Tag Archives: tweeting

Social Media – a Record of Visceral Reactions During Human Tragedy.

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Boston tweets and posts Sprout Social 2013-04-16

Just how valuable is Social Media in tragic times?

In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings yesterday, April 15th, 2013 – Patriot’s Day, Social Media reminds us of how much we how important it is to maintain our human connection – especially in times of tragedy. As most online discussion focuses on the use of Social Media for business marketing, it’s important to recognize this quality of social media.

If I hadn’t had my Facebook account open on my laptop while working in other windows, I wouldn’t have noticed a friend’s notification about the 2 bomb explosions. She is a runner and a police officer, and was keen on the event and therefore a reliable source.

Yes, I went to my television to see the live coverage, but I had my laptop with me as I wanted to continue learning more from any social media updates while still working.

I knew that at least some of my social media friends, followers and connections might have loved ones or someone they knew participating or attending the marathon, or, actually living in Boston. So I also opened my Sprout Social management tool so that I could follow Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook all on one page.

It’s about getting closer to the reality

Reading the tweets, posts, and updates is not just informative, but it reveals the visceral reaction of anyone who has any connection to the incident and the reactions of anyone worldwide who is “listening” on these platforms.

The live TV gave the visuals and the reporters updates, but my social media accounts gave me the heart and soul of America and the world on the most human level possible. And that is what we need most in these fragile times…

Please leave your comments:

Did you track your social media accounts during this horrific incident?

What value was it to you vs. traditional reporting avenues?

Did social media offer comfort because of the direct connection to the event?

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56 Servings of Grits? Really? Someone at Quaker Oats Marketing is Not Paying Attention to Basics.

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Bear with me on this slightly sarcastic post – it actually does lead somewhere in regard to business!Quaker Grits Serving sizes - for what army?

Whether you realize it or not… customer service is part of marketing for your business, so here is my example of a vendor’s marketing department not paying attention to important basics.

This morning, my son wanted grits for breakfast. I always make breakfast – mostly because it’s my favorite meal of the day – and grits is easy, so I said yes. I don’t do INSTANT grits – because if you have ever eaten regular grits, instant grits tastes like cooked paper. But I don’t have time for old fashioned which takes 20 minutes grits, so I use quick grits which, in theory, takes 5 minutes.

My beef is with the Quaker Oats package recipe instructions.

Note in the image above the serving sizes for Stove Top style cooking – 1, 4, 28, 56!

Not exactly the logical progression I sought. Remember, the serving sizes posted are for side servings. My fam likes a BOWL of grits. And my ever growing 16 yo son, 6’1″, 195 lbs, likes a BIG bowl. So somewhere between 4 and 28 servings is what I was looking for. DUH!

Yes, I know there is limited packaging space, but let’s be realistic. If someone from Quaker Oats see this and responds, I am sure I will get the logic that many of their customers do need those serving sizes and on larger packages they must include… yada yada yada.

Yes, but from 4 to 28? Nothing in between?

SO why am I posting about Quaker Oats Grits Recipe serving sizes?

  • It’s about knowing your customer.
  • Knowing who you are marketing to.
  • Considering the use of your product.
  • Providing said use in a consumer friendly manner.

As I have mentioned in a previous post, I don’t do math - school was over a long time ago! And especially at 6:30 in the morning, my brain is waiting for the coffee and carbs to kick in, not ready to calculate how much I need to cook for 3 cereal bowls-full of grits. I don’t mind some leftovers, but seriously?

So, Quaker Oats, unless your consumer is the Church volunteer breakfast cook or the local Homeless Shelter, WHO EVEN OWNS A FOUR GALLON POT to make 56 servings of grits! And just how old is this recipe chart?

At least give us a QR code for a more reasonable list of serving size recipes.

This is about:

  • knowing your customer,
  • understanding your customer’s needs, and YES, the user-friendliness of a product is part of marketing!
  • and marketing to the right customer – make up your mind, Quaker Oats, is this product for singles, families, or the ARMY?

Oh, yes, I’ll be tweeting and posting this out! And it’s not just Quaker... How many times have you had to search all over a pasta box to find the instructions to just cook the noodles!@%(*&$! No, they have to fill the packaging with suggested recipes and somewhere in a tiny little hidden spot are size 8 font instructions for how long to just cook the noodles!

And I also think it’s weird that I’m buying “Quaker Oats Grits.” Huh?

That’s my sarcastic rant of the day… ;)

P.S. Yes, I can tell it’s pretty much a 4:1 ratio – but again, I don’t want to have to do the math! And the Southern way is to substitute 1 part water with milk – creamier…better tasting… mmm. But I digress :)

 

2012: Email Marketing is Dead; 2013 Email Marketing is King – HUH?

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All through 2012, the buzz was “E-Mail Marketing is Dead!”

Now in 2013, most articles are about why Email Marketing is Supreme for Small Business!

HUH?

Actually, the latter is really true. Email is perfect for small business.

But let’s discuss the why of the mixed messaging and why you as a small business owner need to pay attention.

1. Social Media platforms grew exponentially over the last few years.

Soooo, “they” assumed, that because the growth was so rapid, social media platforms would soon replace email and all other traditional forms of marketing and communications.

While that might be true in major metropolitan areas and college campuses, there is still a huge population out there that doesn’t own a SmartPhone or that  only accesses internet through a desktop.

But, email is universal.

Everyone sits down at home and work and checks their email…

Another assumption was that because Social Media platforms are “Free,” that it would be nonsense for anyone to ignore it as a marketing avenue. Again, you can pick up a hammer, but that ain’t gonna make ya a carpenter!

Sure you can create an account for free, but time is money, and it takes time to maintain a social media business page, not to mention at least basic marketing skills. Nothing wrong with that, – all marketing comes with a cost – but that has to be considered.

Then, when it comes to attracting fans, many of those fans are laggers in social media who only use it for sharing funny cat pictures and playing application games. So, getting fans to pursue your page is another form of investment – a good offer to like a page, the giveaway, someone to manage the comments and likes, someone to engage to grow fans… And don’t believe those hucksters claiming to bring you from 0 to 40,000 fans! Fake profiles = fake fans = no rise in insights or revenue.

Now, why was email getting badmouthed:

2. “Free” Email services were springing up all over the place.

Why pay for email service when you can get it for free? Again, because FREE is never really free! You pay a price eventually – think of the hidden cost to you when your email goes to a spam folder and never reaches your intended recipient?

So, if you were judging the effectiveness of free email vs free social media… neither one will bring results so that comparison is probably moot.

They are both an investment in Time and time costs money.

OK, so now what should you invest your time in? Social Media or Email Marketing?

If you are asking this question, it tells me you don’t know your customers or clients. Face it, most of you small business owners have poo-poo-ed SoMe and Email.

Why don’t you let your customers tell you where you should invest your time?

  • Have you noted whether your customer is tapping away on a mobile while they are waiting in line?
  • Have you asked them what platforms they use?
  • Have you invited them to join your email subscriber list?

Stop being an employee of your own business and market your business. How?

  • Find out which Social Media platforms are appropriate for your business and demographic – Start with one and do well, then move on to others.
  • Invest in an email service that fulfills your needs for marketing and has integrated social media tools for efficiency and broader distribution that will attract new subscribers. (want to play around with one for free for 60 days? Click here!
  • And pay Freaking attention to where your customers live online! ASK THEM. SURVEY THEM. TALK TO THEM.
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The Win-Win of Social Media Through Unexpected Uses. Pt. 2: Hidden Genius of QR Codes!

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Duncan Hines Cake Mix QR Code

Still think QR Codes are useless?

When QR codes (QR = quick response) were introduced, success was implied. And then… nothing… because there weren’t enough people with phones with scanning ability.

BUT, with SmartPhone purchases on an exponential rise, and FREE QR code apps available on every device, it is inevitable the use of QR Codes by merchants, businesses, non-profits, etc., will also begin to surge.

Here’s the unexpected perk of a QR code I picked up the other day. Now, guys, don’t stop reading because I mention shopping! Because if you own a business, you will pick up on the importance of this example…

I was in Publix, and looking for a cake mix. As you see in the image above, when I turned over a box I was thinking about purchasing, I noticed the QR code. I thought, “Genius!” If I had hesitated over that selection, here was a quick way to check a recipe choice and determine – WHILE I AM STILL IN THE GROCERY STORE – if there are any ingredients I didn’t have at home an could buy on the spot! Otherwise, I may have gone home, looked up their website, found a cool recipe with that item, but found I was missing an ingredient or two.

This QR Code saved me an unnecessary trip and the ability to determine whether this product could serve another use for my needs. Without this option, I may have only considered it for it’s basic use and perhaps not purchased it, rather than consider this purchase for other dessert possibilities.

DUNCAN HINES GETS IT!

Here most of us consider QR codes just website driven. Ok, big deal, we can get to the website faster on our phones… But, no, now it has practical applications, too.

AND, for small businesses and non-profits, this should be golden. Cheap, easy and FREE!

How about printed QR codes for:

  • “liking” your business page on Facebook since most of your staff rarely remembers to tell customers about your page (and even you!)
  • following you on Twitter (another forgotten child)
  • for your newsletter subscriptions (need I say it again?)
  • videos and Your YouTube or Vimeo channel!
  • LOYALTY programs – Hello!?
  • a calendar event
  • your website  (which of course has all your CURRENT store information and specials, and all your social media links, right?!)
  • Your LinkedIn Profile -(if you have completed your profile and made a company page)
  • A contest – “scan to like our Facebook page and be entered in our contest to win a —”
  • products with specific FAQs (have you missed potential sales on certain high$$ items because you were too busy with other customers to answer questions?)
  • PayPal payments
  • Plain text or links of any kind

The list goes on and on… If you think of it, you can create a QR code for it. Photos, recipes, how-tos, suggested uses…

Where should you display these QR Codes? EVERYWHERE.

  • your store window
  • at events – you can’t talk to everyone at once
  • at your POS locations – while they have your attention
  • on products – to learn more if you are busy with other customers
  • on the back of your business card – there’s never enough room for all you want to say
  • brochures, flyers, ads – again, never enough room
  • as updates on your social media pages
  • on your car – tell me who doesn’t have their phone handy in their car at a stoplight?
  • on consumables – Peanuts in this cookie? Gluten Free? – get the picture?
  • on menus (no to-go menus lost in the car or stuffed in a junk drawer – handy on their phone to help them decide to come back)

Even doctor’s offices are applying this technology. Patient goes to a referred doctor and has a QR code for all their info for them to scan. Cool, huh? It’s already happening.

Remember, it’s an image

It’s virtually just a photo and anywhere you can place a photo, you can place a QR code! And the same FREE apps that give you the ability to scan a QR Code also give you the ability to create one!

Bottom line? It costs virtually nothing for you to be ahead of the crowd and attract the growing demographic of SmartPhone users (which obviously has disposable income if they are buying a SmartPhone – they aren’t cheap!).

Technology Marketing No Brainer, right?

Are we having fun yet?!

1.29.2013 P.S. It’s 2 days since I posted this and look what I ran across in today’s media:“McDonalds tries QR Codes”

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Non-Profit Organizations – Take your social media seriously and potential donors will, too!

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A lovely graduate student attending school in the UK (but from NY)  interviewed me over Skype for her dissertation. She is researching why Non-Profit Organizations do so poorly in raising funds with Social Media. (This lends itself to some of the same troubles SMBs have over developing loyal fans.)

We were supposed to talk for only half an hour, but we ran over an hour because so much of our discussion became more about human behavior rather than social media itself.

As a board member of a non-profit organization, and having helped NPOs with their social media and email marketing, here are some observations I shared with her regarding the difficulties non-profit boards appear to have using Facebook and Twitter to grow awareness and raise funds.

“You know how to do social media? Great! It’s all yours!”

This happens a lot. The majority of the board is either not using social media, or if they are, it is just Facebook for family and close friends. Therefore, they don’t understand the difference between posting on a personal profile vs managing a business or group page. Nor do they understand Twitter or LinkedIn or any other platforms for business purposes. And remember, a non-profit organization IS a business.

They are thrilled that someone is willing to take it over because they know they are supposed to have a social media presence. End of story.

You hope the person who takes it over does understand how to manage a business or group page account, but in many cases, they don’t. They just know social media tools better than most so they got elected for the job, but often fall short on knowing strategies for how to engage followers on a business page or group.

“Everyone on the board will help you with content - it’ll be easy.”

This rarely comes to be. If your members of the board are not active on social media now, how will you get them to develop the habit of passing along information tidbits and photos for posting? Unfortunately, posting usually falls totally on the shoulders of the social media/marketing board member. Why is that unfortunate?

Because the NPO social media manager typically only gets information at meetings. By then it’s not timely or maybe even relevant to the followers anymore.  And getting pictures from events? Another tough one. Even with digital cameras and camera SmartPhones, it sometimes takes people weeks to upload their photos and send them on. They often take a lot of pictures at these events, so it isn’t practical to try to share them on the spot. So the thought is that it’s more practical to wait until they can be uploaded and organized, but…

“How come we aren’t getting donations on Social Media?”

Well, actually you are getting some you aren’t aware of. If you are using PayPal for your donation link, then you aren’t sure where the click originated. And, if someone donates from your website, it could be they arrived on your website from your link on your social media. People aren’t likely to post about donating, so don’t look to that as a tracking source.

But to be realistic, unless at least several board members or volunteers are engaging, what message are you subconsciously sending the followers you DO have? If those running the organization can’t be bothered with their own social media page, why should the public?

So what can you do about it?

We arrived at several  initial conclusions:

  • TAKE SOCIAL MEDIA SERIOUSLY. And it has to come from the top down. If the upper echelon isn’t “into” social media – especially on a business level – then s/he won’t treat it as a priority and the whole board soon treats it like the red-headed stepchild.
  • Education is key. It is important to learn social media business account strategies. It has to be treated like a business to perform like one. Then you must spread that knowledge to the rest of the board and volunteers.
  • It is important to keep your donors informed of what you are doing with their money. If you need to go into detail on some information, there is nothing better than a monthly or quarterly e-newsletter to keep your donors and followers informed.

Take your social media seriously and your donors and followers will take you seriously, too.