Monthly Archives: August 2011
3 reasons why the MSN Audience is ideal for Social Advertising, via @davidmerzel’s BLOG.
Interesting infographic on the 3 reasons why the MSN Audience is ideal for Social Advertising.
You want to read the original article, just go to http://community.microsoftadvertising.com/blogs/advertising/archive/2011/08/03/research-infographic-word-of-mouth-social-media-audience.aspx
Are the 4 P’s Dead ? Join next Innovation @ MIC (Mons) to know more about Marketing 2.0, via @davidmerzel’s BLOG
Are the 4 P’s dead ? Join next Innovation @ MIC (Mons) to know more about Marketing 2.0.
Next Innovation @ Microsoft Innovation Center Mons will take place the 14th of Sept from 4.30 PM to 7.00 PM.
This will a great opportunity to know more about Marketing 2.0.
I will make a presentation there on a theme I really like : Are the 4 P’s Dead ?
Take a look at the full program here-below. Click here-below for more details and reservation.
8 Ways to Communicate Your Strategy More Effectively, via @davidmerzel’s BLOG
Interesting reading from HBR
Here-below, you will find a few communications approaches that will help you effectively reach your employees and encourage behaviors that advance your strategy and improve your results.
- Keep the message simple, but deep in meaning.
- Build behavior based on market and customer insights
- Use the discipline of a framework : Inspire, Educate, Reinforce.
- Think broader than the typical CEO-delivered message. And don’t disappear.
- Put on your “real person” hat.
- Tell a story.
- Use 21st-century media and be unexpected.
- Make the necessary investment.
Here-below, the detail.
1. Keep the message simple, but deep in meaning.
Most organizations have a deeper meaning as to why they exist. This tends to influence strategy, decision-making and behaviors at executive levels, but often isn’t well articulated for employees. What you call it doesn’t matter, your purpose, your why, your core belief, your center. What does matter is that you establish its relevance with employees in a way that makes them care more about the company and about the job they do. It should be at the core of all of your communications, a simple and inspiring message that is easy to relate to and understand. Strategy-specific messages linked to your purpose become tools to help employees connect their day-to-day efforts with the aspiration of the company.
2. Build behavior based on market and customer insights
For employees to fully understand how your strategy is different and better than the competition they need to be in touch with market realities. The challenge is in how to effectively convey those realities so that your people can act on them. By building internal campaigns based on market and customer insights, you bring your strategy to life for your employees through this important lens. Package your content so that it can be shared broadly with all departments in your organization, but in a hands-on way. Expose managers first then provide them with easy-to-implement formats for bringing their teams together, with toolkits that include all the materials they’ll need. The purpose is to encourage their teams to develop department-specific responses, and to generate new ideas and new behaviors based on what they’ve learned.
3. Use the discipline of a framework.
Not all messages are created equal. They need to be prioritized and sequenced based on their purpose. I suggest using an Inspire/Educate/Reinforce framework to map and deliver messages on an annual basis.
- Inspire. Messages that inspire are particularly important when you are sharing a significant accomplishment or introducing a new initiative that relates to your strategy. The content should demonstrate progress against goals, showcase benefits to customers, and be presented in a way that gets attention and signals importance. The medium is less important than the impression that you want to leave with employees about the company. Whether you’re looking to build optimism, change focus, instill curiosity, or prepare them for future decisions, you’ll have more impact if you stir some emotion and create a lasting memory.
- Educate. Once you’ve energized your team with inspiring messages, your explanations of the company’s strategic decisions and your plans for implementing them should carry more weight. To educate your teams most effectively on the validity of your strategy and their role in successful execution, make sure you provide job-specific tools with detailed data that they can customize and apply in their day-to-day responsibilities. It is most important for these messages to be delivered through dialogues rather than monologues, in smaller group sessions where employees can build to their own conclusions and feel ownership in how to implement.
- Reinforce. It isn’t enough to explain the connection between your company’s purpose and its strategy — and between that strategy and its execution — once. You’ll need to repeat the message in order to increase understanding, instill belief and lead to true change overtime. These reinforcing messages need to come in a variety of tactics, channels, and experiences and I’ve highlighted some approaches below. Ultimately, they serve to immerse employees in important content and give them the knowledge to confidently connect to the strategy. You’ll also want to integrate these messages with your training and your human resource initiatives to connect them with employee development & performance metrics. Recognize and reward individuals and teams who come up with smart solutions and positive change.
4. Think broader than the typical CEO-delivered message. And don’t disappear.
Often corporate communications has a strictly top-down approach. I’ve found that dialogue at the grassroots is just as important, if not more so. Employees are more likely to believe what leaders say when they hear similar arguments from their peers, and conversations can be more persuasive and engaging than one-way presentations. Designate a team of employees to serve as ambassadors responsible for delivering important messages at all levels. Rotate this group annually to get more people involved in being able to represent the strategy inside the company. And when the message comes from leadership, make sure it’s from your most visible, well-regarded leaders. Another mistake is the “big launch event and disappear” approach. Instead, integrate regular communications into employee’s daily routines through detailed planning against the messages mapped in your Inspire/Educate/Reinforce framework.
5. Put on your “real person” hat.
And take off your “corporate person/executive” hat. The fact is, not many people are deeply inspired by the pieces of communication that their companies put out. Much of it ignores one of the most important truths of communication — and especially communication in the early 21st century: be real. “Corporate speak” comes off hollow and lacking in meaning. Authentic messages from you will help employees see the challenges and opportunities as you see them and understand and care about the direction in which you’re trying to take the company.
6. Tell a story.
Facts and figures won’t be remembered. Stories and experiences will. Use storytelling as much as possible to bring humanity to the company and to help employees understand the relevance of your strategy and real-life examples of progress and shortfalls against it. Ask employees to share stories as well, and use these as the foundation for dialogues that foster greater understanding of the behaviors that you want to encourage and enhance versus those that pose risks. Collectively these stories and conversations will be a strong influence on positive culture-building behavior that relates to your core purpose and strategic goals.
7. Use 21st-century media and be unexpected.
The delivery mechanism is as important and makes as much of a statement as the content itself. Most corporate communications have not been seriously dusted off in a while, and the fact is, the way people communicate has changed tremendously in the past five years. Consider the roles of social media, networking, blogs, and games to get the word out in ways that your employees are used to engaging in. Where your message shows up also says a lot. Aim to catch people somewhere that they would least expect it. Is it in the restroom? The stairwell? On their mobile phone?
8. Make the necessary investment.
Most executives recognize how important their employee audience is. They are the largest expense to the company. They often communicate directly with your customers. They single-handedly control most perceptions that consumers have about the brand. So if this is a given, why are we so reluctant to fund internal communication campaigns? I suggest asking this question: What am I willing to invest per employee to help them internalize our strategy and based on that understanding, determine what they need to do to create a differentiated market experience for our customers? Do the math and set your hoped-for ROI high whether it is financial performance or positive shifts in behavior and culture. If you choose not to invest be certain of the risk. If you don’t win over employees first, you certainly won’t succeed in winning with customers, as they ultimately hold that relationship in their hands.
10 Things Great Managers Do, via @davidmerzel’s BLOG
Interesting list.
You will find the original article HERE
10 Things Great Managers Do.
- Maintain your cool and sense of humor, especially during a crisis.
- Tell subordinates when they’re shooting themselves in the foot.
- Be the boss, but behave like a peer.
- Let your guard down and really be yourself outside of work.
- Make big bets on and stand behind people you believe in.
- Complement your subordinate’s weaknesses.
- Compliment your employee’s strengths.
- Teach the toughest, most painful lessons you’ve ever learned.
- Do the right thing.
- Do what has to be done, no matter what.
Killer Tips for Better ROI (online campaign), via @davidmerzel’s BLOG
Interesting article regarding how to improve your ROI for Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum.
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is key to most online marketing campaigns today, and it’s often expensive and overwhelming.
Here are 10 tips to help improve your PPC campaign in hopes of a gaining a greater ROI and making the whole process more enjoyable and fruitful.
1. Run a Negative Campaign
No, the idea is not to openly bash your competitors through ad copy. Instead, utilize negative keywords, one of the most underused features offered for PPC campaigns. Negative keywords allow you to choose words that won’t trigger your ad. For example, if you are a new car salesman, place the word “used” on your negative list to target customers looking for a new vehicle. When used correctly and updated often, negative keywords help pare down your clickers to serious buyers and save your PPC dollars.
2. Location, Location, Location
Why have your ad viewed or, even worse, clicked by someone in Iowa when you only sell insurance in California? PPC dollars are wasted because unsophisticated users don’t focus their impressions by location. Google, Microsoft and Yahoo all offer geo-location features, which allow users to target their markets based on IP addresses, geo-specific keywords or both.
3. Make an Offer They Can’t Refuse
With so much competition, you need to differentiate your ad. Are you running a promotion? Is shipping free? Offer value and then capitalize on it with a call-to-action. Use terms like “Learn More” and “Free Download” to draw in customers. Encourage searchers to act and let them know what to expect on the other side of the click.
4. Be Dynamic
Dynamic keyword insertion allows you to create more relevant ad copy by placing the exact phrase searched into your ad. When the potential customer sees the exact term they searched, they are more likely to click. While dynamic keyword insertion is very useful and can increase your click through rate tremendously, it is not for the PPC novice. If poorly executed, dynamic keyword insertion can result in ads that appear unclear and irrelevant and can drain your budget quickly.
5. Utilize Long Tail Keywords
Long tail keywords are three-to-four-word phrases that are specific to your product. The reason this works is that visitors using very specific search phrases are often further along in the purchasing process and can result in a higher conversion rate. Someone looking for shoes might search for “boots,” and then have it narrowed down to “black knee-high boots” when she’s ready to buy. Another benefit to long tail keywords is their lack of popularity among PPC novices. With less people bidding on your keywords, your cost per click decreases. Add high intent words to your long tail, such as “buy,” “price” or even “where to buy,” in order to grab those on the verge of a purchase. If you are stumped and need long tail keyword suggestions, visit Wordstream.
6. This Is a Test
Don’t just set up a PPC campaign and hope for the best — proper testing and analysis are required. Metrics allow you to better understand your campaign and results, so set up A/B tests to track what works. Remember to test multiple ads simultaneously, but only allow for one variable at a time and run your tests long enough to gather proper data.
7. Timing Is Everything
In addition to geo-targeting, PPC campaigns allow for time targeting. Analyze your metrics to determine when your ads are at their highest conversion rate. If you are receiving hundreds of clicks at 3 am, but making no sales, restrict ad impressions during those hours to save your budget.
8. A Homepage Is Not a Landing Page
I repeat … a homepage is not a landing page. Don’t throw away all your hard work by sending targeted customers to a non-targeted homepage. Create a simple landing page that picks up right where your ad left off. Don’t lose your visitor — and potential sale — by confusing them with unnecessary content.
9. Get to Know Keyword Generators, but Not Too Well
Keyword generators prove helpful in getting you started when mining keywords. Some great tools are the Microsoft Advertising Intelligence and tools by Market Samurai. However, do not rely heavily on keyword generators — often a human touch is what you need to target that human searcher. You know how you typically search, so go with your instinct.
