The who vs. whom rule is one we don’t find ourselves considering very often. Facebook algorithms? Yes. Instagram ethics? Yes. Blogging strategies? Yes.
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The Momentum of the Mommy Network
When we talk about the Internet as a powerful tool for marketing, we often use words like “viral,” “impact,” “word of mouth,” and “influencers.” For businesses that sell products or offer a highly specialized service, the dream result of a digital campaign is for their cause to be taken up by influencers with big followings—one or two blog endorsements and a glamorous Instagram shot and the rest is the stuff of marketing case study history. The reality of this working is getting big in Facebook groups.
Perhaps no one online community evidences this phenomenon as perfectly as the wholly unique tribe that is the mommy network. As a new mom, I’ve had occasion to witness the truly amazing force of this demographic of Internet-using women. When a great product or service gains favor among a segment of moms, the impact is like digital dominoes—for brands that make it into the spotlight, the momentum is accompanied by soaring sales.
Individual Facebook groups, alone, can have thousands of members that fit your target audience (I belong to one called Pregasauruses & Mammasauruses that has 4,315 members). The comments stream in nonstop, round the clock. What is the best brand of baby sunscreen? Which airline is best with gate-checking a car seat? Which organic oatmeal did your baby like best? Check out the forums of any major parenting website and you’ll see similar, seemingly endless questions, worries, anecdotes, opinions… And when something catches on—like, for example, this Baby Banana toothbrush that a clever mom somewhere discovered was also great for teething—you’ll see the Amazon sales figures climb.
Making Facebook Groups Work For Your Business
So what can businesses—even those without something to market to parents—learn from this network? (Well, for one, reconsider: Can you think of a better way to market to moms?) But two: Don’t underestimate the influence of a passionate online community. Uncover those niche populations among your target consumers and get them on board—send samples, invite them to events, seek their input, court their favor. You will more than break even on the initial cost of acquisition when the momentum builds and the Internet engines start churning in your favor—for free.
The Flip Side
Of course, there is a dark side to marketing to a passionate online community: if your product fails to live up to standards—or among moms, endangers anyone’s child or breaks too easily—recovery is a massive uphill battle. Word of mouth in these communities is often one-way; introducing a new perspective via messaging from the brand down is incredibly difficult. It’s yet another good reminder that in the end, all the hype in the world won’t last without good quality (but hopefully that’s a lesson your mom taught you).
Show & Tell: How You Can Make a Bigger Impact with Pictures
What you see is what you get, and lately content marketing has evolved from purely words on a page to pictures as well. Why pictures? Because people like pictures. They’re quicker at getting the point across, they’re more engaging and do a better job at involving customers and prospects. Who can’t relate to a good picture?
Taking your business to the next level can depend on how well you capitalize on visual content marketing trends, and how well you capitalize depends on how well you understand what those trends are. Because, when it comes to seeing the big picture, nothing does the trick quite like, well, pictures.
Get Your Customers Involved
You want your brand to be on the front of your customers’ minds, and people remember the activities they participate in. So if you tap into the creativity of your client-base by asking them to submit visual content they have created that tells their own stories, you’re not only guaranteeing a marketing strategy that people care about, but you’re also lightening the burden of having to come up with unique and captivating content on your own.
Make It Easy
Another way you can engage customers to your brand’s advantage is to make it easy for them to share their experience with your brand on social media. For example, if you’re running an event, provide free Wi-Fi access and suggest relevant hashtags participants can attach to the pictures they take while attending. Of course, when you use those photos later, you’ll need to give credit to the customers who took them, but that’s a very small cost considering the return on customer engagement.
Show Them
If it’s not packaged in a creative and striking way, then it really doesn’t matter if your product or service is unique or game-changing; people aren’t going to remember or want it. Visual content marketing shows your customers why they need what you’re offering, highlights its advantages and how it can improve their lives and increases brand retention. Picture-less content marketing is too often in one ear and out the other.
Be Human
Every business wants to dispel the notion that they are a faceless organization bent on profit and nothing else. Pictures help put a face to a name, showing your customers you are equally human and approachable. Visual content marketing helps to answer questions like “How does this business touch people’s lives?” Customers feeling like they can relate to a business is the first step towards customers interacting with a business, which is, after all, the goal.
If you need help putting a face to your brand, we are the content “make-up artists” that can help you show off your best side. Feel free to reach out and schedule an appointment today!
Image courtesy of DraftFCB, Germany
How to Create Great, Shareable Content: Be Vince Vaughn
Everyone wants their content to go viral. In fact, all too often people come to us and say, ‘I’d like a viral blog post,’ as if they were ordering a burger from Five Guys. Viral posts are a big reason most everyone agrees why Content is King (there are many other reasons that matter more). But what they really want is shareable content…because you can’t make something go viral (that’s what tens of thousands of other people do).
What is Shareable Content?
Shareable content is something that has the potential to go viral. When someone sees it, it elicits the response you’re going for and gives them that nudge to go ahead and share it. It crosses over to the viral post realm when enough people do just that.
The next question is, how do you create it?
And while we could dive into a detailed analysis of the human psyche and our desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves…we won’t. We’ll keep it more simple: you create something of value — be it valuable information, something entertaining, et cetera.
But What’s a Good Example of Shareable Content?
If you’re looking for something that will increase the odds of your post going viral, there are a few things you can try. Like becoming Vince Vaughn.
When you’re Vince Vaughn, you have a good chance getting of your antics shared across the internet. And if they just happen to be a witty way of promoting your upcoming movie, such as creating hilariously awful stock images and giving them away, bravo on you.
Moral of the story: give your audience something they will react to, and then let them run with it.
If you’d like to download the full range of Vaughn’s stock photos, click here. And if you’d like to take a stab at creating some really great shareable content for your business, feel free to drop us a line.
Content is King: Why It Matters
It is a basic truth that when we are surrounded long enough by any one thing, we eventually take it for granted. It’s not that the usefulness has lessened (though certainly in some cases the perceived value has); it’s just that we become conditioned to expect it. Content, and specifically digital content, is something most of the computer-using population (aka everyone) now takes for granted. Think about it: Do you ever flip open your laptop in the morning and fear: Maybe this is the day Google will return 0 results. What if the Huffington Post doesn’t have an opinion on something? How will I get through the day if no one posts a witty rant on Twitter?
In a relatively short time, the still amazing resource that is the Internet has become just another part of daily life—like air, like food, like weather, like traffic, like TV, like Starbucks. If no one is impressed or surprised when a local company sets up a web presence and starts to blog, from a business perspective, why does producing content still matter?
The answer is partly a matter of perspective, and partly a matter of simple communication evolution.
Think of the Internet as simply the latest progression from the ancient wooden signpost outside the blacksmith’s door to the first classified listing in the Boston News-Letter in 1704 to the ad in the Sears Roebuck catalog to promotions on early radio and then TV. A business can certainly thrive on word-of-mouth, but when many “mouths” do their talking via keyboards, you need to be sure your business is in a position to maximize exposure—essentially, the Web is today’s town center. And that fact–that businesses need a presence online–in turn means businesses need content. Because, technically speaking, content is how people find you online (search engines “read” content to deliver results to users), and strategically speaking, good content is why people return to find you again and again.
Still not convinced? Think of it from this point of view: Just because people take something for granted doesn’t mean that thing is unimportant. (Obviously, again, air to breathe.) In the case of having online content, digital connectivity is a powerful force in shaping people’s consciousness about the world around them. For more and more consumers, if your business doesn’t have a website or a Facebook page or a blog—some online content announcing, “Hello, here we are. We are located two blocks away from you, offline and in the flesh, providing 45 years of expert dry-cleaning services”—it might as well not exist at all.
The reliance on digital content is that overwhelming, making what you choose to send out into the world as meaningful as any other element of your business’s operation.
“For All Intensive Purposes” and Other Misconceptions
We all have them: those little pet peeves that irk us to no end. Theater-talkers, loud chewers, line-cutters, etc. When you’re confronted with their behavior, it’s all you can do to contain yourself, roll your eyes and go about your day.
In the world of content marketing, these offenses take a different form, consisting primarily of misused words or phrases. The effect, however, is still the same: skin-crawling, eye-rolling, general distraction.
The problem comes when these slip-ups occur in content that carries your name, because then the consequences are more than just social. The slightest misstep can end up having a negative impact on your future business and your reputation as an industry leader. For all intents and purposes, a misused “farther” can follow you further than you think.
To help you learn from their mistakes, we’ve compiled a list of some of the more commonly misused words and phrases people write.
“For all intents and purposes”
Just because it sounds like “for all intensive purposes” when you say it doesn’t mean you should write it. What is an “intensive purpose” anyway? We’re not sure either.
Farther or Further
Despite popular belief, the two words are not interchangeable. “Farther” refers to physical distance, while “further” refers to a figurative distance. So when someone says, “I can throw a football farther than Peyton Manning,” you know that what they’re saying could not be further from the truth.
Irregardless
“Irregardless” is not a real word, but the horrible hybrid combination of “regardless” and “irrespective.” Stick to “regardless” and leave the superfluous prefixes alone.
Less or Fewer
Again, not interchangeable. “Less” refers to undefined quantities that can’t be counted and “fewer” refers to numbers. “There were less people at the game today” should instead read “There were fewer people at the game today” because people can be counted.
Lie or Lay
“Lie” means to recline and “lay” is to put something somewhere. So the next time you plan on relaxing, correctly declaring “I’m going to go lie on the couch” should help you to avoid any confusion (that is unless you are not known for telling the truth).
Of course there are countless more examples of misused words and phrases (“supposed to” and not “suppose to,” “mine” and not “mines,” “nauseous” vs. nauseated,” etc.), but you get the picture. If you need help bringing that picture into focus and making sure your message is as clear as it can be, we’re always happy to lend a critical eye.