Online Marketing Reflections from a Social Media Guru Assignment C

Wow this is is difficult to put into words. I have never done an online campaign before and this was an opportunity for me to see what an enormous undertaking it would be.  As the sole Social Media guru in my office I am more often than not struggling with the misconceptions that people have about social media.  It is difficult to make people see the connection between being a non profit but still having something to sell.  We need numbers for the government to justify our jobs and that is not happening.  Our target audience is getting younger and for us to not offer online registration or even a PDF to print off is insane.  I strive daily to explain that Facebook alone cannot spread the word and increase our numbers.  Our website is consistently behind in its information and often incorrect.  How do you drive traffic to a website that we don't do analytics for. We have a contract person who does our website and we cannot make changes to it.  It could take 2 to 3 weeks for an update.  Responsive  website is not even in our vocabulary.  SEO, keyword search, play no part in our plan.  ( We wouldn't want to hurt the feelings of our computer guy)   I have learned so much and it is stifling at times to continue but slowly I do.  This week I had some successes that I will share.
1. I convinced my boss to use a photo that I had taken in her Facebook ad for volunteers for one of our programs.  It was not the usual wordy, blurby, shouty info ad.  It performed well and people were amazed.  Slow but progress
2.  I was able to convince a business owner in the community to come in so I could demonstrate quickly why I had not opened his email and why others may not have opened it either.   He truly appreciated my advice.  We discussed everything from the large caps in the sender box (a website name) to his lame, for lack of a better word, subject line.  We didn't go further than that because he got it pretty quickly.
I also demonstrated that I was more likely to access the email on my mobile where it actually looked worse.  He asked " Would you have ever opened the email?" to which I responded "no." We talked about the importance of mobile devices and a responsive website.  It was very cool for me to be seen as somewhat of an expert.

3. This last point is built on skills I have learned form all 7 of the courses I have taken so far.  I have had trouble with the PCplus card and difficulty getting their attention.  I did reply to a request they made for me to email them in their attempt to get me off line but when I did not get a speedy (3 day wait) response I again went to twitter and through keyword searches and a hashtag search on twitter I found influencers and the loblaws marketing executive in Ontario and they are now working on my issue and we will be having a phone conversation in the morning.


 I now realize that I have a far reach and the ability to make changes with careful planning and good word choice and visuals.  Never underestimate the power of the pen or in today's world the power of multimodality in an increasingly mobile world.  Thanks for listening.

Assignment C - Online Marketing Campaign reflection

I have been involved in creating marketing campaign plans before but never an online marketing campaign plan, and this was quite a different experience. The online marketing campaign plan that I created for Shawn Adams Art differed from 'traditional' marketing campaigns that I have worked on in the past, in that I noticed that online marketing channels (web, email, mobile and social media) are not siloed channels, in the same way that 'traditional' marketing channels could be.

I learnt that online marketing audiences are no longer passive audiences receiving ads/information in a one-way system, they are interactive audiences giving feedback in real-time. These direct audience on social media don't supplant paid media entirely, but they give companies who develop a relationship with these audiences a much faster, lower cost means to reach a larger number of interested consumers. I also learnt that some of our online audiences have audiences of their own! These 'amplifiers' or 'influencers' are the fundamental building blocks of earned-media, and the people who make things "go viral". You can't force anyone to amplify your message, but you can incentivize or build relationships and experiences with your brand of such a caliber that people inherently want to share the experience (and hopefully purchase your product)! 

One should always include the following when marketing in the online environment?

• Research! Lots of research into your company, your product(s) and your targeted audience
• Make the process of navigating your website (and products), choosing a product, and purchasing it as easy and as enjoyable as possible. 
• Compelling and engaging content across all your online channels that can create meaningful interactions with your target audience(s)
• Mobile responsiveness, since most people view and buy on a mobile device.
• A clear, concise and effective CTA (Call to Action)
• Stand out visuals (images and video)
• Measure campaign results by monitoring your campaigns and referring back to analytics. Be prepared to make changes quickly in reaction to the results.

http://theultralinx.com/2013/01/carry-digital-marketing-infographic.html

Thanks for a great course Jess. I really enjoyed it and I hope to put what I have learnt into practice in my marketing of Shawn Adams Art.