Our sincere thanks to SocialShakeUpShow.Com for inviting me to write a blog for their website. This was an exciting opportunity because this organization’s advisory board is a Who’s Who of top social media marketers, including experts representing Toms, Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook, IBM and Southwest Airlines. It was a great opportunity for me to introduce their followers to Strategically Aimed Marketing (SAM 6®).
This organization’s audience includes those who aspire for their companies to grow to become industry giants. So, I decided to discuss one of the most misunderstood terms in marketing: brand. “When you hear “Uber,” you probably think of a ride share service. Similarly, the name “Nike” makes most of us think of shoes. What would a stranger picture when told the name of your company or product?” I wrote.
“At its core, a brand is the definition people hold in their minds of your company and its products. That definition is built in two ways: by what people are told, and by what they experience when they use your product.”
Media Relations specializes in product promotions. Social media is nearly always an essential component. But social media pros should not isolate themselves from the bigger marketing picture. In this blog I also stressed, “To become a brand, your audience must internalize your messaging. The best way to do that is to make full use of each promotional mix channel.”
We strongly recommend integrating traditional earned media coverage with social media marketing. As I wrote, “Educating your market all at once is unrealistic, but to become a brand you’ll need to start somewhere. It makes sense to use media coverage as an initial channel: You have the time and space to tell a persuasive story, first to the early adopters, then the early majority. Once you’ve won over the early majority, you’ve got some serious brand-ward traction.”
Thankfully, the results-driven six-step SAM 6 marketing process that Media Relations pioneered is now available to everyone. It is all about making and keeping your product famous. It provides every marketer, regardless of budget size and scope of audience, with the tools to deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time.
To help, there are free SAM 6 marketing tools online. I also strongly suggest that everyone on your team also read Lonny Kocina’s fully illustrated, best-selling book, “The CEO’s Guide to Marketing”. It describes SAM 6 in detail. Reading it will help bring structure to your marketing program and dramatically increase your marketing results.
If you’re a CEO or marketing manager, order copies for your entire marketing team.
