The Most Powerful Brands Own a Word in Consumers’ Minds – Does Yours?

When a brand owns a word in consumers’ minds, that brand has been effectively positioned against its competition.  Think of it this way: Some of the most recognizable brands in the world “own” a word in consumers’ minds.  Here are some examples from the automotive industry:

• Cadillac = luxury
• BMW = performance
• Kia = affordability

Think of some of your favorite brands.  What word pops into your head first when you think of those brands?  It’s very possible that the word you think of is the same word that the majority of consumers think of in relation to that brand, and that means the company behind that brand has done an excellent job of positioning the brand and communicating the brand’s message, image and promise to consumers.

Owning a word in consumers’ minds is the ultimate goal for brand managers, and you can do it with your brand, too. [Read more]

The Death of Interruption Marketing

My new article on Entrepreneur.com discusses how the world of marketing has changed from being reliant on interruption to engagement.

Following is an excerpt from the article, which you can read in its entirety here.

“With the growth of social media, marketers have learned that simply interrupting the online conversation doesn’t always lead to sales, nor does it lead to positive word-of-mouth marketing. Now the goal of marketing is engagement. Consumers want to know, what are you going to tell them after you interrupt them?  Marketers have discovered that there is tremendous value in building brands and relationships through long-term social media strategy vs. short-term direct-marketing tactics on social websites.”

What do you think?  Is interruption marketing dead?  Leave a comment and share your opinion.

The New Social Media Marketing ROI

I just wrote an article for the Yahoo! Advertising Blog that discusses the new ROI for measuring social media marketing performance.

Following is an excerpt from my article:

“Tracking online brand advertising and social media marketing success comes from tracking return-on-impression, the new form of ROI. Return-on-Impression encompasses two primary soft metric values: eyeballs and perceptions.”

To learn more about the shift from tracking Return on Investment to tracking Return on Impression, follow the link to check out my post on the Yahoo! Advertising Blog.

Fight, Flight or Flood – How to Respond to a Negative Online Buzz about You or Your Business

People talk about things that are meaningful to them. They’ve been talking about products, brands, businesses and people offline since the first means of communication were created. Therefore, it’s not surprising that people today talk on the social Web. The global conversation is loud and powerful, and it can positively or negatively affect your, your brand, and your business.

But what should you do when someone says something negative about you or your business online?

This is one of the most common fears of individuals and businesses considering leveraging the social Web conversation to build their reputations, brands and businesses, and unfortunately, it’s one of the main reasons that people and companies are not getting the results they want and need from their social media efforts.

Don’t be afraid to let the audience take control of the conversation. That’s where the power of the social Web comes from in terms of building brands and businesses. And if someone publishes something negative about you or your business online, don’t try to squash the conversation. Overtly trying to control the conversation can do far more harm to your reputation than good. Instead, follow one of the three paths described below to effectively respond to a negative online buzz about you, your brand, or your business.

1. Fight

While you don’t want to appear controlling nor do you want to stop the online conversation (even if it’s negative), you can fight without looking like a bully. Join the conversation and nudge it in the right direction (i.e., the direction that is best for you and your business) by addressing misconceptions, admitting mistakes, and demonstrating your desire to fix them and put customers first. The more time you spend building your audience of brand advocates across the social Web, the more you’ll start to see those people standing up for you. Therefore, the fight path offers two effective options — nudging conversations yourself and allowing your band of brand advocates to nudge it for you. [Read more]

Harnessing the Power of Social Media – Interview with Susan Gunelius

Susan Gunelius was featured in a new interview for XLRQ Radio’s Embrace the Noise program where she discussed how companies, entrepreneurs, and organizations can tap into the power and reach of social media to effectively build brands, relationships and business.

You can follow the link to listen to Harnessing the Power of Social Media with Susan Gunelius.

Get 5 Tips for an Elevator Pitch that Gets Results

My new article on Forbes.com offers 5 Tips for an Elevator Pitch that Gets Results.  Following is an excerpt from the article:

Believe it or not, no one cares about you.  They want to know what you can do for them.  It’s the classic law of “What’s in it for me” that copywriters (myself included) follow to craft compelling and effective marketing messages that drive results.  Your elevator pitch should address your audience’s problems and offer solutions.  It should focus on the benefits that the audience will get from working with you, so they understand that they can’t live without you!

1. It’s not about you.
The five tips below can help you craft an elevator pitch that people actually listen to, remember and respond to.  Make sure you’re prepared with your own killer elevator pitch when the next opportunity presents itself for you to use it!

Elevator pitches are powerful marketing tools that tell your story in less than a minute.  They are useful for any business person to have in her arsenal of networking tools to help with business, career or personal development.

Follow the link above to read the complete article on Forbes.com and find out what the other 4 tips are for an elevator pitch that gets the results you want and need!

5 Guaranteed Ways to Establish Your Reputation as an Expert via Social Media

My newest article on Forbes.com is called 5 Guaranteed Ways to Establish Your Reputation as an Expert in Your Field via Social Media and explains the 5 simple steps you need to take to build your online brand.

Those five steps are:

1. Publish shareworthy content.
2. Go multimedia.
3. Leverage the features of social media tools.
4. Join organizations and groups that actively seek experts for media opportunities.
5. Integrate and cross promote your efforts.

You can get all the details by following the above link to read the full article.  Also, don’t forget to inject your personality into your online communications!