Tagged with Marketing

What should I be measuring via social media monitoring?

Social Media Monitoring with Alterian SM2

‘Likes’ ‘Retweets’ and ‘Reblogs’ are all well and good as a shallow metric but not much more. Use them  as a guide indicating how effective your social activity is progressing.  Report and monitor the things that truly matter to your business, the deep metrics that deliver consistency of reporting and value in terms of business critical KPI (Key Performance Indicators). If your boss is only asking for these shallow metrics then you will need a considered and logical argument up your sleeve as to why they are not the right ones.

The things you should measure are the very behaviours you are looking to alter by implementing a change to your existing marketing repertoire. That is why you undertake a campaign or a certain strategy. To make something better. To improve leads, brand awareness, renewals or whatever it might be.

Measure the uplift, the money in the bank and the cost per renewal against the cost of acquisition. Compare and contrast. Benchmark your activity. Go historical if it paints a better picture but measure the numbers where the needle shifts from the start of new activity and where it ends up as a result of your considered marketing campaign.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Some common web content management issues affecting all sites and organisations

These include:

  • How do we make it easy, for everyone who needs to, to contribute to the site but keep CONTROL? 
  • How do multiple contributors update MULTIPLE websites simultaneously without chaos resulting? 
  • How is the approved corporate BRAND retained across the site? 
  • How is this information published and how is the STRUCTURE of the site administered? 
  • How quickly can content be published to the websites and to EMAIL, BLOGS and other SOCIAL MEDIA Channels? 
  • Organisations appreciate that content viewed through MOBILE devices content is as importance, how can we maintain consistency across the two platforms?
  • What is the difference between Open and Closed CMS?
  • How much should I pay for a CMS? 

Over the coming weeks I shall answer these web content management questions and more in a series of blog posts. If you have any more burning questions you would like me to explore then please do leave a comment below.  

…if you are too impatient to wait for the blog series, take a look at some Alterian Web Content resources

Tagged , , , , ,

WEBINAR – Lifting the lid on mobile marketing: Mobile & Direct Marketing

In our last mobile marketing webinar we discussed how to select the correct channel for your messaging. In the second of this series of five, we will explore the opportunities of Mobile and Direct Marketing.

Mobile marketing is no longer just about sending an SMS message or having an iPhone App – Integrating mobile into the overall marketing mix will unlock huge benefits for those that get it right.

Webinar Two: ‘Mobile & Direct Marketing’ takes place on Tuesday 12th April at 10am (UK)

This webinar will focus on:

  • Integrating mobile seamlessly with other marketing channels
  • Achieving a joined-up technology solution from different suppliers
  • Using mobile to deliver a profiled one-to one relationship with your customers

This session is a must for Marketing Managers and Marketing Directors tackling the growing need to engage and sell to customers via mobile phones, smart phones and tablets.

Sign up to Webinar Two: Mobile & Direct Marketing

Future webinars in the ‘Lifting the lid on mobile marketing’ series
Device Technology: Monday 9th May @10am UK
E-commerce: Tuesday 14th June @ 10am UK
Social Media: Tuesday 12th July @ 10am UK

 

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Community is a China Shop, don’t be the Bull

Headfirst and with nothing more than smash and grab intentions of getting a cheap sale from a community is dangerous. If you don’t want to build your own community and you want to join an existing group, think about how you conduct yourself. Be open, be helpful and be patient to work your way into the environment of a complex community structure.

You wouldn’t gate-crash a party or turn up uninvited with not so much as a bottle of wine; same applies to online pockets of interest and conversation. Bring something of value and work with those around you to become part of the furniture over time.

Community is a delicate thing, I am trying hard not to extend the metaphors any further than I already have done but I think it is important to blend into the background of any community within which you are present. It is often said in sporting terms that the best Referees or Umpires are the ones you don’t have anything to say about at the end of a game. If things are ticking along nicely, it makes your job easier, the community better and this sporting reference accurate.

Adaptability within communities is a deft skill too. Community is not a one-size fits all entity. Whether your community is hosted on your website or an existing, well-established group on LinkedIn, you need to speak the right language at the right time.

Tagged , , , , , ,

Alterian SM2 grows a red nose for Comic Relief

Alterian_sm2_logosmall

Today is the UK fund-raising chucklefest that is Comic Relief and John Fleming, our VP of Field Marketing, has kindly declared that for every demo of SM2 that we book today, he will donate £5 of his own money to Comic Relief.

This is a great idea and we really want to ‘make him pay’! Do get in touch with me if you would like a demonstration of Alterian SM2 and most importantly, to help raise some money for the Comic Relief cause.

Alterian SM2 is a business intelligence product that provides visibility into social media and lets you tap into a new kind of data resource; your customers’ direct thoughts and opinions.

It allows you to easily capture and analyze data from social media channels to monitor your brands, identify key communities and influencers, address customer service issues, and generate new sales leads.

Contact me now to get involved james.ainsworth@alterian.com or @AlterianJames

 

Tagged , , , , ,

WEBINAR – Lifting the lid on mobile marketing: Choosing the Correct Channel

“Global mobile web browsing will soon exceed PC browsing, which means that every organisation will need to deliver their content to the ever increasing array of mobile devices.”

Our new series of mobile marketing webinars will provide an over-arching review of all things mobile and will be followed by a look at mobile technology and one-to-one engagement from 4 different perspectives of mobile:- direct marketing, device technology, e-commerce and social media.

Webinar One: ‘Choosing the Correct Channel’ takes place on Tuesday 15th March at 10am (UK) 

This webinar, featuring Phillip Clement of bemoko, will provide an understanding of the channels available and how best to integrate them into the overall marketing mix.

  • Pick Technology:  Mobile offers a vast array of technology platforms; some have populous appeal but might not actually have deep penetration in terms of users

  • User Experience: Adding an extra layer of multiple technology layers into the mix can elongate or complicate the user journey

  • Context & Content: Understanding context and content for an elegant and engaging experience increases take-up and viral spread

  • Integrating native apps & online apps: The early adopters of an integrated offline and online app experience will lead the market

  • Mobile web and app performance standards & analytics: Understanding the impact of good quality standards for website code and the use of best practices in mobile delivery is crucial for good brand recognition and being able to measure success on many levels

Phillip Clement is Sales & Marketing Director for bemoko, an Alterian partner. Phillip has been building strategic partnerships across the mobile industry for more than 20 years and is now responsible for bemoko’s business development and driving sales of bemokoLive – a powerful web development platform which makes it easy for developers to deliver true multi channel web experiences.

Future webinars in the ‘Lifting the lid on mobile marketing’ series
Direct Marketing: Tuesday 12th April @10am UK
Device Technology: Monday 9th May @10am UK
E-commerce: Tuesday 14th June @ 10am UK
Social Media: Tuesday 12th July @ 10am UK
Tagged , , , , , , , ,

LIVE BLOG: Talk is cheap but dialogue is priceless – Breakfast Briefing

Marketing to customers isn’t like it used to be. No longer can you expect to yield a good ROI from generic marketing to the masses.  The only way to stand out, to be heard, and to rouse a response is to build a relationship with your customers, and the only way to do this is to treat them as individuals with distinct needs and requirements.  This can only be achieved through dialogue; listening, responding appropriately and facilitating conversation when necessary. Follow the Breakfast Briefing featuring GSK and EuroStar as they share their methodology in an Alterian and Occam combined event.   

<a href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=2303c97423″ _mce_href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=2303c97423″ >Talk is cheap but dialogue is priceless – Breakfast Briefing</a>

Tagged , , , , , , ,

“Digital Dialogue”: Old v New

Remember the 80s? Direct Mail was more ‘Wham!’ and as hope-for-the-best as Wimbledon FC and their patented long-ball game. I was only born in ’84 but I can safely say that it probably wore bad knitwear too.

The messaging was overtly mass market and mass push. The result was predominantly poor response rates and ineffective. Costly marketing campaigns were sure enough to be eschewed by a more sensitive approach that brought with it the rewards a bit of effort in cultivating data ought to deliver and just that little bit more future-proofed.

One-size fits all just won’t cut it anymore. It didn’t really deliver in the first place. One-to-few or even one-to-one opportunities are now an easily achievable reality and enable a short, medium and/or long-term relationship with a customer or prospective customer. This doesn’t just apply to direct marketing either and just you wait til you join up all your marketing dots under one system.

Traditionally, Direct Marketers have steered clear of ‘technology the distraction’. Now, faced with a consumer that gears their purchasing behaviours around ‘technology the enabler’ – be it through price comparision sites, word of mouse, barcode scanning mobile apps, or product reviews – it is now crucial that marketers harness the technology that can deliver the relevant insight which informs their carefully crafted marketing message.

Technology and the empowered consumer have created the need for a mind shift in most organisations. No more thinking in terms of product to consumer but more in terms of identifying and supplying to the consumer need(s) and not just at the point of delivery. Let there be consumer influence from product development and all the way through your business. Where there is data, there is great opportunity.

Have you seen my Digital Dialogue Mindmap?

 

Tagged , , , , , , ,
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 198 other followers