Believe it or not, there are still many branding managers, product managers, business owners, and even marketers sitting on the fence on whether to use Twitter. “Why do I need to use Twitter?” The better question is “How will using Twitter expand my brand and enhance my marketing strategy?” Does your company have a social media strategy in place and have you decided how and why to use social platforms in the first place? If not, revisit your marketing plan and check your calendar. It is 2012 and social media has rocked the business world. You must integrate social into your marketing plan.

Sermon over. Back to Twitter and why it is important to large AND small brands in 2012. Let’s get past the “But I don’t care what Justin Bieber is wearing or what aging B-list celebrity just joined what reality TV show.” Great! I don’t either. However, there are ways even small business can market themselves better, faster, and reach a wider audience by introducing Twitter into the mix.

Here are four key strategic considerations that should matter to you as you look for new ways to introduce your brand to local, regional, national, or global customers.

4 Ways Twitter Can Improve Your Branding

Connection with Customers and Brands
It is much easier to connect with other users and brands on Twitter than Facebook, You Tube, Pinterest, and especially LinkedIn. Others will find your brand and reciprocate with “follows”. You don’t have to be former colleagues or high school buddies. Just display some interest in the other person and their content. And there are over 100 million active users.

When we manage your social media strategy our team seeks out any and all relevant industry accounts on Twitter. And we continue to build your audience connecting with others and spreading your business gospel each month. We post links to articles, news, data, company goings-on, upcoming events but we also listen to what others are saying, which leads us to the next point.

Listening to the Pulse of Your Business
I have always loved this about Twitter. If I want to know what is happening my world of advertising, PR, or design, I can find it and find it quickly on Twitter. The Search feature can help you locate competitors, prospects, business associates, or the experts whom you trust in for accurate and valuable business information.

We also listen to “mentions” which lets us know what others are saying about us. Twitter provides you a powerful tool for tracking your brand and the business and social voices that you care about. It is timely so that you can respond with a thank you, an apology, or a helpful suggestion in quick fashion.

Deliver On Your Promise
Twitter is an excellent Customer Service tool. Now you can deliver on your brand promise to “Go the extra mile or make patients priority #1 or guarantee best-in-class service 24/7 (I hate Mission Statements!)”. Angry customer? Great! Here is your chance to shine and take care of their problem while your whole audience is watching. It’s put up or shut up, time.

Very few will actually ever complain about your brand but so many more are watching that you MUST make it right and bring them back into the fold. Many marketers fear this situation but it a golden PR opportunity that you should relish.

Manage Your Brand Message
Twitter is by far the most important social site for media from your local neighborhood reporter to industry analysts and regional and national journalists. Television, newspaper, industry blogger, radio personalities, PR types all live and work here. So when you want to control your brand message and make easy introductions. Twitter is the place to do it.

Public Relations and Social Media are one in 2012. I cannot imagine doing one without the other. Most small and local brands fail to realize that they can capitalize on a well-planned PR campaign. In some ways local brand messaging is made even easier on Twitter because you can quickly and cheaply identify and then reach other media and business players in your own backyard. Once you know what your brand has to share Twitter is the obvious choice for letting others know too.

Twitter By The Numbers (March 2012)

1. Twitter has over 100 million active users.
2. 50% of active Twitter users sign in daily.
3. Over 250 million “tweets” are posted daily.
4. There are significantly more female Twitter users than male.
5. In December of 2009 an event in Japan created a short phenomenon, and record, of over 25,000 tweets per second!

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Mike Hallaron is the founder and CEO of Hallaron Media and MH1 Web Design based in The Woodlands and Houston, Texas.

Learn more about creating a LinkedIn marketing strategy

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Depending on the size of your company you should always remember that your Facebook business page is just one tactical element of your overall marketing strategy and your comprehensive social media plan. Whether you are small one-man operation or a  large global marketer you must put together a social media plan that states why you are using social media, including Facebook and other channels such as Twitter, Slide Share, You Tube, and LinkedIn. What are your goals and expectations? How will the time and money spent on social marketing benefit your organization? If you are not sure where to start, consider working with a professional marketer to help create your plan.

(from Facebook ‘Best Practices Guidelines’)

Facebook Marketing Solutions helps marketers create rich social experiences, build lasting relationships, and amplify the most powerful type of marketing – word of mouth.

1. Build a strategy that is social by design

Social media is about people. Friends, followers, and fans will be involved with your brand, products, and services up close and personally. Your Facebook Wall should be used to inform, advise, and add value to those who follow your company. Be prepared to communicate with them directly while the rest of your Facebook universe watches and reads. Listen and monitor what they say about you and respond to questions and comments professionally as quickly as possible. Managing your page is totally different than running a magazine or newspaper general awareness ad. Be ready to communicate directly and rapidly.

2. Create an authentic brand voice

Followers and fans want to feel like they are communicating with a person, NOT a brand or a company. Unlike other “non-social” advertising and communications, your Facbook voice should be casual, comfortable, and “human”. Your Facbook voice may be friendly and familiar where your Twitter, LinkedIn and other social voices are more serious in tone. Each social channel has its own flavor and your audiences will vary from one platform to another.

3. Make it authentic

Save the canned spam and mindless blatant self promotion. Listeners will tune out. Show concern for others and share with your local and wider community. Offer advice and try to help others.

4. Nurture your relationships

The Facebook fans who comment on your Wall and ask questions are marketing gold. Always be courteous and appreciative. Develop these relationships on and off-line. Invite these people to company events or ask them to help test new products and services. Send them an occasional gift certificate. Show them you value their input. They will become evangelists of your brand. They will provide terrific word-of-mouth.

5. Keep learning

Facebook and other social channels undergo frequent changes. A great site for staying abreast of changes is www.mashable.com. Stay informed of the latest tools and listen and learn from your followers. They are your customers, advocates, and allies. Understand what is important to them and what they respond to on your Facebook page. You will make mistakes. Learn from those too.

Like every other part or your business, social media and your Facebook business page require a well thought-out strategy to understand how it fits within the big picture. Make sure you you know the how’s, why’s and what’s before you get started.

Most of us recognize the significant role that social giant LinkedIn plays matching job hunters and recruiters together. It’s a benefit and a powerful tool for both parties. However, what about all of the other information we post and respond to on Facebook, Stumble Upon, Twitter, You Tube, Slideshare, etc… from behind the safety of our keyboards and monitors or smartphones? It appears that the online identities we create do not live entirely within a secure, protective bubble. Who knew? This social info can actually come back to bite us in the butt when searching for a new gig.

Erica Swallow writing for Mashable.com reports that a recent study finds “more than 90% of recruiters have visited a potential candidate’s profile on a social network as part of the screening process.” That is a staggering number. I would say this qualifies as the norm now. The impact of which upon active social media users can surely be guessed. It is the new “social background check.”

So, should job seekers unfriend, dislike, and unfollow all at once? Probably not but you should be aware that others are reading and judging you based on what you write and the way they perceive your on-line personality. Be aware that your next career move may hinge on that racy You Tube video you posted.

One more tidbit from the study: “…a whopping 69% of recruiters have rejected a candidate based on content found on his or her social networking profiles.” I think we already knew this bomb was coming. So beware if a new job hunt is in your near future.

Read Erica’s article [INFOGRAPHIC] here: http://mashable.com/2011/10/23/how-recruiters-use-social-networks-to-screen-candidates-infographic/

Why do you need a creative brief?

Planning an effective advertising campaign starts with the writing of your creative brief. This outline provides a road map for your creative team so that designers, copywriters, artists, and other team contributors are all on the same page from start to finish. Along with a review of previous campaign successes and failures, the brief is crucial when preparing to communicate your brand’s main message.

The creative team working on your ad campaign needs to understand what your company is all about and how your products or services compare with the competition. Finding that unique advantage and creating your own company brand image is what separates you from the pack. It’s called your marketing position and ‘positioning’ is often what separates a great ad from a mediocre one. It’s your creative team’s job to identify your unique position and communicate it through your advertising campaign.

Example: Avis “We’re #2. We try harder.” Apple Computer ”Think Different”.  Burger King “Have it your way”.

Key elements of your creative brief

1 ) Background

What’s the big picture? Describe your company and its place in the market to our team. Have any recent changes affected your brand, image, or marketing?

Who is the ad talking to? Who is our audience?

2) What is the objective, the purpose of the ad?

Clearly explain what you expect the ad to do for you. How should the ad make people feel about your company and your message or offer?

What specific action do you want the audience to take after experiencing your ad?

Example: Click on a website or landing page link. Call a telephone number to receive more information, or maybe sign up to attend a free seminar.

3) Target audience: who are we talking to?

Again, the more precise you can be, the better. Go beyond age and sex to describe demographics, psychological characteristics, and motivations  if possible. Explain how the audience currently thinks, feels and behaves in relation to your industry and to your product specifically.

Example: Our primary target audience is male, 25 to 35 YO, college educated, employed. The target is approximately 30% married, with income of $55k on average.

4) What’s the most important thing to say in the ad?

What’s the single most persuasive or most compelling claim we can make in your ad to help move our target to action?

Keep this short, preferably a simple sentence.

5) What other reasons are there to buy?

What information, research, factual claims, or evidence can we use to support our main message? Why should they believe the ad? Where is the proof?

Is there a special offer, sale, discount, or other timely call to action? Explain the specifics of this offer so everyone understands the details.

Do you have client testimonials or reviews we can use?

6) Creative Schedule & Deliverables

Provide a time table  of what is due and when,  for both the initial concepts and finished art. Example:

1. Date _________initial creative review of rough sketch ideas.
2. Date _________review revised creative. 
3. Date _________client creative & media presentation. Full size, full color.
4. Date _________ print ads delivered to publication.

Related: Need a Design Brief for Web Design?

For reference, here is a link to a Design Brief tamplate used by our web design partner MH1 Web Design in The Woodlands, Texas. This is targeted for a website design or re-design but many of the same elements are involved as in any good advertising creative brief.

When Choosing An Ad Agency, Don’t Consider Size; Consider Collaboration

http://www.fastcompany.com/1774758/when-choosing-an-ad-agency-dont-consider-size-consider-collaboration

in Fast Company Magazine – @fastcompany magazine on Twitter.

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My thoughts…

Clients are always looking for the same thing — how can you make their life easier. Create good work that helps them meet sales or other goals and do it for less. Launch a new brand, product, or service. Build an audience where there isn’t one, etc… As my good friend Curtis Schlough  with Brochure Builders says, “Solve their problem.”

Small agencies are often more adept at collaboration on design, marketing, and other advertising or PR issues that benefit the client. While big agencies have greater resources they too rely heavily on specialists and contractors behind the scenes. Often there just aren’t as many layers of middle-men working with a small agency. Of course we all realize that smaller advertising firms will often be willing to do more and bend over backwards for the same account that a larger agency may brush off. The best philosophy for a small agency is “Stay lean, Stay hungry.”

Clients want fast, responsive marketers that make them feel like they are the agency’s ONLY client and that minor miracle of account service is no easy feat for a large agency or a small one. Agency work cannot exist in a vacuum today. Creatives have to be flexible enough to share and explore concepts that benefit the client. This often means sitting at the same table as folks who are technically-speaking — competitors. If you are a small agency like us, you will check your ego at the door and do whatever it takes to find that solution for your mutual client.

Mike Hallaron
www.HallaronMedia.com