The Marketing Innovation Blog

From large corporations to mom and pop shops, many businesses see the value in engaging in conversations that are already taking place about their brands online. That’s why social media is fast becoming a standard component of marketing/pr/communications strategies.

But, while best practices are starting to emerge, companies still struggle with the best approach for engaging with their consumers. Below are five common social media marketing mistakes, and what you can do to avoid making them:

1. Not monitoring the conversation. Many companies make the mistake of not “listening” or observing how their ambassadors or detractors talk about their brand. This, however, is one of the times that it is okay to be a voyeur. See what your brand evangelists are saying about you on Facebook and Twitter, how many times your brand is mentioned on fan-authored blogs or how many fan videos are posted on YouTube. You’ll be able to gather key insights and understandings about your target audience and how better to engage them. Similarly, though, it is also important to listen to detractors as companies can learn from listening to unsatisfied customers as well.

2. Solely using junior staffers to run your social media platforms. Junior staff members offer a fresh and savvy perspective helping to navigate the ever emerging media waters. However, solely relying on a team that might not have fully grasped the ‘business’ perspective of your brand could muddy your brand’s social voice. Instead, staff your social media team with members at all levels, ensuring that your brand’s ‘voice’ is well-rounded.

3. Preventing a wildfire. As most PR & marketing practioner’s know, content, especially in the digital world, can spread like wildfire.  Taking a long time to respond or becoming defensive can only further fuel the fire. Instead, craft authentic but immediate responses to remain genuine, and keep haters at bay in a timely manner.

4. Be authentic. Did we just mention that above? Well, it’s true. A common mistake for brands is to ‘fake it’ by populating social media platforms with false comments or testimonials from brand evangelists. To stay and remain authentic, only use real, genuine testimonials from consumers that you’ve taken time to gather or that they have offered.

5. Plan social media efforts without an ‘off switch.’ A brand or company’s involvement with social media should never have an end date.  At the core of every social media campaign, is the cultivation and nurturing of customer relationships. After all, the goal is to create brand ambassadors and without an ‘always on’ outlook, your ongoing dialogue will be extinguished.

Without a social media users guide, we have each other – brands and companies alike – to learn from along the way. In the end, though, it’s important to remember that in the realm of social media, genuine, authentic and timely engagement is king.

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2010/ca20100617_480316.htm

On the heels of the first ever Social Media Day, it seems all too fitting that hospitals, too, are utilizing social media as marketing tools.

At the end of 2009, there were more than 350 hospital accounts on Twitter and nearly 220 hospital YouTube channels. With the year now half over, below are five trends that have already impacted hospital online marketing in 2010, and are likely to stick around:

1. Location-based SEO through mobile marketing
As Smartphones like iPhones, Blackberry, and Google Android become the norm, so is searching for information via cell phone. Therefore, to stay relevant, hospitals should:
• Optimize their websites with localized keywords/terms
• Develop links to local directory listings
• Geo-target SEM ad buys (advertising on cell phones)

2. Directly reaching consumers in their market
We all know the saying, “There’s an app for that!” Well, apps have now moved away from being strictly cell phone-based, and are now available on printers, TVs and even car dashboards. Hospitals should also use geo-specific cell phone applications like Foursquare, to help develop their own presence and successfully interact with consumers. Other successful healthcare-related phone applications include:
• Medical Encyclopedia, UniversalDoctor Speaker, iChart EMR & Allscripts Remote

3. Doctors managing their own reputations with online physician marketing
Many patients are researching their own healthcare needs online, and hospitals can reach this audience in their environment by:
• Using YouTube to broadcast a short video introductions from each of their doctors
• Featuring those videos on hospital physician profile sites to further promote their medical staff

4. Online Privacy
With major changes in online privacy, sites like Google now offer real-time searching, allowing Twitter content to be seen in search engine results. This availability of information means that:
• Hospitals now have an increased knowledge of patient behavior online
• Patients will have to choose between how much private information to share in order to receive targeted information, while trying to separate accurate, authoritative content from spam

5. Measuring ROI
Though there is a low-cost entry associated with social media for hospitals, tracking patient behavior on these sites was originally a challenge. Some tools have since been developed to measure ROI on these sites, and more are expected to surface in 2010. The following are tools that have been developed to help track ROI for social media sites:
• Klout for Twitter
• Insight for YouTube
• Google Analytics for blogs

Have you ever used Google to search for medical information? If on-the-go, have you ever used a healthcare-related phone app?

The volatility of banking industry has left a void in trust of banks greatest asset, their clients. For better or for worse, adapting to a new consumer market means the banking industry will delve deeper to where their consumers are congregating – online or on their mobile.

The banks best adapting to a new world order are becoming more transparent and user-friendly. They need to, for when studies in the 10^th Federal Reserve District show that one in four households use ‘alternative’ banking and are categorized by ‘unbanked’ or ‘under banked,’ it appears to be a new world disorder. Forced into a corner, competing brands are seeking to break through the clutter and differentiate themselves from each other and a gloomy past.  The newest techniques in the banking industry are becoming more apparent – a trend showing such ideas that less is sometimes more and accessibility is paramount:

- When it comes to talk of corporate banking, the topic no doubt surrounds Bank of America. With its acquisition of Merrill Lynch, Bank of America is one of the largest brokerages in the world. Their newest pitch is known as Merrill Edge, which targets people of emerging wealth, i.e. $250,000 or less and contends with such existing organizations as E*Trade, Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and TD Ameritrade. This is a perfect illustration of a popular trend in the banking industry – accessibility in the convenience of independently saving and investing in one place and reaching a demographic that is traditionally hard to reach and tech-savvy.

- Wachovia is another example of Banking 2.0 with its implementation and support of online services. Wachovia’s latest partnership with BillPay and parent company Wells Fargo has left the franchise aptly prepared to deliver. Free service, 24/7 accessibility, online receipt management, web transfers, and ability to connect with a human representative are well designed and efficient.

- SunTrust Bank offers many similar amenities to Wachovia’s, plus a more avid social networking team. SunTrust directed the launching of Daily Dollar, a Facebook application that illuminates where small savings can be made. They have also partnered with Moneta Corp., utilizing their online payment service which provides clients with the option of using an existing account to safely purchase goods from selected online retailers.

- Bank of America and Chase Bank have initiated mobile banking opportunities in the form of text messages. These messages give clients updates regarding existing balance and transaction information on a daily basis. Chase Bank even gives their clients, not including basic checking accounts, the ability to transfer funds from a savings account to their checking account – to avoid overdraft fees for instance – in real time!

The unpredictable nature of market conditions reinforces the importance of being able to adapt and change with the times. Banks, like other businesses, are merely another example of a brand and the aforementioned trends. Like online and mobile banking, the utilization of social media like Facebook, and ‘apps,’ are the bank industry’s innovated approach to reaching an ever changing consumer.

As an ever changing consumer, has your bank reached you? Do you use any of your banks online or mobile offerings?

Dan Kerns is an intern with Griffin York & Krause.  He is a full-time Sociology Major at Bates College.