Integrating digital and traditional media — that still results in successful marketing.

How do you stay cutting edge with marketing, yet continue with what has proven to work?

Due to both technology and the financial belt tightening of corporations over the last few years, digital marketing has increased significantly. Also, digital data has made for a more highly targeted audience that is delivering more marketing wins.

However, that doesn’t mean that you need to get rid of traditional marketing completely — and it definitely doesn’t mean that traditional channels (like print) are dead.  Franchisees and other entrepreneurs simply have to take a closer look at their marketing activities to decide what they are trying to achieve and who they want to reach.

I have been working in 1:1 marketing for the for last ten years, and when customers come to me for advice on whether to use traditional or digital, I have only one answer for them: BOTH!

Here are a few great ways to integrate digital marketing efforts with traditional:

Add Social Media Icons
Tell your audience where to find you on their favorite social networks!

Include a QR code
Targets can then use their smart phones to respond to your marketing via web, social, and or even email!

Website or Landing Page URL’s
Always include your website URL; if you want to measure your traffic from a specific marketing channel, consider using a landing page!

What are some ways that you’ve combined digital and traditional in your marketing? Or if you haven’t used an integrated campaign yet, what challenges are you facing?

But before you dive into crafting those SMS messages, here are a few tips that I collected via themobilists.com, where I found great two articles with some great basics to remember:

1. Get Permission
Remember that not everyone has unlimited text plans.  Getting phone numbers off of contracts, invoices, business cards, or other random sources does not constitute obtaining permission. Obtaining explicit permission is very specific in the mobile marketing industry.

Your user must do one of the following to opt in:

• Enter their phone number online
• Click on an opt-in button on a mobile web page
• Text you using a specific short code

2. Inform the User
Make sure that your call to action for obtaining a mobile number is unarguably clear; not misleading or deceptive. Be upfront with the user about the volume and frequency of messages they can expect to receive from you once they opt In.

3. Give Opt Out Options
Always give the user a way to opt out of getting future messages, should they decide to do so. The most popular method is for the user to text “STOP” to opt out.

4. Know That Stop Means STOP
When someone replies STOP, you should no longer send ANY communications to this person’s cell phone.  When someone opt out, you are required by law to stop sending them texts. In 2012, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a declaratory ruling on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act that opened the door for one additional text follow up to verify that the user wants to stop—but that’s it. The follow up message must be sent within five minutes of receiving the opt-out request and cannot include any marketing or promotional information.

It’s important to be careful with your text campaigns and know the laws, because in the end it’s your brand that could the public “black eye” and suffers financially.

Do you use text message marketing? What kind of mobile best practices (beyond FCC regulations) does your brand use?

Sources:
SMS Best Practices and Tips to Avoid Text Message Lawsuits
The Legal Aspects of Text Message Marketing

The ANAR (Aid to Children and Adolescents at Risk) Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes the welfare and protection of children, asked the question, “How can we make sure those we serve see the right message?”

Since ANAR serves at-risk youths, the bigger question was how to ensure they see this message if they are with the person(s) putting them at risk.

The answer? ANAR worked with ad agency Grey (Spain) to use lenticular printing to create an ad that would produce a different message for a child’s view than an adult, based on height research.

Source: Adweek

“Anyone under about 4-foot-3 sees bruising on the child’s face in the poster, along with ANAR’s hotline number and copy that reads, ‘If somebody hurts you, phone us and we’ll help you.”

Persons above this height (most adults, or parents) see a different image and message:

*Read the full article here.

Though this might not become a viral practice that can apply to all things marketing, I’m impressed. It’s a pretty creative way to reach targets with a specific message in this forum.

What do you think about this ad concept? Could you apply lenticular printing to your marketing? Why or why not?

So, what social media trends can we expect in 2013?  Earlier this year, Jeff Bullas gave us some insight on what we can expect in his post, “6 Social Media Trends You Should Not Ignore in 2013”.

Here are my top three favorite trends in this list that I’ve definitely seen evidence of this year:

1. 140 Characters Will Become Cooler
Bullas calls Twitter “the new black,” and predicts we’ll see brands working harder to build a dedicated following. I think this has manifested most through the concept of social customer service!

2. Visuals as a Social Media Weapon of Mass Destruction
As a self-admitted Pinterest junkie, I can’t help but agree. Bullas highlights Pinterest as a “serious traffic source as sales referrer for online stores.” It’s even beating out Facebook in some areas when it comes to creating revenue!

3. Social and Mobile
It’s time to get serious about making it simple to connect to your brand via social and mobile – together. Jeff reminds us to make sure our “design and content is able to be viewed on mobile and also easily shared and maybe even bought.”

Again, these are just my favorite 3 of Jeff’s 6 social trends. Check out the full post, 6 Social Media Trends You Should Not Ignore in 2013, here.

What’s your social focus for 2013?

For more great insights on social media, marketing, blogging, etc., be sure to visit Jeff’s blog regularly at www.jeffbullas.com!

How Your Franchise Can Rock Social Media in 2013

Check out the top 3 three social channels that franchisees must dominate in 2013, and how to make it happen!

Featuring: Bluewater’s own social media expert and local rock star, MaKenzie Wangsness* uses her 10 years in online marketing strategy to help franchises understand how to “rock social” and make an impact locally on popular social channels like Facebook.

What You’ll Learn:

• The Best Social Channels for Franchises and How to Rock Them
• How to Grow Your Franchise Using Social on a Local Level
• The Best Kept Secrets to Reaching Your Social Audience
• How to Be a Social Media Rock Star in Your Franchise!

*Download this webcast video by April 30th and receive a FREE copy of our “Rock Social Media in 2013″ Infographic!

I love Amazon. They know what I want before I even know I want it. Plus, they know exactly when and how to best deliver recommendations that delight me (not annoy me).  Heck, Amazon’s advanced intuition can even make your significant other look bad!

So how do you take these brilliant digital marketing strategies from Amazon and mix them into your own marketing playbook?  Here are 3 solid digital marketing strategies to get you started:

#1. Understand Your Customers as Unique Individuals.
Amazon doesn’t just know my name. They know that I recently bought my daughter a My Little Pony book, so of course the next time I open up the Amazon app on my iPhone, they suggest that I might like the new Princess Celestia (unicorn co-ruler of Equestria in the My Little Pony universe).

Oh Amazon, you had me at Princess.  My daughter will love me if I buy this… (and I did!)

According to Forrester Research, we have entered the “Age of the Consumer”, where consumers expect brands to understand their individual needs, desires and expectations. Smart companies like Amazon have been using personalized marketing for years to do just that.  Now it’s your turn!

#2. Embrace Personalized, Real-Time Marketing.
Personalized marketing focuses on what people are interested in – and at the very moment they are interested in it. Amazon creates a more personalized, human user experience where customers are treated like individuals, and their customers love them for it.

I’m not talking about the “Dear Valued Customer” emails of the 90’s (I worked for a software company that actually sent those out, and we called them our “DVC’s” – it was very sad).

I’m talking about 21st Century Hyper-Targeted Personalization – delivering the right content to the right person at the right time on the right device, using the right channel, published on the right platform.  Yep, you have to get it “right” six times… so how do you do that??

The first step is to start gathering data from your prospects and customers. Then begin to create very specific customer segments where you can craft personalized messages and offers that cater to their individual, unique needs. We have a great video below about this called “Becoming Customer Obsessed” that dives deeper into this concept:

3. Learn to Love Data (a lot).
Every interaction with customers tells an important story you can leverage for future marketing. Personalized marketing isn’t effective if you don’t have that comprehensive customer story.

To rock personalized marketing like Amazon does, it requires joining data with deep context.  It’s not just a customer’s demographic data, but also knowing the story behind that interaction: What was the time and location? What search terms were used?  And most important – what was the behavior before, during, and after the interaction?

Amazon makes this look easy, but the truth is – this takes a ton of effort! This typically requires getting outside help from data-driven marketing experts – okay, data nerds – even worse – data marketing nerds. They exist and you need them.

These nerds will be key players in helping your brand deliver rich, personalized online experiences that produce more loyal customers and give you a competitive advantage.  Let’s face it, marketers make the magic – but nerds make the impossible, possible.

Does Amazon inspire your digital marketing strategies?  How do you use your customer stories to fuel your marketing efforts?

“What is online marketing?” One of the many marketing questions asked by the franchisees we support. While hunting for the best (and simplest) way to explain this FAQ, I came across an infographic from Space 48 that lays it out perfectly!

Trying to increase traffic to your site? Maybe sell more products? How about building popularity and increasing brand awareness with your customers? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then investing in a comprehensive online marketing mix is a must!

Top 4 Key Areas:

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO is the process of improving your visibility in search engines, and there are two different types: Onsite and Offsite. Onsite is optimizing your website’s Meta Tags, content and URL’s. Offsite SEO refers to link building—like blogging. SEO is a win-win, increasing brand visibility and visits to your site, not to mention a pretty great ROI rate!

Social Media
Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest are just a few of the big names in social media, one of the fastest growing additions to the world of online marketing. Social  is creating a whole new (and better) ball game for brand awareness, customer service, and loyalty; plus, most platforms are free!

PPC (Pay Per Click)
Also known as cost per click, this online advertising tool is used to direct traffic to websites, and the advertiser only pays the host when their ad is clicked on. The pros of PPC include a quick and easy set up, full control of your campaigns, and you only pay on the performance of the ad.

Email Marketing
I’m sure everyone is very familiar with email marketing, but just to make sure we are on the same page – this is a great way of directly reaching your target audience without spending money associated with print and production costs. The best part? The campaigns are targeted and measurable, cost effective, instantaneous, and you build customer loyalty.

What did we learn today? SEO + Social Media + PPC + Email Marketing = A winning marketing mix!

Don’t miss the original infographic on Space48’s Pinterest Page!

Here are some things we heard at the round table, along with some quick answers about what you as a franchisee can be doing to improve your digital marketing now:

1. “I keep hearing about how important mobile is in marketing today, but I don’t know where to start with using mobile in a franchise.”

The Answer: Start with a Mobile Website
Making it quick and easy to navigate your website from a mobile device is a great first step to leveraging mobile.  With over 82% of US smart phone users utilizing their phones for web browsing (Nielsen’s 2013 Mobile Consumer Report), mobile optimization is something brand’s can’t afford to miss.

If your website is still only optimized for desktops, ask the corporate office to share their plan for mobile optimization across the your franchise system.

2. “We don’t know exactly who our customers are…and we really have no way to track them.”

The Answer: Ask Customers to Connect
In order to market smarter, you need customer data, because there are a million and one ways to use it. Start an email list, use a content landing page, offer incentives to connect through social networks, or even set up an in-store drawing where customers can drop business cards with their contact information.

Once you start collecting information, the number of ways you can use this customer data in your marketing is almost limitless!

3. “We want people who love us to tell the world.”

The Answer: Brand Advocacy
Find a way that works for your location to get customer feedback. Ask for customer reviews on Yelp, Urban Spoon, Google Places, FourSquare, Facebook, etc.

Franchises that are great at advocacy programs are very deliberate in the way they ask for feedback, whether it’s in person or via an online survey program printed on purchase receipts.

4. “Social media for us feels disorganized…we don’t have any say in what’s goes out on our brand’s profiles.”

- OR -



“I’m in charge of my location’s social profile, but it’s a lot of work and I need help!”

The Answer: Synch Up Your Social Efforts
If there is a singular, corporate run social media profile for each channel (only one Twitter account, one Facebook account, etc.), help contribute content to the corporate office. If you must manage your own local page, work with your brand’s marketing department to determine the type of content you’ll share, and how frequent to share it.

Though your corporate marketing team has a large hand in the kind of 1:1 digital marketing your brand uses, stay involved. Ask questions and voice your opinions about how digital will impact local, and vice-versa. Corporate needs you, and you need them, so you’ll help one another create a stronger system by working together in digital marketing for your franchise!

How is your franchise using digital, locally or nationally?

I loved Scott Levy’s “4 Things You Need to be Doing on Social Media – Now,” featured on Entrepreneur.com this week. Social media is such a big

However, working with franchisees so often, I wondered, “How does this list apply to them?”

It can be a challenge for franchisees to utilize marketing advice that’s not specifically tailored to the franchise industry, so I added a franchise spin on Scott’s recommendations! Below you’ll find tips from Scott’s original article, and the “franchise twist” I’ve added to those tips!

1. Engage with followers and provide customer service.
Your customers are engaging with your brand wherever they are — including over social media. Don’t miss this opportunity to listen to what they’re saying to and about you, and to provide the best customer service.

For Franchisees: If you manage your own location’s social media accounts, it’s important to monitor these channels daily. However, if your corporate office has been so kind as to do this job for you (with a singular brand account, versus requiring you to manage your own), then you’re set! Even if you’re not the one manning the social media controls, it’s important to encourage customers to connect through their favorite social channels. What’s good for the whole brand is good for your location, and vice-versa.

2. Crowd source ideas.
Use social media as a marketing research tool. Just as people can reach out to you, follow you and stay connected with you, business owners can do the same with their customers. Social media is a two-way street.

For Franchisees: This is most applicable if you’re managing your own individual social profile. Depending upon how your location releases products and services, this can be a really helpful gauge to determine it’s perceived value to your clientele. For corporate-run social media profiles, the brand might apply the same type of social surveys to make decisions for the entire system.

3. Keep an eye on the competition.
When it comes to business, it’s good to know what your competitors and other companies in your market niche are doing. By keeping an eye on their social media feeds, you can learn a lot about a company — what it is doing differently, what it’s good at and what it’s bad it.

For Franchisees: There’s no doubt your corporate team is already keeping an eye on the competition from an overall brand standpoint. Where this could come in handy for you, is if your competition is managing their own local profile. This way you can see what local offers and promotions they’re touting, and how it may affect your location. If they’re also a franchise, they also may not run their own profiles, but a simple online search will give you the answer!

4. Establish yourself as an industry expert.
Nobody can know what you know unless you share your knowledge. By sharing information like tips, advice and answering questions about your industry, you can position yourself as a valuable resource.

For Franchisees: This is a great way to help you earn credibility, from your local area to the Twittersphere. If you’re the type of franchisee that has a real passion for your industry, and spends a lot of time in your location(s), becoming your own brand advocate can be a great move. Not a super hands-on franchisee? No worries. Explore the idea of a manager or star employee to help position your store as the local expert in your field!

So, there you have it. Don’t forget to see read the full article at Entrepreneur.com!

Are you doing any of these 4 things in your franchise currently? What challenges do you have with social media as a franchisee?

If data is everywhere (and make no mistake, it is.), leveraging the data you have should be a piece of cake, right?

The flip side of this coin is that there is so much data that it takes some elbow grease to figure out the best data for your brand to use, and how to use it.

AdWeek’s Noreen O’Leary just published some great examples of Three Brands That Used Data to Transform Their Media Strategies:

1. McCormick applied data from variables like search, social, and video to a paid search test. Click-through rates showed them how to leverage a more geographically targeted media plan, resulting in a traffic gain that jumped from 12% to 25%.

2. The UPS “We Love Logistics” positioning was born to target small businesses that needed help with supply chain management. Their most recent global campaign has been shown to drive over 20% of incremental shipping revenue via the target audience.


3. Sprint worked with Digitas to activate Sprint BrandLIVE to pair their brand messaging with a news-organization-like response. Using real-time digital trends and social sharing, their initiative was able to drive 7.5 million impressions over the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Don’t miss out on the whole story – see the full article on AdWeek here.

Still wondering how your brand can use data to enhance your marketing strategy?

Check out this video to see how Bluewater helps brands like yours use data to grow: