Stop the social media noise!
Can you grow your business
faster with a blog?
October 20, 2009
I Get Paid For: Delivering best-in-class digital marketing strategies that grow our clients’ businesses.
Prior Life: Founded R.O.Why! Marketing, a Cincinnati strategic marketing agency; director of marketing at On Assignment (NASDAQ: ASGN); director of marketing at Computer Task Group (NASDAQ: CTGX); Marketing manager at a software development firm.
Training: B.S. in Marketing & Management from the University of Cincinnati College of Business. 8 years client side, 7 years agency experience.
Passions: Social media, blogging, 1:1 CRM, leveraging BIC digital across the customer conversation
Other Tidbits: Social media director for the Cincinnati American Marketing Association; frequent opinionated speaker & writer.
Brian LeCountAssociate Director, Strategic Planning
Part of WPP Group, the largest agency holding company in the world with 2,000 offices in 106 countries
Employee Makeup:
Cincinnati, OhioHeadquarters:
1979Founded:
Top 25 Best Small Companies to Work For in America (2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009)
250 (and growing) people including Creative, Technology, Project Management, Research, Strategy, and Client Service
show of hands
• How many have a blog?
• How many are actively managing at least one social network?
• How many posts per month?
it used to be
so easy
2009
budgets are tight&
we’ve got to make some choices
first, some harsh realities
[the] most credible source of information about a company is now “a person like me”, which has risen dramatically to surpass doctors & academic experts for the first time. 7th annual edelman trust barometer
• your customers don’t want more friends
• 3,000 – 5,000 ad messages
• we’re looking for solutions
more realities
marketers aren’t yet convinced
neither are consumers
are we really surprised?
so why all the hype?
social media is great for...
- sharing news- staying connected- building networks- building relationships
how much is too much?
Thanks for sharing
are we solving our customers’ problems?
does it make an impact?
what?
you can measure social media
you can measure social media
you can measure social media
- Visits- Mentions- Conversations- Forwards- Diggs-Tweets
what about conversions?
but what are we measuring?
that’ll be 5,000 tweets please.
the problem with social
media
Nobody wants to join your
social network.
Really.
what’s so great about a blog?
everybody searches!
- Preachers- Consultants- Product reviewers- Pontificators- Soccer moms- Citizen journalists- Armchair quarterbacks
aren’t they just filled with…
Um….yeah.
but...great business blogs…• Win the search
• Solve customer problems
• Deliver valuable information when I need it most
why aren’t blogs measured effectively?
too many think blogging is an editorial exercise
corporate blogging is an acquisition strategy
the goals haven’t changed
ATTRACT
CULTIVATE
CLOSE
attractcultivate
close
every effort.every marketing decision.every step you take.
must first improve your ability to achieve these objectives
let’s get focused
- HOW MANY RSS FEEDS CAN YOU DIGEST?- HOW MANY TWEETS CAN YOU READ?- HOW MANY TRUE RELATIONSHIPS CAN YOU MANAGE?
is social media feeding you customers or is it simply feeding
your inbox?
social media should be in your toolbox, but prioritize it
blogging is about winning the search
- titles- keywords- recent content- lots of content- links- relevancy
blogging is about winning the search
- titles- keywords- recent content- lots of content- links- relevancy
blogging is about winning the search
- titles- keywords- recent content- lots of content- links- relevancy
engage & convert
calls to action make it measureable.
engage & convert
calls to action make it measureable.
engage & convert
calls to action make it measureable.
so...
tired yet?
prioritize
the vast majority of your audience finds the solutions to their problems via search.
Image property of Compendium Blogware
blog for search
- your customers are telling you what they need- mobilize your teams to talk about the problems they solve everyday- organize your content around what your customers are looking for- serve them relevant content & meaningful calls to action
blog for search
- be there when I’m looking for you- introduce me, engage me- solve my problem better than anyone else
- if you do this well, maybe I’ll friend you on facebook- if you deliver a great experience, I’ll talk about it on Twitter
2.7mm searches
if you sold toasters, where would you look for buyers?
questions?
Brian LeCount
Twitter: @blecountFacebook: BrianLeCountLinkedIn: BrianLeCount
