Interruption Marketing

Monday's post about Curing The Social Media Blues generated some wonderful comments.  Unfortunately it also received a comment that was purely spam.  There was no attempt from the commenter to even pretend he was participating in the discussion.  The comment looked like this:

Free Unlimited Entertainment , Bargain Shopping, and Computer Learning Library.
1 Click Media bar
Our Free Gift to You
100% Free Super Entertainment System
100% Free Super Bargain Finder System
100% Free Computer Learning Videos
(hyperlink to cheesy website)

The comment was on a discussion thread in a LinkedIn group, so I personally couldn't remove the comment, but I did contact the group owner to let him know one of his members is a spammer.

What is the point of posting information about your product or service as a comment to another discussion?  I certainly don't mind when readers who make a valid comment include a link to their website or blog (in fact I like that it helps me connect to my readers), but this was pretty lame.  There's no way he generates any business this way.

Looking on the bright side, this is a rare occurrence.  Most of the feedback I get on my blog (or LinkedIn discussions, BizSugar.com, or Twitter) have been great.  Thank you to everyone else who has added something positive to the conversations!

Permission Marketing Is NOT Quid Pro Quo

I'm a big fan of Seth Godin.  I subscribe to a handful of blogs, and his blog is probably the one I enjoy reading the most.  So when I heard someone misuse the concept of permission marketing this week it bothered me.

I was listening to a lecture, and the presenter was telling us about a marketing campaigns he ran.  His client sponsored an event where people could have their pictures taken with a particular celebrity.  Once their picture had been taken the client would ask for an email address where they could send the picture.  The presenter claimed that their client now had "permission" to email the client, and they could then begin sending them promotional offers.

I don't agree.  The people only wanted their picture, nothing more.  Maybe a few of the people at the event would have been willing to receive promotional information from the company, but they were never asked.

There's a big difference between permission marketing and quid pro quo.  Of course nobody explains the difference better than Seth:

Permission Marketing

Quid pro quo (santa math)

Strategy or Tactics?

Which is more important in social media, strategy or tactics?  That's the question asked this week by TopRank's Online Marketing Blog in great posts here and here.  They asked the question to several marketing and web professionals, and the consensus is that strategy must come first.

Why, then, do so many companies try to grow their online presence before they have a clear strategy? 

Using eMarketing tools like social media, SEO, and online advertising can help you reach a large audience for little or no money.  That can lead to wonderful things for a business that is ready to handle the attention, but it can be disasterous for those that are unprepared.

On Monday I wrote a post about a company that contacted me to offer their services.  My interest was piqued, and I clicked on the link to their website.  However, the content on their website was so inept that I quickly deleted their message.  I will never do business with them, even if they fix their mistakes. 

Their tactics were effective enough to get me to their website, but their lack of an effective marketing strategy turned me away.  Consequently they're worse off than if they never contacted me at all.

Has anyone else had a similar experience they'd like to share?

Know Your Strengths

This weekend I received a message from a marketing research firm offering to provide me with high quality marketing services, including email campaigns and data collection.  However, their website contained a great deal of grammatical errors and phrasing that didn't quite make sense.  Why would I consider outsourcing my marketing communications to a company that doesn't communicate effectively? 

Knowing a few things about SEO and web design does not make you a marketing professional.  I wouldn't hire a mechanic just because he knew how to drive, so why would I hire a technology firm to run a marketing campaign?

Social Media in National Media

Tuesday seemed to be a slow day for my social media and RSS feeds.  Looking for something new to read, I wandered to Google News and searched for "social media."  I found 3 very interesting articles that suggest social media has now taken center stage for many marketing campaigns.

McDonald's hires its first director of social media- http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26489.as 

The Boston Celtics said that they are about to pick a winner for a contest featured in their Celtics Banner Moments social media program- http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2010/04/celtics_look_to.htm 

SAS introduces a tool to take the technology challenges out of Facebook, Twitter, blog and public-forum monitoring- http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/utility_ondemand/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=22440012

e-Marketing Isn't Magic

I recently came across a definition of e-Marketing that I really like:

Very simply put, eMarketing or electronic marketing refers to the application of marketing principles and techniques via electronic media and more specifically the Internet.

Yes, it sounds very simplistic, even obvious.  But if you take a look at many of the websites and blogs dedicated to e-Marketing the use of "marketing principles" is severely limited.  Many people like to focus on hot topics like SEO, social media optimization, Google AdWords, etc., but it rarely seems to be part of an overall, holistic approach to marketing.

Using internet and social media as tools can be a fantastic way to carry out a well though out marketing plan.  Using them instead of a real marketing plan can be a disaster.