Nowadays, we see many agencies pushing for strictly inbound marketing practices. Here at Palmer we believe in phishing from both the inbound and outbound marketing pools.
How do you combine the two? Here’s one example…
“Find us on Facebook” and “Follow us on Twitter” have become part of common marketing vocabulary. Consumers almost expect to have advertisements, emails and blogs direct them to a company’s social media site.
While this is a necessary part of marketing, it is important to invite consumers to your Facebook or Twitter site with more than a generic invitation. Consumers want value in return for their interest and time, so you should be willing to offer something like a coupon, giveaway or exclusive content.
Two key industries—automotive and financial services—can provide some important lessons in how to attract visitors to your social media site through outbound promotions of a campaign or premium content on your social site.
Integrate offers with social media visits—American Express has done a great job of converting advertising with benefits on Twitter. AmEx allows cardholders to sync membership with Twitter and use hash tags as coupons. Providing something of real value to consumers can help your company leverage growth on social networks, which in turn snowballs into greater brand visibility.
Identify with your audience—If you are less enthusiastic about the long-term sustainability of giveaways, you may wish to follow Toyota’s example by engaging media visitors through relevant videos and content. Following an ad campaign based on the nostalgic game “Life” which was aimed at millennial, Toyota encouraged consumers to visit its YouTube site, where they could learn more about the automotive purchasing process.
Give your consumers control of the marketing campaign—Mercedes Benz utilized a well-integrated outbound campaign with its social media platforms. In an effort to promote its new A-Class line, Mercedes ran a three-part commercial. The #YOUDRIVE campaign allowed viewers to tweet their choice for the third part. Not only did this inspire an enormous amount of interest in their new car line, it also bolstered Mercedes’ presence on Twitter.
Humor sells financial services—Financial service companies know that humor is an excellent way to discuss a typically dry subject. Capital One’s use of Jimmy Fallon to promote its 50 percent cash back program has inspired enormous interest and a growing presence on the company’s Facebook site.
Promote competitions—Dodge ran a series of ads promoting a contest to find one of three Journeys that had been hidden around the U.S. Using a series of clues in the commercials and on YouTube, individuals could find and own one of these hidden vehicles. This innovative promotional campaign stoked intense interest from a wide variety of consumers who were eager to find a free car as well as those who enjoyed the challenges of solving a puzzle.
