Social Media: Answered Prayer for Marketers?
Tuesday, September 1, 2009I'm finding social media marketing to be an interesting animal in the marketing kingdom. It actually allows marketers to do what they've always wanted to do: engage the customer in conversation. Of course the end goal of the marketer's conversation is to sell goods and services. But to achieve that, the marketer needs to understand the customers needs, wants and aspirations.
Until now, the marketer could only guess at his customers' needs, wants and aspirations. Surveys, test runs, and other tools helped the marketer get as close as possible to knowing those things, but there was still a lot of guessing going on.
Now that social media has come along, the marketer no longer needs to guess. He (or she) can go out and find out exactly what people are thinking by what they say to each other and what they say to the marketer. Using Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other platforms, the marketer can search out and find people who are talking about his product or service or about issues that his product or service addresses. He then has the opportunity to make an appeal to those people in the context of problems they are facing and show how his product or service provides a solution.
The beauty of it is that by engaging in this conversation the marketer is not only appealing to the handful of people that he is talking to directly, but also to all the people connected to those people--those who follow their tweets or posts. And those people can also share it with all the people they are connected with if they find it helpful or interesting. So it combines the personal conversation with a sort of mass media distribution. It's far more efficient and effective than traditional mass media or mass mailing advertising in which the marketer hopes he's connecting with the customer but doesn't know for sure until the sale is made.
One of the famed copywriter of marketing lore (I forget which one at the moment) said sales and ad copy should join the customer in the conversation he or she is already having. With social media marketing you really get an opportunity to do that. Additionally, you have the opportunity to customize your message to each conversation--something that cannot be achieved to the same extent through traditional advertising venues.
However there are marketers that don't understand that the key value of social media marketing is the conversation. They're trying to use social media, but they treat it like television or radio. Every tweet or post is a plea to buy from them. Or they send out link after link hoping enough people will check their profile or web site and eventually buy from them.
Let's put this as plain as possible: The value of social media in marketing is engaging the customer in CONVERSATION.
Conversation is an interaction--a give and take exchange of information and opinion. You have to go out and look for the conversations. No one signs up for Twitter or Facebook in order to get a stream of advertisements. Search for people and groups who are having conversations about your product or a topic related to your product. When you join the conversation, add value to it. Don't just show up and billboard your business. Answer and ask questions. Engage them. It may seem like a waste of time to engage one or two people in a conversation that touches your business, but there are hundreds or thousands of others who are witness to that conversation.
The more conversations you engage in, the more people will understand your expertise and come looking for you when they need your product or service.
So get out there and have some conversations.
Labels: Advertising, Copywriting, Fikopy, Internet, Marketing, Multimedia, Social Media, Web
posted by John E Fike @ 8:20 AM,
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Earn Your Social Media Following -- Great Content Earns Respect
Wednesday, August 12, 2009I've been on Twitter for just shy of two weeks now and I've noticed 3 main types of Twitterers (or is it Tweeters?):
1. People there to just have fun and get connected
2. People there to market their business and connect with potential customers
3. People there to annoy the (insert expletive of choice) out of everyone else by spamming links to blog posts and articles that provide no real value in hopes that enough people will click on their Google ads or buy their product.
Folks, if you're going to use Twitter or any other social media to market your business, you have to EARN your followers. Give them content that is of value to them. People will respect an occasional posting that useful more than they will respect hourly posts with links to re-hashed articles bought from an article factory that pays people in foreign countries $5 for every article they write. Who wants to read articles with English so bad you don't even understand what they're saying? Most of those articles contain erroneous information too, because the authors just dig up anything on the Internet to use as source material. These "writers" often copy/paste other writer's stuff into their own articles, which is why they seem so disjointed.
Take the time to craft relevant articles that reflect your personality and the kind of quality business that you do. You'll gain more respect, more followers and more customers by doing so. Plus, you'll respect yourself in the morning because you'll know that you've added value to the world instead of annoying the world.
*** SELF PROMOTION ***
If you need help crafting your articles or keeping your blog/social media posts going, shoot me an email at john@fikopy.com. I've written numerous articles that help marketers present a professional image of expertise and build a quality following they can market to again and again.
Labels: Articles, Content, Fikopy, Marketing, Product Quality, Web
posted by John E Fike @ 6:33 AM,
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Announcing: Our Who’s-Afraid-of-the-Big-Bad-Wolf-Anti-Recession Event to Celebrate 5 Years in Business
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Get up to $1,000 in FREE Copywriting, Content, Multimedia or Marketing Services from John E. Fike Copywriting and Fikopy.com
Copywriter John E. Fike is celebrating his fifth year in business by helping fellow businesses market better and market more to overcome effects of the current recession.
For August and September 2009, all customers of John E. Fike Copywriting and Fikopy.com will get $250 in free services for every $1,000 purchased. This Who’s-Afraid-of-the-Big-Bad-Wolf-Anti-Recession Event is ongoing through September 30. Customers must buy a minimum of $1,000 in services to qualify and each customer will receive a maximum of $1,000 in free services.
“Being in business is a good thing and staying in business is even better,” Fike said. “This Anti-Recession event helps other people stay in business by multiplying the effect of their marketing dollar. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate this 5-year benchmark of success.”
A Better Way to Combat Recession than Downsizing or slashing budgets
Downsizing puts more pressure and more stress on your remaining employees, which inevitably leads to decreased efficiency that hurts profitability. It also leaves a business unprepared for post-recession growth. Slashing budgets, particularly the marketing budget, leaves a business with fewer resources for acquiring more customers and slows growth rates.
But taking advantage of John E. Fike’s Who’s-Afraid-of-the-Big-Bad-Wolf-Anti-Recession Event boosts your marketing power and sets your business up for growth in three ways:
Stretch your marketing dollar: You get 25% more free—so you get more services for your money (up to a maximum of $1,000 in free services).
Your marketing is more effective: John Fike tackles every project, from advertisements and sales letters to web sites and white papers, to generate better results than your previous marketing efforts.
Refocus on higher-profit markets: John Fike can show you how to target markets and product lines that will widen your profit margins rather than shrink them—even during a recession.
All Services Apply
Do you have a writing, marketing or multimedia project in mind, but don’t see it listed here? John Fike says, “Give me a call and tell me what you need and I’ll tell you how much more you can get.”
John E. Fike Copywriting Services was launched full time in June of 2004. The Fikopy.com brand was launched in the spring of 2008. John E. Fike and Fikopy.com deliver high quality writing, marketing copy, online content, custom publications and multimedia services designed to increase the success of your business. John Fike has experience serving a wide array of businesses and industries, but places particular emphasis on the following industries:
· Health & Fitness
· Healthcare
· Nutrition
· Personal Growth & Development
· LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health And Sustainability)
· Education
· Wealth building
· Business Building
· Christian Spirituality
· Sustainable/Green Lifestyles
· Sustainable/Green Business
###For more information about John E. Fike Copywriting Services and Fikopy.com, please call 419-371-2302 or send email to john@fikopy.com. We are also available online at http://www.fikopy.com/
Copywriter John E. Fike is celebrating his fifth year in business by helping fellow businesses market better and market more to overcome effects of the current recession.
For August and September 2009, all customers of John E. Fike Copywriting and Fikopy.com will get $250 in free services for every $1,000 purchased. This Who’s-Afraid-of-the-Big-Bad-Wolf-Anti-Recession Event is ongoing through September 30. Customers must buy a minimum of $1,000 in services to qualify and each customer will receive a maximum of $1,000 in free services.
“Being in business is a good thing and staying in business is even better,” Fike said. “This Anti-Recession event helps other people stay in business by multiplying the effect of their marketing dollar. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate this 5-year benchmark of success.”
A Better Way to Combat Recession than Downsizing or slashing budgets
Downsizing puts more pressure and more stress on your remaining employees, which inevitably leads to decreased efficiency that hurts profitability. It also leaves a business unprepared for post-recession growth. Slashing budgets, particularly the marketing budget, leaves a business with fewer resources for acquiring more customers and slows growth rates.
But taking advantage of John E. Fike’s Who’s-Afraid-of-the-Big-Bad-Wolf-Anti-Recession Event boosts your marketing power and sets your business up for growth in three ways:
Stretch your marketing dollar: You get 25% more free—so you get more services for your money (up to a maximum of $1,000 in free services).
Your marketing is more effective: John Fike tackles every project, from advertisements and sales letters to web sites and white papers, to generate better results than your previous marketing efforts.
Refocus on higher-profit markets: John Fike can show you how to target markets and product lines that will widen your profit margins rather than shrink them—even during a recession.
All Services Apply
Do you have a writing, marketing or multimedia project in mind, but don’t see it listed here? John Fike says, “Give me a call and tell me what you need and I’ll tell you how much more you can get.”
John E. Fike Copywriting Services was launched full time in June of 2004. The Fikopy.com brand was launched in the spring of 2008. John E. Fike and Fikopy.com deliver high quality writing, marketing copy, online content, custom publications and multimedia services designed to increase the success of your business. John Fike has experience serving a wide array of businesses and industries, but places particular emphasis on the following industries:
· Health & Fitness
· Healthcare
· Nutrition
· Personal Growth & Development
· LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health And Sustainability)
· Education
· Wealth building
· Business Building
· Christian Spirituality
· Sustainable/Green Lifestyles
· Sustainable/Green Business
###For more information about John E. Fike Copywriting Services and Fikopy.com, please call 419-371-2302 or send email to john@fikopy.com. We are also available online at http://www.fikopy.com/
Labels: Advertising, Articles, Brochure, Content, Copy, Copywriting, Direct Mail, Direct Response, E-Mail, Fikopy, Internet, Marketing, Marketing Campaign, News Release, Press Release, Web
posted by John E Fike @ 2:53 PM,
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Direct Mail/E-mail Secret #2: Research That Identifies the Desires and Fears and Uncovers A Fresh Marketing Approach for Your Campaign--Part I
Tuesday, July 22, 2008We’ve been talking about the 5 Secrets to Generating Huge Response and Outstanding Profits in your direct mail and e-mail campaigns. Today I want to address secret #2—which really ought to be secret #1, because this is the thing that is lacking from 99% of all unsuccessful direct-response campaigns: RESEARCH.
There is a lot of copy out there that relies on an over-abundance of emotional superlatives and shock-factor headlines to sell products and services. Emotional superlatives are words like Awesome, Great, Fantastic, Out of This World, Dynamic, etc. They are supposed to make the prospect feel that the product or service is so wonderful that they absolutely must buy. Unfortunately, it rarely works. Audiences are becoming immune—no, they’re becoming annoyed by these marketing tactics and choose not to buy.
While shocking headlines and superlatives have their place in their copy, they cannot be relied upon to make the sale. Without facts, figures, details, and other ingredients that prove you can deliver on your promise, all you have is hype. Once upon a time, hype was fairly successful at making sales. Today, however, your audience demands to know why you think your product or service is so great.
Research does two things for your copy that will dramatically improve the response you get from your campaign:
Research provides the information your prospects need to understand why your product or service is exactly what they need and why yours is better than better than any competing products or services.
Research helps you identify a fresh, unique marketing angle that eliminates the need for hype and shock and hard-sell tactics.
Ok, that’s all I have time for today. Next time I’ll get into more about what I mean by “research” and what kind of research you should be doing for every marketing campaign. After that, I’ll get into how to use that research to develop a fresh marketing angle.
So long for now.
John E. Fike
http://www.fikopy.com/
Labels: Advertising, Copy, Copywriting, Direct Mail, Direct Response, E-Mail, Fikopy, Marketing, Marketing Campaign, Research
posted by John E Fike @ 7:11 AM,
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Successful E-mail and Direct Mail Campaigns: 5 Secrets to Generating Huge Response and Outstanding Profits
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Direct mail and e-mail campaigns can generate higher return on your investment dollar than any other form of marketing—when done correctly.
But if you’ve tried putting together a campaign for you business without the guidance of a direct mail/e-mail expert, you probably got dismal results from your campaign. When I look at failed campaigns—especially email campaigns on the Internet—they are missing 1 or more of five ingredients essential for a successful direct mail or e-mail campaign. Most failed campaigns lack 2-3 of these ingredients and some are missing all five!
Without these five ingredients your campaign efforts are wasted because you will not reach an audience that desires your product or service with a marketing message that appeals to them and motivates them to buy. Nor will you be able to test various parts of your campaign to make it even better and generate more response and more revenue.
The 5 Secrets to Generating Huge Response and Outstanding Profits are:
- A highly targeted list to people who desire your product, service or information
- Research that identifies the desires and fears and uncovers a fresh marketing approach for your campaign
- An outstanding offer that is difficult to reject
- Response mechanism that tracks response for testing and follow-up promotions
- Excellent product or service that excites customers and offers many benefits
Over the next week or so, I will be blogging about these 5 Secrets to Generating Huge Response and Outstanding Profits so that you will understand how to make your next direct mail or e-mail marketing campaign a huge success.
As I get the blog entries posted, the each of the five secrets above will become a live link to the appropriate post.
Make sure you subscribe to this blog so that you don’t miss any of the five secrets.
At any time, if you wish to get more information about making your next direct mail or e-mail campaign a success, give me a call at 419-371-2302 or email me at john@fikopy.com for a free 15-minute consultation about your campaign.
John E. Fike
http://www.fikopy.com/
Labels: Copy, Copywriting, Direct Mail, Direct Response, E-Mail, Fikopy, Marketing Campaign, Product Quality, Research
posted by John E Fike @ 12:32 PM,
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