allows as it you might only find an hour a week to squeeze in.

That said, spending just one hour a week on social media is probably not enough to really engage an audience. Which leads to the next question you should ask…

How will you find the time?

Most people – especially most SME owners – simply don’t time necessary to spend hours a week learning how to use a platforms, run campaigns, create engaging content and build an audience.

There are some tools that will help you reduce the time burden by scheduling all you posts from one place – some of the best are Sproutsocial, Hootsuite and Buffer. (For the record, we use Hootsuite but they all have their place.)

But then then there’s the little things you need to know, such as the fact that some social media platforms actually image doesn’t show a face.

For that reason, we think the best solution for most businesses is to save time, save money and get it done right by outsourcing it.

Do you really have to understand all those terms?

You’ve probably noticed that social media is a world of acronyms and jargon. You probably don’t need to know what most of them mean. But there are a few you should probably be aware of (not least because you’ll hear your agency bandying them about all the time). So, for the record, here they are:

CTA – Call to action. This is the next step you want someone to take after reading your content.

CPC – Cost per click. How much you need to spend for every person who clicks on a link to your site.

CTR – Click through rate. The number of people who click through to your site divided by the total number of people who see/read your post.

B2C – Business to consumer. Marketing to the masses.

And finally…

If you’re struggling to create a social strategy that is right for your business, or if you can’t find the time or don’t have the skills to create the kind of content your audience wants, drop us a line.

Get in touch to find out more.

Statistics compiled by SocialMediaNews.com.au for August 2016.

Stats and research courtesy: Vivid Social. Figures correct as of 31/08/16.

OUR WORK

Written By: Rob

What can a personal website do for you?

Posted on October 6, 2016October 12, 2016 by Michael Menzies

What can a personal website do for you?

Most of us know the benefits of a company website. They’ve become our first port of call for checking out what that organisation offers; we use it to find out what they do and how they do it differently. We compare that business with its competitors and see whether we want to buy from them or not.

From the business’s point of view this is fantastic – not least because their website lets them control the message you’re getting about them. Sure, you can google them and find out reviews and try to track down people who’ve had a positive or negative experience. But if they do it well, give you the right experience and make it easy to buy, they may be able to convince you that they’re the one to go with – then and there.

Guess what, all these same benefits apply to a personal website too. If you’re in the market for a job, if you’re looking to grow your profile, or even if you’re after a promotion or pay rise, a personal website can be gold. After all….

You are not a company

Consider this… the average length of time that someone stays in a job in the United States is now just 4.6 years. In Australia, it’s probably not much different. That means, statistically, you’re unlikely to be with your current employer for that much longer.

So, if you’re hitching your mast to your employer’s, hiding your skills behind their branding and letting their website and positioning in the marketplace sell your skills and expertise, you’re doing yourself a disservice.

If you’re in any kind of services industry – such as real estate, law, financial advice, accounting – that’s probably obvious enough. That’s because you, as the professional, really are what brings value to the business, Everyone already knows that. Without your knowledge, experience and networks the business wouldn’t be able to survive. So the need to position yourself properly if you’re ever going to build a career is obvious.

Another group for whom a personal website is a no-brainer is franchisees. Often the franchisor will only do so much for your marketing and branding. A more personal touch that speaks directly to your clients or customers and speaks to your individual market can work wonders.

But it’s broader than that

Because, while professional services and franchises are the most obvious examples of where this problem lies, I don’t think they’re the only ones who could do with a personal website. No matter what line of work you’re in, a personal website will let you speak to future employers, clients and others in a way that’s just not possible through other means.
In the creative industries, designers, art directors and copywriters have been doing this for years: having their own room to show a portfolio of their work: ad campaigns they’ve worked on or ideas they’ve developed.

When it comes time for a pay rise, when they’re considering moving on, when a business is out there looking to headhunt, this is what they can point to and what states their case.

Why shouldn’t people in other industries take a leaf from our book and build their own online portfolio of work too, in the form of a website?

Isn’t that what LinkedIn is for?

I can hear the response already… I already do that, it’s called LinkedIn.

Well, yes and no.

Sure, Linkedin is great if you want to display what you can offer in a format that’s built around a CV. But really, can a CV show off all your talents and achievements and position you the right way? I don’t think so.

It’s also built around words, and while there’s now the ability to stick up a video to support what your content, even that’s a bit limiting and one-dimensional. There’s not really much scope for story-telling or narrative.

But there’s even more to it than that…

We’re not rational

Like it or not, we don’t always connect with things rationally, and LinkedIn provides little scope to do anything but that. It’s formulaic. There’s little scope to ‘show’ rather than ‘tell’ and there’s very little room to engage people with anything other than a brief summary of who we are and the projects we’ve worked on.

I think it’s pretty hard to get a full sense of who someone is and what they do just through a LinkedIn profile.

Besides, most of us aren’t solely word-based people. We like visuals, we like colour and we connect with information on many levels. Unlike LinkedIn, a personal website lets you:

Use visuals to reinforce your message
Give people a three-dimensional experience
Show off your projects in a way LinkedIn simply can’t
Use SEO keywords to drive people to your site
Connect with people emotionally, not just rationally
Be as creative as you want to be without having to worry about templates
Become a publisher and drive people to your site with high-quality content
Emphasise whatever you want and provide whatever experience you want.

You’ve taken time to build your relationships

And it’s often your skills that your business’s clients or customers are benefiting from. A personal website can let you take advantage of that, giving you repository for all your experience that’s transportable, rebrandable and lets you maintain a relationship with your clients regardless of where you end up.

It also lets you position yourself the way you want, not the way a social media platform tells you to. Who could resist that?

Get in touch if you’d like to discuss how a personal website can help you.

OUR WORK

Written By: Michael Menzies

Furthering your campaign online…baaa

Posted on September 13, 2016December 21, 2016 by Rob

Only in art will the lion lie down with the lamb

If you haven’t seen the new lamb ad already – the jury is out and the verdict is in – it’s great. We recently did a piece on an advertisement by OAK flavoured milk and it raising the blood pressures of vegans everywhere by its, unknowingly or not, slightly offensive ~~flavour~~ humour.

Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) has gone the exact opposite route for their Spring 2016 advertising campaign and included as many differing segments of society as one thought possible in a 30 second ad spot.

Absent in this very inclusive advertisement are vegans and vegetarians for obvious reasons, but the notion that lamb doesn’t discriminate is touted loudly and proudly. It’s a great advertisement with humour and sensitivity in equal measure.The other big difference is the story, OAK hasn’t evolved the piece where as MLA have peeled back the layers and engaged viewers again when they move online as the 30 secs is now a more in-depth 90 second look at Lamb. The meat that doesn’t discriminate.

OUR WORK

Written By: Rob

Is HungryThirsty dead meat? Vegans out for blood

Posted on September 13, 2016December 21, 2016 by Rob

Is HungryThirsty dead meat?

We have seen a couple of interesting advertisements hit the scene in the past couple of weeks one very inclusive read more on that here; and one a very exclusive advertisement for OAK Milk and there once heralded HungryThirsty catchphrase.

If you haven’t seen it yet you scrolled very quickly when landing on this page – scroll back up… go on… I’ll wait.

By exclusive I did not mean fashionable or private I mean exclusionary – as you can see OAK decided to take on vegan sausages, apparently a sensitive subject.

Many vegans were up in arms with the tawdry treatment launching very vocal attacks on social media. I, for one, think the advertisement is ok (I live with a vegan, I am not sure if that qualifies me on any level, and just by writing this I run the risk of sleeping on our non leather couch tonight) but I think it would be shortsighted of OAK and their agency if they didn’t think they would receive any backlash.

On one level they are making fun of a food item and not vegans in general – so that’s ok with me. And on another level, vegans don’t drink milk so to offend a group that will never be your customer, at least for the bottom line, is ok as well. That’s not to say that we condone offending people as a way to some quick PR.

I would say that the sort of person that is impressed with the ad is also the sort of person that will be happy that those pallid, bleeding heart vegans were offended. Oh god, now I might be raising the ire of the erudite, milk drinking, OAK loving masses by suggesting that they would be uncouth enough to enjoy riling up a bunch of vegans.

The point is the ad is fine, it speaks to it’s target market succinctly. OAK’s reaction however is another thing. Since releasing the ad OAK hasn’t made any comments on their accounts or to the media as far as this person can tell; which makes me think they were not ready for the reaction and not agile enough to react accordingly.

They could have heeded their naysayers words and kept the conversation going while still in the limelight or they could have upped the ante and started offending other groups, perhaps white supremacists didn’t realise that HungryThirsty is satisfied much better by milk that comes from black or brown cows than white cows.

The opposite of an exclusionary tactic is inclusive the new lamb ad is a brilliant example.

OUR WORK

Written By: Rob

7 things SMEs/small businesses need to know about social media

Posted on September 5, 2016November 28, 2017 by Michael Menzies

7 things SMEs/small businesses need to know about social media

For small and medium-sized businesses, social media has the potential to bring so many benefits. Done well, it can build deeper relationships, keeps you front of mind with potential buyers and shows off your products and services in a way that no other medium can match.

Done very well, it can even build a community of enthusiastic brand advocates who will willingly spread the word about what you’ re doing – an army of salespeople willing to spruik on your behalf. But if you’re hoping social media will take your business to these dizzy marketing heights, there’ s a few things you should know first.

SMEs must use social media as part of something bigger

Small business owners are usually doers. So, true to form, when it dawns on them that they should ‘ be doing social media’ , they take the expression at face value and just do it. They open a twitter account, start a Facebook page and then begin posting about whatever comes into their heads. It’s the wrong approach entirely.

To work effectively, your business’s social media needs a strategy behind it. And that social media strategy must be tied to your business strategy. If it’s not, your social media efforts will be scattered and inconsistent. You’ ll be sending out the wrong signals or sending people down the wrong path and, ultimately, your social media will do your business more harm than good.

We can show you some pretty good examples of where this happens. Then again, we probably don’t need to. You’ve no doubt quite a few yourselves. And yet, many business owners still think that just by turning up they’re “doing social media”.

SMEs need to know that social media is a regular thing

Some small business owners will do one mailout or post one article to social media, then sit back and expect the world to change. It won’ t.

Very rarely something you do on social media might ‘ go viral’ , moving well beyond your immediate circle of followers and customers to get shared and talked about by people you never dreamed of reaching. But more often than not, building this kind of audience takes time, application and trial and error. Social media is marathon – or at least a middle distance race – not a sprint.

SMEs need to be comfortable with ambiguity

The way television, radio or print advertising works is reasonably immediate. A business pays for the ad, the ad goes out, and then hopes this is followed by an immediate spike in enquiries or sales. Social media is a little more ambiguous. It can take time to see a return on investment, at least several months. And, when a sale comes in, it can also be hard to know exactly what role social media played in it all. That’ s why….

SMEs need to keep doing other things

Social media is not enough on its own. Although some rare businesses may have achieved all their business goals with nothing more than a facebook account, that’ s very much the exception, not the rule.

Most businesses still need to invest in other marketing tactics, such as a web presence, seminars, advertising, good old fashioned networking and PR. In fact, the final one of these methods and the traditional media coverage it can being can be the best of all complements to effective social media.

Regardless, what social media can do is to amplify each of these old school marketing tactics, giving you the chance to give people the full story in a slow and more interactive way. That means, when they do come to you through another touch point they are likely to know a lot about what you do and how you do it. And that knowledge builds a level of familiarity and trust, that makes them much more likely to buy.

SMEs need to put themselves out there on social media

Social media, by its very nature, is uncontrollable and somewhat anarchic. That alone is enough to put many SME owners off investing too much into it. What happens if you get a bad comment? Or if you put forward a point of view that doesn’t’ t go down well? What happens if people start complaining on your social media pages?

It’s true that social media gives someone who has an issue with your business a ready forum in which to air their grievances. But, while negative social media can and does happen, it’s probably not as common as you might think.

And, even if someone does complain there can often be a positive side to using social media. For starters, you get to better understand the grievances of your customer and make sure it doesn’t happen again. In that sense, it can offer a unique forum for listening. Better still, social media gives you the opportunity to respond.

In other words, people get to see two sides of an argument – they don’ t just have to take the dissatisfied customer’ s word for it.

SMEs need to demonstrate personality through social media

While we’ re on the subject of risk management, it can be tempting to play social media safe so that you avoid stirring the pot too much. But, if you do, you’ ll run a much greater risk: the risk of failing to cut through and therefore talking to no one but yourself. Doing social media in a way that attracts followers and builds an audience, means doing it with personality. It means being strong and confident and unafraid to speak your mind. Only then can you hope to give people a glimpse into who you are, what you do, and how you do it differently to anyone else.

This is your chance for your BRAND to express itself and define its unique position in a loud and busy marketplace

SMEs need to be prepared to invest in social media

Finally, social media can be a very cost-effective form of marketing, but there’ s a difference between being cost-effective and being free. And, like any form of marketing or advertising, those willing to invest in quality will almost always see better returns. So be prepared to invest in quality. Don’t try to cut corners. And don’ get one of the manager’s 17 year old to do it on the cheap – especially if you’ re not targeting 17 year olds.

And finally…

We’ve been around this space for some time. And can confirm that social media doesn’t just give small businesses anxiety. Even the biggest companies debate endlessly about the risks and return of an environment that opens them up to criticism and isn’t necessarily a forum for direct sales.

But what we can say for sure is that social media genuinely has the power to transform both your marketing efforts and your business and bring an almost unique opportunity to broaden the reach of your brand.

That’s why we love to talk to business owners exploring this space and doing it properly. After all, to do social is easy – to do it well and get the most out of it you really do need to be strategic, considered and bold.

Remember Creative can help you be all three.

Get in touch to find out more.

OUR WORK

Written By: Michael Menzies

A digital creative’s shocking admission about social media

Posted on September 5, 2016November 10, 2017 by Michael Menzies

A digital creative’s shocking admission about social media

Why I hate social media

The problem with social media

For a digital creative I’m about to admit something quite shocking…

I don’t like social media. In fact, I hate it.

Sure, I have a social media account on every single platform under the Sun. And I check in with them all the time. (Just ask my wife how much.) But no matter what platform I’m on – Facebook, LinkedIn, Pintrest, snapchat or Insta – I find the same thing keeps on happening.

All day long boring content bombards me that I simply don’t want to read.

I get no relief when I turn to my email inbox. In fact, it’s exactly the same thing. Business email after business email that fails to engage me and just sits there, clogging up dark, unread lines on my screen until I do the honourable thing and send it straight to trash.

I rarely, if ever, bother opening, let alone reading anything I receive from any business these days. Instead, I’m more inclined to euthanase a day en masse, checking the box beside each message before clicking ‘Delete all’.

So why do I bother?

But despite my hatred, I can’t bring myself to unsubscribe, to unfollow, to unlike, to un-engage. And the reason for this is simple.

I have a real fear of missing out.

I’m hoping, praying, that the brands I’m connected with will give me what I want. And sometimes – some rare times – I’m rewarded.

Every now and then, in amongst the hate and the blandness and the irrelevance, there’s an occasional piece of gold. Once in a blue moon I get an email, or I find a tweet, or I read a post that changes everything.

I don’t want to miss that next gem if, and when, it ever happens. So my FOMO keeps me hanging on.

Aren’t you a little bit like me?

I suspect many of you are just like me. You’re hoping that the businesses you want to engage with will engage with you – either that or you simply can’t be bothered casting them from your life by clicking unsubscribe. (I know that apathy plays a part in low unsubscribe rates but doesn’t can’t explain everything. )

The problem is that most businesses – and pretty much all SMEs – just aren’t capable of giving us the attention we crave.

But that’s not social media’s fault

You see, the reason I hate social media is not social media’s fault. It’s the fault of the businesses using it.

They’ve taken to their platform only because they think they should. They have no strategy, no plan, no idea of what they’re doing. They just post whatever comes into their heads.

They’ve treated it as a one way transaction. They’ve taken no time to think of what I want to see or read, just what they wanted to tell me.

But social media isn’t about broadcasting. It’s about building a community and involving it in your brand’s point of view. The challenge is not in talking about your products – anyone can do that. It’s about building a content experience that draws in users and gets them to fall in love with your brand.

It’s about moving beyond a simple product message and creating an experience.

What makes a business good at social media?

The rare bits of social media I don’t hate – the brands and businesses I’m happy to hear from – share some things in common.

They’re consistent but not pushy.

They’ve taken time to know who I am.

They’re happy to be spoken to, as well as spoken about.

They’ve got personality.

They’ve got flair.

But getting these things right means having a strategy and developing in proper content (both design and words).

It means watching what you’re doing and refining it as you go. It means making sure all parts of your marketing are working properly and everything’s working together to enhance your brand.

It means making a proper investment both in time and money.

Stop now if you don’t want to be one of them

Now here’s a test…

Imagine for one second that you didn’t work for your company and the social message you just sent out appeared in your feed. Would you read it?

The answer could well be no. For instance, it might well be irrelevant or unoriginal. It might lack personality. It might not be very interesting or valuable

If that’s the case with your social media efforts, stop now. Don’t go any further. Your efforts will be half-baked. You’ll make me hate social media even more.

But get it right and you’ll make a difference – not just to me but to your bottom line.

Because the reason I hate social media so much is your greatest reason to use it. What’s out there is usually not very good.

In other words, the market is open for you to get into the space and own it, stifling your competitors’ voices and gathering new followers, new customers and new clients as you do.

What kind of business could resist investing in that?

Just make sure you do it properly, or don’t do it at all.

And finally?

If you liked this or hated it, get in touch

After all, this is my very point. I posted this because I am keen to know how you feel. How my thoughts made you feel….

This is a conversation, Remember!

OUR WORK

Written By: Michael Menzies

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