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Marketing Symbiosis: How your peers combine traditional marketing with social media, Facebook, blogs, and the rest of the digital world

Daniel Burstein April 21st, 2010

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If you’ve flipped through your favorite print magazine lately, you might have seen an ad for a product you’ve never seen advertised to consumers before – magazines. In fact, magazines now even have their own tagline – The Power of Print.

At the same time, the publishing industry is falling all over itself to promote the supremacy and fresh capabilities possible with every new digital distribution tool (Heart is even looking at buying digital-marketing firm iCrossing). It is quite a post-modern experience for my print version of The Wall Street Journal to try to sell me on reading that issue on the iPad instead.

The way the publishing industry has reacted to the digital world is akin to your wife trumpeting how wonderful your marriage has been at the same time she suggests you would have been much happier with her sister.

I kid because I love

I kid the publishing industry because I love it so much. In my job, I read every publication I can get my hands on, and savor the knowledge awaiting me in every bound issue that arrives in my mailbox.

But I’m also picking on the publishers because I don’t want to turn that harsh spotlight on myself and my fellow marketers. Truth be told, while all these digital developments are exciting and spark the creativity inherent in marketers, they’re also a little scary.

And while there are sublime examples of marketers combining the traditional with the 2.0, many marketers are losing money by not putting the puzzle pieces together correctly.

On our free April 28^th web clinic – Integrate Your Marketing: How one company combined offline and online marketing to increase subscriptions by 124% – we’ll share the latest discoveries to help you do just that. In the meantime, here is a look at how your peers are making the connection…

Start with the problem

For too long marketing budgets have been set and then an arbitrary percentage, say 10%, went to online without a true understanding of its impact. My firm, WCM, no longer differentiates between traditional and online because the separation is not necessary and new tools are constantly being developed. Online is mainstream.

Moving forward: Start with the business problem. Then make a list of the techniques you can use to solve that problem with marketing. Prioritize the list and diagram the best course of action. See where the connections lead – I suspect traditional is driving interaction through online channels.

Example: For a hospital network, we are creating pre-scheduled, topic-specific discussions on Facebook. (Most companies still use Facebook as a broad discussion board). By using traditional marketing (TV, radio, posters), we will drive patients and caregivers to the daily discussion and grow the loyal and active fan base. Monday is a discussion on nutrition and diets for those combating cancer, Tuesday is all about fashion tips (“looking beautiful when your hair is gone”) etc.

Marketing tool selection should be based on how you want to interact with your audience, but more importantly, how they prefer to be communicated with. For example, those struggling with cancer generally crave interaction with people. Social media makes it happen.

– Rick McKenna, President of Wallwork Curry McKenna

 

The hub or the mirror

There are a thousand different techniques used to integrate online and offline marketing. For a lot of companies, the website is the “hub” that all other marketing efforts connect with. And if the website is not a “hub” then it works as a “mirror” to reflect what other channels are promoting.

With that in mind, online and offline marketing work best in tandem. And they work best when there is a common strategy with outlined goals and pre-defined benchmarks for evaluation.

Here are some obvious techniques:

• Developing a plan for accounting for untrackable web sales (it’s going to happen)
• Making sure a website’s URL can be used as a response mechanism
• Including the URL in all marketing efforts (if it fits strategy)
• Allow the website to “enhance” the content or messaging of your offline efforts
• Other than the URL, make sure your site can be found; using keywords in offline marketing that are mirrored through paid and organic search

In the end, your customers do not necessarily care about the techniques used, only that their ease of shopping or ordering or learning, etc. is as seamless and unobtrusive as possible.

– John Kennerty, Director of Marketing at Sinclair Institute

Communication and eliminating silos

You must first align your goals, objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) around one strategy and then speak the same voice across all channels. The communication internally and externally must mesh and meet the customer’s expectations in each channel.

Beyond this, cross promotion and teasers are great. Examples:

• In your catalog, place the copy of a hot blog, but only put the first couple of lines and refer to the blog. Or have a fun fact and point people online to learn more.
• Make your homepage either match any direct mail or retail pieces that are active or at least have a space for it.
• Have a virtual catalog online and/or a virtual showroom.
• Have your email messages, direct mail, direct response television (DRTV) or other advertising hit at the same time with the same message. Make sure your promotions/discounts are available through any ordering method.

There are many other examples and ideas, but at the core you must stay true to your brand and message in all channels.

– Steve A. Cates, VP of Multichannel Marketing at Carrot-Top Industries

A detailed method

Here is a strategy we tested that has worked successfully for us since 1999. We used it for over 30 Fortune 500 clients, mostly publishers. Word of warning: excellent technology will not take a bad campaign and make it good. However, if you have an otherwise excellent effort, it’s worth adding powerful technology behind it. Passing some of Marketing Experiments’ exams would truly help you understand the power of this method.

Overview:

1. A direct mail piece goes out with a common URL and a unique login ID for each recipient.

2. There is an incentive and a deadline to encourage recipients to log in.

3. When they do, the campaign owner will be notified.

4. Additional enhancements (leads delivered by email, SMS, stored and exported to delimited or mainframe formats), are all possible to add value to your client (if you are an agency).

A brief non-technical explanation:

Direct mail list (database if you will) gets an additional field, let’s call it UniqueID. This number can track each individual as well as campaign constants (campaign ID, incentive used, etc).

The recipient is offered an attractive incentive in the mail piece to log in with their unique ID (raise motivation).

When a login occurs, the campaign owner is notified. If a form must be completed, the information we already have about recipient can be conveniently pre-populated (reduced friction).

Notice how even if they DO NOT proceed to claim your offer (but just log in) you are still notified, giving you the ability to identify “warm leads.”

If the user is supposed to complete a form, this can be pre-populated with variables which display values from the same database used for the mailing. When they log in, the form they are supposed to use for ordering is already filled out (they can correct any mistakes / update info and continue).

Some marketers make intentional mistakes, to “push a button” in people to correct a misspelling (and in the process subscribe to something they offered).

Simply having the technology (your prospect receives a mail piece that allows them to log in to claim a desirable bonus) puts the merchant in a better light (reduced anxiety).

If the campaign is an email, the login step can be eliminated. Clients can click and land directly on a pre-populated form or personalized welcome / landing page.

This is something I’ve done for a decade and I can elaborate at length, if anyone is interested in the technical details.

– Dan Banici, Business Analyst at Incentive Server

Win a free ticket

Are your worlds colliding? Or are you a smooth operator at making the digital and the analog flow seamlessly together? Let us know how you integrate traditional and digital marketing in the comments section. Our favorite comment will win a free ticket to the 2010 Online Marketing ROI Tour.

Related Resources

Integrate Your Marketing: How one company combined offline and online marketing to increase subscriptions by 124%

Press Releases — How we tested the impact of press releases on website traffic and inbound links, and found that effective PR can deliver an ROI superior to PPC advertising

Are video clips medium-agnostic?

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]]> http://intelimarketingblog.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/marketing-experiments-blog-features-our-responses/feed/ 0 intelimarketingblog Daniel Burstein traditional and digital marketing http://intelimarketingblog.wordpress.com/2010/04/22/linkedin-tips-updated/ http://intelimarketingblog.wordpress.com/2010/04/22/linkedin-tips-updated/#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:51:23 +0000 intelimarketingblog http://intelimarketingblog.wordpress.com/?p=93 ]]> Both Steve and I have been using LinkedIn the past two years and we’ve found it a remarkable tool. For us it’s proven invaluable (as well as a little addictive).

Here are the basic benefits of this so-called “social media for adults”:

 • You can reach out to almost anyone – and generally get a response.

 • You can ask specific business questions – and have them answered by experts.

 • You can answer questions – and become recognized as an expert.

 • Reconnect with old business acquaintances, alumni and friends.

 • Build a network of strong contacts and business resources.

 • House business info that make you compelling to business and job inquires.

And here are some suggestions to how to make your LinkedIn profile stronger and more valuable:

 • Keep information current.

 • Delete secondary accounts that you may have created previously.

 • Ask questions / answer questions.

 • Recommend. Ask for recommendations.

 • Ask to be introduced through a current contact if you want to really meet someone new.

 • Use your group affiliations to make contacts. People you don’t know are more likely to connect and talk with you if you share the same interests, groups, affiliations, schooling, locale, etc.

 • When communicating, ask questions, be open, have a reason for reaching out.

 • Be respectful of people’s time and interest.

 • Give and get back.

 • Focus on business build, job search – have a strategy in your approach.

Also, under Edit My Profile / Professional Headline type in key words or phrases that describe what you do and what your role(s) are. This Professional Headline area allows you to be ‘searched’ – sort of like a Google keyword search.

Good Luck

John Kennerty

 www.linkedin.com/in/johnkennerty

Steve A. Cates

 http://www.linkedin.com/in/steveacates

Build for people to hear

Business web site must haves…

With the present economy in flux individuals and companies alike are trying to get more from the web. I have been fortunate enough to gain a fair amount of e-commerce experience and been able to launch web only companies/brands, double the sales of established direct marketing web sites. I stay active with linkedin, meetup groups, Google webmaster forums and tests to continue to keep pace with the ever shifting e-commerce world. When I am asked “What should I do to make my web site more effective” I can usually point to a couple simple things.

First and foremost have a passion for both e-commerce and the product that you are promoting. This is a common statement for entrepreneurs looking to start a business and it holds true for someone wanting to have a successful web site with either traffic or sales as the goal. E-commerce is a fluid function that is evolving as customers, technology, competition and continued globalization change the dynamic daily. So have passion for e-commerce be committing to evolving and searching for new techniques and tools to expand your knowledge and reach. Also passion for the product, because in order to build followers you must offer people something they do not get somewhere else in the vast world that is the web.

Second build a site designed for your target with an understanding of search engine optimization principles. What I mean by this is be true to your product or service and build your web site content around that, avoid keyword stuffing or link overloading. However it is prudent to understand what keywords appeal to your customers and try to best incorporate those terms. Never build content or tools for SEO, build content and tools that are for your customers.

Third, and there is debate on the actual impact of this, but I feel strongly it is important for your customers and for search engines. Create user friendly urls, for example if you have a product page that offers ping pong balls configure your url as www.yoursite.com/pingpongballs or www.yoursite.com/ping-pong-balls and if you yellow ones have that url string as www.yoursite .com/ping-pong-balls-yellow. This makes for clear reading and understanding by search engines and customers alike.

Finally let people know you have a site. Register your site with free and lower cost yet high value directories such as dmoz.org, yahoo directory and yellow pages. Start a social media presence with twitter, facebook, squidoo and etc and if feasible for your business model start an affiliate program. If you decide to introduce advertising to your marketing do your homework first, establish a budget, set goals and monitor and tweak keywords, banners or other marketing tools hourly or even real time until you gain some knowledge and understanding of the dynamics of web marketing. I recommend becoming Google Certified, which costs $50 and offers a fair amount of information and as mentioned before utilize tools such as linkedin, meetup groups, webmaster forums and experts like Bruce Clay.

As with any marketing the more you expand the more important analytical tools become important. Google analytics are a great reporting tool to get you started and offers a wealth of data and opportunity for someone just starting out. There are other tools such as Omniture and Channel Advisor. Other good tools to use are the Google page rank and alexa to monitor relevance and comparisons.

This is by no means the end, just a starting point!!! Have fun and remember to build the site for yourself and your customers and avoid building for the search engines or bots. And as always if it looks and sounds too good to be true – it probably is; be careful with link farms, keyword stuffing and guaranteed first page ranking.

Steve A. Cates

Get linkedin with me.

Tweet with me.

And that made me think about my line of work. Are we asking the hard questions? As they say in the world of sales and direct marketing, “if you want the sale, you have to ask for it.” Are we asking for it?

We do a lot of work to push our product. We create nice ads. We spend time on purchasing the right media. We opt to run ads at just the right time in just the right place. We set up our response channels, we mail out catalogs, we ready the company website. We control inventory and costs, we manage time and manage people.

But right at the finish line, we sometimes to forget the most important question, “please buy from us!” As direct marketers we not only have to ask for the sale, we have to poke, prod and direct the customer into the purchase. We have to guide them, cajole them, answer questions, present legitimacy, point out efficiency, save time, make the customer smarter, sexier and more appealing. We have to do it all to get it all.

Now, we’re not in the business of creating illusions. We’re not playing fast and loose with smoke and mirrors. Our marketing is not a bear trap with honey. We have good products and services that will serve consumers well. Yet consumers are busy and times are tough and often times as a consumer you just don’t know that a product is good for you.

So, as marketers, we have to tell them. We have to ask for the sale.

John Kennerty
Marketing Director / Sinclair Institute

http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnkennerty

I remember watching Bill Gates in an interview once and asked if he would change anything and he said no, but he did learn a bunch. Pressed for what he had learned, Gates answered that in the beginning he hired top intellectuals and placed them in leadership positions. He expanded that he quickly learned that top intellect did not transfer into top leadership. What Gates was saying was that leadership skills are different. I agree you do not have to be a top performer or the most intellectual to be an effective leader.

So what qualities do I look for when hiring people to be in positions of leadership? First and foremost I look for communication skills and most importantly face to face communication skills. Management must be able to address and relate to individuals at a basic and complex level to maximize performance from the employee(s) and the company.

Second I look for appropriateness, does the person’s skills and personality fit the role. This is important – personality, you are not at work to make friends, but you still have to build and develop a cohesive team. The basic skills are a must and you have to establish that before you worry about personality. To maximize success you have to have a balance of both.

For me I also look for people I can learn from and that can push me to grow. I try to learn everyday and I am open to learning from anyone. So I look for people who will challenge me to think harder, push my boundaries and test new outlooks. I once had a terrible boss (really no kidding worse boss ever), but he had one statement that stuck with me – A’s hire other A’s, because they are confident, want to build something and are smart enough to know building something grand rarely happens alone — B’s hire C’s, because B’s want to be A’s, but just do not have it in them, they look to hire people who will not challenge them and will follow their instructions to the letter and as soon as the C’s challenges anything the B looks for ways to let them go (B’s are generally controlling micro-managers) — C’s hire F’s, they should have never been in charge and just don’t know what they are doing.Now I am not sure if he borrowed this concept from someone else or if it was his original thought, but I have retained it.

This is just a small sample of my thought process for hiring talent. I hope something in there helps you build your team. In this economy it is very important to “have the right people in the right place at the right time” to quote Good to Great, in order to grow your business.

Steve A. Cates

www.linkedin.com/in/steveacates

www.twitter.com/MachiavelliROI

VP of MultiChannel Marketing at Carrot-Top Industries, Inc.

There is no doubt that you’ve been looking at numbers all year, but sometimes the cumulative numbers show patterns that perhaps had not been apparent all year – sort of a “can’t see the forest for the trees” myopia. You can see the bell curves, you can compare A vs. B, and your pie charts don’t look half eaten.

And because you have the cumulative information AND the information you’ve been analyzing throughout the year, you now have a basis for moving forward. Most media plans are really an evolution of the past year’s plan. It’s all based on what worked, what didn’t, what’s new and what’s the budget like going forward.

It’s now time to strap in and begin negotiations for the upcoming year. Knowing everything about the past year and having a good understanding of what you want to achieve in the upcoming year is your foundation. Your attack begins here. As we all know, information is power. It also allows freedom of movement in negotiations and allows for immediate give and take to get where you want.

Tip 1: Ask for the moon! Ask for add-ons, ask for extra spots, ask for free space, ask for free banner ads. Don’t be hesitant here. An extra, free 1/3 page ad could make all the difference in making a magazine profitable. Plus, media and sales people are in the deal making mood. They’re willing to bend a little here and a little there to get the big prize. All of the supplemental media units can add up.

Tip 2: Do your negotiating early if possible. You might be able to get things your competition won’t be eligible for later. Perhaps a media will only take one product category per issue. Perhaps media space is somehow limited. Perhaps the media is altering its processes and you can be ‘grandfathered in’ the old way. Gather ye rosebuds while ye may…

Tip 3: Remember that the people that you’re negotiating with now are the same people you’ll be dealing with all year. While your objective to create the best plan for your company, having a healthy respect for the person on the other end of the phone is tantamount to a successful negotiation. A ‘Sherman through Atlanta’ approach is best left to the history books. Often, a ‘win-win’ only garners you 85% of what you were looking for. But you want your partners happy too.

John Kennerty
www.linkedin.com/in/johnkennerty

But it can be difficult to quantify. I have witnessed many companies using Facebook, Squidoo, MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn as direct marketing tools.

However, I like to think of social media as more of an indirect marketing tool. Here are my thoughts:  Try to engage your customers with relevant content that holds their attention or builds awareness. Do not try to close a sale every time you engage your customers. Have fun and give them content and interaction.

While trying to engage customers and solidify your brand, how do you as a marketer justify the time and expense? First and foremost track your links.  If you use Google Analytics, Omniture or any other web reporting tool, track the traffic and conversions from your social media. Use any morsel of data that a customer or potential customer offers you and track future action steps. Examples include suggestions for correcting the catalog or web site, product modifications or suggestions, and identifying potential new customer segments. All of these items can be tracked with a ROI.

If you do try to offer a promotion, make sure to source code the promotion as you would any other marketing effort.

Tip on Twitter: Try running your twitter account through Hootsuite.com; they offer some really cool tracking tools for those of us who live and breathe by marketing numbers and analysis.

Steve A. Cates

www.linkedin.com/in/steveacates

www.twitter.com/MachiavelliROI

Perhaps it’s because we’re indoors more. And perhaps it’s because there is less attention for our time and energy. Perhaps the march to Christmas affects our spending. Regardless, at my company, we have nearly 20 years of data showing that the cooler months are the better months for response. We make hay when the sun doesn’t shine. I know there are many others who share the same thoughts.

Because of that, the fall months are great for launching tests of offers and creative. And winning tests from the fall can be launched during the first few months of a new year, a time that is typically the strongest for a lot of direct marketers (as well as retail and brand marketers) as the turning calendar springs hopes of enthusiasm, optimism and resolutions.

Consumers can hardly resist spending for exercise equipment, diet pills, make-up, a new all in one grill, ladder, or leaf mulcher. Most ads you’ll see are extremely compelling both with benefits galore and money back guarantees.

So if the ailing economy has your new customer acquisition campaigns wheezing like a non-Advair user, take comfort that consumers are shaking off the dog days of summer and are opening their wallets with ever greater frequency. Economic indicators seem to point to a 2-steps forward, 1-step back progression. But with each Snuggie sold to keep you warm this winter, you’ll be on the way to sunnier times.

John Kennerty
www.linkedin.com/in/johnkennerty

So, here was my lunchtime scenario. I was looking for the convenience of drive-thru because I wanted to get back to the office. Also, I didn’t want to drive too far. Wendy’s matched the needs I had, but so did a few other restaurants.
Takeaway # 1: Location is advertising. Owning valuable real estate automatically gives you insider access to my wallet.

But, I still had choices. I was hurrying out to grab something to bring back to the office, so that eliminated any sit-down restaurants. And sadly, the choices around the office for a quick drive-thru visit limit me to fast food. And even those options are limited. I could choose Wendy’s, McDonald, Hardees & Subway. Since I always forget about the healthier Subway option I was down to three choices.
Takeaway # 2: Even with limited options, as a consumer, you still have choices.

So what swayed me? What information determined which restaurant I chose? Why Wendy’s over the other two?
Takeaway # 3: I don’t know. I simply don’t know why I chose Wendy’s other than it just sounded slightly better to me at the time.

As a customer, I likely would rate Wendy’s slightly higher than McDonalds and Hardees in terms of customer service, cleanliness and taste. But only slightly. I can’t say I was swayed by compelling advertising, or better product offerings, or any other differentiating factor. Fast food is a commodity in a lot of ways. The only thing that really should have affected my choice was an affinity for a particular brand. And since I’d rate Wendy’s equally with the other two choices, I don’t believe there was a deeply imbedded psychological motive planted by years of tv commercials that influenced my visit to Wendy’s today.
Takeaway # 4: Sometimes (and this is shocking) advertising and marketing don’t play into a buying a decision.

I don’t know if I really have a point with this story. But I would say that, sometimes, “just being there” is good enough for some companies. It’s not a reliable strategy of course, but in this economy I’m sure my $6.52 is welcomed regardless of the methods it took to get me to spend it.

John Kennerty

www.linkedin.com/in/johnkennerty

And it made me wonder, could I articulate how social media impacts my brand?  Could I do it in a 2 minute elevator ride? Or while standing at booth at the DMA? Or (gasp) in an interview?  Could you? 

Here are three things I believe about social media and why it’s important.  Mind you, I’m tackling this quickly over lunch.  If you want more information, check out www.WOMMA.org.

Thought # 1:  People have talked about, are currently talking about, and will always talk about your brand, regardless of whether you’re involved or not involved in those conversations.  So, if you’d like to have any skin in the game, then you need to pay attention to those conversations.  As part of the marketing team you have a responsibility to be talking to your customers. Remember though, most conversations are organic and are created by your customers’ own decisions (however influenced) as well as your ongoing marketing efforts.  Your approach shouldn’t be to shake up the cosmos, but you should feel comfortable monitoring, guiding, correcting, arbitrating and being accepting of the conversations that are occurring.  You have an opportunity to engage these folks and be helpful.  In the end, those efforts could/should come back to benefit your company. 

 Thought # 2:  No matter what your brand, no matter what your niche, no matter how small or insignificant or unknown your brand is, there are always a core group of consumers who live and breathe your brand.  They can’t imagine not using your product or service.  They will talk to friends and family about your brand.  And best of all, some of these folks are open and responsive to communicating with you.  There is essentially a “club” of your customers that don’t even know they are part of a greater community of like minded individuals.  Take advantage of that by offering to create a way to link all of these folks together.  Create a special place on your website for them to communicate.  Incentivize them to share reviews or sign up new customers.  Allow them special access to new products or special offers.  Allow them to create user generated content for your site.  Everyone wants to be important and wants to be part of something larger.  People want to help influence others.  There is real opportunity here.

Thought # 3:  As marketers, we all want to launch a whiz-bang social media program that will revolutionize, entertain, excite and compel.  But let’s face it, there are costs involved in terms of dollars, planning, thought, time, effort, etc.  If you can afford this, then fantastic.  If not, or if you can only ramp up slowly, then ramp up slowly.  Start simple.  Reach out to your top 5% of customers.  Tell them you’re starting a new “insiders club” of your best customers.  Ask for emails.  Ask customers to join a Facebook page or a Twitter feed.  Anoint Linda from PR to be your point person for them.  There are a hundred ways to skin the cat.  You just have to figure out which skinned cat works for your company.  Just give your customers a way to respond and interact.  It doesn’t have to be whiz-bang.  It just has to be honest and real.  If your product or service is important to your customers and you offer them the chance to help you market your product, they will.  This is not gimmickry.  This is the future of advertising (albeit only a tool that should be combined with other old school and new school approaches).  Embrace the change.

John Kennerty

http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnkennerty