What A Local Burger Joint Can Teach Us About Marketing
Posted: December 10, 2012 Filed under: Marketing, Social Media Marketing | Tags: foursquare, marketing, rgb social, rgbsocial, social media, social media marketing, yelp 2 Comments »
Frequently when we look for social media, marketing and advertising inspiration, we look to the big spenders and huge brands in industry publications. There are, however, some small businesses that are doing a pretty amazing job with their marketing, product offerings, and social media marketing that can be just as inspiring.
Meet Burger’s Priest.
Burger’s Priest is a local Toronto burger joint that has two locations. They specialize in simple, traditional, fresh, incredibly tasty burgers. In addition to their fantastic burgers, they do a few things from marketing and social media standpoints that are also quite special.
Consistent Brand Story
From the naming convention for their burgers (the Priest, the Vatican City, Noah’s Arc, to list a few), to visual branding, to their hours of operation (closed Sundays for church), the Burger’s Priest brand story stays consistent across the board.
LESSON: To maximize impact, it is critical that each consumer touch-point contributes to building your brand’s story. Whether you are designing packaging, developing advertising collateral, choosing uniforms, or determining a voice to write with on social media, make sure that you are consistently representing your brand for maximum effect.
Create Value By Providing Exclusive Information
The in-store menu at Burger’s Priest is quite short – maybe 7-10 items max. They also have a ‘secret menu’ available online. While the ‘secret menu’ is not all that secret, it gives those who know about it a sense of exclusivity and that they possess insider information. On numerous occasions while waiting in line waiting to place an order I’ve heard whisperings of the ‘secret menu’ from experienced parishioners to the uninitiated. Also, social networks such as Yelp and Foursquare are overflowing with reviews, tips and commentary about people’s favourite ‘secret menu’ items.
LESSON: People like to have things that other’s don’t. It gives them a sense of being in the know, part of an inside crowd, and general exclusivity. It also gives people something to talk about and share with their friends. Selectively releasing information that your consumers will view as holding value can contribute to creating an environment in which information can be shared, conversations can be had, and a healthy community can thrive.
Focused Product Offerings
Burger’s Priest does one thing, and that one thing really well. You won’t find fancy toppings, exotic meats, or ciabatta buns. They make awesome, no fuss burgers. That’s it.
LESSON: Focus on what you’re good at. If you do, you’re concentrated efforts will allow you to get better at what you already do well, operate with greater efficiency, avoid diluting the aspects of your business that your consumers initially fell in love with, and streamline your marketing efforts because of your focused communications.
Have you ever been inspired by the marketing of a small business? If so, let me know about who inspired you and what they do in the comments, or on Twitter @RGBSocial
5 Reasons To Use Foursquare And 3 Compelling Stats
Posted: December 6, 2012 Filed under: Foursquare | Tags: digital marketing, foursquare, mobile, rgb social, rgbsocial, social media, social media marketing Leave a comment »
I’ve been a fan Foursquare for somewhere in the neighbourhood of 3-4 years now. Foursquare is an easy social media platform for consumers to use on a regular basis, can provide great value through the sharing of tips, allows businesses to reward consumers with specials, and is an amazing way to engage people on their mobile devices when they are physically experiencing your brand. Pretty good right!?!
If your business or brand operates out of brick and mortar locations and you’re not using Foursquare, I’d recommend paying more attention to this social media network.
Following are 5 reasons why you should be putting more effort toward your Foursquare presence:
31% of mobile social media users use Foursquare*
A presence on Foursquare will instantly contribute to your mobile presence. If you offer your consumers value through your Foursquare specials, they will reward you with an increased number of check-ins. Check-ins can be seen by users’ social graphs, can be intriguing to those who are unfamiliar with your location, and can attract new consumers, to list a few benefits.
80% of active Foursquare users have acted on another user’s tip*
Activity on Foursquare can directly influence purchase behaviour. Before a consumer enters your doors for the first time they have access to the shared experience and knowledge of all tip-leaving consumers before them. Positive tips will obviously work to your benefit, but make negative tips a positive experience by addressing them head-on, make changes to rectify any issues presented, and work to mitigate repeat negative tips.
More than 66% of active Foursquare users post tips*
Foursquare users are not just checking-in, but many are leaving tips that are essentially micro-reviews. Not only is this demonstrative of a high level of engagement with the platform, but also serve as the best kind of advertising for your business. It has been show, in fact, that 70% of consumers trust reviews more than any other form of advertising.
Opportunity for social media amplification
Sorry, I couldn’t find a statistic to support this, but anecdotally, many Foursquare users cross-promote their check-ins on Facebook and Twitter. What this means for business owners is that check-ins are reaching a much broader audience than just peoples’ friends on Foursquare.
Tie social media activity directly to real-world results
The catalyst for all engagement on Foursquare is a check-in at your physical location. Because of this, it’s easy to measure the correlation between check-ins and special redemption with key metrics that really matter. Cross reference check-ins with in-store traffic to see if Foursquare activity is bringing new consumers to your store. Cross reference check-ins with sales to see if Foursquare activity results in higher sales. Cross reference check-ins with special redemption to measure loyalty. There are numerous opportunities for meaningful measurement.
Have you included Foursquare as part of your social media strategy?
Have you had any success rewarding customers with specials?
Have you learned anything about your own business by monitoring consumers’ tips?
Let me know in the comments, or on Twitter @RGBSocial, it would be great to hear from you.
* Stats from Factbrowser
It’s About Time For Your Print Advertising To Be More Social
Posted: November 22, 2012 Filed under: Advertising, Social Media Marketing | Tags: advertising, digital marketing, foursquare, rgb social, rgbsocial, social media, social media marketing 3 Comments »
Reality today is such that social media should be considered when executing virtually any corporate communications program. Opportunities to drive traffic to your social properties, promote your content, integrate technology, and more, should not be overlooked.
Despite this, my experience has shown that there are some media channels, such as print, that seem so antiquated that marketers don’t think about how social media and technology can be influenced by the medium, or vice-versa.
Well, lets aim to make this a mindset of the past and start encouraging our coworkers, clients, leadership and partners to think ‘social’, even when producing print ads and printed collateral. Following are a number of ways that your print advertising can be more social and be better integrated with technology:
PROMOTE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTIONS
Print advertising can drive a huge amount of traffic to your social media promotions. If you’re running a photo or video sharing contest, print advertising can be particularly effective because you’ll be communicating with your consumers while they are away from their computers living life in the real world, which is probably where you’ll want them taking photos or video for your contest.
GET CREATIVE AND INSPIRE SOCIAL AMPLIFICATION
Dazzle your consumers with print ads that are so incredibly creative that they feel compelled to share their experience with your ad with their social networks – Carlsberg created the print ad bottle opener, Volkswagen gave you a virtual test drive, and Lexus amazingly added audio and video to their print ad. Argue all you want about how many readers actually interacted with these ads, but without a doubt those that did, found them impactful, were left with a lasting impression, and shared their experience with their friends.
PROMOTE FOURSQUARE CHECK-IN SPECIALS
You can significantly increase redemption and participation with your Foursquare check-in specials by promoting them in print advertising and collateral. If your offer is compelling enough, you might even convince non-Foursquare users to register an account. Also, because of Foursquare’s increased commitment to cross platform integration, consumer check-ins, reviews and tips are going to be seen by an increasing number of people on other social media networks.
GRANT ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
There is an inherent perceived value in just about anything that is exclusive, or gives people the sense that they have insider knowledge; so tap into this. If you are creating compelling content for your print advertisements or advertorials, you might want to consider granting access to exclusive bonus content to your consumers on social media, only available to those who have seen your print-based advertising.
DRIVE TO A COMPLIMENTARY MOBILE WEBSITE
If you’re able to successfully create an emotional response to your print ad, or feature compelling enough communications, think about how you can extend that experience or further educate with a mobile website. Consumers are never far away from their mobile devices, and after engaging with your print ad could be a perfect opportunity to drive to your mobile site, that should feature social integration.
INCLUDE A COMPELLING CTA
All too often I find that advertising features a social media call to action that really falls flat. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Find us on Pinterest. Come on, give consumers a reason to get involved with your brand on social media. Give them a sense of the value that you will provide them in exchange for taking time to hunt you down on their computer or mobile device. Tell them how you’ll educate them, entertain them, or provide utility in your CTA.
When creating print advertising, do you think about how you can make it more social friendly?
How have you used print advertising in support of your social media marketing?
Have you effectively integrated technology with your print advertising, or seen a particularly great example that you’d like to share?
Let me know in the comments, or on Twitter @RGBSocial, it’d be great to hear from you.
Photo Credit: Veer (Photoshopped and put in layout)
How to Supercharge the Value of Your Content
Posted: July 27, 2012 Filed under: Content, Social Media | Tags: blog, branding, content, content development, facebook, foursquare, google+, social media, twitter 2 Comments »
When creating or curating content for your social media communities, there is one golden rule to follow: ADD VALUE. Value is what draws consumers to your social properties, keeps them engaged with your brand, and ultimately influences them to share their experiences with their respective social graphs.
3 WAYS TO SUPERCHARGE YOUR CONTENT AND ADD VALUE TO YOUR COMMUNITY:
EDUCATION
Teach your community something. Ensure their engagement with your content provides new and relevant information associated with your brand, product(s), service offerings, usage occasions and circumstances, culture, and lifestyle. Also consider educating your community on complimentary or related products, services and information.
ENTERTAINMENT
Whether your social media community laughs or cries, is awe-struck or intrigued, make sure they are entertained. Be a storyteller and aim to make your community feel something when engaging with your content. If you can accomplish this, consumers will be drawn to your brand, want to stick around for further entertainment, and be inclined to share your content with their social graphs.
TANGIBLE OFFERINGS
Convert your social media community’s dedication and engagement with your brand into real-world, tangible value. Offer them a discount, exclusive offer, product sample, free service, access to an event, or grant them priority treatment, to name a few examples of how you can add value in this way.
No matter how you plan to add value to your social media community, be sure it is within the context of who they are, what interests they have, and what led them to being a member of your community in the first place. What you’re likely to find is that this context closely mirrors your brand, and keeping your content relevant in these ways will allow you to continue attracting, retaining and amplifying your social media efforts to the highest quality community members.
How do you add value to your social media community?
Have you experienced any benefits from adding value with your content?
Do you have experience deviating from a social media strategy that is focused on adding value? What was the outcome?
If you’d like to chat, have any questions, or would like to share your comments on this post, please feel free to contact me. It would be great to hear from you.
Matthew.
Email: matthew@rgbsocial.com
Twitter: @RGBSocial
Facebook: facebook.com/RGBSocial
Photo credit: Veer
How to Drive Social Media Communities to Your Retail Location
Posted: July 11, 2012 Filed under: Social Media | Tags: business, content, foursquare, sales, social media Leave a comment »
On more than one occasion, I’ve had a client challenge my team and me to develop advertising programs that convert traffic on their social media properties to increased sales at their retail locations or brick and mortar business. There are many benefits for brands and businesses to experience through the implementation and execution of a smart social media strategy, some of which are detailed in a previous post, and there is no reason why sales can’t be one of them.
Following are 5 ideas for how to drive your social media community to your retail locations or brick and mortar business:
PROVIDE UPDATES
If you have new inventory, are hosting an event, have completed a renovation, or if anything else is new or noteworthy for your business, invite your social community to come out to your store or retail locations to check out the latest and greatest for themselves.
OFFER A DEAL
Everyone loves getting a great deal, and your social community is likely no different. Let them know that you’re having a 30% off sale, and you’re sure to see an influx of traffic to your store.
SOCIAL MEDIA EXCLUSIVES
We all have a craving to have the latest insider information. Satiate this desire by giving your social community an inside scoop on a service package deal, an offering not otherwise advertised, or a coupon – all, of course, exclusive to your social community.
CREATE A LOYALTY PROGRAM
Foursquare offers fantastic, simple to implement features allowing you to offer rewards to your loyal customers for simply ‘checking-in’. You can give them a free coffee for every check-in, give them a free lunch on their 10th check-in, or give them a free personal training session for having checked-in more than anyone else in recent history (for becoming ‘Mayor’ of your location).
GIVE THEM A SENSE OF OWNERSHIP
Defer to your community to make decisions that affect your products, services, operations, or any component of your business. By doing this, they’ll have a vested interest in experiencing the outcome of those decisions first-hand, which should result in increased sales, foot-traffic, or social sharing.
Have you experienced success driving members of your social community to your business or retail locations? If so, it would be great to hear about what you did in the comments for this post.
If you’d like to chat about anything to do with social media, advertising, marketing, or something not as immediately relevant, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to touch-base in the comments, by email at matthew@rgbsocial.com, on Twitter @RGBSocial, or on Facebook at facebook.com/RGBSocial.
