Marketing online has mainly to do with a few specific categories in various stages of engagement with your consumer.

• Search Engine Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization
• Paid Marketing
• Email Marketing
• Web 2.0 Marketing
• and of course… Social Media Marketing

There’s probably a few more that can be thrown in there – with the internet it seems like you can tack the word “marketing” on the ass of a word and it would make sense (bikini marketing? Maybe.)

The end goal of online marketing methods (particularly social media marketing) is obviously to drive traffic to a site and convert those visitors into something that resembles a broken cash machine spitting money at you.

When it comes to marketing online though I’m not talking about branding in any way – though that is relevant. This post is specifically pointing towards the four P’s – Product, Place, Pricing and Promotion

Your Product and your Price are pretty self-explanatory. The Place is the online POS (but can also include offline POS) and then there’s Promotion.

The guiding principles within social media marketing are fairly similar to other forms of marketing with the exception that the communities involved here ultimately form conversations and dialogue. Unlike other one-way marketing gimmicks, social media marketing is a two way street. The convo goes both ways.

Your common and popular social networks are the core tools involved in social media marketing, as they’re used to facilitate the messages that go between the individual and the organization. It’s through these tools that businesses and marketers are able to build communities, reinforce brands, promote products and services and draft an identity that was never quite possible before. Ultimately, they are machines for driving sales.

Those brands that have successfully churned out valuable content and had a community rally behind them for their personality, image and efforts are the ones that truly understand social media marketing and they’re reaping the rewards that come from proper use of the four P’s

That content has a huge impact on the success of a brand through social media marketing. When that content is replicated and shared by the visitors within your community, then you become the beneficiary of priceless word of mouth marketing through social media. That’s the viral buzz that a lot of companies aim for but fall short of.

Unfortunately their focus, in those cases where they stumble, is on the buzz. They’re less focused on the content which will show itself through that content. You have to focus on delivering true value within your social media marketing and the content you provide or your stage dive becomes a face plant. Noone is going to carry you.

Create a message that will get people talking and rest assured that it will take off like a wildfire.

When marketing your content within social media and working toward your brand improvement, always remember that you do not control the environment. You do not control your brand image. You also do not control the conversation. You are a contributor, and the visitor is in control. Start your conversation from that standpoint, and the visitors will be able to sense your respect and appreciation for their presence.

Commenting is a popular method of engaging within a specific marketing and doing a little branding for an individual or business.  It’s a great way to introduce yourself and carry on a dialogue with someone in hopes of reaching out and creating awareness for your own products and services.

The problem with commenting is that it’s rather tough to do without coming off as promotional in any way.  So what’s the best way to make comments as part of your online marketing strategy  without directly promoting?

Obviously the root of the questions points to a company’s desire to avoid being spammy in any way and the simple fact that I’ve heard this enter into discussions more than once excites me to no end, because it’s good to hear that any company is trying to positively improve their brand online without annoying the hell out of people.

To answer the question - the best way to incorporate commenting into an online marketing strategy without seeming like you’re promoting your products or services is to comment on sites without promoting your product or service.

That probably sounds a little flippant but I assure you that I’m serious.  Consider it from a literal point of view and not one of sarcasm.

The best thing you can do is to aim for structuring your comments in a way that sounds helpful.  Honestly, it’s impossible to be helpful and to sell something at the same time.  If you’re selling then your goal is to make money and you’re not really trying to help the consumer (even if you’re giving off that perception).  If your aim is to help someone, then you’re focused on helping them and your goal is not to close a sale.  One may lead to another and vice versa, but they don’t occupy the same space.

Example:

If someone is talking about an issue with a price on their new iPhone contract, and your comment is to correct an error about the price of a phone you would say something like:

“Hey I work for Apple, I wanted to clarify for you that the price was listed wrong in your post.  The iPhone retails for $X with a contract if you order online, not the price you listed.  If you saw it somewhere for a different price let us know and we can have that matter fixed.  Thanks for mention the product!”

You would not say:

“Hey I work for Apple, the best company in the universe and our iPhone is now $X with a two year contractor but only if you order online.  You can also get this great deal on accessories this weekend only in any of our Apple stores to go with that new phone you just picked up.  Hurry to your nearest Apple store because they’re limiting the supplies on hand.  This new iPhone is going to mow over the other smart phones, this new design rocks”

I think that seems pretty straightforward.

When people land on your site, they’re more than likely looking for guidance and some kind of understanding as to how they can interact with you.  They want to know who you are, what you’re about, how you can help them, etc.

That’s what your tagline is all about.  There’s just as much marketing oomf in a website tagline as there is in an entire article that talks up your business.  That tagline is a statement from the go that delivers the promise of bigger, better things.  It paints the big picture for visitors.

It also needs to hit it’s mark in a matter of seconds.

“1,000 songs in your pocket.”

That sounds like a good idea.  The concept is great, and that tells a big story in just a few words.  It doesn’t matter if you recognize the origin of the tagline, because you know exactly what you’re getting when you read it.  You’re getting a thousands songs in your pocket.  How they get there isn’t relevant, and you really don’t care the whither to’s and why for’s.  You just know at a glance that you’re going to get a ton of music in a small package that goes with you.

That’s a smart tagline that works.  Apple thought so, that’s why they used it for a marketing campaign that put them on a fast track to success with the ipod.

Unfortunately not all companies make the most of the tagline and they leave a big gaping hole where potential just kind of leaks out and drips all over the floor in a very anti-climactic fashion.  Take a look around and you’ll see a lot of tag lines like this:

“Innovative solutions for tomorrow”

That doesn’t really inspire a lot when you read it.  Yeah, you know you’re getting innovative solutions, but what are the solutions?   …and what makes them innovative?  I imagine the solutions are solving a problem but… what problem?  Do I have this problem?  Does this even relate to me?

Most people wouldn’t be able to establish relevancy with this kind of message so they do what everyone else does - they move on and find someone that they can connect with.  Hell, most of us don’t see anything wrong with our future, what we need is an innovative solution right now - not later.

Like a thousands songs in my pocket, because I’m going to the Gym today and need some music.

If you aren’t able to deliver a powerful and meaningful message in a handful of words to your target audience then you certainly aren’t going to pull it off in your site content or within your content marketing off-site.  You’re just going to miss the target.  You can’t just depend on curiosity alone.  You need to make it clear to people what you can do for them, from your content marketing clear through the sales funnel all the way to the end - that includes your tag line.

You have to avoid being “full of yourself”.  Not in an egotistical sense, but in the sense that your customers may not know anything about you.  It’s easy to forget that someone coming to your site knows nothing about who you are.  Business owners often market themselves with content and taglines that seem perfect for them because they understand it.  Those same taglines come off as really vague to someone who knows nothing about your company.

Think from the shoes of the customer who knows nothing.  Present them with clear concise information that instantly lets them know what they’re getting themselves into.  Try to tease them with some clever mystery in hopes of generating interest from curiosity and they will leave.

They have problems and they want solutions now.  Not tomorrow.

I have the perfect new employee for your company.

This employee is adept at sitting around, sifting through all the latest news and gossip. They understand your company pretty well, and will work diligently to learn the ins and outs so that they can directly engage your customers.

There’s just a few things you should know.

This new employee won’t be doing any direct sales but they will make a lot of your customers pretty happy.  There’s a good chance they’ll annoy quite a few of them as well. They also won’t work by any real schedule that you have, and your dress code is unacceptable – they’ll be working in whatever they feel like wearing. They also don’t have a college degree and will be spending more than 80% of their time on Facebook and Twitter, along with a number of other social sites.

Did I mention that they want to work from home? Do you have an opening?

10 years ago we would have laughed together at the request, but not anymore. You and just about every other company out there should consider whether or not having this kind of position is viable.

I (and many others) have mentioned before that it’s no longer a question of whether or not you should get involved in social media, it’s just a matter of how and when. That leads to this query: Do you hire someone, or do you outsource?

The answer really depends on your business and how much direct control you want over the individual or group handling your social media presence. Hiring direct is a good idea for a firm capable of providing a decent regular wage along with benefits for a full time employee or a group of part time employees. Having the group or individual in house means you have immediate control over your social media presence and those employees can attending training, meetings, conferences and more within the organization to ensure that they are up on all the current company information relevant to their content and social media marketing.

Should you op to outsource, there is still plenty of control to be had however you need to ensure that those agencies or individuals stay current on company info. The benefit to outsourcing is that you can often get the services at a lower rate that won’t fluctuate under contract agreements as opposed to living, breathing employees that demand raises lest they handcuff themselves to the water cooler.

If you’re hiring an individual or several people to fill an in-house team, keep in mind that there’s no college degree for social media marketing.  Not quite yet, it’s getting there. The old rules of marketing don’t even really apply here, so a Harvard grad with a background in marketing is about as charming as a shaved cat to your social following. An outsourced firm or individual will likely have a bit more experience than an individual as they’ve already been in place working with other companies and clients to manage social media presence.

The whole beast is still relatively new, so there’s a learning curve as we all move along. The important thing is that businesses need to do something to solidify their social media marketing presence.

One thing you should not do is manage your social media presence on your own. Your focus should be your business, and social media (and marketing in general) can quickly become a huge time suck – especially if you become popular among those who follow you. Before you get sucked into something you can’t walk away from (because leaving followers suddenly hanging is bad) it’s best to get someone in place before you’re overwhelmed and burn out hits.

I’ll leave you with this article from Marketing Sherpa regarding the future of social media marketing and the way businesses are changing their position.

A number of marketers have been focusing their efforts on the angle of grabbing up customers.  The benefit of that focus is measurability.  In a world of smaller budgets and a focus on ROI for every campaign this is a good idea but actually moving the customer from “Awareness” to “Contemplation” to actual “Conversion” is a small part of the deal as we step into the age of social media dominance.

The mass of the work actually comes after the purchase.  It has to do with the experience that the customer or client had with your company throughout the sales process, and the ongoing relationship that will be established and nurtured with your company over the long term.

It’s just far too easy to lock onto getting the customer and sinking a sale.  Marketers need to focus on another aspect however - customer retention.  While this is certainly true for B2C companies, it’s definitely true for B2B companies that sell proportionately less product than their counterparts and thus need to rely more on keeping those customers they do have.  Repeat business is much easier to acquire than new business.  If a client or customer commits to the tech, software, product, service etc then they will most like be with you for a long time

Unless you do something terribly wrong.

Think on it for a little while when you consider your marketing efforts, whether you’re marketing through social media or general content - even offline marketing.  Where are you putting all your weight, or even most of it?  Are you heavy on acquisition?

It’s not uncommon for businesses to fall heavy into that spectrum, after all we want to make sure that we have new business coming in regularly but if your marketing efforts aren’t doing enough to focus on retention then you’re more likely to lose those customers you do have.  So what do you do about it?

Think about your social media marketing.  Social media is a hot area and it will continue to be.  Consider the number of people within social media and you can guarantee that there is going to be someone discussing your products and services at some point - perhaps even right now.  If it’s an existing customer, find a way to engage them.  If it’s a new customer, find a way to engage them.  If it’s a disgruntled customer, find a way to engage them.  Through that engagement, you will discover better ways to help them and how you can improve your own service.

The role of marketers, both in B2B and B2C, has changed dramatically in the last 10 years but what hasn’t changed at all is the need for a focus on retaining customers.  You fought hard to get those customers in the first place, you certainly don’t want to lose them.

When you’re setting up content marketing campaigns and working to engage your consumers through social media, the primary focus is persuasion.  You want to persuade and influence your target audience to remain within your sales funnel and follow your content to a point where you can magnify that influence.  At a certain point down the road, conversion takes place.  It all starts with the right kind of persuasion.

The art & science of persuasive content marketing is generally discussed as though it’s as simple as changing the mind of a person with the right argument, the right tactic or a tone of voice.  True, effective influence (and thus persuasion) isn’t just about body language, pattering on, or other sneaky tactics.  It’s about understanding what motivates people so that you can leverage there position.

When you’re dealing with persuasion, there are 6 common techniques of influence that tend to find their way into most campaigns - these are generally quite effective at tapping into the goals of the visitor.

Liking:

It’s a lot easier to influence people that actually like you.  A person with strong persuasion or powerful influence will often flatter or uncover similarities in order to build the right amount of attraction.  That attraction builds a fair amount of trust in the influencer.

Social Proof:

Take a look around the web and social media, you’ll quickly see proof that people love to follow one another to make sure that they are attached to the next most interesting thing.  Influencers imply that the herd is moving in a specific direction, and people are often baited to follow.

Consistency:

People like to keep their word, no one likes to go back on something that they’ve promised because it doesn’t usually sit well.  If someone makes a commitment, especially if it’s been made known or it’s in writing, they’re more likely to keep it.  Influences often gain some kind of verbal or written commitment.

Scarcity:

Influencing interest can be done easily when there is a perceived sense of scarcity.  This is often done by marketers and agencies around products that - while companies still have warehouses full - is announced that there are limited offers due to low production or high demand.  Past events surrounding video-game launches and consoles shows that people get crazed for something they can’t have.  This works extremely well in content marketing where some people might feel like they’re getting the exclusive.

Authority:

This is why thought leadership works so well.  People are strongly and often easily influenced by experts.  A successful influencer can take a position on a given subject and give off an air of expertise.

Reciprocity:

Influencers do well to understand the “give and take” way of persuasion.  When you give something, you can get something.  If people feel like they are indebted to you, they’re more likely to listen, follow and agree with what you ask or want.  This feeling can come from something like a compliment given or free content that is extremely valuable.

There are certainly far more techniques, but these alone are the most commonly used in various content marketing and other marketing campaigns.  For each to work though, it’s important to engage the user and understand their motivations and needs.  Otherwise, it’s difficult to lead the user if you’re not sure how they react to the type of rope you’re carrying.

One of the ways we often talk about reaching out to and engaging consumers and potential customers with your online marketing is through being helpful.  Being helpful vs selling can take you a lot farther with a customer, and help you gain more traction, than simply tossing content marketing messages out there trying to snag a lead.

Unfortunately when we talk about this topic with business owners and marketers we frequently hear comments like “We’re not sure what we can provide that would be helpful.”

That’s understandable given the state of marketing to people online and how businesses view it.  Many business owners have never taken the time to sit down and study their target market so that they fully understand their wants and needs, or even their preferences.  Therefore, ways of being helpful don’t often stand out to individuals and it’s rarely something that’s on the forefront of content marketing.

It’s not difficult to figure out what you can do to offer help, you really just need to step into the shoes of your customer for a little while and take a look at the problem from their perspective.  Figure out their questions, confusions, frustrations, etc through various stages of the buying process.

If you need help identifying the bottle-neck points for a customer, consider some of these tips.

1. Ask the people leading the front line of customer interaction - your customer service team.  They are the most in touch with your customers and hear the greatest number of complains, vents, issues, etc.  Turn to this team and make sure they document every concern and complain that comes in.  You can use this information to find patters and then create content to address the issue and make people feel more comfortable in doing business with you.

2. Ask the customer. You can use a number of channels to get feedback from the people that you service or want to service.  Provide polls, surveys on the web, email surveys, inquiries on Facebook, phone call surveys, etc.  You can find out directly from the consumer the types of issues they’re having with your company, products or services.  It will also speak spades about your overall character because you’re willing to ask.

3. Use your own search engine. Most websites have an internal search query setup to make life easier when navigating a site.  You can use the data stored from the search entries to find out where most of your visitors need help the most.

4. Be your own customer. You can’t learn a whole lot if you’re just working within your business or sitting around in your office.  Take the time to shop your own product.  Try to do it from the perspective of someone who needs it, starting with searching through the engines to find a solution.  Contact your customer service department, dig for information about the company, etc.  Try to discover what you can from an outside perspective and unlock the hurdles.

5. Look around and compare. You can’t just shop yourself, you should also go through your competitor sites.  Use their entire process to discover friction points, discover how issues are handled, find areas that outshine you or points that can serve as inspiration for your own business.  Don’t just go to the people you think are your competitors.  Check out who Google says your competition is.