Archive for the 'Marketing' Category

01
May
13

HootSuite: SEO Killer or a Hotel for Owls?

By Mark Plumb Leave a Comment
Categories: Advertising, Facebook, HootSuite, Marketing, SEO, Social Media and Twitter
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HootSuiteWe are fans of HootSuite, the convenient, social media aggregation tool. We use HootSuite to scheduled posts in advance for the agency and for clients. HootSuite saves time publishing content to Twitter and Facebook. It keeps all social media streams in one location. HootSuite enables us to map out a tweet schedule, collaborate and edit future tweets.

However, we have been asked a very interesting question: Does using a third party social media pre-scheduling tool negatively affect our SEO ranking?

For this to be true search engines would not only be scanning and evaluating content, but focus on the posting methodology. We cannot find evidence that search engines are penalizing third party application programming interfaces (API). It is important to note that HootSuite makes is easy to post redundant content and commit other SEO errors.

However, we have found a HootSuite opponent – Facebook. According to a HubSpot study, content shared by third party API services received fewer likes on Facebook and fewer clicks. Facebook sees tools like HootSuite as possible vehicles for spam, and punishes Facebook pages that rely on these tools for the majority of their postings.

Our recommendation for marketers:

1. Use HootSuite to schedule non-time sensitive social media.

2. Do not use HootSuite as the exclusive method to post content.

Social Media is about engagement and if all the content provided is automated, is there much engagement? Also, it is critical to be timely and relevant. If there is a new story that has captured the collective attention of the country and you are posting a video that shows a behind the scenes look at an event, nobody is going to pay attention. Worse yet, you look like you are out of touch.

Tell us if you have used HootSuite successfully and if you agree that third party API doesn’t affect your SEO.  Share your stories with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.

14
Mar
13

Vine’s six-second video new to social, provides marketing opportunity

By Mark Plumb 6 Comments
Categories: Advertising, Marketing, Social Media, Twitter and Vine
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GAP Vine TwitterTwitter, which currently claims around 500 million total users, recently launched the new video platform called Vine.  This platform allows users to share videos. In social media terms, think of Vine as a combination of Instagram and YouTube.

Vine allows users to create looping videos for friends and family, but the recording time must be six seconds in duration.

According to cognitive research, as humans we can comfortably process 2-3 words and one image per second. A Vine video of 18 words and five images should be your maximum. A six-second video is comparable to Twitter’s required 140 characters or less for a tweet.  Currently, Vine is free, but only available for the iPhone. However, it is making a large splash with fans. In just one weekend, more than 100,000 videos were uploaded to Twitter via Vine.

Many businesses are jumping on this six-second-video-clip bandwagon and are utilizing the tool for marketing purposes. Companies, such as GAP, Topshop and Threadless are using Vine as a platform to shoot short video clips of behind-the-scenes action. We expect to see teasers of larger marketing and promotional campaigns on Vine.

Vine also helps companies to drive traffic to other social media channels by including an essential call-to-action at the end of the video, such as “follow me to Twitter” or “like our Facebook page”. If done well, these clips should emotionally connect to the story, which is a vital component of marketing. Another brilliant marketing aspect of Vine videos is the endless looping, and repetition is key in increasing awareness of a brand or product.

For marketing endeavors, Vine can be a great tool to drive traffic, promote a product, etc., so long as the video includes a call-to-action in the end of the six- second clip.

Will your company be joining Vine to leverage marketing efforts? Do you think Vine will be better over time like fine wine or simply another in a line of social media apps that decline?

A huge thank you to Sarah Shepard for her research and contribution to this blog.

Share your thoughts about Vine with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.

04
Mar
13

Top 10 Things We Learned at the IFA Conference (Part 2)

By Mark Plumb 1 Comment
Categories: Advertising, Business Strategies, Communications, Franchise, Franchising, IFA, Marketing, Millennials, Mobile advertising, mobile marketing, PR, Public Relations and Social Media
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In Part 1 of our Top 10 list, we shared franchise industry insights Tracy and I learned at the International Franchise Association (IFA) 2013 conference in Las Vegas. Today, we are rounding out our list with the marketing takeaways.

Kate Upton says that Carl's Jr. sandwich is spicyOne of the strategic marketing concepts that we thought was astute came from Andrew Pudzer, CEO of CKE Restaurants, describing the Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s ‘Young Hungry Guys’ target market. Andrew discussed at great length the Aspirational target market vs. Direct target market. This has manifested itself into a regular SuperBowl ad with some of the ‘it’ girls of the day. Last year’s ad was one of the most talked about after the big game and featured Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover girl Kate Upton. You might think we mentioned this to give us a reason to feature Kate Upton in our blog, you might be right.

Here are the five marketing takeaways from IFA 2013:

1. 25 – 29% of ALL Internet traffic comes from a mobile device. The percentage is continually increasing. Businesses that choose to ignore creating a mobile optimized site or developing a mobile app are going to be in trouble. Consider this: if you gave a bad experience to 1 out of 4 prospects, would you fix the problem?

2.  SEO Killer: less than 1% of franchise business listings are accurate in the top three search engines (Google, Bing and Yahoo). It may be as simple as inconsistencies across business locations. I searched “UPS Store” and found these four results on the first page:

        • theupsstore.com                       –>  Thornton, CO
        • theupsstorelocal.com/2579      –>   Denver, CO (7th & Broadway)
        • shipgeorgetown.com                –>  Georgetown, TX
        • fsups.net                                  –>  Tallahassee, FL

3.  The overwhelming majority of franchisors we’ve met do not have the patience for social media. They keep talking about wanting some old school reactions instead of engagement, sharing or interactions. This attitude must change or Millennials will focus on brands that understand.A lack of consistency with the URLs means a more generic search like “package shipping” won’t include UPS Store locations. In fact, the search returned a US Post Office, 2 FedEX office locations and 1 DHL location.

Equally important point, do not hire interns or entry level newbies to “do” your social media. Being a digital native does not make someone a social media expert or marketer.

4. Google is working with the IFA to make Google more franchise-friendly. This is a important development for concepts that are not brick and mortar.

5. We’ve heard of success across different franchise systems using a retargeting program. Retargeting keeps track of people who visit your site and displays your retargeting ads to them as they visit other sites online. Every time your prospect sees your ad as it follow them, your brand gains traction and more recognition. This Kate Upton Carl's Jr.has resulted in higher click-through rates and increased conversions.

All interesting stuff you say, but we know you want more Kate Upton. OK, we get it.

Let us know if you think we missed something. Share your thoughts about IFA with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.

12
Feb
13

More than Social Media: Marketing to Millennials

By Mark Plumb 7 Comments
Categories: Advertising, Baby Boomers, Business Strategies, Communications, Marketing, Millennials, mobile marketing, Reputation, Social Media and Uncategorized
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Millennials: They are mobileWhile attending an emergency preparedness workshop last week, there was a robust discussion regarding the role of social media in an emergency. There were two groups of people that discounted social media.

  • First, there were those people that reside in rural areas. They argued that cellular coverage was spotty, 3G and 4G networks virtually non-existent. They needed a more reliable communication method in an emergency.
  • Second, was a distinct generational gap – the Baby Boomers in the room (born before 1964) were unanimous in denouncing the importance of social media.

Interestingly, there was a group of Millennials (born after 1984) in the workshop who were unanimous in stating the power of social media. Full disclosure: I am in Generation X (1965-1984), and in this workshop the Gen Xers were divided about the importance of social media.

The generational gap became an interesting discussion among the small group of marketing professionals. The following are the differences I see in marketing to Boomers v. Millennials.

Category

Baby Boomers

Millennials
Advertising Method Unwelcomed Interruption Engagement
Advertising Content Features and Benefits Sincere Authenticity
Desired Response Reaction Share/Interaction
Desired Result Repeat Users Engaged Participants
Expectations Big Promises Personal Gestures
Marketing Success Consumer Co-creator
Never Return Broken Promise Corporate Shill


Marketers have figured out how to position their products and services to the Baby Boomers. However, for many, it is a new frontier in marketing to Millennials. Here are a few tips:

  • Tablets are currency to the MillennialsCompanies must develop a participation strategy in order to engage Millennials. This is not a quick fix; patience, consistency and long-term commitment are key factors to success.
  • Companies must provide a way to make Millennials look good to their peers. All you need to do is look at the way Apple markets products. The white earbuds of an iPod became an iconic symbol. If you had the earbuds, you were identified as part of the inner circle.
  • Millennials strongly desire to be part of the solution supporting a greater cause. They favor employers who actively support charitable organizations and they purchase products and services from companies that are active with altruistic endeavors.
  • Mobile presence is no longer negotiable if you are targeting Millennials. It is not just access by smartphone; they are also using tablets and gaining knowledge about your company through mobile apps.

All in all, if you want success in marketing to Millennials, you should seriously consider utilizing these four tips. Even better, when combining these tips with a reward program that provides genuine value as compensation for loyalty, you have a winning formula. Because what Millennial doesn’t like ‘free’ compensation.

Let us know your thoughts on marketing to Millennials. Share your thoughts with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.

15
Jan
13

Mobile Marketing Predictions for 2013

By Mark Plumb 1 Comment
Categories: Advertising, Communications, Marketing, Mobile advertising, mobile marketing, Predictions and Social Media
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Mobile MarketingThe biggest change in mobile marketing last year was the push notification. Sadly, many business owners couldn’t get out of their own way and have started abusing push notification with non-critical updates. It likely started out of desperation, hoping a constant barrage of info will lead to consumer action.  Unfortunately, for push notification abusers that action is usually to uninstall the app. As a reminder, the best practice is to push info that is relevant to the user and focused on meeting their needs.

With the combination of improved near field communications and business owners punished for push-spam (is that a new term? if so…trademark!) we have compiled our list of mobile marketing predictions for 2013.

Mobile Coupons

2013 will see an increase in mobile coupons. For the business owner, mobile coupons are quicker, cheaper, flexible, convenient and always with your customer. Candidly speaking, doesn’t that sound like marketing perfection? With the improvement of near field communications, you can be timely as well. Imagine sending a 15 percent coupon for today’s special to one of your customers, at lunchtime when they walk within 1,000 feet of your front door. OK, now that is marketing perfection.

Loyalty Marketing

Mobile users will demand an overhaul in loyalty marketing. For example, Denver-based Tokyo Joe’s has an addict card for loyal customers. Buy 12 entrees and the 13th is free. I carry around a punch card for what amounts to a 9 percent discount the 7th time my wife and I go to Tokyo Joe’s. What would really be beneficial is if the loyalty card was tied to my phone. It can be a Tokyo Joe’s app or an aggregator app for loyalty programs like Foursquare.

Not only do I want to combine these programs, I also want to streamline my apps. For this blog, I checked the last time I opened a sample of 20 apps. Five of them were only opened once. If the app doesn’t provide me regular benefits, I’ll quickly become app-athetic. (is that a new term? if so…trademark!).

Social Action

The final mobile marketing prediction is a huge increase in apps adding social action widgets similar to the Facebook “like” button. Social sharing is the equivalent of electronic word of mouth marketing. As businesses get better at forging relationships with their customers in social environments, they will be able to run a sophisticated SCRM program (social customer relationship management).

Let us know your mobile marketing prediction for 2013, and if you think this will be the year of fully integrated mobile marketing. Share your thoughts with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.

19
Dec
12

Healthcare Marketing Predictions for 2013

By Mark Plumb 1 Comment
Categories: Communications, health, Health and Wellness, Health care marketing, healthcare, healthcare marketing, Healthcare reform, Marketing, Marketing Trends, Predictions and SHSMD
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X_Ray_Heart_by_mmattes_GreenBlack1With the major healthcare reform provisions slated to take effect in 2014, less than 13 months away, Weise Communications believes 2013 will be a year of preparing for those changes to occur. As we have spent the last year with physicians, medical practitioners, highly publicized medical facilities and budding health and wellness entrepreneurs, we have compiled our list of healthcare marketing predictions for 2013.

Physicians and medical professionals will embrace technology to enhance the patient experience. We foresee software as a service (SaaS) combining with platform as a service (PaaS) to provide cloud-based solutions that will enhance EMR and patient communications.

Consumers are abandoning PC/desktop computers, the entire medical community will need to adapt to tablets and mobile. 2013 will be the year that the luxury of a mobile optimized website will no longer be optional.

HIPAA for mobile will be a massive concern for 2013, so EMR costs will continue to rise. Mobile will be an extraordinary opportunity for marketers in 2013.

More than ever before, patients are becoming advocates for their own health and wellness. They are relying on sources like WebMD and Everyday Health for information. Also, they are using social media for validation and referrals. There will be more pressure on medical facilities to embrace social media to ensure accurate information is being delivered from a reputable source.

Franchising and licensing will continue to be a business model that ensures affordable and accessible healthcare treatment options. It will also provide an alternative to the increasing amount of government involvement in the healthcare decision-making process.

Let us know your healthcare marketing prediction for 2013, and we’ll plan on discussing how accurate we are at SHSMD 2013 in Chicago. Share your thoughts with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.

 

12
Dec
12

Healthcare Advertising: E-Cigarettes; Messaging Targets Many Audiences

By Tracy Weise 8 Comments
Categories: Advertising, Branding, cigarettes, Health and Wellness, Health care marketing, Marketing, Marketing Trends, Reputation and Uncategorized
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The marketing of Electronic Cigarettes, the “cigarette alternative,” is becoming more aggressive and reaching larger audiences. While these devices have been available for several years, the advertising is now reaching new venues. Advertising can be seen on cable TV and is pervasive with online videos. Websites clad with sexy women in sultry positions and superhero men puffing on electronic cigs are easy to find. Adding in fun and young flavors such as bubblegum, strawberry, chocolate and peach and you have a whole fun new and sexy category of safe smoking. This ultimately creates a market for e-cigs that include non-smokers.

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An article by Anthony Nagy from Business Insider discusses the advertising messages presented by manufacturers of e-cigs. I agree with Nagy’s overall assessment that the marketers are missing an opportunity to message the health benefits of the devices. If, as proponents state, it is true that this is a great alternative for those addicted to the unhealthy habit of smoking, then shouldn’t the messages tailored for smokers include this health message?

We did find one such an example:

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The New York Times suggests that many of the current campaigns are reminiscent of iconic cigarette ads. Clearly those campaigns were successful and with the prevalence of online ordering, it is a strong possibility that a youth market will be intrigued and motivated by the campaigns. After all, what teenager does not want to be sexy and strong? Without the prevalence of the aforementioned health messaging, however, I wonder if the campaigns will be the first step in developing young smokers? Is it possible that e-cigarettes could the gateway to smoking real cigarettes rather than (or in addition to) the bridge to quit?

What do you think about the marketing for e-cigs? Are they reaching audiences in the right way? Will the marketing of these devices lead to a healthier society with less smoking or create a new era of people who jump from electronic cigarettes to real ones?

Share your thoughts here or on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow us on Twitter at @Weise Ideas.

21
Nov
12

Weise’s List of Thanks

By Bre Wolta Leave a Comment
Categories: Ad Agency, Advertising, Creative, Funny, gangnam style, hacky sack, health, hilarity, humility, hump day, Marketing, Technology, thanks, thanksgiving and trends
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Thanksgiving has come around once again, and we want to voice what it is that the people here at Weise are giving their thanks to this year. The holidays always remind us of how fortunate and blessed we are within our own lives. Along with the gift of health and happiness, which we each appreciate deeply, we want to personally express our thanks to our clients who have put their faith in our ability to execute their marketing programs.

That being said, we thought we would also express our thanks for the other, perhaps overlooked, abundances within our office. Along with health, happiness and our honorable clients, here are a few things the Weise team is thankful for:

1. Hilarity

If working in the marketing and advertising world has taught us anything, it is the power of having a sense of humor. Thank you to everyone at Weise for knowing when it is time to laugh at ourselves, at each others’ jokes (whether funny or not) and at our frustrations. Laughter is contagious, and we are thankful we have caught it.

2. Humility

One of the best things about our office is the lack of rank. We are an integrated agency and everyone’s opinions and ideas are heard and appreciated. Sure, we win awards every now and again with one of our brilliant concepts, but for the most part egos aren’t part of our vocabulary. Thank you everyone at Weise for playing nice in the Weise sandbox.

3. Hip-ness

Yeah, we are a hip crew. Thank you everyone at Weise for keeping up with the times and using that know-how to bring the newest and coolest ideas with you to work everyday. Yes, we even know how to gangnam style.

4. Hump Day

Because who isn’t thankful for Hump Day. Wednesday means we survived the harder half of the week! Thank you everyone at Weise for making work an enjoyable place, but lets be real, everyone loves the weekend and ski season is just around the corner.

5. Hacky Sack

Not yet an acquired skill, but we think it’s a great invention. Thank you everyone at Weise for one day playing a killer game of office hacky sack.

Happy Thanksgiving!!! We hope your day of thanks fills your soul and your belly! What is it that you are thankful for? Share with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.

25
Sep
12

Top Ten Things We Learned at SHSMD 2012

By Mark Plumb Leave a Comment
Categories: Health and Wellness, Health care marketing, healthcare, healthcare marketing, Hospital, Marketing and SHSMD
Tags: , , , , , , ,

Attendees of SHSMD2012 are back at their home locations plotting a return to Chicago in 2013, attempting to sync their Poken and wondering if they missed anything from Saturday morning’s keynote, Thomas Goetz (he only spoke to about 20% of the audience Ari Fleisher had on Thursday). While everyone will have their personal take-aways, Tracy Weise, Jay Weise and I developed a top ten list of things we learned in Philadelphia.

1. Hospitals and all medical facilities are overturning every rock for ideas, actionable plans to reduce readmission rates. The most effective tactic so far is educating the family of a patient and allowing the pressure of a loved one to encourage post-hospital stay behavior.

2. Awesome description of the difference between the nuance of healthcare system and service line marketing: The healthcare system branding creates a promise, the service line marketing delivers on the promise created.

3. The overwhelming majority of attendees were unconcerned about outcome of Presidential election as it relates to healthcare reform. Some things are in place and will stay in place; other things will change regardless of who wins.

4. Acceptance of the “must do” strategies in the American Hospital Association report:

    • Increase Hospital-Physician alignment
    • Improve the quality of patient safety
    • Make advancements in hospital efficiency
    • Develop an integrated information system

5. In a session that included an interactive questionnaire, Lack of strategy, lack of time and lack of staff were the biggest reasons offered for not implementing a robust social media plan. However, an argument can be made that there is still a lack of knowledge about social media in the healthcare marketing community.

    • Only 1.1% of the 1,300 SHSMD2012 attendees checked into the SHSMD 2012 Conference using the location based social media platform foursquare
    • Only 6.2% of the attendees tweeted using the hashtag ‘#SHSMD12’

This begs the question, why are healthcare marketing experts reluctant to embrace an important ‘patient experience’ tool?

6. Web 2.0 and social media are working for patient acquisition: There were two case studies, Mayo Clinic and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital with tangible results and the programs were replicable.

7. It is massively important to incorporate a disciplined planning approach to service lines prior to budget season, otherwise you’ll budget before you plan and back into the programs you can afford. At the same time you must engage physicians in the planning process and they must see action otherwise you’ll never get buy-in in future years.

8. Nobody really knows what the ACO landscape will look like, if any so called expert tells you otherwise, they don’t know what they are talking about. They may fool you, but don’t let them make a fool out of you.

9. The quantitative data to effectively manage your medical facility is available, be sure to incorporate qualitative data from physicians to complete the story.  Be sure to deep dive into data analysis if the results are contrary to the generally held opinions of hospital leadership, otherwise you have an uphill battle trying to change minds.

10. Best Quotes from SHSMD2012 – if you said any of these, you know who you are:

    • Overheard at the end of concurrent sessions on day 1: “I am ready to nap dangerously.”
    • In a session when the presenter was making a transition from social media to anal reconstruction surgery, “Before we dive into bowel movements…”
    • In a session responding to a question about strategies, objectives and tactics: “People have a harder time with strategies because they are squishy.”
    • In the exhibit hall, “Hospitals are concerned about patient tracking after they leave the hospital, but why has the term out migration been replaced with leakage.”

Want to find out more about what we learned at SHSMD 2012? Give us a call. Want to add to this list, share your thoughts here or on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow us on Twitter at @Weise_Ideas.

06
Sep
12

Health Care Marketing: Pretty Plus, New Plus Size Children’s Clothing Line

By Bre Wolta 3 Comments
Categories: Advertising, B2C, Branding, Business growth, Business Strategies, children's obesity, Children's Place, clothing stores, health, healthcare, Marketing, Michelle Obama, NFL, obesity, Old Navy, Rachael Ray and The Gap
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It’s impossible to ignore the childhood obesity epidemic that is evident and growing in the US today. With such a heightened problem at our fingertips, we as a culture are showing our gluttonous opportunistic faces once again.

Pretty Plus is a new clothing line, originating in Sears that tailors to “plus” size children ranging from 3-10 years of age. They offer styles that mirror those of “normal” size children, enabling larger kids to wear the clothing that is in style.

This brand has proven to be a success overnight. So much so, they have intentions to expand into clothing stores such as Old Navy, The Gap and The Children’s Place.

The success of this plus size brand comes with a price. Many people are concerned with the psychological strain the labels of this clothing are putting on the children. There are debates that calling labeling boy’s clothes “husky” or girl’s clothes “pretty plus” is putting a stigma on them from a young age.

Personally, it saddens me that the unfortunate prevalence of obese children can create such a profitable arena for companies, but it is the reality of our world. I commend people such as Michelle Obama with her ‘Let’s Move!’ initiative, Rachael Ray with her Yum-O organization and the NFL’s Play 60 movement, all of which advocate children’s exercise and/or healthy eating to combat children’s obesity.

Being in the advertising world, I praise the Pretty Plus’s marketing strategy of identifying and jumping on a profitable niche market. Being a health care advocate, I see the unfortunate capitalization on the concession of unhealthy children.

Share your thoughts on the new Pretty Plus brand. Do you think a plus size option for children is advantageous or are we moving backward?

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