Posts tagged as:

social network marketing

When Customers Attack: 2 Simple Questions to Avoid Social Media Failure

by Tim on February 8, 2012

We talked yesterday about the first rule of social marketing. Today we’ll look at how that rule works in practice.

As many of you already know, McDonald’s thought it would be fun recently to get their customers talking about their experiences with the brand. So they asked their customers to post their memories of the fast food chain on Twitter using the “#McDStories” hash tag.

Yeah. That went well.

Some of the more memorable tweets?

#mcdstories The dude in front of me at the drivethru was so stoned he couldn’t find the pull up spot where they cart the food out to you.

— Clark Bacon (@baconwc123) February 7, 2012

McDonald’s Pink Slime Defeated By @jamieoliver youtu.be/dCqKl4Q3hW4 @TheYoungTurks @AnaKasparian #McDStories

— Tom Hanc (@tytmedia) February 6, 2012

As much as people choose to make this a spectacular social media fail – and it is – it’s worth noting that people saying bad things about McDonald’s food isn’t new. Or news. Lots of people poke fun at the fast food giant all the time. At least one notable stand-up comedian has virtually built his career around the idea. McDonalds’ mistake was giving sanction to a dialogue that’s been going on for some time—and paying to promote the conversation on Twitter.

Before you make the same mistake, here are two things to consider:

Is it reasonable to expect customers to say only nice things about you? Or,
Can you give them a specific reason to say only nice things about you?

Since we’ve already looked at the risks of number 1, let’s look at an example of number 2 for a moment.

Ben & Jerry’s ice cream launched a micro-site last year designed to raise awareness of World Fair Trade Day. Visitors to the site simply post their tweets from the micro-site, which then uses any remaining characters to promote the cause.

Why does it work?

Well, ignoring for a moment the good will Ben & Jerry’s has built up with its customers over the years (and, yes, it surely plays a role), who is going to send a tweet that bashes a company that’s promoting a worthwhile cause? Even those with an axe to grind against Ben & Jerry’s would come off looking much worse if they high-jacked the brand’s initiative the same way as happened to McDonalds.

Additionally, the fit between cause and brand helps a ton; people who truly love Ben & Jerry’s typically share (or at a minimum don’t mind) its long-held, long-stated values. McDonald’s also sells salads, while ice cream remains a fatty, high-calorie food. But one got pummeled and the other praised. Both the brand and the campaign have enough good will to succeed on their own. But, like cookie dough and ice cream, the combination worked even better.

Are you getting enough value out of your small business website? Want to make sure your business makes the most of the local, mobile, social web? thinks helps you understand how to grow your business via the web, every day. Get more than just news. Get understanding. Add thinks to your feed reader today.

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Tim Peter & Associates helps companies from startups to the Fortune 500 use the web to reach more customers, more effectively every day. Take a look and see how we can help you.

Technorati Tags: F-commerce, Facebook, social, social commerce, social marketing, social media, social search, social strategy, tweets, twitter

Tagged as: social, social business, social commerce, social e-commerce, social ecommerce, social marker, social marketing, social media marketing, social media profiles, social network, social network marketing, social networking, social networks, social search, social search strategy, social shopping, social strategy, social tools, social web

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The First Rule of Social Marketing (Social Marketing Fundamentals)

by Tim on February 7, 2012

in Social Media, social strategy

Dave Thomas wrote a great guest post yesterday that looked at where social media fits in your marketing plans. Of course, knowing where to start is half the battle.

So, where do you start?

By following this one simple rule: Social is people.

While there are specific “tips and tricks” to keep in mind about each new social network you use to market your business, the key point is that you’re looking to connect with people, not just sell your wares. People spend time in online social networks for a variety of reasons. But we can summarize those reasons down to just these few:

Staying in touch with friends
Staying in touch with family
Staying in touch with business associates

Keeping those three separate matters. Because you’ve got to understand where your business falls in the social spectrum.

According to research from the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project, adults 50 and older cite “staying in touch with family” as their top reason for using social networks. Adults under 50 cite “staying in touch with friends.” Surprisingly, neither group says a big reason is “keeping up with products or services that I use now and again (or even every day, for that matter).” In fact, very few people use social networks to find new friends, find out what celebrities are doing or even find people to sleep with, er… date.

Again, people—your potential customers—aren’t looking to find new relationships using social networks. They’re looking to deepen the relationships they already have. So it’s rare that you’re going to find new customers using social networks, unless your existing customers tell their friends about you.

Now, how is that going to happen?

Don’t worry. We’ll touch on that in our next post.

For now, you need to come to grips with the notion that most people on most social networks aren’t there to connect with you. Yes, you can use social networks to market your brand. But you won’t do it successfully if your approach suggests it’s all about you. It’s not. As with most marketing in the modern world, it’s all about your customers.

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Tim Peter & Associates helps companies from startups to the Fortune 500 use the web to reach more customers, more effectively every day. Take a look and see how we can help you.

Technorati Tags: social, social commerce, social marketing, social media, social search, social strategy, strategy

Tagged as: social, social business, social commerce, social e-commerce, social ecommerce, social marketing, social media marketing, social media metrics, social media profiles, social network, social network marketing, social networking, social networks, social search, social search strategy, social shopping, social strategy, social tools, social web

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Super Social and Search Tips Before the Big Game (Small Business E-commerce Link Digest – February 3, 2012)

by Tim on February 3, 2012

in E-commerce, Social Media, del.icio.us links, social strategy

This weekend marks one of the biggest days of the years for marketers: the annual Ad Bowl among commercials during some kind of football game or something (I kid, I kid… let’s face it: my beloved Giants are going to crush QB-turned-male-model Tom Brady). But, with props to the great Gary Vaynerchuk, here are some tips to help you crush your competition:

ProBlogger looks at a 4 point formula for developing irresistible content.
Cutting right to the chase, Smedio offers an excellent Small Business Social Media Cheat Sheet.
Speaking of big ad budgets, Business Insider reports that CPG powerhouse P&G is going to slash its marketing budget in favor of social and search. Seems that even old dogs are beginning to learn some new tricks, eh?
Mark Suster looks at balancing web and mobile in a post called “Web Second, Mobile First” that’s well worth the read as you plan your mobile strategy.
And, finally, there’s been a lot of news about the importance of social sites for driving traffic and business. First, one study suggests Pinterest drives more traffic than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined. But, HubSpot offers data suggesting LinkedIn provides much greater value at driving leads. My take? Follow a “core and explore” methodology, focusing first on core initiatives, then testing new channels to see what works best for your business.

Of course, conducting successful tests requires solid measurement. If you’re not sure how to do that, take a look at our Website Analytics Fundamentals series or drop me a line and I’ll give you a hand.

Have a great weekend, Big Thinkers. Enjoy the game. And, say it with me now… Let’s go G-Men!

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And while you’re at it, don’t forget to follow Tim on Twitter.

Tim Peter & Associates helps companies from startups to the Fortune 500 use the web to reach more customers, more effectively every day. Take a look and see how we can help you.

Technorati Tags: Google, google, Google Plus, Google+, Google+ Pages, LinkedIn, social, social commerce, social marketing, social media, social search, social strategy, YouTube