I’m following up a recent popular blog post that received more positive feedback than usual.

Let’s listen to a nice local example of radio advertising. Here is a classic case of choosing something trendy and safe over something unexpected, funny and memorable. I trust my own opinions on this stuff but I’ll let you be the judge.

First, consider the irrelevant silliness and fantasy worlds portrayed in some of the major insurance brand ads like Liberty Mutual’s. That frivolous, whimsical style is trending and resonates with certain demographics.

A local packing & shipping company recently chose between two concepts. One ad is cute, unexpected and funny while the other follows a more recognizable and pedestrian style.

Have a listen:

Recommended Radio Ad

Approved Radio Ad

The ad runs mostly in rural Vermont and central New Hampshire, so consider the audience demographics.

In the recommended spot, the transparency of an obvious non-rapper producing a rap tune is hilarious and therefore memorable. The word choices work well to reinforce what the company does, followed by the “straight man” owner summing it all up.

In the approved spot, the trending style of fantasy, super heroes and puns was considered the safer way to go. That’s perfectly understandable but for me, after hearing it once or twice, I’ve had enough. The rap version still makes me smile after playing it dozens of times.

Be Different and Better!

As a consumer of terrestrial radio, I’ve been moved many times to try products or hire services over the years by the convincing power of relevant, on-target and sometimes funny advertising. Many of the best campaigns have been locally homegrown, being very creative and memorable.

There’s no need to hold back fun, creative and effective work, especially in times like these! Think outside the box for a change. Avoid the same, lame, me-too advertising game and make your messages more memorable in your market!

The post Make Ads Memorable, not Maniacal appeared first on Chuck Sink Link.

Storytelling is a lot more than a marketing buzzword. Stories have mind-attracting power and are like personal guides leading readers and listeners to the prize of knowledge, the satisfaction of curiosity and the fulfillment of desires. Marketers who effectively apply storytelling have real-life success stories of their own to tell.

Every Brand Tells a Story

According to the book, “Building a Story Brand” by Donald Miller, almost every customer success story consists of about 5 common elements:

1. The main character (customer)
2. A problem
3. A hero, leader or guide (the brand)
4. A plan to solve the problem (product/service offer)
5. The call to action that if taken solves the problem and avoids failure (purchase and acquisition)

Let’s take a familiar brand example and narrate its success story.

It’s the year 2005. Lola, a book lover, is one who can spend hours in a bookstore. She has an uncommon reading list that’s difficult to fill and has shopped the same two bookstores in her city for years. When her book choices aren’t in stock, the stores do their best to special order them but some titles have been out of print for years and can be “impossible” to find. Lola becomes frustrated that she’s missing out on the wonderful reading adventures she knows are out there for her somewhere!

Lola has been hearing and seeing ads pop up all over the place about some company called “Amazon.” She’s aware they have something to do with books and CDs and then learns its a website that sells books & music and other stuff online. Out of curiosity, she logs on to a computer at the library and looks up Amazon on the internet. Lola quickly sees the website’s main call to action; you can search for your own titles and authors from around the world!

She types in the title of a cherished volume she’s been unable to find and up come 5 various copies of the book for sale in either new or used condition. Lola has never ordered online but that cherished book is right in front of her on the screen inviting her to buy it. She takes a small leap of faith and pulls out her credit card, trusting that the book will be delivered at a surprisingly fair price as promised. Within 3 days, Lola is curled up on her couch, 8 chapters into her new reading odyssey.

Here’s how this “Story Brand” breaks down.

• Lola the book lover is the main character.
• Her problem is not finding the books she wants.
• A hero-leader in the form of Amazon advertising and its website offer a plan to solve the problem. “Maybe I can find the books I want without the bookstore’s limits.”
• Then Lola answers the call to action – search for and find books on the Amazon website!

Conclusion: Mutual brand and customer success!

Would it be fair to say this specific brand story worked very well?

Every brand tells a story. If you can simplify yours and demonstrate happy endings as Amazon did decades ago, your marketing communications will be easier to implement and much more effective!

What’s your story? Who is the main character? Why and how are you the hero?

If you find writing your brand story to be a challenge, contact us for a no-cost branding and writing consultation. Phone calls are welcomed at (603) 345-7223.

The post The Story Behind Brand Storytelling appeared first on Chuck Sink Link.

One headline I just saw in my newsfeed was “Is Social Media Right for Your Business? The short answer was “YES.” Their point was that every business MUST have an “online personality” represented on Facebook, Instagram, etc. or they’ll lose to competitors who do.

I immediately pondered and thought, “What about the companies not using social media who win business from companies that do?”

I can think of too many examples including clients and other successful businesses I work with. I just pulled a job from a business swimming in a rich Social Media broth and gladly gave it to one that still uses dialup internet on an as needed basis. Landline phone only. The owner is eyeing a nice retirement soon, BTW.

For good reasons, many businesses don’t want social media and don’t need it, at least for now.

Expert Advice or Sales Pitch?

Despite what you may hear from some marketers out there (who sell social marketing services), having an “online personality” on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter or any other other platform is not a marketing necessity today. You may choose to position your brand in a manner that works better in other media, including online, such as your own great website and a strong trade presence. Maybe a top-notch personal selling organization drives your growth.

Pay the freight or nothing gets delivered.

The truth is, your customers find your business and come to you primarily through channels other than social media. It doesn’t make sense to spend a lot of time posting a bunch of quality content on social media unless you pay for people to see it, and have a strong value proposition,  just like any other advertising. Then you may gain sales opportunities from the added brand impressions. You know the advertisers courting you on Facebook if you spend any time there. They’re paying and you’re noticing.

So, unless you plan on budgeting for advertising, think of social media as a sidebar in your overall branding and public relations efforts. You want to keep an eye on it and pay to boost it when you need to see results from it.

Now that some of the dust is settling, we’re understanding Social Media’s marketing limitations and weaknesses as well as its continuously fluctuating opportunities.

One thing I’ve learned as a veteran professional user is never expect anything of great value to come out of free or public media space but expect great results from earned relationships.

The post Is Social Media Dead? appeared first on Chuck Sink Link.

“Not him again!”

They say “cold calling is dead” and they’re right from the traditional perspective; that is, calling a complete stranger, unexpectedly, for the sole reason that their company has money that you and your company need to operate.

Every business needs customers to sustain financial viability so the primary purpose of sales calls is to get customers. Having no warm leads to call and no inbound calls coming in, the traditional salesperson hits the directories and calls new prospects – a lot of them before he or she can find even one person interested in talking with them. Even then, they can only begin the first phase of a sales cycle that can easily end in no sale, for multiple reasons.

Look at “cold call” as first contact or first impression.

Salespeople have many communication modes beside their voice and telephone. Some of you may remember the “Marketing Mini-Me” article. Marketing people can teach salespeople a lot in this day and age.

Who says cold calling has to be done on the phone or strutting through a door?

Changing the idea of cold call to “first impression” helps us understand the selling dynamic much better. Advertising is one-way, one-sided sales communication. Content marketing is sales communication that begins with idea exploration and invites a two way conversation which attracts people already interested in what you’re selling.

“We need to call this guy!”

So you write a highly informed blog post that points out a common business problem and a proven, affordable solution. Then you share it all over your social channels, email it to your newsletter subscribers and post a short video testimonial on YouTube of a customer successfully using your solution. In essence, you just made a cold call (first impression) to every prospect to whom the post registers. For the average salesperson, this is dozens of people, probably hundreds, and for some, thousands!

At a bare minimum, you’ve left a brand impression with everyone who sees the post. For those who read the blog article or watch the video, you’ve given them the equivalent of a meet & greet over coffee, maybe better. It could be a “eureka moment” for someone struggling with that problem that you point out. It could generate a closed deal that a random cold call could potentially push away.

To be fair, marketers can be informed by salespeople of real problems in the field associated with products, prices and promotions. Salespeople see first hand what competitors are saying and doing to win business from their prospects.

Those same salespeople needn’t wait for marketing to improve the lead generating campaign. They can do it themselves using email, social media, networking and publishing. What else can you think of? Viral videos, public speaking, seminars, leading breakout sessions at trade shows, Chamber of Commerce ambassadorships… Nobody can truthfully claim “there aren’t enough opportunities for that stuff in my market.”

So go ahead and “cold call” like crazy. Just change the approach from interruption to invitation by thinking “first impression” instead of cold call. Everyone knows how important it is to make a good first impression!

The post First Impressions trump Cold Calls appeared first on Chuck Sink Link.

Famous 20^th Century industrialist John Wanamaker made legendary his quote, “I know that at least half of my advertising dollars are wasted, I just don’t know which half.”

Image by Moma, Sao Paulo, Brazil

This was true of most advertising all the way up until digital technology and the Internet started to dominate how we broadcast marketing messages. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is still a relatively new way to advertise although it’s been around since Google and other search engines have commercially operated (no pun intended).

Buying space in print and time on broadcast networks is largely a “spray and pray” method whereby you can begin to narrow down channels that your target audience may be more likely to see/hear your ad. But if you’re like most businesses, only a small fraction of the audience you pay for will have any interest in your offer. Even if your message is in front of an interested prospect, you rely on his or her whims at that moment. An unknown distraction can divert the attention of someone intending to respond to your ad and, poof! The prospect forgets all about you.

Now there’s a way to assure that every dollar you spend buying advertising will be the direct result of physically engaging a person with your message online based on keywords, phrases and questions they are typing into search fields. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) has given you control over the type of online shoppers you would attract and exactly how much you will spend to reach and engage each single prospect or customer. Analytics programs such as Google Analytics will track and measure the direct results (clicks and website interaction) of your advertising campaign in real time. John Wanamaker would be impressed! He might say, “Now I know exactly what my advertising dollars are doing. I just wish online shoppers weren’t so fickle!”

Google is the dominant search marketing giant and wants its customers to get results. To that end they’ve put together a nice best practices guide which this article will encapsulate.

We’re curating the basics of SEM success directly from Google:

1. Keywords – Effective keyword management helps you reach the right customers and grow your business. Your keywords should reflect all of the different types of user queries that could help someone find you when they’re looking for something you offer. Keyword research and analysis is a fundamental step you must take initially to make sure you reach your target audience searching online for your products & services.

• Negative Keywords – Words or phrases that allow you to filter out who your ads will be served to in the search results page. Upon deciding that a term is irrelevant to your campaign, you can add that term as a negative keyword. Whenever someone searches on Google with that term included, depending on match types, Google will refrain from showing your ad and you won’t waste money paying for an irrelevant click. To help you determine negative keywords for your campaign, here’s a free negative keyword tool.

2. Your Ads – One of the most important things to get right in your search ad is “the Creative” – the key message you put into it. Creative relevance drives more qualified clicks. Make your ad relevant and resonant to pull qualified click through engagement.

3. Your Advertising Budget – Google AdWords lets you set daily budgets for your campaigns with the flexibility to change them at any time. A key benefit of developing and fine tuning an SEM campaign is your ability to measure, adjust and actually begin to control your response rates within a spending limit. This helps you manage your growth and marketing administration costs.

4. Reporting & Analytics – AdWords and Google Analytics together offer insights into the performance of your campaigns and those insights help you become a better marketer. By carefully measuring, analyzing and making adjustments to your keywords and messaging, you will continually improve the ROI performance of your SEM campaign.

There is more science to the practice of Search Engine Marketing than this overview reveals. Within each of the four major components of SEM listed above, there are entire sets of best practices with various tactical options that will help you customize your campaign to generate the best results. For more in depth education, go to PPC University.

If you would like a free evaluation and consultation regarding an SEM program for your business, feel free to contact us at 603-345-7223.

The post Who’s in command of your advertising? appeared first on Chuck Sink Link.

I think most of us can agree that a brand is an extremely valuable intangible asset that requires disciplined nurturing to attract new business and keep current customers feeling welcomed. Brand equity can increase and decrease as consumers collectively feel a certain way about the brand at any given time. Attempting to leverage your brand’s value into business categories outside your core strength invariably affects delivery of your core products and services. Brand extension can be very tempting but the foundation of brand value is authenticity. Authenticity is proven only by consistently matching customer experiences with brand promises.

Keep it simple. Use your positioning statement!

Many business owners and marketing directors struggle with how to create content for their inbound marketing efforts. They wonder what to say and how to say it in an article, sponsorship, ad or promotion. Before crafting any company message, the brand strategy should be consulted for direction. The brand’s positioning statement is the idea platform from which you can develop brand-congruent messages that reinforce your strategic identity in the market – being known for the reasons you should be known.

When considering what your message should be for any external communication, ask: What does our brand command? Your positioning statement will infuse the spirit of your brand identity into the ideas you wish to convey.

Does your business have a positioning statement? Forget mission statement! Your positioning statement sums up how and why your organization delivers value, and you should remind consumers of that value every chance you get. Keep in mind that B2B clients are consumers. Business consumers are just as emotionally driven and socially engaged as anyone else so branding and positioning are crucial for industrial, manufacturing and technology driven businesses.

How to Write Your Positioning Statement

Doug Stayman writing in eCornell Blog offers guidelines for writing a strong positioning statement.

“What makes a good positioning statement? Here are six keys to keep in mind:

1. It is simple, memorable, and tailored to the target market.
2. It provides an unmistakable and easily understood picture of your brand that differentiates it from your competitors.
3. It is credible, and your brand can deliver on its promise.
4. Your brand can be the sole occupier of this particular position in the market. You can “own” it.
5. It helps you evaluate whether or not marketing decisions are consistent with and supportive of your brand.
6. It leaves room for growth.”

Here’s the formula for writing your positioning statement, courtesy of Brandeo.

“There are four elements or components of a positioning statement:

Target Audience – the attitudinal and demographic description of the core prospect to whom the brand is intended to appeal; the group of customers that most closely represents the brand’s most fervent users.

Frame of Reference – the category in which the brand competes; the context that gives the brand relevance to the customer.

Benefit/Point of Difference – the most compelling and motivating benefit that the brand can own in the hearts and minds of its target audience relative to the competition.

Reason to Believe – the most convincing proof that the brand delivers what it promises.

Criteria for Evaluating a Positioning Statement

• Is it memorable, motivating and focused to the core prospect?
• Does it provide a clear, distinctive and meaningful picture of the brand that differentiates it from the competition?
• Can the brand own it?
• Is it credible and believable?
• Does it enable growth?
• Does it serve as a filter for brand decision making?

Template for a Positioning Statement:

For (target audience), (brand name) is the (frame of reference) that delivers (benefit/point of difference) because only (brand name) is/can (reason to believe).”

Here’s an example from Amazon.com:

“For World Wide Web users who enjoy books, Amazon.com is a retail bookseller that provides instant access to over 1.1 million books, because unlike traditional book retailers, Amazon.com provides a combination of extraordinary convenience, low prices, and comprehensive selection.”

Here’s ours:

“For Business Leaders and Strategic Marketing Directors, Chuck Sink Link is the marketing communications firm that creates ideal messages for your target audience, because we reveal the authentic value of your brand and communicate it with relevance and clarity.”

The strongest brands today are those with owners who listen to their customers and target audiences. Their brand identities are determined by aligning consumer desires and emotions with core company mission and values. The brand is shaped largely by how the market gains value from its use, congruent with what the brand’s organization stands for.

For a brand to be successful, it must convey a very specific value that’s measured in quantifiable benefits and emotional satisfaction. While these intangibles may be hard to measure at first, the buying behavior of your new customers will be easy to gauge.

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