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Twitter. How the Big Boys Roll

May 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

…and I bet you are doing it better than some.

I ran across this article that shows the results of an experiment digital agency IQ ran to see just how Fortune 500 companies were doing at social media. With the exception of a few, most of them sucked.  Check this quote:

The results? HP, UPS, Wells Fargo and GM stood out as top-performing brands, according to five best practices that IQ gleaned from the study: clearly labeling the purpose of a Twitter account; clearly identifying who is replying to a question; keeping the tone light and friendly; making sure you respond; and responding quickly.

Of the 50 companies, IQ did not send tweets to 16 because the agency couldn’t find a Twitter account, couldn’t find an account that seemed credible, or the Twitter accounts it did find were too specific in their topics.

Of the remaining 34 companies, 23 responded to McFather’s tweets. Among the 11 that didn’t: Boeing, Exxon Mobile, Home Depot, Walgreens and Wal-Mart. The fastest to reply were GM, UPS and Best Buy — getting back in 2,3 and 4 minutes, respectively. (Best Buy has previously gained recognition for its Twelpforce customer service page on Twitter.) These companies also quickly redirected messages sent to the incorrect accounts for customer service.

For companies that spend more on marketing than you or I could ever fathom, that says something. What that something is I’m not quite sure.Are you a Twitter Queen?

  • Are they afraid to take risks?
  • Do they just not get it?
  • Are they still trying to turn the battleship of their giant company?
  • Like so many, are they deluded into thinking that things will go back to the way they were 10 years ago?

I follow the Twitter feeds of many of you and I see how in touch you are. I also see far too many client come to me with no plan or in some cases even a glimmer of understanding of the what, why and how of Twitter.

Everyday, social media like Twitter becomes standard operating practice as a way for people to find the information that they need. The simple fact that Twitter is searchable is reson enough that you can not ignore it.

You can read the full article here at Media Post Publications or download the white paper with the full results from IQ’s website. It’s a short paper; be sure to check out page 2 for some great examples.

Filed Under: Social Media, wedding marketing, What's Hot Tagged With: , ,

Expert Advice? Bring on the Peasants!

February 10, 2011 By 7 Comments

Yesterday I was accidentally made privy to a forum conversation about some of that ubiquitous bullshit advice from a self-appointed expert. Yikes there was talk of burning the source at the stake!

I am delighted to say that a leader arose, went to the source and got the offending {dis}information pulled.

I have to tell you, there is something about peasants with pitchforks rising up that warms my heart. 8-)

Is there any reason that we can’t all do the same thing?

In my post about bad experts last month I told you I didn’t have the answer…yet.

Well maybe now I do.

Here are my thoughts; let’s start calling these people out. Seriously, in mass, in true peasants with pitchforks manner. If you see bullshit, call it! Leave a comment, post it to your FB page, tweet to your network and get them to comment. Keep it up, storm the castle. Create a hashtag, #pitchfork  or #BS or #infoFAIL

Go so far as to start a BS category on your own blog and call it out there. When they start to see referrals from your site in their stats they will check it out.  OK, you are sending them traffic but your content is highlighting the absurdity of their advice.

Following the peasants with pitchforks metaphor, you have to get your network involved. Your lone comment won’t do any good, they have to see that mob with torches at the castle wall.

Or, I suppose, you can just continue to grumble about it in the forums and change nothing.

Filed Under: Ask Christine, Inspiration, Rants & Raves, Social Media Tagged With: , , ,

Power Hour

January 28, 2011 By 2 Comments

I was having cocktails yesterday afternoon with a friend that just happens to be in the industry. Needless to say the conversation drifted to wedding marketing and she asked me how I found time to do any Social Media Marketing.

Granted, I am in a little different situation than most of you since I spend most of my days chained to the computer, but…

I start my day, everyday, with what my friend dubbed “The Power Hour”.  I check blogs, schedule the good one to tweet later, save some to my blog with the “Press This ” app, comment on others. I check the tweets and FB status updates from the night before and forward or respond as needed.

Next I hit the forums that I frequent. There is always something to learn. Whether you are reading the brides forums or networking in the vendor forums, it is important to spend that time catching the pulse of the industry.

Next I’ll check the stats on my sites. Yep, I am a true stat whore. On days that something big is posted, I check them about every hour. I know, that’s obsessive, but it’s just who I am.

Now that you have done your power hour, you just have to check in from time to time to see if anything major needs to be mentioned/commented on/forwarded. You can do this on your phone between projects. I really just takes a minute unless something major is happening.

A large part of why this works is because it’s daily. If I let it build up and only did it once a week I would have to give it a whole day. Not happening.

If you want to get started on this plan, start small. Pick one and do it diligently until you have it down smooth, then add another. Before you know it, you will have it down to a science and you will be juggling a ton of conversations better than Cirque du soleil.

Filed Under: Blog, Social Media, wedding marketing

Groupon for Wedding Vendors? Not!

November 10, 2010 By 9 Comments

There has been a lot of chatter about Groupon and wedding vendors since the Knot launched Wedding Channel.com Deals.

On the face, it looks like, “WOW, I can really increase my sales with this new marketing tools.” You may want to take another look at that.

The main premise of Groupon is to increase traffic to your brick & morter store by offering deep discount coupons, ususally 50% or more. Add to that Subtract from that the 50% of the final sale price that Groupon takes and you end up with only 1/4 of your normal selling price. Dang, I hope you have some huge margins. If not you are paying people to take your stuff.

Now this works in theory for places like restaurants and spas where they make some money on add-on, plus they are great candidates for repeat business. If someone comes to their establishment for the first time only because of the deep discount but discovers that they really like the place they may very well come back or-double score- become a regular.

So you can see how taking a loss on the initial sale may be worth it. How could this possibly benefit a wedding business?

Hmmm, wedding planner charges $1500, offers a coupon for 50% plus the 50% of that which goes to Groupon and the planner now is planning a wedding for the robust payoff of $375. Woohoo!

One more thing to think about, he/she isn’t going to do this just once. The way these things work is that the Groupon only becomes active after it reaches the tipping point. So say the tipping point is 50, now you get to do 50 weddings at the price of $375. Ya, that is going to do wonders for your bottom line.

When the sales rep from The Knot comes calling about Deals on WeddingChannel.com, you need to REALLY look at all the details and run the numbers for yourself.

Filed Under: Blog, Marketing, Social Media Tagged With: ,

The Power of Poo: Outrageous Marketing

November 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Yep, I just had to use that headline. It got your attention didn’t it?

I read an article last week about a company in Texas called CowWow that makes an all natural fertilizer made of liquified dairy cow waste. More specifically it was about a marketing campaign that they used. It was risky, it was expensive and it scared them enough to think twice before going forward. It was also a HUGE hit. Please read the original article.

So what does cow manure have to do with marketing your wedding business? Well, nothing really, but the risky campaign they ran has some great lessons.

Much of marketing is about name recognition and buzz. Sometimes you just have to do something totally outrageous to get that.

For example, Preston Bailey and the flower sculpture he did for the Knot’s party in New York this fall. You can’t tell me that the thing wasn’t outrageous or that it wasn’t marketing. The minute I got the Knot branded bulk email pimping Preston’s blog I knew that it had been done on some sort of trade. So bottom line, Preston did it for the marketing potential. The sculpture was seen by anyone and everyone in the wedding industry at one of the industry’s biggest weeks of the year. Then pictures of it flew around the net at break neck speed. Gee, you don’t think that had any effect on brand Preston, do you?

Two other master brand marketer that tend to pull outrageous stunts are Oprah and Richard Branson of Virgin. You don’t think O gave away a car to everyone in her audience because it made her feel all warm and fuzzy do you? Yes I know, they have tons of money and they can afford it. Guess what, they have been doing this kind of thing since the beginning. Branson, espescially so.

So how does that translate to you, the micro-biz owner?

How about we start out by rethinking your marketing plan for next year. Do a deep analysis and dump a couple of the the things that aren’t really doing a lot for you. Use that savings to build a slush fund named Outrageous. Then start to keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities.

Your opportunity may be something as obvious as the bridal show you do every year. Instead of just doing your booth do something outrageous. Bring coffee and breakfast for all the vendors if you are a caterer. If you are a florist build a damn 15 foot tall tree in the entrance that is dripping with flowers. If you do gowns hire a bunch of model to walk the show floor in gowns. If you are a band or a DJ, buy a quad and rent a dance floor and hire a few people to act as plants and get a party going.

I never said that outrageous equaled cheap.

If you are a venue, host a “Kick-Off” party or an “End of Season” party for the vendors in your area. Make it a killer event, make it free and fantastic.

Once you have found your opportunity, make an entire campaign out of it. Use all of your social media to support and reinforce it. The florist with the 15 foot tree should be posting pictures of the frame in progress on his blog, twitter and Facebook. Just sneak peeks. Then right before the show make sure to flood the network with “don’t miss this” messages. After the fact, post your pictures and full story on your blog. Any advertising going forward should have a picture of this now famous piece on it.

You can’t just pull an outrageous stunt and just let it lie there. You have to tap it gently on the behind and push it out into the world.

The secrets here are to establish the slush fund, be open to oportunities, do something BIG and be fearless.Then promote, promote, promote. Your tribe will take it from there.

One thing that you may have noticed is that not all of the ideas I mentioned are pointed at brides. Word of mouth is still the strongest tool in pulling in wedding business. You should work dilligently to make sure that the other wedding professionals in your sphere of influence are recommending you.

Go back and read the article that started all this. They were scared through the whole process, but thier gut kept telling them YES.

Filed Under: Branding, Marketing, Outrageous Marketing, Social Media Tagged With: , , , ,

The Humor in The Wedding Industry

October 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

How about we start this wedding weekend with a bit of humor. If you aren’t familiar with these videos done on xtranormal you have been missing a rising trend.

What makes these so funny is that we have all been there done that. As with all good humor there is a kernal of truth in them.

BE WARNED: Some of the language is not for the faint of heart. Obviously there are some pretty frustrated wedding professionals out there that need to let off some steam. Better here than to the real client. Come on, you know you have wanted to say some of this stuff out loud.

Pass these along to your fellow wedding pros. We might all be able to laugh through this weekend.

If you decide to go make your own, please send me the link or put it in the comments. Please, with a cherry on top???

Filed Under: Blog, Humor, Rants & Raves, Social Media Tagged With: ,

Like a Perfect Symphony, Social Media Has to Hit All The Notes

August 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Social media marketing is a much more complex animal than most people seem to think. You cannot just do a bit of it and think it will achieve your goals. In truth, for it to work it has to be a full on social media campaign. Like a well orchestrated symphony, if one part is missing or off key, it will fall flat.

All the tools of Social Media are but pieces of the larger puzzle. Some are to build buzz, some are to spark interest and build tribes, some are used to give deeper information and yet others are best used as a clear call to action. Then there are tools like Twitter and Foursquare that serve to provide the constant beat of jungle drums in the background to keep the movement alive.

Let’s break one down. In our example we are marketing an event to showcase our business.

First off, get your information ready for  your blogsite.Big, splashy, information rich with links and details aplenty. This is in essence, the home base for your media campaign. But don’t launch it all yet, just tease it.Put a lead generator on the page to gather email addresses. “Be the first to know more”

Next you should start teasing it on your FB and Twitter. Lay it out and start building excitement. Put up tweets and status updates saying that “You won’t believe what we have in store for you.” Then start leaking details. You have to do this frequently and you can’t stop. In your symphony, this is your base line. Mind you, you can’t just keep retweeting the same thing over and over. Change the notes. Every thing should link back to the page on your website.

Now that you have tweaked everyones curiosity, roll out the full content on your blog/website. Start getting into buzz building detail on FB. “Just met with {caterer} for a tasting and OMG the food will be fabulous!” “What do you think about our signature cocktail {name}?” “Just saw the mock-ups from {florist}. Wow, just Wow”

Everyone of those vendors needs to be in on the campaign, even if you have to write the content and set up the tweets for them. This is a multipronged attack and it all has to work in unison to achieve it’s goals.

Now you send out the email blast. You send it, your vendors send it and you track your response. The email should match the page on your website and it simply must limit the number of reservations accepted and a time frame. The more scarse and coveted you make the tickets the faster they will sell.

Now you and all of your vendors should be posting updates on their blog helping to build the excitement.

One week later, send the next email blast. In fact, do two. On would go to the people that opened the first but did not respond. Say something along the lines of “Don’t miss the boat” or “Last chance to register”. the other email should go to the people that did not open the first one. Your subject line has got to make their mouth water.

Don’t forget to keep up that baseline of Twitter and FB. On Twitter you should start thanking people for registering. “@{name} I’m so glad you are coming! Can’t wait to see you.” “Dear friend of {company name} @{name} just registered. I can’t wait for you all to meet her.” Put those names out there and make it a social event.

Keep this thing running until the event starts and beyond. Heck, Tweet the event. Those that missed it won’t miss your next one.

Yep, it’s a lot of work. If you look at the alternative of using traditional media you are looking a a massive spend in money instead of time. If this is important to you, take a fraction of what you are saving by not doing traditional media and hire some one to orchestrate the campaign. Money well spent.

or you could just wing it. LOL yeah right.

Filed Under: Blog, Marketing, Social Media Tagged With: , ,

You Can Lead a Horse to Water…

August 9, 2010 By 1 Comment

I met with a friend last week that needed some advice on promoting an upcoming event. We talked about the time frame (very short), we talked about what they were doing already(great event, some advertising, no social media) and what they hoped to get out of the event.

In the course of an hour we tossed around ideas and looked at some possibilities. By the time we were done I thought that we had laid out a fairly comprehensive plan. The thing was, it needed to be implemented almost immediately. Now, yesterday if possible.

I still haven’t seen one word on social media. Not. One.

This needed to be mobilized by all the people that are involved in it. By getting everyone  involved, setting them all up to update automatically and letting it roll, it should have been an easy thing to do.

Sometimes, when you have a lot riding on your PR and marketing and your hands are already full running your business, it just makes sense to hire someone to do it for you.

Filed Under: Blog, Social Media Tagged With: ,

Twitter vs Facebook

July 9, 2010 By 1 Comment

There seems to be a huge push by certain people in the wedding marketing industry this week to convince you to abandon Facebook as a marketing tool and put all your eggs in the Twitter basket. Hmmm, where is this coming from.

On Tuesday Lienne Stevens of Splendid Communications posted this article about the supposed mass exodus from Facebook.

Then today I found this press release from two bright lights saying…

Most wedding professionals should spend less time blogging and on Facebook, and reallocate this time to building a business presence within the wedding Twittersphere

I Call Bullshit!

bullshit_detector

One of the things that has gotten me where I am today is the massive amounts of data I ingest everyday. I analyze information from sources both within and outside of the wedding industry. Well, just let me tell you, what I have read above just didn’t ring true with I am seeing.

And here’s why…

It has always been my position that if you look at your twitter followers that you would find that the majority of your followers are fellow wedding professionals. In fact, I even say this in my seminars and in my blog. Apparently, it isn’t just me. I posted an article earlier this week siting the very interesting infographic that NearlyWeds had posted regarding Twitter followers. NearlyWed did the math folks. They are self described as a bunch of geeks, I trust their data.

Having said that, I also want to say that I still believe that Facebook is your better bet and here is my backup on that.

Check out this article on eMarketer.

Here are the juicy quotes:

Unsurprisingly, despite Facebook’s growing appeal to older users, 18- to 34-year-olds spend the most time on the site per week, at 8.5 hours out of 22.4 spent online.

And this:

In Q1 2010, comScore found that the visitors who spent the most time on Facebook also spent the most money online. Targeting users who not only spend large amounts of time on the site but also devote a large proportion of their total online activity to the social network could translate to going after the most lucrative portion of the audience.

I have to tell you, I still think Facebook is a good bet. People are still using it to connect, not just to play Farmville. As long as your target market’s friends are on there, your target market will be there to connect and keep up with their tribe.

The other aspect of Facebook that works in my mind is the “peer pressure”, if your tribe Friends something, you will be prompted to Friend it as well. It is word of mouth marketing on a whole new level. One thing that Facebook does very well is to read your tribe and use that data to make recommendations. You may not like it on a privacy level, but on a marketing level, I’m not going to pass it up.


Filed Under: Blog, Marketing, Rants & Raves, Social Media Tagged With: ,

Who Are Your Twitter Followers?

July 2, 2010 By 1 Comment

If you have ever been to one of my seminars on Social Media then you know that one of the things I recommend is that you take a look at who your followers really are. I have long suspected that most of the phenomenal growth in followers and friends is with other wedding professionals. Stated simply. it isn’t brides-to-be following you, it is most likely other wedding pros. Finally someone has done the heavy lifting to prove the point. Many thanks to bloggers at NearlyWed Blog for this fab infographic. Go read the whole article, it’s fascinating.

Well now, what does that mean? Should you bail on Twitter? For me, that is exactly where I want to be because my primary clients are wedding professionals, but what about you? If you are thinking about Twitter as a marketing tool how much time should you be investing in it  if it isn’t attracting clients? Twitter and building your network of like minded professionals isn’t with out merit. Networking is always valuable, but it isn’t the be all to end all in marketing. Don’t get me wrong, I have made some lovely friends because of Twitter, none of them brides. I go back to the question, how much time are you spending tweeting and are you thinking you are marketing? Well, you aren’t marketing, but you are building your personal brand. If a potential client want to know more about you it’s out there for them to find. (Do I need to remind you how search savvy today’s brides are?) Be careful what you say on social media. I suspect that the same is true if you sort through your friends on Facebook. Facebook however may just be a much smarter place to be. I’ll give you some more of the how’s and whys on that one in an in-depth look later this month.

Filed Under: Branding, Marketing, Social Media Tagged With: , ,
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