iDrive Interactive Marketing Blog | LoSasso Advertising » Interactive Marketing

Using personas to create greater social media engagement

David Fabbri, Creative Director — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 18:31:30 +0000

Painting a portrait with data

Most people in marketing are familiar with the concept of a persona. The idea is pretty simple. Using known information, research and customer interviews, you create a detailed character that best represents your target. The persona has a name, a photo and a well-developed back-story that makes him more “real.”

While there are differences of opinion about how much data you need to gather to construct a useful persona, at its simplest level, you are taking an abstract representation of your target—female, 18-34, income greater than $30,000—and turning her into a “person” you can consider when developing marketing messages and new product offerings. Here’s an example:

Stacy Jones is 24. She recently graduated from college and moved to the city. She shares an apartment with two roommates in a newly gentrified neighborhood.

Stacy is working for a national retail clothing chain while she looks for a job in her field. She really enjoys the interaction with customers and gets a lot of satisfaction helping people fine-tune their style and create the perfect outfit.

Stacy is very social. She is constantly sharing photos with her 300-plus Facebook friends, but doesn’t get why people would waste time on Twitter. With limited income, Stacy also spends a lot of time online looking for the best deals on designer-label clothes.

Stacy likes trying new things and having new experiences. Even with limited resources, she feels it’s important to experience what life has to offer …

You should have as many personas as you do meaningful targets. You can get as detailed as you want. The idea is to identify relevant patterns that are present across your target audience, and flesh those out in a personal description.

Often times, the process of developing personas reveals important differences within a target group that allow for multiple, more meaningful segments to emerge. Armed with a persona, you can now consider how Stacy—rather than a “female, 18-24, income greater than $30,000”—would react to new ideas or product offerings.

Why use personas for social media content creation?

Marketers have been using personas for advertising and product development since the 1990s, but they have an important new role in social media. It is becoming clear that using social media to simply broadcast marketing messages is not an effective use of the channel. The key to success in social is to garner engagement from your customers.

Social media is online word-of-mouth. People interact with content that is interesting, funny, entertaining or helpful to them. It’s hard to create content that will resonate with someone if you think of that person simply as a customer or some other demographic segment.

What do “white-collar men, 35-54” click on and share with their friends and colleagues? It’s hard to say, but “NASCAR Bob,” who owns a manufacturing job shop in the Southeast and is always looking for ways to help his employees make metal parts more efficiently, would probably share a link to an online tool that helped him figure out how to cut aluminum faster. He would also likely be interested in stories about companies using automated production processes to win business from offshore competitors.

Boost engagement or risk becoming invisible

On a more practical note, engagement is becoming vital to securing visibility in some key social properties. Facebook’s Edge Rank algorithm weighs interaction—clicks, likes, sharing, viewing—very highly when determining if and when your post will be visible in your fans’ news streams. Since 85 percent of people who “like” a company page never return, triggering interaction has become important for enabling ongoing visibility.

This makes creating truly relevant, share-worthy content for your customers and prospects more critical than ever. Evaluating your ideas against a persona can help your team come up with great new content that may not have otherwise occurred to them—content Stacy and NASCAR Bob will be excited to receive and share with others.

What about you? Are you using personas as a tool for creating more engaging, share-worthy content? I’d love to hear your success stories (or missteps) related to using personas for social media.

David Fabbri is Creative Director of LoSasso Advertising Inc., a Chicago based interactive agency specializing in content marketing strategies and customer acquisition for leading B2B and consumer brands. (See more posts by David)

This Little Google Plusser

Piper — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:16:42 +0000

Google+ Devotee

Call me a brand evangelist, an ambassador, a hired goon but I am a proud Google Plusser and here’s why.

Conversation – I can actually have an engaging conversation in Google+ about issues that are meaningful to me.
Circles – I can curate to whom I listen. I can mute posts I have no interest in reading or block them completely. I can follow whom I wish and they don’t have to follow me back. I can unclutter my stream from the get-go and throughout my span of time on G+.
Content – I can restrict who sees and shares my content. I can edit my content once published. And all within my stream, with a handy drop-down menu to the right of my share. I can link to a website, attach a picture/video/location, all within the share window.
Privacy – I don’t have to look over my shoulder every time Google updates its platforms. I don’t worry that my information is owned and controlled by them as I do with Facebook who decreases my privacy with every upgrade. I have the control – which makes me more willing to share, follow people, and engage with others in a public and digital social space.

Social Media As It Should Be

For me, G+ blows every other social media platform out of the water. It is my blog, Twitter, Facebook, FourSquare and almost LinkedIn all within one incredibly clean and intuitive user interface. Within the G+ community, users have likened Facebook to high school where you mostly talk about yourself and Google+ to college/university where you talk about ideas. Perhaps here is where I diverge a little from other Plussers: I believe there is room for both Facebook and Google+ in both personal and business pages. Facebook can remain your ad space but meaningful engagement can be framed in Google+.

After attending The Google+ Project presentation during Chicago’s Social Media Week, I learned that business pages on G+ would be rolled out from October through early 2012. This was something I’d been thinking about since August when G+ first started testing their beta version with invite only users.

Google+ Business Pages

The possibilities in G+ are incredible for business pages. Companies can keep their Facebook pages which are more ad-focused, talk about themselves, and test out G+ to connect with their peers and customers. I believe this is the platform dedicated to thought leadership. It offers curation and segmentation of targeted audiences with its “Circles” feature. Within G+ you can target your most relevant content to those whom it would be most relevant.

If we look at this from an end user standpoint, how many times have we received emails that mean nothing to us? It’s no wonder click through rates are plummeting given the amount of emails I am subscribed to that deliver irrelevant content. Here is where G+ business pages will distinguish themselves with highly relevant and highly targeted messaging, and conversations.

The Almighty +1

Remember when Facebook and Bing collaborated and showed how searching on Bing enabled you to see what your friends “Liked”? Well Google+’s +1 makes that thumbs up look like child’s play. Google is the largest search engine out there and now whatever you “+1″ shows up in Google searches, including for display ads. Think of the boon this is to advertisers and how this ratchets up peer recommended products. Now with the advent of Google Ripples, you can see in real time the reach of any publically shared or “+1″ posts.

I could wax rhapsodic about Google+ for hours, and many who know me can attest to this, but for now I’ll leave you with a simple question … what’s your Google+ strategy?

Consumer Experience: They’ve Got the Power

jessica — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:53:40 +0000

The value of human interaction in business is as important as ever today.

Marketers need to incorporate PR, advertising, traditional and direct marketing into their multi-channel campaigns if they want to be consumer-centric. It is important to produce different types of campaigns and allow many ways to exchange ideas. The cookie-cutter model of marketing is out – what works for one consumer/client may not work for another. Consumer behavior changes and as marketers, we have to adjust and adapt to their needs (or as Michael Scott from The Office would say “Adapt, react, re-adapt, act”).

To remain fully engaged in the customer experience marketers must be present in the entire process – from the beginning to POP (point-of-purchase) or POS (point-of-sale). Here are a few tips to stay current:

Follow the consumer along their purchasing journey – build trust and cultivate deeper relationships between marketers and consumers.
Position your business as industry experts – be relevant and appeal to different types of consumers (not just the computer or social media savvy).
Enhance the experience – consumers expect to be engaged through rich, interactive media but they don’t want to be bombarded with heavy content.
Be available and flexible to answer questions or reply to comments – customer service will continue to be one of the most important aspects of your business.

I’ve said it before, but consumer power will continue to grow. Customers can provide your business some really exciting and unique ideas to help your business grow. Loyal customers want to help the brands they buy/love to keep them alive.

The most important thing we can do as marketers is listen to our customers. After all, the best marketers are the best listeners.

Contest Marketing: Increase Brand Awareness

jessica — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 19:05:21 +0000

Dancing hamsters + the top summer song of 2011= awesome!

KIA®’s Share Some Soul campaign encourages dancing…lots of dancing. To enter, consumers can submit videos of themselves getting down to Party Rock Anthem via KIA®’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. What’s at stake? The winner earns his/herself a $10,000 cash prize and a chance to dance with LMFAO on stage. And who better to decide the winner than consumers.

Contest marketing is a social, interactive strategy that grabs user attention and increases brand awareness. “We really see the world shifting from a world focused around information to one focused on people” (Ethan Beard, 9.20.11, AdAge). Consumer power continues to rise as the influence of social media amplifies. Marketers are able to control the level of consumer involvement, build their brands and take advantage of some great exposure to both target and under-served markets through the use of contest marketing.

But contest marketing should not be your only strategy to create brand buzz. Social media is a tool used for communication and should not be the objective of your marketing strategy. To remain engaged in the communication process across all channels, B2B marketers need to expand their online footprints. Thought leaders and lead generation marketers need to merge their once-siloed strategies with traditional and online marketing – align social, mobile and email initiatives to enhance your B2B strategies and secure brand loyalty.

Email Marketing Campaigns: Best Practices

jessica — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:40:55 +0000

Don’t assume that social media replaces email as a form of communication. (We all know what happens when you assume.)

As B2B marketers, we need to coordinate our interactive marketing initiatives to maintain consistency throughout several different channels. Social media enhances the value of email and in return, email maximizes social media efforts. For example, if a brand has a certain promotion that is offered via email, make sure that message is advertised the same way across the mix (your website, blogs, Facebook, etc.)

Email campaigns give marketers the opportunity to expose their brands as much as possible. It is the most cost effective interactive tool and increasing in its effectiveness. Email allows marketers to deliver a valuable visualization of their message through the user experience.

Here are a few best practices:

Cross-promote across all channels: Include links to share content via Facebook, Twitter, email etc. at the top of the page
User-friendly for all platforms: Design content that is mobile friendly – users are online and socially engaged
Segment consumers: Ensures that the right people are receiving relevant information
Leverage conversation: Encourage more social interactions to drive sales

Just remember the K.I.S.S. method – Keep It Simple and Shareable.

Incentive … Urgency … Action!

David Fabbri, Creative Director — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:57:36 +0000

How new online tools and techniques can benefit from traditional direct response tactics

The marketing world has gone through some dramatic changes in the last decade. There are countless new tools offering incredible opportunity for marketers to reach their customers in new and exciting ways. But the opportunity comes at a price. PPC, SEO, CTR, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Orkut, StumbleUpon, Foursquare … nearly all marketing professionals have thrown their hands in the air at some point, and wondered, “How do we keep up?”

Did you forget something?

In an effort to stay out in front, we charge full-steam ahead—following this blog, watching that webinar, attending seminars and conferences—all to come up with our own strategies for integrating new tools and tactics. It’s exciting to be doing something new and different, but what is sometimes lost in the rush, is attention to the fundamentals— integration of the tried and true.

The power of an offer

When it comes down to it, most online marketing is good, old-fashioned direct response advertising. We’re trying to get someone to do something—to click, to buy, to join, to respond. If we want people to act, we need to give them an incentive. A compelling offer has always been a critical element of any successful direct response effort. It is important because it adds value and incentive.

Offer = Value = Incentive

Why should the viewer bother? Although money talks, the offer doesn’t have to be “20% OFF” or “Buy One Get One FREE.” It could be membership in an exclusive group or access to something not available to the general public. The bottom line: If the target is going to act, he needs to feel there is something in it for him.

Turning up the heat

Another critical element of direct response is urgency. If your target feels the offer is available any time, then she has no reason to pull the trigger now. Maybe she’ll come back next week? Maybe next month? Maybe.

You’ve worked hard to get your audience’s attention. You have an offer they’re considering. The key is to make them feel that if they don’t do it now, they‘ll miss out.

While a short expiration is an effective way to instill urgency, there are alternatives. To give your offer time for proper exposure, perhaps you might provide the offer until the end of the month, but give potential customers a bonus for acting now—a free month of membership for a friend, for example (which would also serve as a nice viral referral mechanism). Or perhaps you advertise the fact that the offer is only available in a limited quantity. Whatever it is, potential customers must see the value, feel like the stars have aligned and be inclined to act now.

Incentive + Urgency = ACTION

New online marketing channels provide more ways than ever to creatively reach and engage your target, but don’t make the mistake of thinking everything has changed. Basic motivations are the same as they were 10 years ago, just as they will be 20 years in the future. People act when they feel there is something in it for them and they don’t want to miss out—online or off.

We want to know what you think. Have new online tools and techniques eliminated the need for traditional direct response incentives and calls to action?

Contagious Ideas: Contributing To What We Consume

jessica — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:00:05 +0000

Seth Godin, marketing guru and blogger gave a TEDTalk back in 2003 called “Seth Godin on standing out“.

Godin describes what he calls “doing something at the fringes.” In a world with too much choice, boring ideas are not going to sell. Marketers must figure out who cares and sell to the people who are listening. Ideas that spread are innovative and engaging.

The best ideas are easy to understand, remember, and re-tell.

Take an old idea and fit it into a new structure by reinventing products or solutions to make it “remarkable”. Godin uses the example that if you are driving down the street and you see a cow, it’s nothing exciting or different. If that cow is purple, that is something to notice. To create change, we need ideas that are effective and relatable.

Ideas that are personalized get our attention.

Mass marketing must be differentiated so that marketers reach the consumers who are listening. People share content because it is relevant to them. The more information is shared, the greater the exchange of value. If I like a product, I’m going to tell my friends about it and vice versa. Marketers use emotions to create a personal experience for the consumers.

Ideas worth spreading need credibility.

B2B marketers need to define the compelling ideas that will attract their target audience. Marketers establish themselves as thought leaders by building trusted relationships with consumers. The goal is to understand what consumers want and give it to them. If you want content to be spread, the simplest way is to ask consumers to spread it.

Optimization: Analyzing Consumer Behaviors via Interactive Marketing

jessica — Thu, 26 May 2011 10:00:21 +0000

Being responsive is at the core of interactive marketing.

Consumer empowerment has taken over marketer power for what seems like the past decade. With the tremendous growth of social media, consumers expect marketers to know everything about their buying habits and patterns. Social media has enabled consumer loyalty, but not necessarily the consumer experience. A company may have a massive brand presence on Facebook, but having one million fans does not mean they are giving the consumer the desired brand experience.

Interactive Marketing Plus

Social media provides the opportunity for market researchers to listen to and mine consumer insights, but this is not the only opportunity presented. Social media allows consumers to directly respond to the changing marketing conditions. Social networking has created a virtual space for people to be advocates for their fellow brand ambassadors. However, interactive marketing involves more than just internet marketing.

Crowdsourcing & Measurable Results

Consumers are more likely to talk about a brand via social media rather than through surveys. Although social networks use analytical software to produce measureable results, they are slow to make the data, analysis, and insights available to marketers. Marketers need to reconnect with consumers to optimize the consumer promise and the brand promise.

The mission and challenge for marketers is to be responsive to consumers’ concerns and behaviors with a more measureable, data driven approach by customizing the marketing experience.

It is time for marketers to engage with consumers and effectively meet their expectations. The question remains: when it comes to interactive marketing, who is really in control?

B2B Marketing Leadership — A Shift to Sharing

Scott LoSasso, President — Mon, 09 May 2011 09:53:27 +0000

Many b-to-b organizations have an abundance of technical and practical resources that can help them connect with their customer base. Unfortunately, much of this content is often buried within technical sales presentations and internal documents that only reach customers in one-on-one meetings and trade-event presentations. This exposure is valuable, but the impact evaporates quickly, the information is difficult to share and the reach is limited.

The Shift to Sharing

A fundamental change has occurred in buyer behavior — most now conduct the majority of their product research online. This shift has forever altered b-to-b marketing leadership practices. You can achieve marketing leadership by becoming a trusted resource for strong, practical information.

Large or Small — This Opportunity Also Represents a Threat

If your company is large, with a deep pool of technical resources, you can have a significant advantage. The move from yesterday’s model, however, requires an investment of both manpower and capital. Making resource sharing a priority requires buy-in from the C-suite; they must agree to share more information, endorse the assignment of new accountabilities and approve related spending decisions. So, with the exception of companies with marketing-savvy executives, large companies are proving to be slow to react — creating opportunity for smaller companies to improve their position.

If your company is a smaller, niche player, this type of resource sharing can be equally advantageous. Specialized product and service providers often have a very compelling competitive advantage when speaking to the right prospects. Sharing content in the right way enables customers and prospects to find you more easily. If you don’t claim your space however, you will miss out on buyers searching for your products or services.

Stop Guarding Your “Secrets”

The only people you are hiding your best content from are your customers. Chances are, your competitors already have most of the information you’re afraid to share. Today, you need to leverage your valuable content—through every channel you have at your disposal. This becomes very dynamic, as you link content to and from landing pages, ads, email, websites, blogs, social sites and others. You need a staffing and marketing mechanism in place to provide constant support for information dispersal and management across the web.

PR, DR and Branding — The Walls are Melting

The big difference today, compared to years past,

is that your control is gone—until prospects experience your brand first hand, they build their perceptions based on the results of their online research—from trade magazines, peer reviews, forums, websites and any number of sources. This is why having a strategy for quality content is vital; it is also why PR, advertising, email marketing, social media, paid search and SEO are now so completely intertwined.

Some of the boldest business successes of late come from unveiling what many would regard as a competitive advantage that should be protected. In this way, companies such as Google, Apple, Lynux, WordPress, Amazon and many others have changed the game. People want to do business with approachable, transparent and resource-rich companies—and this often requires a change in the way organizations approach marketing and business. In the age of information, sharing yours is the ideal way to build trust, credibility and brand equity.

Scott LoSasso is President of LoSasso Advertising Inc., a Chicago based interactive agency specializing in content marketing strategies and customer acquisition for leading B2B and consumer brands. (See more posts by Scott)