Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Digital Media Immersion For A Day



By Tracey Wells

In today’s marketing environment, digital reigns king. That’s one key thing I learned attending the first Baltimore Digital Summit (#bds1) in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor Sept. 30. Held in conjunction with Baltimore Ad Week, the audience was a mix of advertisers - creative types and executives - entrepreneurs and digital media enthusiasts.

We learned that digital’s growth rate eclipses all other channels with seemingly no end in sight. This combination creates a web of decisions in the best use of digital media for your brand’s success. It was one of many strong points made during this informative and inspirational seminar.

Here’s what You NEED to Know:

1. Social Media is not a PR platform.
Please don’t mistake social media with a channel to brag about your brand. People do not want to listen to you promote your own awesomeness on social channels. The primary goal of social media is engagement. Finding a connection with your customers is the holy grail of digital media. Revenue is a secondary goal, followed by the growth or adoption of new fans. Use social to build your brand, not flaunt it.

2. Content is key.
Compelling content remains important in digital media, much like in all marketing channels. Your audience is distracted by media clutter. Be unique. Compelling information doesn't always need to push a positive angle, though, so long as it engages. Consider this “baby” campaign from Durex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xEoqWuN1_8.

3. Don’t SPAM the media.
If you are using the press to spread your message, digital media experts like Mario Armstrong (@marioarmstrong) and Roger Mecca (@rogrmecca) advise to engage in one-to-one contact. Don’t SPAM the media using email or Twitter. Send an individual message using a single channel, otherwise it just feels like stalking, or worse, impersonal.

4. Put your content where your audience is.
Research and understand your customer: Where are they? What are they saying? Be there to solve their problems and deliver a solution where they are, not where you think they should be. Are they using mobile or desktop applications? Content marketing is more about content discovery than search. For example, a search for low rate credit cards could lead to content about a debt consolidation loan, providing additional helpful information for the searcher.

5. Take calculated risks. Don’t be afraid to fail.
“Fail forward” was the one quote that resonated the most from the summit. If you are taking a calculated risk and fail, then you are failing forward. Be prepared to take risks, make mistakes and learn from them. Henry Ford did not create the first automobile without risk and failure, but where would we be without his fortitude? A recent risk taker that took off is Tessemae’s Salad Dressing, a family company whose founder left a steady employee benefits representative job to start a company and is now making millions selling salad dressing. Honestly, I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t listened to the story first hand. Learn more here http://www.tessemaes.com/pages/about-us.

6. Engage. Connect.
Let your customers tell their story. This allows them to engage with your brand and connects you to the community. While the customer story is the body of the content, your business is the halo.

There is no one-size-fits-all for social media. Each brand will find a few channels that work best to deliver their message. Within each channel, brands must deliver in an appropriate voice for that channel’s identity. In other words, Twitter will have a different voice than LinkedIn or Facebook. 

Listen to your customers, whether through your own research or listening services like Adobe Social. Find your influencers and join the conversation.

Certain concepts that shape all aspects of marketing also hold true in digital media, while others may sound like a foreign language when heard the first time around. Digital media has turned marketing on its head, and continues to spin it to places that excite and challenge even the most seasoned professionals.

Reading List
Top Dogs by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman
The Startup Playbook by David Kidder

Apps & Resources to Check Out

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