Most Viewed Blogs of 2011

Since 2012 is almost here, let's take a look back and reflect on the top 10 most viewed blog topics from 2011. What was your favorite?

Groupon - What's Behind This Retail Sales Bonanza?

The Complex World of Healthcare Marketing

Online Marketing Trends in Manufacturing

Finding the Right B2B Bulls-eye

Utilizing Custom Facebook Pages

Social Media Do's and Don'ts

CMA Named Best in Show at ASTRA Awards

3.5 Marketing Ideas for 2011

Foursquare – A Fun Location to Be

Media Planning Demystified

How to Maximize Your Facebook Presence

By now, many businesses have flocked to Facebook with the promise of raised awareness, increased brand loyalty and fresh sales leads. But are you doing all you can to maximize your company’s presence on Facebook?

First, it’s important to know what kind of users you are dealing with.  Here are some key behaviors to keep in mind as you develop your campaign:

• People are visiting fan pages looking for something in return—it could be coupons or discounts, exclusive information, entertainment to share with friends or maybe even recognition.
• The majority of a consumer's Facebook experience is the wall, which is also visible in their top news feed. The 95% of Facebook users view their news feed only, according to a recent study.
• With the new interface changes that took place this Fall, there is much more “passive sharing,” meaning a news feed is more cluttered with app updates from Netflix, Spotify and other sites connected to Facebook through an automatic update system. These changes are constant at Facebook so make sure to stay on top of what’s going on and maximize the technology or at the very least don't fall behind it.

It is often challenging to get attention when the Facebook universe is so vast and deep, but fret not. Social media is all about innovation and the best tips for success are discovered simply based on trial and error. So try these suggestions out and adjust as needed based on your target audience’s response.

1. Make “Like Us” buttons prominent and easy to find. One of the best ways to promote your Facebook presence is to simply add the small “f” icon on your website, but it shouldn’t stop there. Add the icon to your employee’s email signatures, to your e-newlsetter, or blog or any other digital communications.

2. Consider custom tabs. There’s more to a Facebook page than just the Wall. Consider working with a marketing agency that has experience in creating customized Facebook tabs. These become an extension of your website and can be used for product promotions and current offerings. Your designer can even arrange for these tabs to be the first landing page a user sees when they visit your page.

3. Engage and entertain. Social media definitely has a proven business value, but ultimately, users are looking for something fun and/or useful. Create content that makes them want to share with their friends or keeps them coming back for more. Quizzes, giveaways, exclusive videos and insights into the inner workings of the company are good ways to pique the interests of your fans and keep them engaged.

What are you looking to get out of your social media participation? Once you’ve determined the value Facebook or any other site has to your business, consider using an experienced marketing agency to do the heavy lifting—content research and development, posting and monitoring. Often the largest obstacle in the way of any kind of social media success is time.

Erin Higgins
Director of Marketing Services
ehiggins@cmasolutions.com

How to Use Google+ to Promote Your Business

Google+ was publicly launched on June 28, 2011 and boasts more than 25 million users, the fastest growing social media platform to date. There has been, as you might expect, comparisons being made between Google+ and the other two social media giants: Facebook and Twitter. Some say it is redundant—“what can I get from this that I don’t already have?” Others say its ease of use and new capabilities make it a contender in this fast changing and highly competitive business.

Google+ has most of the features of their competitors and a few new ones that make the site distinctive, which addresses some of the issues users have with Facebook and Twitter such as privacy concerns (Facebook) and character constraints (Twitter).

Google+ Features

Here is your crash course in learning some of the new features Google+ offers:

• Circles – This feature allows you to put friends into relevant circles. You can communicate with all your friends or a specific friend, and even upload certain photos to certain circles. Circles are seen as a time-saver with regard to privacy settings.
• Hangouts – These are group video chats like Skype that allow you to chat with your friends in real time. Skype charges a fee for multiple users and Google+ allows you to have as many as 10 participants for free.
• Instant Upload – Google+ has an instant upload feature which automatically uploads all your videos and photos to a private Google+ album. You can organize them into categories and decide to whom you want to send them. This is only available for Android Phones.
• Huddle – Currently limited to android users, this feature allows you to chat across different platforms including your mobile device. 
• Plus 1 – While searching or surfing the web you may come across little icons with “+1” in them. You can click on these icons and a snippet of information is displayed in your profile so that your friends can comment on or share with others. 

How Does it Measure Up For Businesses?

From what we’ve seen, there won’t be a mass exodus from Facebook and Twitter any time soon, but Google+ plus should not be underrated. There are many unique ways businesses can use Google+ as an additional social media marketing tool—here are two you can try right away.

Create a Hangout – It’s simple to use and there are many uses for the hangout service. You can talk to current and prospective clients, bring staff together for a meeting where ever they might be, or interact with other business partners and friends. This face-to-face tool can be a boon for small businesses that are not always able to interact with individuals they aren’t always able to connect with in person. 

Create a brand page – Every brand should have a page and so should every individual—as personal branding is becoming almost as important as your company’s positioning. The brand page on Google+ should contain similar information as your other social media sites. Build an “about” page that includes pictures and other attention-getters such as graphics and articles. Don’t forget to mention your accomplishments and interests.

Then, offer avenues of conversations and interchanges. In other words, be “social” invite comments and information. Where ever possible, include exclusive material that will pique the interests of your visitors, such as tips and other inside information. Keep it simple, consistent and constant.

It’s an exciting time in marketing and the ever-changing world of social media continues to offer new and expanded ways to connect with people you never thought possible. Keep Google+ on your radar as another way to interact with customers and raise awareness overall—try it out or contact CMA to learn more about how we can assist you in your social media strategy. 

Kaitlin Friedmann
PR Manager
kfriedmann@cmasolutions.com

Utilizing Custom Facebook Pages

With more and more companies incorporating Facebook into their social media mix, businesses need to understand how to make the most out of it to help further increase their visibility among their target audience. CMA interactive art designer, Matthew Kulcsar, recently sat down with us to discuss why businesses should have a Facebook presence and should utilize custom Facebook pages.

Q: Why should businesses create a custom Facebook page?

A: Facebook has built-in analytics to its site to help business owners gauge the results from their efforts, as well as information about their followers. This information includes the total number of likes and comments you receive on specific dates, broken down by day, month and a total aggregation. You can also get demographic information on users including gender, age, language and location. This information allows you to see who you are attracting and determine if there is a market for an expanded product and service offering.

With that said, customization adds a key element to your page that serves several purposes:

• Buzzworthyness - Is this topical and relevant? Is it worth sharing with my colleagues, family and friends? 
• Repeat visits - Will it keep people coming back? Are you offering a weekly special or industry specific information that is timely and actionable?

Q: What are the benefits of using custom Facebook pages?

A: CMA recently developed custom Facebook pages for PIERS’ transportation segment, which provides comprehensive and statistical data to the transportation and logistics industries. CMA included a products and solutions page highlighting features of their key products, a media page where users can view some videos about the company, as well as a page where users can sign up for their newsletter. All the pages have common elements to drive traffic to PIERS’ other social media sites such as LinkedIn and their blog, Data in Motion.

Q: What should a custom Facebook page include?

A: The wonderful thing about custom pages is there are no rules. You really have to understand your audience and deliver elements that will engage that particular demographic.

In the case of PIERS Transportation, we enhanced the pages with a lot of mechanisms to drive traffic and generate activity. More important than the technology that was added, is the support from the client as a host.

Consider Facebook your office and the people that visit your wall your guests. When they post a comment, be sure to acknowledge them in some way. Never forget about the human factor.  Too many companies are putting information up and not thinking about it again. Guess what? Nobody else is thinking about it either. The most successful sites have lively interaction from both visitors and company representatives.

Q: What elements or features should you add to your Facebook page to make it more interactive?

A: Ensuring that you have a representative monitoring and participating is the most essential interactive feature. Almost everyone has a Facebook page.

For example, I was at the supermarket looking at cheese and there was a big sticker, "Find us on Facebook." I did find them on Facebook and sure enough, it was a page about cheese, no fan interaction, no effort. The expectation from the company was that they put a sticker somewhere and they expected the users to do the rest.

People want to interact and have fun, they just need a catalyst. Whether it’s a little trivia game, a poll, a giveaway or just discussing current events in that particular field of interest, there needs to be a spark.

Give us a call! Contact CMA at 609-297-2235 to learn more about our social media capabilities. 

Put Twitter to Work for Your Business

You first opened a company Twitter account because everyone was doing it. You started to tweet because it was fun to try to get a full thought out in 140 characters or less. It probably didn’t take long before the honeymoon was over and tweeting became just one more thing on your to do list.

Before you let that Twitter account go cold, consider these tips for getting the most for your business out of this social media site.

Get Linked Up. Chances are if you are using or thinking of using Twitter, you probably already have a LinkedIn Group, Facebook Page, a blog or all of the above. Programs like TweetDeck integrate all of your social media sites allowing you to post content across multiple sites easily. Not only will this save time, but it will ensure your Facebook friends and LinkedIn connections are all receiving your posts.

Strike the Right Balance. Resist the urge to be overly promotional or "salesy." Your customers know that you are on Twitter to promote your business, but if you treat your account like a 24/7 infomercial, no one will be listening when you have something important to say. Start a conversation with your followers and give them a reason to listen.

Make Friends with the #. You’ve probably seen hashtags peppered through peoples’ tweets. Hashtags are a simple way to connect tweets about a specific topic. They make it easier for users to find tweets on a given subject. So why is this important to you? Twitter users often search hashtags for content from people they aren’t currently following. Using hashtags can be a great way to extend your reach and connect with your current audience in a new way.

Twitter can be a valuable way to communicate with your customers (and prospects) online. While it’s not a panacea, it can play a key role in an integrated branding and awareness campaign.

Still unsure how to get started? We can help!

Kaitlin Friedmann

PR Manager

kfriedmann@cmasolutions.com

CMA Displays its Many Talents to New Clients

CMA has begun launching marketing campaigns for three new clients: PIERS, Commercial Cleaning Corporation and KNF Neuberger.

For PIERS, a global trade intelligence organization, CMA is revamping its online presence through a custom-designed blog called Data in Motion, LinkedIn profile and Facebook page. CMA will additionally be conducting digital marketing for PIERS.

Commercial Cleaning Corporation, which offers maintenance services to both public and private sectors, turned to CMA update its brand including a the development of a comprehensive corporate brochure. After completion of this project, CMA plans to focus its efforts on the company’s website.

CMA is also working with KNF Neuberger, a manufacturer of diaphragm pumps for gases and liquids, supporting the company’s tradeshow sales follow up through digital and print communications.

Social Media: Do’s and Don’ts

It’s become pretty clear to businesses across the board—social media is here to stay. Now that you know you need to have a social media presence, let’s examine some best practices we’ve found work best for us and our clients.

1. Do participate. You might currently be what we in the social media business call “a lurker.” Maybe you have a Facebook profile, you check it once or twice a week, but you rarely provide your own status update. Social media is about two-way communication—don’t be afraid to test the waters. Share a funny article or quote your favorite author and show you are ready to engage with your friends. You will be rewarded with their feedback.

2. Don’t do it all at once. You’ve identified the need for a social media presence, but it can be overwhelming to launch everything at once without a clear plan. A good way to start is to launch a blog and post on at least a weekly basis and keep a schedule of what you’re going to post and when. Once the blog is launched, it gives you a solid foundation for future tweets and updates for your Facebook and LinkedIn walls.

3. Do maximize your time by using apps or tools that update across multiple platforms. HootSuite and TweetDeck are good examples of this—whatever your 140-character comment is for the day can be updated on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. all at once. You can even schedule posts throughout the day. This is especially important for businesses who want to keep a consistent message across all platforms.

4. Don’t be afraid to try new things! Social media changes every day and the most used platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn make updates to their inferface, policy changes and new privacy rules very frequently. Stay flexible with social media—it takes time to develop a following and is self-policing. Only the most consistent participants are rewarded with followers, fans and group members. Change it up to keep those folks engaged long-term.

Keep in mind, social media is growing and changing, AND best of all, open to new and frequent innovations! While there’s no charge to use these sites, often the biggest investment is time. Let us know if you’re ready to jump in and we’ll work with you to develop an organized schedule and customized approach to a successful social media campaign.

Kaitlin Friedmann

PR Manager

kfriedmann@cmasolutions.com

Who Are You?

Throughout the month of June, we’ll be tackling the topic of market research, an essential part of any strategic marketing initiative. Not many people are aware of the two main levels of market research needed to effectively gauge the behaviors and buying habits of your clients and customers. CMA uses primary and secondary research to glimpse into the target audience’s world and accurately assess the marketing tactics that will move them to action.

Secondary market research data, contrary to its name, is usually conducted first. This process of gathering target audience demographic information through existing data sources segments the market and dissects key pieces of information about who buys what, when and at what price.

Primary research confirms the positioning and key messaging determined through secondary research. Primary research is usually implemented via a survey that solicits needed information on the target audience. Surveys can be conducted through web-based services that provide accurate tracking of who responds, however some companies prefer to conduct in-person surveys or phone surveys to maximize effectiveness.

Once you have this data you have an accurate picture of who you are targeting and can use this information to personalize your sales pitch through various media. This is now even being done on social media websites such as Facebook. Users will find that shortly after they join a particular group or fan page, Facebook alters the ads displayed on the right hand side of the screen shot to their supposed “likes.” A user who might have become a fan of one comedian will be targeted in promotions for other comedy shows in their home town, for example.

In effective marketing, companies should aim to keep a continuous relationship with a customer, one that is poised to grow stronger over time. CMA is known for our strategic eye for marketing and can help you maintain these relationships. Give us a call or let us know your thoughts on building your marketing relationships.

Erin Higgins
Director of Marketing Services
ehiggins@cmasolutions.com

Finding Your Social Media Identity

With social media evolving nearly everyday, it’s become tough for marketing experts to say what is the right and wrong way to strategize, execute and measure the effectiveness of your campaign. Every company, person and product has different goals, and social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter were designed to celebrate individuality. Here are some pointers to help you decide how to brand yourself and your company in the social media space.

Step 1: Start with yourself. What kind of social media user are you? An August article on CNN.com categorized “annoying types” of Facebook users, and there is truth to author Brandon Griggs’ complaints. For example, I classify myself as somewhere between a “Self Promoter” and a “Lurker,” as I am comfortable mixing my personal and professional worlds on Facebook, Twitter and this blog. My Facebook status might one day congratulate my sister on her new job or it could state how excited I am about a new client PR initiative. I believe that only through developing your own personal brand on social media can you truly understand how to utilize it to promote a company or product.

Step 2: Find a prototype. At this point, marketing and PR professionals are relying heavily on case studies and success stories of their peers to determine what works and what doesn’t. The good news is social media success is achievable whether you are a local dentist or a major airline.

Step 3: What’s Your Name? To promote a company, professional service or a product, there are a few things to determine right off the bat. First, what name will you use to identify yourself? For some social media sites, this is obvious—Acme Widget Company would naturally have a Facebook Fan page called Acme Widget Company. Twitter and other industry-specific social networking sites might prove to be more difficult to find something short and clearly identifiable.

Step 4: What do you want to say? In setting up this blog, CMA decided we would provide useful marketing information and showcase our in-house expertise in a conversational, but still professional tone.

It’s an exciting time for social media development. Check back on this blog for more information or email us with your questions. We’d be happy to help you determine how to approach this exciting new medium.

Kaitlin Friedmann
PR Manager
kfriedmann@cmasolutions.com

Don’t Rely on Luck! Promote Your Web Presence

Now that St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone, it’s important for marketing executives to realize that really establishing a web presence is not accomplished with the luck of the Irish. It’s a combination of integrated marketing and public relations tools that help build a brand and keep the target audience engaged.

For example, a company with a blog that is maybe two or three months old that isn’t seeing any traffic is not providing people with the right avenues to get there. Remember the old saying “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, did it really make a sound?” Think of this when planning your strategy for social media.

It’s become more common for companies to add “Follow Us On…” notes on their e-mail signatures, websites, e-newsletters and any other area that it makes sense to let your audience know there is an additional way to learn about your products, services and company culture. Blogs also often receive some of the most foot traffic from links embedded in other social media postings. For example, an employee’s Tweet may link to your company website providing a whole new network of potential customers with access to your company’s bloggers.

Social media components such as blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook provide a customer with a less formal way to get to know who they are doing business with. Candid, transparent insights into that company’s business practices and how a client can benefit are easier to find on social media sites than in a corporate brochure or on a website. Both serve wonderful purposes to educate a customer, but think of social media as taking your mission and vision statements a step further in a literal and conversational sense.

It takes planning and the effort of dedicated individuals to run an effective social media campaign that is constantly kept fresh and new. Rushing to jump on the bandwagon can end up being an unlucky move in the end.

Erin Higgins
Director of Marketing Services
ehiggins@cmasolutions.com

Social Networking: Becoming one of “them”

Like many PR professionals, I have made a conscious effort in recent years to get on board with social networking. How else can I effectively manage a client’s social media campaign without being one of “them,” the increasing community that communicates largely via 140-character sentences?

I started out on MySpace a couple years ago, but gravitated more toward Facebook and LinkedIn after realizing their more professional, grown-up format. Twitter has the potential to reach a wide audience, as we saw with recent news events as the Presidential Inauguration and the struggle of young Iranian protestors, but requires a lot of up-keep and the right message to gain followers.

Along with these core sites, I participate in other social media by blogging and frequenting several news and political blogs, PR professional blogs and message boards, along with the all-important entertainment scoop sites, providing an occasional comment when I feel I just can’t keep my opinion to myself.

What I have found is that, for the most part, regarding Facebook and Twitter, I pay real attention to a core 20% of my “friends.” For example, a few of my friends are in event planning and public relations. They have, by far, the most interesting “status updates” and “Tweets” because they constantly recommend and mention the best restaurants, hotels and other useful services they come in contact with. I have learned about great New York hot spots, which resorts have the most comfortable beds and websites where I can check out videos of tourist attractions before I visit.

Our clients, current and potential, can gain from this perspective. Many companies want to jump on the social media marketing bandwagon, and I don’t blame them. It’s all anyone is talking about if they are not talking about the downturned economy. But so far, there are specific niches that can use social media as an effective way to raise awareness and drive sales.

It seems obvious, but most of the time, market research may be in order before social media marketing is implemented—the question “is your audience online?” must have a definite answer.

A well-known social media expert said at a seminar I attended recently that the press release will be dead within three years. While that remains to be seen, it’s certainly clear that one-way marketing needs to make room for emerging two-way, user-generated content that has a strong voice and purpose.

Kaitlin Friedmann
Public Relations Manager
kfriedmann@cmasolutions.com