#augie ray

[amitbchoudhury]

Opinion: From brand positioning & communication strategy to customer experience management (CXM) – ET BrandEquity Sanjeev Jasani, COO, Cheil India. By Sanjeev Jasani If you have a customer centric business then…

[tombuchheim]

Social Media's Land of Opportunity

Social Media’s Land of Opportunity

The term is so tired, I even had to use a tired stock image to emphasize my point.

Opportunity.

This multipurpose word uplifts and undercuts from one sentence to the next. Consider “land of opportunity” — a prideful, slogan-ish term with patriotic undertones. We stand proudly behind the idea that we live in a vast land of opportunity.

Contrast that with the opportunityto do better — as in, what…

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[jeromepineau]

Supercharged conversation going on at industry maven Augie Ray's blog this week following his post about the Esurance Superbowl marketing campaign.

For those who really want to jump into the intricacies and challenges of Social Marketing, this is a great place to start! You want facts, deep research, and highly-educated points of view from a bunch of super sharp social folks? Check it out.

Me, I agree pretty much with mostly everything Augie says about social - at least on the Marketing side of things - recently he suggested Marketing should probably do best to leave earned social alone altogether and although I might not push it that far, he does make some compelling arguments in a gutsy kind of way.

The issue I see with Social Marketing in its current practice is very simple. It's the same issue get-rich-quick entrepreneurs suffer from. You can't typically succeed if your one and only goal is to become rich. I mean, it does happen sometimes, but it's the exception not the rule (and those involved are typically a$$holes).

The way to get rich is to first do something you're utterly passionate about - and then help and share with others in the process. Generosity breeds reward. If you do that consistently, then - and only then - the money will flow in. It's not unlike dating when you think about it. That gal you always wanted but never gave you the time of day? Until you ignored her and then she got interested? 

I think about social marketing the same way. First, you must be passionate about customers and truly seek to help and enrich their experience. You have to love this stuff -- forget about conversions, quick sales, super duper campaigns, and all that crap. Focus on loyalty and lifetime reward. Bring value. Don't attach conditions. Nurture customers with a thousand points of kindness and care day in and day out. And then, but just then, every so often, ask them to buy something. 

And you know what? Sales will follow. You'll swim in cash. Not kidding. But don't just seek the sale. Don't obsess about the sale.

I call it pointillism marketing. To see the big picture, you do need to stand back. But to execute it, you need to build long-term relationships one tiny paint spot at a time.

So keep painting and stay social my friends :)

[postmarq]

@PaulMRand and @AugieRay gave the keynote talks for the PR & Social Media Summit at Marquette University.

[augieraymusic]

[almiron]

The New Brand Accountability...

When everyone in your company is social, it means everyone's personal lives reflect your brand...That can lead to unexpected PR issues...like employees who like to hunt polar bears. http://seb.tl/IhjLbz #domainnames

[jchernov]

Final Slide from Upcoming #WordCampAtl Speech on FTC & Blogging

 ... and I finally completed my deck.  The session is called "Blogging in the FTC Era" and it aims to help bloggers better understand the Commission's new "Guides" and adopt best practices to ensure compliance. 

Here's the final slide, a mashup of companies, organizations and individuals mentioned in the session.  Who'd have thought Kim Kardashian and the FTC's Mary Engle would be ever plotted in the same circle?

http://www.slideshare.net/jchernov/orgs-people-companies-mentioned-in-upcoming-wordcamp-atlanta-presentation

If you want to attend or sponsor, contact: @tessa.