Internet Marketing Blog of KeChange

Digital Marketing 101 for Financial Services

Somewhere between the hype and the compliance-driven stigma lies the truth about social networking for the financial sector: technology and social media provide the industry an opportunity to reach out and engage potential clients and maintain a loyal base with current ones. Over the last few years, client and prospect habits have evolved along with the growth of the internet, and they will no longer tolerate being treated as a number in your mailing list or continue to be fed with direct marketing propaganda. Instead, your newly empowered customers will rely on information online, whether it is on websites, blogs or social media sites.

It’s often said that it can cost up to seven times more to acquire one new customer than to retain an existing one. However, according to a recent study released by the Loyalty Guide, costs are significantly higher in the case of the financial industry. With a growing ease of switching and the vanishing boundaries between company and consumer, relying on inertia is no longer an option for maintaining your customer base. Financial service institutions must proactively build relationships and engage their clients if they hope to stand a chance in today’s highly competitive market. Put simply, to ignore social media, is to ignore your customers.

It’s important to understand that the reason why the financial industry has been slow to embrace social media has mostly to do with the heavy legal liabilities associated with sharing too much or inaccurate information on the web. These liabilities, and the lack of understanding on how to maneuver around them, have been the primary road blocks for the financial sector. Nevertheless, there ARE companies who have mastered the delicate balance between liability and transparency. The following are excellent examples of financial institutions who have figured out creative ways to integrate social media to into their overall marketing strategies:

Wells Fargo

• Wells Fargo became the first financial institute to adopt social media when it launched its first corporate blog in 2006. It was used by hundreds of employees to brainstorm with each other and interact with customers.
• That same year they launched StageCoach Island, an online virtual world where you can connect with friends and learn smart money management through tasks and chores.
• A Wells Fargo Twitter account was set up and used as their online reputation management tool. They now boast more than 6,000 followers.  

Bank of America

• In January 2009, Bank of America joined Twitter to assist and solve customer problems. Only a year and a half later, almost 900 customer queries have been resolved through their Twitter account.
• There is also a Twitter account with the sole purpose of posting job opportunities. It has listed hundreds of job openings since its creation.

Ernst & Young

• In an effort to reach new hires fresh out of college, Ernst & Young created a specialized Facebook page where they communicate with graduating students starting the interview process online.

Capital One

• Capital One created Slingshot, (and used their YouTube account to promote it!) a ‘yellow pages’ type of social network which allows people to connect to one another, and promote their services.

In other words, if your financial services company is not online yet, get on it as soon as you can. Start by defining a clear online marketing strategy, short-list the top websites where you should establish a presence and begin engaging your networks with valuable content!

 

Written by Ilona Lemeshov, Internet Marketing Associate

Does Your Content Have An Undesirable Smell To It?

Does your brand have incredible stench to it that makes marketing campaigns difficult to provide viewers with quality content? Do your viewers find that your content is only “good enough” and never exceeds expectations beyond the norm? The Old Spice Man, Isaiah Mustafa, may have a few words for you and your underachieving content. He possesses a humorous ignorance to him which has viewers just dying for the next Youtube video. “The man your man could smell like, but never be like,” he says, making women go crazy about him and men wanting to go for a long run. Old Spice’s campaign began with a twitter comment that could have changed the entire image of Old Spice, which read “Today could be just like the other 364 days you log into twitter,” it read. “Or maybe the Old Spice man shows up.” And with that comment sparked a viral frenzy for Twitter users. The Old Spice Man began firing off videos last week with answers to questions posted by Reddit, Twitter, and Yahoo users. Someone could ask a question and within minutes, receive a video response to their question. What impact did this have for Old Spice and its image? Well, for me and people I have spoken to about their videos, it has transformed the Old Spice image from a brand for old men to a brand for real man. The Old Spice Man possesses a younger, stronger, more appealing image that is capable of attracting the most desirable women. Let’s review what The Old Spice Man’s campaign accomplished:

Reinvented its Image

With a name like Old Spice it’s only logical that one would assume the deodorant is for old men, not surprising given that “old” is in the title. Go to a CVS and just look at how many deodorant products are on the shelf. Most of the newer products grab your attention with their cooling effects, invisible stick, clinically protecting labels that entice younger generations to buy their products. Old Spice, however, was first introduced in 1937 and improvements have been minimal throughout the years.  They have been around for a while and something had to be done to reenergize the Old Spice brand. The Old Spice Man has brought new life to an aging product through a series of hilarious videos that started with their Old Spice body wash commercial.

Real Time

It seems like anyone online in search of an answer isn’t willing to wait more than 5 minutes. The Old Spice Man targeted those itching for answers with video responses within minutes of their questions. Each and every question on social networks was answered. Old Spice was able to create loyalty, an online relationship, and a caring sense for its viewers.

Built Connections

Not only was Old Spice able to reach out to anyone who had questions but they also connected with networks like Gizmodo and Biz. The Old Spice Man not only gave thanks and praise for their tweets but even went as far as making fun of them. His ability to make fun of them, while still expressing appreciation made the videos hilarious. He was able to address the media, celebrities, and news outlets and even designed personalized messages.

What Do You Want From Social Media?

As most companies know social media has become a necessity for conducting business. What most companies are having trouble identifying, is what social media can do for your business. There will always be naysayers out there that say, "There are too many social media outlets out there to know what is really going on, I'd rather just pick up a phone." Well for those people in that situation I can understand where you are coming from. But before you start to disengage yourself away from social media, ask yourself, "What do I want social media to do for my business?" Once you are able to assess your needs for social media, then you will you be able to start utilizing social media effectively for your business.

Increase Your Brand Awareness Through Feedback

Creating a buzz around your product on social networks is one of the quickest ways to create brand awareness, but this can attract both positive and negative response. The solution to effectively marketing your brand is by monitoring what is being said about your product. Negative comments aren't necessarily a bad thing for your business; it only creates an opportunity to resolve the issue. By closely monitoring your brand, you will be able to quickly pick up on what is being said and engage your customers better. Negative feedback can become one of the best ways to increase brand awareness, because you have now filled the void of customer satisfaction with a quick response.

Create a Loyal Following

Now that you have engaged conversation with your customers, they now feel bonded to your product. This can be done in a variety of ways...internal blogs, online events, twitter, and just communicating with your audience have shown to be effective. A loyal following goes a long way and will enhance your product for other users that are not yet engaged in your community. Not everything that is conducted online has to be a big sales pitch; users like to see the more personal side. If you are not willing to engage with other users, they will never know who you are.

Driver Traffic To Your Website

Social Media makes this very attainable and it's a fun engaging way to go about it. A few ideas on how to drive traffic to your website are:

• Submitting articles to the correct social bookmarking sites (Top 10 social bookmarking sites)
• Make your headlines enticing; Top 10 articles, Why you need to..., How this product is changing lives. These are engaging headlines that draw attention to your article
• Avoid Pop-ups and banners - they're annoying
• Use images that are fun and relevant to your content

Now that you have a better idea of what your companies intentions are for social media, you must realize that social media is all about communication. Communicating with users is the fastest way to create a buzz around your product. If no one is talking about your product, how will anyone know about it? If you can take anything away from this article it is that communication is the greatest means of interaction and with social media can be used effectively for a business.

By Cameron Moulton, Internet Marketing Associate

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Why Your Company Needs A Twitter Strategy In Place

With the rapid emergence of professional Twitter accounts, it has become more and more urgent to create a Twitter presence and manage it efficiently. Before your company begins Tweeting away, you need to create a Twitter Strategy or "Twittergy" as I like to call it.

Monitor the Online Conversations

First, you need to target your audience by selecting a list of 10 keywords to monitor on a daily basis and follow those discussing the topics your company should be weighing in on. A great way to find people who are writing about hashtags(#) based on your business is to use Blastfollow. Blastfollow will allow you to see anyone that is tweeting and using a "#" to identify the content of their tweets. Identifying these voices and following them is a great way to create a customer Twitter community.

Hashtags are trending topics that people are discussing, and can be seen on twitter in the following format; KeChange seeks answers to #SocialMedia. A hashtag will take the trending topic and serve as a resource for all users searching that topic. This will enhance your online presence and allow users to follow you based on your hashtag.

Project the Right Message

Once you have your 10 keywords in place, you need to establish yourself as an authoritative voice for these areas. Submit articles based on these 10 keywords that pose questions, concerns, and responses for your community of Tweeters. Providing your Tweeters with resourceful information is the best way to get your posts "Retweeted". Retweets are essential for getting your information out to multiple viewers. You can see in this diagram how a retweet can get viewed by hundreds and thousands of external Tweets that aren't apart of your following yet but are potential followers.

Here at KeChange we like to incorporate a content-based formula for Tweeting on an hourly basis. This content schedule includes approximately 8 tweets a day for our business with usually 4-5 of the tweets being business-oriented and 2-3 tweets that are more casual and fun. The combination of these techniques provides a personal way to deliver informative content.

Choose Your Platform Wisely

Twitter has many different outlets for keeping an eye on your followers and we found that a website called Hootsuite is one of the best outlets for staying up to date with your followers. Hootsuite allows you to see your homepage, @mentions, direct messages, as well as trending topics. Hootsuite also allows you to schedule tweets to be delivered at a later time and date. (FYI- @mentions are a public mention of a particular person during a post, designated by using the "@" symbol immediately before a person's twitter name. Responding and recognizing these @mentions is a great way to thank and encourage people to continue interacting with you.

Here's a list of some other effective Twitter outlets:
search.twitter, tweepsearch.com, refollow.com, oneforty.com

By Cameron Moulton, Internet Marketing Associate

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Uni-ball Makes Social Media Strategy Fun

Companies of all sizes have been leveraging social media on their homepages in an effort to establish online communities. After exploring several companies who are at the forefront of this trend, I came across Uni-ball who appears to be effectively using social media to differentiate and promote their brand. Where there once was no online community for pen lovers to share their experience, Uni-ball has filled that void by utilizing three social media networks. The company now has a solid social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, as promoted on their homepage.

There are a number of ways that Uni-ball is using Facebook to promote their products and encourage conversation. The following is a list of just some of the various ways they are engaging in online communities:

1. Scavenger Hunts - Answer questions correctly and receive awards
2. Contests - Draw a picture with a Uni-ball pen. Winners receive free pens and get their picture up on the Uni-ball Facebook page - which currently boasts more than 10 thousand fans!
3. Famous Signatures - Identify the signature and win FREE pens

A trend is apparent in how the company gets its online visitors involved; through these interactive contests and events, they are able to effectively motivate users with rewards for their social engagement. By offering free pens and prizes, Uni-ball has established an incentive for consumers to converse with one another and create a buzz for their products. 

After exploring their Facebook page, I felt compelled to inspect the company's YouTube page. YouTube is often an important component of a brand's social media strategy because it engages users by encouraging them to comment, subscribe, and post their own experiences. The videos posted by Uni-ball are informative and help differentiate them from competitors by exploring the unique benefits of using a Uni-ball pen. To maintain a dynamic social media presence, they frequently update their YouTube page with new content and regularly interact with their 50 subscribers. 

By this point, I felt so immersed into community of pen lovers that I was eager to visit Uni-ball's Twitter page. Here, I was pleased to find more contests and a following of nearly 2,300 users, many of which provided positive feedback and excellent reviews.

According to Mashable.com, internet users spent 5 hours, 46 minutes on Facebook in the month of August. That is triple the amount of time they spent on Google! It should come as no surprise then, that nearly every successful brand has established an online presence, thus revolutionizing conventional marketing approaches. Research has indicated that approximately 70% of consumers trust fellow consumer opinions that are posted online. In fact, brand websites are trusted around the same 70% level, while only 14% of consumers trust advertisements. As a result, companies have transformed their traditional advertising roles and now act as event planners, aggregators, and content providers. Uni-ball is a great example of a company that has effectively incorporated social media into their overall marketing strategy. They have managed to engage customers by creating an online community for them that had not previously existed, resulting in increased brand awareness and customer loyalty. I would like to hear from Uni-ball to further discuss their use of social media, its impact on their business, and whether my observations are consistent with their experience thus far.

By Cameron Moulton, Internet Marketing Associate

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The World Cup of Social Media

The Social Media Boom that became big during the latest Presidential Election, recent Superbowls, and now the World Cup, has taken on the responsibility of facilitating information to viewers and fans that before, may not have been so up-to-date. The 2010 World Cup has adopted social media like no other previous World Cup and quite frankly has transformed uninterested and uninformed people into knowledgeable soccer fans. Bloggers predict that the World Cup will be the biggest event, (not just in sports), to ever hit the Twitter/Facebook wires. What is most interesting is how FIFA is using social media to promote the World Cup and turn the so-called "apathetic Americans" into futbol gurus. It's no secret that Americans place little value on soccer, while the rest of the world lives and dies by the game. But with the emergence of social media, heads are beginning to turn on the sport that is currently bringing the world together, for a month at least.

So how is FIFA utilizing social media during one of the biggest sporting events in South Africa? FIFA created the CLUB which has generated over 1.6 million users, but FIFA isn't exactly capitalizing on the event like SONY Ericsson has managed to do. SONY has created the TWITTER CUP which is a stream of tweets from teams in the World Cup. In comparison, SONY seems to have adapted to the already existent social network of Twitter, unlike FIFA who has created their own social network. That's a goal well-played by SONY and a missed freebee by FIFA. What FIFA doesn't understand is that the stage has already been set for a social media explosion. If FIFA had adopted a Facebook application, they could have gained attention on a global platform rather than investing in an expensive microsite. Missed Penalty Kick by FIFA, who should know best that there is no need to reinvent the wheel when Facebook and Twitter have already set up a golden opportunity.

I am curious to see what will transpire from this global event and how the rest of the world is using social media to attain their information. With each national and global event that takes place, there will be losers and winners on the social media front. What we have already learned is that Facebook and Twitter are dominating social networking, so why try and create your own social network? Go with what already works, create a Facebook application that can reach over 400 million users. It will be very interesting to see how companies emerge as leaders in new media and who is left jogging behind the highly-productive offensive schemes put in place by companies such as SONY.

By Cameron Moulton, Internet Marketing Associate

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Top 5 Social Media Directories Any Blog Needs To Be In

So now that you've understood the importance of blogging, and how it can vastly enhance your company's digital presence, you're keeping the crickets away from your website and on the right track towards becoming an authority and purveyor of pertinent information in your industry.

But unless you've got thousands of Twitter followers or already receive an abundance of direct traffic, you need to take the next step and create an audience. KeChange utilizes dozens of effective social media directories to drive traffic for our clients, as well as for our own benefit. When checking referrals with an analytics service, here are our Top 5 sources to help push your information out...

1. Digg - Articles are picked up by Google quickly, allowing for more readership in a short amount of time. Digg does an exceptional job of providing back links to your website, so you will be linked back to by 100s of sites.

2. Propeller - Run by AOL, seeks the average user, unlike some of the social bookmarkers that are driven more towards tech savvy viewers.

3. Mixx - Compiles the most interesting topics as chosen by Mixx viewers. This keeps information and viewers on the same page, while helping to avoid uninteresting information. Here, good content will separate itself and rise quickly.

4. Vox - Want control of your profile that presents a unique feel for viewers? Vox allows for complete customization of your blog site and implements blogs with professionalism.

5. De.lico.us -The biggest collection of bookmarks in the universe...as they say on their site. It's true, delicious is pumping out bookmarks at a high rate. Harder to rank highly for, but good company to be among.

When considering which social media directories to sign up for, don't approach it with a half-hearted effort. In a sense, these sites are self-aware and unless you're truly geared towards broadcasting your content to a target audience, readers will see your apathetic approach. You are trying to initiate the fact that you are interested in your viewer readership, so put in the effort.

It is vital that you include a profile of yourself on directories to gain exposure and not get bounced from the directory. Include a photo of yourself (not your company!) to give your viewers a sense of who the person behind the information is. It's also a good idea to include some information about yourself (nothing too personal, but a brief bio, interests, location, are vital to list). Just yesterday I received an email from a social bookmarker known as Sphinn indicating that I had input a blog incorrectly and it was immediately withdrawn from their directory. Personalize, personalize, personalize. I can't stress that enough because building a strong relationship with your viewers is pivotal to driving traffic.

Written by Cameron Moulton, Internet Marketing Associate

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Beware of the Anti-Brand Fan

By Nick Fasulo

We all know that the conventional, one-dimensional television or print ad campaign is about as stale as that bag of chips still sitting in your kitchen from last Friday night. Campaigns are designed to hit targeted markets through multiple mediums and platforms. But you already know that.

So in today's world, a consumer controlled media world, ad campaigns that aren’t unanimously lauded as fabulous from each and every demographic can be criticized, visible to everyone, and creative media firms must begin to take heed of assumed backlash. Anyone with an internet connection and a beef can become - as Edward Boches points out – an anti-brand fan.

To the consumer: did you catch something while watching television recently that peeved you due to its horrible production value? Create a Facebook group page declaring your disdain, and watch your allegiance of people that echo your sentiments grow. Got a problem with a new ad because it’s degrading to a specific sub-culture? I hear spoof videos can draw thousands of hits a week on YouTube if they’re clever and uploaded in a timely manner.

Boches articulated this growing trend that producers must be cognizant of, by presenting a “contrived case study” based around a 1960s model Volkswagen Van. The hook? “Do you have the right wife for [a VW Van]”? Essentially, Boches is asking men if they are intelligent enough to pick a wife that fits in their ride. Not a terrible ad but surely something that the female population could be peeved by, and subsequently take to the Facebooks, Twitters and Blogs (the 21^st century soapbox) to air their laundry list of grievances.

There’s no real way to police the anti-brand fan. In fact, we’re all one to some degree and this growing trend gives even stronger legs to the idea that social media and user-generated content isn’t going anywhere. We’ve learned that opinions and views shared between your group of friends are probably being heard in many other circles across the country, and this digital age helps to bring both the self-proclaimed #1 fan or the indignant hater together to share their thoughts.

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Why Twitter will survive.

This morning I received an email from my Aunt that contained a bunch of useless facts- the perfect kind of fodder to entertain my 137 Twitter followers. I scanned through the one-liners, and selected what I considered the most interesting: That the QE2 moves 6 inches for every gallon of diesel that it burns (interesting no?). And moved on with my day.

About 4 hours later, I noticed that I had been "@" mentioned. I clicked open the message and received the following:

"TheQE2 Story:@sjpetteruti QE2 actually moves 125 feet per gallon.  This is an oft-repeated myth.  Isn't the internet wonderful..."

I couldn't have imagined a better depiction of Twitter's unique value- and the very reason why Twitter won't go the way of myspace. Twitter allows strangers to instantly share information with each other, and to verify each other's data. You don't need to be "friends" with a person to interact with them, and value exchange occurs somewhere between the time of an Instant Message and an email: two unique attributes no other social media service currently offers. (In case you were wondering: The QE2's Official Website actually claims that the ship gets about 50ft/gallon- but you get the point).  Countless companies have improved their image by creating a Twitter account and actively monitoring it (Think of Comcastor Dell Computers). Having the ability to constantly be hearing from, and addressing, potential naysayers, is an invaluable tool. Twitter offers business the opportunity to directly correspond with their public- all in real time. I would never have thought that the QE2 has an active Twitter account, or at least an energetic evangelist, but that just goes to show there is no market too niche for public interfacing.

What is best about this example however is not that the QE2 is on Twitter, but that they exhibited all the best practices in using it. Consider what went into this exchange:

1. TheQE2Story is actively monitoring Tweets using search.twitter.com or twellow.com 
2. TheQE2Story crafted a polite and timely response informing me of my mistake.
3. TheQE2Story then follows me on Twitter, creating another fan and further building its social sphere.

 

At KeChange, we work with our clients to give them a unique mission and purpose for being on Twitter, and use the aforementioned "best practices" to promote their presence. What is your reason for being connected? What value do you provide the public that they cannot get anywhere else? If you haven't figured it out yet you better get thinking, because Twitter is here to stay.