Feature Articles

Marketers are always looking for the next big way to draw attention to our product. We love terms like cutting-edge and vanguard. We strive to be unique and the first ones "to market" with an idea. But with the advent of social media we're coming to realize that everyone is a marketer. Schools have recognized this for a long time. That's why instead of having teachers hock candy bars to us, they send little Jimmy peddling his goods around to all of his family.

Social marketing is an every day push. You are more apt to buy from little Jimmy, because you know him, then you are to be won over by a slick campaign. After all, who can say no to Jimmy's big brown eyes and chocolate-smudged face

The best bang you can get from your buck (in marketing) is to get people excited about your product. Get people talking to one another. Don't let them hear it from you, let them hear it from their best friend, colleague, grandmother... just get people talking. (Whether that's through an online member community or not depends upon your product or service but it never hurts to give someone a platform upon which to sing your praises.)

There are many ways to create buzz; having an unparalleled product/service or deal, creating an inviting community or through incredible customer service. Assuming you already have a great product, and if you are on this site you are at least entertaining the idea of creating a feature-rich community, that leaves the third component – your marketing team is now comprised of your entire staff. This concept involves a new way of thinking for many but it comes down to representation. Because of social networking and online communities, your organization has become more transparent, whether you realized it or not.

Through employee social networking profiles, to customer blog testimonials, you (maybe even your management style), your product and your level of service are being discussed openly. Train and empower your employees to be brand evangelists. You spend money to deliver a message to the public but if you ignore your employees (or volunteers, whoever is out there representing you) your customers won’t get it. If all they see is unresponsive customer service or incorrect information sharing, it won’t matter that you are telling them the opposite. Plus the newer the customer, the less likely he’ll be to give you a second chance.

So don't let a customer’s first impression with your organization be his last. The money you spend reinvesting in your workforce has a great ROI – it’s called HRC or happy, returning customers.

There's a long forgotten saying, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." But stories of terrible customer service and junky products spread faster and last longer than the good ones, so you do have to work to get people talking about you in a positive light. But when you come to recognize that everyone is a potential member of your marketing department and make it your goal for every connection to be a positive one, you will become a company with an army of brand evangelists both internally and externally.