Please Talk Back (The Perfect Mantra for Social Media Marketing!)

Social media offers marketers an opportunity to engage in conversation about their brand. So, how did this baby boomer get to know anything about the benefits of social media? Isn't that a young person's game?

Well, once upon a time, a young woman (that was me), wielded my best marketing and design tools – Pantone markers, letraset – to provide clients with the kind of perfect layouts and marketing messages that assumed people were listening. For the most part, they were. It was a less cynical world. Marketers weren’t competing with the Internet, or YouTube or video on demand or online ratings. Consumers didn’t register for "do not call" lists, use DVRs to tape TV shows so they could “skip” the commercials, or Google clients to see how some of its previous customers felt about their service or product. When we talked to consumers the last thing we wanted was for them to talk back.

Fast forward 25 years, the design and advertising landscape has drastically changed. My markers and paper have long since been retired and replaced with a computer that allows my agency to create marketing materials in less than one twentieth the time. The newspapers of our day are fighting for their lives, the post office is gasping for breath and the youngest members of our population are determined to "opt-in" for marketing.

The times have changed, and good marketers must change with them. For me, that often means educating clients on the latest tools in the marketing toolbox. In some cases, it means pushing them online to listen to the conversation that's taking place right now about their brand. Better yet, I counsel them to encourage the conversation, to ask for feedback in order to do a better job of giving their customers what they're telling them they want.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the subject!


–Ann Byne, Principal, The Byne Group

The Millennial Generation & Social Media

Marketers are enthralled by Gen Y's youngest partner, the Millennials and for very good reason: They are an important market today and will become even more important as they graduate, hopefully start jobs, and spend money.

Because one of the markets we do work in is colleges, I can't get enough on the subject. Today I read with interest an article at media post by Jack Loechner about 200 Students from the College of Journalism at University of Maryland who unplugged all their media for 24 hours. (http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=127323)

I have a nineteen year old nephew and if you spend any time around any 18-22 year olds you know gadgets are like appendages to them. They can't imagine life without their cell phones and iPods. So what caused the most anxiety for these 200 Millennial's in the study? One student wrote, "This technology craze has become so deeply ingrained in each of us we know no other way of living our lives, but to rely on our cell phones, laptops, televisions, and iPods to keep us occupied and connected with the world around us..."

Daily text-messaging by teens has "shot up" dramatically in the past 18 months, according to a new study, "Teens and Mobile Phones," from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. The study also said nearly 75 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds have cell phones, hey no surprise here. And the love affair between teens and texting will only continue to grow. An interesting dilemma as marketers try to stay connected to this generation in a honest and meaningful way.

–Ann Byne, Principal of The Byne Group

Fundraising for Arts Organizations in a Down Economy

At a recent seminar I gave about marketing and social media, someone from the audience wanted to know how to raise money during this economy when your organization is in the arts. (hers focused specifically on African dance, culture and music). Interestingly, I had watched children from their troupe perform at an outdoor festival the prior summer. It had made a real impression on me, they were really amazing.

It's a tough question. We all know non-profits in general are hurting, so how do arts organizations compete with non-profits who help people with basic needs of life? First, can we please begin to eliminate the word compete and competition from our vocabulary, instead lets come from a sense of abundance!

I feel very strongly that now more than ever we all need to have our spirits lifted and dance certainly meets the bill! It seems like a given that all arts should be an important component of our lives and especially our children. Here are some thoughts and ideas I gave her to consider:

Find Ways To Connect With Your Donor

• Remember when you openly talk about challenges that we all face in a difficult economy, it creates a sense of community. Convey your understanding of and empathize with the challenges they may be facing. At the same time, be clear and honest about the challenges your nonprofit is facing.
• No matter what your organization does, be it dance or caring for the sick, be sure to share a specific story about one child or adult that your program has helped. Give enough details to make them care, but not so much that they lose interest. Use it everywhere, on your website, in your letters, in conversations.

Think Outside Of The Box, Be Creative

• According to John Munger, research director for the National Service Organization Dance/USA, "You no longer market a performance that you sit and look at. What you offer is a complete experience that begins before the performance even starts and may continue afterward." Meals and discussions beforehand, maybe dance lessons after”.
• Find ways to partner with other non-profits to create new and more interesting events. You’ll introduce new audiences to each other and hopefully grow your fan and mail list. Brainstorming ideas is more powerful when there are different points of view. The best part, as a team you share the expenses, the work and the money raised.
• Take advantage of social media, it should be all non-profits best friend. Create a Facebook page for your organization and invite fans but also create a cause page where people can donate directly.

Never Give Up

• Last but not least don’t be discouraged, positive thinking is a powerful tool, just fake it until you make it! My grandmother used to say that worrying is like sitting in a rocking chair, you might be moving but you’re not getting anywhere.
• Remember why your organization began and how many lives you have changed through your work. Try to write down each success, and remember to pat yourself on the back once in awhile.
• I think we are in a time of resurgence for the arts, our leadership has an understanding of its vital role in humanity and especially for our children. Hey, a President who even writes poetry can’t be bad!

Do you have any thoughts or suggestions on this subject. Has your organization come up with some creative ways to raise awareness and funds. I would love to hear them, you never know who you could inspire to continue to fight the good fight!

-Ann Byne, Creative Director/Principal of The Byne Group

Non Profits who understand the value of a story

With fewer donations and declining investments, nonprofits have to be re-think how they raise revenue.

I recently read a great article in the Wall Street Journal By Shelly Banjo in which she gave some successful fund raising case studies.

One of the most interesting to me was about Covenant House in NYC. Why? They understood the power of their clients stories. Anyone who knows about my philosophy on marketing knows that I am a big believer in story-telling as a means to capture attention. And the way they approached the ask was true and authentic.

They had the youths who had been helped, who had lived the organizations tag line “Changing Lives, Creating Futures” reach out to the people who had given in the past and had created hope for them. Done right, what can be more powerful. According to Jerome Kilbane, Covenant House's executive director “The people receiving a nonprofit's services are the best spokespeople for the organization. After receiving a call, "the size of the donor's gift increased by 50% from the year before" on average.

Their website also supports the idea of telling individual stories. A link titled “WHERE ARE THEY NOW?” looks at past youth who have been able to accomplish their goals of living independently. A great way for donors to feel they have made a difference no matter how large their gift.

The Magic of Powerful Branding:

What we can all learn from Walt Disney

In this economy we could all use a little bit of magic. And who better to teach us than the master of successful branding, Walt Disney.

I often talk about the importance of finding and then telling one story from many in order to inspire and engage clients. Walt Disney intuitively understood this. He was a master story teller who touched old and young and knew how to coordinate the Disney brand across all mediums; tv, movies, books, and ultimately theme parks.

I remember the first time our family visited Disneyworld over 30 years ago. Our son was 5 and it was our first real family vacation. All you have to know about a powerful brand was revealed as we first walked into the park and saw “The Castle” ahead of us. It was a transforming experience that become a happy obsession for our son. He now shares it with his 22 month old daughter who points to a picture on her sippy cup and gleefully and loudly announces “Mick Mou” as if she is seeing a favorite friend.

In an article in Harvard Business publishing, John Sviokla writes “As companies try to get their voice "out" in the overcrowded, fragmented, 24x7, blog-filled, multi-dialog, Mad Money Cramer kind of world of 2009, executives need to think carefully about their core stories to customers…..We can draw wisdom from Walt Disney, who understood the multi-media, multi-channel, multi-experience world four score years before the rest of us”

Some of the core branding principles John shares in his article:
1. Know the story is king.
Humans like to read about humans and whether you are selling CAT scanners, or auto insurance, every message must have a story that resonates with the human condition at its core.
2. Coordinate the message across the media.
In today's fragmented world, executives must reinforce key messages by having multiple, consistent, coordinated touch points for the same idea.
3. Have the courage to innovate.
Walt Disney initially funded portions of Disneyland out of his own pocket, and then sold them back to the corporation because they did not want to take the first risks. Be braver.
4. Stay on message.
With Disney, you only had to see the Castle to conjure up the entire set of thoughts and dreams.

Ann Byne, Creative Director/Principal
The Byne Group

Defending Your Marketing Budget!

When the economy is tough management's first response is to reduce marketing budgets. What management sometimes forgets to remember...... that during any period of economic downturn your best customers become someone else's best prospects. When you stop inviting them to do business with you, a more aggressive competitor may become much more attractive.

According to Nancy Schwartz author of Effective Marketing "It may seem right (politically) to accept the managements decision to slash your marketing budget, but it's the wrong move to make. In the long run, accepting a significant budget cut will harm your organization"

"No program succeeds without participants; no service lasts without users; few organizations stay healthy without a strong donor and volunteer base -- and marketing is the way that these groups are reached, engaged, retained and motivated to act. Challenge your organization's leaders NOW if they're shying away from investing in marketing. If they do, your organization will really suffer long term. That's what you have to point out -- as diplomatically as possible. And far better than just talking about it, you have to prove it. Rather than taking a defensive position when faced with budget cuts, proactively respond to your leadership's challenges."

So how can you defend your marketing budget, and make your customers experience exceptional.

1. Never take your focus off your customers. Cherish them, and make sure they know it. Make their Personal Experience Factor exceptional.

2. Media pricing is driven by market demand. Take advantage of the weak demand and the resultant drop in price to buy even more market presence without increasing your advertising budget.

3. Craft a plan tying marketing work directly your goals, and track the impact of every effort before, during and after the work to enable ongoing course correction.

4. Arm yourself with as many hard stats and success stories as you can. Talk about what colleague and competitive organizations are doing, and what you'll lose if your organization retreats now.

When too many assumptions get in the way of asking open-ended questions

The art of marketing often involves asking lots of questions with no expectations of the answers. This can be the most difficult thing to do. How often do we assume we know the answers and forget to ask the right questions? I think what children do best is have an open mind. In Japan they use the phrase “Shoshin” which means beginners mind. In the beginners mind says Shunryu Suzuki, a Japanese Buddhist scholar, there are many possibilities; in the experts mind there are few.

I want to share a story about a friend of mine, which illustrates “the beginners mind”. We were in a meeting together and she looked as if she had been crying earlier. When I asked her if everything was ok she reassured me that it was just allergies and her allergist had prescribed drops.

The next time we spoke I asked her if she was still suffering with allergies. “Funny you should ask, she said, I went home that day, got into bed and hoped for some relief, my daughter came into the room and said, mommy, you have “esema”. (her daughter had eczema on her arms in the past) This conversation went on for a while and to get her daughter off her case my friend put some of her daughters cream under her eyes. As you might have guessed it worked instantly.

Now, I certainly don’t recommend self-medicating ourselves but I do believe there is a business lesson here. How often do we ask our clients a question with an answer already in our heads? Or in my client’s case did she start her conversation with the allergist asking for eye drops, for her allergies rather than asking an open-ended question of what is this. Next time you meet with a client try not to come up with a solution too quickly and try using “Shoshin, a beginners mind”. Ask more open-ended questions. What was wasted? What caused complaints today? You will be surprised what you might learn.