Insights

The Most Powerful Marketing

Any good marketing pro will tell you the most powerful marketing is the type that gets people talking.

After all, if people are talking about something then it means the marketing team behind the subject has done its job. Sometimes, though, the most powerful marketing is the simplest, and nothing is simpler than a picture in order to tell a story.

Which, at the end of the day, is what marketing is all about ? telling a story to sell an idea.

Witness Photography by James Nachtwey is a collection of Nachtwey?s photographs from some of the most destructive conflicts and social issues in the last 30 years.

From the Far East to Europe and beyond, Nachtwey?s photographs capture the human side of war and social disillusion. They often don?t make for pleasant viewing, but they do make for a powerful argument against the darker side of humanity.

The most powerful marketing is the kind that gets people talking. The most powerful marketing is also the simplest. If the futility of war and ineffective social politics was ever a marketing campaign, Nachtwey?s photographs would be the guaranteed seller.

You owe it to yourself to look.

Image: James Nachtwey

Caring Across Continents – The Next Phase of #12for12k

“As I see it, there are two great forces of human nature: self-interest, and caring for others.” Bill Gates.

Say what you will about Bill Gates, the man has a great point. It’s the kind of thinking that drives me, and is almost a mantra for the whole 12for12k project that I started with the help of friends back in December 2008.

Since then, a ton of folks have become great friends and supporters, and taken the initial idea to heights I couldn’t have imagined when coming up with the concept.

Through your support, offline events and kindness, you’ve helped raise more than $100,000 for thirteen charities since 12for12k was born. Not to mention untold awareness for these charities and the folks that are trying to do good with them.

As mentioned previously, 12for12k took a bit of a back seat recently, but now it’s ready for the next phase.

Caring Across Continents

Targeted for Summer 2011, Caring Across Continents is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. And with the global support community that 12for12k has, it’s the perfect platform for Caring Across Continents.

A week-long celebration of hope, change and belief, Caring Across Continents will see live events, fund-raising activities, social media get-togethers and much more, in every continent.

There will be lead cities, but there will also be smaller cities, towns and villages involved too. Whoever wants to be part of Caring Across Continents will have the opportunity to create something where they live.

Additionally, the charities supported will be specific to the countries involved, so you know that whatever good you do will not only be global, but local.

There’s obviously a lot of work to be done between now and next year. This is where you come in again.

Your support – either personally, or as a sponsor – has been amazing so far. And we want you to be involved again.

If you’re interested in hosting something where you live, email 12for12k (or leave your details in the comments below). Additionally, if you’re interested in partnering as a sponsor and you have experience with large-scale live events, we’d love to hear from you.

The 12for12k team will be putting together an info package soon on the event(s). We’ll then be reaching out to companies about partnering with us, so if you’d like to be part of something amazing next year, get in touch.

Through your help, 12for12k has been a huge success so far, and helped shape how social media can be used to raise awareness and funds for charities across the globe.

Let’s keep the good fight going – you in?

Follow 12for12k on Twitter, or connect on Facebook.

Email or RSS – Feeding the Inbox

If you’re a blogger, how easy are you making it for people to subscribe to you?

Sure, just having the standard RSS feed is fine, and a lot of blog readers use this and this alone. Yet email subscription ? or the option of one ? is becoming more popular and offers your readers more choice ? always a good thing.

My personal preference is email subscription. I do use Google reader but I find I can miss some great posts, as well as get swamped in the amount of updates. Maybe I don?t use it effectively, who knows?

But here?s the thing.

As I write this, approximately 30% of my subscribers use the Subscribe by Email option you see at the top of my sidebar and end of my posts. If I didn?t offer that option, there?s a good chance I?d be missing out on not only their readership, but my chance to interact with them via blog ideas, comments and more.

The best of it is, setting up an email subscription option is pretty painless. Set yourself up with a Feedburner account and claim your blog. Then use the Publicize option to both set up your email subscription form and get the code to place it on your blog.

If you?re a blogger that doesn?t currently use an email option, think of it this way. Have you ever signed up for newsletters from your favourite business or brand/product? If so, why? I?d hazard a guess it was because it allows you to keep up-to-date with the latest news from people you want to hear about.

Wouldn?t it make sense to let your readers know more about you in the same way?

Image: mkalz

My Comment Policy

One of the things I’ve been considering for a while is having an official comment policy.

It’s not because I feel I need one, per se – the community here is one of the best on the web.

I feel incredibly lucky to have you guys come here and share your views, because you always treat both me and your fellow commenters with respect when discussing something I’ve written.

That hasn’t changed.

So why a comment policy? Simple – it keeps everything upfront, so if anyone ever does “step out of line”, they’ll know why I either edited or deleted their comment.

Again, I’ve probably only had to do that 4-5 times in the 14,000+ comments made here since this blog started. That in itself goes to show what a great community you are.

I also want to make sure that you, the reader, feel safe and comfortable when sharing your views. As my comment policy states, I will not accept anyone attacking another commenter for having a point of view. You help make this blog what it is; the least I can do is help make it somewhere you want to hang out.

The blog policy can be found here, but I’ll also replicate it now:

When I write a blog post, it?s obviously my point of view. Once it?s in the open, though, it then becomes a shared point of view with you, the readers ? and your point of view is what builds the discussions around a post. Sometimes you?ll agree with me; other times, not so much. And that?s what makes the comments after a post such a fervent breeding ground for ideas.
I don?t mind if you attack me for my views. Heck, I?m big and ugly enough to take your shots, and it shows me that you?re passionate about a topic ? and I would never discourage passion.
Besides, I?m the person that?s invoked that reaction, so if it?s an attack, let?s have it open and unfiltered (although keeping it respectful would be nice).
What I won?t accept, however, is attacking other commenters. They?re like you ? simply offering an additional view on the starting topic. By all means, attack me ? the blog is my home and as the owner, I?m responsible for what goes on inside. But attacking another commenter ? that?s poor form.
I?m a firm believer in an open comment policy; I don?t moderate before publication, because I feel that stints genuine interaction and conversation. Going by the conversations that have happened over the months, it would appear that most agree.
Let?s play nice and keep it that way. Like I say, attack me if you wish ? as the instigator of discussion, I?m open to all views and words. But let?s treat the guests (and that includes you) nicely. Otherwise, you will be moderated and deleted where I feel it’s applicable.
And let?s keep the bigotry, hate, sexism, profanity and all that other fun stuff off here too. You want that, hit up TechCrunch, YouTube or similar.
What say you ? fair?

I think that covers it pretty well.

Good to go?

Image: Bob.Fornal

Using Facebook Like to Market Your Business

According to new figures released by a joint survey between Exact Target and CoTweet, Facebook users use the Like option for a brand for one overpowering reason – discounts and special offers.

Surveying 1,550 U.S. respondents aged 15 and older from March 2009 to April 2010, the results found that a whopping 40% of consumers like a brand or company on Facebook to “receive discounts and promotions.” When it comes to getting freebies, 36% would like a brand who offered giveaways.

Add to that 30% of those surveyed would like a brand to get updates on upcoming sales, and it’s clear that having a Facebook page offers a great opportunity for businesses to build loyalty with a willing customer base.

So how can you use this information for your business’s Facebook page?

Coupons and Customer Coding

The obvious way to market would be through coupons of your own. If you have flyers or discount coupons for your brick-and-mortar retail store, you can easily transfer that to your Facebook page.

Grab the artwork from your existing flyer (or make one unique to Facebook) and then transfer that to a tab on your page’s navigation menu. Currently this is created using the FBML application (and some HTML coding), though soon you’ll have to change to iFrame.

Call your tab something simple like Coupons or Discounts to grab attention. Then, to encourage folks to Like your page, only make the coupon or discount available to people after they like you. If you’re unsure how to do this, my friend John Haydon has a great guide on using Facebook HTML as well as hiding offers until people click your Like button.

I used this method when I offered a free Facebook Marketing ebook exclusively to folks that liked my Facebook page, and as you can see by this overview on the metrics, exclusive content definitely works.

Of course, getting folks to like your brand through coupons and discounts is just part of the process – keeping them is a whole other story.

Loyalty, Lists and Like Highlights

So now you have a bunch of folks that have liked your Facebook page because of your discount coupons or freebie offer. But how do you stop them from un-liking as soon as they have the coupon?

Simple – you market. But not just any old marketing – now you use the strengths of the Facebook page platform and make it a no-brainer for folks that like you to continue to do so.

Facebook Insights are available for admins of any Facebook page, and will give you information on demographics, content popularity, interaction on offers and other useful insights into how people are acting on your page. Use this to tailor audience offers and time-sensitive specials.
Facebook Updates are the equivalent of email lists, and will send a targeted message to people that like your page. The great thing with updates is that you can completely tailor them so that instead of everyone receiving a message, only those in a certain city, country, age range, demographic, etc, will receive the message. Perfect for gender-specific offers, or cultural events, or national holidays – anything you like, really.

On top of these two options, rotate your coupon and offers, and make sure they’re only available to people that like your page. Don’t settle into a routine – have an offer one week, then change two weeks later, then 2 days, etc. Mix it up so people will always have to be connected to your page to know when a new coupon is available.

Highlight your most valuable users as well.

Folks that interact the most; or use their coupon the most; or share your offer the most – give them special discounts and rewards to say thank you. It shows you value them, and also offers incentives to your other “fans” to become more involved.

These are just some of the ways you can be the brand that customers won’t just like, but be loyal to instead of being a fairweather friend.

And at the end of the day, isn’t that what you’re in business for?

Image: Exact Target and CoTweet