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Week 29
How Social Marketing can make the most of CSR for ‘Employer Branding’
There are many sound social and moral reasons why companies pay attention to their corporate social responsibility (CSR), but the benefits can be tremendous for marketing a business as a ‘brand’ to potential employees.
Superficially, it may seem cynical for a commercial firm to benefit from an exercise intended to give something back to its own community. But in fact, the more a firm gains from CSR, the more generous it is likely to be with its time and resources.
Despite the economic slowdown around the world, human resource departments within many businesses - big and small - are reporting difficulties in attracting the right people to niche positions.
And it’s here that the perhaps unfortunate phrase “employer branding” joins forces with CSR, because one way to make your firm attractive to future recruits, is to show the world a philanthropic side – all part of the bigger picture of brand building.
Week 28
An Apple of Advice about Protecting your Brand Online
When Steve Jobs gave a rare press conference last week to defend Apple's fourth generation iPhone, he specifically criticised what he said was the way the media had exaggerated problems with the smart phone’s antenna reception to attack the company he founded at the start of the digital era.
To watch the event go to
http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/100716iab73asc/event/index.html
While conceding there was a problem with some units, Jobs said it was not widespread and pointed to the lower return rate from unhappy customers than the previous model as he grappled with a major crisis of brand identity
But what Jobs either misunderstood or willfully ignored, was the magnifying effect not just of traditional media outlets, but the wider social media content where any product flaws are quickly dissected.
It's quite ironic that a world-famous technology veteran and his company, which have been praised for spearheading many breakthroughs and effective brand marketing, are themselves directly affected by the power of social media content.
That’s why brand building online, quickly rebutting false allegations and resolving legitimate criticism is crucial for brand management. This social media strategy can take place across a wide array of platforms, from blog posts, to twitter or within commentary on websites.
In fact, it doesn't matter anymore if there's no big stories about your firm or products in the mainstream mass media because, as anyone who has dipped into the forum sections of a website like Macrumors.com can see, there's often hundreds, if not thousands of comments on every topic, whether it's the antenna problem or new product launches that can hit your brand identity.
This means instant peer reviews that can either knock down or stand up just about any claim and all it takes is someone to type “product name” and “type of problem” into a search engine to find out if they are alone or not – it’s the way consumers make the most of search engine optimization for their own ends.
In the case of the Iphone, the problems and some solutions had already been clarified, long before Jobs offered his apology last week.
Analysts say that with sales of the smart phone very strong, there doesn't seem to be a short-term impact from what has been dubbed "antenna-gate". But they also caution that in the longer-term brand management, Apple's shine may have lost some of its lustre - the secret ingredient that has differentiated this apple from all the lemons.
And the lesson everyone else can learn? If you have a problem, come clean as quickly as possible to minimise criticism and perhaps earn some rewards for honesty from cynical consumers who thrive on social networking.
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