Driven Media Group

Best Buy Goes Next Level Customer Support

While I’m not a ‘huge’ fan of Best Buy I am a die hard marketing fanatic (which my wife doesn’t like sometimes when I point out items online / tv / etc). In the last couple of weeks Best Buy released a marketing campaign geared towards the customer – on.their.network.

This is something I’ve been trying to tell people almost daily – you can’t force people to come to your site. You just can’t do it. Unless it offers something fantastic (in the eyes of the customers – NOT YOU) then they will not come. In turn Best Buy decides to go TO the customer and react quickly and be in tune to the consumers need.

The plan: twitter. It’s quite simple but difficult at the same time. Follow @Twelpforce and ask them a question on any product Best Buy might have and they will give you a contact (best buy contact) that will help you. The marketing campaign on television is pretty amusing and in honesty sucks you in.

Simple yet thought provoking. In a time when we supposedly “need” answers now (see KGB text your questions) now you can do so via twitter when it comes to electronics. Way to go Barry Judge – hopefully this will help in deciding a Sr. Media Manager.

In the end this is GREAT brand management – you are not only making sure your brand is taken care of you are funneling it FROM the consumer.

What are your thoughts on this?

10 Year Reunion – Missed

If you follow me on twitter (@drivenmg) you would’ve found out that I missed one my high school reunions over the weekend. I say “one” b/c I transferred my Junior year to a private school. Yet, I went to school with these individuals for a better part of my young life from elementary to 10th grade.

So, what happened? Well looking over the events I noticed the planning was pretty ‘laid back’. It’s not a dig on anyone but my expectations are usually pretty high on events like these. I noticed there was no “mailing” list just a group on FB. While I did receive a notice via FB in the shape of a ‘party flyer’ – which I get about 20 every other day. There was no distinction.

Then it hit me – this is how a lot of people / companies are doing things. They don’t stand out. They take the same business model and run with it – they don’t take the time to stand out and make a difference.

Nonetheless I tried to make contact to several people and while empty promises were made I was able to meet up with an old friend of mine since grade school. Now both married and with jobs/careers – having intelligent conversation over a few drinks. I truly wished a few others could’ve made it out bu in the end it was all good as I got all the ‘updates’ from my long time friend.

So it looks like another 10 years before I see all these people again which is amazingly funny because a large percentage live in the area – small area in reality – yet they can’t nail down a day to grab some lunch / coffee / etc.

10 years have passed and now what? Well…that’s up to you.

Thesis Theme and Search Marketing

Two things I really didn’t expect but eh, what the hay. I saw the tweet from @copyblogger and being a ‘trusted source’ checked it out. Turns out “Social Media Commando” is running an 8-week course on this clean theme. I actually digg the theme but for the love of God can’t figure out how to implement ‘hooks’.

Now, since I have too much on my plate ‘right now’ that doesn’t mean I can’t learn and do it in the future. I highly suggest you check this out and sign up. However when I DID sign up and got the confirmation link to ‘activate’ my participation I got the infamous 404 page.

Hopefully this will be fixed soon enough and we’ll be rocking and rolling!

UPDATE: Looks like the confirmation link did in fact go thru and this is what you have to look forward to:

Week 1 – The Beginner’s Guide to Using the Thesis Theme for WordPress

Week 2 - Market Research: Discovering your Secret Niche

Week 3 – Google’s Magic Triangle: How to Design a Killer Site

Week 4 – SEO: Optimizing your Site for the Search Engines

Week 5 – Pay Per Click: Making Money & Avoiding Tactical Errors

Week 6 – Social Media Marketing: How to Build a Huge Network of Followers

Week 7 – Test, Track, and Retool: Learning to Make Sense of the Data

Week 8 – Final Thoughts on Thesis: Welcome to the WordPress Elite!

Why The Lack of Post

I would apologize for the delay of post but in reality it is a good thing. A great thing actually. I have been non-stop busy. I’ve been working with a photography site – something I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time. Also, redeveloped the Dayton Chess Club site which should be launched this weekend (if all things work out).

Not to mention working with Sky7th on his upcoming Trouble Man release which will be spectacular all around. Expect some big things from this guy – make sure you follow him on twitter as well.

Put all that in and mix in some night class and you got a busy schedule. It ends at the end of August so hopefully by then I can get back to a regular schedule of posting.

Social Media Is NOT A Campaign

When I talk with people who are trying to expand their business and I mention going “online” and utilizing “social media” it becomes a road block for some. Others it becomes something new and adventures. These usually capitalize on it and do very well.

Nonetheless not everyone is built the same way. So, when I try to break down just how to use social media in various avenues I see and hear “marketing” responses.

1. This is not a campaign – no.matter.what. You are not creating a fan page on facebook just so you can blast emails to those who joined. That is a quick way to lose fans (and brand reputation).
2. This is not advertising – You are not just advertising your business products / services. It is time to show others that you know about your niche. If you are selling “office chairs” let people be aware that you KNOW about…wait for it…”office chairs”. A quick way to be “unfollowed/blocked/etc” is give “tips” along with sales. Don’t be pushy – people haaaate that. I know I do. I work with salespeople all day so I know the type and the successful ones know about the product inside and out. They believe in it but they also know that you hold the checkbook.
3. Do not focus on one thing – Social networks are created almost daily. You need to be on top of it. Early adapters rule the waves and it shows that you are on top of new technology. Don’t just tweet. You need to have a blog – flickr account – facebook page – etc. Take the time in each avenue to make it right.

While I’ve mentioned the top 3 things NOT TO DO – I might as well do the top 3 TO DO!

1. Be yourself – or be someone that is interesting. Give a good mixture of ‘personal’ and ‘business’ updates. Remember you are in charge of your brand online.
2. Plan and execute. You know you’re going to have a sale on a product coming up – start planning immediately and look over your analytic’s to see which would be more effective. Remember to place your time and energy with the biggest ROI.
3. Have fun. Social media marketing is not just about marketing your products/services – it’s about connecting with people. Remember not everyone is going to like your product/services (or even you) – find out why and learn from it.

Why Most Companies Fail In Social Media

It’s not hard to determine the ‘exact’ reasons why companies can’t grasp the ideals of what “social media” is truly all about. If you’re involved in twitter (@drivenmg) then you’ll notice a companies “brand” when you tweet about one of their products/services with an automatic response.

This.is.WRONG!

The key to taking over social media for businesses is this: BE REAL!

I don’t know how much more in-depth I can be. This is me being honest. I can’t tell you how many times I tweeted about poor customer service for a company and I get the @drivenmg “what can we do to help” response.

#1 - READ THE TWEET! Respond accordingly.

The purpose of Twitter and what social media is about overall is the “social” portion. Companies tend to grab the “media” part and think of marketing. That is the wrong mentality. I’m not insisting that these companies look at it as customer service related but in reality in these times people want to feel connected with brands.

The days of Fortune 500 companies distancing themselves from the common man are long gone. The 6 degree’s of separation don’t exist – the rules have changed and we all need to adapt if we want to grow both personally and professionally.

You want to see your growth change in a matter of minutes and you own a business? You search.twitter.com for your brand / name and respond accordingly. Don’t start promoting your products / services. If someone tweets you about a show/movie that you have discussed you liked – then respond to that.

Guess what – you just connected with that person and now you have moved up in their mind over other brands. This translates to increase in brand awareness and sales overall.

Write Best Buy’s Job Description

Is that right? Yep, you guessed it people the big wig’s over at Best Buy need your help to write a job description for a “Senior Manager, Emerging Media Marketing role”. If you saw my previous post regarding Best Buy vs. Dell the big deal was the “250 twitter followers“.

Barry Judge, Best Buy’s CMO, writes over on his blog:

We’d like you, (yes all of you), to help us write the job description for our Sr Manager of Emerging Media Marketing job.

We’d also like you all to help us pick the best description.

Then goes into detail just what he expects from people and specific guidelines.

My question is this: was this whole thing a ploy to get more people interested in the brand? Circuit City is gone so was Best Buy far behind?

I see the commercials with “real” stories of employee’s helping customers…I wish I could say the same in my area. When I ordered something online and went to pick it up “express” it took over 30 min’s to pull paperwork and to get the items (CD’s and DVD’s). Isolated incident but nonetheless add in the negative press Geek Squad has received from their lack of knowledge (again, knowing from 1st hand experience).

What say you? Marketing ploy or Best Buy is really at a lose?

Best Buy vs. Dell: Twitter

I love social media and love how major brands use their leverage to cross barriers in various mediums. One was Dell (@delloutlet) and how they are blowing away competition online by getting over 3 million dollars in sales just by utilizing twitter. How are they doing this? By giving their followers something unique and actually interacting with them.

Then there is Best Buy (@BestBuy) which I was fan of when I was teen but have since distanced myself due to their joint venture with Geek Squad. Nonetheless when a company goes online I try to give them the benefit of the doubt. However when I saw the image below at Soshable -  I literally LOL’d at Panera this morning:

What do you think – does Best Buy REALLY understand social media marketing?

Money and Business Where Do They Go?

Throwing Money Away In Business

I remember when I first really got into the web. I loved how people connected – the eRelationships that formed and developed all behind the screen. It was from here that I wanted to get into online marketing and overall media development. Yet, I find it interesting that more businesses are not aware of the internet yet rely heavily on it.

We need to be adaptive to the times and while a business might not ‘understand’ the structure of the net – they use it in their intranet and finding customers themselves.

Why can’t it work in reversal?

How do you want to be found online and what information do you want potential customers to see? The point is a lot of the companies – from small to large – have no clue about this and rather hire someone else to do the work and not try to understand it.

This is your money! This is your business! Why wouldn’t you want to know whats going on?

Be aware and informative. Ask questions and who cares if it’s stupid – yes, there is such a thing as a stupid question – even if you get ridiculed at least you’ll have a direction…and stop wasting money. In all honesty I love it when a client ask questions because it shows that they are really interested  in that project and I’m able to hopefully show them something new.