posted by Robin Tooms @ 7:16 PM
This week, I attended an AMA Houston event to celebrate Houston Marketers and award the best “Marketer of the Year” for 2008. At the event, Kevin Bertram, CEO of Distributive Networks spoke about “How Mobile Marketing Has Changed Everything.” Bertram’s company created all the Obama text messaging tactics for the campaign.
First, it got me thinking about how text messaging could really be an interactive experience. After all, all of those people voting each week on “America Idol” must certainly feel like their participation matters to the outcome, or they wouldn’t bother voting. A text message can be more than just a casual note between friends, or that unwanted spam text message, though. Given the right campaign, it can be a call-to-action or an impromptu survey or a way to entice word of mouth.
Second, I was reminded by just how much mobile matters as part of your toolkit for a marketing channel. Bertram mentioned that the typical cell phone owner has their phone with them for an average of 19 hours a day. I don’t know of any other channel with that type of lengthy reach. Additionally, certain demographics tend to rely on their cell phones even more than others – those that do not have easy access to computers or the internet may rely on their phone more for messages.
From the B2B marketing side, mobile marketing could be utilized more, even if it’s not quite ready for the volume that makes the consumer side such a success. After all, your company isn’t “American Idol,” but there could be an industry event or conference that might benefit from some additional attendee interaction via text messages. Also, take a look at your Web statistics and see how many of your visitors are coming via mobile devices. Now might be the time to start planning mobile into your Web site development.
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3.04.2009
posted by Robin Tooms @ 3:35 PM
Just a few weeks ago, The National Association of Women MBA’s (NAWMBA) hosted their 9th Annual Women in Leadership Conference at the Rice University Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management.
I was fortunate to participate on the panel titled “Grassroots Marketing: The Importance and Influence of Social Networks.” The panel had an interesting mix of other seasoned marketing and PR professionals, including
- Mary Bourne-Marth, Vice President, Key Account Marketing, Showtime Networks
- Julie O. Griffith, Owner, Griffith Public Relations
- Samira Salman, Founder Salman Solutions
My contribution to the panel was to speak to the importance of building a social network along with some tips on how to get the most out of (online) networking. See for yourself:
Social Networking Tips for You and Your Business
View more presentations from Robin Tooms.
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3.03.2009
posted by Robin Tooms @ 3:20 PM
Social Media – blogs, photo/video sharing sites, social network, etc. – are a great way to be both transparent and authentic to your audiences. After all, if anyone can comment on a note from your CEO or peek inside the life of the company, then by definition you are breaking down traditional barriers between you and your audiences.
The Social Media arena has grown in popularity because it is very effective at both, but you should not approach these channels as another way to advertise or “spin” messages to your audiences. Open and honest communications work best here.
The most popular example of this was the Wal-Mart “flog” (fake blog) from a few years ago that backfired. Neither the bloggers nor their stories were truthful, and Wal-Mart’s management let this untruthful information represent their brand. Will they ever really be able to tell stories about their shoppers, truthful or otherwise, again without being met with some skepticism?
Social Media can be useful to help you build real relationships and conversations, but only when the company itself is being true to its brand, and perhaps more importantly, truthful to its audiences.
So, please do explore some Social Media Strategies, but heed this advice first:
- Be truthful when you need to, but don’t just show the rosy side – be real
- Ask for help from your community. They may have great ideas to share – be open
- Don’t be afraid your uniqueness – be human
