Modern Marketer: Part Artist, Part Scientist

I love these infographics! People always ask me what I do and it's hard to explain sometimes. I'd say I'm a bit of both... marketing "artist" and marketing "scientist".

I love measuring our campaigns to show how we're adding value but also to figure out what's working and what's not.

And I love the creative side of marketing. Design, visuals, messaging, making sure it makes sense for our brand and, most importantly, that it resonates with our customers and prospects.

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I guess I'm a little from column A and a little from column B.

Businesses, Social Media & Risk

Organizations are still trying to figure out how social media will fit into their overall marketing fabric. And that's not an easy question to answer.  There are all sorts of risks associated with social media. Social media has an air of openness, frequency and connectedness.

The very essence of social media can pose many risks to organizations because there is a lot less control over the message.  Does that mean you shouldn't do it?

Some tips on avoiding risks and being successful in social media:

• Frequency - people signed up to your blog/twitter/fan page for a reason.  They want to keep up to date on what you have to say.  Don't abuse this but don't be lazy either.  If you update too often you're bombarding them and they will unfollow you.  Update once a year and either they'll forget you are there, or take you off their list for adding no value to them.
• Be real and empathetic - As a company, you don't want to air your dirty laundry but it's important to address what the public thinks and feels.
• Listen - this is probably the best use of social media for companies but also the riskiest.  I read an article how someone twittered about Jet Blue and within hours Jet Blue was following them on Twitter.  Understanding what the public really thinks will save you.  You can't correct what you don't know is wrong.  Have a plan in place to quickly address issues, not EVERY issue you see people complaining about, but unanimous issues because chances are if it's come up more than 5 times you can bet a lot more people feel the same way who don't have access to technology to scream about it.
• Set up controls - many social media channels now have tools that can help organizations get on board while managing risks. Blogs, for example, have settings that allow you to approve comments before they are published.  Warning: be careful about unapproving posts though, allowing legit complaints on to your blog comments are essential in "being real".  Responding to the legit complaint is a way of showing acknowledgment of the complaint and also that you value their opinion and are taking necessary steps to correct it.

Companies that have it close

Yesterday, I blogged about companies that put out ad campaigns that don't match the company's core values. Today I wanted to talk about companies that I think are close...

1) I'm not a mac user, but Apple has got it going on.  Their advertising hits all the sweet spots of their company, it actually represents their culture and mission.  They're fun, hip, innovative, easy to use.

Honestly some of their ads are so innovative.  My favorite is the iPod Shuffle.  Having no screen on an MP3 player was almost a guarantee product killer.  Give it a name like the Shuffle, advertise... Ta Da! it's random, and suddenly you have a category killer.

2) Deloitte.  It's not perfect and I might be bias because I work there but I feel that the branding really does represent the company's core beliefs.  The brand is clean, it uses a lot of whitespace and abstract perspectives.  It's traditional with a contemporary twist.  It communicates our values of integrity, casual, approachable, not stuffy.

It's important to make sure your brand image matches your client experience.  Otherwise it's like over-promising and under-delivering.  The ads lure in the customer and they expect a certain experience and when it is different from their expectation it leads to dissatisfaction.

You know how it is, where you watch a great movie trailer and you hear all this hype, you go and watch it and your expectations are so high, the movie rarely meets your expectations.  Honestly, I love going to see movies I know nothing about.  I always end up loving those movies.

Guerilla Marketing

It's hard to gain mindshare, we are so bombarded by advertisements that the only way to cope is to block it out. Which only goes to push marketing to be that much more in your face. Consumer marketing regularly uses guerilla marketing tactics (people with screens on their backs, larger than life posters on the side of buildings, wrapped around cars, murals, just to get you to look.

Who says B2B marketing has to be boring? I want to shake up the way B2B does marketing and have always wondered how and if these tactics could be effective in B2B settings.

I just feel that B2B marketing is starting to over do it with the sell sheets, case studies, whitepapers. The impact is not as strong as it used to be, similar to the way billboards and lightboxes are losing its impact on consumers.

It's difficult though because often times it's a service we are selling. How do you posterize something that is invisible?