Every day on Facebook, 2.5 billion pieces of content are created. Is all that peer/customer content being used? Are brands finding ways to reuse social content and user generated content? The sad thing is, they are usually not. 

—

Why is it so hard to come up with a successful marketing strategy? How can you successfully market when new channels and ad products are created every week?

I get asked these questions all the time. They are valid questions too. You just don’t have the time to create lots of content.

In many situations, the reality is that your customers are creating better and more content than you could ever do. I see so many marketers that understand how to manage a social strategy, but they are missing out on huge amounts of value by neglecting their customers social content, or user generated content. 

There are just more customers than there will ever be members on your team.

1. Time Value of Social Content

The longer you wait to reuse social content from your customers, the more value you lose.

Who remembers the Time Value of Money lessons from high school? If you don’t save money today, you miss out on the chance to earn interest. It’s the same with content marketing; if you let hundreds or thousands of customer created social posts go to waste each month, your “content bank account” is dry and “brand image account” can’t grow.

Brands are pushing expensive branded content in the hope that customers will latch on. 

Hope is not a strategy.

UGC posts for brands earn almost 7x more engagement than brand generated posts (Campaign Live).  

That’s data, not hope.

Humans want to talk to humans and have natural social engagement. 

2. A big social media audience means nothing

If you are not successfully using the fans and followers you have, it is pretty much the same thing as having 0. Take a look at Marriott’s Facebook page. With 2.5 million likes, you would expect that their social media engagement rate is relatively high as well. But when you look at their posts, they average around 100 likes. That’s an engagement rate of 0.004%.  

Many marketers and agencies think that to be successful with crowdsourced marketing campaigns, you need 1000s of posts. But you really only need 10-20 pieces of great social content to find success.

A website visitor or pedestrian looking at digital billboards isn’t going to stay there forever. So you need to pick the most effective photos to do the job. I did a quick search on TINT’s Suggested Post engine and within 10 seconds I found these gems from Marriott guests. #gold #timesaver

These are the types of photos that consumers want to see. If Marriott requested the User Rights to these photos and were able to reuse social content on their marketing channels, they would very likely have a better chance to build authentic relationships with customers.

Travelers make purchase decisions many times on visual content and customer testimonials. If those two things don’t relate to social media, I’m not sure what does. Let your customers loose and be surprised at the trustworthy and authentic content they will create.

3. Tesla vs. Ford. The “cool uncle” vs. the “boring grandpa”.

Tesla delivered about 76,000 cars in 2016. Ford sold 2.6 million. But even with far fewer deliveries, “Tesla was the number-one most mentioned US car manufacturer [on social].” (Zignal Labs). Why does Tesla have a powerful cult following when Ford’s image is stagnant and dying?

Tesla is storytelling about life, rather than a product. They never market about price and miles per gallon. Tesla markets a lifestyle and an experience. How many brands can get people to positively talk about them on social media without even having purchased their product?

The meaning of Tesla’s brand goes beyond cars. Plenty of news organizations, when reporting on Tesla, say something like, “Tesla is now the largest car company in terms of market cap in the world.” But that’s wrong. Tesla isn’t a car company. Tesla is a way of life for people that want to make the world a better place through innovations in energy and cars. 

Authenticity and passion are not only good for products and services, but for changing the society around us. A brand can only work so hard to create consistent content for social. If you reuse social content from your trusted audience, your brand image will thank you.

BONUS! #4 – So, how do you even start to reuse social content? Find, Ask, Receive.

1. Find a post you like and that you think will resonate with your audience.
2. Send them a message asking for permission to use their post and include a link to your Terms of Service.
3. Provide a clear way for them to respond. You can say something like, “Respond #Yes to agree.”
4. When they reply #yes (TINT’s data shows that 2 out of 3 respond with a #yes) you can now use that content.
5. Now you can start to reuse social content that is authentic and relevant to your audience.

—

Consumers will happily look at ads, but they will get immediately turned off if they think your ad is untrustworthy or irrelevant. As more marketing channels pop up, the only way for marketers and agencies to expand creativity in a scalable way is to use authentic content from real people. 

For more info on how to automate that process and how to use the content, check out the User Generated Content Page.

This post is a response based on the study of Seiler, Yao, Wenbo where they studied the effects of viewership and ratings of TV shows in China after a government shutdown of a social network similar to Twitter, called Sina Weibo.

In this quick post, I’ll explore how this shutdown can help us see the effectiveness of word of mouth and Earned Media on a business’s primary functions and demand.

Study Overview:

Due to political unrest in 2012, the Chinese government temporarily censored the popular Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo (similar to Twitter) for three days.  This unique opportunity allowed the researchers to get a rare glimpse into the effect of earned media, social media, and word of mouth due to the censorship for a period of time and the ability to compare similar time periods where there was no censorship.

This particular study looked at how certain TV programs viewership and ratings were affected with this censorship.  Although this post is brief and a general overview of the entire study (listed below), this is a starter to understanding the relationship of social media and its ability to convert.

It is important to note that, “The nature of the censorship… primarily affected user-generated content, namely, earned media. Specifically, the censorship did not block Sina Weibo entirely, but only disabled the commenting function.”

Main Findings:

The overall summary shows that the censorship of earned media, and therefore reduction in earned media content over that time period, led to a reduction in TV viewership.  When a brand is cut off from their interaction with Millennials, a group relying heavily on social media, it can cause a void in the spread of brand awareness and engagement.

Because of the nature of the censorship, the researchers could compare the statistics and TV ratings to the use of Twitter in Hong Kong (which was not censored) and the use of Sina Weibo in rural and mainland areas where Sina Weibo did not have as much penetration (Seiler, 2015).

The actual findings show how the ROI of Earned Media and UGC cannot be ignored.  The TV ratings in areas with censorship immediately experienced a 3% drop in ratings whereas Hong Kong (where they used Twitter) and rural areas (that did not have considerable Sina Weibo penetration or usage) did not experience a change in viewership (Seiler, 2015).

90% of consumers trust content from REAL PEOPLE before they trust a brand’s content. ~SAP

This glimpse into the effect of User Generated Content and word of mouth marketing tells marketers about the growing effect of authentic interaction on social media and for advertising.

Where do we go from here?

We can therefore see based on these findings that the use of earned media before a campaign or an event, and in this case watching a TV show, can have a positive effect on engagement and participation.  Brands should put a focus on encouraging participation to increase those engaging online and creating earned media and user generated content.

The whole study can be found here.

Send me a message if you have other statistics like this. Would love to see how your brand finds value in Earned Media.

Liked this one? Here are two others on Earned Media and The Problem with Virality. Please share and comment and like 🙂

“An audience that participates is an audience that connects to a brand’s underlying message.” ~QC

Social media advertising budgets continue to increase each year, but some marketers are beginning to forget about the benefits of an actionable social media strategy (Ashley, 2014). 

I want to talk about the obsession with viral campaigns and their negative affect on a long term marketing strategy.  And then I’ll try to tell you how to combat the infatuation.

At TINT, we call it Social Media Infatuation; an extremely quick obsession with a brand followed by an extremely quick consumer/brand break-up. This results in hills and valleys of engagement with consumers never fully understanding the message they are told.

Viral campaigns effectively get a brand’s name out in the open, but it can be detrimental when it fails to market the story the brand cares about. Some marketers believe that once you have the fans, then you can adjust the message, but when your message is being shared by millions of people, controlling it can be even more difficult than when your fans are in the 1000s.

A long-term strategy to cure Social Media Infatuation

A solid social media strategy doesn’t just rely on earned media or owned media. There needs to be a balance between a brand pushing content and a brand incentivizing their audience to create brand specific content. Proctor and Gamble did this flawlessly with their “Thank You Mom” campaign (Ashley, 2014). 

The brand asked their consumers to share pieces of User Generated Content on social media about their mothers’ role in their athletic endeavors. P&G’s marketing team then captured this UGC and requested the rights to use certain pieces. From that UGC, the brand created commercials and other marketing collateral using their audience’s targeted, relevant, and relatable content (Ashley, 2014).

“We see how strong moms are in every facet of their lives, and how their children draw on that strength as they grow. Through our campaign, we invite everyone to join us in saying, “Thank you” to mums for the role they play in raising strong children.” Marc Pritchard, P&G Global Brand Officer

Success with a content marketing strategy and social media strategy lies in the engagement type of your audience. 

There are two main types within social media: passive engagement and psychological engagement. Passive engagement might be a Like on your Facebook page without any engagement, whereas psychological engagement focuses on the fact that a customer will have you on their mind at multiple touch points and will be willing to share their thoughts on the brand in the future. 

“Psychological engagement is important because consumers are not passive recipients of information; they are participants.” ~Christy Ashley, Marketing and Psychology expert

As Christy Ashley states in Creative Strategies in Social Media Marketing, “Psychological engagement is important because consumers are not passive recipients of information; they are participants” (Ashley, 2014). An audience that participates is an audience that connects to a brand’s underlying message. Fail to live up to the brand image you market and your audience will lose interest.

Your marketing strategy and brand image suffers when:

1. The conversation only goes on way (i.e. A brand asks for recognition – “use our hashtag” – from consumers, but doesn’t reciprocate an interest in their audience
2. The brand fails to live up to the image they’ve created.
3. The brand strays from the image that appeals to the identities of their audience.

The reason that brands should focus on their customers as the characters in their brand story is due to the Self-Expansion Theory.

Self-expansion theory suggests consumers communicate with and about brands due to overlapping identities and parasocial relationships with the brands. Brands can suffer if consumers feel the relationship is one-sided or the brand does something that is not consistent with the consumer’s identity (Huang & Mitchell, 2014)

Easy steps to start a long-term marketing strategy

There are so many mediums with which to interact with a brand audience, that many times marketers do not know how or when to judge the effectiveness of branded content or social media marketing. A study of 1100 brands showed that marketers were guessing on their strategies, with no backing from data, and few results to show (Sheehan, 2009).

At TINT we’ve created 3 easy steps to consider to increase accuracy with your strategy:

1 – Create a 2 way street of communication.  

If you ask a customer to interact with you, interact back. Don’t expect a customer to understand your brand if you aren’t willing to understand why your customers are talking about you. The engagement should focus on interactions rather than transactions, as this will allow the audience to identify with the brand image (Ashley, 2014).

2 – Make the customers the characters in your brand story.

As a marketer, you get to create the overall brand image, but your customers are the ones that reinforce it. You can learn from your customers as they create UGC to understand where they might be moving away from the brand image. At this point, you can find ways to adjust the customer’s perspective, or adjust the slowly brand image to fit with the customers.

3 – Consistency of your brand image is key

A brand doesn’t need to create a Hollywood style video before they can post it online. Keep the content accurate and relevant to your brand image. The more you change your image, the more alienated and confused your audience becomes. You should be posting the same amount every day on each channel, and each piece of content should relate to the brand story. Quality over Quantity doesn’t really work here. It’s more Consistency over Quantity or Quality.

——-

You don’t have to be an expert to craft a good strategy. But it takes more than an idea to find long term success. Get out there, start testing different ideas but keep it all consistent with your brand story. YOU CAN DO IT!

Let me know if I can help.

In 1970 consumers were hit with 500 advertisements per day. In 2017, that number is expected to hit at least 5,000 per day (New York Times). 

Bombardment with branded content causes consumers to block out brand messages in search for more authentic content. Over 92% of consumers trust recommendations from peers and other real people compared to branded content (Neilsen Global).  

In a “world of stuff”, how can a brand stay relevant without alienating the audience?

Welcome to the Earned Media Economy

Most marketing teams still haven’t entered the Earned Media Economy. Today the marketing landscape requires brands to put a greater emphasis on distributing earned media and user generated content in creative ways. Branded content still holds tremendous value but an intimate understanding of your audience, their needs, and how to influence them lies in the treasure trove of Earned Media.

Control the brand message and let the Earned Media Economy take over.

Think of earned media as your customers working as your marketing force. They are your brand advocates, spreading your products, stories, and images across an ever-growing set of digital channels.

Now, with the Internet at your hands, word of mouth marketing has become Expedited Distributed Voice Marketing (EDVM).

EDVM involves getting consumers to consistently talk about your brand on numerous channels in real time. Now with just an internet connection consumers can share videos, blogs, articles, testimonials, pictures, and 140 character snippets to anyone in the world, in literally a matter of seconds. 

It’s insanely fast, the channels are free and open, and consumers’ voices can be amplified faster and louder than a brand’s.

Brands are authors, consumers are storytellers

As a marketer, think of the Earned Media Economy as a parent dropping off a child at college. You want to be there to make sure they don’t fail, but you just have to let go (I’m not a parent so I’m playing off what I hear!) You have to be the guide, but not the hand holder.

In 2017, this holds true for marketers. You cannot be the dictator of every piece of content. A brand’s job in the Earned Media Economy is to guide the voice of the audience. Provide the base for the brand story and allow your audience to act as the characters in your brand story.

Marketing is no longer brand controlled but consumer controlled. 

"“A customer-oriented mindset stemming from deep social
interaction allows a company to identify and meet customer
needs in the marketplace, generating superior profits.”

~Wetpaint and Altimeter

What can Earned Media and UGC do for you?

Overall, a solid earned media strategy can affect sales, time on site, customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, clicks, and the list goes on and on. 

The hospitality industry is one of my favorite industries.  Not only have I worked at hotels and restaurants, but also the hospitality industry relies on earned media more than most other industries. Mainly because customer testimonials and referrals are a big driver in business, with travelers looking for customer recommendations before trusting a brand.

After implementing a UGC hub on their website Meritus Hotels saw a 93% increase in Time on Site and Click-throughs compared to a corporate image gallery. With more people engaged on their website they are able to convert more leads and direct more visitors to relevant branded content. This could be your brand, but you might be missing the opportunity.

Why Earned Media creates a longer impression

We have discovered that creating a long-term strategy involving your audience and customers can positively affect results and metrics.

A study by Trusov, Bucklin, and Pauwels found that WOM and earned media affect an audience for much longer than traditional media. Specifically, there was “an increase in Word of Mouth to impact [a conversion] for three weeks while traditional marketing effects for three to seven days.”

This shows that UGC and earned media content can bring more conversions (purchases, signups, likes, store visits) with less effort due to the longer life span of that content compared to generic branded content. It won’t just happen automatically, but as a brand begins to aggregate and analyze their UGC and earned media, they can follow trends to improve results.

The Earned Media Economy is here…now stop waiting and take action.

Don’t be the brand that acts last. It’s time to jump on the trend and craft a brand story with which your audience relates. Bring your customers into your brand story and allow them to be the characters through earned media and UGC creation. You’ll create deeper relationships and drive more actions that positively affect your brand.

My goal is to help brands improve their digital marketing strategies through knowledge sharing. Reach out with any questions or ideas. 

Please share if you enjoyed and think others will enjoy too.