Embracing New Media To Reach Customers By Chuck Sink

Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, My Space and others are a new frontier in marketing opportunities. People offer demographic information online that can be used by sales and marketing people to target precise audiences in an intimate and familiar setting. But best practices are still yet to be defined.

As traditional media continues to lose audiences, businesses are increasingly focused on new media formats, such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, to connect with customers. The goal should be to reach your precise target audience.

New media allows marketers to activate the interested and turn them into campaigners for products and services. Advocates drive success. You may have the shiniest needle in the haystack, but without help, few will notice your podcast, blog, or Flash-enhanced Web site.

Once noticed, however, the best in any category will be discussed among the most passionate talkers and bloggers in that field. The trick is to learn where those people "hang out" and give them some-thing worth talking about (and forwarding to fellow aficionados).

Viral Marketing
How do you make viral marketing work for you? A good example is the Blendtec blender. The company's home blender sells for about $400 retail--a huge premium considering that most decent blenders sell for about $50. This is one tough blender, though. Tom Dickson, CEO of Blendtec hadn't even heard of YouTube in late 2006 before his marketing manager, George Wright, decided to try a viral marketing stunt by posting a few homespun videos on the Internet. Dickson actually became the main character in the "Will it blend?" videos.

In a matter of weeks, spending under $100, Blendtec generated rabid interest in its blender and increased sales dramatically because millions watched the company's YouTube videos.
The viral campaign worked like magic. Thousands of people rushed out to purchase a $400 Blendtec when a $39.95 Hamilton Beach blender would make just as fine a smoothie. In 2006, Blendtec sales were well under $10 million. By 2007, Blendtec sales exceeded $40 million. That astronomical growth resulted from giving the marketplace something unique, compelling and remarkable (as well as funny) to spread around.

E-Mail Marketing
E-mail marketing is almost like free direct mail. I'm a traditional salesman by trade, building business by cold calling, appointment setting, presenting, and bidding. That is the old way. Firms that make effective use of e-mail marketing may find they rarely make cold calls because they're too busy helping prospects and clients who call them instead. Your firm's e-mail list needs to be a high priority and treated like gold. An electronic newsletter can deliver high value to customers and potential customers. Request permission of every business contact to send them a newsletter and rarely use the list to promote yourself. Deliver value-based content that readers can use. They will remember this when in need of your services.

Here I Am!
Smart companies are shifting marketing dollars to the precise marksmanship of search engine marketing campaigns and search engine optimization (SEO). Organic search engine optimization is a complex process of convincing Google, Yahoo!, MSN or other search engines that your Web site is among the most relevant and respected sources to find information or products by key word searches. The search engine's goal is to deliver the most relevant and prominent Web sites to those conducting a search.

Effective SEO requires good key word strategy, consistent analytics, resubmission and reciprocal link-ability with other relevant sites. A relatively modest monthly or annual investment in a Web administrator's time or a paid SEO service can help move your Web site search rankings up significantly enough to be found by that precise target audience.

My Space or Yours?
Social Networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, My Space and others are a new frontier in marketing opportunities. People offer demographic information online that can be used by sales and marketing people to target precise audiences in an intimate and familiar setting. However, the bounds of appropriate contact with Facebook and other sites' users are still in question and best practices are yet to be defined. There are paid advertising opportunities on many of the social networking sites that can be effective with results that are easy to measure and track. Many organizations are having great success interacting with their target audiences by courting an active group of followers and having a constant discussion going on their pages.
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