Your Brand Has A Story to Tell: The Value of Storytelling in Your Marketing

Happy Monday! 

We're kicking off a week of social media focus on the value and power of storytelling in your marketing with this infographic.

Your brand has a story to tell, but do you know the optimal times to do so on social media?













What would you add to this infographic? What tools do you use to post on social media? Tell us about your social media experience in the comments below!

How do you tell your brand's story? Tweet us about it:

@RME360

             By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360

4 Marketing Mishaps Your Brand Can Avoid Today

Mistakes. Accidents. Mistakes. Disasters. They happen to the best and the most prepared of us. In marketing, they happen, sometimes quite historically  and sometimes at great expense. 

An effective marketing campaign sparks conversation about your brand and what it offers, so one could argue that Coca-Cola made a genius marketing decision as opposed to a mishap when it shocked audiences with New Coke in 1985. 30 years later we are still enamored with Coca-Cola Classic and thankful for its return. Does that have anything to do with how the company took the old version off the shelves during the 80s Cola War, a move that prompted notable negative response and resulted in a substantial increase in sales? Coca-Cola hasn’t admitted to such a ploy, but many pundits, fans and conspiracy theorists think otherwise.

If you have the next great New vs. Classic Coke strategy up your marketing sleeve, that’s great. But if you don’t, here are 4 marketing mishaps you want to avoid as you plan that strategy:

1.  Lack of research and testing

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice. How do you create a campaign that will speak to your prospects and clients and get them to respond? Testing, testing, testing. Don’t guess as to what your audiences wants from your brand; research their needs and test different offers, prices and packages. Begin your research by asking them; they’ll tell you.

2. Using too many social networks

 Of course your brand is represented on social media. (It is, right?) But there’s being on social media and then there’s being on the right social media. Who is your audience? What platforms do your audience members use?

Research shows that Facebook reigns supreme as the most popular social media and the level of user engagement has increased. That’s great information to have, but what exactly does that mean for your brand? What types of content do the 71% of online adults who use Facebook best respond to and engage with? More importantly, what types of content are your audience members seeking to engage with?

3.  Failing to retain customers

Research shows that 71% of customers have ended their relationship with a company due to poor service and that it companies focus more of their attention on customer acquisition rather than customer retention despite that acquisition costs 7x more. Don’t forget that your current customers have needs; failing to retain them as customer can impact the power of your brand and your bottom line.

4. Failing to use (or optimize) hashtags

There’s a triangular approach I like to keep in mind when it comes to hashtags:

  

Hashtagify.me can help you identify hashtags related to your industry, and RiteTag.com can help you determine if your hashtag is overused. Hashtags are now integrated in multiple social media platforms and have made a comfy home for themselves across pop culture. Using them effectively makes it easier to find you and your content as well as provides your brand with a convenient way to be a part of a variety of conversations. 

Isn't that exactly what your brand wants? 

By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360

This 30 Day Challenge Is Just What Your Social Media Needs

Yes, it can be a struggle to come up with interesting content to post across your brand's social media accounts each day. How do you deal with that struggle? Why not try this 30 day challenge?

See this link for a larger version of the infographic. 

By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360

Marketing to Your Social Media Audience is A Two-Way Conversation

This week, our social media content focused on a critical topic: marketing to different audiences. Being able to understand the concerns of different audiences and connect with them in meaningful ways is an art that should show through in each of your marketing efforts. But sometimes that’s easier said than done.

We often forget that marketing should open the door to a two-way conversation, not simply a way to for your brand to be heard.

The following list can help you with your social media audience, but many of these tips can be applied to other audiences as well. Think of them as tips to create those two-way conversations.

Establish a level of trust.

Why should prospects trust you? What resources and services can you offer? What interest have you shown in your audiences’ various values and concerns? Your marketing should easily answer these topics so that your audiences will be compelled to open up to you.

Show your social media audience that you’re trustworthy by sharing client testimonials, posting links about trends that affect their communities and providing resources that speak to those trends.

Earn your connections. 

How do you show your audiences the way your business works? How do you put a face to your brand? How do you connect your brand to their lives? What kinds of conversations are you having with your audiences? Beginning such conversations may take longer with marketing efforts such as direct mail or other traditional media, but that’s not the case with social media.  Like Skip Prichard, CEO of OCLC, reminds us that “traditional media shape brand preference," but “digital leads to loyalty.”

Show your social media audience you care about connecting with them by posting behind the scenes videos of your office, sharing interviews with your brand’s leaders as well as team members and engaging with them via entertaining content. 

Bring back story time.

We loved story time as children, right? Of course we did. And we love it as adult consumers as well. Think of the poignant Anheuser Busch commercial honoring New York City that featured the well-branded and well-loved Clydesdale horses. The music, the landmarks, the clopping of hooves and finally the bow of the majestic horses to the New York City skyline come together to tell a story of sorrow, love and homage in just over a minute. The power of storytelling in marketing is irrefutable.

Show your social media audience your effective use of storytelling by creating interesting Vine videos, connecting your marketing to popular and timely topics and shaping your marketing around the human side of your brand. 

Respond to all feedback.

Responding to positive feedback is easy. You can thank your audiences for their thoughts and assure them that what they think matters to your brand. Responding to negative feedback is of course a bit more difficult. You may be tempted to ignore such feedback or to delete it altogether. Instead of following those inclinations, be respectful to your commenters and reassure them that a solution is in the works. (And then make sure it is.) This goes back to our second tip, as it allows you to be open and honest and show your audiences that your business is one that cares about earning their loyalty.

Show your social media audience you care about their feedback by being active on your chosen accounts and providing consistent responses.

Be likable.

Sure, you want to talk to your audiences about their needs and how you can serve them, which inevitably means discussions of business. But there’s no need to be stoic or unpleasant during those talks or for that matter any talks leading into to the brass tacks. Think of how you like for brands to talk with you and what makes you loyal to them. Likability is right up there with price and value for many consumers; you may offer a great deal to your audiences, but if they don't see you as likable, their business can quickly find its way down the street to your competitors.

Show your social media audience how likable you are by listening to them and focusing on more than just the brass tacks. Need inspiration? Check out Senator Cory Booker’s Twitter account. 

      By: Susan Gail Taylor, Copywriter and Marketing Coordinator at RME360