Archive for June, 2009
What a Clever Way to Announce a Promotion!
My Dad loves to put articles on my desk about what businesses are doing to market themselves and the various ways they are building awareness of their brands. I always laugh when I make my way to my desk and see a new stack of papers that I know I didn’t leave there the night before. As you can imagine, my desk is almost never really clean!
The last article he left for me was a clever little story about how one historic resort, The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa in Asheville, N.C. The resort gave away 96 free rooms exclusively through Twitter. The Grove is celebrating its 96th birthday in July and they decided to use a different way to launch a giveaway. And let me tell you, it was definitely effective! I visited The Grove Park Inn’s website and they have a graphic inviting visitors to follow E.W. Grove’s Twitter.com page on every page of their website – so naturally, I had to start following them!
According to the article, The Grove uses its Twitter page to provide updates on Inn activities. A “tweet” was sent out at 11am on May 11 to their Twitter followers. The first 96 people to call the 800 number that was provided only through their “tweet” claimed a free, one-night deluxe Mountain View accommodation.
After reading the article my Dad and I were discussing the promotion and how clever we thought it was. It’s just another example of how powerful social media tools can be for marketing your business. Since my Dad, Tom Barcelona, hit the nail on the head, I thought I would include what he had to say below:
“Here’s an example of a hotel or resort property giving away lodging nights in an effort to have people “experience” their property. No different than a restaurant inviting VIPs to experience their restaurant prior to opening to the general public or a bakery taking free cupcakes to a chamber of commerce meeting. The whole idea is if people who know other people – people who are in a position to spread the word – experience your product or service – they will return and encourage others to come.”
Using Twitter to get the word out there and announce the offer enabled the hotel to advertise the promotion at no expense. They could have extended the same offer with an ad in USA Today or the Wall Street Journal, but they avoided that huge expense by using social media. More importantly, the response indicates that they accomplished their goals.
The article was from Club & Resort Business Magazine, June 2009 issue. To view the article visit www.clubandresortbusiness.com
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Why Twitter? The Real Question Is… Why Not Twitter?
Barcelona Creative is fortunate to work with incredible clients. Building stronger relationships with them and learning from them highlight my day. Sometimes, spending an unplanned 30 minutes together at a Chamber event is a great time to chat and talk strategy. Isn’t that what being partners is all about?
I spent time with Beth Fahey of Creative Cakes in Tinley Park today at a Tinley Chamber lunch. The funny thing is that the reason I went was because Beth and I exchanged “tweets” about it 20 minutes before the event started. That is the beauty of a social networking tool like Twitter. Your clients and contacts are at your fingertips. (Connect with Beth and Creative Cakes on Twitter with @cr8cakes.)
Beth and I check in with each other every couple of weeks about Twitter – exchanging ideas, monitoring her progress and how it’s helping her business. Beth admits she’s become a little addicted because she had that Aha! moment, where she finally understood Twitter and it’s possibilities.
So, how is engaging in Twitter helping Beth build the Creative Cakes brand?
- By making a conscious effort to be present on Twitter at least once a day in the past 2 weeks, Creative Cakes has increased their followers from 100 to over 340.
- By connecting with bakeries and individuals all over the U.S., Beth is raising awareness of the Creative Cakes brand and increasing online exposure.
- She has found answers to questions about tradeshows, equipment and ingredient procurement.
- Twitter was just one more piece in their ongoing online marketing efforts, which also included a new website, email marketing and a Facebook page. When combined, these efforts have increased their website traffic by 47% over the past 3 months.
- When we compared the following dates – 5/1-5/16 vs. 6/1-6/16, website hits had increased 38%. Continuing at this pace for the remainder of June, unique visitors to the site are on track to increase by 39%.
- They are offering free cupcakes and cookies on Twitter in order to increase their following and to generate buzz about their baked goods – which are delicious!
Beyond the statistics, Creative Cakes has experienced the busiest 2 months in the last year. In times when it’s easy to be negative, that’s something positive to talk about.
Just before finishing our conversation, Beth said something that stuck with me. She said, “I am connecting with people I wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to and solving problems to serve my customers better. You have to take advantage of a tool like this, otherwise, you’re just missing out. Now, I’m always thinking about what my “tweets” say about my brand.”
What a great thing to hear a client say, and even better is to watch Creative Cakes use these tools to grow their business!
Websites Can No Longer Be Just Online Brochures
Today’s world is fast-paced, information is in high demand and easily accessible, and websites, blogs and social media sites are changing how businesses can and must communicate with current and potential customers. Businesses are being challenged to become part of the consumer’s community of reliable resources.
With social media giving people the opportunity to tell your business, in their own words, what is important to them, businesses are gaining access to people’s thoughts, needs and questions. The good news is – this is market research at your fingertips, and it’s FREE!
All this means websites are changing. Are you ready?
Static websites must evolve –
Your company’s website must become more interactive – allowing for connection and engagement with your current and potential customers.
Content is king –
Website content must be relevant and provide solutions. It must also be valuable and portable, with the ability to be pushed out to other channels, such as a company blog or social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Digg, YouTube, etc.
Social media isn’t going away -
Whether or not you believe in incorporating things like email marketing, Facebook and Twitter, into your marketing strategy, you need to do it.
Even though Twitter may be the reigning king of social media today, and a year from now it may be something else, the point is social media is here to stay. Brands that embrace the “idea” of communicating and building relationships through social networks will be the ones that stick around in the future.
The internet and social media sites are changing the way businesses and brands communicate with the public. The time to embrace this change is now!
Here’s to building better brands!
Our goal for every client we serve is to help accomplish their marketing objectives, strengthen their brand and grow their business.
While creating all types of marketing materials over nearly two decades and helping many different companies tell their story has certainly helped us generate a few interesting tales of our own, this blog is intended to encourage conversation – hence the name “BrandTalk”. From time to time, members of our creative team will share thoughts, ideas or relate some news, but we hope you will comment, ask questions, offer advice, lend your perspective or relate a marketing-related experience of your own. As we move forward, our intent is to make this blog a valuable source of information and one more tool that can help you build your brand and your business.
Tom Barcelona