Today I received an email from a co-worker that read:

Dave,

Can you please send me your ideas for getting this client promoted through social media?

Thanks,

Co-Worker

This, of course got the hamster wheels in my head turning.  What are some social media tools that a brand can use to market their goods? Let us see, we have Twitter, Facebook… Then it hit me. There is a lot of ways to market your brand online, OTHER than Facebook and Twitter.  So let us look at some ways a company can market their selves online.  I think a good way to answer this would be in list form, as people like lists.

-Social Networking Sites: Do not just think Facebook & Myspace!   Is that where your potential clients are? Maybe. Yet, there a lot more! Are you looking for Baby Boomers specifically? There is Eons, Boomj, Teebeedee and many more.   There are social networking sites done by other companies that you can partner with. Heck the WWE even has a site. There is probably a niche social networking site for almost any target demographic you can think of.

-Virtual Worlds: As I posted last week, there is $600 million being dropped into virtual worlds. Creating a virtual version of your product seems like a great move. Find a virtual world, there are  hundreds (this is list is far from complete or current, but it is a start!) and make your brand something special there! Why not allow an avatar drink a virtual coke? Let an avatar wear designer jeans?

-Create a Blog: This blog could be about things that “support” the product you want to sell.  Let us say you sell diamond rings. Create a blog that shares information about different quality, shape, type, ratings about diamond rings. Best time to buy, events to buy, fun ways to surprise people with them.  This blog can help support the goal of sales and give potential clients great reasons to purchase the diamond rings.  You can also do something fun like SouthWest Airlines.

-YouTube Channel: Same Idea as the blog, just done with video. A great example is the New York Times channel. The great thing about this it has links to channels for the reports and links back to the New York Times site. In a way it feels like your actually on the New York Times site itself.

-Mobile Application: This is hot, I mean red hot. The mobile application business is booming. Why not create an application that supports your brand in some way? Look at what Nike did!  My advice, make it fun and simple. Let people take your brand with them.  Oh and if you are an application developer, there is some serious money to be made as Newsweek points out.

These are just 5 ideas. There a lot more out there!

Posted under Blog, Social Media

Would you pay good money for:

-Something you can not hold?

-Something you can not touch?

-Something you can not smell?

-Something you can not take with you?

What’s that? No? Me either. Yet we do it all the time. Let us review it in list form, people like lists:

-In Facebook people can give virtual gifts to friends by  paying real money for virtual credits.

-In Second Life people make a living by creating virtual clothes and goods. People also pay real money for virtual land.

-In World Of Warcraft there  is a whole secondary market where people who have set up businesses  selling virtual gold coins to people so they can buy virtual goods in the game.

The list goes on and on… crazy right?

This is bigger then playing games on line or networking with friends. Companies need to start thinking outside the box and starting embracing these new ways that people interact and consume products. Brands need to do more then buy  a commercial on tv, a radio spot, or a print ad. Consumers are more then ever interacting with brands directly and in different ways. People are spending real money on virtual items and spending real time in virtual environments with brands

Lets look at some examples of how companies use virtual goods and worlds to increase brand awareness and/or generate more revue:

- On top of the monthly fees World Of  Warcraft users are spending up to $10.00 extra for a limted edition virtual pet to use in the game. They sold out.

-Facebook users sold out limted edition virtual New York Times newspapers that had the headline of Obama Wins.

-Club Penigun has created its whole business model around kids paying a membership so they can earn virtual coins to buy virtual goods to decorate their virtual homes..(follow that one?) It is so successful Disney bought them. They paid with real money, not virtual.

MTV has created entire virtual worlds around their tv shows. Even though MTV airs the same episodes 8 times a day, users want to spend more time with the brand. They log into a virtual world based on the show. They cant get enough. It is so successful they now have over 5 virtual worlds based on their tv shows.

Wells Fargo Bank create an entire virtual world and active community to help educate youth on banking called StageCoach Island This includes a community site and blog. It has been so successful it has been around for over 2 years.

So have I made my point? Let me say it again. Companies, brands, businesses, etc need to think and market in new ways. Virtual goods and virtual environments is one way to do it. Wheather they are spending money to buy virtual goods that represent a brand or logging into a virtual world to spend more time with the brand, it is another way to build brand loyalty.

Posted under Blog