Marketers have started to tackle their social media needs, similar to how they have historically approached every other marketing tactic - by isolating and siloing their strategic parameters, success metrics, and analytics. We’ve seen this time and time again. This is how marketers dealt with banner advertising in the ‘90s, SEM and email in the early ‘00s, and mobile and in-game advertising in the late ‘00s. Over a decade later and the same mistakes are being made. Next it will be real-time-bidding and then most likely video; especially as digital convergence really takes form and everything (i.e. TV, radio, print, etc.) is technically “digital”. Agencies and media providers are always ready to reposition themselves based on the flavor of the month. Social is the new black. Or is it the new pink? Most trends are just that – “trendy”.

Don’t get me wrong, social marketing is extremely important. In fact, it is too important to think you can just silo it out and hire a specialized social media agency to manage it on your company’s behalf. The most successful marketers are not experts in analog media, digital media, social media, search marketing, or real-time-bidding; they are efficient in communication and understanding how to serve people’s needs. Once you understand what your audience/customers’ needs are and their communication requirements, you can determine the most effective channels and tactics to satisfy those needs - just like establishing any human relationship.

I realize most marketing disciplines these days require specialists to deploy and manage specific tactics. However, we must not confuse strategy with execution. You must have an integrated communication strategy that puts your customers and target prospects at the core. Through the communication planning process you should determine how much social marketing support is required and how it should be managed. Additionally, we should stop referring to social as a tactic and think of it more as the fabric that weaves throughout your entire marketing program. There’s no such thing as a social media campaign. You don’t make friends with someone and then decide to abruptly end that friendship because he/she had plans on the same night you wanted to go out.

A strong relationship is cultivated over time and this means you need to be willing to allocate the necessary resources to building those high value relationships and plan on managing them indefinitely. The only way to assure this can be done is by centralizing your customer relationship management internally. Yes, social is a component of CRM. Only now, it is a multi-dimensional dialogue and your refer-a-friend programs have exponential potential. Those that are positioning themselves as “social media experts” are less concerned about the long term value of the relationships between you and your customers, and really trying to capitalize on the ignorance that exists in the marketplace to, once again, provide false value – kind of like that “friend” who is always there to console you during a really bad time. They appear to be genuine, but we all know there is an ulterior motive which is driven by taking advantage of your vulnerability.

Be less concerned about the new, bright, shiny objects and focus on better understanding your audience and customers. The more you learn about what people want, the better you can serve their needs. Marketing channels and tactics are just the delivery mechanisms to serving those needs. With all that being said, I do recommend partnering with those that are proficient at managing the execution of each tactic. Many tactics are extremely labor-intensive and require a deep understanding of the market and the various technology platforms used to effectively manage these programs. However, when it comes to building your strategy, focus on the communication needs of your audience, then determine the channels and tactics that will help facilitate how you address those needs.

Remember this, there is no such thing as a category called “social media”. All media is social. It always has been and always will be. Only now, you can actually see what people are saying behind your back. You just need to determine what value you can contribute to the conversation – more importantly, make sure it is a reciprocal dialogue. Leave your “push, push” mentality back in the 20th century. And if you plan on playing in the social sandbox, make sure you are welcoming, respectful, appreciative, and provide value. Treat those the way you would like to be treated.

Sometimes I think marketers forget what it means to be human. In the words of Robert Fulghum, “all you really need to know, you learned in kindergarten”. Play fair. Share everything. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Don’t hit people. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody. Clean up your own mess. Now, stop your wining and go make some friends!

We all know SEO has changed dramatically over the years and will continue to change. The way we market, sell, deliver and report on SEO services has not kept pace and needs to catch up. If you ask marketers today what SEO is about they will likely still say things like, "ranking #1 in Google" and unfortunately this is what they are looking for in the SEO sales and service delivery process. (Read: SEO Buying & Selling Tricks that Create Unachievable SEO Results & Expectations)

We know SEO is an on-going, long-term process. More specifically, it is the process of continually discovering highly converting, non-branded keywords that are driving organic search traffic and conversions. It’s about understanding search intent and how keywords used to describe your products and services evolve as a prospect progresses through the buying cycle. It is then about having insight into great data and taking action by including those optimized keywords in your content marketing plan.

This SEO process cannot begin and end in a particular project phase or be completed after just one month of keyword research. It is now a four-step process that requires an SEO culture change, which includes:

• Selling the concept of discovering and optimizing for highly converting keywords
• Discovering non-branded keywords driving traffic and conversions
• Delivering additional SEO services to capitalize on highly converting keywords
• Reporting on the evolution of highly converting keywords and content

Step #1: Sell the Concept

The first place to introduce the concept of discovering and optimizing for highly converting keywords is in your marketing and sales conversations. Many SEO prospects and clients still want to buy the promise of a #1 search position for their keywords. This goal is difficult to obtain and maintain and sets unachievable expectations for you and your client.

Instead, avoid the urge to agree upon a list of keywords with your client that your team is going to "optimize for" - that list of 10, 20, or 30 keywords that your team will go away and "do SEO for." We call this list of keywords the Keyword Gap. Every client will have a list of keywords they think they want to rank for when in reality there’s a more highly converting keyword list that will perform better. That’s what the second step, Discovery, is all about.

You can do some initial keyword discovery in the sales process to demonstrate the Keyword Gap. Show the prospect some data for two keywords, for example:

Which one is the better performing keyword:

• Keyword #1 (condominiums for sale in Richmond) in Position #4 for a particular page with 20 visits and 10 conversions?
• Keyword #2 (condos in Richmond) in Position #3 for a different page with 3 visits and 1 conversion?

Based on the topic of this article, the quick answer is, Keyword #1 in Position #4 (condominiums for sale in Richmond) is a better performing keyword. An alternative answer is: more keyword discovery is required to understand if there are opportunities to optimize the web page that Keyword #2 is positioned for. Or maybe Keyword #1 is one of those highly converting keywords that should be included in all content marketing efforts.

Take away: Build time into your sales proposal and SEO program for on-going discovery to uncover those highly converting keywords prospects are using at different stages of the buying cycle. Base decisions on great SEO data from a variety of sources including SERPs, organic traffic, and conversion data. Always be on the lookout for new opportunities to optimize.

Step #2: The Discovery Process

The discovery process for new non-branded keywords should be practiced as frequently as possible. Uncover the new, non-branded keywords that are driving organic search traffic and conversions and determine whether there is an opportunity to further optimize the web presence for these keywords. The success of this process depends on setting up goals and conversions in your analytics system. One of my favorite sayings about SEO is, "don’t bother even starting the SEO process unless you have website analytics goals and conversions configured."

Goals and conversions in your analytics system do not have to be complicated. Start with simple conversions and as you learn about your web presence increase the sophistication. Think about what you want your website visitors to do. What would you consider a successful visit? Here are a few examples of metrics to measure successful visits (conversions) from organic search:

Time spent on site - If a visitor has stayed on the site for a certain number of minutes (3+) and the bounce rate is low, then perhaps it can be concluded that the visitor read the content. The content was appealing to them.

Number of pages visited - If the visitor reviews two or more pages, then perhaps it can be concluded that they were intrigued with the content enough to read further.

Main product or services page to contact sales page - If the main purpose of the site is to promote the organization’s main product, did the visitor review the product page, then the pricing page then the contact sales page?

Take away: Below is the process for uncovering highly converting keywords.

1. Set up goals and conversions in analytics.
2. As frequently as possible, look for the top non-branded keywords that are driving organic search traffic and conversions.
3. Understand the rank position for the keyword and which page or pages are ranking.
4. Understand the search volume for the keyword (both broad match and exact match).
5. Analyze the ranking pages and look for opportunities to optimize for the keyword in question.
6. Implement changes and watch for changes in position, traffic from organic search, and most importantly conversions. If there are positive changes, create some additional content that includes the keyword and again watch for changes.
7. Report newly identified, non-branded keywords and progress to the client.

Step #3: Deliver Additional SEO Services to Capitalize on Highly Converting Keywords

Once a new non-branded keyword is discovered and reported to the client, discuss the keyword opportunity and the plan for capitalizing on it.

• What was the entry page for that keyword?
• Where in the buying cycle is that keyword likely to be used?
• What kind of content can be created and distributed to further support that keyword and the prospect as they demonstrate their intent to find content?
• Is it worth further investment in SEO?

At this point, there is an opportunity to upsell the client on additional service hours to optimize and create content for the newly discovered and agreed upon keywords. It is also the point where the keyword should be included in the full content marketing strategy and further planning done on the type of content prospects require at this particular stage in the buying cycle. Perhaps it’s a focused case study, with supporting blog content, video, whitepaper or a combination. Think about the distribution points for the content and the possible backlinks and social signals that can be created for the keyword.

Take away: Set aside time each month to discuss newly discovered keywords with the client.

Step #4: Report on the Evolution of Highly Converting Keywords & Content

The approach of identifying and focusing on highly converting keywords then incorporating those keywords into the full content marketing strategy requires a different level of reporting compared to the basic monthly SEO reporting of number of backlinks, number of keywords on Page 1, etc.

Including keyword visits and conversions data alongside position data is a great first step to getting the client thinking about the difference between ranking #1 for any keyword versus ranking for the keywords prospects actually value and associate with your organization.

Once the keyword is incorporated into the full content marketing strategy the reporting requirements should shift to be focused on the performance of the particular piece of content or the content marketing campaign. This is where the disciplines of SEO, Social Media and Content Marketing begin to completely collide. (Read: 10 Reasons Why You Need an Optimized Content Strategy Now)

Take away: With the right tracking and metrics technologies the impact of content on a web presence for the purpose of organic search optimization can be reported, including:

• How the position has been affected for a particular cluster of keywords
• How many backlinks and social signals have been created
• How many keyword visits and conversions are associated with the content campaign
• And most importantly, how many sales are attributed to the content

Conclusion

Google’s algorithm updates have changed the practice of SEO. Search marketing firms have an opportunity to evolve their sales, delivery and reporting practices to differentiate themselves. Focusing on the discovery of highly converting keywords beginning with the sales and marketing conversations through delivery and reporting will produce stronger SEO results over the long term and happier SEO clients.

Social listening examines social media including: blogs, forums, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, to find out what people are saying and where they are saying it. It’s one of the ways we glimpse actual consumer behavior (vs. reported behavior), and combines with other forms of qualitative research, and quantitative data, to reveal consumer insights.

Consumer insights are, of course, the jewels that illuminate the critical process of mapping the Consumer Decision Journey*. The idea is to build a complete picture of how consumers are interacting with brands, social touch points and knowledge as they wend their way towards the moment of purchase and then beyond. We do this by understanding who consumers are, their personas, and then what they think and do at each point along the journey. Some of what we learn is what is already happening, but more importantly we are looking for opportunities to serve an unmet need or a perception in a new way that sets our client apart. These insights make social listening a remarkably potent tool.

Discovering what your customers and prospects are saying, and equally important where they are saying it, reveals actionable clues, insights and opportunities, social locations that brands should be present, the impact of campaigns, and the effect of culture and seasonality on consumer behavior.

This study we just released on tax refunds is an example of how what you learn when you start to listen can be surprising. We discovered that an overwhelming 65% actually had plans to go shopping with their refunds, so we dug deeper.

What we ended up with delivered clear insights about what Americans wanted to do with the money. While it wasn’t surprising to see all the plans to buy Apple products, it was a surprise to see how many people planned on purchasing a new tattoo.

Overall the report was good news for retailers with 65% of tweeters having immediate spending plans for their refund in the following categories:

* 14% electronics spending
* 11% fashion spending
* 11% car spending
* 10% food and beverage spending
* 7% travel spending
* 7% event spending
* 5% music retail spending

The research also showed that sober responsibility was still alive and well in America with 35% of tweeters saying they plan to save their refund money or pay bills.

Click to view on Visual.ly:

Get the Top Ten email delivered to your inbox, free every week >>

#1 Hello Kitty - photo2013-03-31 16:41

Hope you have an eggcellent Easter!

1.046% enagement rate 97,186 likes 853 comments 34,921 shares 26% shares

#2 McDonald's - photo2013-03-30 23:00

Bacon, Ranch or Sweet Chili. What more could chicken ask for? www.mcdonalds.com/PremiumMcWrap

0.982% enagement rate 244,083 likes 20,440 comments 8,434 shares 3% shares

#3 Louis Vuitton - photo2013-03-25 18:05

Spice up your life with Louis Vuitton in Piment.

0.795% enagement rate 96,632 likes 1,442 comments 5,732 shares 6% shares

#4 Mercedes-Benz ► Cool Hunting - photo2013-03-30 10:22

Cool Hunting editor Josh Rubin had a chance to drive the CLA 250 in South France and used it wisely for these stunning pictures. Take a look and read the full story here: http://www.coolhunting.com/design/mercedes-benz-cla250.php

Cool Hunting with the CLA 250

Cool Hunting editor Josh Rubin had a chance to drive the CLA 250 in South France and used it wisely for these stunning pictures. Take a look and read the full story here: http://www.coolhunting.com/design/mercedes-benz-cla250.php

0.659% enagement rate 59,572 likes 568 comments 5,172 shares 8% shares

#5 Taco Bell - photo2013-03-25 20:30

Cool Ranch DLT, Nacho Cheese DLT or both?

0.644% enagement rate 56,302 likes 5,705 comments 2,157 shares 3% shares

#6 BMW ► Les Voitures - photo2013-03-28 17:08

Do you want to see the world of BMW in a whole new light? Come to Paris and visit the first BMW Brand Store on Avenue George V. Experience in a futuristic and stylish setting some of our outstanding cars and much more. For more impressions please check the Les Voitures blog: http://bit.ly/YHOXhM

BMW Brand Store Paris

Do you want to see the world of BMW in a whole new light? Come to Paris and visit the first BMW Brand Store on Avenue George V. Experience in a futuristic and stylish setting some of our outstanding cars and much more. For more impressions please check the Les Voitures blog: http://bit.ly/YHOXhM

0.631% enagement rate 73,198 likes 807 comments 8,400 shares 10% shares

#7 Natalie Sabrowske ► H&M - photo2013-03-28 12:33

H&M eins sag ich euch, würdet ihr dieses Top verkaufen, würden euch alle Mädchen den Laden einrennen.

0.592% enagement rate 80,881 likes 2,520 comments 176 shares 0% shares

#8 Burberry - photo2013-03-25 18:12

Check canvas tote bag with leather trim http://bit.ly/Vae6vH

The Burberry Prorsum Spring/Summer 2013 Accessories Collection

0.562% enagement rate 76,704 likes 1,449 comments 5,779 shares 7% shares

#9 Buffalo Wild Wings - photo2013-03-26 00:00

It's a little savory, a little sweet, plus "Teriyaki" is just downright fun to say.

0.459% enagement rate 44,840 likes 1,453 comments 932 shares 2% shares

#10 Aéropostale - photo2013-03-31 23:47

Like if you'd wear it! http://bit.ly/Srr4am

0.441% enagement rate 38,049 likes 145 comments 506 shares 1% shares

About

TopTen is weekly summarty of the previous week's ten most engaging posts from the largest 100 consumer brand pages on Facebook. All data is pulled using social media content strategy tool Zuum.

You’ve heard of mobile-first organizations, those that launch first on mobile devices prior to web. That can be a good idea for some, but being a consumer-first organization is a universal necessity.

Gone are the days of relying on clever messaging aimed at grabbing the attention of distracted consumers. Awareness is easy, right? You can even buy awareness in digital and convince your boss that it’s edgy just because it’s digital. But being a sales-first organization that prioritizes short-term bumps in numbers should not be your goal. Building an army of dedicated, loyal followers should. Today, consumer-first brands are winning consumer loyalty and, as a result, their money.

The music industry is a great example. For decades, the music industry succeeded by making consumers pay for records, tapes, or CDs of pre-packaged music. But as soon as the tools were invented that allowed them to collect just the songs they wanted, the music industry suffered. The blame was placed on cheap consumers who just wanted everything for free. But we’ve learned that that isn’t true. Consumers, and music fans especially, WANT to pay for the things they love. In fact, artists have given away their music, allowing fans to make donations and received millions of dollars.

Amanda Palmer was a street performer turned professional musician who grew a large following and eventually received a record deal. After selling 25,000 copies of her debut album, her label considered it a failure and they parted ways. Determined to prove them wrong, she started giving away her music to her fans with the simple request that they help her out financially. She received almost $1.2 million from an ironic 25,000 donations.

I think there is a story here bigger than the music industry, which, as we all know, has seen the light (if you will) and is again experiencing growth. We’re seeing a dramatic shift in consumers’ expectations that is literally decimating entire industries. In marketing we like to talk about how social media is changing everything. It isn’t. It is simply enabling consumers to be as social as they’ve always been but now with the tools to ask for more personalized service. And that should frighten any company that is ignoring not just social, but more broadly, campaigns that genuinely connect with consumers.

Let me be clear, if your model is dependent on pulling in consumers rather than providing easy ways for them to get your product naturally, you will ultimately fail. Companies that do it right, the ones that connect with consumers and build the tools that make it easy for them to pay for the things they want, will survive. That is the difference between making consumers pay for your product and letting them.

Don’t be that brand. Don’t use social as a channel for more awareness and push messaging. Build loyalty. And then build or leverage tools to help those consumers pay you.

2012 could be dubbed the ‘Year of the Recall’ for the auto industry with various automakers calling back more than 14 million cars in 12 months for inspections and repairs involving safety issues.  For perspective, nearly 14.5 million cars and light trucks were sold last year.  The number of cars sold versus those recalled was a near wash by year’s end.

And it was recently announced that Toyota plans to settle an estimated $1.3 billion in class action claims involving sudden, unintended acceleration first reported in 2009 in certain Toyota, Scion and Lexus vehicles.  The anticipated settlement would be the largest payout by any auto company, ever.

What’s interesting about 2012 is that in spite of widespread safety issues, auto shopper interest saw negligible impact.  In fact, year-end sales were 13 percent better than 2011 and the best we’ve seen in the past five years.

So, what’s going on here?

Maybe it’s a recovering economy or a testament to the loyalty of certain car shoppers who, despite all odds, remain steadfastly devoted to a particular brand. Or, perhaps it’s consumer indifference, which has adapted over time to safety issues that, in recent years, have become the norm rather than the exception.

More than any other factors, I believe the reasons automakers have fared well in the midst of seemingly insurmountable obstacles are twofold.  First, there have been drastic improvements in the way auto recalls are handled. In tandem, auto marketers have optimized digital to successfully speak to—and listen to—their customers in times of crisis.

Toyota in Crisis

In 2009, on the heels of a crash reportedly caused by sudden, unintended acceleration that claimed the lives of four people, additional reports began emerging of sudden acceleration problems in a number of Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

The automaker’s top-down management style was cited as the culprit for the fundamental curtness in which an ever-growing wave of consumer complaints was addressed.  Amid accusations of ignoring hundreds of complaints for almost 10 years prior and being rebuked by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for “misleading” comments in a press release, Toyota was criticized for sitting on its hands by failing to effectively communicate with its customers along the way that there was indeed a problem it was making every effort to fix.

In a February 2010 Jumpstart Automotive Group Survey, 80 percent of respondents indicated they’d buy American on the heels of the Toyota crisis and 51 percent indicated the automaker’s safety issues had changed their perception of the brand, leading them to eliminate it as a consideration for their next vehicle purchase.

Turning to Social to Calm Concerns

That same month, Toyota realized the need for open lines of communication with its customers in the wake of public backlash and turned to Digg (with roughly 40 million monthly unique visitors at the time)  to offer up Jim Lentz, Toyota Motor Sales USA president, to answer questions voted on by fans in a video Digg Dialogg.

Around the time of the first Digg campaign, the automaker also launched “Toyota Conversations” on TweetMeme to aggregate top stories being tweeted about Toyota.  It took to YouTube to post an apology by Lentz explaining the sticking accelerator pedal situation in recalled Toyota vehicles while assuring customers its dealers had already begun repairs on floor mat issues from an earlier recall.

Toyota’s better late than never PR and social media campaign proved effective, bottoming out negative consumer opinions about the brand.  Industry analysts praised Toyota’s proactive social media approach, crediting it in part to helping lessen the recall blow.

Toyota in Fast Forward: A New Approach

This past October, the automaker announced a recall of 7.4 million vehicles worldwide—the largest number of units in Toyota’s 75-year history as well as the auto industry’s single largest recall since 1996—due to a faulty power window switch that could melt and potentially catch fire.  One month later, it announced another recall involving 2.8 million vehicles due to a steering glitch.

Not only were the latest Toyota call backs mass and swift, digital communications efforts were candid and clear.  Malfunctioning components and potential hazards were outlined, and the repair process was described in detail.

Recently, Jumpstart gauged the behaviors of approximately 19 million monthly car shoppers across our network of 14 automotive websites in the weeks following the October and November recalls.  Our analysis revealed that interest in Toyota cars and trucks was virtually unaffected.

During the four-week period following news of the 7.4 million vehicle recall (from October 10 to November 10), shopper interest in Toyota cars and trucks across Jumpstart's suite of websites remained relatively strong with a meager 0.4 percent decline in share at an average of 9.0 percent compared to the first 10 months of 2012.

Following November 14, when it was announced that 2.8 million vehicles were being recalled, Toyota's shopper interest held relatively steady at a tiny 0.1 percent decline over the prior two weeks.

Sales data indicates consumers are embracing the brand in record numbers, with 9.7 million Toyota vehicles sold in 2012—its biggest sales year ever. Granted, Toyota customers are fiercely loyal in general, but the manner in which Toyota handled its latest mass recalls proved much more effective in mitigating negative opinions.

Digital marketers have access to the most powerful communications channels available today.  Never before have we had the capability of real-time, two-way dialogue—an immediate and reciprocal communications stream enabling us to allay concerns, answer questions, address problems and tap into the opinions of the people who matter most—our customers.

Using these channels to 1) acknowledge problems clearly and quickly 2) explain solutions to problems and distribute messages broadly and 3) address consumer concerns in real time is always the best approach when mitigating a crisis.

Nick Matarazzo is CEO of Jumpstart Automotive Group, an innovative marketing solutions provider for automotive advertisers.

As the name implies, crowdsourcing represents the act of a company taking a function once performed by employees and outsourcing it to an undefined network of people via an open call. To be effective, the network must be large. While a business can outsource the final result to the crowd, it’s important to remember that crowdsourcing isn’t the same as outsourcing. There are still significant resources that must be applied to produce the open call, generate interest, evaluate submissions, and announce winners.

Predictions for this year’s crowdsourced campaigns: The Old G in Super Bowl crowdsourcing, Doritos, is back again, and the brand is joined by Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Pizza Hut, Lincoln, Audi, and newbie, Dunder Mifflin.

Doritos: this crowdsourcing pioneer is revisiting its “Crash the Super Bowl” campaign for the sixth year in a row. It’s become a familiar favorite, but the audience’s appetite for a repeat next year will hinge on the quality of the winning submission. In this case, Doritos has thoroughly handed its brand over to its consumers, and the Super Bowl ad is the ultimate trust fall.

Pepsi: The use of user-submitted images during the half-time show with Beyonce teeters on the line of user-submitted content and true crowdsourcing. It’s an easy campaign to participate in, and the timing of its release is predictable enough that audience members will stay tuned in. It doesn’t exactly break any new ground, but it’s simple and fun.

Coca-Cola: The “Mirage” spots follow three different teams as they pursue a mirage of a Coke bottle in a hot desert. Coca-Cola has a massive social following, so even “weak” response will deliver enough content to make the spots effective. The drama of the race may be overshadowed by the excitement of the game.

Pizza Hut: The call to action for this campaign is simple: Submit videos that use the phrase, “hut hut hut” – it’s a terrific tie in to the game, and easy to participate in. Pizza Hut will show 18 clips as part of a campaign to take maximum advantage of “the big game.”

Lincoln: This brand is shaking up their stodgy image by airing humorous dramatizations of tweets regarding wacky road trips taken in a Lincoln. There will be enough elements of surprise that we expect viewers to stay tuned. This could be an important step in Lincoln’s efforts to reenergize their brand.

Audi: Audi kept the campaign simple and the risk low by allowing fans to vote on three different ads, with the ultimate choice being aired during the game. The stakes are so much lower than even the Doritos campaign, that it will be tough for the crowdsourcing gamble to pay off in any measurable way.

Dunder Mifflin: This paper company, named after the fictional paper company on “The Office” is going to garner curiosity simply by the odd nature of their brand. Dunder Mifflin has actually partnered with a crowdsourcing platform, Tongal, to create the spot, which will air in Scranton. This one is weird enough that people will likely be talking about it on Monday.

It’s critical to consider the complexity of your brand positioning if you are going to hand your brand message over to the public. Doritos fans simply need to articulate, “Doritos taste good.” Will Audi have the same success with a more complex message? Crowdsourcing is most effective for brands with well-established social channels. Brands should not use crowdsourcing to establish a social community; it’s best to build momentum within an existing and engaged community.

We live in a digital age, the age of communication and instant information. What once took hours, even days to reach people across the globe now only takes a few quick keystrokes and a matter of seconds. But don’t let me bore you with what you already know. What I’m really trying to get at is the fact that, when approached correctly, social networks are viable channels for sales and endless opportunities are within arm’s reach. All sales and business development professionals should consider leveraging this global social trend to broaden their sales funnel or you may one day, find yourself obsolete.

Back In The Day

In our grandparent’s time, business was conducted on a very personal level. The local baker knew what type of bread each family preferred, the butcher began cutting your favorite cuts as soon as he saw you walk through the door, everyone and I mean everyone, knew each other. This was relationship building at its best. Businesses across the globe lost this personal touch as time went on and our world grew a little bigger and busier. Until now.

7 Billion Strong

Yes, our world is no mere village, with over 7 billion inhabitants of planet Earth we are larger and more spread out than ever. Yet, with the advent of social media and its popularity, we have built a global network in which we are all connected; social communities like Facebook , Linkedin and Twitter unite millions of active citizens from all corners of the globe. In addition, smartphones are becoming commonplace in people’s lives allowing interconnectivity with the world whenever and wherever you are. This remarkable and ever-changing technology leads to one thing: communication. And as a business owner, salesperson or marketing executive this is key to reaching a broader audience and more importantly, building a closer relationship with your existing clients and prospects.

Laying The Groundwork

Get to know your social network, it’s great to have 2,000 followers but it’s best to have 200 that you truly know and engage with. Find out about their life, their work and their hobbies. Talk to them as you would a colleague or close friend; let them know you’re listening and that you care about what they have to say. After all, people just want to be heard. This is all part of that “relationship building” I was talking about earlier. So once you build that foundation of trust and friendship, you’ll be more credible when you pitch your business and its services. I say pitch with light reserve as you shouldn’t be pitching your business on social networks- it’s spammy. However, leads don’t always just fall in your lap so use your social network wisely to target specific companies or individuals who could benefit from your product or service. In addition, a humble tooting of your horn from time to time is highly recommended. Design an awesome project that just got posted in the city’s newspaper? Sealed a deal with a major distributor? Your new hire is kicking butt left and right? Toot that horn, baby! You’ll find that not only are people more likely to ‘Like’ and share your post but it also may strike a chord with a reader causing them to pick up a phone and call you directly.

Regardless of what channel you use, never forget that personable, peer-to-peer communication is key. Remember, it’s not about you, your business or your products; it’s about your followers, their life and their interests.

From an SEO buyer’s perspective, it must be downright confusing and discouraging to obtain multiple quotes from SEO service providers that very clearly have differing price ranges and service methodologies, but not so clearly defined differentiating skill sets and experience.

So sellers attempt to make it easier for buyers to understand SEO proposals in order to ultimately get to a closed deal - a signature on a contract. In the meantime, are they undermining their own profession and setting themselves up for failure by setting unrealistic expectations with clients?

Or are SEO clients being unrealistic in their expectations of SEO results in the short term versus the long term, leading SEO service providers to drastic measures that may ultimately result in the client’s web presence being penalized in organic search? Or even results in the client quitting or not paying?

This blog post is for both buyers and sellers of SEO services in hopes that 2013 will be the year of equilibrium for SEO. The year that SEO is finally regarded for what it is – extremely important in the digital marketing mix; a long-term online strategy that is based on strong, optimized content published and distributed across the entire web presence proving relevance and authority.

The four SEO selling and buying tricks described below produce unachievable expectations and create disequilibrium in the SEO services market. When these tricks are practiced by either the buyer or the seller the economics of SEO fail, because the time and effort required to meet SEO expectations and results will not match.

1. Promises of a #1 Search Position

The trick of selling the promise of a #1 Search Position as well as clients buying the promise has been around for quite a while. It still surprises me, especially with all the algorithm changes that have occurred recently, when I see this assurance in online advertisements or on an SEO agency’s home page.

Buyers, if an SEO agency promises a #1 Search Position for a keyword, exercise caution. Unless you are Wikipedia, a #1 Search Position cannot be guaranteed. Buyers need to understand that organic search positions are produced based on relevancy and authority of content around a keyword. There are numerous, uncontrollable, external factors and competition around a single keyword - no one, not even Google, can guarantee organic search position.

Read: The Five Forces of Keyword Competition Framework.

Sellers of SEO services, if your team is able to consistently deliver a #1 Search Position for a keyword, can that position be maintained over the long run, is it a highly converting organic search term, or is it perhaps not even searched on?

2. Promises of Increased Sales from SEO

The promise of increased sales as a result of SEO efforts is only possible if the SEO agency has complete control over the client’s sales processes (e.g. sales funneling, pipeline structure and reporting, sales team, commissions, etc.) and the SEO agency has sales consulting expertise on staff.

Sellers of SEO services beware… how do you even know there’s a market for what your client is selling? You may be able to improve their web presence for organic search conversions, but how do you even know their products or services are in demand and the processes around selling those products or services are efficient and proven?

Buyers of SEO, if increased sales are a requirement for your business, consider hiring a sales process consultant rather than an SEO professional whose actual task it is to improve your web presence visibility in the search engines for highly converting keywords.

3. Selling and Buying SEO Services Without Any Mention of Content Marketing

The outcome of Google’s massive algorithm changes over the past two years is that it takes really great, fresh, optimized content produced on a regular schedule to convince Google that the source is relevant and authoritative and should therefore be returned as a search result. This takes a lot of commitment, work and a strong focus on content marketing.

SEO (including the building of backlinks and the creation of social signals) requires a content marketing strategy. In fact, it is impossible to execute on SEO without one. Buyers’ expectations of SEO services will be better met if they also buy into a content marketing strategy.

SEO will also have a longer-term effect on a web presence in organic search when more quality, optimized content is produced.

The lack of a content marketing strategy will leave the SEO seller with insufficient content to work with to positively impact organic search position and the buyer with unmet expectations about SEO in general.

4. Selling and Buying SEO Services Without Any Mention of Social Media

Similar to #3, SEO agencies that are not yet factoring social networks, social media and social signaling into their SEO services methodology are doing their clients a disservice.

A blatant note to both buyers and sellers of SEO services: a year ago, Eric Schmidt, Google’s Executive Chairman, said, “The social signal, the people you ‘hang with’ is actually a ranking signal.” (December 2011).

In 2011, Matt Cutts was asked by an SEO Agency what three things should be included in your SEO strategy, and one of the three items he suggested was, “think about social media marketing … a lot of people think SEO versus social media marketing, and a lot of the time it makes sense to keep a holistic view.”

SEO results will be better gained and expectations better met when an entire web presence is optimized for organic search. This means distributing optimized content across the web presence to be socialized and shared, thus increasing relevance and authority for your audience.

Our industry’s lifeblood is the midsize sedan category, representing approximately one quarter of the total auto and light truck market in sales volume.  Across Jumpstart Automotive Group’s channel of third-party automotive websites, the sedan segment is the largest vehicle category, representing 36 percent of total shopping activity.

In this highly competitive segment where even a fraction of a percent in loss of share can be catastrophic, the marketing stakes are higher than most.

Jumpstart recently analyzed messaging, creative, rollout strategies and the social and mobile efforts of three chief contenders vying to overtake Toyota for the number one sedan sales spot—the Nissan Altima, the Honda Accord and the Ford Fusion—to gauge how marketers duke it out in heated brand battles like this.  Campaign highlights follow.

Nissan Altima

The Download:  Nissan marketers are clever, creative and funny.  Knocking Toyota Camry off its pedestal will take a lot more than a great sense of humor, but they’re on the right track.

In the meantime, they sure make the competition fun to watch!

Nissan’s “Innovation that Excites” campaign used the concept of invention to help the automaker stand out from the competitive pack, hilariously communicating the company’s latest innovations, including an easy-fill tire alert, in its “Breakup” and “Enough” broadcast spots.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Particularly noteworthy was its sneak peek campaign featuring a glimpse of an Altima headlight here, a rear bumper there.  In all, the campaign covered virtually all media bases with a mix of broadcast, digital and print and out-of-home.

Its social/mobile efforts “Innovation Garage” and “Altima Experience” were as inventive as the brand itself, including this feel-good moment “Proposal.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Although OEMs typically look at third-party automotive websites as a medium for lower-funnel and retail messaging, Altima successfully extended the “Innovation that Excites” campaign and utilized high-impact homepage units across Jumpstart’s automotive websites to reach consumers actively researching and shopping for vehicles.

Honda Accord

The Download:  Way to speak to (and relate to) your customers, Honda!  While we’d love to see you take a page out of Nissan’s book when it comes to innovation in creative and mobile strategies, we appreciate your polished and reliable approach to marketing…much like we appreciate your cars.

Honda’s “It Starts with You” campaign did a great job of conveying the automaker’s uncanny ability to build cars based on what Accord customers want and need…because it actually understands what its customers want and need.

Its broadcast spot “We Know You”and print, outdoor and online ads in that same vein, were nicely done, painting a relatable picture of people in real-world driving situations and how the Accord’s advanced safety and technology features help them overcome driving dilemmas.  If you’ve ever been visited by a bumblebee behind the wheel, you can relate too.

Honda’s integrated media buy was extensive, including a mix of print, home page takeovers on major portals, broadcast spots across high-profile TV shows and sports events (including the World series) and in-theater and outdoor in nearly 30 markets.

Finally, Accord content was integrated into Words with Friends and Scramble with Friends and in the popular news aggregator Pulse.

An interesting side note:  Honda Accord was Jumpstart’s midsize sedan segment leader midway through last year, representing a seven percent average monthly share of sedan shoppers, ahead of Toyota at six percent and Nissan at five percent.

Ford Fusion

The Download:  While we applaud Ford’s fearless imagination and digital marketing prowess, it may have taken itself a little too seriously last year.  From social media sagas to vanishing cars, we struggled to follow along.  Unfortunately, it seems car buyers did too.

Ford’s “Random Acts of Fusion” campaign relied on Ryan Seacrest and celebrity personalities Joel McHale and Kate Micucci for comic relief, playing on the concept of life’s big and small acts involving real-world customers who unlocked a story over time while participating in driving and entertainment experiences.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Chinese contemporary artist Liu Bolin—dubbed “the invisible man”—hand painted innovative print ads to make other cars seemingly disappear when the Ford Fusion was around, merging art and auto to create some really incredible tableaus.

The cornerstone strategies of Ford Fusion’s “transmedia marketing initiative” were digital and experiential and included a heavy blend of social media coupled with radio and video, along with American Idol-style finale events at various Ford dealerships and print ads in national auto and lifestyle magazines.

Similar to “Fiesta Movement” and “Escape Routes,” the campaign created brand ambassadors in real world social media users to talk about the Fusion with their peers.  As of last October, the campaign had generated more than 12 million consumer engagements.

Who Won in 2012?

Once again, Toyota reigned supreme in 2012, with the highest midsize sedan sales volume (up nearly 24 percent from 2011).  Honda Accord made great strides in closing the second place gap with a 29 percent growth in sales over 2011.  Nissan Altima showed up for the party too, with a solid 11 percent growth compared to the prior year.

(WardsAuto, January 2013)

It will be interesting to see how the midsize sedan Battle of the Brands shakes out as 2013 campaigns extend into the coming months and after the much-anticipated launch of 2014 model year marketing initiatives!

Nick Matarazzo is CEO of Jumpstart Automotive Group, an innovative marketing solutions provider for automotive advertisers.

Facebook + Audience Targeting

In the beginning, Facebook was viewed mostly as a social site for teenagers. Eventually, the site became a staple in daily life for adults who want to keep in touch with friends and family. Now, it's one of the top sites for businesses that want to reach out to clients and partners in the personal way they've come to expect.

Facebook provides great ways for companies to draw and maintain the interest of target markets. Customers can keep track of a favorite company and stay in the loop about opportunities for discounts and other deals. Companies can make a fan page with multimedia, important announcements and links to a main website. Ads on Facebook have become a great placement for display ads, which can be useful for building a fan base as well as basic brand awareness campaigns. Facebook has also opened up new opportunities to use its data for targeting purposes.

Twitter + Display Ad Content

Twitter has been associated with momentary updates between friends, but it's also a powerful tool for business growth. Companies often use Twitter for brand promotion and market monitoring. Thanks to the site's personal feel, it's great for staying in touch with clients and partners. Twitter can also be used to draw traffic, create viral campaigns and possibly improve search engine rankings.

Businesses must remember that Twitter's biggest strength lies in its opportunities for immediate social interaction. New rich media banner ads make it possible to include a moderated Twitter feed in the banner, allowing businesses to keep the content as fresh and up-to-date as possible.

LinkedIn + Remarketing

LinkedIn has become known as the premier social networking site for professionals, but it's actually much more than that. Virtually all notable business people have profiles on LinkedIn, so it's an excellent place for making the right connections. The site simplifies the process of sharing information, discussing issues and establishing reputation with others in a network. Over time, this means forging potentially profitable relationships with both clients and partners. For best results on LinkedIn, businesses need to have a content strategy that attracts traffic to their own website.  From there, they can use remarketing to keep their brand top of mind to the viewers who have expressed high interest in the offer.

Take a Holistic Approach

Rather than getting lost in a pointless argument about what marketing channel is the best, marketers should be looking for ways to use the advantages of each to get the most out of their online marketing efforts. Both social media and display advertising require an understanding of how to get the most out of them, and taking an integrated approach will always be a recipe for success.

Free: The Z-100 Report.

Trends, Strategies and Tactics for 100
of the top business pages on Facebook.

View or Download Report >>

Facebook's Facebook Post on Facebook Trends

Subscribe Free

If you're not already subscribed, why not get this FREE weekly email of the most impacting posts on Facebook?
Free Sign Up

About Zuum

Zuum is a tool that helps brands increase their engagement level with their Facebook fans by knowing what works on Facebook. For their brand and their competitors.
www.ZuumSocial.com

I spend a lot of time thinking about how the SEO landscape has changed for the better over the past three years, with Google’s continued and unwavering focus on the concept of relevance. However, three aspects of SEO have not changed at the same pace. The outcome is often a gap in expectations between the team delivering SEO services and the client literally banking on the results. The three aspects of SEO that I feel have not changed at the same pace as the SEO industry include:

1. The way SEO services are marketed and sold.
2. The processes around how SEO is delivered and reported on.
3. The ability for agencies and in-house teams to prove the ROI of SEO efforts.

But the importance of SEO in the digital marketing mix remains unchanged and unchallenged. There are consistently 1 billion Google searches performed every day with 94% of those searchers clicking on organic search results over paid search results. Patience will continue to be a virtue to the marketer who invests in SEO over the long run.

Here are 10 SEO truths I have discover in SEO conversations I have had with agencies, in-house marketing teams and end clients over the past 12 months:

SEO Truth #1: Rank Doesn’t Matter, Conversion Does.

If I had a dime for every time I heard the statement, “Oh, we don’t need SEO, we already rank #1 for [insert keyword here].”

I witness many SEO conversations where improvement in rank or position is the focus without any consideration given to web page visits and conversions. Many prospects, clients and bosses are lost in the infatuation of ‘Ranking #1 in Google’ and unfortunately because that’s what they want to pay for, that’s what they are sold and/or what we attempt to prove to them.

The more important metric is conversion.

So it could be that a client wants to rank #1 for ‘HR Software’, and they currently rank #5 for that keyword with a conversion rate of 5%, while a similar keyword phrase, ‘HR Software for SMBs’, has a conversion rate of 10% and is ranked #9. Clearly the latter should be the focus since it already has a higher conversion rate with a lower rank. Assigning resources to understanding the opportunities throughout the web presence, and optimizing content for the keyword ‘HR Software for SMBs’ is a better investment of time and money.

SEO Truth #2: Great SEO Results Require Great SEO Data.

SEO is the ongoing process of understanding a web presence, how it compares to the competition, which keywords are driving organic search conversion, and optimizing for those keywords by producing fresh, relevant content. This process is impossible without access to accurate, timely data about that web presence including: page-level rank, backlink metrics and social signals data, organic search keyword research, competitive intelligence, analytics conversion data.

Basing SEO decisions on old, inaccurate SEO data will yield corresponding SEO results. SEO data is the starting point to the entire SEO process and outcome. Great insights will lead to great outcomes. SEO data and SEO software should be considered a cost of doing business or executing a campaign just as email marketing campaigns require an email marketing platform.

SEO Truth #3: Report on Social Signals Just Like Backlinks.

Think of social signals as the new backlink. Now don’t get me wrong, backlinks are still important to organic search and should continue to be reported on, but social signals also deserve ongoing focus and integration into an SEO strategy.

It has been two years since Google and Bing announced that social signals are now factored into their organic search algorithms. Agencies and in-house SEO teams need to demonstrate that they are increasing the number of Likes, Shares, +1s, Tweets, Retweets and YouTube Views at both the web page level and the network level. Social signal metrics should be included in the monthly SEO report as well.

SEO Truth #4: SEO Technology is Telling.

Just as a sales consultant hired to improve sales processes and ultimately conversion rates would not attempt to do so without customer relationship management (CRM) software, neither should an SEO agency or in-house team attempt to effectively improve a web presence for SEO without some support and assistance from technology.

There are many SEO software and tool options – from full software systems to stand alone tools. SEO technology is required more today than ever before in order to assist in the ongoing efforts of keyword research, rank checking, competitive analysis, backlink discovery and tracking, content tracking, analytics, social signal monitoring and monthly SEO reporting capabilities. The technology and tools you select can make or break you too.

Going it alone, without the support of a technological foundation to track a web presence on a daily basis for the purpose of ranking higher organically in the search engines is like trying to do email marketing by BCCing your list from MS Outlook – your deliverability rates, open rates and conversion rates will be immeasurable and less than expected.

SEO Truth #5: Daily Insights into SEO Metrics is Essential.

The SEO reporting cycle is still very much a monthly process (although I’m seeing this standard move to weekly with larger agencies and marketing teams). Having daily and weekly insight into all the SEO metrics included in an SEO campaign is important to understand how your efforts are tracking towards the ultimate goal. Having the insight and intelligence to adjust the goal if more or less progress is being made than anticipated can only be accomplished with daily insight into accurate SEO data and metrics.

SEO Truth #6: A Backlink Strategy Without a Content Marketing Strategy is Just Plain Scary.

Even after all the Panda, Penguin and Freshness updates, I’m still amazed to see some agencies providing quotes to clients where the main thrust of the contract is a promise to build ‘x’ number of backlinks per month. SEOs should continue to deliberately build backlinks in directories that are industry or locally specific to the client, but that’s where deliberate backlink building should end.

To build long-term, non-spammy backlinks, an optimized content marketing strategy is required where fresh relevant optimized content is being produced on a consistent basis. Content in the form of blogs, press releases, case studies, and whitepapers wherein the content contains keywords that are driving organic search conversions as well as naturally occurring backlinks to the main corporate website. Not only will this approach to backlink building withstand the test of time, it will also create social signals which will also positively impact the web presence.

SEO Truth #7: Spend Less Time on Reporting, More Time on SEO.

A typical SEO contract consists of analysis, recommendations, implementation and reporting. The most painful of which is reporting - mashing together end-of-month reports from multiple data sources to demonstrate progress to the end client, never mind trying to make it look pretty. Laborious, repetitive reporting takes away too much time from what will really pay off – the doing of SEO.

This reinforces truth #4: SEO Technology is Telling. Making use of technology for weekly or monthly automated reporting will allow for more time being spent on the task of SEO which will yield better results for the client and will allow you to scale your business.

SEO Truth #8: Think Outside the Google Search Box.

Yes, Google continues to be the entity that SEOs attempt to please, and rightfully so. I can’t see this focus changing in the near or distant future either. With the continual convergence of social media and SEO, we also need to think about the prospect of searchers starting their searches directly on social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest. A web presence should be represented for its branded keyword phrases within these sites as well. Test your branded keywords and test your clients’ branded keywords to see if they return the expected search results on these social networks. If not, optimize!

SEO Truth #9: Communicate the CTR Opportunity Gap by Keyword.

Once there is an understanding of the high-converting keywords, it is worth the exercise of applying paid search volume data with organic clickthrough rates (CTRs) to communicate the opportunity gap between ranking #9 versus #3.

Let’s use the keyword “HR Software” as an example. The total Google search volume (U.S., Canada, and Australia) is 2,120 searches per month, combined with the fact that 94 percent of searchers click through on organic search results (GroupM UK and Nielsen, August 2012). Given Optify’s CTR data for positions #1 through #20, the opportunity gap can be communicated to the client.

2120 monthly searches * 94 percent = 1992 * 3.0 percent /30 days = 2 daily click-
throughs for position #9 in Google.com for the keyword "HR Software"

Position #9 will yield 60 clicks per month (2 clicks per day * 30 days) while increasing the position to #3 will yield 180 clicks per month (6 clicks per day * 30 days) presenting an opportunity gap of 180-60 = 120 clickthroughs per month. What value does this translate into for the client?

SEO Truth #10: It’s about the Hierarchy of Web Presence Optimization.

Search Engine Optimization is now more about Web Presence Optimization. As the ways we sell and deliver SEO services continue to evolve, the hierarchy of web presence optimization is a model that may help structure sales contracts and service delivery tasks while ensuring that keyword metrics are focused on conversion, backlinks are built out effectively, and social signals are integrated into the overall SEO strategy.

Special Free Facebook Report.

Page Data Averages for 9 Industries.

View or Download Report >>

Facebook takes the voting process and makes it social content

Subscribe Free

If you're not already subscribed, why not get this FREE weekly email of the most impacting posts on Facebook?
Free Sign Up

About Zuum

Zuum is a tool that helps brands increase their engagement level with their Facebook fans by knowing what works on Facebook. For their brand and their competitors.
www.ZuumSocial.com

Special Free Facebook Report.

Page Data Averages for 9 Industries.

View or Download Report >>

“X are like Facebook” campaign as a Facebook post

Subscribe Free

If you're not already subscribed, why not get this FREE weekly email of the most impacting posts on Facebook?
Free Sign Up

About Zuum

Zuum is a tool that helps brands increase their engagement level with their Facebook fans by knowing what works on Facebook. For their brand and their competitors.
www.ZuumSocial.com

Here is a 4 step strategy to assist a small business in getting started with social media.

4 Steps

1. Define Your Goals

What are you hoping to accomplish with social media?  There can be more than one goal.  For instance, one goal may be to expand your reach and get new customers from social media.  Another goal may be to provide an additional means of customer service, and a third goal could be to increase your company/brand awareness.

Be realistic! Companies that over commit end up not accomplishing anything.  One idea is to start small by offering a social media only promotion and aiming for a specific number of 10-12 persons that act on the deal.  This is specific and manageable.

2. Define Your Audience

Who are you going to try to reach?  Be specific about a demographic.  Perhaps outline desired customer types such as females ages 22-40 within a 30 minute radius of zip code 46526 that work full time.  Defining who you are trying to reach assists with what type of social networks to be on.  As a general rule, Facebook is going to be a good place if your business is trying to reach a teen through adult demographic because Facebook has simply been adopted like no other social media platform ever.  However, Twitter may not be the place for your business if you are trying to reach older adults who are less tech savvy.  At the same time, Pinterest may be an ideal social network for your business if you are trying to reach a female audience interested in style who is between the ages of 25-38.

3. Define Success Metrics

What will you track and how will you determine success?  Is gaining 1000 Likes on your Facebook Page the end goal?  Having a large follower base does help increase your potential reach but if your engagement level with them is low, this means they are not paying attention to your posts, so is that success? Metrics vary by social platform so it would be important to spend some time identifying what metrics each can offer and how this relates to your goals.

4. Execute. Review. Revise. Execute.

Get started!  Create a Facebook Page for your business at www.facebook.com/pages, and create a Twitter and Pinterest account for your company if those are your target social networks.  Social media is about being social, so plan ahead posts you want to make over the next 3-4 weeks.  Often companies find startup success by planning 1-2 posts five days a week and then adding in 1-3 more that are not planned but more "spur of the moment relevant" posts.  Also, post or plan posts to go out at times when your audience is most likely to be on the network.  As well, look for synergies.  Posting a new product image to a company Facebook Page and also to Pinterest is efficient as it is the same image simply posted to two different services.  Review after 3-4 weeks, make adjustments and forge ahead.  Do this for 6-8 weeks and, if possible, then have a colleague, friend, or outside consultant review your efforts.  This outside perspective can be tremendously valuable to help you make adjustments that can maximize your future efforts.

Tech savvy consumers are here to stay!  Take time to develop a plan to reach them and grow your business!

When it comes to marketing budgets, big isn’t always better in social media.  In fact, smaller budgets sometimes net the best results.

In our industry, most automotive marketing budgets are sizeable.  But like other businesses, share of budget dedicated to social media varies by automotive brand.

The fact is social media levels the playing field between the haves and the have-nots.  With a little bit of ingenuity and knowledge, and by following these three simple steps, it’s possible for small budgets to compete head-to-head with deep pockets to achieve maximum success.

Step #1:   Develop ideas with viral potential.

Marketers who view social media as efficient channels through which they steadily self-promote, where they do more talking than listening, or where they attempt to impose brand messaging and force brand loyalty instead of encouraging it are looking at it all wrong.

Social media is efficient because it’s viral. It isn’t designed for bragging about how great your business is.  It’s about enticing people to brag about your business for you. Essentially, social media offers smart marketers the opportunity to turn a handful of people into an enormous labyrinth of loyal brand ambassadors.

In order to do this, marketers should focus on ideas that have 'cosmopolitan distribution' potential, or the best chance of engaging people to converse, comment, share, like or follow on a mass scale by entertaining them, enlightening them, or by making their lives easier in some way, and by giving them a public forum to voice their opinions.

Probably my favorite example is Ford’s Fiesta Movement.

The concept is simple enough. Give 100 consumers deemed “agents” a Ford Fiesta for six months, ask them to complete a series of missions and document their experiences -- through their own eyes and ears and in their own words – on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.

The results at the end of the first chapter in 2009 were extraordinary.  The campaign garnered 6.5 million YouTube views, 50,000 requests for information about the Fiesta (the majority from new customers) and sales of 10,000 units in the first week of the campaign. The best part?  Ford’s initial Fiesta Movement was reported to have cost a tiny fraction of the expense of a typical national television campaign.

The launch of BMW’s ActiveE electric car is another great example of social media success on a small budget.

In 2010, the automaker created a mini four-film documentary series featuring thought leaders such as Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin and Wired editor-in-chief Chris Anderson to discuss their views about mobility and the future of cities.  BMW showcased the video series “Wherever You Want to Go” online, opting out of traditional TV advertising common for a new model launch, instead soliciting engagement exclusively from social media users.

Then, BMW created an app designed to simulate and track users’ daily driving experiences and their impact on emissions, to determine if an electric car was right for them.

Virtually zero media dollars were spent, yet the campaign netted a staggering 450 million media impressions. Beyond the marketing impact, the automaker says the wealth of data gleaned from the campaign will be used in the design and engineering of future BMW vehicles.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What the Ford and BMW campaigns demonstrate is how an idea with viral potential is worth its weight in gold – in this case, how a great idea proved more effective than the budget (or lack thereof) behind it.

Step #2):  Be ‘resource wise.’

Probably one of the biggest myths about marketing on the social web is that it’s free.  It isn’t and it never was.

Marketers familiar with social media understand it takes a great deal of resources to be successful, including time spent strategizing, developing and implementing campaigns, and consistent man hours dedicated to routinely engaging with audiences. Costs for design and production, analytics, content creation and research can all put a significant dent in budgets too.

Following are a few suggestions to help marketers cut costs and improve ROI.

• Focus on identifying trends surrounding posts and tweets that net the biggest reactions and interactions. Replicate those strategies.
• Like the Ford Fiesta campaign, leverage User Generated Content (UGC) to reduce development and production expenses whenever possible.
• Rely on turnkey social media management apps to automate posts and updates, gather data or monitor conversations to alleviate the burden of time consuming tasks.
• Take a page out of Marketing 101 by integrating your efforts.  Messaging of traditional campaigns should align with social media messaging.  Post broadcast ads to your company’s branded social sites.
• Enable your social media audience to share special offers or discounts with their friends.
• Make your customers the star of your social media campaign.  Post photos of contest winners or reward your most influential followers with exclusive sneak peeks or special discounts.  Fan inclusion is a simple and cost-effective way to build brand awareness.

Step #3): Simplify the sales path.

In Michael Stelzner’s 2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, it revealed that by spending as little as six hours per week in social media marketing, 61 percent of marketers surveyed saw lead generation benefits.

Social media isn’t all fun and games.  As marketers, our bottom line goal is to positively impact the bottom line of our business.  What this means is that any social media marketing campaign – any good marketing campaign for that matter – should include 1) clearly defined goals 2) performance analytics and 3) calls-to-action.

Unlike traditional media where making an immediate purchase after seeing a magazine or billboard ad requires more effort than most new media consumers are willing to expend, social media audiences should never be more than one click away from a call-to-action to learn more about a product or service, or from submitting a request to purchase that product or service.

Bear in mind I’m not suggesting in-your-face, hardcore sales tactics – I’m talking about the ability for users, in one easy step, to request product information or ‘buy now’ if they want.

If you need more inspiration about successful social media campaigns on shoestring budgets, check out highlights from one of my favorite non-automotive campaigns – Tourism Queensland’s groundbreaking “The Best Job in the World.”

Nick Matarazzo is CEO of Jumpstart Automotive Group.

Whatever the case, it could be the indication of power moving to the fans. Of course, it's likely this wouldn't work week in and week out. It's also important to note that despite very high "Like" rates on these posts, there was zero sharing.

Special Free Facebook Report.

Page Data Averages for 9 Industries.

View or Download Report >>

One of three posts from fans gaining most engaging status last week

Subscribe Free

If you're not already subscribed, why not get this FREE weekly email of the most impacting posts on Facebook?
Free Sign Up

About Zuum

Zuum is a tool that helps brands increase their engagement level with their Facebook fans by knowing what works on Facebook. For their brand and their competitors.
www.ZuumSocial.com

So what is a brand to do?

Facebook app development remains an integral part of a brand's presence on Facebook. The brand immersive experiences, like sweepstakes and other fun apps are designed to engage and inspire users to share and they do. But, as brands watch more and more of their traffic come from mobile devices it may be a good time to evaluate what your brand is doing on the one part of your Facebook presence that mobile users can see: Timeline.

The best Facebook brand posts have must-see, must-share content. So how do you take your branded posts from meh to marvelous?

1. Use user generated images in your posts

I know that everyone social media expert on the planet will tell you that social media posts with an image get more attention than those that don't. But, this advice is a bit different.

Ask your community to share pictures, not highly posed shots of them holding your product at salesmanish angles, but real photos of the sort they probably already have. Pictures of their home, kids, pets and the like- whatever category is relevant to your brand. Use them in all of your posts and you will see interaction skyrocket.

People like to see themselves represented and I for one could go the rest of my life without seeing another stock photo used in a Facebook brand post. We implemented this with a client at the beginning of the year and have seen monthly unique interactions grow from a respectable 6% to a totally awesome 40%.

2. Make your posts relatable

How many times have we seen a post with copy like this: "It's back to school time! Like this post if your kids are ready for school." Ugh, snore. Sounds like the opening line of a very boring PTA meeting.

Take that basic idea and add copy with an accompanying image that the mom you are speaking to can relate to: "Here is Barbara from Poughkeepsie enjoying her coffee in peace this morning. Like this if you are enjoying the silence of back to school time!" It's better, more from a mom point of view and the consumer you are trying to engage will have a higher likelihood of interacting with the post.

3. Create inspirational branded images

A lesson we can all learn from the popularity of Pinterest is that inspirational images get shared. That lesson applies to Facebook as well.

Take an inspirational quote about life, home, self-care whatever makes sense for your brand and put it meme style on an image (even better an image shared by a user). Ask your community to share and boom, your branding is out there being shared with a larger audience and is connected with a powerful, inspiring message which is all good. We have been using this tactic for a few months and have had some images shared 20,000+ times.

Creating better Facebook posts means higher engagement from all users, especially those viewing your brand page on a smartphone. Creating killer Facebook apps is still important, but until Facebook allows tab content to be viewed via mobile spending time creating content designed for interaction and sharing is a win.

Leave a comment if you have tips for making the most out of Facebook posts for the brands you represent.

Fan posts, on average, generate about a tenth of the engagement that brand posts do. But this post shows you how simple emotional trigers can escalate, and once the ball starts rolling, it doesn't matter who or where the post came from.

Special Free Facebook Report.

Page Data Averages for 9 Industries.

View or Download Report >>

A YouTube Fan’s Post that Started a lot of Conversation

Subscribe Free

If you're not already subscribed, why not get this FREE weekly email of the most impacting posts on Facebook?
Free Sign Up

About Zuum

Zuum is a tool that helps brands increase their engagement level with their Facebook fans by knowing what works on Facebook. For their brand and their competitors.
www.ZuumSocial.com