blog till you drop!
A cocktail of advertising, social media, and technology
Flushing out the recession – adding value through Social Media
Oct 28th
Here’s my first entry for this year’s Bathroom Blogfest 2009 which is all about ‘Flushing the Recession and Plunging into Forgotten Spaces.’
Don’t forget to check out the full list of blogfesters here, as well as the Bathroom Blogfest’s official Blog and Facebook Fan page
One of the key things in Social Media Marketing, is how brands can use different channels and add value to their customers. Now imagine you’re faced with a purchase decision, and suddenly remember this cool Facebook Fan Page / YouTube video / Twitter Feed, you’ll probably end up buying the brand that made you feel good, instead of a competitor product… well I do anyway!
Social media is a relationship channel and you could add value by sharing something to help your customers, or it might be by providing a customer with a chance to give you feedback, or simply sharing a joke with them!
Here are a few ways to provide value and usefulness to your customers:
- Listen to your audience online and let them know you hear them by making changes based on their feedback
- Follow the 90/10 rule: 90% of your messages will be about adding value, and the remaining 10% will be about promoting your brand and ‘pushing’ your marketing messages
- Be human – Social Media is about giving your brand a voice (or a face, e.g Zappos)
- Online messages spread fast – follow the social networking code of conduct and be nice (remember Habitat?)
- Every time you Tweet / Blog about something, ask yourself if it’s useful
- Ask questions, answer questions, retweet content your followers might find useful
What other useful tips could we add to this list?
Announcing the Bathroom Blogfest 2009
Oct 21st
The 2009 Bathroom Blogfest, now in its fourth year, brings together 20 bloggers from the U.S., Canada, the UK and India who will post at least once on some aspect of the theme: ‘Flush the Recession and Plunge into Forgotten Spaces.’ The topic is very much ‘open-ended’ so it’ll interesting to see what other blogfesters talk about!
The Bathroom Blogfest began in 2006 as the brainchild of Stephanie Weaver, and Susan Abbott, who wanted to connect with fellow bloggers passionate about the customer experience. The Bathroom Blogfest has now grown into a resource for retailers and restaurants that are looking for tips on how to create a better experience for customers.
You can stay up to date with the Bathroom Blogfest by joining our Fan Page on Facebook, and you can of course, follow us on @BathroomBlogfes.
Participating bloggers for the Bathroom Blogfest ’09 include:
• Susan Abbott at Customer Experience Crossroads
• Reshma Anand at Qualitative Research Blog
• Shannon Bilby at From the Floors Up
• Shannon Bilby and Brad Millner at My Big Bob’s Blog
• Jeanne Byington at The Importance of Earnest Service
• Becky Carroll at Customers Rock!
• Leslie Clagett at KB Culture
• Katie Clark at Practical Katie
• Iris Shreve Garrott at Checking In and Checking Out
• Julie at Julie’s Cleaning Secrets Blog
• Marianna Hayes at Results Revolution
• Maria Palma at People To People Service
• Professor Toilet at Professor Toilet’s Blog
• David Reich at My 2 Cents
• Bethany Richmond at The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog
• Carolyn Townes at Becoming a Woman of Purpose
• Stephanie Weaver at Experienceology
• C.B. Whittemore at Flooring The Consumer and Simple Marketing Blog
• Linda Wright at Lindaloo.com: Build Better Business with Better Bathrooms
I am absolutely delighted to be involved in this blogging event, once again, and I look forward to reading your posts ladies!